YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY LIFE OF LORD SIDMOUTH. VOL. III. •*\ ff^ FROM A DRAWIllG HT ilATTrRSOK SKITH. -DrWtfN OM STOtIK EY K.u ../.KK £. T^ THK LIFE CORRESPONDENCE RIGHT HON^^^ HENRY ADDINGTON, FIRST VISCOUNT SIDMOUTH. THE HON^-^" GEOEGE PELLEW, D.D. dean op noewich. JN THREE VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1847. CONTENTS THE THIRD VOLUME. CHAPTER XXVIIL 1809, 1810. Lord Sidmouth receives a last Letter and Visit from Mr. Windham. Death of that Statesman. Resignation and Death of the Duke of Portland. Mr. Perceval is charged with the Formation of an Ad ministration. His Overture to Lords Grey and Grenville rejected. His Advances to Lord Sidmouth's Friends, through Lord Chatham, , declined. He writes to Lord Sidmouth. Remarks. Messrs. Bathurst and Vansittart decline Office. A new Government formed. Position of Lord Sidmouth and his Friends. His Lordship's Interview with Lord Grenville, who declines to explain himself on the Catholic Question. Letters from Earl Powis and Lord Ellenborough. Lord Sidmouth's intended Line of Conduct. He recovers his Health — Dines with Mr. Wilberforce. Votes with the Government on Lord Grenville's Amendment — But with the Opposition on the Walcheren Question. Differs from Lord Grenville on the Subject of defending Portugal. Letter from the Duke of Wellington. Lord Sidmouth holds a Conversation with Mr. Perceval. His Speech on the State of the Finances ------ Page 1 CHAPTER XXIX. 1810, 1811. Return of the King's Malady. Lord Sidmouth supports the Govern ment on the Regency Question. Conduct ofthe King's Government in 1801 and 1804 respecting his Majesty's Illnesses arraigned in Parliament, and successfully defended. Lord Sidmouth's Bill respect ing the Licences of Protestant Dissenting Ministers. Return of Licences taken out in the County of Middlesex. Singular Circum stances at the Quarter Sessions for Stafford. Various Testimony to the Abuses of the Toleration Act. Lord Sidmouth's Bill, on the A 3 VI CONTENTS. first Reading, excites great Alarm amongst Dissenters. Is objected to by the Wesleyans, and opposed *by the Three Denominations. Letters from Dr. Adam Clarke, Mr. Belsham, and Mr. Wilberforce. The Measure disapproved of by the Latter, who, in 1797, dissuaded Mr. Pitt from introducing a Bill which went farther than the present. Anxiety of Mr. Perceval and Lord Liverpool. Second Beading of the Bill negatived. Subsequent Act of 52 Geo. III. c. 155., for further Rehef of Dissenters. Death of Lady Sidmouth - Page 32 CHAPTER XXX. 1812, 1813. Lord Sidmouth resumes his Interest in public Affairs. Communicates with Mr. Perceval on the Expiration of the restricted Regency. Accepts the OfHce of President of the Council. Assassination of Mr. Perceval. Negotiations for the Formation of a new Adminis tration. Lord Liverpool becomes Premier. Lord Sidmouth accepts the Seals of the Home Department — Difficulties of that Position. Prevalence of Luddism — Origin of the Term. The Claims of the Roman Catholics no longer made a Cabinet Question. Letter from Sir Edward Pellew. Lord Sidmouth takes Measures to suppress Disturbances in Nottinghamshire. Moves Parliament to refer Pa])ers on the Subject to a Secret Committee. Introduces a Bill for the Preservation of the public Peace. Letter from Major Seale. Luddites' Oath. Lord Sidmouth supports the Repeal of the Orders in Council. Letter of Lord Fitzwilliam. War declared by America. Disturbances at Sheffield. Letter from Colonel Lany. Mistaken Lenity shown by the Judge on former Occasions. General Election. Special Com mission recommended by Lord Fitzwilham. Lord Sidmouth to T. Babington, Esq. and Lord Eldon. Special Commission opened at York. Numerous Convictions. Severe but necessary Retribution — Salutary Effects of this Example. Military Protection diminished. Correspondence with Lord Fitzwilliam and General Maitland. Lord Sidmouth appointed Lord High Steward of Westminster. The Catholic Question. Episcopacy in India. Letters from Dr. A. Clarke, Lord Holland, Mr. Rufus King, Mr. Inglis, and Colonel Allan! Promotion of Dr. Howley to the See of London - - 71 CHAPTER XXXI. 1814—1816. Downfall of Napoleon. Restoration of the Bourbons. Lord Sidmouth accompanies Louis XVIII. to Dover. Visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England. Lord Sidmouth receives Presents from the Princess Louise of Prussia — And from the Emperor Alexander. Visits Devon shire. His Opinion on the American War. Disturbances in London respecting the Corn Law. Lord Sidmouth's Opinion on that Subject CONTENTS. vii Escape of Napoleon, and Renewal of the War. Arrival of the De spatches from Waterloo. Results of the Victory. Letter from Lord Ellenborough on the Treatment proper for Napoleon. Letters to Sir T. Maitland, Mr. Bathurst, and the Duke of Newcastle, and from Lord Buckinghamshire and the Duke of Newcastle. Continental Arrangements concluded, and approved of by Lord Liverpool and Lord Sidmouth. Their permanent good Results. Lord Sidmouth an early advocate for Church Extension. He corresponds with Dr. Wordsworth on the Question. Letter to Mr. J. C. Hobhouse re specting his Work on the late Reign of Napoleon. Death of Mr. Sheridan, and of Mr. James Adams. Expedition to Algiers. ReX^ newal of Disturbances in the Manufacturing Districts, chiefly caused by Depression of Prices, unfavourable Season, and Want of Employ ment. Sentiments of the Duke of Rutland. Riots at Littleport and Ely. Trial of the Offenders. Disaffection in Nottingham. Letters from Admiral Frank, Lord Darlington, Lord Eldon, and Mr. Legh Keck. Disturbances at Merthyr Tydvil. Extreme Deficiency of Means at Lord Sidmouth's Disposal to put down Disaffection. He favours Emigration. Meetings at Spa Fields. Insurrection of the second of December. Rioters separate after wounding Mr. Piatt. Course pursued by Lord Sidmouth. His Letter to the Speaker. His Conduct generally approved of. Letter from Lord Redes- dale _ - - _ - Page 114 CHAPTER XXXII. 1817. Increasing Tranquillity ofthe Kingdom in the Beginning of 1817 — This Prospect speedily changed. Hunt's Tour in the West. Mr. Nadin's Report of the Disaffection of Manchester, and threatening State of the Manufacturing District generally. Letter from Dr. Adam Clarke on the Times. Attack on the Prince Regent when returning from opening Parliament. Papers referred to secret Committees and Reports thereon. Lord Sidmouth's Speech on moving the second Reading of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act — Motion opposed by Lords Wellesley, Grey, and Holland — Supported by Lord Grenville. That and three other Bills passed. Lord Sidmouth's circular Letter to Lords Lieutenant attacked in Parliament — His Defence of, and Statement of the Benefit produced by, his Circular. Letter from the Duke of Northumberland. Correspondence with the Prince Regent. Conviction and Execution of Luddites at Leicester. Insurrection at South Wingfleld, Derbyshire. Progress of the Insurgents — A Man shot — They are dispersed by a Party of Dragoons. Criminals tried under a special Commission, and three of them executed. Secor.d Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act carried in Parliament. Em ployment of Informers by the Government justified — Reflections thereon. Correspondence between Lord Sidmouth and Sir John Byng. Mr. Henry Hobhouse appointed Under Secretary in the Home Ofiice. Liberation of some of the Parties confined under the Sus- Vlll CONTENTS, pension Act — Merciful Treatment of one of those Persons. Lord Sidmouth goes to Malvern — Receives the Freedoms of Worcester, Tewkesbury, and Evesham. Improved State of the Country in the Autumn of 1817 — Correspondence with Lords Kenyon and Exmouth thereon. Attempt to create a Disturbance on Tower Hill. Letters of Approbation from Dr. Adam Clarke and Lord Colchester. Death of the Princess Charlotte of Wales — Grief of the Regent and Royal Family. Acquittal of Mr. Hone for publishing blasphemous Parodies — Reflections thereon . - - - Page loS CHAPTER XXXIII. 1818. The Prince Regent's Acknowledgment of Lord Sidmoudi's Services. Lord Sidmouth receives a Challenge from Thistlewood. The Re gent's Speech on opening Parliament. Church-Building Act. Lord Sidmouth proposes Repeal of the Suspension Act — Debate. He answers Lord Holland's Attack on Government. Debate on the Indemnity Bill in the House of Lords. Letters from Lord Sidmouth to Lord Chichester — and from Lord Exmouth to Lord Sidmouth. Illness and Death of Mr. John Hiley Addington. Commission of Inquiry into the Charities of England. Mr. Brougham's zealous Promotion of that Object. Care with which Lord Sidmouth selected Commissioners under the Act. Letter from Lord Sidmouth to Mr. Bathurst on the Subject. Disturbances at Manchester in September, 1818. Death of her Majesty Queen Charlotte. Letter from Sir Herbert Taylor to Lord Sidmouth, and from the latter to Earl Tal bot, Lord Ellenborough's flrst Illness at Christmas, 1816. His Lordship's Visit to Paris in 1817. His Letters to Lord Sidmouth. Religious Tone of his Mind — - a Prayer composed by him. From Lord Eldon to Lord Sidmouth on Lord Ellenborough's ill Health. Lord Ellenborough intimates to Lord Sidmouth bis intended Retire ment in consequence of a Failure of Vision. He writes a Letter of Resignation to Lord Eldon. He signs his Resignation. His Death. 206 CHAPTER XXXIV. 1818, I8I9. Letter from the Earl of Sheffield to Viscount Sidmouth. The Duke of Wellington enters the Cabinet. Opening of the new Parliament. Business of the Session. Progress of Disaffection. Letter from' Lord Sidmouth to Lord Fitzwilliam. Great Meeting at Birming ham. Sir Charles Wolseley elected a Legislatorial Attorney. \ Constable shot. Lords Lieutenant at their Posts. Letters from th ^ Dukes of Newcastle and Devonshire. Meeting appointed in Man chester for the 16th of August. Preparations. Difliculty of ascer taining the precise Moment to quell a Riot. Instructions given by CONTENTS. IX Lord Sidmouth prior to the Meeting. Preparations made by the Magistrates at Manchester. Sir Widiam Jolliffe's Account of the Military Proceedings on the Day of the Meeting. Sentiments of Lord Sidmouth on receiving the Intelligence. He considers it his Duty to support the Magistrates. His Letter to die Lords Lieute nant, conveying the Regent's Thanks to the Magistrates. His Argu ment in Defence of this Step. Letter from Sir Benjamin Bloorafield, conveying the high Approbadon of the Prince Regent. Hunt and his Associates indicted for Conspiracy. Bills found. The Opposi tion strongly disapprove of the Conduct of the Magistrates and the Government. They commence the System of caUing Public Meet ings. Address of the City of London utterly inconsistent with the Facts. Yorkshire County Meeting. Dismissal of Lord Fitzwilliam. That Step approved by Mr. Banks — and Mr. Wilberforce. Page 211 CHAPTER XXXV. I8I9. The Violence of County Meetings checked by the Vigour of the Go vernment. Lord Sidmouth recommends counter Declarations. His Correspondence with Edmond Wodehouse, Esq., M. P., Lord Dar lington, and others. Government blamed by its Friends for Supine- ness. Lord Sidmouth justifies the Government in a Letter to Lord Lascelles. He discloses his Plan for remedying the existing Evils to Lord Liverpool, and recommends the early Meeting of Parhament, to which his Lordship at last assents. The Prince Regent calls on Lord Sidmouth to devise remedial Measures. Lord Sidmouth en gages in the Task with the Assistance of Lord Eldon. Letters from Lord Eldon to Lord Sidmouth. His Opinion that the Meeting at Manchester was a rebellious Riot. Proofs of the Necessity of an Augmentation of the Army. Serious Riots at Paisley. Rapid Transfer of Troops to Scotland. Spirited and patriotic Conduct of the Prince Regent. Able-bodied Pensioners called out for Garrison Duty. Disposition of the Troops. Duke of Wellington's Instruc tions to Sir J. Byng on the Subject. Lord Sidmouth receives a Let ter from his Grace. He writes to Sir J. Byng, Mr. Bathurst, and Mr. Yorke. Meeting of Parliament. Lord Grey's Amendment, calling for Inquiry into the Proceedings of the l6th of August. Lord Sidmouth's Reply. Large Majorities in favour of Government. Select Papers presented by Government to the House. Analysis of the Four Acts introduced by Lord Sidmouth, and of Two Acts in- troduced by Lords Eldon and Castlereagh. Conviction of Mr. Hunt and his Associates . - . . . 374 CHAPTER XXXVL 1820. Formation of Veteran Battalions. The Yeomanry augmented. Salu tary Effect of the recent Acts of Parliament. Death of King X CONTENTS. George III. and of the Duke of Kent. Letter from the Princess of Hesse Homburg. Alarming Illness of the new King. Difference between George IV. and his Ministers. Plot to assassinate the King's Ministers long known to the Government. Difficulty felt in dealing with it. Plan for the Arrest of die Conspirators. Source from 'whence Government derived its Information. Circumstances attending the Arrest of the Conspirators. Public Indignation on the Subject. The Conspirators committed for High Treason. The King's Approval of Lord Sidmouth's Conduct. The Trial and Execution of the Conspirators. Falsehood and Absurdity of the Plea that they were seduced by Edwards. Congratulations. Spirit of Disaffection not yet wholly subdued. The Duke of Wel lington recommends calling out the Militia. The Queen returns to England. Bill of Pains and Penalties. Lord Sidmouth orders the Dispersion of the Mob at Charing Cross. Progress of the Queen's Trial. Termination of the Proceedings against her Majesty, a Triumph to neither Party. The Queen's Visit to St. Paul's Cathe dral. Lord Sidmouth to the Bishop of Landaff. Effect of the Trial on the Position of the King's Government. Resignation of Mr. Canning. Anxiety of Lord Liverpool. Lord Sidmouth asks Mr. Bathurst to take Mr. Canning's Office pro tempore. Lord Sid mouth to Lord Hastings and Lord Exmouth on the State of Public Affairs - - - - - ¦ - Page 305 CHAPTER XXXVII. 1821. Favourable Change in public Opinion respecting the Ministers. Cor respondence with Sir Walter Scott. The Catholic Question — Let ters of Dr. Adam Clarke and Dr. RenneU on that Subject. Lord Sidmouth's Speech on the Question. He meditates an early Retire ment from Office — accompanies the King to Ireland. His Corre spondence from Dublin — details the King's Proceedings to Lord Liverpool. Death of the Queen — Lord Liverpool to Lord Sidmouth on that Subject. Lord Liverpool to Lord Sidmouth, detailing the Circumstances of the Removal of the Queen's Remains on the 14th of August. Abstract of the military Proceedings on that Day Lord Stowed to Lord Sidmouth. The King's Proceedings in Dubhn His valedictory Advice to his Irish Subjects. The King visits Ger^ many. Lord Sidmouth one of the Lords Justices. Recommence ment of Disturbances in Ireland - . _ „ . CHAPTER XXXVII L 1821, 1822. Change in the Irish Government. Lord Sidmouth's Letters to E Talbot and Mr. Grant, announcing the Appointment of Maro CONTENTS. XI Wellesley and Mr. Goulburn. His Correspondence with Lord Wel lesley, Lord Londonderry, and Lord Manners, on Irish Affairs. Mr. Plunkett appointed Attorney- General in Ireland. Accession of the Grenville Party to the Government. Letters to and from Lord Wellesley. Lord Sidmouth resolves to retire from Office — Corre sponds with his Friends on the Subject. Mr. Peel selected as his Successor. Letters from Mr. Peel to Lord Sidmouth and Lord Stowell, Lord Sidmouth resigns the Seals on the 17th of January, Receives Letters from Lord Liverpool, Lord Eldon, Mr. Justice Park, Dr. Adam Clarke, Bishop of Raphoe, &c. &c. on his Retire ment. Complimentary Address from the Magistrates of Lancashire. Page 374 CHAPTER XXXIX. 1822—1844. Motion in the House of Commons respecting Lord Sidmouth's Pension rejected by a triumphant Majority. His Lordship goes to Town on the Death of Lord Londonderry, and attends the Funeral. His second Marriage, to the Hon. Mrs. Townsend, Daughter of Lord StoweU. He resigns his Seat in the Cabinet — the Grounds of his Resignation considered. He divides his Time between Richmond Park and Early Court — Makes Two Excursions to the Continent. Sudden Illness of Lord Liverpool, and consequent Dissolution of the Government. Lord Sidmouth's Anxiety at the Aspect of the Times. His Letter to his Daughter and Son-in-Law. Death of the Duke of York. Lord Sidmouth's Opinion of the Corn Law. He supports the Duke of Wellington's Administration. He acquiesces in the Repeal of the Test Act. He converses with the Prime Minister at the Cabinet Dinner, on the Roman Catholic Relief Bill, which he strenuously opposes. He speaks on the Second Reading of the Bill. Death of George IV. The Government, being out-voted in the House of Commons on the Civil List, resigns. Lord Grey's Admi nistration introduces the Reform BiU, which is rejected by the House of Lords. The second Reform Bill introduced. Ministers resign, but are re-appointed. The Bill carried. Correspondence between the Duke of WeUington, Lord Sidmouth, and the Rev. John Keble, respecting his Grace's Bust. Lord Sidmouth discontinues his At tendance in Parliament. He survives nearly all his Friends. Prayers composed by Mr. Tierney. Deaths of Mr. Bathm-st, Bishop Hun- tingford. Lord Exmouth, Lord StoweU, Lord Eldon, Duke of Gor- dmi. Lord WeUesley, and others. Lord Sidmouth resigns his Pen sion. Death of Lady Sidmouth — Lord Sidmouth's chastened Sub- ^iil^sion, and timely Preparations for his own Departure. His last Ilhiess and Death - - - - - 405 LIFE OF LORD SIDMOUTH. CHAPTER XXVIIL 1809, 1810. Lord Sidmouth receives a last Letter and Visit from Mr, Windham. Death of that Statesman. Resignation and Death of the Duke of Portland. Mr, Perceval is charged with the Formation of an Administration, His Overture to Lords Grey and Grenville rejected. His Advances to Lord SidmoutKs Friends, through Lord Chatham, declined. He writes to Lord Sidmouth, Re marks, Messrs. Bathurst and Vansittart decline Office. A new Government formed. Position of Lord Sidmouth and his Friends. His Lordship's Interview with Lord Gren ville, who declines to explain himself on the Catholic Ques tion, Letters from. Earl Powis and Lord Ellenborough. Lord SidmoutKs intended Line of Conduct. He recovers his Health — Dines with Mr. Wilberforce. Votes with the Government on Lord Grenville's Amendment — • But with the Opposition on the Walcheren Question. Differs from Lord Grenville on the Subject of defending Portugal, Letter from the Duke of Wellington. Lord Sidmouth holds a Conversation with Mr. Perceval. His Speech on the State of the Finances, Shortly after the prorogation of parliament. Lord Sidmouth received that visit from Mr. Windham, at VOL. III. B LIFE OF Chap. xxvni- ¦which the latter announced the change in his opinion respecting the expediency of the peace of Amiens, which has been mentioned in the last volume.* A portion of Mr. Windham's letter on that occasion has been already presented ; and the remainder, whicli is chiefly remarkable as the last communication which his Lordship received from that high-minded states man, will now be added : — " Beaconsfield, July 20th, 1809. " You see from whence I date, and will equally conceive the melancholy recollections which must mix with many satisfactions which I find here. * * * Of what prodigious use a mind of such power, a character of such energy, and a name of such authority as Burke's might be at present ! I have been reading, within this day or two, the four orations of Demosthenes against Philip. It is curious to observe how very exact the application is to the circumstances of our times. There is a part of one of them — the third, I think — that might be translated almost word for word. Mrs. Clarke's lettet you will have read with great delight. The value is inestimable, if it were only for the schism that it must make in that Church, The female saint must, I think, have the greatest share of the worship. She wiU certainly stand highest in the estimation of those who are only lookers on in the controversy. I do not know what will be settled by the synod whenever it may meet. I shall certainly be avocato del diavolo against the canonisation of St, Guyllin" (Colonel Wardle).t * Vol. n. p. 52. t It is believed that only one other meeting occurred between Lord Sidmouth and Mr. Windham, which the former thus de scribed in a letter to Lord Buckinghamshire, dated October the 18th, 1809:— "Windham caUed here yesterday and sent in his name. I saw him, though in my nightcap. He sat an hour, and we talked over the present state of things pretty fully n ' tb 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. ?, The close of this eventful summer was remarkable for those dissensions in the cabinet which led to a duel between two of its members, and the virtual dis solution of the Duke of Portland's feeble administra tion. This " strange political hurricane," as Lord Sidmouth termed it, occasioned his Lordship much anxiety, and involved him in a correspondence with numerous parties, which, though fraught with interest, is found too voluminous for insertion. The reader, therefore, it is hoped, will readily Catholic question I spoke to him in the same strain as that in which I wrote to Lord Grenville. He was quite as reasonable as I should have expected ; but I am still apprehensive that the weak ness of the present government may encourage the two Lords G-, to hold a high language on the subject. Windham seems to have no communication with Lord GrenviUe." Mr. Windham died on the 4th of June, in the following year (1810). Lord Sidmouth, who greatly admired his frank, honourable, and manly character, was deeply affected hy his illness, the progress of which he de scribed to his brother in several letters, from which a few passages are now selected. "Ma'y 26th. — Windham underwent an operation last week for the extraction of a large substance from his thigh. He seemed tolerably well for a few days, but yesterday there were apprehensions for his safety. The anxiety for him is general. Indeed, in most respects, 'quando uUum invenies parem.' " "May 28th. — I grieve to tell you that Windham is much worse. He went to the Charterhouse the day before he underwent the operation, and received the sacrament from the Master (Dr. Philip Fisher), from whom I had the information." " June 2d. — ' Fall'n is Glenartney's stateliest tree. You ne'er will see Lord Ronald more.' There is not a ray of hope. Yesterday Windham said that he considered himself as severed from the world, and to-day it is thought the scene will close. I have never observed a feeling at once so strong and universal as that which has. been excited on this occasion." B 2 4 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIII- accept in its place the following outline of the transactions described therein. On the resigna tion, early in September, of the Duke of Port land, which was followed almost immediately by his Grace's death, Mr. Perceval was charged with the reconstruction of the Ministry, an object which evidently could not be effected in a satisfactory manner from the fragments of the former cabinet. He, therefore, made overtures to Lords Grey and Grenville, " for forming an extended and combined administration," which, it is scarcely necessary to add, were immediately declined. " To such a proposition, indeed, as Lord Grenville observed when forwarding the correspondence on the subject to Lord Sidmouth, " the answer could not be difficult. The only point doubtful was whether it was worth coming to town for such a purpose." This Lord Grey decided in the negative, but Lord Grenville, in the affirmative ; the latter "being guided," he said, "by the resolution to give no pretence for imputing to him, however unjustly, any disrespect to the King's commands," * Disap- * Lord Grenville, by expressing himself somewhat ambiguously in his second letter to Mr. Perceval, had exposed himself to the suspicion that he still entertained an idea of forcing the King's conscience respecting the Catholic question. " He objected," he said, " to the principle of the Duke of Portland's government, and the circumstances attending its formation." These words Mr. Perceval considered " could only apply to the measure which led to the dissolution of Lord Grenville's own administration," and he therefore inferred from them that his Lordship would act in a similar manner, should the opportunity recur. Lord Grenville however, informed Lord Sidmouth on the 26th of October that " he only meant in that letter to express his disapprobation o'f the sanction which he thought the Duke of Portland's government as 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. 5 pointed in this quarter, Mr. Perceval attempted, as most people thought he ought in the first instance to have done, to strengthen himself by a junction with the Addington party : but instead of making a direct application to Lord Sidmouth, he sent Lord Chatham to his Lordship on the 5th of October, " to intimate a wish, on the part of the King and Mr. Perceval, that they might all be brought together again," and to inform him that vacancies would be kept open for some of his friends in the House of Commons ; but, strange to say, making no offer of office to Lord Sid mouth himself To so shallow an attempt to detach the members of a party from its head, but one an swer could be returned, and Lord Sidmouth accord ingly replied that "under no possible circumstances could such a proposition be admissible." His Lord ship, indeed, was so fully convinced that an efficient administration could not be constituted without the aid of that part of the Opposition which remained connected under Lords Grey and Grenville, that he would undoubtedly have received the overture in the same manner, though it had been presented to him in a less objectionable form. He still hoped that those noble Lords " were disposed and prepared to the King's responsible ministers, had given to the demand of a pledge." This his Lordship further explained to Lord Sidmouth - in his resume of the 28th of October, as follows : — " My answer to you was, in substance, that I saw no ground to impute ambiguity to my second letter to Mr. Perceval ; that the principle on which this government was formed, and to which I had originally ob jected, was that of giving effect to the demand of an unconstitu tional pledge, and that by acceding to this government I must myself have become a party to that principle." B 3 6 LIFE OF ¦ Chap. XXVIH- give satisfaction to the mind of the King respecting the Koman Catholic question; in which case they would receive his own support : if, however, from any motive they should decline to do this, it would then be his duty to assist in forming the best and strongest government of which the circumstances would admit. When sufficiently recovered from the serious attack of erysipelas under which he was then suffering, it was his intention to converse with Lord Grenville on the subject of the ambiguous expressions in his- letter to Mr, Perceval ; meanwhile, as the proposal for sepa rating him from his friends could not under any circumstances be acceded to, there was no reason whatever for postponing any official arrangements for a single moment." Such was the substance of his Lordship's conversation with Lord Chatham on the 5th of October, and of two notes which he ad dressed to that noble Lord on the following day. On the 7th, Mr. Perceval himself addressed to Lord Sidmouth a long letter, which, as his Lordship stated in his reply, " removed the unfavourable im pression previously made upon his mind by the pro^ position through Lord Chatham, by its frank and distinct explanation," In that letter, after requesting Lord Sidmouth's interference to induce Mr. Bathurst to accept the office of Secretary at War, with a seat in the cabinet, Mr. Perceval candidly assigned the " prejudices of some of the members of the old Pitt connexion upon the subject of Lord Sidmouth's im mediately forming a part of the government, and the fear that they would by that circumstance be much alienated from the ministers, if not wholly decided in 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. 7 favour of Mr. Canning, as the reason why he had not immediately sought his Lordship's own assistance in the cabinet."* Mr. Perceval added in a postscript, * In a letter to Lord Sidmouth, dated October 14th, Lord Buckinghamshire made the following just remarks on this passage of Mr. Perceval's letter : — " Upon what ground could Mr. PerCeval expect that you should consent to degrade and discredit yourself and friends for the purpose of upholding an administration, the existence of which he represents as depending upon the support of men not influenced hy opinions connected with great points of national policy or constitutional doctrines, but merely by a feeling of personal pique and prejudice against you ? and how could he suppose that, called upon under such circumstances, you could possibly he prevailed upon to sanction a sentiment of proscription so unprincipled ? Has he ventured to tell the King the reason of his having shut the door of the cabinet against you, or brought under his Majesty's consideration that the person to whom he apprehends those old friends of Pitt may, from personal indis position to you, be induced to attach themselves, had determined to .loin Lord Grenville's government, at the verv time when von was withdrawing yourself from it, because you had resolved to support the King in the maintenance of those principles upon which the present administration is forming ? " Several other correspondents shared, in the anxiety here expressed by Lord Buckinghamshire, that the King should be made accurately ac quainted with Lord Sidmouth's sentiments, as his Lordship was considered by many persons the party best suited to stand at the head of affairs at that conjuncture. Such an arrangement, how ever, was rendered difl&cult, if not impossible, by the influence possessed at court by the malecontents alluded to by Mr. Perceval, one of the chief of whom afterwards hecaime, and remained until death, an attached and respected friend of Lord Sidmouth. It is singular that Mr. Pitt's friends should have entertained this fixed resentment against his Lordship, when there -had existed no private enmity between the principals, and when one of the last things Mr. Pitt had ever said to Lord Sidmouth was, that he " had nothing to acknowledge at his hands but the most generous and honourable conduct." The following is the only remark which Lord Sidmouth permitted himself to make 8 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIII- that he " was also anxious to have, if possible, the benefit of Mr. Vansittart's assistance at the Treasury, and he therefore requested Lord Sidmouth's coun tenance to the application about to be made to him (Mr. Vansittart) through Mr. Herries, who was going to Torquay for that purpose." This letter, as Lord Sidmouth afterwards observed to his brother, amounted " in substance only to this, — if you wiU persuade your friends to support me, I will endeavour to persuade mine to permit you to come into office some time or other." The overture, in truth, could only be regarded as an attempt to separate Lord Sidmouth from his friends, and in this light it was viewed by Mr. Bathurst and Mr. Van sittart, who both declined the offers made to them the moment they found that Lord Sidmouth himself was not to be comprehended in the arrangement, " The circumstances attending the proposal," as the latter observed to Lord Sidmouth, " were such as not to leave me a moment in doubt whether I ought to listen to it, and this immediate decision prevented me from allowing Herries to open himself on many points which he was desirous of explaining in the most un reserved manner, and which I should otherwise have been curious to hear." Mr. Vansittart proceeded to state, that " in consequence of Perceval's request that he would not disclose the particulars of his offer for some time, he was precluded from mentioning more respecting this extraordinary proscription :— « Mr. Perceval ought to feel, for he must know, that these prejudices of his friends have not been excited by my conduct, but by a consciousness of their own." 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. 9 at present than that it was of a very distinguished and flattering kind : " it appears, indeed, from a note which Lord Sidmouth appended many years after wards to one of the letters which he wrote at this conjuncture, that it was the same office which Mr. Vansittart afterwards so ably filled, the Chancellor ship of the Exchequer. Lord Sidmouth, in his reply to Mr. Perceval, ex pressed himself highly gratified by the openness and candour of his letter, which he had immediately for warded to Mr. Bathurst, though it was impossible for him to make any attempt to give effect to the purpose of it. He was convinced, however, that under no possible circumstances would Mr. Bathurst accede to such a proposition.* With respect to the proposal to Mr. Vansittart, his Lordship desired " to leave it en tirely to his own decision." After the failure of these two attempts to form an administration on an extended basis, Mr. Perceval proceeded to construct a government from the old materials, the only addition being the important one of Lord Wellesley, who returned from his mission to Spain to receive the seals of the Foreign Depart ment. * The following was Mr. Bathurst's answer which he addressed to Lord Sidmouth: — "I did not think that after the overture to the two Lords they would have ventured to apply to you ; still less that they would have done it in a way so wholly exceptionable. You may be sure I go with you in every thing you have said or written on the subject, and I am glad to be saved the necessity of saying the same thing less effectively. Perceval's letter is very frank and ingenuous, for I believe it perfectly sincere, but that makes no difference in the substance." 10 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIIL Lord Sidmouth and his friends were now placed m an " unsatisfactory and embarrassing position." Be lieving "that the government was so intrinsically weak, and so crippled and broken down by defection, disaster, and its recent advance to its adversaries, as to be incapable of beneficial re-construction," they considered that the accession of Lords Grey and Gren viUe and their party to office " was essential to the formation of a ministry suited to the present exigency," If, however, such an arrangement could not be effected without a repetition of the attempt which occasioned the change of government in 1807, they were resolved not to remain inactive spectators of a measure which they believed to be " equally adverse to the best in terests of the state and to the feelings of the King." * It was essential, therefore, that they should know what were Lord Grenville's sentiments and intentions with regard to the Catholic question, as this was the pivot upon which their line of conduct must even tually turn. In the hope, therefore, of satisfying his mind on the subject, Lord Sidmouth, immediately on his recovery, sought and obtained an interAdew with Lord Grenville at Dropmore, the particulars of which he described to Lord Buckinghamshire by letter on the 26th of October. Lord Grenville re ceived him with great cordiality, but " said he could give no explanation respecting his intentions on the Catholic question ; and that, on discussions arising, opportunities would be afforded of considering how far it might, or might not, be practicable to recon- * Letter of Lord Sidmouth to Lord Chatham. 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. 11 cile his own sense, and that of his friends, of what was due to the public and to themselves, with an at tention to the wishes and feelings of the King." Dis appointed at this reply. Lord Sidmouth, on his return to Richmond Park, requested from Lord Grenville a resum^ of what had passed between them, in the hope that it might contain some further explanation ; but as the answer on the principal point was again un satisfactory *, Lord Sidmouth and his friends still remained in doubt as to the course they ought to pursue. His Lordship believed that Lord Grenville at that time had no intention of again agitating the Catholic question ; but he feared the effect which a triumph over the government, in parliament, might produce upon those with and for whom Lord Gren ville acted ; and this apprehension he confided to Mr, Bathurst, on the 27th of October, in the following words : — " Whatever may be his present intentions, they may undergo some change from success, which, as it would raise the hopes of the Catholics, would render forbearance on his part more difficult. And how can we, on the one hand, assist in obtaining a victory which may lead to such consequences ; or, on the other, contribute to uphold an administration which we know to be unfit for the crisis ?" * In this letter, which was dated October 28th, Lord Grenville expressed the following opinion on what had passed between Lord Sidmouth and Mr. Perceval : — "I beg you to he persuaded that your communication to me could leave but one impression on my mind — that of astonishment at the nature and purport of the overture made to you, and of the propriety and temper with which you had conducted yourself in consequence." 12 LIFE OF ' Chap. XXVIII- Lord Grenville was now a candidate for the Chan cellorship of the University of Oxford, vacated by the death of the Duke of Portland. This circumstance afforded Lord Sidmouth another opportunity, when conveying a message from the Bishop of Gloucester, of introducing this important topic, when Lord Gren ville's reply, though still silent on the principal point, was more explicit than on any former occasion : — " The grounds," his Lordship observed, " of the opinions I have entertained as to the best mode of conciliating the great mass of the population of Ireland *, are certainly too long to be discussed in this letter ; nor have I ever denied that this was a point on which the best and wisest men might differ from each other. But I have never looked at this subject in any other view than as a part of an extensive system, in which, as you well know, has always been included, in m.y view of it, the most ample provision that the heads of the Church could them selves devise for the security of the Establishment both in Church and State. With respect to any engagement to be now taken as to my future possible conduct in this respect, the Bishop of Gloucester has, I am sure, too just and honourable a mind not to see that a pledge which I declined giving to thehighest au thority, andforpurposesforwhichno man could be more anxious than myself, cannot now be given for personal objects." Lord Sidmouth and his friends regarded this answer as Lord Grenville's ultimatum. Here, therefore, the * On this allusion to Ireland, the Bishop of Gloucester remarked — "Why will Lord Grenville risk the peace of thirteen millions to gratify the inordinate demands oi four? I take him even on his own grounds of reasoning." Mr. Vansittart observed of the letter that it was gentlemanlike, but a little sophistical in con founding a pledge or promise not to act in a particular manner, under any possible circumstances, with a simple exposition of his intentions according to his present judgment of 'probable events "Lord G.," he added, " speaks ofthe most ample provision for the security of the Church. I have often heard he had such a system in view, but never could learn what it was." 1809- LORD SIDMOUTH. 13 interest of this protracted negotiation terminates; but the correspondence was continued to a later period, and comprehends many interesting letters which can not be put aside without feelings of regret. As a specimen of their general character, the following is presented. It has been selected from the mass, not only for the purpose of introducing to the reader one of those friends whom Lord Sidmouth most highly valued, and who were the longest spared to him ; but also because it touches, as is thought very happily, upon all the leading points of the complicated trans action to which it relates : — " My dear Lord, Ludlow, Nov. 25th, 1809. " I have been extremely obliged to you for the communi cation of the papers you have intrusted to my perusal and that of my son *, who desires me to express how gratefully he feels the confidence which has been extended to him. He has, equally with me, regretted that his friend Perceval has not taken what has appeared to us to be the most natural and obvious means of strengthening the cause he has engaged in, by at least attempting, in a manner practicable and consistent with common sense, to obtain assistance so essential to his success as that of your Lordship and your friends. He was perfectly satisfied with the sentiments expressed by me in my conversation in Downing Street, which I find Mr. Keene has correctly related to your Lordship, as well as with my having declined for him the acceptance of office, under the circum stances in which the administration was forming, and with the manner in which I did it. I last night received the in formation of Lord Wellesley's having accepted the situation of Foreign Secretary. This acquisition will, unquestionably, greatly conduce to the reputation and efficiency of the cabi net, but will effect little in the House of Commons ; and, I own, I shall be most anxious to learn, after Lord Wellesley's arrival, whether his penetrating and vigorous mind will not The present Earl Powis. 14 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIII- see and urge the necessity of passing over those obstacles ot prejudice which have been so strangely permitted to prevent an arrangement — demanded, I think, by the state into which the country had been thrown by the extraordinary events which broke up the late administration— rather than expose himself to the Uttle enviable situation of appearing the minister of a day. * * * I am obliged to your Lordship for the information respecting the invitation for your becom ing a candidate for the academic honours of Oxford: your Lordship, if I may permit myself an opinion, acted most wisely in declining: such honours are not desirable unless conferred with unanimity. * * * Your Lordship's inter view with Lord Grenville not having produced the explana tion you wished, I cannot think Lord Grenville's return to power a desirable event : if it was attainable, I would wish to see a firm and steady government ; but with the Catholic question in the back-ground, and in terrorem over the con scientious feeling of the King on that subject, the foundation of a government with Lord Grenville at its head would be sapped, by anticipation, before it commenced; and would, as others which have not obtained his Majesty's confidence, be upset the first favourable opportunity. I therefore hope that the ungracious manner in which your Lordship has been treated, and which fortunately has made more impression on the minds of your friends than on your own, will not have closed the door to your participating in the councils of the country, should the accession of our friend Lord Wellesley's abilities to the cabinet produce a juster sense of the import ance of your assistance, and of what is due to your situation in life, and to the character and sentiments of friends such as Mr. Vansittart and Mr. Bathurst. * * * I remain always, with great truth, ray dear Lord, your faithful and obliged " Povris." Although these transactions produced no immediate result beyond proving the " firmness and fidelity of all Lord Sidmouth's friends," and adding force to the assaults of his vindictive " persecutor, St. Anthony, 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. 15 whose scorching hand was constantly upon him" throughout the autumn, still they contributed to rescue him at length from that neutral position on the political stage so foreign to his disposition, into which he had been involuntarily thrown by the coali tion and cabals formed against his government in 1804. Considering that the Duke of Portland's admi nistration had been wholly incompetent to the awful crisis then subsisting, and that the introduction of Lord Grenville and his friends into the cabinet was essential to the satisfactory government ofthe country, he had co-operated with his Lordship on some of the disputed questions of the last two years. 'But as his principles of loyalty did not admit of his ever en gaging in any organized system of opposition, he had at the same time given an honest support to all mea sures of government of which he could conscien tiously approve. He had also carefully avoided any fixed or regular connexion with the Opposition, and had even taken the precaution, at his recent interview with Lord Grenville, to guard against its being " con sidered that such communication was any departure whatever from his determination to keep his public conduct perfectly free and unfettered." In the exer cise, therefore, of the liberty which he had thus re served, and differing entirely from Lord Grenville as to the propriety, under any probable circumstances, of conceding the Roman Catholic claims, he could not but regard that noble Lord's refusal to afford any satisfaction respecting his intentions on that subject, as detracting greatly from the preference to which he would otherwise be entitled, in the choipe of a prime minister for the country. 16 LIFE OF ^ Chap. XXVIIL On the other hand, as Mr. Perceval observed in his letter, Lord Sidmouth could not but approve of the principles of the present government, and desire its success ; and the high opinion he entertained of Mr. Perceval's integrity and candour fortunately induced him to regard with less displeasure than his friends did the offence implied in the offers made to them, and in the ungenerous and vindictive reasons assigned for Ms own exclusion from office. His principal objection also to the government, as before constituted, namely, its incapacity, had now been greatly diminished by the accession of his old friend Lord WeUesley, whose talents, energy, and statesmanlike qualities, were likely, he trusted, to invigorate the whole cabinet. Whilst his inclinations were thus gradually bending towards the existing government, he expressed the feelings which were working in his mind in the fol-> lowing letter to Mr. Bathurst: — " My dear Charles, Dee. 1st, 1809. " For the purpose of obtaining the only proper guide to my conduct in the ensuing session, I have asked myself this question : If a new administration were to be formed, would it be most for the public good that it should be composed of the persons of whom the present (of course including Lord Wellesley) consists, or of Lords Grey and Grenville and their mutual friends ? I should now have great difficulty in answer- ' ing this question (Lord Henry Petty being no longer in the House of Commons), even if the Lords Grey and Grenville should be disposed to be reasonable on the Catholic question; but my difficulty is diminished, to say the least, by Lord Grenville's continued reserve on that point, and is done away when I add to these circumstances the consideration that one of the parties is actually in possession ; and, there fore, with a vi^ew to the other alternative, the violent and generally mischievous process must be resorted to, of over- 1809, LORD SIDMOUTH, 17 turning the existing government, I am accordingly convinced that our bias should be to support the measures of the present administration, which cannot now be considered so weak as to justify our concurring on that ground only, and before they are tried, in any parliamentary proceeding for their removal. The language I should recommend would be, that we were not hostile to government, and that our conduct would depend upon their measures, which we hoped would be such as tq enable us to support them. I need not tell you that what has passed respecting myself will have no Influence on my conduct, and that I wish it to have none on that of my friends," Two days earlier he had expressed himself in cor responding terms to Earl Powis: — "My earnest de sire," he observed, " was, and is, to see a government established at once acceptable to the King, and strong enough for the times ; and no personal consideration whatever has been mixed with my anxiety on this subject. My public conduct will be solely influenced by the measures of government, and I sincerely hope they may be such as will enable me to give them any support," On the 14th of December Lord Grenville was elected Chancellor of Oxford, by a majority of sixteen. " Thinking, as I do," Lord Sidmouth had observed to his brother, " on the Catholic question, I shall take no part in the contest, and have recommended absti nence to my friends." This was practised by several ; but some of them, as intimated by Lord Powis, mani fested an anxiety to invite Lord Sidmouth himself to become a candidate. On this subject, when writing to his brother, he expressed himself as follows: — " I have had some very gratifying offers of support for the chancellorship at Oxford, but I have long VOL, III. c 18 LIFE OF Chap. XXVm- given up all thoughts of such a nature, no distinctions unconnected with real usefulness having any attrac tion for me." At the close of the year his Lordship experienced the total and permanent removal of his protracted disorder of erysipelas. He had latterly taken the ad vice of Sir Lucas Pepys, who adopted a bracing mode of treatment, telling him that " the course he was pur suing would have made him an invalid for life." One ofthe first uses of his liberty was to accept an invita tion from Mr, Wilberforce to dine and sleep at his house. But little communication had taken place be tween these early friends for a considerable period. The gratification derived from this meeting appears to have been mutual.; for, as Lord Sidmouth informed Mr. Bathurst, they " conversed on public subjects, with little deviation or interruption, from four o'clock on that day till long after midnight, and for near three hours the next morning. Wilberforce's view," his Lordship added, " of the actual danger of the country, is more unfavourable than mine ; but in all other material points we entirely agree. He spoke with indignation of the supposed influence of Lord , which he had heard of in the summer, as directed against me, and said that if it should be discussed in parliament, he should mark his reprobation of such an abuse of parliamentary influence, as justifying much of what had been said of a reform in parliament. He has a great personal regard for Perceval, and a high opinion of the principles and character of Lord Grey, and of the official rather than the political talents of Lord Grenville. All that passed upon the resignation of the Duke of Portland, and the over- 1809. LORD SIDMOUTH. ' 19 tures and appointments which followed, he strongly condemned. * * * Of the two expeditions to Spain and Walcheren he has the worst opinion. On the subjects of peace, of internal defence, of finance, and the mode of carrying on the war in future^ we thought exactly alike. All this was to me very satis factory," * The record of the year will be closed with the fol lowing extract from a letter, which is presented to the reader for the same reason which Lord Sidmouth assigned for sending it to Mr, Bathurst — " because it is so characteristic and so Johnsonian : " — " My dear Lord, St. James's Square, Dec. 17tli, 1809. « !s * » J jjgg^j, ^jjg^^ ^jjg Chancellor and his friends are much mortified with their defeat at Oxford. It was an event which they did not expect, nor, I own, did I. I have had a sittings of very great fatigue. I came home on Monday, at half-past eleven, from Wardle's cause, of which you will have seen some accounts in the papers. I dined alone, hastily and hungrily, and went to bed soon afterwards. In the morning I was very sick and unwell ; so much so that, on my arrival at Guildhall, it was pressed upon me by several of the Bar to adjourn the Court. I, however, went on. I am now greatly better, but not yet restored. The fatigues of great attention and exertion, and alternate Inanition and repletion, are too much for me. The dissolution of all order, and the * Mr. Bathurst observed in his reply — " Your account of your interview with Wilberforce was very interesting, as well as characteristic of his ardent mind. I remember, some years ago, when he was half incUned to vote the House of Lords useless because they opposed his favourite project, and he would now favour a reform in parliament because one peer exerts the influence there which he has long been known to possess, in opposing your admission into the cabinet. I am very glad, too, that he sees your line of conduct in the same light that we do." c 2 20 LIFE OF Chap. XXVUI- extreme imbecility of governmeqt, require a degree of ^^^^SJ in my situation to which my spirit is more equal than I find my body to be. I wUl, however, willingly exhaust both m the conflicts to which my duty may expose me. But enough of what relates to myself I long very much to hear that your Lordship is at peace with that vexatious saint, St, An thony. * * * I remain, ever most faithfully yours, " Ellenborough." Lord Sidmouth's health was now permanently re established. This enabled him to take a more active part in the political proceedings of that eventful period ; and, accordingly, we find him corresponding with Lord Grenville, on the 2 2d of January, on the terms of a proposed amendment to the address which the latter had forwarded to him on the 18th for con sideration. Lord Sidmouth observed on that occa sion, that he " entirely concurred in the opinion, that an inquiry into the failures of the late campaign was necessary, and that if an intention to that effect should not be distinctly stated in the address, it ought to be expressed in an amendment. He was anxious, however, that the amendment should be so worded as not to appear to prejudge the questions to which the inquiry would apply." Lord GrenviUe replied to the effect, that the terms of the amendment could undergo no modification, as many friends in the House of Commons felt very warmly on the subject. When, therefore, parliament met, on the 23d of January, and Lord Grenville in the Upper, and Lord Gower in the Lower House, moved amendments, ex pressing " the utmost indignation at the recent disas ters," and describing the glorious exploits of Lord Wellington at Oporto and Talavera, as " marked only by a repetition of former errors," Lord Sidmouth in 1810* LORD SIDMOUTH. 21 the Lords, and Mr. Bathurst in the Commons, declared their disapprobation of such sentiments. " He could not but acknowledge," his Lordship observed, " that there was much to regret — perhaps much to repre hend — in the late proceedings, especially in the expedition to Walcheren ; but a regard to justice and moderation would dissuade him from acceding to the amendment as it now stood. In a motion for inquiry it was unfair to anticipate the result. He desired a full and searching investigation, but he was not for prejudging the conduct of his Majesty's government." For these reasons Lord Sidmouth and his friends voted Avith the majority, against the amendment, although they approved of its main features ; and the division proved, in consequence, much more favour able* for ministers than it would have been had the Opposition pursued a more temperate course.* As his Lordship informed his brother on the following day, "had the amendment been worded with judg ment and fairness, Opposition would have divided more than 100, instead of 92, in the House of Lords, and government would not have had even a majority of 50 in the House of Commons. I think the line we took is felt to have been creditable : I am sure it was the proper one." The correctness of this opinion was proved two days afterwards, when Lord Porchester's motion for " a committee to inquire into the policy and conduct of the late expedition to the Scheldt" was carried, in the House of Commons, by a majority, which included Lord Sidmouth's friends, of 195 over 186. On that occasion Mr. Bathurst, in an able * Majority in favour of the address, 52 in the Lords, 96 in the Commons. c 3 22 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIIL speech, justified the vote he had given in favour of the address on the first day of the session, and proved its consistency with the one he was now about to record. " He had voted," he said, " for the address, but not against inquiry, and he opposed the amendment because it not only courted inquiry, but anticipated the result." This debate Lord Sidmouth mentioned to his brother, who was detained in the country by indisposition, in the following terms : — " Bathurst acquitted himself admirably on Friday night. The division, it is thought, must lead to consequences affecting the existence, or at least the present com position, of the government. Of its insufficiency, the opinion is universal," Only a brief period elapsed after his Lordship thus expressed his disapprobation of government with regard to the calamitous expedition to Walcheren, before another question arose respecting the defence of Portugal, which obliged his Lordship to manifest his independence also of the Opposition, The King had sent a message to parliament recommending the ex tension of " pecuniary assistance to Portugal in sup port of the military exertions of that kingdom," which was appointed for consideration in the House of Lords on the 22d of February, On the 17th of that month Lord Grenville forwarded to Lord Sidmouth "the sketch of an amendment avoiding," as he observed, " the positive refusal of granting this pecuniary aid to Portugal, which might appear ungracious, however visionary the project of defending Portugal by English money and English troops against the united force of the whole Continent," To this note Lord Sidmouth ireplied, on the 18th, that " he considered that both our 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH- 28 honour and our immediate interests imposed upon us the obligation of affording to Portugal all the assist ance in our power for the purpose of delaying its final subjugation ; and he confessed his anxiety that a dis position to this effect should be manifested by par liament without further delay." This declaration appears to have rather disconcerted Lord Grenville, Avho replied on the same day, that " he was sorry they saw the Portuguese business in so different a light. His own opinion certainly was, that every farthing of money — and what was of much more importance, every British life — that might be lost, in the hope of defending Portugal against the whole force of the Continent, would be wantonly sacrificed, without the hope or even the possibility of advantage to them or to ourselves." Accordingly, when Lord Grenville proposed his amendment to Marquis Wellesley's address to his Majesty in approbation of his gracious message, Lord Sidmouth declared himself in favour of the latter. " Although," he said, " he could not bestow unquali fied approbation on the measures of government with respect to the war in the Peninsula, as they had neglected, he thought, to avail themselves of the favourable opportunity for striking a decisive blow, still he should feel much reluctance at withdrawing our succours from Portugal, if, without too great risk, we could assist her with any prospect of success. He thought it would be unjustifiable to withdraw our troops before such a measure became absolutely neces sary, and should not, therefore, withhold his assent to the address." * * The address was carried by 124 against 94. These senti- c 4 24 LIFE OF Chap. XXVin. It is interesting to observe the different views which these experienced statesmen, each of whom had been prime minister of England, took of the same question : — Time has shown that the palm of superior foresight belonged, in this instance, to Lord Sidmouth : yet, as that wonderful combination in one man of all the noblest properties belonging to the greatest heroes and statesmen, by which the deliverance of the Penin sula was effected, could not then have possibly been anticipated, it is due to Lord Grenville to admit that, at the period in question, the reasons which induced him to despair of the cause of freedom in Spain and Portugal were at least equally weighty with those by which Lord Sidmouth's more sanguine disposition was influenced.* The recently-expressed opinion of the ments his Lordship repeated on the Sth of June, when explain ing his reasons for opposing Lord Lansdowne's two resolutions condemnatory of the last campaign in Spain. On that occasion "he lamented that the eminent sagacity and judgment of Lord "WeUesley had not been earlier applied for the benefit of Spain. As it was, he feared his Lordship's services had been resorted to too late for any efficient purpose. Still such was the attach ment he felt to the cause that he would never abandon it." * The only available opportunity is here presented of intro ducing a letter addressed, many years afterwards, by the great liberator of the Peninsula, to Lord Sidmouth, who had forwarded to his Grace some document on the subject of this campaign in defence of Portugal : — " My dear Lord, « Stratfieldsaye, January 23d, 1 826. " I am very much obliged to you for allowing me to peruse the enclosed paper, which is very interesting indeed, and in the greater number of its details is very accurate. It is, however, impossible for any individual in a large army to know all that pas'ses even in that to which he belongs, much less in that of his adversary, par ticularly at the moment of action and when writing a journal It 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH. 25 latter, that the close "divisions must soon lead to consequences affecting the present composition of the government," now received confirmation from the commencement of a negotiation on or about the 23d of April, for the formation of an administration on so extended a basis as to include Lord Sidmouth, Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Canning, and their respective friends. Lord Wellesley undertook to submit the proposition to Mr. Canning, whilst Mr. Perceval availed himself of the assistance of Mr. Yorke, to communicate with Lord Sidmouth ; and several letters were exchanged is not astonishing, therefore, that this gentleman should have been ignorant of some events which occurred between both armies, of many in ours, and even of some details in that to which he belonged, which he has mis-stated, or has not mentioned ; hut in general he was well informed, and his account is very interesting. " The account of the numbers of the French army that entered Portugal agrees with my estimate, which, indeed, was taken from the actual returns. But he omits altogether an entire corps of 15,000 men, whichjoined theminthe country, and, I think, he makes the numbers which quitted the country less than they really were. It is a very curious circumstance that the cause of their destruction in Portugal was the same as the real cause of their destruction in Eussia. The contempt of all the ordinary rules of war, and of the means and gallantry of their enemy, and the want and deprivation of food in their own army, and the consequent undisciplined dis orders and sickness of the troops, and the hatred of the inhabitants, produced, in both countries, the destruction of the French armies. There was in Russia, besides, the frost to aggravate all their dis tresses, although in some respects an advantage to them ; and, moreover, the Russian armies were more equal in numbers to the French in Russia, both during the attack and the retreat, than I ever was to the French in Portugal. I never had 50,000 men in arms, Portuguese, militia, and all included ; and at the period of Massena's retreat I was obliged to detach into Estremadura nearly half of the whole, and those the best troops, to make head against Soult and Mortier. Believe me ever yours most sincerely, " Wellington. " The Lord Viscount Sidmouth." 26 LIFE OF Chap. XXVin. on the occasion between the three last-mentioned par ties. As this negotiation, however, was never carried beyond the initiatory step, which Mr. Vansittart ob served, " bore so much absurdity on its face, that he could hardly believe it was sincerely made," it is only necessary to give the following statement of the cir cumstance which Lord Sidmouth addressed to Mr. Bathurst on the 27th of April : — "A proposition was made to me on Monday, through Yorke, that I and my friends should form part of a general and comprehensive arrangement, including Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning, to the latter of whom a simultaneous pro posal would be made through Lord Wellesley. By me, I need hardly say, this proposal was Instantly declined. It was, however, intimated to me, that there was no expectation of Its being accepted by Mr. Canning; and, on Monday evening, I received a letter from Yorke, enclosing one from Perceval, in which the latter says, that ' Mr. Canning's objections, though of a very different description, appeared quite as insurmountable as were those of Lord S. to a general arrangement.' * * * I was also informed, that If the negotiation with C. went ofl", I should be commanded to wait on his Majesty with a view to an arrangement, on an extended scale, with myself and my friends, there being four cabinet ofiices to fill up. Thus matters stood on Tuesday, when Yorke returned into Hert fordshire. I have heard nothing since, but I suspect that the interval has not been one of harmony in the cabinet, it being evident that the wishes of Lord W. were not In unison with those of P, and of most of his colleagues. " After the above was written, I had an interview with Yorke, and found that my objection in limine to the general arrangement would prevent any proposition to C.'^ On learning the above particulars, Mr. Vansittart expressed his opinion that the affair would be suffered to drop where it was, and to expire sub siletitio ; lest it should create further disunion between Mr. Per- 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH. 27 ceval and Lord Wellesley. This conjecture proved correct. Lord Sidmouth saw week after week wear away without receiving any further communication from Mr, Yorke or the government. At length, however, on the 1 2th of June, Lord Wellesley called upon him, with Mr. Perceval's consent, when a con versation ensued, the substance of which Lord Sid mouth detailed to Mr. Bathurst in the following terms : — " The chief points were, an admission of the weakness of the government, a declaration of his own earnest wish to be associated with me, and a desire to afford Mr. Canning an option of being in cluded in the arrangement. I repeated to him the substance of what I had said to Yorke, and he left me with expressions of regret at finding my deter mination was not to be shaken." " Nothing, surely," Mr. Bathurst observed in reply, " was ever conducted like this negotiation : " and that remark he might have still more justly applied to an interview between Lord Sidmouth and Mr. Perceval at Kichmond Park, on the 16th of July, which the former thus described to him on the following day : — " Perceval came and passed two hours -here, but I cannot say that our meeting was satisfactory : Lord Wellesley's difficulties were the beginning, middle, and end of what he had to say. His personal wishes I do not question, but his utter impotence must then be taken in evidence of his sincerity." Another prolonged pause now ensued, which ex tended until the 21st of September, on which day Mr. Perceval addressed a confidential letter to Lord Sid mouth in explanation of the " endeavours which his JVlajesty's ministers had thought it their duty to make 28 - LIFE OF Chap. XXVin. for procuring additional strength to the government." The substance of this communication was, that after the idea that Lord Sidmouth and his friends might be induced to join the present government, together with Lord Castlereagh and Mr, Canning, was abandoned', and it was found impossible to reconcile Lord Welles ley to any arrangement which would not include Mr. Canning, the ministers had no alternative but either to apply to Lord Sidmouth and Lord Castlereagh, with the certain loss of Lord Wellesley ; or to Lord Castlereagh and Mr. Canning ; or to remain in statu quo. The _yirs# of these, upon many obvious consider ations, was impossible. An attempt, therefore, had been recently made, though with little expectation of success, to carry the second into effect, by ascertaining the feelings of Lord Castlereagh, who replied, as Mr. Perceval had anticipated, "that he should certainly decline the offer if it were made to him." The result, therefore, was, that the government must remain as they were, from the absolute impossibility of making any change that would be advantageous to the public service. Thus was postponed, sine die, a negotiation which cannot be said to have possessed at any period more than a nominal existence. The lamented " return of the malady with which his Majesty had already been three times afflicted," which Mr. Perceval communicated in a confidential note to Lord Sidmouth on the 30th of October, 1810, and the bereavement which befeU his Lordship in the following summer, prevented the renewal of the over ture until the spring of 1812, when it was revived with a more successful result. The necessity of tracing this long and fruitless in- 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH. 29 tercourse with the government to its termination has brought the reader in advance of the correspondence. It is now requisite, therefore, to revert to a few occa sions on which Lord Sidmouth took part in the par liamentary proceedings of 1810. On the House going into committee upon the Stamp Duties Bill, on the 5th of June, his Lordship made a long and able financial speech, in which he recapitulated the arguments he had employed in the preceding year, in favour of the principle he had him self established, of raising as far as practicable within the year the revenue necessary for the expenses of that year, of confining the loan within the narrowest possible limits, and, as some loan was inevitable, of providing for the interest and the gradual liquidation of the principal by the imposition of additional taxes. The present plan was, to derive a large proportion of the means necessary to defray such charges from du ties imposed at former periods, which was a departure from the principle which heretofore had been strictly observed. " The dangers," he observed, " against which it was particularly necessary to guard in a protracted war like the present, were "profusion and negligence. It was essential that there should be one hand only in fhe public, purse : if there were many, even though all were clean, it would quickly be emptied. Individuals might be brought to distress by servants not dishonest, as might a nation by ministers not corrupt. Persons in the various de partments, of government were naturally anxious for the complete accomplishment of the service entrusted to them, in which cases the cost was too often a dis regarded object." 30 LIFE OF Chap. XXVIII. Lord Sidmouth also spoke and voted with the majority in opposition to the resolutions on the state of the nation, which Earl Grey submitted to the House of Lords on the 13th of June ; for which course he assigned, two days afterwards, the follow ing reasons to Mr. Bathurst : — " The debate on Lord Grey's motion went off satisfactorily, upon the whole. He, I am sorry to say, is committed to parliamentary reform and Catholic emancipation ; a reference to each of which (and to the former distinctly) was in troduced into the address. The consequence was, that the Duke of Gloucester, Lord Ellenborough, and others, would not vote at all. I had no difficulty in voting against the motion. On the subject of privi lege Lord Grey spoke very ably and powerfully. The speech, upon the whole, was highly honourable to him, and, I think, the most considerable display of talents that he has ever made." On the 19th of June, Lord Sidmouth manifested his attachment to the Church, and his correct judgment of the best remedy for the evils under which she laboured, by moving for returns tending to prove the necessity of providing increased accommodation in churches, and especially free sittings for the use of the poorer classes of society. His object was to faci litate the building and enlargement of churches : with a view, therefore, to future legislation, he moved for a return from each diocese, to be prepared before the next session of parliament, of all the places of worship within it belonging to the Established Church, and of the number of persons each was capable of containing, and also of the number of dis senting meeting-houses situated in each parish. The 1810. . LORD SIDMOUTH. 31 motion was readily agreed to ; but Lord Holland made some remark on the luxury of the clergy ; in reply to which Lord Sidmouth observed, that " there could not be considered any great luxury in the Established Church, when it appeared that out of 10,000 livings upwards of 4000 were of less value than 150^. per annum." With this debate the labours of the session ceased, as, two days afterwards, the parliament was prorogued by commission. 32 LIFE OF Chaf. XXIX. CHAPTER XXIX. 1810, 1811. Return of the King's Malady, Lord Sidmouth supports the Government on the Regency Question, Conduct of the King's Government in 1801 and 1804 respecting his Majesty''s Ill nesses arraigned in Parliament, and successfully defended. Lord SidmoutKs Bill respecting the Licences of Protestant Dissenting Ministers. Return of Licences taken out in the County of Middlesex. Singular Circumstances at the Quarter Sessions for Stafford. Various Testimony to the Abuses of the Toleration Act. Lord SidmoutKs Bill,, on the first Reading, excites great Alarm amongst Dissenters, Is objected to by the Wesleyans, and opposed by the Three Denominations. Letters from Dr, Adam Clarke, Mr, Belsham, and Mr, Wilberforce, The Measure disapproved of by the Latter, who, in 1797, dissuaded Mr. Pitt from introducing a Bill which went farther than the present. Anxiety of Mr. Perceval and Lord Liverpool. Second Reading of the Bill negatived. Subsequent Act of 52 Geo. IIL c. 155., for further Relief of Dissenters, Death of Lady Sidmouth. A SUBJECT must now be mentioned — the unfortunate event of the King's illness — in which the whole king dom took a deep and painful interest. On that dis tressing occasion Mr. Perceval maintained a frequent and confidential correspondence with Lord Sidmouth, whose advice was rendered especially valuable by the circumstance that he had twice seen his Majestv suf fering from the same cause during the period of his own administration. The letters which now passed it is deemed more proper to withhold. It will be suffi- 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH, 83 cient to state that his Lordship submitted to Mr, Per ceval's perusal all the documents which related to those former occasions, and that they were both, at first, equally sanguine in their expectation of the King's recovery. The serious nature, however, of the pre sent attack soon became apparent ; which induced Lord Sidmouth to express to his brother in the fol lowing terms his opinion of the steps proper to be pursued : — "1 cannot help thinking that the obvious interests as well as duty of all parties will be to avoid contentious discussion at such a time, and upon such an occasion. If the government have common dis cretion, they will not attempt to add to the restric tions of 1789, and if the Prince is well advised, he will determine to accept what he then accepted. This would be well received by the country, and past sub jects of regret and dissatisfaction will be forgotten." In the debate which occurred respecting the further adjournment of the House of Lords, on the 15th of November, Lord Sidmouth expressed his opinion that " the House was then in a similar situation to that in which it was on the 27th of November, 1788 ; and as Mr. Perceval had resolved to follow as nearly as possible the precedent established by parliament on that former occasion, his Lordship was enabled, throughout the progress of this painful question, to manifest his devoted attachment to the King by giving his cordial support to the measures of the government. In pursuing this course, " his conduct was most honourable, consistent, and," as his friend Mr. Bond observed, " most disinterested : for it was a daily detaching himself from the only strong party in the country, and a linking himself with the weakest VOL, III. D 34 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX, party that had ever at any period administered its affairs," It was, in truth, the Begency question which finaUy dissolved the imperfect aHiance which, in appearance, had hitherto been maintained betvee^ Lord Sidmouth and his ministerial colleagues of the years 1806 and 1807, and enabled him, at length, to resume his original position amongst his early poli tical associates, from wrhich he had been involuntarily excluded in 1804. Accordingly, when, in the debate of the 4th of January on the resolutions respecting the Regency, Lord Lansdowne moved the omission of all words imposing limitations and restrictions. Lord Sidmouth immediately rose and delivered a long and able speech, which he concluded by observing, that " as his noble friend's amendment appeared to him to over look the distinction between the temporary authority of the Regent and ' the permanent authority of the King, whilst the original resolution comprehended,. what was due to both, he must give his entire and cordial support to the latter." It is not intended to describe the long and warm debates which, arose oUi this question, farther than to state that as Lord Sid mouth, from the deep interest he felt in his Majesty's. welfare, fully participated with the ministry in de siring the closest possible adherence to the precedent of 1788, he and his friends divided with them on every controverted point. " I am very anxious," he observed to his brother on the 16th of January, " that the proposed duration of the restrictions should be firmly adhered to, and that an effort should be made by Perceval to render the bill conformable to the original state of the fifth resolution, with the excep- 1810, LORD SIDMOUTH. 35 tion only of the power of removal." * In the debate on the Report of the Regency Bill, upon the 28th of January, Lord Sidmouth answered Lord Grenville, arguing ably and earnestly in support of the proposed restrictions and limitations. They had both sided with Mr. Pitt in 1789, and Lord Grenville, who then fiUed the'Speaker's chair,- made one of the best speeches on that side of the question. In the present discus sions, his Lordship must have found' himself inconve niently situated, from his having adopted, in the in terim, a different political line and party ; whilst Lord Sidmouth enjoyed the reward of consistency, in having only to pursue the same course which he had foUowed on the former occasion. During this dfebate Lord Grey made a severe attack upon the Lord Chan cellor Eldon, for having, " in the years 1801 and 1804, used the King's name to public acts at a time when his Majesty was personaUy incapable of exer cising his royal functions," For this accusation therie was no foundation whatever. No sooner, therefore, had the Chancellor indignantly denied the truth of the information which Lord Grey had received, than Lord Sidmouth rose to corroborate that denial, " In adverting," he said, " to the conduct of the govern ment in 1801 and 1804, he would affirm, in the pre sence of their Lordships and the country, that there was not one act which he was not now ready to avow, * The fifth resoliition originally gave her Majesty " power to remove from and appoint such persons as she might think proper to the several ofBces in his Majesty's household." This power was greatly limited by a vote of the House of Commons, on the motion of Earl Gower, but was afterwards restored nearly to the extent defined hy Lord Sidmouth in this passage. D 2 36 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. and, when called on, to vindicate. He did not wish to narrow his responsibUity to his personal acts, but to claim his fuU share mth every one of his coUeagues. He knew it was not becoming to enter into a minute explanation at that moment; but he could say for himself and colleagues that they were ready to justify their conduct in every particular." Could his Lord ship have then revealed to the House the admirable letters addressed to him by the King, and the circum stances relating to his Majesty's conduct in 1801 and 1804, which have been submitted to the reader of this work, there would have remained no question as to his Majesty's competency, at the periods in ques tion, to fulfil his royal functions. This, however, was a case where feelings of propriety forbade explanation. The presumed absence, therefore, of the means of de fence invited attack ; and Mr. Whitbread gave notice of a motion on the subject, to which Lord Sidmouth alluded in the following letter, addressed to Mr. Bathurst on the 7th of February : — " I attended the meeting of the Privy Council at Carlton House yesterday, when all parties were assembled.* The various expressions in the different countenances were very striking. The Prince's friends give out, that a change had never been decided upon ; and those of the Lords G., that they prevented its taking place. It will give you pleasure to hear, that the King, throughout his Illness, spoke of a friend of yours in terms of the strongest affection, and since his amendment, has expressed his confidence in that person, and his satisfaction at his conduct, in a manner that is perfectly gratifying. * * * All hands must be mustered on the day of Whitbread's attack." * When the oaths required by the Regency Act were adminis tered to the Prince Regent. 1810, LORD SIDMOUTH, 37 A few days afterwards, he informed his brother that " Mr, Whitbread, on Mr. Bathurst's and his (Mr. Hiley Addington's) account, had obligingly post poned his motion until Monday, the 25th." Writing to the same party on the 19th, Lord Sidmouth re sumed the topic : — " On Saturday, there Is to be a meeting at Yorke's, con sisting of cabinet ministers, actual and ci-devant, with the addition of Bathurst. * * * \ gaw Whitbread yesterday whilst I was walking with the Chancellor*, and thanked him for the readiness with which he had accommodated you and Bathurst. My conversation with Lord Castlereagh yesterday was very satisfactory. He has desired to lead the van, and it is fit on all accounts that he should do so, particularly as he was in the cabinet in 1804. I wish I could send you a brief, but it is impossible to make disclosures on so delicate a subject. Lord Castlereagh is of opinion that the substance even of the minutes of cabinet must not be referred to without authority, which can now only be given by the Prince Eegent." Notwithstanding, however, these restrictions, when the subject was debated, on the 25th of February, Lord Castlereagh's and Mr, Yorke's defence was so triumphant in every respect, that Mr. Bathurst, feel ing he " could not add one word to their statements, did not consider it necessary to speak in Lord Sid mouth's justification." The motion was negatived by more than two to one ; the opponents being 198 over 81 — a majority which strongly indicated the feeling * The Chancellor was speciaUy the object of Mr* Whitbread's censures. Lord Sidmouth was of opinion that Lord Eldon rather invited the unmerited attacks he so often sustained, by the sensi tiveness he exhibited under them. " I am like a thing that is raw," he once said to Lord Sidmouth. " Why am I thus singled out ? " •" First," his Lordship replied, " because you are eminent ; and, se condly, because you are sore." D 3 38 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. of the House, since on every other division relating to the Regency question the numbers were almost equaUy balanced.* The subject next presented for consideration is Lord Sidmouth's biU relating to Protestant dissent ing ministers, a subject which the author approaches with considerable anxiety. The earUest intimation he finds of his Lordship's wish to remedy the preva lent abuses of the statutes the 1st Will. & Mary, c. 18., commonly styled the " Toleration Act," and the 19th George III. c. 44., as regarded the licenses of dissenting teachers, is contained in the foUowing extract from a letter which the Bishop of Gloucester addressed to him on the 24th of May, 1809 : — " You ask for my ideas with respect to Hcenses. As mat ters now are, the case stands thus : — Although the law of the land pronounces a minor to be incompetent for almost every transaction of a civil nature, yet any person, whether minor * Lord Sidmouth has carefully preserved the examinations of the physicians and the minutes of council thereon, amongst the papers relating to these transactions. They contain the fullest and most satisfactory explanation of his Lordship's conduct on both those occasions ; showing that he deserved the highest praise where blame was most imputed ; but as no further suspicion was ever expressed on this subject after the discussion of Mr. Whit bread's motion, and as Lord Eldon's biographer, in his highly suc cessful defence of his Lordship, has at the same time justified Lord Sidmouth, it is thought advisable, amidst the press of other matter, not to introduce those documents. Since, however the parsimonious recompence of the King's physicians has recently been made a subject of accusation against Mr. Addington, in the diary so often corrected in this work, it is desirable to state here that there are vouchers from Dr. Willis and his two sons which show that the remuneration they received was ten thousand pounds. 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH. 39 or not, is competent to be a teacher of religion, if he doth but «ottform to the requisitions of 19 Geo. III. c, 44, A more gross absurdity Is scarce conceivable. Again : in every other appointment, inquiry is made into character ; but a claimant shall be appointed to teach and preach religion without the least antecedent inquiry who he Is or what he is. Can any thing be more inconsistent with propriety ? * * * J think 19 Geo. III. might be amended, and that clauses following such preambles as this might have salutary effect : Whereas it is expedient that public teachers of religion should be of competent age; and whereas the primitive Christians admitted none to be ministers but such as were of known and approved character for good morals. Their licenses should be to a given place. They should not be restrained from moving, but when they went to another congregation, they should take fresh license. It is thus we are compelled to act. * * * I would not, however, push you on hastily. Consult leading men ; unless such would support you, I should not urge you to press the question, * * * It is not enough to talk with us. Much discussion should previously be had with principal men among the Dissenters, If they approved, you would have the popular sense going with you as when you were minister. There must be no force in matters of religion! * * * There is another mode of serving the establishment most essentially, and benefiting mankind most substantially : — ^ Build Churches, and appropriate the area to the poor; and remove the impediments which now deter well-disposed per sons from making the attempt," Lord Sidmouth was then coUecting information to pj-ove the magnitude of the evU, and the obvious ne cessity for some legislative remedy. To this end he moved, in the House of Lords, on the 2d of June, 1809, for returns of licenses to preach, issued in the various dioceses in England and Wales since the year 1780 ; and so important was the subject considered, that it received the warmest encouragement from every peer who spoke on the occasion. Lord Har* D 4 40 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. rowby moved that the returns applied for should commence from the year 1760 instead of 1780, The Archbishop of Canterbury approved both of the mo tion and the amendment. Earl Grosvenor " thought the matter of the highest consequence, and concurred in much of what had fallen from preceding speakers;" and the Lord Chancellor expressed his hope that something might be done to prevent the abuses prac tised under the Toleration Act. Lord Sidmouth, in his speech, had earnestly disclaimed any intention of interfering with that act ; and the consequence of his motion was, that he received a large accession of in formation, fully proving the necessity of some mea sure on the subject. At this period neither panic nor suspicion had arisen; and his Lordship was encouraged to proceed by the arrival of numerous letters from Dissenters as well as Churchmen, strongly lamenting existing evils, and calling for or suggesting remedial measures. Amongst the communications of this na ture, was one from Dr. Barrington, Bishop of Durham, to whom Lord Sidmouth had forwarded an intimation that he should like to be favoured with his sentiments ' on the subject. The letter is dated " Mongewell, 11th July, 1809," and, after expressing the Bishop's warm approbation of the Toleration Act, it proceeds as foUows : — ^ " The framers, however, of that act conceived that the re ligious duties of the respective congregations would never be performed but in places exclusively appropriated to divine service, and by ministers qualified by education, by attested respectability in point of morals, and of a proper age to add weight to their prayers and impression to their instructions. So long as the Toleration Act was thus understood, dissenting 1810, LORD SIDMOUTH, 41 teachers were respected by their own people, and esteemed by the Establishment ; but with modern sectaries the case Is very different. They assemble in barns, in rooms of private houses, or In other buildings of the most improper kind, to hear the wild effusions of a mechanic or a ploughboy, perhaps not more than 15 years of age, destitute of the first rudiments of leam ing, sacred or profane. To remedy these abuses, the following restrictions appear to be necessary :;— First, that no person be allowed to officiate under the age of 21 years, complete, or without such testimonials as to his ability and moral cha racter as the legislature shall determine; and, secondly, that the hcense be confined to a particular congregation, and remain In force no longer than the teacher continues to officiate there," Amongst other documents of this period is a return of 285 licenses taken out at the sessions of the peace for the county of Middlesex, to which is appended a "transcript of eighteen different ways in which the words ' dissenting, minister, teacher, preacher, and gospel,' had been mis-spelt by the appUcants who signed the rolls," * This might have been regarded as * The paper is entitled " An Account of the Number of Per sons who have taken out Licenses as Dissenting Teachers, &c. &c. at the Sessions of the Peace for the County of Middlesex." The following is an accurate transcript of the passage alluded to in the text. "The difierent ways in which the words 'Minister,' ' Teacher,' ' Preacher of the Gospel,' are spelt by many of them, and signed on the Rolls, are as follows : — " Preacher of the Gopel. Preacher of the Gosple. Precher of the Gospel. Precher of the Gospell. Preacher of the Gospell. Preach of the Gospell. Precher of the Gosple. Precher of Gospell. 42 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. a sohtary instance, if unfortunately Lord Sidmouth's present appeal to the various dioceses had not brought to light several others equally lamentable and humi liating. From these, two have been selected, the first of which was pubUshed at the time by Doctor Luke Booker, rector of Sedstone, Herefordshire, in a pamphlet bearing the title of "An Address to the Imperial Legislature," and describes a circumstance which had recently occurred at the quarter sessions at Staf ford : — " The magistrates assembled, having received some previous intimation that a man who could neither read nor write meant to apply for a licence to become a religious teacher ; and being desirous of learning whether what had been told them con cerning the Ignorance of the applicant was true, the chairman bade him take a pen and sign his name. To this he replied, ' I don't come here to write : I have no business to sign any thing.' ' No ? ' said the magistrate ; ' read the clause in this Act of Parliament, and then you will see whether you are required to sign your name or not : please to read out.' ' I don't come here,' was the reply, ' either to read or write.' ' Pray,' said the magistrate, ' can you write ? ' 'I am not ashamed to say,' repUed he, ' that I can't,' ' Can you read ?' ' 'No,' ' Why, surely, it is very strange that you, who can neither read nor write, should presume to take upon yourself Miniester of the Gospel. Preacher of the Ghosper. Preacher of teacher the Gospel Bappist. Preeacher of the Gospel. Teacher of the Gospell of Jesus Christ. A discenting teacher. Desenting teacher. Decenting teacher. Prashr of the GosepU. Preicher of the Gospel." 1810. LORD SIDMOUTH. 43 the important office of a religious teacher, when you are not able to peruse the Bible, which Is the fountain of religion.' To this pointed reproof, he replied, ' If you don't know what inspiration is, I do, for I have felt It.' He then threw down Ills sixpence, took up his hcence, and went his way to preach the gospel winch he could not read," The other statement proceeded from Mr. Sparrow, chairman of the general quarter sessions for the county of Stafford, and described what had occurred at the recent sessions. " Fifteen men," he observed, " of whom nine were journeymen potters, presented themselves, and required to take the usual oaths to qualify themselves for Methodist preachers. On ex amining them separately whether they were teachers of any congregation, ten of the fifteen answered in the negative. On inquiring further whether they had been educated for the ministry, and where they received their instruction, they individuaUy answered, 'From God and the Holy Ghost.' When asked whether they could read, they said they could read the Bible, but they did not consider school education requisite ; they were qualified by the Holy Spirit. These ten were rejected," whether legally so, Mr. Sparrow strongly, and, it is believed, correctly doubted.* " It was, * To show that Mr. Sparrow's doubts were well founded, the reader is referred to the case of Rex against the Justices of Derbyshire, Blackstone's Reports, p. 606., in which the Court of King's Bench appears to have decided that the duty of justices of the peace at quarter sessions in administering the oaths to Dis senters, and registering their places of worship, was ministerial only. Yet from the correspondence which took place relative to this bill, and the returns mentioned in the text, there can be no doubt that many persons drew a distinction between the second and eighth sections of the Toleration Act — the word "required" being used in the one, and the word " authorised " in the other — 44 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. indeed, lamentable," as that gentleman observed in conclusion, " that a. set of such low iUiterate fanatics should be aUowed to disturb the order of society, and delude the weak and unwary." Truly this was a perversion of the Gospel." Nor Avas the dissemination of doctrinal errors the only evil resulting from such abuses of toleration ; for the tes timony was almost universal to the fact that evil- disposed persons took advantage of licenses obtained under the act, to instU contempt for the religious and civil institutions of the country, and to sow the seeds of discontent and sedition. Evidence to this effect was forwarded from numerous quarters, especially from Bath, by Archdeacon Daubeny ; Swaff ham, by Chancellor Yonge ; and Ashford, by the Rev. John Nance ; the latter of whom wrote as follows in Feb ruary, 1810: — "I beg to apprise Lord Sidmouth that the Methodist preachers do not confine their exertions to the propagation of their own opinions, but are employed in defeating the labours of the re gular clergy. They uniformly tell the children whom we catechise, and their parents, that the Church Ca techism is (in their coarse language) a heap of non sense, and many of them affirm it is criminal to have a Common Prayer Book in their houses." Another instance is supplied by Dr. Booker, who, in his " Ad dress" already referred to, cites a case "in his own and that difficulties were sometimes thrown in the way of persons desirous to qualify as dissenting ministers. The provisions, there fore, of Lord Sidmouth's bill, which would have removed the doubts therein recited to have arisen as to the description of persons to whom the provisions of the Toleration Act and the act of 19 Geo. III. c. 44. applied, were intended to confer a con siderable benefit on Dissenters. 1810, LORD SIDMOUTH, 45 neighbourhood, where one of these teachers told his hearers that ' all the knowledge of the clergy was only bought learning, whereas his knowledge was inspired.' These were his words ; and one of his hearers, a fe male, told the Rector, who went to reason with her, that ' she as firmly believed the man was inspired as that the first apostles were inspired ; and that it was her duty to pay the same attention to what he said as to their writings,'" To these and similar facts, which fully proved the necessity of rescuing, if possible, Lord Somers's celebrated measure for the protection of religious Hberty from the abuses which had grown out of it, confirmation was given by the returns from the various dioceses, which poured in during the year 1810, It was Lord Sidmouth's original intention to have made a motion on the subject in that session, but on maturer deliberation he postponed the step until the following year. On announcing this to the House, he took occasion distinctly to state, " that in the measure he purposed to introduce, he meant nothing hostile to the Dissenters. He considered the Tolera tion Act as the palladium of religious liberty, and had not the slightest intention of proposing any infringe ment of it." Here the question rested until the session of 1811, when Lord Sidmouth fulfiUed his intention of bring ing it forward.' His Lordship's earliest mention of the subject was in a letter addressed to his brother on the 20th of April, by which time slight indications of the approaching storm of opposition began to pre sent themselves : — "I am very busy," he says, " at present upon my biU, On Monday se'nnight my notice will be given for the Monday foUowing, This morning 46 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX,^ I had a meeting with Dr. Coke, the head of the Wesr leyan Methodists, and have completely satisfied him. His apprehensions are, converted into zealous appro bation." * Lord Sidmouth, during the. preparation of his biU, took every opportunity of consulting tha leading* par ties in the government, the Chxirch, and amongst the Dissenters ; and he certainly considered that he had. received their approbation of it to a much greater extent than, in the result, proved to be the case. That he had strong grounds for the statement respect ing Dr, Coke contained in the. foregoing extract, is- shown by the following passages selected from a let ter which he received three days afterwards from that reverend gentleman : — « My Lord, No. 14. City Road, April 23d, 1811. " I recommend to your Lordship John Wilson, Esq., Islington, as the most proper person to give your Lordship information in respect to the society and congregations in London late in connexion with Mr. George Whitfield. * * * I have been maturely considering the nature of the proba tionary licenses which your Lordship spoke of when I had the * Dr. Coke had received priest's orders in the Church of Eng land, and on the establishment of episcopacy in India in 1813, he wrote to Lord Liverpool to offer himself as the first bishop, and engaged " to return most fully and faithfully into the bosom of the Established Church, to do every thing in his power to promote its interests, and to submit to all such restrictions in the fulfilment of his office as the government and the bench of bishops at home should think necessary." (See his letter of April 14th, 1813, to Mr. Wilberforce.) In the same letter he observed : — "I have reason to believe Lord Eldon has an esteem for me. Lord Sid mouth, I do think, loves me." It will appear in the sequel that ' his Lordship was too sanguine in his expectation that he had re moved tlie. Doctor's, objections. 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH, 47 honour of an interview with you. The plan of a year's pro bation would be quite sufficient for the Dissenters, as they have academies for the previous instruction of those who are to be called to the ministry. But we have no such academies. * * * As we believe that the Unitarian sentiments- and doctrines were introduced among the Dissenters by their means, and as we have no regular confession of faith (the thiiity-nine Articles of the Established Church excepted), we should be in greater danger of fatal errors than the Dissenters if we had academies like them. Our local preachers, there fore, begin to exercise their talents at a low state of Improve ment, so that it is highly expedient that their probationary license should be for two years. This would do perfectly well,. and a less time than this would do considerable injury to Mr. Wesley's connexion ; whilst, on the other hand. It would be of little consequence to the Dissenters whether it were one year or two : and I am confident, my Lord, from the love of religion and morality which you discovered when I was in dulged with an interview, that you will lengthen out the pro bation to two years, if you view the subject as I do." * The writer went on to describe the injury which the Taill would inflict on the " itinerant plan of the Methodists, if it were to proceed so far as to pre vent the licensing of rooms in private houses as places of worship," and concluded with an offer to wait upon Lord Sidmouth again on this momentous business, if his Lordship would appoint the time for another interview. Thus encouraged and advised. Lord Sidmouth pro- * It is a. circumstance which tends to show the impossibility of reconciling the various descriptions of Dissenters to the acceptance of any measure intended for their general benefit, that, shortly after Dr. Coke had thus pressed for an extension of the period of probation, Mr. Belsham, an Unitarian writer, published " A Letter to Lord Sidmouth," in which he stated that the " whole clause relating to probationers had excited greater alarm and dislike than any other provision of the bill." 4 8 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. ceeded with his biU, which it appears, from the fol lowing note addressed to his brother on the 5th of May, was completed by that day : — " The near ap proach of Thursday rather disturbs me, as I am. not quite weU, and have had no leisure since I came to town. The biU, however, is drawn, and I think wiU do. I cannot anticipate the result. Many wiU think that a stronger measure is necessary, and some that matters should remain as they are, I have conversed with the Archbishop, the Bishops of London, Dur ham, Ely, Carlisle, and Salisbury, and with Lords Eldon, Redesdale, Ellenborough, Erskine, &c, &c., and with the Speaker, Sir William Scott, Hatsell, and Bond. God send me a good deliverance ! " On the 9 th of May, " before he went to the place of execution," he sent a parting line to his brother, "What the result wiU be," he proceeded to say, "is uncertain. I know not whether I am to be supported or opposed by the phalanx on either side, or let down easy by both. From my communications with Dis senters, I should think the measure in itself will be weU taken by them ; but they fear it wiU open the door to something more. I must say, however, that I have, as yet, had great reason to be satisfied with their conduct in all the communications which have taken place between us." But his Lordship's motives and feelings on present ing his bill to the House of Peers are more fully shown in a manuscript pamphlet of more than forty pages, written and evidently composed by himself, which has been discovered amongst the papers relating to this subject. It purports to be an answer to Mr. Belsham's letter to his Lordship, recently referred -1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 49 to ; and although it was not published, it bears traces of much elaborate revision ; and therefore must un doubtedly be regarded as expressing Lord Sid mouth's deliberate opinions on the question. To this valuable document, therefore, recourse will now be had, in explaining his Lordship's views. As regards the introduction of the bUl, after reciting various passages from Mr. Belsham's letter*, the MS. pro ceeds as follows : — " On the expediency of parliamentary interference, we have here the opinion of an earnest Dissenter, and on this point we certainly never met with any diversity of sentiments amongst the members of the Church of England. Previous to the introduction of his bill. Lord Sidmouth, in two succeeding sessions, directed the attention of the House of Lords to the subject of It, by moving for Information of which It was ma terial that parliament should be possessed. On each of those occasions he declared, that he felt as strongly as any one what was due to the right of private judgment in matters of religious * Of these extracts the following are the most striking : — " Mr. Belsham admits, p. 4., that ' for an ignorant booby, who can neither read nor write, to demand to qualify as a dissenting minister, and for such a man to assume the office of a Christian teacher, is an insult upon common sense and common decency;' and he adds, in p. 8., ' nothing truly can be more unbecoming than that nonsense and impiety should be spoken in the name of the God of truth.' In prevention, indeed, of such evils, Mr. Belsham deprecates par liamentary interference, but he declares it to be necessary on other accounts. ' It has been asked,' he says, * why did your Lordship disturl? what was previously at rest ? ' In reply to this, I, my Lord, for one, say that there was sufficient reason for proposing some amendment in the law relating to the liberty of religious worship. It was high time that the law should be understood. It is not right that what is law in one county should not be law in another : surely, therefore, it could not be improper for your Lordship to come forward and, in your legislative capacity, to propose arrange ments to put a stop to this strange and growing anomaly.' " VOL. III. E 50 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. faith, and to the freedom of pubhc worship ; that his object was, not to alter, but, by suppression of abuses, to carry into effect the existing laws of toleration, and even to extend the limits of toleration itself; that, so far from being actuated by a spirit of hostility to Dissenters, he should propose nothing of which he should not be desirous if he was a conscientious Dis senter himself; that he therefore hoped for the support of all persons of that description, as, whatever might be the dif ferences of opinion on points of doctrine and discipline between them and the members of the Church of England, all had an equal interest and an equal duty in upholding the reverence due to religion. On the 9th of May," the MS. proceeds, " Lord Sidmouth presented to the House of Lords a biU, which, in its provisions, was strictly conformable with the above declarations. It was previously approved of by the heads of the church, by the leading members of the government, and by persons of respectability amongst the Dissenters, and par ticularly by that class of separatists to whom the new regula tions which it proposed to enact particularly applied. The purposes of It are thus candidly described by Mr. Belsham : — ' The bill has been much misunderstood and greatly misrepre sented. Your Lordship's design was to exclude from the Christian ministry the Ignorant and the vicious ; to extend the benefits of legal toleration to many respectable persons who are now protected only by connivance ; to render the law intelligible and uniform ; and to make it imperative upon the magistrate in the cases to which the statute was intended to apply.'"* Such were the grounds on which Lord Sidmouth, * There is no title-page to the copy of Mr. Belsham's " Letter to Lord Sidmouth," now lying before the author. It is dated, "Hackney, June 19th, 1811," and was printed by " H. Bryer, Bridge Street, Blackfriars." The presentation copy was accom panied by the following note : — " Mr. Belsham requests that Lord Viscount Sidmouth will have the goodness to accept a humble attempt to which Mr. B. was impelled by a sense of honour and duty to do justice to his Lordship's motives and intentions in bringing forward his late measure relating to dissenting ministers, and likewise to the nature and tendency of the measure itself." ^^11- LORD SIDMOUTH. ,51 not without anxiety, moved the first reading of his bill, in a speech which was afterwards much com mended both for its ability and moderation. Lord HoUand made several objections to it; but on the whole, as Lord Sidmouth told his brother two days afterwards, " the business went off as well as he ex pected, and he began to hope that he should effect his object. The attendance of bishops in the House, and of dissenting ministers below the bar, was very great. It is," he added, "the most laborious, though not the most attractive concern in which I have ever been engaged; but I trust that goodwill arise from it." Scarcely, however, had the bUl appeared, when it occasioned a general excitement amongst the Dis senters.* The earliest intimation which Lord Sid mouth received of the rising storm was from Mr. Thompson, M.P., a member of the Methodist con nexion, who, on the 14th of May, "requested per mission to wait on his Lordship, accompanied by a deputation," and added, that he " had scarcely ever inown any measure which had excited so universal alarm in so short a period." The purposes for which this deputation was employed may be inferred from the following passages in two letters which Lord Sid mouth received on the 14th and 15th of May from Dr. Adam Clarke, who, at the interview alluded to in the former one, had appeared, as his Lordship be lieved, perfectly satisfied with the biU. It seems, however, from the learned doctor's account, that it was not the ministers, but the lay members of the Methodist connexion, who first sounded the alarm, and * To quote the words of Mr. Belsham's letter, " it called forth the morbid sensibility of the whole body.'' E 2 52 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. by calUng a general committee, prevented the beneficial objects of the bill from being properly explained and understood. It was impossible, indeed, but that men like Dr. Clarke and Dr. Coke, who would have been ornaments to any church in any era, must have re joiced at the introduction of just and reasonable regulations tending to render their fellow-preachers more respectable and select, and to rescue their humbler brethren from instructors perhaps not less ignorant than themselves. Unfortunately, Dr. Clarke's letters extend to such a length, that it is only possible to extract from them a few passages comprehending the reasons he assigned for this unexpected opposition of the Wesleyan body : — " My Lord, Harpur Street, May 14th, 1811. " Your Lordship's condescension in favouring me, in con junction with Dr. Coke, with so full an opportunity to explain a number of particulars relating to that religious people to whom I have the happiness to belong, induces me thus further to trouble your Lordship on the subject of the bill now before the Lords. " Our general committee met on It this morning, and they were decidedly of opinion that its operation would be very injurious. I explained to them your Lordship's friendly de signs and good-will towards us, and while they acknowledged this with becoming gratitude, the committee, and especially the lay members of it, who feel much alive to our civil inter ests, stated insurmountable difficulties which would arise to ms through the operation of the bill, if it should pass into a law. They have, therefore, drawn up certain resolutions on the subject, which they will transmit to your Lordship with all convenient speed. " I plainly perceive, from the alarm that is excited among Dissenters, that however laudable your Lordship's designs are towards the respectability of the Christian ministry and the interests of true religion, that the subject of toleration Is 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 53 so delicate that It can scarcely be touched without producing a general ferment. I have, indeed, felt considerable distress on this ground, knowing, as I do, your Lordship's benevolent Intentions. * * * For my own part, I must state, that the great solicitude which your Lordship has expressed for true religion, and the becoming manner in which, in your speech be fore the Lords, you reprobated the spirit of intolerance, does you the utmost credit ; and I feel highly gratified with the full conviction of the purity of your motives, and the importance of the object which your Lordship keeps so steadily in view." The Doctor then stated, that Methodist preachers could not comply with the clause of the bUl which required all ministers to be licensed, because " they could not propose themselves as dissenting ministers. My Lord," he added, " we are not Dissenters, In our doctrine, both religious and political, we are the same as the Established Church ; in our form of worship, we approach as near as we possibly can, the pecuhar circumstances of our itinerancy considered." Arguing upon the supposition, that Lord Sid mouth's bill contracted the " broad interpretation generally given to the Toleration Act, by which their teachers had obtained licenses &s Methodist preachers," and limited the benefits of that Act to " dissenting ministers, and to none others," Dr. Clarke next pro ceeded to declare that neither he himself, nor many of their " local and itinerant preachers," could con scientiously qualify as dissenting ministers, and must, therefore, under the bill, remain subject to penalties. The learned Doctor then assumes credit, on behalf of the society, for having " done the state some service during the epidemic frenzy of the revolu tionary fever, when the Methodist preachers were at £ 3 54 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX"' their post proclaiming, ' Fear God, honour the King, and meddle not with them that are given to change.' They claimed nothing from the state, however, on that account; but desired only protection, and that no longer than they demeaned themselves as peace able and loyal subjects." Dr. Clarke's second letter, dated May 15th, was written " in confidence ; " and, as an individual wholly unconnected in any ofiicial way with the question raised on Lord Sidmouth's bill, to acknow ledge, with gratitude, the obligations which religious people, not of the Establishment, were under to his Lordship's great goodrwill. He deeply regretted the injudicious appeals which had been made to the feel ings of the religious public ; — appeals not made by them, for they had repeatedly declined to join in them. As far as he could judge, religious people were more afraid of the Conventicle Act than of his Lordship's bill ; lest the former, now considered to be asleep, should be awakened by the latter. " Leaving, however," he proceeds, " this most uncom fortable subject, I have now only one favour to request of your Lordship, which is, that you will permit me, as the highest proof I can give of the ¦great respect I feel for you, to present your Lordship with a copy of my notes on the Book of Genesis, in which, I flatter myself, your Lordship will find the pure doctrines of the Church of England and the sound principles of the British constitution illustrated and defended. The general preface, which gives a systematic account of commen tators both ancient and modern, Jewish and Christian, Ca tholic and Protestant, as well as a history of the present authorised Version, and the compiling and improvement of our liturgy, will amuse your Lordship in some vacant hour, though it cannot pretend to bring any thing new to your notice. This has been written some days. I hesitated at 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 55 first ; but at length my respect— may I be permitted to say, affection — for your Lordship has induced me to send it with the accompanying volume. I feel for your Lordship ; I feel for my people ; and I feel for the pubhc tranquiUIty. May God direct your Lordship what to do in the present measure ! To put it off for a while would allay the present ferment, which seems to acquire strength by going. I am, more than I can express, your Lordship's much obhged, grateful, and humble servant, « A. Clarke." The symptoms of the times had now become un equivocal ; and on the 16th Lord Sidmouth wrote to " assure his brother that he was still in the land of the living, though continually harassed with letters, pelted at by resolutions, and annoyed by deputations. He should, however, persevere. The prevailing opinion," he added, " as far as he could judge, was strongly in favour ofthe measure he had proposed, and the uproar that had commenced, and would increase, would check those who thought that more should be attempted." Petitions were now pouring in from various quarters. This, however, was but the beginning of evUs, and his Lordship quickly found that neither explanation nor argument could allay the panic which, as Dr, Clarke complained, " had been so hastily and injudiciously raised." " Such," Mr. Belsham observed, " was the extraordi nary unanimity of persons most hostile to each other in their religious sentiments, in their efforts to procure the rejection of the measure at even the earliest stage, that one would suppose, instead of professing to ex tend the benefits of legal toleration, that it was a bill of pains and penalties, intended to call into action F. 4 56 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. the dormant energies of the penal laws." This candid admission, however, did not prevent the last- named gentleman from conveying to his Lordship " the sentiments of his brethren, the ministers of the three denominations, who, at a very fuU meeting on the 16th of May, had unanimously agreed to a peti tion against the bill, which was to be presented to the House on the following day." This object he effected on the 16th and 19th of May, by means of two letters, from which, as they rival in length those of Dr. Clarke, only a few passages can be extracted. ^' On referring to the petition," Mr. Belsham re marks, " your Lordship will see that the objections urged partly refer to the restrictions as to the objects to whom the toleration is to extend, and partly to the neiv modes of obtaining certificates, which are regarded as unnecessarily burdensome." These last objections, Mr. Belsham admitted, might be easily mitigated, if not .wholly superseded, by the adoption of some such alterations as had been suggested in the conversation with which he had lately been favoured by Lord Sid- tpiouth.* The other objection respecting the restric- * It appears from the copy of the bill used by Lord Sidmouth, that he altered the clause before the debate on the second reading, by inserting the words " for any three or more dissenting ministers duly qualified according to law, and of the same sect and per suasion as the person applying, or," before the original words, " for any six or more substantial and reputable householders." The same remark, that the general terms "substantial and re putable" might be cavilled at by unwilling magistrates, had also been made by Dr. Adam Clarke. To these objections Mr. Belsham, in his printed letter, added another, too frivolous to have emanated from such a man, namely, that it would occasion trouble to find a witness to attest to the signatures of the householders — as if the act of constituting a man a spiritual instructor of others for hfe. 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 57 tions, Mr. Belsham acknowledged to be insurmount able, and thereby placed himself directly at issue with Lord Sidmouth, the chief, indeed the real object of whose bill was, to prevent incompetent persons — at least, without exhibiting some testimonial besides their own, as to moral and intellectual fitness — from assuming the awful responsibility of directing the eternal interests of their fellow-creatures. Mr. Bel sham " fully agreed with his Lordship that it was an inexcusable thing, and a disgrace to the Christian ministry, that ignorant, illiterate, and unqualified persons should intrude into the sacred office ; but to subject these misguided persons to the severity of the law," for exercising the office of preacher without having conformed to the provisions of this biU, " would be, he conceived, a serious restriction of the Toleration Act," and constituted, as he observed after wards in his printed letter, "the fatal original blot in his Lordship's bill."* is not of sufficient importance to justify the imposition of this slight additional exertion. * These words, be it remembered, expressed not merely Mr. Belsham's own sentiments, but those also ofthe petitioning ministers of the three denominations ; and the obvious interpretation of them is, that whilst the Dissenters were willing to accept any relaxation or modification of the existing law in their favour that might be con templated in Lord Sidmouth's bill, they would not in return submit to the slightest restriction whatever in the provisions of the Toleration Act, in order to promote the grand object of the mea sure (that object which Mr. Belsham himself pronounced to be desirable), namely, " excluding the ignorant and the vicious from the Christian ministry." Mr. Belsham, in his correspondence, studiously kept out of sight the very obvious distinction between a man's privately entertaining whatever opinions on religious subjects he pleases, which is a right that should not be interfered with, and his openly teaching such opinions, an act which may be 58 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. Mr. Belsham next proceeded to show how the mea sure " might be so modified as to be most gratefully received by the Dissenters at large;" but as his plan injurious to the public peace or the public morals, and is, therefore, an act properly subject to the interference of the state. When de fending, in his "Letter to Lord Sidmouth," (p. 19.) the fallacy that " every man may preach or teach without molestation," Mr. Bel sham actually had recourse to such absurdity as this : — " Let the miserable fanatic who fancies that he is inwardly called to reform the world, pour out his pious nonsense. His raving is harmless. He will quickly find that he can get no hearers, and after having tried his gifts till he is tired, honest John will return to his bodkin or his awl, perhaps convinced that he has mistaken his profession, or more probably, denouncing the vengeance of Heaven upon those who refuse to listen to so divine a teacher." There is something truly sorrowful in such mirth as this, when it is considered that the object upon which honest John is here supposed to have tried his gifts unsuccessfully, is the salvation of immortal souls. The welfare of every nation depends on the conduct of its majority. In this country, the majority then consisted, it is feared still con sists, of uninstructed pei-sons. Honest John, therefore, however ignorant or fanatical, could scarcely fail of finding others as ignorant and fanatical as himself. These would readily become his hearers. He would easily impregnate them with his senti ments, and bend them to his purposes. How, then, could it be said that "his ravings were harmless?'"'^ "In their resolutions," wrote Bishop Huntingford on the 19th of May, " the deputies of Protestant Dissenters assert their right to attend any preacher they please. Certainly. But it does not thence follow that every person has a right to become a preacher. The hearer and the teacher stand in two distinct situations. The former passes on in silence, the latter directs public attention to that of which the civil magis trate may take cognisance by allowing, if constitutionally right, and disallowing, if constitutionally wrong. From his avowed publicity, therefore, he is amenable to public restriction. If the preacher were not subject to such control, society could not exist." * This is clearly proved by the numbers who followed Joanna Southcott, and, more recently, the insane impostor, Thoms, who stirred up such multitudes in Kent. 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH, 59 consisted in increasing the immunities already con ferred upon Dissenters by former acts, and entirely excluded the principle of restraining incompetent preachers, which was Lord Sidmouth's inducement for resorting to legislation at all, it does not appear ne cessary to make further extracts from his correspond ence, the remainder of which was little more than a repetition of his former arguments. If Lord Sidmouth had acquiesced in the propriety of leaving the evil of ignorant and vicious teachers to cure itself, as suggested by Mr. Belsham, there would in reality have been no occasion for any bill what ever. For Mr. Belsham's favourite object of making the law uniform, by a declaratory act, reconciling a supposed inconsistency in the second and eighth clauses, respecting the words " required and em powered," was rendered unnecessary by the decision of the court of King's Bench, already referred to in a note. WhUst thus sustaining the attack of the three de nominations. Lord Sidmouth encountered a fresh and most unexpected opposition from his old friend Mr. Wilberforce, who apprehended that' the operation of the bill would prevent certain clergymen from giving lectures and holding prayer meetings in private houses instead of their churches. It is stated in his " Life" that " he feared lest the bill should cripple the pastoral instructions of the clergy, and that he enforced on Lord Sidmouth, that he must provide that members of the Church of England might meet together for devotional exercises without declaring themselves Dissenters." Surely the churchmanship of the persons here alluded to by Mr. Wilberforce must, even in his 60 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. own opinion, have hung very loosely about them, since he tvdce intimates his fears, that " if the bill should pass, they would go off to the Methodists," that bill having for its object to elevate the moral and re ligious standard of dissenting ministers — a result in which every conscientious friend of the Church ought heartily to rejoice. A ridiculous report afterwards arose, which annoyed Mr. Wilberforce more than it need have done, that he was of council to Lord Sidmouth in promoting this measure. This gave umbrage to the Methodists, who, as his " Life" informs us*, "had been such zealous friends to him in the contest of 1807." Mr. Wilberforce, therefore, on the 17th of August, 1811, addressed a letter, or rather a private pamphlet, of not less than six-and-twenty pages, to Lord Sidmouth, in which he expressed, with much earnestness, his great respect for the Methodists, and requested his Lordship to contradict the report, which he readily did in a manner that is declared by Mr. Wilberforce's sons to have been perfectly satis factory. Considering Lord Sidmouth's friendly in tentions towards the Wesleyans, and the footing on which he stood with the great ornaments of their con nexion. Dr. Adam Clarke and Dr. Coke — the former of whom regarded him with affection, and the latter with respect, as long as they lived — he must have- felt curious to learn the reason why that body took such umbrage at Mr. Wilberforce's rumoured co operation with him, and why, also, his old friend should have shown such extreme anxiety to disavow the alliance. His Lordship must also have been much * Vol. iii. p. 511. 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 61 Struck by the following passage in Mr. Wilberforce's letter, explaining the reason why Mr. Pitt had not, years before, removed all occasion for the present biU. " You cannot but recoUect — because I know that Pitt was then in the habit of consulting with you on all questions of Importance — that (I think about the year 1796 or 1797) he took up a measure, which had been first devised by Mr. M. A. Taylor, for altering the Toleration Act. His biU, by the way, went vastly further than yours. It would have absolutely prohibited all itinerancy, and the peculiar system of the Methodists in having a rota of ministers. I had several discussions, and. In particular, one long tite-a-tite (at supper in Downing Street) with him on the subject; and though the biU was actually drawn, and though It was strongly pressed, in defiance of all its consequences, by one person who, with reason, had great influence over his mind, I at length prevailed with him to pause ; and that ended in his not carrying on the measure. Nothing appearing In pubhc, the whole died away. I need not say that I never was my self active in preserving the memory of it, or in talking of my share in the transaction." A subsequent note in Avhich Mr. Wilberforce adroitly suggested to Lord Sidmouth the withdrawing the bill, by " offering to convey the welcome intelligence to his friends," was quickly followed by one to the same effect from Mr. Perceval, who did not hesitate "to own himself seriously alarmed." To this his Lordship replied. May 20th, "that he could not consent to withdraw the bill, nor could he avoid pressing it, un less he should be compeUed to think that it could not be carried. He trusted government would not be influenced by a partial clamour, excited by misrepre sentation, which he was satisfied had for its object a manifestation of influence and power, rather than the 62 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. prevention of the measure from any serious dread of its consequences." Scarcely had Lord Sidmouth replied to the pre ceding communication, when' another, from Lord Liverpool, was placed in his hands : — " My dear Lord, Charterhouse, May 20tli, 1811. " I will certainly meet you at Perceval's to-morrow at twelve. I confess I am much disposed to agree with him on the measure respecting the Dissenters. If it could be carried with their consent or acquiescence I should see no objection ; but I doubt whether it is tanti, considering the flame which appears to be arising upon the occasion. The consideration, however, which weighs most upon my mind Is the follow ing : — The Dissenters, as a body, have brought forward no claims, and have engaged in no political controversy with the establishments of the country for the last fifteen years. We have hitherto felt the advantage of this conduct in all our contests with the Catholics ; and I own I am apprehensive that, if the measure in question Is to be persevered In, we may unite the Catholics and all other Dissenters in the same cause. " I am yours, &c. &c. Liverpool." Lord Sidmouth replied to this letter in terms cor responding with those which he employed in his answer to Mr. Perceval on the same day. His inter view with these two leaders of the government took place on the 21st; but occasioned no change in his resolution. There can be little doubt that the determination which his Lordship manifested on this occasion resulted from an honourable feeling of seK-respect. His real sentiments and intentions having been greatly misunderstood and misrepresented, he re solved, if possible, to make them fully known. Could he, at an earlier period, have foreseen the opposi- 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 63 tion which his measure was destined to encounter, he probably would not have proposed it ; but being strongly convinced of its propriety, and having re ceived, in the first instance, so much encouragement, he would not now, in obedience to a popular outcry, withdraw it at the eleventh hour: and for this de cision he surely deserved to be approved rather than censured. For admitting the force of Lord Liverpool's argument, that the object to be attained was not equivalent to the inconvenience arising from the agi tation and alarm that had been excited, still those ill effects had been already produced, and no further consequences could result from his moving the second reading of the bill, and accompanying that motion with an explanation of the objects which had occa sioned its introduction. This would at least afford an opportunity of removing false impressions respect ing a measure which Mr. Bond observed " had been more misrepresented than almost any other within his memory," and of placing its real character before the public. Such considerations induced his Lordship to persevere in his motion after its fate had, in reality, been decided. Accordingly, on the 21st of May, he proposed the second reading of the bill ; declaring, however, at the same time, that " he would not press its adoption, but having now stated his sentiments, should leave the subject entirely in their Lordships' hands, to dispose of it as to their judgment might seem most proper." His Lordship was followed in the debate by the Archbishop of Canterbury, who " approved of the objects of the bill, as likely to prove highly beneficial to the community at large. StUl, however, as the Dissenters, for whose benefit it was 64 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. intended, and who ought to be the best judges of what would conduce to their own interests, disap proved of it, his Grace considered it to be unwise and impolitic to press it against their inclination and con sent." The coUective opinion of the House coincided with this sentiment, and the motion therefore was negatived vrithout a division. On the day following Lord Sidmouth " availed himself of a few moments of leisure to assure his brother that he was uninjured by the storm which fear, faction, and fanaticism had co-operated to raise." This expression, so unusually energetic for him, de notes ho^y much he was disappointed by the failure of his exertions ; and adds probability to Dr. Valpy's conjecture, that " after having been so surprisingly deserted by those whose rank and situation ought to have induced them to support him, he probably would not be encouraged to hazard another repulse." It was evident, indeed, from what had passed, that he could no longer reasonably expect to benefit religion in the manner he had recently proposed : if, therefore, the domestic affliction which shortly afterwards befell him had not interposed obstacles of another description, he still probably would have refrained from making any further attempt of a similar character, through what might almost have been considered the impossibihty of success. The circumstance which appears to have deceived Lord Sidmouth throughout the transaction, was his having received an impression from his earlier commu nications with leading members amongst the Dissenters, that his measure was more palatable to them than was 1811. . LORD SIDMOUTH. 65 proved, by the result, to be the case.* His Lordship over rated the estimation which the Dissenters at large would attach to the regulation by which more respectability would have been added to the general body of their preachers and teachers, by the exclusion of persons notoriously disqualified to act in those capacities ; and with the exception of this provision, the bill con tained no other boon of sufficient importance to re concile them to the agitation of questions in which, it must be admitted, both their feelings and interests were strongly engaged. Thus ended this fruitless at tempt to alter the law respecting dissenting preachers ; but in the foUowing year, on the motion of Lord Liverpool, the several statutes relating to Dissenters were considerably relaxed. The 52d Geo. III. c. 156., which passed on the 29th of July, 1812, amongst other things, relieved Dissenters in general from taking the oaths and making the declaration required by the Toleration Act, and by the act of the 19th Geo. III. c. 44. Their preachers and teachers, however, might be called upon by a justice of the peace to take the * That he did not adopt this opinion on insufficient grounds is evident from a MS. note which his Lordship has attached to a presentation copy of " A Sermon preached before the Annual Assembly of General Baptists, by John Evans, M.A." The Appendix gives some resolutions, strongly condemnatory of Lord Sidmouth's bUl, and thanking Mr. William Smith, M.P., for his opposition to it, which were voted by a meeting of deputies of the three denominations of Dissenters, over which Mr. William Smith himself presided, on the 28th of May. Under the words, " W. Smith, chairman," his Lordship has written as follows: — "Mr. Smith repeatedly told me that the bill was so reasonable in its principle, and so just and moderate in its provisions, that he could not oppose it. The clause relating to probationers was intro duced at his suggestion," VOL. III. F 66 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. oaths and make the declaration ; but they could not be required to travel more than five mUes from their own homes for that purpose. By the same statute, the Conventicle Act (22d Car.II. c. 1.) and two other acts relating to Quakers and Nonconformists, were repealed. The enacting words of this statute embraced all Protestants (the members of the EstabUshed Church being excepted by a subsequent proviso), and thus removed the objection urged by Dr. Adam Clarke against Lord Sidmouth's bill, but which objection seems equally to apply to the Toleration Act and the 19th Geo. III. A further alteration was made by the act 9th Geo. IV, c. 17., passed the 9th of May, 1828, by which so much of the Corporation and Test Acts (the 13th Car. II. stat. 2. c. 1., and the 25th Car.II. c. 2.) as required the persons therein named to take the sacrament, was repealed, and a declaration sub stituted in lieu thereof. Lord Sidmouth's public services were now arrested by the occurrence of the most overwhelming bereave ment to which a feeling and affectionate disposition can possibly be exposed. Early on the morning of Sunday, June the 23d, it pleased Divine Providence to remove to a happier existence his gentle, pious, and amiable wife ; for nearly thirty years the solace of his domestic hours, the participator in all his joys and sorrows. Her Ladyship's indisposition is first mentioned in the correspondence for the month of April, where she is described as suffering " from rest lessness, languor, and want of appetite ;" but she rallied sufficiently in the following month to remove from Eichmond Park to town, and to resume her inter course with her family and friends; and it was not until 1811- LORD SIDMOUTH. 67 about a fortnight prior to the fatal result that very serious consequences were apprehended. To have " the desire of the eyes thus taken away with a stroke," is, under any circumstances, a most grievous affliction. But Lady Sidmouth possessed all those amiable qualifi cations the loss of which was most calculated to aggra vate the weight of such a calamity to those who were destined to endure it. Although the world admired and lamented her, still it understood her not ; for her meek and retiring graces were best adapted to do mestic life, and it was in the endearing relations of wife, mother, and friend, that her piety and purity, her simplicity and gentleness, her tender and affec tionate disposition, and the delicacy and refinement of her character, corresponding with her unusual per sonal attractions, revealed themselves to the loving and beloved objects of her attachment, and impressed her memory on their hearts in characters which have never been obliterated. As might have been expected from a man of his well-regulated and wisely -balanced disposition. Lord Sidmouth submitted to this dispen sation with a calm and chastened sorrow, and his resignation was strikingly manifested in the letters in which he announced the sad event to his brother and Mr. Bathurst : — " The scene," he observed to the latter, " closed at half-past five this morning, when it pleased a gracious God to take to himself as pure a spirit, as, I belieVe, ever animated a perishable frame. My dear children had the sad comfort and the benefit of being present, and of witnessing a part of the effects and of the reward of a spotless life, in the tranquiUity which attended the close of it. May such be their own latter end ! " p 2 68 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. The utmost consolation that affection could bestow was bountifully imparted on this occasion ; and as the same letters which conveyed the sympathy of friends, confirm also the character which has been given of the deceased, a few extracts from them will here be presented. Foremost in this, as in every duty of Christian charity and benevolence, were the Queen and the Princesses. Unhappily, the King remained in igno rance of an event in which he would have been one of the earliest to sympathise ; but her Majesty gra ciously commanded Colonel Disbrowe to address a letter of inquiry to Lord Sidmouth, which his Lord ship answered by requesting the Colonel " to offer to her Majesty, and also to the Princesses, the assurance of his humble gratitude for the benign consideration which her Majesty had condescended to manifest to his family and himself, under the heavy calamity with which it had pleased God to afflict them." The Duke of Gloucester, also, was so obliging as to convey his sentiments of regret and condolence in the following most gratifying terms : — " The long and sincere friendship that has subsisted between us would naturaUy make me partake in any event that concerns you and yours ; but having had the good fortune to pass so many happy hours in the interior of your family, I must on the present melancholy occasion feel peculiar concern, as / well know the severity of the loss you and your family have sustained." "Alas," wrote the good Bishop of Gloucester, "for the sad event ! In few, very few, have we seen com bined to such a degree all the amiable qualities which adorn the female character ; and no one, in thought 1811. LORD SIDMOUTH. 69 and action, was ever better prepared for the awful change. Thus much, in admiration, esteem, and friendship, I could not forbear expressing. But the sorrow is too deep for many words : your loss is my loss ; your affliction is my affliction." It will easily be imagined that the pen of Mr. Wil-. berforce, ever ready at the call of Christian sympathy, was not inactive at this period of trial and affliction. " Amidst all the anguish you feel," that good man observed, " and in the unfeigned concern which I myself experience, it is a solid comfort to me, and even to your lacerated mind it is the best balm that can be administered, to reflect that she whom you have lost was, as we have every reason to believe, prepared for the awful change. I have often been distressed how to address those I have loved, when they have lost their nearest relatives ; but in this in stance I have no embarrassment. I do believe Lady Sidmouth was a sincere humble Christian, looking to the mercy of God through her Redeemer, as her ground of hope. A purer spirit I have seldom known." The Christian temper in which his Lordship sub mitted to this great bereavement, is indicated in the following letter addressed to Mr. Abbot on the next day after its occurrence : — "I thank you cordially for your truly kind sympathy. There is no refuge but in submission ; and in that refuge there is not only support, but consolation. What may be the effect of this blow it is in vain to anticipate. Amongst them will not be found, I trust, a mistaken or a lan guid sense of my real duties. Of these I have always F 3 70 LIFE OF Chap. XXIX. endeavoured to take a just view, and to act up to it : when I have failed, the error has been in my judg ment. By this principle my conduct will continue to be actuated ; and I am convinced that when you re flect, as I know you kindly will, upon my present situation, we shall not differ about its application." 1312. LORD SIDMOUTH. 71 CHAPTER XXX. 1812, 1813. Lord Sidmouth resumes his Interest in public Affairs. Communicates with Mr. Perceval on the Expiration of the restricted Regency. Accepts the Office of President of the Council. Assassination of Mr. Perceval. Negotia tions for the Formation of a new Administration. Lord Liverpool becomes Premier. Lord Sidmouth accepts the Seals of the Home Department — Difficulties of that Position. Prevalence of Luddism — Origin of the Term. The Claims of the Roman Catholics no longer made a Cabinet Question. Letter from Sir Edward Pellew. Lord Sidmouth takes Measures to suppress Disturbances in Nottinghamshire. Moves Parliament to refer Papers on the Subject to a Secret Committee. Introduces a Bill for the Preservation of the public Peace. Letter from Major Seale. Luddites' Oath. Lord Sidmouth supports the Repeal of the Orders in Council. Letter of Lord Fitzwilliam. War de clared by America. Disturbances at Sheffield. Letter from Colonel Lany. Mistaken Lenity shown by the Judge on former Occasions. General Election. Special Commission recommended by Lord Fitzwilliam. Lord Sidmouth to T. Babington, Esq. and Lord Eldon. Special Commission opened at York. Numerous Convictions. Severe but necessary Retribution — Salutary Effects of this Example, Military Protection diminished. Correspondence with Lord Fitzwilliam and General Maitland. Lord Sidmouth ap pointed Lord High Steward of Westminster. The Catholic Question. Episcopacy in India. Letters from Dr. A. Clarke, Lord Holland, Mr, Rufus King, Mr. Inglis, and Colonel Allan. Promotion of Dr. Howley to the See of London. The domestic affliction which Lord Sidmouth ex perienced did not very long deprive the public of p 4 72 life of Chap. XXX. his services. He struggled against the first shock of his bereavement with a manly and Christian spirit, and sought for consolation in the constant society of his children, with whom, during the autumn, he visited nearly aU his relations. The wound, however, was too severe and recent to be alleviated, even by sympathy and affection ; and when he re turned to Richmond Park in October, he " found the place still fraught with recollections alike unfavour able to composure by day and sleep at night. I feel," he observed to his brother, "that the soul of my worldly happiness is gone, and all I ask and pray for is that tranquillity of mind which may fit me for the discharge of real duties, and the society of those I value. * * * X thank you from the bottom of my heart for your most soothing and considerate letter. The feelings which it breathes have been a cordial to me through my various day, and are now the best that remains to me, that only excepted which nothing earthly gives, or can destroy." His attain ment of the composure which he here desired is manifested in the next letter in the collection, which his Lordship addressed on the 3d of October to Vice- ' Admiral Sir Edward Pellew : — " Under circum stances," he said, " which have proved fatal to my domestic happiness, I have a heartfelt joy in the per suasion that the strength and spirit of this country will, humanly speaking, prove sufficient to enable it to maintain its high station in the world. It is my strong conviction, as it is my earnest wish, that you will have the glory of destroying the enemy's naval force in the Mediterranean. You well know that the 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. „„ perfect confidence of your fleet is attached c , ^ -r ^^^•" . . . ""Ve The reviving interest which his Lordship no-w began to take in public affairs was not unobserved by Mr. Perceval, who, when announcing to him on the 12th of December, that there was " no foundation for the rumours respecting intended changes of the administration," availed himself of the occasion to consult his Lordship respecting the " arrangements necessary previous to the expiration of the restricted regency." This mark of confidence was followed, upon the 23d of December, by the communication of the whole plan for the final settlement of the Regency question, which Lord Sidmouth returned on the fol lowing day, accompanied by a note expressing his high approbation " of the firm and temperate manner in which Mr. Perceval had conducted that most delicate and difficult business." The nature of this intercourse plainly intimated what were the minister's intentions, provided his own official existence should be pro longed. It was obvious, however, that no permanent arrangements could be made until after the approach ing extension of the Regent's authority, when it was generally supposed that his Royal Highness would dismiss his present ministers, and place the govern ment in the hands of the Whig party. No such change, however, took place ; and Mr. Perceval, who remained at the head of the administration, imme diately commenced his arrangements for the admission of Lord Sidmouth into the cabinet. The negotiation was completed without difficulty ; for his Lordship, as Mr. Le Mesurier observed to, him, " did not want so much of guard with this administration as with the y2 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. his se^ He would be associated with those who had of id under him when prime minister. He must therefore have weight with them, and had no occa sion to apprehend the treatment which he had met with in 1805." Lord Sidmouth received several letters from Mr. Perceval during the progress of the arrangement, which, with a single exception, are now only interest ing as tending to show the confidence which prevailed between the parties. The excepted topic was the liberal opinions entertained by Lord Sidmouth re specting the licensing system ; on which subject his Lordship expressed himself to Mr. Perceval, on the 15th of March, in the following terms : — " P. S. On the American question I will not detain your messenger for the purpose of saying more than that I am satisfied that the opening of the ports of America ought to be the condition of the renunciation of our commerce, by licences, with the blockaded ports of the Continent." In his reply, which was written on the same day, Mr. Perceval thus notices this important topic : — £t » * * Lord Castlereagh has found so much employ ment of a very pressing nature In his new office, that we have not yet been able to bring the American question on, for the purpose of settling our minds on the point which you feel so anxious about — I mean the opening the French blockade by licences. I trust, however, that a very few days now will give us a complete opportunity of bringing that point to a distinct settlement. In the mean time Lord Bathurst teUs me, that the applications on the part of France for licences are multiplying. If in this state — not of aban doning, as It has been mistakenly supposed, the system of our orders In council, but of demonstrating their efficiency and accomplishing their object — we can bring ourselves to oifer 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. n to America the renunciation of our licences, undoubu i -i shall be. making a greater sacrifice for accommodation thc.^ these licences had never been granted." The letter with which Mr. Perceval concluded thi negotiation awakens a melancholy interest, as bein the last which Lord Sidmouth ever received from tha truly estimable and lamented statesman : — " My dear Lord, Downing Street, April 7th, 1812. " There will be a council to-morrow at Carlton House £ two o'clock, when, if you will attend, you may be called t the president's chair. " I enclose you a card for a cabinet dinner on that day. hope you will be able to attend, as I wish much to tat advantage of that meeting to settle our views with regard 1 the Dissenters' intended application to parliament. I shoul be glad to have the opportunity of some previous conversi tion with you upon the point; and if, therefore, you coul call on me about one o'clock to-morrow, previous to tt council, we might talk over this subject. * * * jf should be inconvenient for you to meet at dinner to-morrov we must have a cabinet upon the subject the next morning But cabinets on the day of an expected long debate are vex inconvenient. I am, my dear Lord, yours most truly, " Sp^. Perceval Scarcely had Lord Sidmouth, after remaining fiv years in retirement, returned to the cabinet in th honourable position of President of the Council, whe the earthly career of the friend by whom he had bee recommended to the Regent for that situation, wa cut short by the hand of an assassin. On the evenin of the 1 Ith of May, just as his Lordship had returnee as usual, to Richmond Park after the labours of h: office, a messenger hastily recalled him to presid at the council, summoned for the examination ( Bellineham, the perpetrator of that horrible act. 72 LIFE OF Chap. XXX, his se'<5nally. Lord Sidmouth took no part in the pro of oted negotiations for the re- construction of the go vernment which followed Mr. Perceval's death. His sentiments at that conjuncture may best be inferred from the following letters to his brother ; by which ' it appears that, as a member of the cabint ^W coincided in the views taken by his coUeagu " My dear Hiley, Charles Street, May 15t. " The effects of the late act of atrocity have n. <-i almost impossible for me to write till this moment. !N^ ^ I am confident, was there produced upon the inhabitants,?o all classes, in the metropolis such an impression of horrox shame, grief, and Indignation. * * * As to other points, I can only say that it is the wish of the Prince Regent to retain all his present servants, and that they will not desert him. They are perfectly united, and, I have no doubt, will act cordially together. My belief is, that Lord Liverpool will be at the head of the Treasury. Whether any, and what, auxiliary strength may be resorted to is uncertain. My determination is, as it has ever been, to make any sacrifice, but that of personal honour, by which an adequate degree of public benefit may be produced. " Your affectionate S." Five days after the date of the preceding letter, his Lordship informed the same party " that nothing was yet definitively settled ; but that if the present cabinet should continue, they would fight the battle nearly as they were." This view, however, was disturbed on the 21st of May by Mr. Stewart Wortley' s address, which was carried in the House of Commons by a small ma jority, praying the Regent "to take measures for forming a strong and efficient administration." To this circumstance Lord Sidmouth alluded in the fol^ lowing terms, when writing confidentially to , his 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 77 brother, on the 23d : — " ' Hie labor extremus,' and I think I may add, ' longarum hsec meta viarum.' The existence of the government was decided on Thurs day night, and you wiU soon see a new arrangement, with Lord Wellesley at its head. How long it is likely to last it is in vain to conjecture. It will be long before the country finds a resting-place. Either of the chief parties in parliament, with the aid of the guerillas, in which it abounds, is strong enough to destroy but not to constitute, or at least uphold, a government. To me, j)ersonaUy, what has passed is a release and relief from what, at best, would have been irksome, and, under circumstances which might have occurred, almost intolerable ; but I feel regret on account of others, particularly upon that of Bathurst, to whom a sphere of public duty, in all respects worthy of him, would at last have been opened. He would have succeeded Ryder, and I think it probable would have been Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ; but this is mere conjecture." Lord Wellesley, to whom, as intimated in the preceding letter, the duty was in trusted by the Regent to form an administration, having failed in that attempt, a commission was next given to Lord Moira to communicate with the Lords Grenville and Grey on the composition of a new ministry; this negotiation, however, proved equally unsuccessful ; the Regent, therefore, had no resource but to fall back upon his existing cabinet, which he consequently retained, with a few necessary modifica tions, and the important addition of Lord Sidmouth's devoted friend Mr. Vansittart, as Chancellor of the Exchequer, in the place of Mr. Perceval. Whilst these events were in progress. Lord Sidmouth, whose 78 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. conduct was such as to extract from Lord Eldon the friendly admission, that "he had certainly behaved very weU," briefly informed his brother, on the 29th of May, that " every thing then remained unsettled. Each of the ministers," he added, " had an audience yester day: mine lasted three quarters of an hour." On the 3d of June, as we learn through the same medium, " all still remained uncertain and in confusion ; " and it was not until the 8th of the same month that the Regent appointed Lord Liverpool First Commissioner of the Treasury, and gave him authority to complete the other arrangements for forming an administra tion. On that occasion the first words which his Lord ship uttered after he returned from the -audience to his coUeagues were, " You must take the Home De partment, Lord Sidmouth — it will be every thing to me." The duties of the office to whicli Lord Sidmouth was thus unexpectedly called, were at that period pe culiarly difficult and important. The stagnation of trade had deprived a large proportion of the manu facturing population of the kingdom of their usual amount of employment. This had produced, in numerous instances, that discontented spirit upon which the instigators of turbulence and disaffection are enabled most successfully to work, and, unhappily, enough of the old leaven of the French revolution still remained in the land, to supply agents for such mis chievous purposes. The consequence was, not only that Lord Sidmouth on entering upon his duties found serious disturbances existing in several quarters, but that also, during the remainder of his official career. 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 79 he had to maintain a ceaseless struggle against the overt attempts or secret encroachments of anarchy, disloyalty, and sedition. For ten years, indeed, of almost unexampled excitement in the field of domestic politics, he lived in a perpetual storm, during which he exhibited wisdom and moral courage of the highest order. This was a situation for which the persevering energy and unflinching firmness of his character were peculiarly adapted. Under his vigilant superintend ence every attempt to create disturbance, and to clog the wheels of government, was immediately repressed, and no sooner did sedition any where raise its head than it was crushed. It wiU readily be imagined that when this vigour of administration, which present circumstances so caUed forth as to make it appear to the public as a new feature in his character, was first displayed, it exposed him to frequent attacks and ac cusations ; but these he either calmly disregarded, or repelled in the spirit of conscious rectitude. To this uncompromising course of public duty he was en couraged by the gracious confidence of the Regent, and the respect and support of his colleagues, the more experienced of whom were his contemporaries, and the remainder he had himself, when prime minis ter, first introduced to public life. Thus surrounded by friends, and restored to that political position which his merits and experience entitled him to assume, his Lordship was enabled again to serve his King and country not less beneficially than he had formerly done in a stiU higher capacity.* In recording, how- * Lord Sidmouth's sentiments no longer remained unsupported in his official position, for his faithful friend, Mr. Vansittart, pre sided over the Exchequer ; Mr. Bathurst received the seals of the 80 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. ever, his Lordship's services during this important period, it is desirable to confine our attention chiefly to those proceedings for which he was officially re sponsible, especially to the firm resistance he offered to all attempts to invade the legitimate dominion of the constituted authorities. On such occasions, wherever the case was clear, he employed the law to vindicate its own majesty : in other instances, where this was impracticable, he hesitated not to apply to the legislature for the necessary powers to put down evils against which the existing laws provided no adequate remedy. At the time when Lord Sidmouth assumed the responsibility of curbing this anarchical spirit, it had already been several months in operation through out the manufacturing districts. In the tovm and county of Nottingham, especially, it had manifested itself to such an extent, under the appellation of Lud dism*, that, at the commencement of the session of 1812, parliament had found it necessary to pass two Duchy of Lancaster, with a seat in the cabinet ; and on Mr. Goul- burn's removing into the Colonial Office, at Lord Bathurst's re- que.st, Mr. Hiley Addington was appointed Under Secretary of State for the Home Department. * The term Luddite was at first only given to those who broke stocking frames in the disturbed midland counties, but was after wards extended to all who entered into associations for the destruc tion of machinery, or for any other unlawful purpose. The name originated in the following circumstance: — In a viUage in Leices tershire there lived, about the year 1779, a person of weak intellect, named Ned Lud, who was the common object of ridicule and attack to mischievous boys. Being one day peculiarly irritated by his tormentors, he pursued one of them into a house, where, being unable to find the urchin, he broke, in his rage, two stocking frames which were on the premises ; and hence, afterwards, when ever any frames were broken, it was said that Lud had been there. 1812 LORD SIDMOUTH. 81 acts, the opel-ation of which was limited to two years, one constituting the crime of frame-breaking a capital offence, the other for securing the preservation of the peace throughout the. kingdom. The debate in the House of Lords, on that occasion, afforded Lord Byron an opportunity of making his first speech in parliament, in opposition to the government measures, which, however, were carried by a considerable ma jority. Such was the state of the kingdom when Lord Sidmouth received the congratulations of his friends on assuming the superintendence of its do mestic affairs. Several of his Lordship's correspond ents on that occasion aUuded with approbation to the system, now first adopted, of not considering the claims of his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects a government question. "Mr. Perceval," as was ob served by Mr. Lee, though he " gained some friends, certainly created some enemies, by making his a no- popery administration ; but the present cabinet, by leaving the question to the unbiassed opinion of the public voice, freed itself from many political enemies it would otherwise have excited." Whilst this was the opinion of one correspondent, another, the Rev. R. Churton, when congratulating his Lordship on the majority of 125 in the division on the Catholic peti tion, in the House of Commons, lamented " the cir cumstance mentioned by Lord Castlereagh, that ' it was not a principle with the renewed government to oppose collectively the discussion of the Roman Catholic question ' as a circumstance truly alarming." There are many other letters expressing the senti ments of Lord Sidmouth's friends at this important crisis, for which, however interesting, it is impossible VOL. III. G 82 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. to find room. From these the following has been se lected as a representation of the remainder : — " Caledonia, oif Toulon, June 23d, 1812. " My dear Lord, " I cannot permit a despatch to sail without offering you my sincere congratulations on your appointment to the home department, which I learn from the French papers, having received no news from England for ten weeks. We live, my dear Lord, in eventful times. Twenty years ago public opinion overturned the world. The period is very fast approaching when this same weapon will work the peace of mankind, and the downfall of a tyrant, by crushing the base fabric which has been raised on the ruins of thrones without other support than that which is derived from power. The happiness of nations and the welfare of mankind have been forgotten. But I think the time is come when the people,. awakened from their sleep, will be roused to revenge their insults and their wrongs. All this quarter of the world Is on the point of breaking out. The spark has burst in Dalmatia, and will soon spread over the south of' Europe ; and I hope to close my services by stripping the flag of this despot from the mast-heads of his fleet, and laying them at the feet of our gracious Prince. This would sweeten the years of age, and be ample reward for a long life of toil and danger in the service of my country and the cause of suffering humanity. I trust, amidst all the contentions of party, our Prince will find safety and support in the hearts of loyal Britons, among the first of whom the country hails your Lordship's name. " I am, my dear Lord, with sentiments of the highest respect and sincere esteem, your truly devoted friend and servant, " Edward Pellew." The earliest duties, which Lord Sidmouth had to fulfil in his new office related to the organized sys tem of rebellion already alluded to. This had now spread over the extensive and populous tracts of the Lancashire and Cheshire cotton manufacture and the 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 83 clothing part of the West Riding of Yorkshire. During the early part of the summer numerous acts of lawless outrage were perpetrated, and the rioters appear to have adopted a system of organization highly dangerous to the public peace, and which manifested itself in a species of military training ac companied by the seizure of arms and the administra tion of illegal oaths. " These disorders," as Mr. Wil berforce observed in parliament, " were evidently of a^ political nature, arising from certain mischievous publications industriously circulated to alienate the affections of the people from the laws and government of their country." Under such circumstances the attention of parlia ment was directed to the subject by a message from the Regent, to which Lord Sidmouth moved a dutiful answer on the 29th of June. His Lordship then pro posed that a secret Committee should be appointed, consisting of eleven peers, to whom certain papers de scribing the nature of the outrages committed, in cluding the murder of Mr. Horsfall, the destruction of valuable mills at Huddersfield, and other lawless pro ceedings, might be referred. The example of the Upper House was followed in the Lower, and in a few days both Committees published their reports, which comprised an awful catalogue of crimes, and fully estabUshed the fact of an extensive military organization. Upon this evidence. Lord Sidmouth introduced a bill into the House of Lords on the 23d of July, " for the preservation of the public peace in the disturbed districts, and giving additional powers to the justices for that purpose." The bill passed G 2 84 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. both Houses, and its operation was limited to the 25th of March, 1813. The form of the secret oath, which was published in the report of the House of Lords, was communi cated to Lord Sidmouth by Major Seale, commandant of the South Devon militia quartered at Sheffield, in the following letter: — " My Lord, June 30th, 1812. " I feel it to be my duty to make the government ac quainted with the accompanying information, which I received this day from a person whom I believe to be intelligent and worthy of confidence. His deposition is, ' that the form of oath enclosed* has been administered to a vast number of people ; that they act in concert, by the means of delegates, all the way from Glasgow to London ; that these delegates are supported by a salary ; that they alone meet in commit tees and concert plans; that these committees are held in various parts of the country ; that their intention at present is, when the scheme is sufficiently ripe, to raise a few partial disturbances in this part of the country, to draw off as many troops as possible from the metropolis, and that then the great rising will take place there ; that their communication to each other will be by the firing of guns at certain dis tances ; that they are already in possession of a considerable number of arms ; that they have numerous recruiting parties out ; but that this oath is administered by individuals, from one friend to another, and not in bodies, and that it Is at this moment going on; that the spirit has by no means been checked by the repeal of the orders in council or any recent measures.' The person is fearful of having his namd known, for he says his life would be the penalty; and though he could, perhaps, inform of some individuals who may have taken the oath, he conceives it would be of little benefit unless the ringleaders were apprehended; which might be * This was merely an oath not to betray an accomplice, and to put to death any fellow-conspirator who might do so. 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 85 done by persons gaining admittance to their meetings with the signs which he has furnished. He added, ' that there Is a fund from which the delegates and other expenses are paid ; and that there are delegates in Sheffield and Barnsley.' " It cannot be questioned that this extensive or ganization was effected by parties influenced by sedi tious and disloyal motives. Doubtless, however, their power of doing mischief was increased by the distress amongst the lower classes of manufacturers occa sioned by the orders in council of 1807 and 1809, which, by impeding the operations of commerce, had deprived the manufacturing population of the king dom of one of its usual sources of employment. It was of little moment, indeed, to Lord Sidmouth, in the fulfilment of his executive functions, from what cause this treasonable spirit originated, since in every case it was equally his duty, if possible, to put it down. He, however, strongly disapproved of the orders in coun cil, as regarded their application to the United States of America, and had actually made their revocation a subject of negotiation with Mr. Perceval on his accept ance of office. No doubt, therefore, his Lordship's counsels contributed much to the judicious concession of that question which the government made to Mr. Brougham's very able exertions on the 16th of June. On this subject he received a letter from Earl Fitz william, dated June 19th, which, after communicating inteUigence of fresh outrages committed in Yorkshire, proceeds in the following terms : — " I confess my anxiety is greatly increased by what passed in our House last night relative to the orders In councO. If they are to be rescinded, subject to all the conditions and provisions then pointed out, the measure will avail nothing G 3 86 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. for the present year. Not a merchant will risk a bale of goods under these circumstances : I said so, in the House, at the request of the parties concerned. I was caUed out, and pressed to state their opinion; that the House and that government might not entertain an erroneous opinion on this important subject : whereas, make the revocation peremptory, and, on the faith of the Act of Congress, the petitioners will ship off twelve millions of manufacture in the course of a week.* Let this be done, and immediately the manufacturer will be set to work again ; industrious and peacea;ble habits will Instantly revive ; outrage and conspiracy will die away : be assured they are the offspring of distress and want of employment. I do not mean to say that not a single mis chievous spirit will exist ; but that the influence and lead of such people will be at an end : it is fostered and rendered formidable by nothing but the want of trade. Put your merchant into immediate activity ; that will do more to tran- quilllse the country than all the activity and zeal of magis trates, deputy lieutenants, and the army combined." The view taken in the preceding letter of the origin of these disturbances proved in the sequel too favour able to the parties engaged in them ; but Lord Fitz- wiUiam was connected with those who had always disapproved of the orders in council, and it was natural, therefore, that he should attribute to that cause more importance than really belonged to it. In his speech, on the 29th of June, Lord Sid mouth, with more correctness, attributed the disturb ances to the combined influence of political agitation and want of employment. "Although," he observed, " the conduct of the rioters might be, in some degree, * It was fortunate for these merchants that the measure was not framed in the manner they desired, or their twelve millions' worth of goods would have fallen into an enemy's hand ; for on the very day of the debate alluded to by Lord Fitzwilliam, the congress declared war against Great Britain. •1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 87 traced to the high price of provisions and the reduc tion of work ; stiU there was no doubt that these outrages were fomented by persons who had views and objects which it was the duty of government to counteract." The next letter, dated " Milton, July 13th," which Lord Sidmouth received from Earl Fitzwilliam, thus described the advantages already resulting from the vigorous measures adopted by government for the suppression of the disturbances : — " My Lord, "" The private letters which I have lately received from Yorkshire have been very satisfactory, as they have not reported one act of outrage, nor expressed any suspicion of nocturnal meetings for training or other dangerous purposes. " By returns received this morning from the two disturbed districts of Morley and Agbrig, it appears that nearly all the towns and villages have sworn in a sufficient number of special constables ; and are, besides, forming associations for the preservation of the peace — a proof that the peaceable in habitants are not afraid of declaring themselves — a state of things very different from that which lately existed. I trouble your Lordship with this, to have the satisfaction of communicating this Improved state of the country ; and also to convey an Inquiry, made by the lieutenancy, what reward government would give for information which led to the con viction of offenders. * * * Certainly it is most desirable to show that, sooner or later, the perpetrators of violent out rages are detected : a contrary example will be very mis chievous. Moreover, the detection of some of the instruments will probably lead to the knowledge of the ringleaders — a discovery anxiously to be wished, as tending to guarantee future tranquillity. I am, &c. &c. " Went WORTH Fitzwilliam." Unfortunately, the lull described in this too san guine letter was only temporary, and on the 18th of G 4 88 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. the foUowino- month the storm broke out at Sheffield with more violence than ever. The transactions, at which both Lord FitzwiUiam and his son. Lord Mil ton, were present, are particularly described in letters addressed by Lieutenant-Colonel Lany, of the East Devon miUtia, to his colonel. Lord RoUe, and by Mr. W. Cole, adjutant of the same regiment, to Lord Sid mouth ; from the former of which the following ex tracts are made : — " Sheffield, June 19th. " Yesterday, being market day, an immense mob, prin cipaUy women, assembled ; and by a sudden rush emptied the market, In a few minutes, of all it contained. They next proceeded to all the shops where flour was sold, demanding flour at 3s. per stone, which had been selling, during the last fortnight, for 7s. ; and, with only five or six exceptions, suc ceeded, by intimidation, in obtaining all they contained at that price. The 1 5th hussars and ourselves have been con stantly on duty since yesterday morning. I am sorry to say these lawless proceedings continue to-day ; and parties are gone into the country to attack the mills ; but are followed by dragoons. Not a mechanic has been at work yesterday or to-day, though there is no want of employment. The Elot Act has just been read to at least 5000, and Lord Fitz william gave them five minutes to disperse, when, as they did not obey, the hussars charged down the street and cleared it immediately. We now have orders to fire if we meet with the least resistance. Thousands were added to-day to their numbers from the country. Lord Milton was here yester day : he Is very unpopular, and stones were flung at him. Nine o'clock. — Lord Fitzwilliam, who appears very deter mined, left this place an hour ago ; and I hope this trouble some business may end without our having recourse to fire. No Kves have, as yet, been lost." It would, probably, have been mercy, eventually, if these insurrectionary proceedings had been sup- 1812. LORD SIDMOUTH. 89 pressed with more severity at the outset. But the exemplary forbearance of the troops, and the mis placed lenity of the learned Judge at the preceding spring assizes at Nottingham, in assigning light punishments to the convicted rioters, and in regarding them as trivial offenders, encouraged the disaffected to more daring atrocities, and rendered an awful ' severity of retribution eventuaUy necessary. The election of a new parliament, which occupied "the month of October, appears to have suspended the proceedings of the factious. The respite, however, was but momentary ; for on the 7 th of the following month Lord Sidmouth informed Earl Fitzwilham that " he entirely concurred in his Lordship's and Lieutenant-General Maitland's opinions, of the urgent expediency of accelerating, as much as possible, the trial of the prisoners of a certain description then con fined in York Castle, with the view of affording that degree of security which might be expected to arise to the inhabitants of the disturbed districts from their conviction and punishment. The cases of those per sons," he added, " were then under consideration of the law officers of the Crown ; and if there should, in their judgment, be, at that time, such a probability of conviction as to render it prudent to proceed to trial, a special commission, would be immediately issued for that purpose." By these prompt and vigorous measures, his. Lord ship carried into practice his favourite opinion, that the immediate suppression of turbulent proceedings by the strong arm of authority is not more essential to the interests of society than to those of the offenders themselves ; and this principle he explained in the 90 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. following extract from a letter, which he addressed, on the 13th of November, to Mr. Thomas Babington, M.P. for Leicester: — "Your account of the dis charge of workmen and the price of grain at Leicester gave me much concern. Corn must be expected to continue dear ; a painful consideration after the san guine hopes which had been raised. The foreign de mand for some branches of our manufactures is also likely, I fear, to remain very Umited ; and, under these circumstances, there must unitappily be a com- siderable degree of suffering, and, consequently, of irritation amongst the people. Those are their real and wisest friends who adopt the most effectual means to prevent or suppress tumults, whUst they manifest a sincere sympathy in their distress, and use their best endeavours to relieve it. But man cannot create abundance where Providence has inflicted scarcity." The law officers of the crown having forwarded their opinion on the 12th of November, Lord Sid mouth immediately applied for the Lord Chancellor's sanction to the measures recommended therein in the foUowing letter : — " My dear Lord, Whitehall, Nov. IStli, 1812. " You have probably seen the letters from Lord Fitzwilliam and General Maitland, strongly urging the immediate trials of such of the persons, committed to York Castle, as there is a probability of convicting. The depositions In those cases have, for some time, been under the consideration of the law officers, from whom I received, yesterday, the enclosed re port, which I have shown to Lord Liverpool, who approves of both the measures suggested; namely, that of issuing a special commission, and that of sending an intelligent person from London for the purposes stated in the report. The ^813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 91 person intended for this mission is Mr. Henry Hobhouse. The mode of carrying uito effect the measure of a special commission must, be the subject of much discussion; but I wish to be enabled to Inform Lord 'Fitzwilham, without delay, that a commission will be Issued at an early period. " I am, &e. &c. Sidmouth." It appears, from the ChanceUor's reply, tbat his Lordship was much embarra^ed in deciding what judges to place on the commission ; but the selection at last rested on Baron Thompson and Mr. Justice Le Blanc, who, on the 2d of January, proceeded to York, in fulfilment of their arduous duty. Mean while Mr. Hobhouse was engaged at Huddersfield and Wakefield in investigating the evidence and in select ing those cases for trial which were most likely to result in conviction ; and this labour he effected with so much ability and success, that against almost every accused person who was put upon his trial a verdict of guilty was returned. A clue also had at length been obtained to that atrocious combination by which Mr. HorsfaU, an eminent manufacturer of Huddersfield, had been marked out for destruction, and actually shot to death on the high road in full daylight, in the presence of several expectant witnesses ; and the three parties to whom this bloody office had been assigned were tried and condemned for the murder. A sufficiency of convictions having thus been ob tained to vindicate the supremacy of the law, on the 7th of January, Mr. Park, the leading counsel for the prosecution, announced an intention on behalf of the Crown not to proceed with the remaining cases. It now, therefore, became the duty of the government to 92 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. inflict that extensive retribution which the- heinous- ness of the offences, the necessity for a striking example, and the mistaken lenity manifested at a pre vious assize, had rendered indispensable; and from this duty, painful as it was. Lord Sidmouth did not shrink. The three murderers expiated their crime at York, on the 9th of January ; and on the 16th ofthe same month fourteen unhappy Luddites, whose cases were considered the most atrocious and unpardonable of the many committed for trial, were also led to execu tion — half at eleven in the forenoon, and the re maining seven after an interval of two hours. Lord Sidmouth was highly satisfied vdth the conduct of all the authorities whose services were required on this occasion. The two learned judges who presided not only fulfilled their duties with exemplary firmness, but also explained the law on the subject with such clearness and ability, that it was considered advisable to publish, from authority, a full report of their charges.* Mr. Park, subsequently made one of the justices of the Court of Common Pleas, as Lord Sid mouth assured Lord Kenyon, " conducted all the government prosecutions with so much zeal and ability, that he had recommended him on more than one occasion to the Lord Chancellor, Lord Liverpool, and Lord Ellenborough." And his Lordship so much approved of Mr. Henrv Hobhouse's services, that he eventuallv appointed him Under Secretary of State" for the Home Department, and regarded him ever afterwards with unabated confidence and friendship. To Lieutenant-General Maitland, who was shortly * These trials are published at length in Howell's edition of " State Trials," vol. xxxi. p. 959. 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 93 afterwards appointed to the government of Malta, his Lordship, on the 13th of January, expressed his approbation in the following terms : — "I have to thank you for your letter of the 11th. Lord Ellenborough was with me when the post arrived, and expressed his satisfaction in the strongest terms at all the proceedings which had taken place at York. Every thing, indeed, appeared to have been done with great judgment, and I confidently antici pate the happiest effects in various parts of the kingdom." These severe, but necessary examples, produced a most salutary result in the discontented districts ; and it was remarked in the leading register* of the period, that " few years had passed in which more internal public tranquUlity had been enjoyed by the people of these islands than the year 1813." It attributes much of this quiet and submission to the " vigorous exertions made for the suppression of these internal disorders, which had arisen to so alarming a height in the pre vious year, and had rendered necessary some unusual measures of restraint and severity." The withdraw ing military protection from the disaffected counties, was the earliest result .of these vigorous proceedings. This step Lord Sidmouth announced to General Mait land, on the 16th of January, in the following terms : — "I am satisfied the time is arrived when the ex periment ought to be tried of leaving the country to itself, and of suspending, at least, aU military inter ference. The mode of effecting this change, so that the timid and inert may cease to place their chief * Annual Register, vol. Iv. p. 98. 94 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. reliance on the protection of the troops, and yet so that early assistance may be afforded in case of emer gency, must be left to your discretion, in the exercise of which you may be assured of the firm support of government upon this as upon every other occasion. I saw Mr. Park yesterday, and have just parted with- Hobhouse : both have acquitted themselves with great judgment and ability." On the 2d of February his Lordship sent to the same party " a copy of a proclamation issued on the preceding day, of which, he hoped, he would approve." The instrument here alluded to was directed against " the daring outrages recently committed in the manufacturing districts, which it attributed to iU- designing persons deluding the ignorant and unwary, by th«ir wicked artifices and misrepresentations, and seducing them to enter into unlawful associations, and bind their consciences by mischievous oaths and engagements." The Regent is then made to " exhort aU his Majesty's subjects to exert themselves in pre venting the recurrence of these atrocious crim^es, and to warn those: who may be exposed to the machinations of secret directors, of the danger and wickedness of such advice." The proclamation next recommends to proprietors of machinery to persevere in its use, and to trust to the salutary measures provided by parlia ment for their protection ; and it concludes by com manding all magistrates and other civil functionaries to use their utmost dihgence to prevent the renewal of the recent unlawful proceedings ; and, by declaring the firm resolution of his Royal Highness's govern ment strictly to enforce the law, should a repetition 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 95 ofthe late atrocities eall for the infliction of just and exemplary punishment. Lord Sidmouth had selected the period for issuing this proclamation, with reference to an intimation which he had given to Lord Fitzwilliam on the 25th of January, that it was the intention of govern ment " to diminish, in a short time, the aggregate amount of the force lately employed in the county of York." In the same letter' he remarked to his Lordship, that "the utmost degree of vigilance would, under such circumstances, be indispensably necessary on the part of those who were invested with civil power and authority." In consequence of this letter. Lord FitzwiUiam convened a general meeting of magistrates at Wakefield on the 4th of February, tbe result of which he communicated to Lord Sid mouth three days afterwards: — " The meeting," his Lordship stated, " was well attended by those magistrates who act in the lately disturbed parts of the West Riding. The occasion furnished me the oppor tunity of ascertaining the present temper of the inhabitants ; and it is with great satisfaction that I have to convey the opimion of those magistrates best enabled to form well- grounded opinions, that the country Is fast subsiding into a state of temper which promises that no further outrage will disturb the public tranq^iiUity. It appeared to be the general opinion, that the moving detachments of military might safely be dispensed with, and none employed except In the great towns. The magistrates also reported that the system of association for defence, which had been recommended by the lieutenancy, had been generally carried into effect by the townships. " The meeting passed a resolution approving of what had been already done In this respect, and earnestly recommend ing perseverance in the same system. I trust, therefore, that 96 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. the police of the country Is fast reverting into its proper channel ; and that the civil power is resuming a strength that will be, as it ought to be, the only guardian of the hves and properties of the peaceable inhabitants. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. " Wentworth Fitzwilliam." Lord Sidmouth had at the same time the satis faction of receiving a similar communication from Lieutenant-General Maitland, whose share in pro ducing such results his Lordship immediately acknow ledged in the following grateful terms : — "To this most desirable and important change you have emi nently contributed ; and such is the opinion of every member of his Majesty's government." His Lordship's approbation of the conduct of the civil authorities is sufficiently implied in the subjoined reply, which he addressed to Lord Fitzwilliam on the 9th of Feb ruary : « My Lord, " I have been honoured with your Lordship's letter of the Tth of February, accompanied by a copy of the resolutions agreed to by a meeting of magistrates held at Wakefield on the 4th, which are an honourable tribute to the meritorious services of those to whom they refer. Your Lordship ap pears to have adopted the most judicious and effectual course ' of proceeding, for the accomplishment of the wishes of his Majesty's government, under the change of circumstances wbich had recently taken place in the West Hiding of the county of York. It is highly satisfactory to be assured, by the opinion of your Lordship and of the magistrates who attended the meeting, that the improved temper of the inha bitants of that quarter affords the most favourable prospect of the complete re-establishment of the public peace and tranquillity; to which nothing can more effectually contri bute than the association of well-disposed individuals, under 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 97 the sanction of the laws, for the protection of persons and property. It Is most ardently to be wished, and, I trust, now to be reasonably expected, that the civil power will re-assume Its strength and authority, and that the painful necessity may not again arise of resorting to military aid for Its support. I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient humble servant, '•' Sidmouth." Disaffection was now silenced, though, unhappily, not subdued ; advantage, however, will be taken of this pause in the storm briefly to extract a few par ticulars from the miscellaneous portion of the corre spondence. The cheerful view which Lord Sidmouth now took of public affairs, both at home and abroad, is fully explained in the following observations, which his Lordship addressed to Sir Edward PeUew on the 17th of March: — " A cloud, for a short period, somewhat darkened our prospects In Spain ; but, upon the whole, the present state of things, at home and abroad, is animating and encouraging to the greatest degree. I say, at home ; for you may rest assured that the people are sound and firm. A most material and happy change, produced by various causes, has taken place in their temper and disposition within the last few months ; of which almost every post brings proofs, even from those quarters where the spirit of insubordination and tumult was most prevalent. Stllh however, vigilance and prompti tude are and ever must be necessary. On the events in the north of Europe, and on the impulse which they have already given to the inhabitants of countries which appeared to be in a state of hopeless prostration, I cordially congratu late you. Italy, I am confident, will be roused; and the Tyrol and Switzerland will, I trust, again come forward with the brightest prospects, weakened as their enemy Is, and powerfully pressed upon from almost every quarter. Still he VOL. III. H 98 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. win make great efforts ; and if those of the powers opposed to him are not simultaneous, he will again have the benefit of contending with them in detail. It is unnecessary for me to assure you that you possess the confidence of the Admiralty and of the government in as full and perfect a degree as It Is possible for you to desire. Of this you must have been long since convinced, not only from the official correspondence of the Board of Admiralty, but from the private letters of Lord Melville. May a spirit of rashness, similar to that which led Bonaparte to Moscow, send his fleet out of Toulon ; and. In that case, we may confidently expect that it wiU be as com pletely annihilated as his armv." At this jjeriod Lord Sidmouth had the satisfaction to receive from the Dean and Chapter of Westminster an appointment to the honourable office of "Lord High Steward, or chief magistrate of that city and liberty," vacated by the death of the Marquis of Buckingham. The congratulatory address of "the two chief burgesses, burgesses, assistant burgesses, high bailiff, and other officers, on his occupation of an office which the most noble personages had, at all times, thought worthy their acceptance, bears date the 22d of April, and expresses "their hope that they may long enjoy his Lordship's protection and assist ance in the execution of their duties in the govern ment of the city, as established in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, by whom the court of burgesses was insti tuted, and the great Burleigh appointed to the office of Lord High Steward." In the session of 1813 a bill for removing the dis abilities of his Majesty's Roman Cathohc subjects was submitted to parliament by Mr. Grattan, with appa rently a better prospect of success than on any pre vious occasion. A corresponding anxiety was thereby 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 99 excited amongst the whole Protestant community throughout the empire, which manifested itself in numerous petitions against the contemplated conces sion. Nevertheless, on the 2d of March, Mr. Grattan carried his motion for a committee on the subject by a majority of forty ; nor did he fail in maintaining the same advantage through the various stages of the bill, until its committal on the 24th' of May, when the influence of the Speaker, Mr. Abbot, who made a speech on the occasion which was greatly admired, obtained the rejection of the clause empowering Ca tholics to sit and vote in either house of parliament — an alteration which led to the immediate abandon ment of the whole measure. During the progress of these discussions. Lord Sidmouth received various communications on the subject, from which the fol lowing letter, containing the sentiments of Dr. Adam Clarke, has been selected for insertion : — " My Lord, Harpur Street, March 30th, 1813. "I have the honour of presenting to your Lordship a farther continuation of my work, accompanied with the same sentiments of high respect as the preceding parts ; and it is not a small satisfaction to me to have this humble means of eno-aglng a small portion of your Lordship's attention. * * * There Is another subject, my Lord, of infinitely greater con sequence, in which I feel myself proportionably Interested ; and which, with my views. If It were requisite, I would pre sent, on my knees, at the feet of his Majesty's government — I mean, my Lord, the subject of the Roman Catholic Claims. A more momentous era than the present, nor one more preg nant with great events to the empire of Britain, never perhaps existed. I have the honour to know your Lordship's affec tion and zeal for the Protestant religion and for the Esta blished Church ; and I venerate and applaud your Lordship's feelings. As a Protestant — though not born an English- h 2 100 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. man, yet bred up in the bosom of the Established Church — I also have my humble share In the same sentiments. In observing the progress of this momentous question in the lower House, I am struck with astonishment and am filled with alarm ; because I feel deeply for the safety of the nation, the existence of the Protestant religion, and the preservation of the Church of England. To me all appears to be at stake. A political frenzy seems to have gone abroad on this sub ject ; and by it the voice of religion and prudent caution is not heard. Born and bred up in the midst of the Irish papists, and having had constant intercourse with my native country for upwards of thirty years since I left It, I well know the spii-it of popery. Its intolerant damnatory prin ciples necessarily produce Intolerance and cruelty In the bosom of its adherents. Every opinion contrary to Its own is ' damnable heresy, finally destructive to the souls that hold it, and should not, cannot be tolerated. Those, therefore, who will not conform, should be extirpated, that they may not corrupt others.' This, my Lord, is the spirit of popery ; nor can this spirit ever be changed till the maxims on which it is founded be changed ; for as necessarily as a cause pro duces a corresponding effect, so necessarily must the doctrines of popery produce intolerance and cruelty. The talk of the amelioration of the spirit of the papists is, in my opinion, absurd and self-refuting, while they exult in maintaining the same principles, which they acknowledge to be vital to their communion and invariable ; and which, it would be easy to demonstrate, necessarily impel every papist to abhor and detest Protestantism in all its forms, and to use his utmost endeavours for its destruction and annihilation. And shaU the power, the sword, and the religion of the state be again entrusted to such hands ? Mt; •yavoiTo ! My Lord, the great God of heaven has placed your Lordship in the breach : may his wisdom and power direct and strengthen you to maintain your post ! and may all the other high branches of the admi nistration labour with your Lordship, and be triumphant In their work ! Every man, to whom the Protestant faith is no indifferent thing, should feel Interested here ; for although it is likely, should popery again get the ascendency in this 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 101 nation, that its extirpating zeal will first be directed against the sectaries, yet, my Lord, it will not terminate there : the Catholic church can brook no competitor ; the English hierarchy must next come down, that popery may be all in all. Let none deem himself safe while his neighbour's house is on fire, —' Vulcano superante domes, jam proximus ardet Ucalegon.' " It Is not my province to meddle with politics. Little as I may understand the subject. In all its depths, as a science, in the present case I could easily prove that It Is an awful poli tical delusion that the state will be strengthened by admitting the Eoman Catholics to political power. It is notorious to the loyal and well-affected people of Ireland, that multitudes of the papists are so disaffected towards this country, that nothing can reconcile them but a radical change of opinions on their side or ours. On their side, this change can never be brought about by granting their claims. No sort of good, but much evil, has resulted from their possessing the elective franchise ; although they declared, at the time, it was aU that they wanted. At the present, they carefully suppress their late-avowed sentiments in their public boards ; but how long will these sentiments lie concealed if their claims be con ceded ? I was in Dublin last July at the time of their aggre gate meeting ; and the sentiments tumultuously avowed there were horrible ! I firmly believe that nothing but political and ecclesiastical ascendency will satisfy them ; and most likely a separation from England will be the result of their acquiring power. I can assure your Lordship that the loyal part of Ireland is deeply wounded by the present measures ; and the bonds of Protestant attachment are likely to be greatly loosened, if the enormous claims of the Koman Ca tholic be conceded. Should this take place, the destruction of the Protestant ascendency and the degradation of the British people will, I fear, be the ultimate result. My Lord, it would ill become me to plead for the continuance of any encumbrances on religious opinion or religious worship. I know not one under which the Roman Catholic labours, either In this country or In Ireland. If there be any, my 102 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. heart says. Let every Koman Catholic have the freest, fullest toleration to worship God according to the dictates of his conscience and the prescriptions of his religion; but, my Lord, let them never again have it in their power to add another human spirit to the noble army of martyrs. In con templating a very thick cloud of most destructive evils which a concession of these claims mu.st necessarily produce, my heart feels confidence In your Lordship's Influence and exer tions. Should all be lost in the Lower House, surely the rod of God, the rod of Moses and Aaron, Is still in the hands of the peers and prelates of the nation : and, in this cause, I am sure the great majority of the British and Irish people would cheerfully and strenuously co-operate. Should their Lordships, in their juridical capacity, be the instruments of opposing the constitutional barrier to those dangerous de mands, millions of Protestants will give thanks to their Maker for the existence of a House of Lords. Pardon, my Lord, this intrusion. With sentiments of the highest respect for your Lordship, and with the most fervent prayers for the preser^'ation of the Church and the safety of the State, I have the honour to be, my Lord, your Lordship's most obedient humble servant, " Adam Clarke." That his Lordship's own sentiments had undergone no fluctuations on this subject is evident from the fol lowing expression of them, which he addressed some months afterwards to Yiscount Jocelyn : — " The emancipation of which your Lordship's ill-fated but noble country stands in need, is emancipation from ignorance, poverty, and bigotry. The word, in the sense in which it is now too commonly used, is delusive, and purposely and studiously so ; and the measure which it professes to indicate and describe would not even paUiate the evils which exist, but, as I ara firmly convinced, would add to them others, the most calamitous to Ireland and the whole empire." 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 103 One ofthe proceedings ofthe government in 1813, in which Lord Sidmouth took especial interest, was the establishment of Episcopacy in India. The cor respondence contains numerous complaints of the cul pable postponement of this vitally important measure, from which the following is selected, as an index of the feeling wherewith the heads of our church regarded that lamentable neglect of the spiritual interests of its colonies, which, until that period, had been character istic of the British empire. " On the commercial concerns of India," wrote Bishop Huntingford on the 1 7th of April, " I say nothing ; but for the proposition to send a bishop and archdeacons to India I am much interested. It is deplorable, perhaps disgraceful, to us as rational beings, culpable In us as Christians, that we have but three places of public worship provided for our fel low-subjects in India. Who can wonder that the moral and religious principles which our young men may have carried hence, should gradually, decay for want of being cherished and Invigorated by habitual worship and instruction on the Sabbath? Such is the analogy between body and mind, that, without aliment frequently supplied, the principles of mind will as certainly be weakened as the strength of body will be debilitated. " But I argue also In a political way. America had never been lost If an Episcopal Church had long ago been esta blished there ; and I am persuaded now, the strongest means through which you can secure any degree of real attachment to this country wiU be through the Episcopalians. Who shall say that a spirit of revolt may never reach India ? may never reach Botany Bay ? In my discourse before the ' So ciety for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts,' I made allusion to the policy of securing the affections of the rising generations in New South Wales, by establishing an Episcopal Church, before separatists had prejudiced their minds against our constitution, civil and religious. On the H 4 104 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. same grounds of policy an Episcopal Church establishment seems essential in India." * * As the indifference here stated to have been shown by the chief colonising nation on the earth to the extension of its own national religion will scarcely be credited by some readers, a few facts will be added in further proof of the assertion. Until a recent period the whole spiritual superintendence of the vast foreign dependencies of Great Britain was vested, nominally, in the Bishop of London ! ! ! to whom all the King's subjects requiring ordination, confirmation, or the exercise of any other episcopal function, were obliged to resort from the most distant parts of the world. ' Until the separation of the United States of America, the admirable Society to which the good bishop has alluded in his letter, by supplying them with clergymen and providing funds for their support, constituted the only spiritual link between those important colonies and the Established Church of the mother-country. In the earlier days of our Indian empire almost the only efforts to establish Christianity in that quarter of the globe were made by a voluntary association — the " Society for pro moting Christian Knowledge ;" and there is too much reason to fear that those efforts were more appreciated even by the heathen than by the Christians themselves. For it stands on record that Hyder Ali, that bitter enemy of England, prior to his invasion of the Carnatic, in 1792, issued tbe following order to his generals for the protection of the Society's apostolic missionary, Christian Swartz : — " Permit the father, Swartz, to go unmolested, and show him respect and kindness, for he is a holy man.'' Nor was religion better attended to in New South Wales than in India, for with the first division of settlers, comprising one thousand convicts, despatched to the former country, not a single clergyman, or religious instructor was embarked. The strongest instance, how ever, of men's indifference to religion in those earher days of our colonial policy remains to be stated. In the year 1793, Lord Ma cartney, the British ambassador to China, in his negotiations with that court, actually adduced such indifference as a reason why England should be favoured with greater commercial advantages than other European nations. " The English," such is this dis graceful admission, " never attempt to dispute the worship or tenets of others. They come to China with no such views. They have no priests or chaplains with them, as other European nations have." The above facts ought to be weighed in estimating the services which the British ministers rendered to religion by the 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 105 The following letter, though it has no connexion with preceding subjects, is introduced as a proof Of the friendly feeling and kindly nature of the writer; and to show that generous minds are su perior to political prejudices in the exercise of social intercourse. The real character, indeed, of public men is often best developed in private life ; and it is not so much between opposing leaders that asperity usually prevails, as between those once of the same party whom circumstances may have unhappily severed. " My dear Lord, July, 1813. " I did not receive your kind invitation till yesterday, and should be very happy indeed to accept it ; but my plans have been too often disconcerted, during my journey, to jus tify my making any engagement, however enticing. " I must congratulate you most sincerely on the great event in Spain.* It does so much good, and reflects such real glory on our arms, and might lead so easily to that best of all possible events — a speedy and glorious peace, that even if it should strengthen your atrocious, abominable, arm- searching, persecuting ministry, I must yet rejoice : ' Scelera ipsa nefasque Hac mercede placent.' " Ever yours, Vassall Holland."! establishment of episcopacy in India in 1813. The sound prin ciples by which they were then influenced are exhibited in the following statement which Lord Sidmouth addressed about this time to Lord Wodehouse, who had transmitted to him a memorial from that excellent prelate, Dr. Stewart, the first bishop of Quebec • — " Canada is strangely circumstanced ; but I am confident that there is on the part of every member of the government a sincere and earnest disposition to uphold and protect the Protestant church in that and every other possession of the British crown." * The battle of Vittoria. f Lord Sidmouth, on - some occasion, speaking of Lord Holland, 106 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. About the same period Lord Sidmouth received a letter from another friendly opponent, Mr. Rufus King, formerly American minister in this country, introducing his son, Mr. Charles King, who was about to visit England on his private affairs, " not withstanding the interruption which the unhappy war interposed to that freedom of intercourse which had heretofore proved so mutually advantageous." Tn his reply his Lordship expressed " his regret, which was shared by all the members of the government whose attention was caUed to the subject, that the immediate object of Mr. Charles King's coming to England could not, unfortunately, be accomplished. I cannot forbear adding," he proceeded, " that your son will leave in this country the most favourable impressions of himself. He will tell yoil that his father is never mentioned here but with the esteem and respect which are due to his character." It is ~ gratifying when the calamities of war are mitigated by such friendly intercourse ; and as these expressions of regard from the pen of a British cabinet minister could not fail to prove acceptable to the American senator, the circumstance, although trivial in itself, is deemed worthy of record, as a proof of the alacrity with which his Lordship availed himself of any op portunity to promote the welfare of his country. From this topic, the miscellaneous nature of the correspondence directs attention to one of a totally different character, which Lord Sidmouth mentioned to his, brother in the following terms : — "Of domestic after strongly censuring his politics, could not help commending his amiable disposition, and ended with saying — " After all, I love him better than I ought." — Family Recollections. 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 107 politics, I can only tell you that the political con nexion between Lord Wellesley and Canning is at an end, and that the latter has set his own immediate friends completely at liberty." This information his Lordship had derived from the subjoined letter, from Lieutenant-Colonel Allan, dated " Kingsgate, July 26th, 1813: — " My dear Lord, " The unreserved conversation I had with your Lordship last autumn, regarding Lord Wellesley and Mr. Canning, and the handsome terms In which your Lordship expressed your regard for Lord Wellesley, Lord WeUington, Mr. Pole, and Sir H. Wellesley, wiU account for my not losing a moment in acquainting your Lordship that a final separation has taken place between Lord WeUesley and Mr. Canning, and that there is an end of their political connexion. This event has taken place without any interruption of their pri vate friendship. I have always conceived that their political connexion was the principal obstacle in the way of Lord Wellesley's acceptance of office. That obstacle removed, I cannot help flattering myself that the hope I have long cherished will now be realised, and that I shaU see Lord WeUesley a member of the same cabinet with your Lord ship. You are united in friendship, and ought to be In politics. Believe me, &c. &c. "A. Allan."* From Viscount Sidmouth to Lieut.- Colonel Allan. " My dear Sir, Eichmond Park, July 29tli, 1813. " I think myself much obliged to you for your letter. You have long been acquainted with my sentiments respect ing Lord Wellesley. Those sentiments remain unchanged ; but, however desirable such an union might be as that to * Colonel Allan served with distinction in the Mysore war, and ranked high in Lord Wellesley's confidence and esteem. 108 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. which you advert, it must be recollected that the government is now formed ; and that what would have been easy in June or July, 1812, must now, to say the least, be extremely dif ficult, if not impracticable. With respect to Mr, Canning, I must say that having, as you know, last year acquiesced In an arrangement then In contemplation, which would have comprehended him as well as Lord Wellesley, I could not, considering what has since passed between Mr. Canning and myself*, object to such an arrangement now, provided it could be accomplished with satisfaction and honour to all parties concerned. I say this to obviate an impression, which you appear to have taken, that the continuance of Lord Wel lesley's connexion with Mr. Canning would, of Itself, have constituted an obstacle, on my part, to a connexion between Lord Wellesley and the government. This, I am bound to declare, would not have been the case. Believe me to be, with great regard, my dear Sir, very truly yours, " Sidmouth." Amongst the letters which Lord Sidmouth received at this season was the one annexed, from his private secretary, Mr., now Sir Robert Harry Inglis, Baronet, M.P., whom, from being his son's friend, his Lordship * This relates to the reconciliation between those parties, which happily took place in 1812. When, on the death of Lord Buck inghamshire in 1816, Mr. Canning's appointment to succeed that lamented nobleman, as president of the Board of Control, was under consideration. Lord Sidmouth recommended the measure in the following note : — " Dear Lord Melville, Hill Street, February sth, 1816. " Having reflected on the subject of our yesterday's conversa tion, I remain of opinion that it is proper for Lord Liverpool, and, all circumstances considered, perhaps incumbent upon him, to offer a cabinet ofiice to Mr. Canning upon the present melan choly occasion." Mr. Canning did succeed on that vacancy, but was not gazetted until the month of June. 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH. 109 admitted to be his own, and for whom in that capacity he entertained a sincere and undiminished afi"ection until the close of his life. " My dear Lord, Killarney, Aug. 23d, 1813 " I have now traversed the larger half of the route which I originally proposed to follow, and am sufficiently satisfied with my gleanings. I will not tire you with a description of ordinary scenery, still less wiU I mock you by attempting to describe the scenes among which I am now writing. In truth, I did not enter Ireland on a picturesque tour; and though, in the hasty passage which I make over the country, I can only view the surface points of the Irish character, even that bird's eye view will repay me. I have been chiefly struck with the great scene of Penance, In Lough Derg, in the county of Donegal. It is possible that you may not be aware of the extent, perhaps not of the existence, of this Penance ; and I hazard this supposition, from having re marked that few, if any, of the many persons to whom I have mentioned it as one of the great objects of my own tour, were at all apprised of the circumstances which could give it any interest in any eyes. I am indebted for the hint of it to Sir Thomas Acland, who saw more of Ireland than any publishing tourist, and who himself went to this lake ; but the lake itself contains another object (in St. Patrick's purgatory), which your protege, Mr. Maurice, endeavoured to connect with some legends in the Hindu Paranas, and which object had been so long familiar to me in his writings, that the name alone would have attracted me to Lough Derg. The present interest of the scene is, however, sufficient, without reference to any part of previous history, to justify our curiosity. The lake Is secluded from the world, not so much by absolute distance from any great town, as by the nature of the country — the mountains and bogs which form the intermediate barrier. Among the islands on this lake is one containing an area little more, I suspect, than an English acre, which is covered with chapels and other places of devotion, and residences for the priests and the prior. Here, from the 1st of June to the 15th of August, resort from all parts of Ireland, 110 LIFE OF Chap. XXX. and from some parts of Great Britain, pilgrims of both sexes, of all ages from ten years, and of all classes In society, to undergo one common discipline for one common object. AU are bareheaded and barefooted ; none, during any part of their penance, (which in no case is less than three days. In many six, in some nine,) may taste any thing but oat bread and water ; none, on the last day of that penance, may taste any thing at aU : for the twenty-four hours of that day and night they are ' in prison,' In the chapel, without food or sleep. On the night of my arrival In the neighbourhood, there were 360 persons thus in prison. The devotion which I witnessed struck me greatly: the banishment from the island of all ordinary employments and temptations naturally assisted the singleness with which that large and strangely- mixed multitude pursued their object, and rendered the island a school of very interesting observation. Three of the rules of the penance appeared to me very admirable : one is, that no pilgrim shall take alms on his journey or on his return, that the lake may not be the pretence of a mendicant tour : another, that no spirits shall be sold within three miles of the I spot ; that the intemperance with which Irish meetings, even of this description, too frequently close, may not occur here : the third is, that no person who belongs to any secret society, ' Eibandmen,' or " Freemasons,' shall be admitted to the penance ; that the services of the lake may not give a sanc tion to any dividing principle, but that all mankind may be the brethren of the pilgrims. The ' Ribandmen' are the oppo sition to the ' Orangemen;' and the exclusion of the first — their own partisans — from the benefit of this penance. Is a favourable evidence of the principle on which the Roman Catholic clergy of the local establishment administer it ; and, indeed, the three regulations, together, are a proof that the influence of the Roman Catholic clergy is here most profit ably exerted. If either of these regulations be Infringed, the guilty party forfeits the spiritual benefit which he might have derived from his penance. On the day before my arrival there were 1000 pilgrims on the island ; and this has occurred once before during the season. In the course of the present season, altogether, 12,000 have been entered in the books. 1813, LORD SIDMOUTH. Ill This scene and some other circumstances have greatly raised my opinion of the practical character and influence of the Roman Catholic religion on the minds of the lower classes. Yet neither this scene at Lough Derg, nor any thing that I have yet seen or heard in Ireland, has weakened my convic tion that It Is necessary to stop short of any further concession of political power to the Roman Catholic body. If we could be morally ^certain that unconditional submission to their present demands would insure to us the permanent peace and union of all classes, we might, perhaps, admit the anomalies of the measure ; but every new concession has furnished only the disposition and the means to extort more. ' Ask where's the north, at York it's on the Tweed ; ' and the north wUl thus recede from us, ' till all be theirs beneath the arctic sky.' Catholic emancipation wiU be foUowed by the aboli tion of the tithes, the erection of a Roman Catholic esta blishment, or the separation of the two countries, as successive objects of popular excitement ; and O'Connell and O'Gorman, who, we are told, would completely lose their consequence by the success of their own present efforts, would quickly find in any one or all these, or some other of 'the thirty thousand grievances,' some most animating substitute for the war-cry which they now raise. I must not, however, run on at this rate. I ought to have written to you sooner; and, when I did write, I ought to have finished the subject with which I closed my first letter; but the place where I am writing, and the intermediate scenes through which I have passed In my progress, are sufficient to suspend the recollec tion of the earlier transactions of my journey. I must add, however, that my delivery of your letter to the Duke of Richmond was met immediately by a card, from the aide-de camp in waiting, desiring my attendance at dinner at the Park : I obeyed the command, of course, and found the Duke very civil, and the Duchess very agreeable ; the latter seemed to inherit a large portion of her mother's good-will towards you. " I retum, through Dublin, in the course of a fortnight. I trust that you have enjoyed your excursion as much as I 112 LIES OF Chap. XXX. have done mine, Pray remember me kindly to every member of your family; and believe me to be, mth great respect, my dear Lord, your faithful and obliged friend and servant, " Robert Harrt Inglis." Amongst the various subjects which occupied Lord Sidmouth's attention at this period was one in which he had ever taken a deep interest, the welfare of the Established Church. Lord Liverpool had recently elevated from the chair of the Regius Professorship at Oxford, to the See of London, the present most amiable, benevolent, and exemplary primate. Dr. Howley, who addressed a letter to Lord Sidmouth warmly expressive " of that gratitude which, on the present occasion, he felt due to one to whose kindness," his Lordship was pleased to add, " he owed that step in the Church which had been the basis of all his promotion." It appears, however, from the follow ing remark, which Lord Sidmouth addressed to the Speaker, on the 22d of September, that it was to the happy discrimination of Lord Liverpool that the Bishop owed his present unusual advancement. "Dr. Howley's appointment adds strength and dignity to our church establishment, which is also powerfully re cruited by that of Dr. Van Mildert to the Regius Pro fessorship. In these selections Lord Liverpool had great merit, for I assure you they were his own." During this and the succeeding year the public attention was almost wholly absorbed by the stupen dous events transacting on the Continent. These subjects, however, not falling under Lord Sidmouth's official cognisance, will not here be introduced ; and as 1813. LORD SIDMOUTH, 113 the domestic occurrences present nothing more that appears to require particular notice, both the chapter and the record of the year will now be brought to a simultaneous close.* * It appears probable, from the rough sketch of the speec with which the Prince Regent opened parliament on the 4th o November 1813 being found amongst Lord Sidmouth's papers, that it was composed by his Lordship. vnr. TTT 114 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. CHAPTER XXXL 1814—1816. Downfall of Napoleon. Restoration of the Bourbons. Lord Sidmouth accompanies Louis XVIII. to Dover. Visit of the Allied Sovereigns to England. Lord Sidmouth receives Presents from the Princess Louise of Prussia — And from the Emperor Alexander. Visits Devonshire. His Opinion on the American War. Disturbances in Lon don respecting the Corn Law. Lord Sidmouth's Opinion on that Subject. Escape of Napoleon, and Renewal of the War. Arrival of the Despatches from Waterloo. Results of the Victory. Letter from Lord Ellenborough on the Treatment proper for Napoleon. Letters to Sir T. Mait land, Mr. Bathurst, and the Duke of Neiocastle* and from Lord Buckinghamshire and the Duke of Newcastle. Conti nental Arrangements concluded, and approved of by Lord Liverpool and Lord Sidmouth. Their permanent good Re sults. Lord Sidmouth an early Advocate for Church Extension. He corresponds with Dr, Wordsworth on the Question, Letter to Mr. J. C. Hobhouse respecting his Work on the late Reign of Napoleon. Death of Mr. She ridan, and of Mr. James Adams. Expedition to Algiers. Renewal of Disturbances in the Manufacturing Districts, chiefly caused by Depres.iion of Prices, unfavourable Season, and Want of Employment. Sentiments of the Duke of Rut land. Riots at Littleport and Ely. Trial of the Offenders. Disaffection in Nottingham. Letters from Admiral Frank, Lord Darlington, Lord Eldon, and Mr. Legh Keck. Dis turbances at Merthyr Tydvil. Extreme Deficiency of Means at Lord SidmoutKs Disposal to put down Disaffection. He favours Emigration. Meetings at Spa Fields. Insurrec tion of the second of December. Rioters separate after wounding Mr. Piatt. Course pursued by Lord Sidmouth. His Letter to the Speaker. His Conduct generally approved of. Letter from Lord Redesdale. The tremendous struggle of the revolution which had occupied twenty-one years of Lord Sidmouth's 1814. LORD SIDMOUTH. 115 political life was now drawing to a close. The in vasion of France at the commencement of 1814, by attracting universal attention, procured for his Lord ship and Earl Fitzwilliam some respite from their recent anxiety, and enabled them sometimes to touch on other topics than the machinations of the dis affected. In transmitting, for instance, an address from Hull, on the 9th of January, the latter expressed the following sentiments respecting the ruler of France : — " I congratulate you most sincerely on all the important events that have happened and are now happening. The whining of Bonaparte is music to my ear : he sinks In adver sity, and we shall see him die a mean dastard. I do not know whether the influence of his character will not give its hue to that of the Whole nation. Judging from their papers, there seems no national spirit rising in their difficulties. Admiring the nation for its energy, for to that quality of character it has a just claim, I shall feel for our species, should it not show itself in some way or other worthy of its former reputation ; as yet, it seems, like its leader, to fail. I am, my dear Lord, your Lordship's, very sincerely, " Wentworth Fitzwilliam." Lord Sidmouth's reply was written on the 1 2th of January, and expresses similar sentiments : — " I can assure your Lordship," it proceeds, "that you have been often in my thoughts during the pei-iod whilst the great change has been taking place on the Continent, as I weU knew how strong yoiir feelings would be in consequence of It. What would have been those of Mr. Burke, of Windham, and of Lawrence, if their lives had been spared ? The spirit of Bonaparte appears to droop with his fortunes ; and I trust that the energy of the French nation, which we have had too I 2 116 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL much reason to admire, will be suspended tiU the great struggle is triumphantly over. Beheve me, my dear Lord, very sin cerely yours, " Sidmouth." In a letter addressed, on the same day, to his brother, his Lordship thus anticipated the approaching result of the crisis : — " Never was there presented to Europe a prospect so interesting as that opened by the en trance of the aUied army into France. A few weeks will, probably, decide Bonaparte's tenure of his crowns. A strong disposition towards the Bourbons is rapidly gaining ground in France." Early in April, the accomplishment of these expect ations was announced to Lord Sidmouth by his under secretary, Mr., now the Right Honourable Sir John Beckett, in the following hurried note : — " Whitehall, Good Friday. " Exit Napoleon and all his family, by a decree of the French nation ! ! ! Moniteurs are this moment arrived to the 3d. The legislative body met the day after the allies en tered Paris ; decreed, forthwith, the decheance of Bonaparte and all his family ; and established a provisional government to deliberate on a constitution suitable to the French nation. The Bourbons have not been named except by les dames de la Halle. I give your Lordship joy with all my heart." The sequel to this glorious inteUigence was com municated to Lord Sidmouth by Sir John Doyle, go vernor of Guernsey, in the following words, written on the 9th of April : — "I hasten to congratulate your Lordship on a telegraphic message I have just received from Jersey : ' The King of France pro- ^814- LORD SIDMOUTH. 117 claimed at Paris.' As it may not be known in London, I send off my secretary, express, with^ what, I conceive, decisive of a real peace." ¦ In the exhilarating scenes of joy which followed the deliverance of Europe, Lord Sidmouth was obliged, by virtue of his office, to take an active and con spicuous part. On the 24th of April he accompanied the restored King of France to Calais, on his way to take possession of his hereditary throne ; and his attention, during the two succeeding months, was chiefly occupied by the duties consequent on the ar rival of the allied sovereigns in this country. The visit of the Prince Regent and his royal guests to the university of Oxford, on the 14th of June, was the subject of much elaborate arrangement, and occasioned a lengthened correspondence between the Home Office and Lord Grenville, the Chancellor of the University. Lord Sidmouth's personal attendance was necessary on that occasion, as it also was at the Lord Mayor's banquet in the city, on the 18th of June, and at the grand naval spectacle at Portsmouth, on the 25th of the same month. It was no trivial duty, and it was one which his Lordship made a point of fulfilling with his own pen, to prepare answers to the numerous loyal addresses which greeted the Regent from every side. One ofthe most gratifying offices which Lord Sid mouth fulfilled at this period, was that of announcing to Mr. Warren Hastings, whose trial he had attended, as Speaker, above twenty years before, that the Regent intended to nominate him a member of the privy council ; a tardy honour, but one highly acceptable to the receiver, who " felt much additional gratification I 3 118 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI in the communication made to him by his Lordship, in the expressions of personal kindness in which it was conveyed." Amongst the numerous events to which this in teresting conjuncture gave birth, one which afforded Lord Sidmouth much gratification, was the elevation of his friend. Sir Edward Pellew, to the peerage of England, in acknowledgment of his services whilst in command for four years of the Mediterranean fleet. This circumstance his Lordship announced to Mr. Charles Yorke in the following note : — " My dear Sir, Spring Gardens, May 13th, 1814. " I am sure it will give you pleasure to hear, if you have not heard it already, that the Prince Regent has conferred a peerage on our friend. Sir Edward Pellew. He will be gazetted to-morrow as Baron Exmouth. " Ever sincerely yours, Sidmouth." The interest which his Lordship took in this ad vancement of his friend was thus gratefully acknow ledged by that friend on his return to England, & few weeks afterwards : — H. M. S. Caledonia, at sea, August Sth, 1814. " My dear Lord, " On my return from foreign service laden with high marks of favour from my gracious sovereign, unmerited on my part except for honest zeal for his service, I cannot look back with out feehng powerfully the many acts of kindness I have re ceived from you since the day of being presented to you by Lord Chatham, on my receiving the honour of knighthood, in the year 1793, after the capture of the Cleopatra. You will not, therefore, be surprised, that I should feel a very sincere attachment for your person and interests, which I take this means of expressing, knowing how silent the tongue is when 1814. LORD SIDMOUTH. 119 the heart is full ; and this will be my case when I have the satisfaction of paying my respects to you, which I hope to do as soon as I reach town." In the course of this summer Lord Sidmouth had the honour of receiving a present from the Princess Louisa of Prussia, which was conferred in a manner that^ could not fail to impart the highest satisfaction. His Lordship had been instrumental in procuring surgical and medical stores for the relief of Prussian soldiers wounded in a former campaign, and it was in grateful acknowledgment of this service that he received from her Royal Highness, through the hands of Baron Jacobi, a beautiful porcelain cup, accompa nied by the following gracious communication : — " My Lord, "Berlin, 20th of June, 1814. " Baron Jacobi having informed me of the kind interest your Lordship has manifested In the fate of my unfortunate countrymen, and having assured me I might offer you a cup, made at the Royal China Manufactory here, expressive of their gratitude towards their generous benefactor, I now re quest your Lordship's acceptance of it, accompanied by the assurance of those sentiments that I so warmly participate with all my countrymen towards a nation and a government which has such just claims on our gratitude and attachment." " I have the honour to be your Lordship's most obliged, " Louise, Princess of Prussia. " Radziwill." At this period, also, Lord Sidmouth received from the Emperor Alexander a gold box, containing a miniature likeness of his Imperial Majesty, set in dia monds, for which " splendid mark of esteem and favour " his Lordship requested Count Lieven to con- I 4 120 LI^T; of Chap. XXXI. vey to his august sovereign, in terms the most re spectful, the assurance of his sincere gratitude.* The severe and harassing duties which Lord Sid mouth's office imposed upon him during this exciting summer having materiaUy affected his health, his Lordship, on the 23d of August, took advantage of a brief interval of repose to visit his estates in Devon shire, from whence he forwarded the following report to his friend, Lord De Dunstanville : — " Upottery, September 4th. " For a considerable time before I left Richmond Park, I was much indisposed, not having recovered from the effects of hard service, and of repeated colds caught in the early part of the summer. My expedition into the west has set me up ; though I am sorry that my furlough cannot be extended be yond the I2th of this month." A further allusion to the effects of his official exer tions is contained in a letter which his Lordship addressed to his brother five days afterwards : — "I was very much hurried, very much unhinged, and very unwell for a considerable time before I began my journey. I have, besides, that about me," aUuding * " Lord Sidmouth, who attended the Emperor on his visit to Portsmouth, used frequently to repeat with approbation, the substance of some observations which his Imperial -Majesty con descended to address to him on that occasion respecting the severity of the English criminal code of laws. 'In England,' he observed, ' where every man enjoys so much freedom of action, the execution of the laws must necessarily be severe, in consequence of the difficulty of imposing adequate restraints on the early transgression of them. As you cannot, therefore, interpose ob stacles to the commission of crime, the only remaining check is to punish it severely when committed. In Eussia we can interfere to prevent the commission ; severe punishments, therefore, are not so essential.' " 1814- LORD SIDMOUTH. 121 to the irreparable domestic loss he had incurred three years before, " which I now fear I shall never be free from, and which, I am too well aware, makes me ' neglect the shows of love to other men.' This state of mind disinclines me to every exertion that is not necessary, makes me a bad correspondent, and keeps me silent in the House of Lords." But although, as he proceeded to state, his "mind was in a frame better suited to the scenery and quiet of Devonshire than to the intercourse to which he was necessarily habituated," he manifested no diminution of energy in the discharge of his official duties, and the 13th of September beheld him " with his new private secretary," the present Viscount Sidmouth, "again seated at the end of the long table." The only topic, however, comprised in the remain ing correspondence of this year, which appears to re quire particular notice, is the American question, respecting which Lord Sidmouth entirely coincided in the following sentiments addressed" to him by Lord Liverpool, on the 15th of September: — "I have written fully my sentiments to Lord Bathurst upon the last American note. I vsdsh we could get out of this war : but the point upon which I am most anxious is, that we should not get deeper into it, for I fear we shall feel it a most serious embarrassment some months hence ; and it is not a contest in which we are likely to obtain any glory or renown at all commensurate to the inconvenience it will occasion." Such being the view which Lord Sidmouth also took of this almost civil war, the satisfaction with which he indited the following note may readily be conjec tured : — 122 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. " My dear Hiley, Whitehall, December 27'th, 1814. " Preliminaries of peace are signed with America. This Is a great relief, though not in all respects a subject of exultation. * * * The war was too likely to become more and more unprofitable ; and Its continuance would have suspended our authority on the Continent of Europe, under circumstances the most critical. The good effects of the peace will soon be felt at Vienna." The first letter which his Lordship received in the year 1815 was from that gallant and loyal-hearted nobleman, the Marquis of Huntly, afterwards the last Duke of Gordon, who, from this date until his death, in May, 1836, never failed to address a letter of affectionate congratulation to Lord Sidmouth on every New Year's Day * : — " My dear Lord Sidmouth, Geneva, January 1st, 1815. " On this day we think of the friends we have, as well as of those who are gone : amongst the former I place you ; and reflecting upon the latter, I can never forget your attentions to my beloved mother ; indeed, my good Lord, I feel them as I ought ; on all occasions, I have myself fully experienced your friendship and kindness. If my returns have not been such as they ought to have been, charge them not to my in tentions. In our private capacities, our friendship and esteem. * This noble and generous friend was also in the habit of annually presenting a Scotch snuif-box to Lord Sidmouth on his birthday. The offering for the year 1824 was accompanied by the following note : — . " Monday night, May 29th. " One person, as Horace says — ' Natales aliosve dierum Festos albatus celebret.' For myself — ' Ut videas quam grata mihi lux crastina surget, Exiguum hoc magni pignus amoris habe.' " 1'815- LORD SIDMOUTH. 123 I flatter myself, have been reciprocal ; In our pubhc ones, we have had no separate opinions ; and I trust our mutual esteem and regard will cease only with our lives. We have been here three months leading a quiet and rational life, enjoying the society of this town : they are all very much attached to England, and bless us for our steadiness and perseverance ; your loyal heart will rejoice at this. On the 18th, I give a great dinner to the Syndics, &c., when I wIU do my best to please the republic. I wish our government could in any manner mark their respect for this town. * * * When you see the Duke of York, pray offer his Royal Highness my best regards. I have now only to add, that I wish you and your family many happy returns of this day ; and that I am, my dear Lord Sidmouth, yours most sincerely, " Huntly." As Lord Sidmouth's correspondence in 1815 was largely occupied by the stupendous military and poli tical events which were enacting on the Continent, the present record of that period must necessarily partake of a miscellaneous character. The internal state of the kingdom, indeed, occasioned his Lordship but little anxiety, since even the voice of disaffection was silenced for the moment by the superior interest of foreign occurrences. The earliest transaction of the year was, however, of the former description, and was regarded, indeed, by Lord Sidmouth almost as a personal matter ; for on the 15th of February, only six days aftey the meeting of parliament, he requested Lord De Dunstanville " to attend that day in the House of Lords, when he (Lord Sidmouth) was to be attacked by Lord Fitzwilliam, for continuing to keep the militia embodied in time of peace." This was treated as a constitutional question by the leading Whig statesmen, who argued that the government 124 LIFE OF CuAP. XXXI. was not justified in retaining the services of the mi litia, except under one or more of the four following contingencies, neither of which then existed — rebel lion, insurrection, invasion, or imminent danger thereof. Lord Sidmouth's defence, in which he was seconded by Lords Eldon and Ellenborough, and fully supported by the opinions of the Attorney and Solicitor General, was, that the conduct of the govern ment had been perfectly legal ; for, although the various acts of parliament strictly defined the cir cumstances under which the militia should be called out, in none of them was it stated under what cir cumstances that force should be disembodied, from which he inferred that this was a matter studiously left for the decision of the Crown. The House con firmed this view by a majority of above two to one. The two subjects by which the attention of parlia ment was chiefly occupied during the earlier part of this session — the Property Tax and Corn Laws — are briefly alluded to in the following letter from Mr. Bond, dated February 26th : — " You seem to be traveUing on very well upon the dIflScult road of corn laws, and, at least for the present, reasonably well in finances. I am quite satisfied that that which is done as to corn is the best measure that could be adopted. Whether the price ought to be 76 or 80, I am not master enough of detail to have a decided opinion ; and I know that no farmer is to be believed on the subject of rent, no more than any merchant in any legislative question which he supposes will affect his In terests. I have no doubt that the wisest measure In finance would have been to have continued the property tax, with some modifications ; and which, with some modifications, would be, I conceive, notwithstanding the odium attached to It, one of the very best species of taxation. The real truth is, that 1815- LORD SIDMOUTH. 125 it is odious because efficient, because It reaches property by no other means assaUable ; and it would particularly recom mend it to me, that it would at this time reach aU those idle people who have emigrated to the Continent, withdrawing from the payment of the assessed taxes, and taking from the country sums equal to the subsidising of armies. I have no doubt, however, considering that you had the corn laws to handle, and that the people had discovered so strong a feeling upon the subject, that it was quite right to abandon it." As events then immediately impending deprived the parliamentary proceedings on the above two sub jects of their value and interest, Mr. Bond's brief no tice of them is, in a political point of view, quite suf ficient. The disgraceful riots, however, by which the discussion of the corn laws was accompanied, and the energy with which Lord Sidmouth applied him self to their suppression, must not be so concisely disposed of. The bill proposed by government, the object of which was to permit the free importation of foreign corn for home consumption, when the average price of British wheat amounted to 80s. the quarter, and not tiU then, was naturally very unpopular amongst the lowest classes in the metropolis, some of whom adopted the vain and wicked idea of intimidating those members of the legislature who were supposed to be in favour of the measure, by attacking and demolishing their houses. This disgraceful spirit first displayed itself during the debate in the Commons on the Gth of March, upon the question whether the importation price of wheat should be 76s. or 80s., in violent assaults upon members when proceeding to the House. These outrages having been promptly checked by the appearance of the mill- 126 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. tary, the rioters, as the night advanced, dispersed in small parties about the metropolis, to satiate their revenge on the residences of obnoxious legislators ; and as it was impossible for the authorities either to anticipate their movements, or to pursue them with sufficient celerity to prevent mischief, many houses received considerable injury. Especially was this the case with respect to the residences of the Lord Chancellor, in Bedford Square ; of Earl Bathurst, in Mansfield Street ; and of Mr. Robinson, the mover of the resolutions, in Burlington Street ; aU of which presented, on the following morning, sad examples of the licentiousness of unbridled liberty. The author can speak personally of these disgraceful scenes, for he underwent two sieges (both of which were raised by the timely arrival of the military), in his father's house, in Harley Street ; and he AveU remembers the sudden and unwelcome apparition of the yeUing mob, their instantaneous disappearance at a preconcerted signal, and the organisation manifested in aU their proceedings. The outrages were 'repeated, though evidently with diminished confidence, on the two fol lowing nights, upon the former of which the rioters were fired upon from Mr. Robinson's house, and a by-stander was unfortunately killed. This was a fit ting occasion for the exercise of that firmness and vigilance for which Lord Sidmouth was remarkable. London was immediately environed with troops in support of the civil power, and a proclamation was published in the name of the Regent ; in addition to which his Lordship himself issued a circular on the 9th of March, " to the several parishes in the metro polis, cailling upon the principal inhabitants thereof J315, LORD SIDMOUTH. 127 to assemble and concert measures in support of those adopted by the government, for the preservation of the peace, and the protection of the inhabitants." These measures insured, after the third night, the total discontinuance of those lawless aggressions; and shortly afterwards the obnoxious resolutions were passed by large majorities in the House of Lords, without further interruption of external violence. Lord Sidmouth's own opinion on that fruitful sub ject of discord is comprised in the following answer to his highly-valued friend, John Coker, Esq., chair man of quarter sessions in the county of Oxford, who had written to his Lordship, recommending the reduc tion of the importation price to 75s. : — " My dear Sir, March I5th, 1815. " I thank you for your letter ; and, as you are one of those whose opinions have great weight with me, I regret that I cannot agree with you in the present instance. My appre hension and conviction is, that the protecting price (80s.), as fixed by the bill, is not sufficient to give that confidence to the corn-grower which is essential to the attainment of tlie 'great object of the bill, namely, an ample and independent supply. The continual dread of arriving at that price which is to let in foreign competition may occasionally have some effect in keeping down the markets ; but it will check the ap plication of capital and labour to the production of grain, the abundant supply of which from our own soil will not, I fear, be effectuaUy provided for by the proposed security against , foreign competition till the price per quarter has reached 80«. Any reduction of that price I should therefore consider as im provident and hazardous. Yours, &c. &c. " Sidmouth." Even after this measure had passed the House of Lords, another danger awaited it, which arose from an address of the city of London to the Regent, peti- 128 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. tioning him to withhold from it the royal assent. The Prince's reply, which Avas written by Lord Sidmouth, contained a most dignified rebuke, expressing "the greatest concern at the sentiments addressed to him, and declaring his Royal Highness's conviction that, by exercising the King's prerogative in the manner indicated, he should manifest a want of confidence in a parliament which, under the most trying difficul ties, had, by the wisdom, vigour, and firmness of its conduct, invariably upheld the honour of his Majesty's crown, and promoted the best interests of his people." The only fact which remains to be stated is, that the parties who fired the fatal shots from Mr. Robinson's house were tried, on the coroner's warrant, at the Old Bailey, on the 8th of April, and fully acquitted — Mr. Justice Chambre declaring " there could not be a clearer case," and the jury pronouncing themselves satisfied without hearing the evidence for the defence. " Your Lordship," observed Mr. Beckett, in reporting the case, " will feel, I know, extremely gratified by the result of this trial. Nothing could have taken a better course. It extinguishes the coroner and all his proceedings utterly, and will teach people that they may defend themselves and their property with security, if they are attacked. It will also let the military see that they wUl be protected when they do their duty. The Attorney General conducted the case with his usual ability." Amidst these domestic transactions an event sud denly occurred on the Continent, which excited universal anxiety and astonishment. On the 1st of March, Bonaparte, accompanied by about a thousand men, landed in France from Elba, and immediately 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 129 commenced his triumphant inarch to Paris, which capital he reached on the 20th, only a few hours after the departure of the legitimate monarch. The events which succeeded, until the grand catastrophe on the 18th of June, wiU be passed over in silence ; but when the Hon. Colonel Percy, the bearer of the despatches re lating to that decisive victory, arrived in London, on the evening of the 21st, the Regent was honouring Mr. and Mrs. Boehm with his presence at dinner ; and Lord Sidmouth, who had remained at his office in anxious expectation of intelligence, accompanied the gaUant officer to his Royal Highness, in St. James's Square. His Lordship was forcibly struck by the intense interest of the scene, and used frequently to describe it to his friends. To the Prince's successive inquiries for the safety of various parties in whom he felt particularly interested, the answer almost inva riably was, " Killed," or " Wounded ;" until at length his Royal Highness exclaimed, in an accent nearly of despair, " Good Heaven ! I seem to have lost all my friends." On retiring from the royal presence. Lord Sidmouth repaired to Lord Ellenborough, who lived within a few doors of Mr. Boehm. It was now late, and his Lordship received his friend's inteUigence in bed. " Bring me my clothes," he said, immediately ringing for his servant. " I will not rob myself of one moment's enjoyment of this glorious night." * * This appears the most suitable place for the insertion of the following extract from a letter addressed by Marquis Wellesley to Lord Sidmouth, on the 4th of October, 1821, giving the history of the Wellington tree : — " I perceive that the King is to visit Waterloo. In the centre of the British lines on that field stood an ancient elm tree, under which great part of the plans of the day were settled. The tree 130 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL Events now followed each other with marvellous rapidity. On the 25th of June Lord Sidmouth in formed his brother that " Bonaparte had abdicated," and shortly afterwards he wrote to the same party to say that " the great prize, Paris, was obtained, and the greater, Bonaparte, would soon be secured." This last event, the consummation of Europe's triumph, he communicated to Lord Ellenborough in a letter to which his Lordship, on the 23d of July, replied as follows : — "I thank you for your kind note of con gratulation upon an event which had gladdened my ear a few hours before I received your favour from Richmond Park. The custody of the tiger will be attended, however, with some trouble and embarrass ment. The course to be pursued with him as to his immediate personal treatment is not difficult. It must, I should think, be simple, yet vnth no unne cessary harshness in it. The omission of any particle of caution, by which he may be let loose upon the world again, would be a crime of the highest magni- was much injured by the shot. It was cut down, and a magnificent chair carved from the remains ; which chair was presented to the King, and placed in Carlton House. An inscription being de manded for the royal elm chair, the following lines were inscribed upon it : — ' GEORGIO AUGUSTO, EUKOP^ LIBEEATOEI. Ampla inter spolia, et magni decora alta triumphi, Ulmus erit fastis commemoranda tuis ; Quam super exoriens fausta tibi gloria penna, Palmam oleamque uno detulit alma die : Immortale decus maneat ; famaque perenni Felicique geras sceptra paterna manu, Et, tua victrices dum cingant tempora lauri, Materies solio digna sit ista tuo.' " 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 131 tude, and of which I wUl not allow myself to suspect that any part of his Majesty's government could be guilty." The ultimate destination of the captive was inti mated to Mr. Hiley Addington by his brother, on the 30th of July, in the following terms : — " The prisoner has made me a bad correspondent ; but the final de cision is taken, and he wiU be under weigh for St. Helena by the middle of the week. He is very much disappointed by his destination. The extravagant courtesy and respect with which he was at first re ceived and treated provoked ,and disgusted every body. Our friend. Sir G. Cockburn, is to conduct him to St. Helena, and to remain there with the naval means of effectual enclosure, and Sir H. Lowe is to be his custos. His title is to be ' General.' " Writing on the following day to Mr. Bathurst, his Lordship added, that " as all neutrals were to be in terdicted, and the fishing boats transferred from the hands of private adventurers to those of the govern ment. Sir G. Cockburn is confident that he can pre vent ingress and egress. It appears that the commu nications in the island by means of telegraphs are very complete, and that from the constant clearness of the air and stiUness of the sea, boats may be seen at an immense distance." Conferences now ensued at Paris between the Duke of WelUngton and Lord Castlereagh on the part of England, and the representatives of the other allied powers, for the purpose of disentangling the perplexed skein of European politics. Upon this subject Lord Sidmouth thus expressed his sentiments to Sir Thomas Maitland, on the 13th of August : — " The late ex- 132 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL traordinary occurrences are to this country subjects of just exultation, and to Europe of joy and hope ; though not such as to justify that degree of confidence which can only arise from an unclouded prospect of quiet and security. The volcano is hot burnt out, and even with the aUied armies in France, there are evident indications of fresh convulsions. It is there fore necessary to seize the moment for affording to the Continent protection, as far as possible, against the consequences which are to be apprehended from a weak government and an irritated and distracted people ; for experience has shown that internal agi tation is far indeed from being any security against the spirit of foreign conquest, a spirit which must now be heightened by that of revenge, and which, as the government is not likely to prove strong enough to control it by authority, can only be kept under by the hopelessness of success." The negotiations then in progress, and upon which the future repose of the world depended, did not fall under Lord Sidmouth's immediate department ; never theless it was natural that he should regard them with great interest. During part of the months of August and September, his Lordship made a hurried excursion into Devonshire ; but it appears from the annexed letter, which he addressed to Mr. Bathurst from Upottery on the 2d of September, that prior to his departure from town he had attended the council, at which the course to be pursued by Great Britain at the conference had been finally arranged, and also that he had taken measures for being informed of Avhat might occur during his absence by his friends in the cabinet : — "I am anxious, my dear Charles. 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 133 to put you in possession of what is passing at Paris as far as we are concerned, and I cannot do this better than by sending you the enclosed letters from Lord Buckinghamshire and Vansittart, which I wish you to return. Before I left town our line was taken, liable to be influenced by circumstances which might obUge us to rise in our demands, and even, in some respects, to alter the nature of them. I am satisfied that it was right, upon the arrival of Lord Stewart, to acquiesce in the opinions of the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh, although their tone has always been lower than I could have wished." It is not often that letters addressed by one cabinet minister to another can with propriety be submitted to public perusal. Since, however, Lord Bucking hamshire, in the subjoined note, takes only a brief and general view of the circumstances, without enter ing, as Mr. Vansittart does, into minute and delicate particulars, there can, it is thought, be no impropriety in submitting it to the reader.* * As this is the last occasion on which it will be necessary to refer to the correspondence of this respected nobleman, it is ad visable to state here that his Lordship died on the 4th of February in the following year, 1816, to the deep regret of Lord Sidmouth, to whom he had written a long and friendly letter only four days before. He was most truly attached to Lord Sidmouth, and the friendship was mutual, combining every consideration, social and political. His Lordship announced this event to the Regent in the following words : — "Whitehall, February Sth, 1816. "It is Lord Sidmouth's painful duty to inform your Royal Highness of the death of the Earl of Buckinghamshire, who ex pired at eleven o'clock last night. Lord Sidmouth will not pre sume to obtrude any expression of his personal grief upon this melancholy occasion; but he trusts that he may be aUowed to offer his sincere condolence to your Royal Highness on the loss of 134 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. " My dear Lord Sidmouth, London, Aug. 28th. " I have only time to write a line to say, that Lord Stewart arrived yesterday from Paris, sent by the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh to ascertain explicitly the sentiments of the cabinet. It appears to them that there had, at different times, been so many shades of variation in the Instructions, that they did not know, with sufficient pre cision, what was meant. " Castlereagh has forwarded a most able despatch, which I have not time to enter upon ; but the result is, an opinion that he can carry, if now authorised distinctly to act, the conditions resolved upon at the last cabinet you attended, with the exception of dismantling Lisle and Strasbourg. The Emperor of Russia has delivered in a paper to the same effect, and Austria Is ready to concur with England and Russia ; but Prussia is obstinate, and the government over awed by the army. Castlereagh argues strongly against attempting to carry any thing you do not mean to insist upon; and it has been determined that nothing should be said about the dismantling of the two great fortresses." Whilst these momentous subjects were under the consideration of the cabinet. Lord Sidmouth received, on the 16th of September, from the Duke of New castle, an able and spirited paper, which, though addressed in the first instance to his Lordship, was intended also for his colleagues in office. In that document his Grace, who, with Lord Sidmouth, dreaded the consequences of a too lenient policy, strongly urged that "we should look to our present and future security whilst the means were in our reach, and to this end should endeavour so to reduce the power of France that she could not, if she would, any longer endanger the security of Europe." an able, zealous, and faithful servant of the crown, and of a most valuable and respectable member of society." 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 135 In acknowledging this communication on the 24th of September, Lord Sidmouth "begged his Grace to be assured of the respect he felt for the motives which had led to so clear and manly an exposition of the poUcy and conduct which ought to be observed by the aUies towards France at the present most critical conjuncture. It would be impertinent," his Lordship proceeded, " on his part to offer any detailed observa tions on the several suggestions in his Grace's letter. He must, however, express his hope and conviction that the government would not be found to have taken an erroneous or imperfect view of its duties, or to have shrunk from the firm and steady discharge of them ; and that the result of the military advantages which had been gained would be such as to satisfy the just claims and expectations of this country and of Europe." His Lordship had now returned to Whitehall, from whence he informed Mr. Bathurst on the 2d of October, that "the French government, after many struggles, had agreed to negotiate upon the grounds of indemnity and future security, and to give up Landau and two or three insulated places of a similar description ;" and two days afterwards he enclosed to the same party " the terms of a treaty actuaUy agreed to." The conditions, as thus concluded, gave perfect satisfaction to Lord Liverpool, whose letters addressed to Lord Sidmouth at this period, contained some very judicious observations on the subject : — "I have no doubt," he remarked on the 12th of October, " that the treaty .with France will be generaUy approved, and that the terms of it will be considered as bearing with as much severity on that country as is in any 136 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. way consistent with maintaining Louis XVIII. and his family on the throne." " The truth is," his Lord ship remarked three days afterwards, " the real re duction of the power of old France is a chimera, unless it were produced by a moral and internal schism in the country, such as the south adhering to the legitimate branch, and the remainder of France choosing another government. Such an event is by no means impossible ; but it must begin of itself, and it would then be a problem whether it would be upon the whole an advantage to mankind." In a third letter, dated October 18tb, Lord Liver pool thus expressed himself respecting the precarious footing of the legitimate dynasty in France : — "I am satisfied that the presence of an allied force in Paris during the winter is absolutely necessary. The King's government would not exist for a week if it was with drawn before a new force had been constituted in its place, which unavoidably requires time. I am, how ever, anxious that this force should not be exclusively British. I have written to Castlereagh to this effect, and at the same time have called his attention to the necessity of adopting every security against the con sequences of surprise. The Duke of Wellington has evidently no apprehensions ; and the only point upon which I understand aU parties in France are agreed, is the absolute necessity of a foreign force, and more particularly of a British force, remaining in the country for some time. Strange that it should have come to this." Lord Sidmouth's own approbation of the treaty, as finally concluded, may be inferred from the following passage which he addressed to Sir Thomas Maitland 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 137 on the Sth of November : — " Our continental affairs are in as satisfactory a state as could reasonably be expected, considering the weakness of the executive government in France, and the discontent and rest lessness of the people. The terms of the treaty, as far as they are known, appear to be generally ap proved of. * * * One could have wept at the fate of Murat. It affords, however, to the throne of Naples a degree of security not possessed by that of France ; for the danger to Avhich, however, I look with more anxiety to Vienna than to St. Helena ; I mean to the son than to the father. You probably know that Malta was one of the places thought of for the residence of Bonaparte, and I think you will not be disposed, on any account, to regret that such was not his destination." Lord Sidmouth and his noble colleague were correct in their anticipations that the conditions of the treaty would be generally approved of. Nearly all those who thought deeply on such subjects, agreed, it is believed, with Mr. George Rose's declaration, that " he could not refer to an instance where there had been shown more talent, firmness, justice, and moder ation, than in the present settlement of matters at the close of a long, bloody, and expensive contest." The wisdom, however, of the adjustment of 1815, no longer rests on opinion alone, since Europe is stiU reaping, at the distance of thirty-one years, the fruits of the allied councils on that occasion, in one of, if not the longest general peace she has ever enjoyed since she was first subdivided into nations. The favourable termination of the congress, and the prosperous state of the finances, induced the 138 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL government to prorogue parliament to the 1st of February, a later period than usual.* Lord Sid mouth employed a portion of this interval in pre paring the government and the public for some general measure in promotion of Church extension. He had already aUuded to this important subject on the 20th of November, 1814, when writing to the Rev. C. D. Wray, who had pointed out to him the " disproportion between the population of Manchester and Salford, and the means of accommodation in those towns at places of public worship under the Established Church." " The circumstance," his Lord ship observed, " struck me forcibly when the returns I had moved for were laid before the House of Lords in 1811 ; and I urged it, together with many other instances of such a disproportion, as a ground for the interposition of parliament to correct an evil so favour able to the progress of schism, and indeed so injurious to the interests and influence of religion. On this subject I have conversed frequently -with many intel ligent and firm friends of the Establishment, and I trust that the attention of parliament will at length be awakened to the urgent importance of adopting, upon an extensive scale, such measures as-wiU afford * This circumstance occasioned some uneasiness to the Lord Chancellor, for the singular reason mentioned in the following note, dated October 23d : — " Since I have been Chancellor, begin ning, I suppose, upon the example of former doings, we have not had a prorogation beyond seventy-nine days ; I fancy, on the notion of having the forty days eundo and the forty redeundo for privilege from arrest. I observe the present is at least ninety days ; and though I believe that this is legal, if you, my dear Lord, from your parliamentary experience, would be kind enough to tell me by return of post whether this thing is right, you may make me comfortable for the last days of my holydays.'' 1815. LORD SIDMOUTH. 139 the means of religious instruction, and of attending public worship, to the members of our Church." These being his Lordship's sentiments, it may readily be imagined with what- satisfaction he imparted the foUowing intelligence to Lord Kenyon — through life his valued friend and confidential coadjutor in sup porting the Protestant religion, and promoting the welfare of the Established Church : — " My dear Lord, Whitehall, Nov. 20th, 1815. " I have the greatest satisfaction in acquainting you, in confidence, that I have now no doubt of Lord Llverpoofs determination to submit a proposition to parliament, in the ensuing session, for an augmentation, to be progressively made, of the number of places of worship under the Esta blished Church.* Believe me to be, with true regard, my dear Lord, very sincerely yours, " Sidmouth." It does not appear to what extent Lord Sidmouth contributed to this decision ofthe Premier; but during the present autumn he was in correspondence with Dr. WordsAVorth, Dean of Bocking, " as to the best means of making a first approach to the public on the subject of church extension," which they agreed would be, by an original essay. His Lordship had suggested the names of two eminent individuals for the accom- pUshment of this object ; but Dr. Wordsworth, in his reply, on the 26th of September, expressed his "per suasion that, however competent Mr. Coleridge, or his own brother, may be to the production of a popular essay on the subject, yet neither of them possessed * In consequence of financial difiiculties. Lord Sidmouth was disappointed in his expectation of the immediate accomplishment of this object, which was not proposed hy the Prince Regent to parliament until January, 1818. 140 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL that knowledge in detail of ecclesiastical matters which would be requisite to meet his Lordship's purposes. * * * Southey," he added, "would execute a review well, if, by the original essay, he could be put, in a degree, in possession of the detaUs." Lord Sidmouth was now entering upon a period of great labour and responsibility. Before, however, the more important portion of his official duties is de scribed, the miscellaneous topics of the new year wiU be added to those of the same character belonging to the former one, which have recently been related. At this period his Lordship returned the following reply to a letter which he received from Mr., now the Right Honourable Sir John flobhouse, Bart., requesting his Lordship's acceptance of a copy of his work on " the last Reign of the Emperor Napoleon." . It contained, Mr. Hobhouse candidly admitted, " opi nions so entirely opposite to those which had guided the public measures of that cabinet of which his Lord ship formed so distinguished a part, that he was not willing his diatribe should reach his Lordship except through his own hands, being desirous of saying that nothing contained in it was intended to bear on that individual character for which he was bound to feel so much respect." « Sir, Hill Street, Feb. 23d, 1816. " I am much obliged to you for your letter, and for the order given to, your bookseller to send me a copy of your last publication. That your work is written with ability I am sure ; and I cannot but be equaUy convinced that the sentiments contained in it are such as you sincerely believe to be just. Nevertheless, from what you have said, and from what I have heard from other quarters, I am glad to return you my thanks for this mark of attention previous to my 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 141 perusal of your work, as I am now spared the pain of ex pressing opinions which it is too certain I must have enter tained, and which I should have thought it disingenuous and improper to suppress. " I am, &c. &c. Sidmouth." If no notice were here to be taken of the death of Mr. Sheridan, the reader, who must have observed in the progress of this work the numerous marks of per sonal respect and friendship, which, amidst occasional coUisions of political sentiment. Lord Sidmouth re ceived from that distinguished genius, would not readily forgive the omission. Mr. Sheridan expired on the Tth of July, 1816; and on Saturday, the 13th, was buried in Westmin ster Abbey. Lord Sidmouth, in a note which he addressed to his brother, briefly alluded to these events ; stating that he attended the funeral as a mourner, and that, whilst he stood over the last earthly asylum of departed intellect, he experienced aU those congenial feelings which could more readily be conceived than expressed. " It was not," he added, " until a few days previous to the event that he appeared to be aware of danger." In this instance Lord Sidmouth must have keenly experienced that necessary accompaniment of exist ence in any degree protracted, the pang of survivor ship ; for, from the period of his Lordship's resignation in 1804, Mr. Sheridan had been his frequent visiter at Richmond Park ; and they had reciprocated much friendly and confidential intercourse both private and political.* * In the month of September, this year, Lord Sidmouth had also the misfortune to lose, after a protracted illness, his brother-in-law, James Adams, Esq., a most amiable character, possessed of aU the 142 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL Shortly after the above occurrences, an event of a very different nature took place, in which another of his Lordship's friends was engaged. His correspond ence, throughout the summer, manifests the deep interest he took in the result of the expedition sent to compel, from the piratical states of Barbary, the abo lition for ever of Christian slavery: the satisfaction, therefore, with which he received the following letter from the leader of that expedition may easily be imagined : — " Queen Charlotte, Algiers' Bay, Aug. 30th, 1816. " My dear Lord Sidmouth, " I perfectly remember, in your office, pledging myself to you for the destruction of the Algerine navy. I am happy to Inform you I have redeemed my pledge, and am in whole bones, as is also my opponent the Dey. His chastisement, however, has humbled him to the dust ; and he would re ceive me, if I chose it, on the Mole, upon his knees. " You wIU readily believe how much I regret the sad loss we have sustained : 883 out of 6500 is a large proportion ; but we were exposed to almost a complete circle of fire. I can only enclose you the copy of my memorandum to-day to the fleet, and beg you to believe that I consider this the happiest event of my fortunate life. One thousand liberated slaves, just arrived from the country whither the Dey had driven them, are now cheering on the Mole. The consul has been crueUy treated, and the Dey been compelled to beg his pardon, be fore his full court, by the dictation of my captain. " God bless you, my dear Lord. I hope to reach Eng land before October, and am ever your most faithful friend and servant, " Exmouth." The reply to the above letter is dated October 7th, qualities calculated to attract esteem and affection in private life. Mr. Adams sat for some years in parUament for Bramber, &c. and during Mr. Addington's administration filled the oflice of a Lord of the Admiralty. 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 143 the day following that on which Lord Exmouth arrived at Spithead : — " Most cordially," it observes, " do I hail your arrival. You may rest assured that the service performed at Algiers is justly estimated by the Prince Regent and the whole country, and that it will ever hold a most eminent and glorious place in our history.* I am not a little impatient to shake you by the hand ; and, on the day after your arrival in town, shaU depend upon you at Richmond Park, where Lord EUenborough and some other friends wiU rejoice to meet you. You need not be assured of the pride and exult ation with which I subscribe myself, your affectionate and faithful friend, " Sidmouth." It is now necessary to pass from these gleanings of the general correspondefi;;^'^ to the consideration of that special resistance to popti^. 'encroachment which constituted an important part ot .;rd Sidmouth's services at the Home Office. The remaining seven years, indeed, of his Lordship's public life was one extended campaign, between lawless aggression on one side, and the firm and temperate exercise of con stitutional authority on the other. Scarcely had the tranquillity of Europe been restored, when the spirit of disaffection resumed those seditious proceedings which the stirring events of the recent campaign had momentarily suspended. As early indeed as the 2d of May, 1815, Lord Sidmouth is found thanking the * The opinion of Napoleon on this attack was communicated by Lord Sidmouth to his friend on the 20th of August, 1817 : — " On Tuesday I met Sir Pulteney Malcolm, who had just re turned from St. Helena. His charge had predicted a failure at Algiers ; but he afterwards did full justice to those by whom his prophecy had been falsified." 144 LIFE OF Chap, XXXI. Duke of Newcastle for the "fresh and lamentable indications " his Grace had forwarded, " of the turbu lent spirit still prevailing amongst the lower orders of the people in Nottingham." With the exception, however, of disturbances on the Tyne, against which a proclamation was issued on the 19th of October, that year was suffered to conclude without the actual infraction, in any quarter, of the public peace. Never theless, throughout the succeeding winter and spring evil disposed persons were every where engaged in poisoning the minds of the lower orders — an opera tion rendered too successful by the universal distress resulting from so sudden a transition from a state of war to that of peace. Poverty and absence of employ ment are at all times the principal causes of disloyalty and discontent ; and, unfortunately, these were not wanting on the present occcasion. At the commence ment of 1816 such were the difficulties and alarm by which agriculture was beset, that Lord Sidmouth declared his opinion that " the present prices of grain, the present taxes, and the present rents, could not (with few exceptions) continue together; " whilst, on the other hand, the Duke of Rutland, describing to his Lordship, on the 1st of January, the state of Bir mingham, observed that "the depressed state of the iron trade, added to an attempt lately made to reduce the rate of wages, had thrown great numbers of the lower orders out of work, and that the presence of a considerable mUitary force alone prevented them from proceeding to actual disturbance. I think," his Grace added, "it is now incontrovertibly proved, that there is a sympathy and a connexion between the agricul tural and the manufacturing ii|iterests, which render it 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 145 impossible for one of them to prosper when the other experiences an unnatural depression." On the remedy for this state of things Lord Sid mouth thus expressed his opinion to the Earl of Sheft field, on the 21st of January : — " The alleviation of the difficulties arising from the diminished value of agricultural produce is not to be looked for from the intervention of government and parliament, but must be derived from the adaptation of rent to the price of produce, and from the approximation which must take place of the price of all other articles of con sumption to that of grain." The parties, however, immediately interested, were little disposed to await the slow progress of this self- ¦ adjustment ; instigated, therefore, by mischievous agitators, and encouraged, probably, by the absence of troops, resulting from an improvident reduction of the military establishments, in the month of May a portion of the rural population broke forth into the most riotous extremes at Down ham, Ely, and Little port. The following account of this riot has been chiefly extracted from " a plain statement of the facts " for warded to Lord Sidmouth by the Reverend John Vachell, vicar of the last-mentioned parish, who was one of the principal sufferers on the occasion. It appears that the first disposition to riot manifested itself at the small village of Southery, six miles from Littleport, where a mob assembled on the 18th of May, complaining of want of work, lowness of wages, and dearness of flour. These parties proceeded in a riotous manner to Downham, plundering the butchers' and- bakers' shops, and committing various acts of VOL, rn. L 146 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. outrage, until a compromise was, very improperly, made with them by the magistrates, to the effect that labourers should receive two shillings a day, and have their flour at two shillings and sixpence per stone, the regular price being three shillings and nine-pence. Nothing further occurred until Wednesday the 22d of May, on which day there were two or three benefit club dinners at Littleport, In the evening the mem bers, consisting chiefly of labourers, assembled to the number of two hundred, and with a horn and a banner paraded the village in a tumultuous manner, com mitting every excess of plunder and outrage until about eleven o'clock, when they presented themselves at the parsonage demanding money. Mr. Vachell's remonstrances and promises were equaUy vain : his house was forced open and completely plundered, whilst the family, comprising besides himself, his wife, and an invalid daughter, concealed themselves in the fields, whence in the dead of the night they walked to Ely, a distance of about six miles. On the morrow the rioters, flushed with success, and bearing their fire arms and other weapons in a waggon, assembled in greatly increased numbers in the market-place at Ely, where they were joined by numerous disaffected per sons belonging to that place. They next opened ne gotiations with the magistrates, who felt it advisable to comply with their terms, upon which two thirds of the Littleport men returned to their homes. About noon, on the arrival of eighteen troopers of the 1st royal dragoons from Bury, the remainder of the rioters dispersed, with a threat,, however, of re-assem bling at night. Meanwhile the Reverend Henry Law, Hector of Stretham, had proceeded express to Lord 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 147 Sidmouth; and his Lordship hearing that Sir Henry B. Dudley, a magistrate of Ely, was in town, sent imme diately for him, and despatched him to Ely in the course of Thursday night with full instructions how to act. From Cambridge the party was preceded by forty men of the Royston troop of volunteer cavalry, com manded by Major Wortham ; and finding on its ar rival at Ely that the rioters were still at Littleport, and committing great atrocities there, resolved to surprise them in that place. Accordingly, a force consisting of eighteen men of the Royals, commanded by Captain Methuen, the staff of the Cambridge mi litia, under Lieutenant Woollard, part of the Royston yeomanry, and some special constables and gentlemen of Ely, and headed by Sir H. B. Dudley and Mr. Law, immediately marched out to the attack, which was completely successful. The first rioter who attempted resistance being instantly shot by a dragoon, the spectacle so intimidated the remainder that they made but a feeble resistance, and above seventy of them were taken back prisoners to Ely. A special com- mision was speedily issued to Justices Abbott and Burrough, and Edward Christian, Esq., Chief Justice of Ely, for the trial of the offenders, and the pro ceedings commenced on the 17th of June; when thirty-four of these unhappy culprits were capitally convicted, of whom five shortly afterwards expiated their offences with their lives. Similar disturbances arose in Downham, Burj?^, Cambridge, and Norwich; but in consequence, probably, of the prompt and judicious severity exercised at Ely, were speedUy suppressed. t 2 148 LIFE OF Ch.\p. XXXI. Another cause of national distress was now added to Lord Sidmouth's list of difficulties. The summer and autumn of 1816 were so unusually wet that there was scarcely a dry interval between June and Octo ber. The result of this calamity was a great diminu tion in the quantity, and deterioration in the quality, of the whole agricultural produce of the season ; and this, of necessity, was followed by an increase in price of the usual articles of consumption. MeanwhUe, the previous diminution in the profits of agriculture and manufactures had greatly reduced both the demand for labour and its remuneration: the combination, therefore, of these opposite causes could not fail to produce an immediate increase of the pubUc distresses and discontent. These circumstances are frequently alluded to in the correspondence of the period. Thus, in writing to his brother, on the 3d of August, Lord Sidmouth observed : — "Of the state of the country I cannot report favourably. The distress in some parts is extreme, but the disposition to disturbance less than might have been expected. There is a gen eral persuasion that the want of demand and employ ment arises from unavoidable causes, and that no means are neglected to mitigate its effects. But it is to the autumn and winter that I look with anxiety. The proceedings at Ely have unquestionably had a good effect." Indications of the approaching storm, however, were now becoming more frequent. In Nottingham, disaffection had risen to such a height that the populace could not restrain themselves even in the presence of the judges, but grossly insulted those venerable personages whilst in the performance of their duties at the summer assizes. Flagrant as •1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 149 such conduct was. Lord Sidmouth never forgot that poverty was one of the chief incentives to it ; and on this point he expressed himself thus feelingly when ¦writing to Admiral Frank, afterwards Sotheron, one of the representatives of the county, on the 16th of September: — "You well know that I have long looked with great anxiety at the internal state of the country. I am concerned to think that the prevailing distress is so severely felt in your county ; but I see no reason for believing that it would or could be al leviated either by any proceedings at a public meet ing, or by parliament itself. The former would lead to discussions, which, instead of allaying, might have the effect of increasing irritation ; and I am satisfied that, on public grounds, an early meeting of parlia^ ment ought rather to be avoided than desired." Intelligence which reached Lord Sidmouth at this time of renewed disturbances at Bishops-Wearmouth, and of the existence of an organised conspiracy against the public peace in the manufacturing districts, tended to confirm his anticipations of a winter of discontent and disturbance. On the latter point Mr. Legh Keck, writing from Ormskirk, on the 27th of September, distinctly describes the "Luddite outrages" as the results " of an extraordinary system ;" and expresses his conviction that " no step short of the full develop ment of their systematic arrangements could have the effect of deterring the very many and daring parties so connected, and securing the pubUc peace." Concurrently with these proofs that disaffection was still lurking in the land, Lord Sidmouth received daily evidence of the destructive effects of the weather on the fruits of the earth. From Raby Castle the I, 3 150 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL Earl of Darlington wrote on the 8 th of October, that the " distress in Yorkshire was unprecedented — that there was a total stagnation of the little trade they even had — that wheat was already more than one guinea per bushel, and no old corn in store — that the potato crops had failed — that the harvest was then only beginning, the corn in many parts being stiU quite green, and that he feared a total defalcation of aU grain that season from the deluge of rain which had fallen for many weeks, and was still falling. This information he felt it his duty confidentially to state to his Lordship, more especially as he had expressed his wish for him to do so." On the same day on which the above statement was transmitted, an equally unfavourable report was ad dressed to Lord Sidmouth from the opposite extremity of the kingdom (Encombe in Dorsetshire) by the Lord Chancellor, who vsrrote in the twofold capacity of a cabinet minister and a farmer. The words which immediately follow relate to the former character, and tend to show the efficient aid which Lord Sidmouth at that time rendered to his colleagues in their various departments : — "I think you have acted as President since Lord Harrowby left us, and therefore I take leave to mention, that about the middle of this month it would be expedient to have a council for the fur ther prorogation of parliament." His Lordship now passes from the subject of the cabinet to that of the country : — " The papers Mr. Beckett showed me alarmed me (I think justly) very much indeed; and if we think we are to go on smoothly, without the effectual means of suppressing mischief, and large means too, we shall be most grievously mistaken. I 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH, 151 look to the winter with fear and trembling. In this island our wheat is good for nothing. Barley and oats reasonably good. As a farmer I am ruined here and in Durham, So much for peace and plenty," His Lordship was then recovering from an alarm ing indisposition, in aUusion to which he concludes his letter with the following sensible and pious obser vation : — "I am doing what I can to regain strength. Existence I despaired of for some hours. Of a person placed in the eternal round of a chanceUor's occupa tions, I fear disease may make it often but too true, 'nimis notus omnibus, ignotus moritur sibi.' That is not as it should be." The absence of many of the cabinet ministers from London, at this time, left Lord Sidmouth with the weight of nearly the whole executive government on his shoulders. In this position he was required to decide on numerous important questions, amongst others on a proposition from the Irish government for the stoppage of distilleries in consequence of the de ficient harvest, upon which subject he addressed the following letter to the Right Honourable Robert Peel : — "My dear Sir, Whitehall, Oct. 14th, 1816. " I have sent your letter to Lord Liverpool, who is at Walmer. I must own I am extremely, averse to the stoppage of the distilleries generally, or in Ireland only. The measure is bad in principle ; and I am convinced that, in every in stance in which it has been resorted to, its effects have, upon the whole, been more injurious than beneficial. It Is even questionable whether its sole object — that of insuring the application of a greater quantity of grain to the purpose of human subsistence — would be accomphshed, in any degree, in Ireland, where Ulicit distillation Is carried on with so much L 4 152 LIFE OF Ch4p. XXXI, faclhty : that it would not be accomplished in any consider able and material degree is, I think, absolutely certain. I flatter myself, however, that, since the date of your letter, the weather and the prospect of the harvest have improved in Ireland as they have In this country. I ought to add, that Vansittart entirely concurs in the opinions which I have ex pressed, " I am, &c. Sidmouth," As the autumn advanced the progress of sedition became more open and daring. Writing, on the 18th of October, to a magistrate of Nottingham, which place appears to have earned for itself, in those times, the unenviable distinction of being always one of the earliest and chief seats of discontent and turbulence. Lord Sidmouth described " the state of that town and neighbourhood as a subject of general reprobation and, disgust. The prevailing impression," he added, "cer tainly was, that there was a want of vigilance and activity in the magistracy. Government could do no more than give impulse, and all the aid that could be afforded, to the execution of the laws." His Lordship's attention was now drawn from these accustomed scenes of disturbance to the counties of Monmouth and Glamorgan, where, about the 18th of October, the workmen employed at the iron Avorks at Tredegar, Merthyr Tydvil, &c. «&c., assembling to the number of 10,000 or 12,000, stopped the blasts of the furnaces at those places, and resorted to the most riotous proceedings. The energetic measures by which Lord Sidmouth overcame all these difficulties shall be related in the words in which his Lordship himself described them to Lord Liverpool on the 20th of October: — "The 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 153 accounts lately received from different parts of the kingdom are of a very unsatisfactory, if not alarming, nature. Those from the counties of Monmouth, Bre con, and Glamorgan are the most serious. I am now in town, in consequence of a representation sent to me by express *, requiring assistance for the protection of property, and the support of the civil power. Sir Henry Torrens, who has just left me, concurs with me in thinking that the three companies of the 55th, which must have reached the scene of disturbance yesterday, will have sufficed to restore tranquillity. Two troops of the 23d dragoons will be ordered by this day's mail to proceed immediately from Dorchester to Bristol, whence, if necessary, they will cross the Severn ; and, as the report of this disturbance in Wales may stir the evil and discontented spirits in other parts, I have desired Torrens to write by the mail of to-night to Sir John Byng and Sir Henry Fane, desiring the former to keep his eye particularly on Manchester and its neighbourhood, and the latter on Nottingham." Through these judicious measures, and the spirited exertions of Mr. Benjamin Hall and other magistrates in the neighbourhood of Merthyr, who received Lord * His Lordship was called out of Richmond church, where he was attending divine service with his family, by this intelligence, when he instantly accompanied the messenger back to London in the hack chaise, and sent orders for a part of the 55th regiment, stationed at Bristol, to march to Merthyr, where they arrived most opportunely at the moment when the magistrates were expostu lating with the rioters. The cause of this outbreak was stated by Sir John Morris to be low wages resulting from the depression in the prices of copper and iron, the former of which articles had fallen from 180^. to 80/., and the latter from 201. to 8/. per ton. 154 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL Sidmouth's warm thanks on the occasion, tranquUlity was immediately afterwards restored ; and on the 22d of October his Lordship had the satisfaction of in forming the Prince Regent that these " serious dis turbances had been entirely suppressed," The sad deficiency of troops, which constituted Lord Sidmouth's most formidable difficulty in his long campaign against the disaffected, was strikingly betrayed on this occasion, when it was necessary to bring cavalry from Dorchester and We}Tnouth, to supply the place of three companies of infantry, which constituted the whole garrison of Bristol : yet so un yielding and consistent to his system was Lord Sid mouth, that, notwithstanding the inadequacy of his means, he did not hesitate to send the following in struction to Mr. HaU : — " There will, I trust, be no concession or compromise on the part of the masters. If they remain firm, the men will return to their work, when they find that nothing is to be gained by violence or intimidation." Conscious, however, of the real weakness of the government in this particular, his Lordship omitted no opportunity of recommending what he considered the best remedy for the evil, an augmentation of the yeomanry corps. Thus, in reply ing, on the 25th of October, to his friend, Mr. Black burn e, M, P., who had applied for a troop of cavalry to be stationed at Blackburn, he observed, that " it was to him a matter of surprise, considering the zeal and loyalty of the county of Lancaster, that it was pro vided with so small an establishment of that descrip tion of force which was so peculiarly adapted to the present circumstances of the country — he meant 1816, LORD SIDMOUTH. 155 yeomanry cavalry." Another remedy for the diffi culties of the times to which Lord Sidmouth attached much importance, he thus touched upon, on the 29th of October, when writing to Dr. Grey, afterwards Bishop of Bristol : — "I have long been of opinion that, instead of discouragement, facilities should be afforded to those who, being unable to live with ease and comfort in this kingdom, are desirous of removing to other parts of his Majesty's dominions, where they may exist with usefulness to their country, and with happiness to themselves. The parts of the world to which the views of such persons should be directed are Upper Canada, Ceylon, and the Cape of Good Hope. This is a subject which at present engages the serious attention of the government." * Meanwhile the winter, which Lord Sidmouth ex pected " would be a trying one," was wearing on ; and the promptitude and determination hitherto displayed by the government and magistrates could not wholly prevent the activity which was constantly exerted in poisoning and inflaming the minds of the people, from producing its intended effect. " On Monday, the 28th of October," as his Lordship informed Mr. Bathurstj " there was a serious riot at Birmingham ; and, though quelled at the time, with the assistance of the military, * In this and similar instances, Lord Sidmouth's mind was directed to the application of a remedy both prompt and suitable to the existing evil. Thus he was of opinion that the distressed condition of the lower classes in Ireland could never he amelio rated without the enaction of poor laws ; and he long privately endeavoured, but without effect, to impress the same conviction on those with whom he conversed, and especially on his colleagues. He was also desirous of seeing the system of Scotch banking adopted in England. — Miss Addington's Notes. 156 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL it was expected to recur. The neighbourhood of Manchester was very bad, and Nottingham hopeless." The scene, however, of the next serious disturbance was the metropolis itself, where, as is stated in the reports of " secret committees of the Houses of Lords and Commons appointed to inquire into certain dan gerous meetings," which were presented on the 18th and 19th of February, 1817, "a traitorous conspiracy had been undoubtedly formed for the purpose of over throwing the established government, and effecting a general plunder. After various consultations," their Lordships observed, " in the preceding autumn, a plan had been adopted for ascertaining the number of the conspirators, by calling a public meeting in Spa Fields, on the pretext of voting a petition to the Prince Regent. The meeting took place on the 15th of November, when, after the most inflammatory lan guage had been held, an adjournment was made to the 2d of December, at the same place, which was selected for its vicinity to the Bank and the Tower," The interim was employed in making preparations for the accomplishment of the atrocious design in contempla tion. The most dangerous placards were prepared, and plans were laid for surprising the soldiers in their barracks, seizing the artillery, stopping the bridges, taking possession of the Tower and Bank, and liber ating the inmates of the prisons. Arms, also, and ammunition were procured, tricolored standards and cockades were provided, and on the ominous 2d of December the principal persons concerned in the plan proceeded to Spa Fields, with a waggon engaged for the purpose. From this waggon, before the ostensible business of the day commenced, a direct invitation 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 157 was addressed to the multitude to proceed immediately to redress their own grievances. A tricolor- flag was then displayed, and a number of persons followed it out of the field. They took the direction of Smith- field and Snow Hill, to the Royal Exchange, plundering all the gunsmiths' shops they could find on the way. Whilst passing through Skinner Street a young man rushed into the shop of Mr. Beckwith, a gun-maker ; and on being told by a Mr. Richard Piatt, of Brixton, who was casually present, to go about his business, drew a pistol, and shot that unfortunate person in the body. The villain, on being apprehended, was in stantly rescued by the mob, but not before the police officer had taken some papers from his pockets which^, might lead to his discovery.* After seizing the arms in Mr. Beckwith's shop, the rioters, few in number, but desperate in purpose, passed on, firing as they went, to the Royal Exchange, where they wer6 met by the Lord Mayor, Sir James Shaw, and a party of the police, who there captured three of their number, and obtained possession of their tricolor flag.f After a vain attempt to rescue their comrades, the principal conspirators, finding themselves surrounded by pre parations, lost heart, and separated of their own accord, without further bloodshed or collision. Lord Sidmouthj therefore, was enabled to announce, by the same night's mails, the entire suppression of this * These last particulars are extracted from a letter which Lord Sidmouth received two days afterwards from Mr. Piatt himself, who, contrary to expectation, recovered from his wound. f This information is derived from a note to Lord Sidmouth from Sir William Curtis, who, " being unfortunately lame, took the chair that day at the Mailsion House, in the absence of his colleagues, who were actively employed in opposing traitors." 158 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL traitorous enterprise — a fact of no slight importance; since, as the committee of the Commons reported, inteUigence of its success was anxiously expected by the disaffected in many parts ofthe provinces. During these transactions the political meeting was proceeding in Spa Fields, under its chief instigator, the mob orator, Mr. Hunt; but this more atrocious under taking was headed by an obscure medical practitioner named Watson, by his son — the party who wounded Mr. Piatt — Arthur Thistlewood, who afterwards be came so notorious, and a few other desperate men. The fate of these miscreants was by no means com mensurate mth the heinousness of their offence on this occasion. The elder Watson, Thistlewood, Pres ton, and Hooper, were committed to the Tower for high treason ; but, although true bills were found against them by the grand jury of London, the former, when put on his trial, was acquitted ; and the three others, being brought up before the Court of King's Bench, on the 17th of June, the Attorney-General declined to produce evidence against them, and they were consequently discharged. The younger Watson — . although a proclamation was issued offering 500^. for his detection — succeeded in concealing himself for a time in London, until an opportunity was afforded for his escape to America, where, it was afterwards reported, he met with the same fate which he had so fully deserved and so narrowly escaped in Engla,nd. The part which Lord Sidmouth took in these anxious proceedings must now be described. In in surrections of this nature, where the commencement 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 159 is SO immediately followed by the catastrophe, the great difficulty which those in authority find is not to interfere too soon, but still in time to prevent serious mischief. All that can be done where such consequences are expected, is to be perfectly prepared, and in that state quietly to await the first actual violation of the law ; and this plan Lord Sidmouth strictly pursued in the present instance. Before the former meeting, as he informed the Speaker, " every measure of pre caution had been taken ; " and the result of such vigilance was, that no serious violation of the peace occurred. On finding, however, upon consultation with the Attorney and Solicitor General, that the prosecution of Huntfer words spoken on that former occasion, and of the printer of a seditious paper respecting it, which had been circulated by Cobbett^ was not advisable, aU he did was firmly and silently to await the expected moment of action. His senti ments after the event will be given in the words of his reply to Mr. Abbot, who had congratulated him on " having successfully put down Mr. Hunt and his followers, without a pretext of personal complaint against himself:" — " Richmond Park, Dec. 8th, 1816. " I am much gratified by your commendations, for I know their value : at thfe same time it must be felt that I should have been without excuse if adequate and timely preparations had not been made for Monday last. I have not, however, the pain of being conscious of any omission. The material and difficult point, on Monday, was to preserve regularity and arrangement In the midst of alarm and confusion ; and not to suffer attention to be distracted, or the troops to be broken into minute subdivisions, in consequence of the communi cations and reports which were pouring In from all quarters, I must say that the peace officers and the military performed 160 LIFE OF Chap. XXXL their duties most admirably. Of the Lord Mayor it is but justice to add, that he acted with spirit in a moment of real danger; and that, in his conduct upon that occasion, his politics never appeared. But the Lord Mayor is not entitled to the same respect when carrying fuel to the flame (as will be the case at Carlton House to-morrow), as when he is endeavouring to extinguish it.* I can only add, that every exertion continues to be made to collect information ; and, above all, to discover and to bring to speedy trial those who have been concerned In the late flagrant transactions. All the depositions, examinations, &c. &c., taken at the Mansion House, Bow Street, &c. &c., are sent to me, and instantly forwarded to the law officers. They were of opinion that the last meeting could not legally be dispersed, unless some cir cumstances occurred to justify the reading of the Riot Act ; but I do not hesitate to tell you (In confidence) that the con nexion between the harangues in Spa Fields and the riots in London being completely established, the next meeting, if allowed to assemble at all, shall only assemble to hear the reading of the Riot Act, and then be dispersed Immediately. * Alderman Wood, then Lord Mayor, was a vehement opponent of the government. .Allusion is here made to a very intemperate address and petition of the Corporation of London to the Prince Regent, containing the most unqualified condemnation of the whole system of government, and urging the most violent changes, which the Lord Mayor had been very instrumental in getting up. The reply which Lord Sidmouth prepared for his Eoyal Highness on this occasion contained an eloquent and dignified rebuke, which attracted the warm commendation of several of his Lordship's friends. Nor did this offensive address by any means express the real sentiments of the city of London. For, on the 24th of December, the ward of Tower, at a public" wardmote, presided over by their alderman. Sir WiUiam Curtis, unanimously passed a series of resolutions expressing "the utmost confidence in the wisdom of the legislature, and none whatever in those projects of innovation which afforded no prospect of present relief, and could tend only, under the specious name of reform, to weaken the attachment of their fellow-subjects to the established and happy constitution of this country." 1816. LORD SIDMOUTH. 161 Parliament must. Indeed, interpose to prevent altogether these self-appointed meetings for the public discussion of alleged grievances ; and the mischief which may be done in the mean time, from the want of such a legal restraint, is to me a subject of most painful reflection." Letters expressing unqualified approbation of the firmness and promptitude of the Home Department in suppressing the late disturbances in London now poured in from every quarter. Amongst these testi monials, the following, from Lord Ellenborough, must have proved peculiarly satisfactory : — " For the pre servation of the metropolis from the dangers which lately threatened we are almost entirely indebted to the vigilance and spirit of your Lordship." The most comprehensive view, however, of the aspect of domestic affairs was taken by Lord Redesdale in the following extracts from a letter to Lord Sidmouth, with which our report of the events of that gloomy year will be concluded, " Batsford, Dec. 11th, 1816. ce * * * J hope that the ebullition of discontent, mani fested in so direct and outrageous an attack on property, will have the effect of putting all persons possessing property, whatever may be their opinions on political subjects, on their guard against the ruffians who are now disposed to disturb the public peace. The distresses of the times are unquestion ably great, and are felt from the highest to the lowest. I fear that, in many cases, rentals will be reduced one half. The distress which this will occasion must be of long con tinuance. Men who have been living on an income of lOOOZ. a year will find it very difficult to live on 500Z. : but many have purchased In confidence of the existing rental, and many have settled their families accordingly ; charging estates with jointures, fortunes for younger children, and mortgages. Many such estates are not equal now to bear the charges VOL, III, M 162 LIFE OF Chap. XXXI. upon them. * * * These distresses, and the emigrations to the Continent, have produced a prodigious discharge of servants and labourers of all descriptions, and a consequent burden on the country In the shape of poor rates. The dis charge of soldiers, sailors, and others in government employ. In consequence of the peace, has added to this burden, almost the whole of which falls on the agriculture of the country. It Is a direct tax on corn and all the produce of the land ; and a tax the most injurious, because it falls heaviest at the time when those who pay it are least able to bear the burden. All the public taxes put together are nothing, as burdens on the land, compared with the poor rates, and the other bur dens directly affecting it ; such as roads, militia, county rates, and, indeed, the tithes. All these have so augmented of late, that some of them are ten times the amount they were twenty years ago. * * * The consequence is very marked in this country. Many of the old country gentle men's families are gone; and I have not a doubt that the destruction of their hereditary influence has greatly contri buted to the present Insubordination, which, if not checked, will finally produce great disorder. * * * If landed pro perty has not predominant influence, the British constitution, which is founded on the predominance of landed property, cannot stand. We are rapidly becoming — if we are not already — a nation of shopkeepers ; and shopkeepers too much resemble the man in the fable, whose goose produced golden eggs. The land Is the goose which produces the golden eggs of trade and manufactures ; and the traders and manufac turers of this country would not hesitate to join in its de struction, if they fancied they could Individually gain by it, at the moment, more golden eggs, without reflecting on the consequences even to themselves. Excuse my troubling you on this subject. Believe me, my dear Lord, yours very faithfully, " Redesdale." 181^- LORD SIDMr,'xjTH. 163 CHAPTER XXXII. 1817. Increasing Tranquillity of the Kingdom in the Beginning of 1817 — This Prospect speedily changed. Hunt's Tour, in the West, Mr, Nadin's Report of the Disaffection of Manchester, and threatening State of the Manufacturing District generally. Letter from Dr, Adam Clarke on the Times. Attack on the Prince Regent when returning from opening Parliam.ent. Papers referred to Secret Committees and Reports thereon. Lord SidmoutKs Speech on moving the second Reading of the Habeas Corpus Suspension Act — Motion opposed by Lords Wellesley, Grey, and Holland — Supported by Lord Grenville. That and three other Bills passed. Lord Sidmouth's circular Letter to Lords Lieu tenant attacked in Parliament — His Defence of, and. Statement of the Benefit produced by, his Circular, Letter from the Duke of Northumberland. Correspondence with the Prince Regent. Conviction and Execution of Luddites at Leicester, Insurrection at South Wingfleld, Derby shire, Progress of the Insurgents — A Man shot — They are dispersed by a Party of Dragoons. Criminals tried under a special Commission, and Three of them executed. Second Suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act carried in Parliament. Employment of Irformers hy the Government justified — Reflections thereon. Corre spondence between Lord Sidmouth and Sir John Byng. Mr. Henry Hobhouse appointed Under Secretary in the Home Office. Liberation of some of the Parties confined under the Suspension Act — Merciful Treatment of one of those Persons. Lord Sidmouth goes to Malvern — Receives the Freedoms of Worcester, Tewkesbury, and Evesham. Improved State ofthe Country in the Autumn of 1817 — Correspondence loith Lords Kenyon and Exmouth thereon^ M 2 164 lWe of Chap.xxxii- Attempt to create a Disturbance on 1 dwer Hill. Letters of Approbation from Dr. Adam Clarke and Lord Colchester. Death of the Princess Charlotte of Wales ¦ — Grief of the Regent and Royal Family, Acqtiittal of Mr. Hone for publishing blasphemous Parodies — Reflections thereon. The year 1817 commenced satisfactorily. The prompt suppression of the insurrection in the metropolis, simply by the display of power without its exercise, had struck a panic into the hearts of the disaffected throughout the kingdom ; the deficiency in the crops proved less extensive than had been apprehended, and British capital, which only required sufficient time and opportunities for its transfer from manu factures essential to war, to those requisite in a state of peace, was graduaUy receiving increased employ ment, to the benefit of the labourer and artisan. Such was the information which Lord Sidmouth re ceived at this period from various correspondents ; amongst others, from Sir William Congreve, who was attending the Grand Duke Nicholas of Russia on a tour of inspection throughout England, and who favoured his Lordship on the 5th of January with the result of his observations. This enabled Lord Sidmouth to accept an invitation to the Pavilion, conveyed to him through Sir B. Bloomfield, on the 5th of January, in the following terms : — " The Prince Regent hopes that the general quiet of the country, so happily restored by your Lordship's un ceasing vigilance, wiU now enable you to make his Royal Highness a visit at this place." Brief, however, was his Lordship's repose. The popular fury had not yet expended half its energies ; and he plainly saw, as he intimated to Mr, Loraine Smith on the 23d of 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 165 January, the ill-concealed fire again ready to burst forth. " We have reached a great crisis, and the ut most exertions of the inteUigent and well-principled members of the community are indispensably neces sary to avert consequences the most ruinous and fatal." Mr. Hunt, the hero of that portion of the assemblage at Spa Fields which did not break out into open violence, commenced the disturbances ofthe year with an inflammatory tour into the west of England ; but, owing to the vigilance of the authorities, and the good and loyal feeling predominant in that portion of the empire, his oratorical powers were in most in stances exerted in vain. This was especially the case at Bristol and Bath, in which latter city his pro ceedings, as described to Lord Sidmouth by Chief Justice Gibbs and others, did not produce the sUghtest effect. In the great manufacturing dis trict of Manchester, disaffection possessed a readier means of excitement, in the distresses arising from the fluctuations of trade ; and hence, notwithstand ing the orderly disposition of the respectable inha bitants, there already existed amongst the lower classes the germs of that dissatisfaction, which, two years afterwards, produced such serious results. Early in the preceding autumn Mr, Bootle Wil bra- ham had transmitted to Lord Sidmouth a report from the principal police officer of Manchester, expressing his apprehension that "troublesome times were re turning," and that an augmentation of the military force would be required, " The lower orders," he said, " are every where meeting in large bodies, and are very clamorous. Delegates from all quarters are moving about amongst them, as they were before the last dis- M 3 166 life of Chap. XXXn. turbance, and they talk of a general union of the lower orders throughout the kingdom." That Mr. Nadin's suspicions were well founded, quickly became manifest in the assemblage of two public meetings at Manchester on the 13th of January and the 3d of February, 1817, which, however, through the pre cautions employed, occasioned no serious infraction of the peace. Nevertheless, the general aspect of affairs was so threatening in several counties, that Lord Sid mouth considered it necessary, on the 11th of January, to issue a letter to their Lords Lieutenant, requesting them " to strengthen the civil power by encouraging the enrolment of respectable householders to act as special constables for a period of not less than three months, and to communicate to the several yeomanry corps the wish of the government, that they would hold themselves in a state of preparation to assist the civil authorities in case of necessity." It appears from the correspondence, that amongst the noblemen to whom this letter was addressed, and who afforded Lord Sidmouth much valuable assistance, were the Dukes of Rutland and Portland, Earls Talbot and Lonsdale, and the Duke of Northumberland ; the latter of whom, though at that time dissatisfied with the government generally, expressed himself very favour ably of Lord Sidmouth, " from whom," his Grace was pleased to observe, " when he was minister, and after wards, he had ever met with the greatest attention and kindness." The correspondence of this period contains a letter addressed to Lord Sidmouth by Mr. Hunt, which, being remarkable chiefly for its prolixity, will not be treated in this work with more notice than it probably received from his Lordship. The same day. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 167 however, February 3d, brought an antidote in the shape of an approving letter from Dr. Adam Clarke, who, in presenting to Lord Sidmouth another part of his elaborate work on the Bible, entered upon " matters of higher importance than any that could concern himself," namely, the state ofthe times. The good Doctor wTote from Lancashire, where he had opportunities, he said, " of learning the nature of the popular c6mplaints, and of removing, by a simple statement of facts, imaginary grievances, by which, through unfair representations, multitudes, now for the first time, conceived themselves to be oppressed. " It Is a most dangerous thing," he added, " to sap the con fidence of the people In the integrity of their rulers ; and he is the worst foe of the public tranquillity and prosperity who endeavours to do it. In all the general ferment, I have inva riably observed that, in the public opinion, the home depart ment was never better managed, and never gave greater satisfaction. In this management your Lordship has been placed in difficult times ; and multitudes, as well as myself, feel gratitude to that < Divine Providence that has enabled your Lordship and colleagues to make that cool, considerate, and timely application of power, regulated with great pru dence, discretion, and skill, that has invariably repressed evil without appearing to be coercive ; mitigated suffering, allayed discontent, and encouraged every good and laudable work, by means adapted not only to Insure the desired end, but also to meet the prejudices and conciliate the affections of the public. You, my Lord, have the high satisfaction, that falls to the lot of but few public characters, to find that your zealous endeavours to promote the general welfare aj'e pro perly acknowledged and gratefully received by at least a vast majority of the nation. " I wish I could congratulate your Lordship on a termi nation of the difficulties connected with your situation. * * * It Is the property of a great and well-instructed M 4 168 LIFE OF CHAP.XXXn. mind never to be alarmed; and never to be obhged to pro ceed to hurried measures ; because such a mind has always Its foresight and precautions, and, therefore, can never be taken by surprise. I could say much on this subject ; but I know to whom I am writing; and shall only add, God has hitherto made your Lordship, and I trhst will continue you, his minister for good to the British nation." On the 28th of January an outrage was perpetrated on the Prince Regent, which too clearly proved " the danger to the public peace" of "sapping the confidence of the people in the integrity of their rulers." After his Royal Highness had delivered the speech, and the debate on the address was about to commence. Lord Sidmouth announced to the House of Peers, that on the return of the state carriage through the Park, the glass of the window had been perforated by tAvo stones, or bullets from an air gun, which appeared to have been levelled at the royal person. This daring atrocity excited the utmost horror and indignation, and a proclamation was immediately issued offering a thousand pounds for the discovery of the perpetrators ; but as no detection followed, the incident is only men tioned here as a feature of the times, and as one of the circumstances by which Lord Sidmouth's diffi culties were augmented. In the speech from the throne, the Regent had ex pressed " a just indignation at the attempts which had been made to take advantage of the distresses of the country, for the purpose of exciting a spirit of sedition and violence," and had declared "his determination to omit no precautions for preserving the public peace, and counteracting the designs of the dis affected." 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 169 In fulfilment of the above resolution, Lord Sid mouth, on the 3d of February, presented a royal mes sage to the House of Lords, stating " that the Prince Regent had directed certain papers, containing in formation respecting certain seditious meetings and practices, to be laid before their Lordships, which his Royal Highness recommended to their immediate and serious consideration." On the subsequent day his Lordship followed up this step by moving that the said papers should be referred to a committee of secrecy, consisting of eleven Lords, to be chosen by ballot. This was accordingly done ; and the same course having been pursued in the Lower House, the two committees presented their reports on the 18th and 19tli of February. As these documents fully confirmed the description of the alarming state of the country contained in the speech from the throne, motions were immediately founded upon them for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, which were carried in both Houses by very large majorities, namely, in the Lords by 150 to 35, and in the Com mons by 265 against 103. Lord Sidmouth himself moved the second reading of the bill for effecting this object on the 24th of February, and in the speech which he made on the occasion stated " the necessity of withholding the information on which the reports were founded, from regard to the safety of the individuals by whom it had been supplied. Such, however," his Lordship proceeded, " was the nature of the evidence, that it left no doubt on the minds of the committee that ' a traitorous conspiracy had been formed in the metropolis for the purpose of over throwing, by means of a general insurrection, the 170 LIFE OF Chap. XXXII. established government, and of effecting a general plunder and division of property.' This was the first point in the report. The second was that the committee were fully convinced that such designs had not been confined to the capital, but were extend ing widely throughout Great Britain, particularly in the manufacturing districts : " and the third was a de claration that " such a state of things could not be suffered to continue without hazarding the most dread ful evils, and that further provisions were decidedly necessary for the preservation ofthe public peace, and the protection of the best interests of the whole com munity." His Lordship then proceeded to trace the history ofj" that malignant spirit which had brought such disgrace upon the domestic character of the people ; so soon, too, after the period, when the fidelity and gallantry displayed by the nation had placed it on the loftiest pinnacle of glory. Unhappily this spirit had long prevailed in the country, but especially since the commencement of the French Revolution. During the war it had been unceasingly busied in detracting from the merits of our own victories, and exaggerating the prowess of our enemies. On the arrival of peace, its activity had been redoubled ; and whilst the people were suffering under a distress, which, as few would deny, arose in a great degree from unavoidable causes, it wickedly employed this circumstance in fomenting the discontent of the people, by exaggerating their inevitable calamities, by attributing them to the minis ters of the day, or t-o defects in the constitution, and, finaUy, by teaching their deluded followers that peace able entreaties were vain, and that by open violence alone could their grievances be redressed. 1817, LORD SIDMOUTH. 171 " Every means," Lord Sidmouth next observed, " had been employed to punish the authors and pub lishers of the seditious libels by which these atrocious objects had been sought to be obtained. The law officers were instructed to file informations in every case where a conviction was probable, trusting with confidence to the loyalty and integrity of a British jury; but these publications were often drawn up with so much dexterity, and their authors had so profited by former lessons, that greater difficulties in the way of conviction now presented themselves than at any former period. Meanwhile the seditious were proceeding in their operations with an industry wholly unexampled. Their chief instruments were clubs and public meetings. Of the former, an organ ised system * had been established in every quarter, under the semblance of demanding parliamentary reform, but many of them, he was convinced, had that specious pretext in their mouths only, but rebel lion and revolution in their hearts. " Public meetings," his Lordship proceeded, " had been adjourned until all was ripe for action, and the first disturbance of the peace of the country took place on the 2d of December, On that occasion ministers had made preparations fully adequate to the danger. His object alwaj^s was to employ the civil power, and never to call in the military, except in cases of absolute emergency. On the day in question the soldiers were so posted as to afford immediate assistance in any part of the metropolis ; and as the civil power was wholly incompetent to * The Hampden Clubs. 172 LIFE OF Chap. XXXn. preserve tranquilUty, he had deemed it his duty, without the sanction of the Lord Mayor, to despatch a troop of Life Guards in pursuit of the rioters into any part of the city, by which means a speedy end was put to the disturbances. It had been asserted^ that ministers were previously informed of the treason able purposes of the persons engaged ; but this was not the case. The circumstances that marked the atrocious character of the meeting in Spafields did not come to the knowledge of government until three weeks before the meeting of parliament on the 28th of January. The committee had reported, that this state of things could not exist without risking the most dreadful evils, and that additional measures were necessary to secure the good order of society. The measures which the government would recom mend for this purpose were, first, to make the Act of 36th Geo. III. c. 7., for the additional protection of the King's person, applicable also to the Prince Regent : secondly, to renew an act which had ex pired in the preceding August, for punishing attempts to seduce soldiers and sailors from their duty : thirdly, to make the 39th Geo. IIL, which had formerly put down the London Corresponding Society, appUcable to the existing clubs, and especiaUy to one of them ; and, fourthly, to renew an act that had produced many salutary effects in 1795, and which had for its object the prevention of seditious meetings. But parliament must not stop there. In many places attempts of a most dangerous nature were still pro ceeding, for which ministers possessed no means of prevention. The bills he had mentioned could not reach these crying evUs, and hence arose the necessity, 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 173 at all times to be deeply lamented, of suspending, for a time, one of the most important privileges of the constitution, in order to arm the government with sufficient power to protect that constitution from entire destruction. He called for the immediate suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, for the security of his Majesty's peaceable subjects, for the protection of parliament, for the maintenance of our liberties, and the perpetuation of the blessings of the consti tution. To reject, or even suspend, the proposed measure would be a desperate infatuation ; to adopt it, a wise precaution, inasmuch as it would prevent the perpetration of crimes, for which, if once com mitted, punishment would come too late. ' Caetera maleficia tum persequare, ubi facta sunt; hoc nisi provideris ne accidat, ubi evenit, frustra judicia implores.' " Lord Sidmouth was replied to by his old and constant friend, Lord Wellesley, who,, though fully admitting the necessity of strong and additional measures, could not reconcile to his mind a resort to the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act. Lord Grey and Lord Holland took the same view of the question, but Lord Grenville admitted, in the most candid manner, that, " notwithstanding his reluctance to invade what was justly regarded as the paUadium of British liberty, he was bound to confess that he considered such a case had been completely made out as would justify the legislature in sanctioning the proposed measure." On the same evening, in the House of Commons, permission was given to Lord Castlereagh, by a ma jority of 190 to 14, to bring in a biU " For more .effectually preventing seditious Meetings and Assem- 174 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL blies." Leave was also obtained " to revive and make perpetual the Act of 37th Geo. III. for the Prevention and Punishment of Attempts to seduce Persons serving his Majesty by Sea or Land from their Allegiance;" and also a bill " For the Safety and Preservation of the Person of his Royal Highness the Prince Regent." These all passed through both Houses with unusual facility ; the only one which was at all keenly con-- tested being that for the prevention of seditious meetings, the second reading of which was moved by Lord Sidmouth on the 20th of March, In his speech on that occasion, his Lordship stated that the biU was formed upon the plan, and included the pro visions, of the Seditious Meetings' Acts of the 36th and 39th of his present Majesty, and that it contained those farther provisions which were particularly stated to be necessary, in the reports of the secret com mittees. The only division which occurred on this bill was upon the question that it do pass, which was carried in the affirmative by a majority of 111 to 23. Armed with the additional powers which had been so readily conferred by the legislature, Lord Sidmouth, on the 27th of March, issued a circular letter to the Lords Lieutenant of counties, which subsequently gave rise to some discussion in parliament, and to considerable differences of opinion beyond its doors. Regarding, as his Lordship observed in that letter, " the circulation of blasphemous and seditious pam phlets and writings as a growing evil, which it was most desirable to check, he had consulted the law servants of the crown whether an individual found publishing such documents might be brought imme diately before a justice of the peace, under a warrant. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 175 to answer for his conduct ; and he had received from them a reply that a justice might issue a warrant to apprehend a person so charged before him, upon oath, and compel him to give bail to answer the same." This opinion Lord Sidmouth communicated to the Lords Lieutenant with a request " that they would recommend to the several magistrates within their jurisdiction to act thereupon." The legal opinion of the King's Attorney and Solicitor, Sir William Garrow and Sir Samuel Shepherd, upon which the circular above alluded to was founded, was strongly contro verted, and gave rise to motions expressive of dis approbation in both Houses of Parliament, in the Lords by Earl Grey, and in the Commons by Sir Samuel RomiUy. On both these occasions, the legality of the act was confirmed by large majorities ; in the Upper House by 75 to 19, and in the Lower by 157 to 49. The debate on Lord Grey's motion, that " the case submitted to the law officers of the crown for their opinion be laid before the House," took place on the 12th of May. His Lordship, whose speech opened, of course, the whole question, was answered by Lord Ellenborough and the Lord Chancellor, both of whom decidedly confirmed the correctness of the legal opinion upon which Lord Sidmouth had acted. Relying upon the sanction of those high authorities, his Lordship, in his own defence, declined to address himself to the legal question, and trusted for his justification to the necessity for his interference, and the benefits which had resulted from it. " At the period in question," he observed, " unremitting activity was exerted in circulating the most irre ligious and inflammatory publications. He had him- 176 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL self seen the pernicious effects of the doctrines so instilled on some of the misguided delinquents, who had confessed to him, when under examination, that they had been well-disposed members of society, until their principles were corrupted by the poison instilled by those who had enlisted blasphemy in the service of sedition. Such being the magnitude of the evil, the magistrates had become alarmed, and had applied to him for instructions. In consequence of their ap plication, he had referred the case to the law officers of the crown, and the letter, of which the noble Earl now complained, was the result of their opinion. He was ready to avow all he had done, and would take upon himself all responsibility for his acts. He stood now before their Lordships charged with having used his best endeavours to stop the progress of blasphemy and sedition. To that charge he pleaded guilty, and while he lived he should be proud to have such a charge brought against him." Writing, four months afterwards, to the Bishop of Durham, Lord Sidmouth described the benefit resulting from his letter in the following passage : — " The attempt to check the progress of treason and blasphemy, by apprising the magistrates that they had the power of apprehending and holding to bail the publishers or venders of either, was one of the charges brought against me in the course of the last session. Such a charge it shall be my constant endeavour to deserve; and I am happy in being able to assure your Lordship that the activity of the itinerant dealers in these articles is materially controlled, and their number greatly diminished."* * Mr. Cross, K. C, when he afterwards defended Brandreth, at his trial for high treason at Derby, attributed the insurrections 1817, LORD SIDMOUTH, 177 That such good effects did not immediately result is evident from the subjoined extract of a letter, in which the Duke of Northumberland communicated a series of facts relating to his own lieutenancy, which, as Lord Sidmouth observed in his reply, " left no doubt of the existence of an extensive plan of insur rection." His Grace had now very nearly attained the end of his course, and this was the last letter Lord Sidmouth ever received from him; yet the superior energies of his mind remained unimpaired, and his zeal for his country's service unabated: — " Syoii, March 21st, 1817. " From all these different circumstances, I confess it appears to me that a very wide and extensive plan of Insur rection has been formed, and which might possibly have been acted upon by this time, but for the proper precautions taken to prevent it. It is to be hoped that the intentions of these infamous revolutionists have been frustrated for the present ; but, nevertheless, the constant vigilance of ministers and the magistrates is required to stop the very first appear ance of riot or seditious meetings ; and your Lordship must to the publications of Mr. Cobbett, which he termed "the most malignant and diabolical that had ever issued from the English press. These were hawked up and down the country poisoning the minds of the poor and ignorant, and perplexing the magistracy, who knew not how to deal with the novel and detestable trade in sedition. At last," the learned counsel observed, " the attention of Lord Sidmouth was caUed to these proceedings, and he thought it his duty (and such I conceive it was) to remind the magistrates that there was no greater evil on earth than such abominable libels, and that a justice of the peace must not stand by till the assizes Come round, but must abate the nuisance. His Lordship taught that duty to the magistracy, and I hope in future they will observe it ; hut, unfortunately, in this case, it came too late." VOL. III. N 178 LIFE OF Chap XXXIL give me leave to say, that from some extraordinary expres sions dropped in a large company at Paris, in the hearing of one of my friends, I cannot entertain the least doubt but we are obliged to foreign Propagandists for the mischief intended us ; and that the greatest attention Is necessary with respect to the foreigners who are aUowed to enter the kingdom and reside in it. I am sure, my Lord, the intended march of the delegates from Manchester to London must too forcibly have reminded your Lordship of the march of the Marseillois to Paris, at the commencement of the French revolution, not to have convinced your Lordship that the copy must have been at least recommended by some person deeply concerned in the original. I have the honour to be, with the highest regard and esteem, your Lordship's most faithful servant, " Northumberland." The intelligence received at the Home Office in April was conveyed by Lord Sidmouth in a series of letters to the Prince Regent, who, on the 3d of that month, had directed Sir Benjamin Bloomfield " to con gratulate his Lordship upon the encouraging state of domestic concerns, resulting from his unceasing vigi lance and wise arrangements," In the first of these communications Lord Sidmouth acquainted his Royal Highness that " the measures of precaution adopted had been successful in preventing the expected dis turbance at Manchester, and that there had been no appearance of tumult at Birmingham, Leicester, Not tingham, and Sheffield, where simultaneous risings were apprehended," One of the measures which his Lordship here alluded to was the apprehension of the ringleaders. " Eight of these," he proceeded to state, " who had been arrested at Manchester, had been brought to London, and he had just signed a warrant for their commitment upon suspicion of high treason," Lord Sidmouth's next communication, dated AprU 3d, 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 179 conveyed news to the Prince Regent that the trials of the Luddites at Leicester had terminated in the capital conviction of eight of the criminals, and " con gratulated his Royal Highness upon the prospect of tranquillity and security which this proceeding af forded." This was evidently a case in which mercy to the convicts would have been injustice to the public, and consequently the reader will have antici pated the following conclusion to the tragedy, which Lord Sidmouth announced to his Royal Highness on the 18th: — " * * * It is hoped, and expected, that the execution of the sentence of the law upon the six men who suffered yesterday at Leicester will materiaUy check the prevalence, if not effectually prevent the renewal, of that species of outrage which has so long disgraced the midland counties of the kingdom." Unfortunately, however, the spirit of disaffection had then risen to a height from which it could not be brought down by a single example. On the evening of the 9th of June an insurrection broke out in Derby shire, which, however contemptible in its results, bore every mark of extensive organisation,* The imme- * It appears from a letter which Mr. Allsop, a highly respectable solicitor of Nottingham, and a leading supporter of the government, addressed to Lord Sidmouth on the 16th of June, that the authorities were perfectly aware of this conspiracy, and that Messrs. EoUeston and Mundy, two county magistrates, remained in Nottingham on Saturday and Sunday, the 7th and Sth of June, awaiting " the deci sion of a meeting of the delegates, which was to take place on the evening of the 7th, for the purpose of deciding on the intended rising on the 9th." The subject debated by the rebel council was, whether or not they should suspend the execution of their project in " con sequence of the recent proceedings," the arrest of the leaders, " in Yorkshire." This question was decided, it appears, in the negative, N 2 180 lu'e of Cuap. XXXIL diate intention of the conspirators was, by a simulta neous rising of the rural population, and through the co-operation of the disaffected population of Notting ham, to obtain possession of that town. In pursuance of this object, a person named Jeremiah Brandreth, aUas the Nottingham Captain, arrived on the 8th of June at South Wingfield, a village in Derbyshire, about fourteen mUes from Nottingham, for the pur pose of heading the insurgents of that and the neigh bouring places in the meditated attempt. Having, on the 9th, coUected his accomplices, and made such pre parations as were practicable, about ten o'clock that evening he and his foUowers commenced their march towards Nottingham. The band was armed with guns, swords, and pikes ; and in order to increase their means and numbers, both of which were miserably deficient, they stopped at the various farm-houses in their way, seizing all the fire-arms they could find, and compelling the male inhabitants to accompany them in their criminal enterprise. In one instance they forced the son of a farmer, Elijah Hall, to rise from his bed to attend them ; and in another, when the re solute widow of a farmer, named Hepworth, refused either to deliver up the fire-arms, or to allow her men to join them, they forced open the window-shutters, and Brandreth himself, introducing his gun, shot a servant, named Robert Walters, dead, as he was lacing his boots in the kitchen. Having gathered numbers by such means, until they amounted to about 500, and forming in military array, they proceeded to the for the rising took place. It was on the morning after that meet ing that Brandreth went, or was sent, down into Derbyshire to head the rioters. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 181 B--j;tterley iron works, where ample preparations for ¦resistance had been made. Here they were most spiritedly and humanely remonstrated with by Mr. George Goodwin, one of the managers ; who reminded them that the law would assuredly prove too strong for them, and that they were going with halters about their necks. He then offered the protection of the mill to any of them who would return to their duty, and prevailed on three of the party to take advantage of the opportunity. The remainder, finding the mill too well garrisoned to be successfuUy assaulted, ad vanced towards Nottingham, in the expectation of joining a reinforcement from that place, which, it had been arranged, should meet them on the road; but not finding it, and being disheartened by this disap pointment, some slunk away in the darkness, and the remainder lingered on their way, so that when morn ing broke they were still at a considerable distance from the town. Meanwhile the greatest alarm pre vailed in Nottingham, where the disaffected began to collect in the night, and a few proceeded as far as the race course. The moment it was light, L. RoUeston, Esq., a magistrate of the county, went on horseback to the village of Eastwood, which lay on the road by which the rioters were advancing, and there discovered a considerable body of men, armed with guns and pikes. He immediately returned to the barracks, and procured a detachment of a sergeant and eighteen troopers of the 15th Hussars, under the command of Captain Frederick Charles Philips, with whom he pro ceeded towards the insurgents, then consisting of about sixty men. When Captain Philips came up to them,, he perceived some one attempting to form them across N 3 182 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL the road for the purpose of resistance, biit "they paid no attention to him, and dispersed and fled in all di rections, pursued by the dragoons, who took thirty prisoners and about forty stand of arms.* Such was the facility with which this desperate outrage was subdued. Nothing, indeed, could be more strikipg than the contrast, in all those disturbances, between the daring character of the attempt and the pusilla nimous nature of the performance. This was not timidity in the common acceptation of the term ; for the fugitives on those occasions were composed of the same ingredients with those who, under legitimate authority and in a righteous cause, had repeatedly defied the whole world in arms. But it was one of the admirable results of the British constitution. It was the homage which treason itself was compeUed to pay to the supremacy ofthe laws of England, The words which Mr. Goodwin addressed to the wretched criminal Isaac Ludlam, whose subsequent execution fatally confirmed their truth, — "The law will prove too strong for thee," — found an instantaneous response in the hearts of all who heard them. " 'Twas conscience that made cowards of them all." This series of offences constituted the subject of a special commis sion, which, under Chief Baron Richards, met at Derby for the trial of the prisoners on the 16th of October. The recent acquittal of Watson by a London jury, composed, it was reported, of men entertaining a strong party bias, of the crime of high treason, * Brandreth himself made his escape, and, although a large re ward was offered for his apprehension, was not taken for a consider able time. This accounts for the delay in appointing the special commission. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 183 alleged to have been committed by him on the 2d of December, 1816, had made it highly important that the system of trial by jury should be vindicated from any apprehended inability to cope with that greatest, because the most sanguinary and destructive, of all crimes. Lord Sidmouth was, therefore, extremely •anxious to prove, by the operation of the existing laws, that the offence of insurrection against the King's government was equally high treason, whether committed by powerful nobleman or humble artisan ; and he consequently decided that the indictments should be laid for the high treason and not for the murder. The result of the trials proved the vdsdom and judgment of this determination ; for after the •four principal delinquents had been separately tried, and convicted, nineteen others obtained permission to withdraw their former plea, and pleaded guilty, whilst the remaining twelve experienced the lenity of the crown in the non-production of evidence against them, so that there was not a single failure under the com mission. The result was, that three of these wretched men, Brandreth, Turner, and Ludlam, were executed, :eleven others were transported for life, and the re mainder imprisoned for terms proportioned to their crimes. This insurrection constituted only a very small part of what had been resolved upon by the disaffected in several midland and northern counties, particularly Lancashire, Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, and Derby shire. The Habeas Corpus Act had only been suspended for the period during which parhament might remain sit- N 4 184 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL ting; in consequence, however, of the continued ac tivity of the conspirators, as also of the facility with which the meetings they had meditated at Manchester, with the view of marching, in enormous numbers, Avith their petition, to London, had been frustrated by means of that suspension, ministers had already de cided to apply for its continuance until the com mencement of the succeeding session. Accordingly, on the 3d of June, Lord Sidmouth presented certain papers to the House of Lords, together with a mes sage from the Prince Regent, recommending their Lordships to take the same into their immediate con sideration. On his Lordship's motion, therefore, the papers were referred to a committee of secrecy, con sisting of nearly the same members as on the former occasion. Their Lordships presented their report on the 12th; and as the insurrection in Derbyshire, for which the papers had prepared them, broke out during the interval, it was not surprising that the opi nions contained in that document should have corre sponded with those entertained by the government. ' It is not necessary to recapitulate the . arguments with which Lord Sidmouth and others enforced, and their opponents resisted, the further suspension of the act, which was passed by the immense majority of 140, the numbers being 190 in favour of the motion, and 50 against it. The biU was afterwards carried by a majority of exactly three to one in the House of Commons, where its operation was confined to the 1st of March, 1818, and with this limitation it finally passed. Tt was during the discussions on this subject that 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 185 a question arose respecting the manner in which in formation of the proceedings of the disaffected had been procured at the Home Office, which exposed Lord Sidmouth to much obloquy and misrepresenta tion. Whether in a free country the detection of malefactors through disclosures made by their accom plices be a justifiable step, or an expedient only be fitting a despotic government, depends on the manner in which it is attempted, and is therefore especially- liable to the exaggerations of party. No one would deny that for any government to employ artful se ducers to foment rebellion in peaceable districts, and convert loyal subjects into traitors, would be an act not only most reprehensible in itself, but also highly inexpedient as a matter of policy, since its own re pose and security must depend upon the tranquillity of the country. This, however, was conduct of which Lord Sidmouth was altogether incapable. The whole tenor of his manly, frank, and honourable career, pre sents a flat contradiction to such a suspicion ; and the author is confident that his Lordship would not have stooped even to defend himself from a charge so abhorrent to his nature, had any one, in the paroxysms of political excitement, been so unjust as to prefer it. Lord Sidmouth, however, used always to maintain that at the period in question, when the welfare and security of a great nation were at stake, it was his imperative duty, as Secretary of State, not only to adopt all justifiable means of obtaining information of the plans of the conspirators, but also to accept, and as far as might be expedient, to avail himself of, the disclosure, of any offence either perpetrated or 186 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL meditated, which might be offered to him by parties implicated therein. Secrecy was the only element in which the evil-doers with whom his Lordship had to deal could exist. Their chance of success depended entirely on keeping their plots concealed from aU loyal and peaceable men until the moment of action. It was only, therefore, through some confidant that their mischievous intentions could be known and de feated. This, in truth, has ever been the system pursued in this country, under the sanction of the constitution, for the prevention and detection of crime. The law constantly offers both impunity and reward to those criminals who contribute by their evidence to the conviction of their fellows ; and it does so on this principle — that justice requires it ; — that crime could not otherwise be prevented. For it is not, probably, so much in the punishment as in the prevention of crime, that the usual practice of receiving the testimony of one malefactor against another is found most beneficial. The impression which uni versally prevails amongst evil-doers, that any one of their number will never hesitate to betray his neigh bour to save himself, obstructs the formation of plots and combinations amongst such characters, by de stroying all real confidence between them, and thus materiaUy conduces to the peace and good order of society. If, then, the British constitution encourages the employment of accomplices as a wise and salutary measure, in unravelling the commonest transactions of criminal justice, UI would it have become Lord Sidmouth, then the chief administrator of the criminal law of the kingdom, not to have adopted the same 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 187 precaution ; and if, through his Lordship's neglecting so to act, a sudden outbreak (as was too probable) had occurred, and mischief had arisen from the absence of preparation on the part of the authorities, who would have more bitterly condemned him than those very parties whose censure he incurred, by listening to informers desirous to make all the compensation in their power by revealing what they knew of the law less transactions in which they had been engaged ? This was the whole amount of the groundless charge against Lord Sidmouth. When Oliver or any other party presented himself to the civil or military autho rities, his Lordship received their information, and encouraged them to continue their observations, and to communicate such further inteUigence as they might obtain. None of them, however, were employed in the first instance by Lord Sidmouth; but them selves sought him out : and if, which is not probable, they in any instance instigated the conspirators to crime in order to betray them, the treacherous act must have been entirely their own ; as nothing would Jiave excited more his Lordship's indignation than the bare idea of so base a proceeding. So entirely, indeed, did his noble nature despise this accusation, that to the close of his life he refrained from taking any step in refutation of it ; and hence, with the ex ception of one or two accidental allusions, his private correspondence contains no reference whatever to the subject. The facts doubtless are faithfully explained in the official records at the Home Office, and to them his Lordship, with the indifference which belongs to conscious rectitude, has intrusted the final justification 188 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL of his conduct. In this feeling the author participates : without requiring, therefore, further evidence in re futation he will now present to the reader the sub stance of the accusation itself. This was contained in a statement given in the " Leeds Mercury" newspaper, which Sir Francis Burdett read before the House of Commons on the 16th of June, and its purport was, that the whole series of plots had been got up under the instigation of agents from London, especiaUy of a person named Oliver, who two months before had in troduced himself to Mr. Williams, a bookseller at Dewsbury, as a parUamentary reformer from London. On Friday, the 6 th of June, the day on which the outbreak in Yorkshire was prevented by the arrest of the ten delegates at Thornhill-lees, near Dewsbury, this same man again caUed on WiUiams, and urged him to attend the meeting to be held that evening, which he declined to do. Those who did attend were all arrested and conveyed to Wakefield in custody, with the exception of OUver, who, however, foUowed them to that town, and put up at the inn, where he was recognised by a linen draper of Dewsbury named Dickinson. He shortly afterwards departed in the coach to Leeds, having previously conversed with General Byng's servant, who admitted, on being sub sequently questioned, that he had recently driven the gentleman in his master's tandem to meet the coach. On this basis. Earl Grey, in the Upper House, and Sir Francis Burdett, Sir Samuel Romilly, Mr. Philips, and others, in the Lower, founded a serious accusation against his Majesty's ministers for 1817, LORD SIDMOUTH. 189 having instigated by their agents those disturbances which they were assuming credit to themselves for having suppressed.* Into the accuracy of a statement so vague as this, consisting, in fact, of mere assertion, without a shadow of fact, it is impossible to inquire ; but the argument, founded on its extreme impro bability, seems of itself quite- sufficient to refute it. To imagine, indeed, that a stranger, however artfulj coming down alone from London, could by his single voice influence the disaffected population of four great counties, to resolve to rise simultaneously * The appearance of this statement in the Leeds paper induced Mr. Allsop, who took an active part in preserving the peace at Nottingham, to write as follows to, Lord Sidmouth on the 16th of June : — "I feel myself called upon, in justice to Oliver, to make this communication to your Lordship respecting him. The first time I ever saw him was on the Tth of June, on his arrival at Nottingham from Leeds. Although he then knew that a meeting was to take place in the evening, he fixed to leave for Birmingham in the afternoon, and only consented to stay for the meeting at the solicitation of Mr. Hooley and myself, in order to furnish us with the necessary information. * * * Oliver expressly stated to us that his instructions from Sir John Byng were, " not to conceal any thing as to the Yorkshire meeting by which these people could be deceived;" and he also stated his instructions from your Lord ship to be, that " he was not to hold out any encouragement.'' It was then most explicitly decided that at the meeting in the evening he should not, in any way whatever, hold out the least encouragement or inducement to the persons who might be there to take any other steps than such as they might think proper to adopt themselves ; and I am persuaded, my Lord, that such was this man's conduct accordingly, for his life was in the greatest danger, their suspicions of him being excited loy his refusal to remain at Nottingham and countenance their proceedings, and he only consented to stay at last to lessen their suspicions. Had his life been lost, it would have been because he refused to stay until Monday night, that he might not be considered an instrument of furthering these desperate men in their wicked designs." 190 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL against the government, is so extravagant a sup position, that probably it would never have been seriously entertained for a single moment, but for that political excitement which is so prejudicial to the exercise of an unbiassed and discriminating judg-- ment.* The facts concerning OUver were correctly stated by Mr. Bathurst and Mr. WiUiam Courtenay, on the Sth of March, 1818, when the question of the "con duct of spies and informers " was brought to a final issue in the House of Commons by a distinct motion of Mr. PhiUps to that effect, which was negatived by 162 against 69, "Government," Mr. Bathurst said, " had no reason to believe that Oliver had upon any occasion forfeited the character of a respectable individual. He had accidentally, in the course of his private business, faUen into society where something dangerous to the state was going on. He found that those he Was with had been instrumental in secreting a person " (the younger Watson) " for whose appre hension upon a charge of high treason a reward had been offered." " Having in this manner," as stated * Such was its effect even on the great mind of Sir Samuel Eomilly, that he actually declared in parliament, on the 27th of January, 1818, that, "in his conscience, he beUeved that thewhole of that insurrection" (in Derbyshire) " was the work of the persons sent by government." In the debate of the I9th of June, Lord Eldon briefly but fully defined the proper principle respecting the employment of informers in the following words : — " Government," he said, " knowing of any plot was bound to employ such persons, if their aid was necessary, for detecting and defeating it ; to stimulate any such individual to go further, was quite another thing." — Life, vol. ii. p. 297. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH, 191 by Mr, Courtenay, "discovered the plots and treasons which were carrying on in the country, he gave in formation thereof to the government, and offered to go down to the disturbed districts in order to con tinue his observations on the conduct of the disaffected parties," " The day," Mr, Bathurst proceeded, " when in accordance with this offer he went to as certain the state of the disturbed districts, was the 28 th of April, before which time the risings in the north had been arranged, and warrants issued against the conspirators ; for General Byng had stated in his letter to the editor of the ' Morning Chronicle,' that Sir F, Burdett's motion for parliamentary reform was to be the signal for a general rising ; and this was some time before Oliver left London," This allusion to General Byng, now Lord Strafford, whose position as military commander of the dis affected districts must have made him intimately acquainted with the whole subject, designates the present as a suitable opportunity for introducing the opinion of that distinguished officer on this much con troverted question. It is extracted from a letter of explanation which the General addressed to Lord Sid mouth from Pontefract, on the 9th of March, 1818, in consequence of some expressions in Mr, Philips' s speech in the House of Commons on the 5th of the same month. After aiUuding to that gentleman's correction in his recent speech of some misrepresentations respecting General Byng, which he had previously made to par Uament, the letter proceeds as follows : — 192 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL " In disclaiming, for myself, any employment of spies, I stated to Mr. Philips, as I have done on every occasion, that I never had the sanction of government to do so ; that whUe it appeared to me not alone proper but necessary for the magistracy to have that power, it was not required by me, as I was always fully informed of what It was material I should know either from your oifice or from the local -civil authori ties. In disclaiming any unnecessary interference of the military on the late occasions, I stated that I had frequently refused the assistance required, which had caused a repre sentation to government ; and that I must do you the justice to say, that in every instance you had supported me, and approved of my decision. Mr. Philips having said, in one of his letters, that he ' conceived there was sufficient to excite the greatest vigilance on the part of government, but not for the suspension of the Habeas Corpus,' I rephed, that ' I had, last year (from the information which I had acquired), stated it was, in my opinion, quite necessary; that subsequent events had confirmed that impression ; and that I could not so far forget what was due to the government who employed me and to my own character, as to alter my opinion from any unpopularity attached to it.' I could not, of course, expect Mr. Philips to state any part of this : he did all that I could require of him, which was to contradict the false statement he had heard concerning me. But with a proper feeling for the confidence reposed in me by his Majesty's government, and most particularly by your Lordship, I have considered it an imperative duty not merely to refrain from imphcating them by any act of mine, but, on the particular subject in question, to defend them when and wherever an opportunity offered, I must say I never knew an individual more unjustly calumniated, than the government have been on this occasion. Had I at any period entertained a different opinion — if I at all know myself — I think that I should not have hesitated in giving in my resignation. * * * I have the honour to be, with respect, your Lordship's very obedient, humble servant, " John Byng." 1817. lord SIDMOUTH. 193 The answer to the above letter will, in justice to the writer and the receiver, be inserted at full length : — To Major- General Sir John Byng, K. C. B. " My dear Sir, Clifford Street, March 13th, 1817. " I thank you for your letter of the 9th instant ; though I beg you to be assured that the explanation which It contained was quite unnecessary, as I know your mind to be truly cor rect and honourable, and that it is not possible for ybu to lose sight of your public duty for a moment, or to hold in one quarter a language, respecting the conduct of govern ment, inconsistent with opinions which you may have ex pressed in another. " As to myself, I well know that, unless I had shrunk from a faithful discharge of my duty, I could not have escaped the calumnies of the disaffected or the attacks of the factious : but these may be met without any great exertion ' of fortitude, provided the weU- principled and the loyal are satisfied with the manner in which the trust, which was placed in my hands, has been executed; and I must add, that I am not conscious of having taken any step, during the ferment of the last year, which, under similar circumstances, I should not take again, " AUow me once more to assure you of the high sense which I shall ever entertain of the value of your judicious and cordial co-operation, and of the sincere esteem with which I am, &c. &o. " Sidmouth." The importance of the testimony contained in the preceding letter having induced an application to the writer, now Lord Strafford, with a view to its publi cation, an answer has been received from his Lordship, which shows so clearly the humane purpose for which Oliver was made use of, namely, the prevention of crime, that, with permission, it will now be also in serted, as a full and conclusive justification of Lord Sidmouth's conduct in the whole transaction : — VOL. Ill, o 1 94 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL The Right Honourable Lord Strafford, G. C. B., to the Dean of Norwich. " Sir, 44. Grosvenor Street, London, Aug. 15th, 1846. " I have read the copy of my letter of the 9th of Marcli, 1818, to Lord Sidmouth, and have not a doubt of Its correct ness. * * * The statement is true, and I do not object to your making use of it in any way you may wish, in further ance of the object you mention, " Oliver was sent to me with a letter from Lord Sidmouth*, to the purport that he (Oliver) was going down into that part of the country where meetings were being frequently held, and that he had been desired to communicate to me any in formation he might obtain as to the time and j)lace of such meetings, in order that I might take timely measures to prevent their taking place ; the wish and intention being to prevent, not to encourage them, as was alleged against the government. " I have often regretted that I had not the opportunity to speak in the House fully and fairly what I knew and what I thought; * * * for I entertain a very favourable opinion of Lord Sidmouth's feelings and anxiety upon all the com munications I received from him ; and I will only add, that wheii I saw him vipon my appointment to the northern dis trict, and found that I had but two regiments of cavalry and two of infantry for that extensive district, I told him I could only make so small a force available by having the best pos sible information ; and before he confidentially entrusted to me that which he might receive, I thought it but fair to state that, having been in constant employment from the age of fifteen, I had had little time for politics ; but that if I was to go into parliament I should take the same line my brother did, then in opposition. His Lordship's Instant reply was, ' From this moment you have my entire confidence ; ' and he then told his secretary to let me read every letter he had on * The only occasion on which OUver ever waited upon, or was seen by Sir John Byng, was when he delivered this letter. Being late for the coach, which passed at the distance of two mUes, Sir John sent him, with a servant, in his gig, which explains the cir cumstances aUuded to in the " Leeds Mercury." 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 195 subjects connected with the district ; and fully and faithfully he acted up to that reply on all occasions. " I have the honour to be, &c., " Strafford." Nothing could have been more abhorrent to a high and noble nature than to be obliged to communicate, even indirectly, with parties who, whether originally accomplices or not, were now, in appearance, asso ciating with those whom they intended to betray ; and Lord Sidmouth was one to whom such contact would prove peculiarly disgusting ; for, through life, he never could endure even the presence of a person he did not respect. Devotion to his king and country could alone have retained him in such a position for a single moment. But at that period the welfare of millions depended on his vigilance and precaution ; and he submitted to this, as he had done to many other vexa tious circumstances of a statesman's life, solely from an overpowering sense of public duty, and from a conviction that, however irksome the obligation might be, it was one from which those who occupied the office he then held could never hope to be entirely exempt. It is only necessary to add, that on the two occa sions when " the employment of spies and informers," as it was called, was debated in parliament, namely, on the second suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act in 1817, and the passing of the Indemnity Bill in 1818, both Houses expressed their unaltered con fidence in the integrity of ministers by immense majorities, amounting in no instance, it is believed, to less than three to one. The whole question indeed was principally one of character, since it was impos sible for the government, without exposing indi- o 2 196 LIFE OF Chap. XXXn. viduals to danger, and the public peace to inter ruption, to disclose all the circumstances which influenced its conduct; and for this reason, since it had become necessary to resort to secret and ques tionable sources of evidence, it was fortunate that this unpalatable duty should have devolved upon a man so calm, so just, so sage, so fearless, so entirely raised above the influence of aU unworthy motives. At Midsummer, 1817, the Home Department re ceived an important accession in the appointment of Mr., now the Right Honourable, Henry Hobhouse, to an under secretaryship in that office, Mr. Hobhouse was speedily made acquainted with the anxieties and responsibility of his new office. At the end. of July Lord Sidmouth established his family at Malvern, intending to remain there a short time himself, "and then back," as he said, "to sedition and treason again ; " his under secretary being left in charge during the, interim. Before his Lordship's departure, however, as he informed his brother on the 20th, he " revised all the cases of persons committed and detained under the Suspension Act; and the result, he trusted, would be the release of some upon their own recognisance*, and increased indulgence to * The Annual Begister for July, 1817, contains a long list of the names of parties who were liberated at that time, and suppUed with the means of returning to their homes. On one of these occasions. Lord Sidmouth being struck by the honest expression of counte nance in one of the prisoners brought up to the Home Office for examination, questioned him separately on the causes of his falling into such evil courses. The kindness of his manner seemed to touch the poor man's heart, and he stated, that "till within the last year and half he had never meddled with politics, had worked hard for his family, attended his church, and lived,peaceably with his neighbours; but that since he became connected with the Union Societies all had gone wrong." Lord Sidmouth reasoned 1817. ^^ LORD SIDMOUTH. 197 those who could not be released. Solitary confinement would not be continued except under special circum stances." In the first letter which his Lordship ad dressed to Mr. Hobhouse after leaving town, a cir cumstance resulting from this investigation is alluded to in the following terms: — "Considering the wretched state of Samuel Haynes's health, I cannot feel satisfied in keeping him in custody, and I therefore request that a warrant may be sent to me for his discharge on bail to appear at the next assizes for the county of Nottingham." During the present and a second brief visit to Malvern, his Lordship had the satisfaction to ascertain what were the feelings towards him of the loyal and peaceable portion of the community — of those who constituted its real strength — by receiving, unsought, the freedoms of the city of Worcester, and of the boroughs of Tewkesbury and Evesham. The former circumstance he mentioned to his brother on the 6th of August, in a letter Avhich is here inserted, to show the patient investigation he was accustomed to bestow on the cases of convicts: — " I examined the case of Warren, in consequence of applications from him and others ; but I could not find any grounds to justify a remission or change of his punishment. I wUl, however, look at it again upon my return, but I think my opinion will not be altered. with him, and, as nothing appeared to criminate him very seriously, and he showed great contrition, he was permitted to return to his home. For this he expressed much gratitude, and assured his Lordship that he would return to his church and never leave it again. Lord Sidmouth had the curiosity to inquire afterwards respecting the man's conduct, and found that he kept his word. — Family Recollections. o 3 198 LIFE OF Cuap. XXXIL " Lord Colchester*, who is here, is much better. The neighbours, particularly Lord Beauchamp and Mr. (afterwards Sir Anthony) Lechmere, have been very civil. To-day I dine with, the former. * * * Yesterday the freedom of the city of Worcester was presented to me, in due form, in the Town Hall." The 10th of Augiist found Lord Sidmouth again at AVhitehaU fulfilUng his anxious duties. " Every thing has been well done," he informed his brother, " during my absence, and the country is quiet. Lord Fitzwilliam writes to me that in the West Riding of Yorkshire the disaffected are 'cowed and dispirited;' and there are similar accounts from other parts of the kingdom." The disaffected had now discovered that the go vernment could neither be deceived nor intimidated, and that the laws, the increased severity of which they had themselves occasioned, could no longer be transgressed with impunity. An abundant harvest, also in itself no unimportant promoter of loyalty and contentment— added its beneficial influence. At this period, therefore, a marked, but, as it proved, only a temporary amelioration, occurred in the internal tranquillity of the kingdom, which Lord Sidmouth oratefuUy acknowledged in his communications to his friends. To Lord Kenyon he remarked : " We cannot indeed be sufficiently thankful for an improvement in our situation and prospects, in every respect far ex- * Eecently Mr. Charles Abbot, his Lordship's valued friend and successor in the chair of the House of Commons, who, on resigning the Speakership on the preceding 30th of May, in con sequence of ill health, had been deservedly raised to the peerage by the title of Baron Colchester. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 199 ceeding the most sanguine and even the most pre sumptuous hopes. A public and general expression of our gratitude must be required, in due season, by an order in council," " Our situation and prospects at home," he observed to Lord Exmouth, " are improving, thank God, in all respects. The materials for disaffection to work upon are less abundant, and less susceptible than at the corresponding period last year." The advices which his Lordship received during the autumn from every quarter fuUy confirmed these cheering expressions. " In Devonshire," as Lord Ex mouth represented on the 10th of September, " every article of life is falling, the panic amongst farmers wearing off, and, above all, that hitherto marketable article, discontent, is every where disappearing. I was delighted," he proceeded, " to see how the country has uniformly expressed its sense of your Lordship's public exertions, in coming forward wherever you set your foot. These are gratifying testimonials : they flow from a pure source, and not from influence, that bane of all public virtue. In this county all is glad ness at the fine prospect of an abundant harvest, and of beautiful weather to save it. I have every reason to unite my voice with my neighbours, to say we owe our present peaceful and happy prospects to your firnaness and prompt exertions in keeping down the democrats." " Notwithstanding, however, the favourable change which had unquestionably taken place in the temper as well as in the internal state of the country, the gang were, nevertheless, actively at work, though with contemptible means and greatly reduced numbers." 200 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL These were the terms in which Lord Sidmouth, when writing to Mr. Bathurst, on the 7 th of October, alluded to certain " extraordinary circumstances " which would destroy his hopes of making another excursion that year. The gang were his old friends of Spa Fields' notoriety, and the circumstances, a mad attempt made by them to create a disturbance on Tower Hill on the 1 1th of October ; the failure of which his Lordship thus briefly described to Lord Colchester on the 13th : — " The plan of attack was changed, and that of Des- pard adopted. The number, however, which ap peared on Tower Hill on Saturday night very little exceeded that which followed the prototype to the same place in the summer of 1802 ; and they accord ingly retired and dispersed conformably to precedent." On that occasion he addressed the following letter to the Lord Mayor, which is here presented as a proof of his foresight in observing the shadows of approach ing events, and his diligence in preparing for their arrival : — " My Lord, W^hitehall, October lOth, 1817. " I think it incumbent upon me to acquaint your Lordship, that If any disturbance should arise within your jurisdiction which may render it necessary to resort to military assistance for the support of the civil power, such assistance may be ob tained upon apphcation to Major Elrington, of the Tower of London, who has received orders to comply with any requisi tion from your Lordship for that purpose." During the latter part of October, Lord Sidmouth was seriously indisposed ; but, as Lord Exmouth shrewdly conjectured, he " derived more benefit from the terihination of the Derby trials," the news of which reached him during his illness, " than from all 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 201 that the medical men could give him." Anxiety, in deed, though his frequent, was not his constant com panion ; for, in addition to the reward he derived from witnessing the returning peace and prosperity of the kingdom, his Lordship, at this time, enjoyed another source of satisfaction, in the gratitude and approbation of religious and loyal men. One of these Dr. Adam Clarke rejoiced with his Lordship on the ¦termination of that period, when " without there were fightings, and within fears," and congratulated his country that " peace and plenty were in all her bor ders, and that every cause of complaint was banished from her streets." Another letter, equally gratifying to the receiver, conveyed to Lord Sidmouth, on the 26th of October, the following remarks from Lord Colchester: — "I cannot refrain from expressing my great satisfaction at the issue of the Derby trials, as most important to the country in dispelling the mischievous delusion that high treason was an offence for which low per sons were not punishable. Also I do most exceed ingly rejoice, for the sake of my friend, the Secretary of State, that his judgment has been finally vindicated against all those hesitating and timid counsels which would have inclined to discontinue these proceedings, burying the reputation of the government in irre deemable disgrace. One material advantage derived from these trials is, that they have confirmed the public opinion of the eminent ability of the new Solicitor-General." * * Sir Robert, afterwards Lord, Gilford, and Master of the Rolls. As this gentleman had risen to eminence by his own exertions, through provincial reputation on the Western Circuit, without 202 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL Attention is next arrested by a series of notes, which Lord Sidmouth addressed to his brother from Claremont, the residence of Prince Leopold and the Princess Charlotte of Wales, to which he had been hastily summoned, as a cabinet minister, in expecta tion of the confinement of her Royal Highness. Of that mournful visit aU that will here be mentioned is, that his Lordship arrived at 7 a.m. on the 4th of November, and was not released from attendance un til late in the night of the 5th ; and that he had scarcely retired to rest in his own house on the morn ing of the 6th, when a messenger arrived with the fatal intelligence of the Princess Charlotte's death. " Of the persons summoned to Claremont, those who attended were, besides himself, the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Bathurst, the Bishop of London, and Mr. Vansittart." It was Lord Sidmouth's most painful duty on this occasion to communicate the distressing event to the Queen, who was residing at Bath for the benefit of her Majesty's health, and to various members of the royal family, from aU of whom he received rejjlies indicative of the deepest sorrow and disappointment. The letter, enjoying aU the usual advantages of London practice in acquiring a knowledge of his profession, his selection to be Solicitor-General, to which Lord Sidmouth greatly contributed, was not, in the first instance, altogether palatable in the highest circles of the legal profession. His Lordship used to describe, very amusingly. Sir William Scott's lamentations on first hearing of this appointment : '•' No London practice "— symptoms of chagrin. " No eminence at the bar" — stronger marks of disapproval. "No university education " — lament the last and loudest. Such, however, was the ability and conduct displayed by that very promising lawyer, that, as regarded his appointment, partial disapproval was speedily converted into universal approbation. 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 203 in particular, in which Major-General Taylor described the shock which the Queen received on the arrival of the fatal intelUgence is truly affecting. "Her Majesty's countenance," he stated, " changed at once. She was unable to utter, but she could not shed a tear." The afflicted state, however, of her Majesty and the Prince Regent is sufficiently described in the foUo^ving note, which Lord Sidmouth, on the 11th of November, ad dressed to Mr. Bathurst, who accompanied his Lord ship, the Bishop of London, and Lord MelvUle, on the 19th, to Windsor, to attend the funeral: — " The ceremony is to take place on Wednesday evening, the 1 9th, and I hope to see you at Richmond Park on the preceding day. We must attend in full dress. It Is probable that the Bishop of London and Lord Melville will take an early dinner at Blchmond Park on Wednesday, and we may then all four go together. " I was near an hour with the Regent yesterday, and I found him collected and composed. He was in a state of great agitation, such as I never before witnessed, on the day of the ' fatal event, when, in consequence of a message, I went to Carlton House between one and two. " The Queen has been very much overcome. The Prince Leopold is now become more calm. He means to attend on Wednesday. Of the dreadful event Itself, it is hardly possible to write or speak." Before the close of the year, a painful disappoint ment befell all serious Christians, in the acquittal, before Lord EUenborough, by a London jury, of a bookseller, named WiUiam Hone, for publishing a series of blasphemous and disgusting parodies on the various solemn formularies of the Established Church, tending to destroy the salutary influence of the minis ters of religion, and to bring Christianity itself into 204 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIL contempt. The defendant was tried on three several indictments on the 18th, 19th, and 20th of December, and was acquitted upon them all. His escape has been attributed by some, to the severe indisposition of the learned judge ; and by others, to an impression enter tained by the jury that Hone's motives were political, and not directed against religion. But these excuses, even if correct, do not rescue British jurisprudence from the stigma of having allowed one to escape punishment who had wilfuUy committed the crime of turning into ridicule the chief source of human hap piness and human improvement, and of endeavouring to banish from men's minds those wholesome religious restraints which, during the recent war, had created the distinction between the loyal and God-fearing Englishman and that frantic worshipper of the blood stained goddess of liberty, the French revolutionist. The verdicts, therefore, were totally unjustifiable ; and if the more private particulars of this disgraceful transaction could be known, and the personal characters of the jurors be now examined, there can be little doubt that an explanation would thus be afforded. It should not be forgotten that a government, on such occasions as these, is placed in a very unfavour able point of view. It appears in the character of a prosecutor ; the images of past times arise on the memory ; the fires of Smithfield, the dungeons of the Inquisition, the cruel execution of penal laws. Amongst the jurors of a great metropolis, in a highly civilised state of society, there must always be found some who are indifferent to religion, and others who are hostile. Such men will go any lengths, rather than encourage the government in what they will call 1817. LORD SIDMOUTH. 205 the practices of intolerance. It is in vain to represent to them the difference between the fair exercise of the rights of free inquiry, and the indecent and wicked abuse of such rights. They will distinguish nothing : they will hear nothing ; and, by plausible declamation, they affect the minds of their fellows. Pious and good men, therefore, must consider — and it is a problem which can only be determined by the particular circumstances and difficulties of each sepa rate case — whether it may not frequently be prefer able to restrain their virtuous indignation ; and, instead of interposing the shield of the law in defence of reli gion against every graceless and despicable assailant, to leave so sacred a cause to be protected by the good sense and good feeling of society at large. The enemies of the best interests of mankind will thus be defeated ; for they will fall into neglect and oblivion, even from the very circumstance of their not having been noticed. 206 LfFE OF Chap. XXXIII. CHAPTER XXXIII. 1818. The Prince Regent's Acknowledgment of Lord Sidmouth's Ser vices. Lord Sidmouth receives a Challenge from Thistlewood. The Regent's Speech on opening Parliament. Church- Building Act. Lord Sidmouth proposes Repeal of the Sus pension Act — Debate, He answers Lord Holland! s Attack on Government, Debate on the Indemnity Bill in the House of Lords. Letters from Lord Sidmouth to Lord Chichester — And from Lord Exmouth to Lord Sidmouth. Illness and Death of Mr. John Hiley Addington. Commis sion of Inquiry into the Charities of England. Mr. Brougham's zealous Promotion of that Object. Care with which Lord Sidmouth selected Commissioners under the Act. Letter from Lord Sidmouth to Mr. Bathurst on the Subject. Dis turbances at Manchester in September, 1818. Death of her Majesty Queen Charlotte. Letter from Sir Herbert Taylor to Lord Sidmouth, and from the latter to Earl Talbot. Lord Ellenborough's first Illness at Christmas, 1816. His Lord ship's Visit to Paris in 1817. His Letters to Lord Sidmouth. Religious Tone of his Mind — -A Prayer composed by him. From Lord Eldon to Lord Sidmouth on Lord Ellenborough's ill Health. Lord Ellenborough intimates to Lord Sidmouth his intended Retirement in consequence of a Failure of Vision. He writes a Letter of Resignation to Lord Eldon. He signs his Resignation. His Death. The mortification which Lord Sidmouth could not fail to experience from the sanction afforded to blas phemy by the acquittal of Hone, and from the appa rently interminable nature of his' contest with the monster. Sedition, now received a gratifying allevia tion. On the 10th of January his Lordship was 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 207 informed by Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, that " in a conversation on the preceding evening upon the state of public affairs and the effect of the late trials, the Prince Regent had done his high character most ample justice, in applauding the persevering firmness of his conduct throughout the whole of the proceed ings, and had spoken of his Lordship generally in a manner the most gratifying." This proof of the approbation of his most gracious master must have encouraged his Lordship's preparations for the ap proaching session of parliament, appointed to com mence on the 27th of January; in which, 'as he told Mr. Bathurst, on the 30th of December, " the service would be sharp until Easter. The Indemnity Bill," he added, " would of itself afford ample grounds for many and vehement discussions ; and, probably, must be preceded by another green bag and another secret committee. There was no necessity, and, consequently, no intention, to renew the suspension." The act here aUuded to, it will be remembered, was to remain in force until the 1st of March; but his Lordship told his brother, on the 3d of January, that " all the state prisoners were now liberated except the two Evans's and Benbow, who had refused to enter into recog nisances, and accordingly remained in confinement. Some risk would be run by the enlargement of these persons ; but not enough, he thought, to justify their detention." Before the reader enters upon the stirring events of the session, his attention is in-\dted to the singular circumstance of Lord Sidmouth having received, about this time, from the notorious Arthur ThistlcAvood, who had been one of those confined under the Sus- 208 LIFE OF Chap. XXXm. pension Act, a challenge to " fight him with sword or pistol." This, when submitted to the other members of the government, at a council held on the 6th of February, was regarded by them as an offence against his Lordship in his capacity of a cabinet minister, for which the party so offending ought to be prosecuted ; and they prevailed upon his Lordship, though, as may be inferred from the note from Lord Bathurst given below, with great difficulty, to swear the peace against Thistlewood in the Court of King's Bench*, his principal objection to the step being the necessity of deposing that he had been put in bodily fear. Ac cordingly, on the 7th of February, articles of the peace were exhibited against Thistlewood in the Court of King's Bench, on which he was ordered to find bail. An indictment was also preferred against him for sending the chaUenge to Lord Sidmouth, on which he was tried, before Mr. Justice Bayley, on the 4th of May ; and being convicted, was sentenced, on the "28th of the same month, to a year's imprisonment in Horsham Gaol. The Prince Regent's speech on the opening of parliament, which was delivered by commission on the 27th of January, mentioned "the improvement which had taken place in the course of the last year * " Downing Street, 6th February, 1818, 1 past 12. " Dear Lord Sidmouth, " I came up as soon as I received a summons, but I find I have arrived too late. Mulgrave, however, has just informed me of the subject of the consultation, and of the result. I understand that you are not satisfied with that part of the decision which has required you to swear the peace against Thistlewood. I must say that it appears to me to have been indispensable. * * * " Yours very truly, Bathurst." 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 209 in almost every branch of doiliestic industry, as a change which could not faU to put a stop to acts of insurrection and treason, which a spirit of discontent had unhappily fomented ;" and it expressed his Royal Highness's expectation that " the state of tranquiUity to which the country was now restored would be maintained against all atteiripts to disturb it." At length, also, the patiently cherished hopes of Lords Sid mouth and Kenyon were gratified by the introduction of a paragraph, directing the " attention of parliament to the deficiency which had so long existed in the number of places of public worship belonging to the Established Church when compared with the increas ing population of the country." * * The plan of the government, which appears to have been wisely and carefully prepared, was explained to the House of Lords by Lord Liverpool on the 15th of May, and by Mr. Van sittart to the House of Commons on the 16th of March ; and to the honour of both Houses, it passed without any discreditable opposition. The plan was, to vest in certain commissioners ap pointed by the crown one million of money, to be applied by them to the purposes of building and promoting the building of ad ditional churches in populous parishes. This last object was truly important, and it was effected by advancing money, in some cases as a gift, in others hy way of loan, to meet and augment sums contributed by individuals for the purpose of erecting churches. By this admirable mode of apportioning the assistance aflfbrded by the state to the zeal manifested by the parties principally inter ested (which has been successfully followed by the privy council in its grants for the erection of schools), the million occasioned the expenditure upon the same object of (it is believed) double its own amount. Lord Sidmouth received the merited honour of being named on the original commission. His Lordship's first summons to attend the meeting of the Commissioners, at which " the rules and regulations were to be considered, and the regula tions for the proceedings of the commissioners were to be sub mitted to the hoard," is dated November 6th, 1818. VOL. III. P 210 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIII, ., On the day following the meeting of parliament, Lord Sidmouth had the gratification of laying before the House of Lords a bill for repeaUng the Suspension Act of the previous session, and of moving, after it had been read a first time, that the standing orders should be suspended, with a view to its passing through all the stages that same evening. No oppo sition, of course, was made ; but Lord Holland took occasion to attack the government, on the ground that there was no necessity whatever for the severe measure of the preceding year ; " that the evidence on which it^had been founded was garbled, and prepared by those whose proceedings it was intended to justify, and that information which ought to have been com-. municated to the committee had been withheld. That the country was in better circumstances now than last year, he was happy to believe; but whatever improvement had taken place certainly was not owing to the Suspension Act, He trusted that the strictest inquiry would be made as to the manner in which this act for suspending the personal hberty of the subject in a time of profound peace had been executed," To this attack Lord Sidmouth replied, that the report of the secret committee, on the authority of which the act had been passed, fully proved the necessity of the measure : that aU the evidence which could with pro priety be produced, and quite sufficient to lead to a fair and proper conclusion, had been submitted to the committee, and that great benefit had been derived from the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act ; and that the favourable contrast which the state of the country now presented, compared with that of last year, resulted from this measure, he was fully pre- 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 211 pared to maintain. This, he added, did not rest on assertion: it was already proved. The magistrates in the county of Leicester stated, on their own know ledge, that the passing of the act had produced tran quillity in districts where the greatest alarm had previously existed. In Derbyshire the good effects of the measure had been still more apparent. In con sequence of what had then occurred, ten accused persons had fled, four had been sentencied to death, and thirty-one had pleaded guilty of treason. " These men, besides confessing their guilt, gave certain information that an insurrection much more formidable than the one in which they had engaged was contemplated, and would have infallibly taken place had not the Habeas Corpus Act been suspended. It was that alone which had deterred them. How ever humble the circumstances of the men concerned in these proceedings, they possessed talents and powers of factious eloquence which gave them con siderable influence over the lower classes. That in fluence, in consequence of the' Suspension Act, could no longer be exerted, and no convulsions had since occurred in those parts of the kingdom. He was wholly unconscious of any harsh exercise of the powers entrusted to ministers. The responsibility for the due execution of the act chiefly rested with himself, and he could only say that he had anxiously endeavoured to do his duty leniently but firmly, 'nee temer^ nee timidfe;' that he had oiily in view to pi-event danger, and had not deprived individuals of liberty any farther than the necessity of the case required. As regarded the prosecution of Hone, great complaints had been made in and out of parlia- p 2 212 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIU. ment of the neglect of ministers in not prosecuting offenders of that description. They had, indeed, long delayed to do so, and had only yielded at last, because they considered the prosecution of the case in question particularly caUed for by the circumstances of the times." The bill was carried through aU its stages, and sent down on the same evening to the Lower House, where, on the foUowing day, January 29th, it was passed with the same rapidity. It was about this period that the accusation was brought to a head against Lord Sidmouth of having encouraged a person named OUver to insinuate him self into the councUs of the disaffected, in order that he might reveal them to the government. Nothing, indeed, could be more easy or more natural than for the guilty parties to say that their accuser was also their seducer; and this suspicion once pro mulgated, it constituted too obvious a weapon of party warfare not to be immediately turned against the ministers by their political opponents. On this subject the first attack was made on the 11th of February, on occasion of a motion introduced by Mr. Fazakerley in very temperate language, but evi dently leveUed against the suspected employment of spies by the Home Secretary. In the course of the debate Lord Milton spoke with great vehemence against the government, and attributed all " the bad effects which had ensued, to the mission of Ohver, by whom the connexion between the disaffected in London and in the country had, in appearance, been kept up. That person's appearance," he added, " whenever it was made, was the immediate fore- I'^IS- LORD SIDMOUTH. 213 runner of disorder and confusion." In confirmation of this last assertion, his Lordship especiaUy instanced the West Riding of Yorkshire, of which his father, Lord Fitzwilliam, was the Lord Lieutenant, and who, in the previous December, i.e. only six or seven weeks before the day on which Lord Milt9n was speaking, had forwarded to the government the strongest possible representation of the disaffected state of his lieutenancy. Mr. Canning, in his capacity of cabinet minister, had seen and recollected this letter ; and it is a strong proof of his promptitude and ability in reply, that he resplved to make use of. it in refutation of Lord Milton. AvaiUng himself, therefore, of the interval whilst Mr. Wilberforce and the Solicitor-General were speaking, he sent a hasty message to Lord Sidmouth requesting that the document in question might be sent down to him at the House. His Lordship was then at home dining with his family ; but fortunately Mr. Venables, his private secretary, being still at the office when the message arrived there from Clifford Street, found the letter which Mr. Canning received in time to read to the House amidst much and general cheering. On that occasion, indeed, Mr. Canning made a most brilhant and effective speech ; and as his reply to Lord MU- ton, especially his justification of Lord Sidmouth's conduct, was considered altogether conclusive and triumphant, no disappointment, it is hoped, will be experienced, at the unusual length of the following extract from it : — " Of the noble Lord (Milton) who spoke early in the de bate, he meant not to utter one disrespectful word ; yet it was with the utmost surprise he heard the statement he had p 3 214 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIIL made. It had been aUeged that, last year, alarm had been not only propagated through the country, but industriously exaggerated by the agents of government; that ministers had procured the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, for purposes of their own, by exhibiting ' the country in a state of danger and disaffection. But it could be satisfactorily shown that government, instead of outstripping the inform ations they had received, rather lagged behind them. It was clear that governments could not go on, if they refused to receive information of plots formed against the security of the state. It was equally clear that they must build theii: belief and shape their conduct on such information as they receive. He agreed that that information was the best, which came under the sanction of established authority, or from an unsuspected channel ; and if the noble Lord or his friends could prove that ministers had, by option and prefer ence, accepted the communications of obscure agents In lieu of regular reports from estabhshed authorities, then they would make out a real case against them. But this had not happened. He presumed that none would differ from him in thinking that, of all the sources of information, local in formation was best entitled to credit. He should be glad to know, then, what accusation that government would be hable to, who should receive Information of the following descrip tion, and yet should obstinately refuse to give credit to it. Suppose a justice of the peace should, in the month of De cember, 1817, have written to the Secretary of State to this effect : — 'I cannot conclude without caUing to your recol lection that all this tumultuous assembling, rioting, and so forth is not the consequence of distress, want of employ ment, scarcity or dearness of provision, but is the offspring of a revolutionary spirit ; and nothing short of a complete change in the established institutions of the country is In contemplation of their leaders and agitators.' If this inform ation had come from some petty authority of an obscure dis trict, would government, even in such a case, be warranted in passing it over? But coming, as it did, from agitated districts, and not only from a justice, but from a master of justices — from the Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 215 York — could government refuse it credit? Would they not deserve impeachment if they had- done so? Nothing was more common, than, when threatened danger was past, to look back upon it with contempt. When the alarm was once over, fear subsided, and cavil and distrust returned with the means of safety. He chaUenged the historical knowledge and research of the honourable and learned gentlemen oppo site to produce one single instance of a conspiracy, not suc cessful, where, when the danger was over, doubts had not been entertained of its existence. * * * He knew that it would be said that Earl Fitzwilliam, the Lord Lieutenant of the West Hiding of Yorkshire, had since retracted his opinion ; but at the time when it was dehvered the government were bbund to take immediate measures upon It. Such measures had been taken, and had received the approbation of the House."* The next step in legislation was to carry a measure in which Lord Sidmouth was considered by his friends as having a personal and peculiar interest, namely, "A Bill for indemnifying Persons who had been en gaged under the Suspension Act in apprehending or detaining in Custody Persons suspected of treasonable Practices, and in the Suppression of unlawful Assem blies." This was the usual consequence of a suspen sion of the Habeas Corpus Act f , and in this light it * Hansard's Debates, vol. xxxvii. pp. 338. 395. Mr. Fazakerley's motion was thrown out, on a division, by a majority of 1 1 1 to 52. I One of the reasons of the Indemnity BiU of 1818 was, that although those who had acted under the Suspension Acts of 1817 were fully justified in all they did, they were liable to have actions brought against them by the parties imprisoned, which could not he defended without producing as witnesses those on whose inform ation the accusation had proceeded — a necessity which it was highly expedient to avoid. Power was therefore given by the act to the judge of every court in which such an action should be brought to stay the proceedings. It has been observed by the learned Mr. Justice Coleridge (see note on Blackstone's Commen taries, vohi.page 136.) that the effect of an act suspending the p 4 216 LIFE OF Chap. XXXTIL was introduced to the House of Lords by the Duke of Montrose, who moved its second reading on the 27th of February. The bill was founded on a report pre sented on the 23d by a secret committee, of which his Grace was chairman, appointed to examine the several papers which had been laid, sealed up, before the House by command of the Prince Regent. This document recapitulated the treasonable acts which had occurred since the last report, the measures which had been pursued for their suppression, and the war rants of detention, amounting in aU to thirty-seven, on suspicion of high treason, which had been issued by the Secretary of State, and which, it declared, " had been fuUy justified by the circumstances under v,rhich they had taken place. On the whole, it ap peared to the committee that the government, in the execution of the powers vested in it by the two sus pension acts, had acted with due discretion and moderation." In the discussion which ensued Lord Sidmouth, who did not consider it becoming to argue in favour of a measure in part intended for his own indemnifi cation, confined himself to a decided contradiction of Habeas Corpus Act (31 Car. H. c. 2.) is not to authorise the crown to imprison suspected persons without giving any reason for so doing ; but to prevent persons who are committed upon certain charges from being bailed, tried, or discharged, for the time of the suspension, leaving, however, to the magistrate or person committing the responsibiUty attending illegal imprison ment. It is usual, therefore, to pass acts of indemnity subse quently for the protection of those who either could not defend themselves in an action for false imprisonment without making improper disclosures of the information on which they had acted, or who had done acts not strictly defensible at law, though justified by the necessity of the moment. This very case of 58 Geo. III. c. 6. is then cited as an instance of an indemnifying act. 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 217 the accusations against him for resorting to the sys tem of espionage, and for having inflicted imprison ment on innocent individuals. "As to the former, he said, he abhorred with all his -heart whatever tended to weaken the bonds of social intercourse. But when he had the means of saving the country from insur rection through the evidence of an informer, could he, as an upright minister and honest man, reject such information? He only wished that he could, con sistently with his duty, disclose whatever had passed between him and Oliver; but he defied any one to say that he had made use of that person in any way repugnant to the strictest honour, or the strictest law. No person had been apprehended through that indi vidual, nor had any steps been taken at his sugges tion, oi- arising out of his disclosures. As regarded imprisonments, there was not a case which produced in his mind a single feeling of self-reproach, nor in which he would not proceed again in a similar man ner, under similar circumstances." The remainder of the debates produced no new matter in either House : after first stating, therefore, that the third reading of the indemnity bill was carried in the Lords by ninety- three over twenty-seven, and in the Commons by eighty- two against twenty- three, the subject wUl be closed with a few extracts from the correspondence, ex planatory of the sentiments with which Lord Sidmouth and his friends regarded the question. The first quo tation will be selected from the letter in which, on the 28th of February, his Lordship thanked the Earl of Chi chester for sending him his proxy, accompanied by " a very kind letter of friendly sympathy. No one knows better than yourself that, in such a situation as mine, it is sometimes necessary to take strong measures. 218 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIII. with respect to individuals, without the possibility of disclosing the grounds upon which alone they can be justified. Parliament and the better part ofthe pub lic are, however, always disposed to act fairly and justly towards a servant of the Crown so circum* stanced ; and, next to the consciousness that he has done his duty firmly and zealously, their support is the highest gratification he can receive." From the numerous congratulations which cheered his Lord ship ' at the result of what he himself styled, " his trial in the House of Lords *," one only will be given^ from the pen of Lord Exmouth, who had placed " his conscience in his keeping," and was now become one of his most frequent correspondents : — " Admiralty House, Plymouth, March 2d, 1818. " I have been quite delighted, this morning, to observe the very large and respectable majority on the question of the Indemnity Bill. It is the triumph of virtue over vice, of loyalty over rebeUion ; and peculiarly gratifying is it, to every lover of his country, to see the honourable testimony It affords to the purity, benevolence, and firmness of your Lordship's mind. May you thus be nobly supported through your life ! " A distressing period of Lord Sidmouth's life had now arrived. Every page of this biography exhibits traces of the truly fraternal affection which had sub sisted through life between his Lordship and his only * So strongly did he feel this that, out of delicacy, he refrained from using Lord Colchester's proxy, and thus, as he told that noble Lord on the 1st of March, "lost the 'decus et tutamen' of his name and vote. Our last fight," he added, " will be on Thursday, when Lord GrenviUe wiU attend to give his cordial support to the biU of indemnity, to use his own words, in a" letter to Lord Harrowby." 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 219 brother, the Right Honourable John Hiley Adding ton, so that it was seldom, probably, that the " idem veHe atque idem noUe," was more fully exemplified than in their instance. Of this brother it was now Lord Sidmouth's bitter misfortune to be deprived. Mr. Hiley Addington's health had long been in an uncomfortable state ; but it excited no serious appre hensions until April, 1818, upon the 22d of which month increasing indisposition obUged him to resign the office of Under Secretary of State, which he had filled, greatly to his brother's comfort and satisfac tion, for nearly six years. From that date his vital powers gradually declined, so that when Lord Sid mouth, who had been hastily summoned, arrived at his brother's country seat, Langford Court, near Bristol, early on the morning of the 12 th of June, he found that " the fatal result had occurred, without any ag gravated suffering, on the preceding evening." His Lordship deeply felt this trying bereavement ; and there were ma'ny other sincere mourners on the occa sion : for, not only by his own kindred, but as a friend, a neighbour, a master, a citizen, the deceased was much and deservedly beloved. Seldom, indeed, can any one be found so well deserving the praise due to an enlightened English gentleman as that truly amiable and benevolent man; who, whether as a pro- moteir of loyalty, a reconciler of differences, or a voluntary servant of the state, both in a civil and military capacity, set an example to all around him, and acquired, to a remarkable degree, the respect and esteem of society.* * This was "quite a year of obituaries. On the 23d of July, Lord Sidmouth announced to Mr. Bathurst the death of his valued 220 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIIL The pressure of official duties affords the servants of the crown but Uttle leisure for the indulgence of the domestic affections, and it was not without much difficulty and inconvenience that Lord Sidmouth could obtain the melancholy gratification of " attend ing the remains of his ever-to-be-lamented brother to their last earthly abode." One of the duties which at that time claimed his attention arose out of an act passed at the close of the session "for appointing com missioners to inquire concerning charities in England for the education of the poor," which had been recom mended by a select committee appointed two years before by the House of Commons to investigate and report on the subject. That committee originated with Mr. Brougham, who was appointed its chairman, and to whom, it is but justice to admit, the country is greatly indebted for much general benefit which has resulted from its operations. The inquiries of this committee had been originaUy limited to cha rities relating to the education of the poor ; but the bill founded on their report included aU the public institutions of England, not excepting, as was under stood, the universities, the church, and all corpora tions, colleges, and schools. The recommendations, friend, Edward Golding, Esq., who died that afternoon at his Lordship's house in Clifford Street. Mr. Golding possessed all those attractive and useful qualities which conciliate affection without exciting malevolence, and fully merited the following portrait, which his neighbour, Sir William Scott, made of him in a note to Lord Sidmouth : — " Poor Golding ! I have this morning been drawing up a short memorial of our worthy departed friend, for the Reading paper. He is a severe loss to this part of the country. The death of such a man is, in all respects, a great laceration to a neighbourhood." 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 221 in short, were of a magnitude for which the country was at that time utterly unprepared ; and, conse quently, by the universal commotion which they would have excited, if fully carried out, appeared in the eyes of cautious persons, more likely to produce injury than benefit. This, at least, was the opinion of several eminent persons with whom Lord Sidmouth was in correspondence on the subject. Lord EUeU'^ borough, in particular, denominated a plan, " printed by order of the House of Commons, and indicating a purpose of erecting a parliamentary trust for all the schools in the kingdom, as a measure big with mis chiefs of a most alarming magnitude." The proposed powers of the commissioners, however, were, it is be lieved, considerably contracted in the House of Com mons, and in tUat of the Lords they were still further restricted to the original objects of inquiry, namely, the charities connected with the education of the poor. They were also prohibited from interfering with any charities having special visitors, governors, or overseers. The bill provided that the board of commissioners should consist of six unpaid or hono rary, and eight stipendiary, members, the latter of whom were to be able and active men of business ; and, as Mr. Brougham had mentioned in one of the earlier stages ofthe measure that there was no objec tion to the commissioners being appointed by govern ment, provided they were not ciphers, the selection of those functionaries was, by the act, vested in the crown; and thus, by virtue of his office, devolved eventually on Lord Sidmouth. Unfortunately, the alterations made in the bill during its progress through parliament did not obtain the approbation of its author, who, with his charac- 222 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIU. teristic ardour, shortly afterwards employed his powerful pen on " a letter to Sir Samuel Romilly," wherein he alluded to " the eminent head of the home department" in terms very different from those which he afterwards applied to Lord Sidmouth in his ad mirable memoirs of Lord Wellesley, or than, pro-r bably, he would even then have employed had he been aware of the scrupulous fideUty with which his Lordship was endeavouring to carry out the purposes of the act.* It can, however, be positively asserted that whilst, on one hand, the correspondence does not contain the slightest indication that his Lordship dis approved of the purposes of the act in any respect, it * It is truly gratifying to find amongst the Sidmouth papers numerous instances showing that, in this country, how much soever great and eminent men may at times be alienated from each other by prejudice or party, in the end a wise and generous appreciation of character and conduct usuaUy triumphs over less commendable influences. Thus, in the present instance. Lord Sidmouth, by the integrity of a life alike honourable and consist ent in oflSce and in retirement, won at length the esteem and regard of Lord Brougham, which the latter manifested not only in flattering marks of respect to his memory, but also in the honour able mention of him in the memoirs alluded to above, the proof sheets of which he forwarded tp his Lordship, accompanied by the foUowing very friendly note: — " My dear Lord, Brougham, Penrith, September 24th, ]84S. " As I have just been correcting for the press our dear friend Lord Wellesley's memoirs (in the third volume of my ' Statesmen'), I thought your Lordship would like to see the just, and most just, tribute which I have paid to your public conduct. I weU know that nothing would have more gratified him who unceasingly ascribed so much of his success to your wise and generous support. The other sheets will be sent to-morrow. I have the honour to be, with great respect and esteem, yours faithfully, " Brougham.'' Another instance which occurred long afterwards was that of Sir Francis Burdett, who, at the period now under consideration, opposed Lord Sidmouth with no measured hostUity. Satisfied, however, with parliamentary reform, which he had devoted his 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 223 bears ample testimony, in the shape of letters of ap phcation to eminent persons, to the exertions he made in order to complete the list of honorary members. The result of these is stated in a letter which Lord Sidmouth addressed to Mr. Bathurst on the 23d of July : — " They are attacking me vehemently in the Morning Chronicle, but I am satisfied a selec tion was never made with more scrupulous caution, or with more pure intentions ; and I have no reason whatever tq be dissatisfied with the selection itself.*- whole life to obtain for the people, the honourable Baronet next found it his duty to stand up in defence of the monarchy, for which he had ever felt the warmest attachment ; and thus his loyal feel ings naturally led him to seek the acquaintance of Lord Sidmouth. The author well remembers the gratified surprise with which Lord Sidmouth informed him one day, in the spring of 1837, that he had that morning received a friendly visit from Sir Francis Bur dett, together with an invitation to meet the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel at dinner at his house. It need scarcely be mentioned, that Lord- Sidmouth received the advances of the manly and, as he was quickly convinced, consistent Baronet with much cordiality, and that a friendly intercourse ensued between the parties, of which the following testimony has, amongst others, been preserved : — ¦ " Dear Lord Sidmouth, St. James's Place, July 24th, 1839. " I am ashamed at looking on your card, and on my own pro crastinating habits. * * * Every day have I intended with Sinclair to come to see you, till he has departed for Scotland, and I am left without my conductor. I will, however, certainly have the pleasure of waiting upon you between this and Monday. " Believe me, my dear Lord, yours sincerely, " P. BtrUDETT." * This alludes to the eight stipendiary commissioners, who, his Lordship told Lord Colchester, " would be selected with the greatest care, and were aU to be barristers." Numerous were the appUcations which Lord Sidmouth received for those appoint ments. The way in which he proceeded was this. He sent a list of twenty names to the attorney and solicitor general, out of which he requested those officers to make the selection which they considered the best. In that list he had included the names of only two barristers who were personally known to himself, and it 224 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIIL * * * Our great difficulty is in procuring honorary commissioners. To the Bishop of London I applied, but the state of his health and his other business would not admit of his compliance. Lord Grenville has declined ; Lord Colchester would lend his name, but little more ; the Bishops of Peterborough and St. Asaph, and Manners Sutton, have consented; Sir WiUiam Scott and Sir WUliam Grant demur." * The result of the above "demur" was communi cated by Sir William Scott to his Lordship on the 3d of August, in the following words : — " Sir Wlhiam Grant and I have had a good deal of con versation about this commission ; and we agreed that it is quite necessary that we should state to your Lordship the strong objections which we feel to it upon considering the Act of Parliament under which it must issue, and which makes the office we had agreed to accept a very different thing from what we understood it to be. It appears, most clearly, that there Is no distinction at all amongst the com missioners; that there is no power of direction or control lodged in those who do not receive pay ; that they all take the same oath of office, and have all the same duties to per form. * * * Having no authority whatever over these gentlemen (who have all equal votes and efficiency with our selves), we become responsible for all their acts, however indiscreet ; and this state of things Is so widely distant from what we had conceived it to be, that we think we cannot, with safety, place ourselves in it. I find, from a conversation I have had w^Ith Lord GrenviUe, that he dechnes acceptance of the commission upon these very grounds." * * * so happened that neither of those was chosen. — Family Recol lections. * Sir William Grant had recently resigned the Mastership of the EoUs, and retired into private life, when, in the opinion of his friends, neither his age nor the unimpaired state of his health, called for such a step. " It was better," he said to them, " to obey the admonition from within than to wait for the observation from without." — The Author's Recollections. 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 225 ( It only remains to be observed of this commission, which after having been frequently renewed, especi ally in 1819 and 1831, finally expired in 1837, that it has most agreeably surprised the expectations of all parties, by effecting, on one hand, a much larger amount of public benefit than its promoters even ven tured to anticipate, and inflicting, on the other, none of the evils which its opponents apprehended. It ought also to be recorded to the honour of the com missioners, that they fuUy justified the judgment and disinterestedness manifested in their appointment, both by their elaborate investigations, and able and useful reports. The last notice which Lord Sidmouth takes of this subject in the correspondence is con- , tained in a note of the 30th of September to Mr. Bathurst : — " You will be glad to hear that the com mission is in full activity. The Solicitor-General tells me, that the selection ofthe stipendiary commissioners is much approved by the profession ; and Mr. Man ners Sutton, having now had a month's experience of them, assures me that in his judgment a better choice could not have been made. He is indefati gable. His labours, in connection with Warren and Roberts, commence every day at ten, and never end tiU four." This year Lord Sidmouth obtained "a furlough" for the month of August, during which he made his usual tour in the west of England ; but combinations amongst the spinners and weavers in the town of Manchester recalled him to the "long table" early in _September. It was on the 2d of that month the riots occurred which he alluded to oh the 11th, in the following letter to Lord Ellenborough :^-" The VOL. HI. Q 226 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIIL combination at Manchester, &c. is now nearly dis solved, and tranquUlity is completely restored. The verdict of the jury in the case of the person killed in the attack on Gray's mill, the arrest of Johnson, Baguley, and Drummond, who are lodged in Chester gaol, the failure of pecuniary supplies, and the admir able arrangements of Sir John Byng, in conjunction with the civU authorities (one of the chief objects of which was to afford protection to all persons disposed to return to their work), have effected this fortunate change ; but unless the law is strengthened, there can be no security against the recurrence of combination, and consequent outrage and violence. Still the cessa tion of this storm is a most important point on pubhc grounds, and a very great relief to myself." The Chief Justice of Chester, Mr. Sergeant Best, when he shortly afterwards charged the grand jury on opening the assizes at Chester, alluded to these combinations in so able a manner that Lord Sidmouth wrote him a special letter of thanks ; in which, after stating his own feelings, he mentioned the strong terms of satis faction in which the Prince Regent had recently expressed his approval of the learned Sergeant's ser vices on the occasion. "I am confident," his Lord ship observed, "that the charge had the effect of encouraging the magistrates, emboldening the masters, and disheartening the offending parties, and, conse quently, that it materially contributed to the happy result which has since taken place." The correspondence throughout this summer and autumn frequently alluded to the expected demise of that admirable personage, to whom, for nearly sixty years, the matrons of England had been indebted for 1818, LORD SIDMOUTH. 227 the brightest possible example of every conjugal and domestic virtue — her Majesty Queen Charlotte. This melancholy event at length took place on the 17th of November, to the unfeigned regret ofthe whole nation, and no one more than Lord Sidmouth, who had been honoured for so many years with her Majesty's most gracious favour and regard. As the letter which Sir Herbert Taylor addressed to his Lordship on the occa sion ascribes to her Majesty's piety the submissive de votion with which she supported her protracted illness, there can be no impropriety in presenting the fol lowing extract to the reader: — " The Princesses have commanded me to assure your Lordship how deeply they feel the kindness and affection with which you and your daughters have noticed this melancholy event. The loss of the Queen will, indeed, be deeply felt by the whole nation, which cannot fail to do justice to her Majesty's virtuous conduct during so long a period passed under manifold trials; but it will be more particularly felt by those whose imme diate intercourse with her Majesty, and close attend ance, enabled them to appreciate the full extent of those invaluable qualities which did not meet the public eye. Her sufferings for some time past have been very great, and she has borne them with ex emplary patience and resignation, such as a strong sense of religion alone could inspire. Much of her time was passed in prayer;" — a salutary lesson this from a Christian queen to an admiring nation. , Lord Sidmouth gave, vent to his own feelings on this afflicting event in the following expressions, addressed to Lord Talbot : — " Her Majesty's example had a most salutary and powerful influence during a Q 2 228 LIFE OF Chap. XXXm. period of more than half a century on all the relations of domestic life ; and her character will be for ever pre-eminent when compared with that of any of her predecessors. Your Excellency will probably have heard that the will of the Queen, which was signed on the day preceding that of her Majesty's demise, is marked by that considerate kindness and sound judg ment which was manifested on every occasion. Her Majesty's personal property is not more than sufficient for the discharge of her debts. This fact, which overthrows the misrepresentations and calumnies which so generally prevailed, ought to be universally known." The royal funeral took place on the 2d of December; and scarcely had Lord Sidmouth returned from fol lowing the remains of his revered and honoured Queen to their resting-place, when he was called upon to fulfil the same pious duty towards the distinguished lawyer mentioned in the following despatch to the Prince Regent : — " WhitehaU, Dec. 14th, 1818. " Lord Sidmouth has the grief of acquainting your Royal Highness that Lord Ellenborough is no more. The melan choly event took place yesterday evening at six o'clock, with out pain, or struggle, or a sigh." Although Lord Sidmouth' did not become ac quainted with Lord EUenborough until he appointed him Solicitor-General in 1801, the intimacy which then . ensued immediately ripened into a friendship, of which this fatal termination must not be passed over without some special notice. A few circum stances, therefore, relating to the latter days of this remarkable man, which have been reserved for inser- 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 229 tion at this place, it is thought will be interesting to the reader. The earliest serious symptom of the failure of his bodily powers which his Lordship experienced ap peared at Brighton during the Christmas vacation of 1816 and 1817 in a feeling of numbness in his left hand, which at first was regarded by himself and others as a paralytic seizure. When, however, two or three days afterwards the gout attacked the affected member, his own apprehensions subsided ; and in a letter written on the 11th of January, 1816, to Lord Sidmouth, he even indulged in some humorous observations on the sensation which the rumour of his indisposition had excited amongst the more aspiring members of his profession.* From that period, however, although he fulfilled his duties, and entered into society, as usual, it is stated in a letter from Mr. Justice Dallas, that "his intimate friends could trace a great change in him ; " and especially was this perceptible on occasions when he was re quired, in the fulfilment of his judicial functions, to strain the higher faculties of his mind to any extra ordinary effort. Thus, as appears from the cor respondence, his Lordship remained for a long time the object of affectionate solicitude to his family, and * " The numbness," he observed, " in my left hand was but the forerunner of a very active and painful attack of the gout, and convinced me too feelingly that there was no want of sensibility in that part. The numbness, however, reached town before the pain which followed it, and all last Sunday I was a dead man at the clubs. In the case of a puisne judge probably the report would not have advanced further than palsy, but out of compU- ment to the Chief Justice the disorder had a more rapid march, and a more summary and decisive character assigned to it." Q 3 230 LIFE OF Chap. XXXm. also to Lords Eldon and Sidmouth, Mr. Justice DaUas, and other friends ; and this continued until the long vacation of 1817, when he went with his famUy to Paris, for the benefit of change and relaxation. The pressure of juridical exertion thus removed, his con stitution, for the time, rebounded, and so entirely, to appearance, were his energies restored, that in search ing amongst the numerous letters which Lord Sid mouth has preserved from his pen, for a satisfactory example of his manly diction and characteristic powers of thought and expression, none have been considered so Ukely to gratify the reader as those he found leisure to write during this visit to Paris. From that number, therefore, the two foUowing have been selected; the former for the indignant mention of the regicidal ami des noirs, who had reason to thank the fortu nate accident which prevented, possibly, his hearing Lord Ellenborough's opinion of the French revo lution; and the latter as describing the first hasty impressions of a Lord Chief Justice of England on witnessing the administration of criminal jurispru dence in a foreign country : — " H6tel de I'Empire, Paris, Sept. 1st, 1817. " My dear Lord, " The expectations I sangulnely formed of the continuance of fine weather for our harvest, when I wrote to your Lord ship from Calais, were eadly disappointed by a succession of heavy showers during the three following days. Since that time — if your weather is the same with that which we have had here — your harvest may have recovered the mischiefs which threatened its destruction. I feel an intense interest on this subject ; as I think the peace of the' country, and its exemption from calamities of the worst sort, almost entirely depend on the abundance and cheapness of corn for the ensuing winter. I am charmed with the beauty of the public 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 231 buildings, streets, and gardens of this place ; in all of which there appears to be a great improvement since I visited this country thirty-two years ago. I lament very much that my ability to enjoy these objects Is diinlnlshed, in a great degree, by infirmity of knees and ankles, produobd by various attacks of gout, which disqualify one for walks of any extent. I am almost extinguished by a visit, of some hours, to the gallery of pictures at the Louvre, and by another, yesterday, to VersalUes. At the latter place I was shocked with painful recollections of its former state and former inhabitants, whom I saw here in the fulness of gaiety and joy, unconscious of the coming storm. The place Is much dilapidated In some of its buildings ; but, upon the whole, less so than might have been expected ; and is yet repairable, but at a great expense. I was induced to visit Versailles yesterday, because the foun tains were to play then in honour of the feast of St. Louis, the badness of the weather having occasioned that exhibition to be deferred from its proper day, the foregoing Sunday. I was sorry to observe that this exhibition, as well as the Illu minations at Paris, which took place on the evening of the same day, were regarded by the spectators with a listless In difference, or at least with the ordinary feelings of satisfaction which a jet-d!eau or an illumination excites in the mind of every Frenchman, unconnected with the emotions which the day and the occasion were so well calculated to excite. I . could see nothing in their countenances beyond the gratified | curiosity of a Frenchman ; but none of the zeal and enthu- ! slasm which loyalty and a love for a line of princes descended ', from St. Louis, and which was so lately restored to them, might be supposed to have produced. This morning I met, by accident, with a person of another sort, not merely indif ferent to the fates of the family of St, Louis, but who was actively concerned In shortening the days of the murdered Louis XVI. I was returning a visit to Lord Holland, and was shown Into a room where an abbe of very grave and respectable appearance was also waiting his coming. He did not talk English, and I very little French ; so that we made no progress in acquaintance with each other. Lord Holland joined us soon; and after I had sat some time, I retired. Q 4 232 LIFE OF Chap. XXXm. Lord Holland accompanied me to the stairs, and said to me, as I was going out, ' You have, no doubt, heard of the gen tleman with whom you have been in company, but never, I dare say, seen him before : he is the Abb6 Gregoire, a regi cide.' The Abb^ Gregoire is, I beheve, the famous ami des noirs to whom France and the world, in great measure, owe the calamities and massacres of St. Domingo. « * * I have not seen the ambassador — Sir Charles Stuart — yet, but have had some correspondence with him about present ations, to the King and royal family, of myself and Lady Ellenborough, which will be on the first practicable occasion. Mr. Vihiers is here, and has been very obliging In the way of information. We dine at Sir Charles Stuart's on Saturday next. I have been at two of the theatres, hut lament that my imperfect knowledge of the language pre vents my enjoying them as well as I otherwise should. Lady Ellenborough and the girls join me in best remembrances to your Lordship and the Miss Addlngtons. " I remain, my dear Lord, ever most faithfully yours, " Ellenborough." The peep which has been promised to the reader into a French court of justice will now be extracted from a letter which his Lordship wrote on the 1st of October, when on the eve of departure from Paris: — " I was present yesterday at a criminal trial for a treason able conspiracy, in which there was nothing which attracted my approbation but the great decorum and order with which it was conducted, and the silence and stillness of the audience, which nothing could exceed. In the questions addressed by the judge to the prisoner as to his acts and motives, and in his observations and arguments thereupon, and also upon the answers of the prisoner, which ran through the whole of the trial, there was every thing to shock a person habituated to the modes of English trial, or acquainted with the ordinary principles of justice and the means of obtaining truth. The mode of proceeding resembles somewhat the irregular pre liminary examinations which with us take place sometimes at 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 233 Bow Street ; but bears no resemblance to any authorised mode of investigation in the course of any criminal trial. I went with Mr. Vilhers, and staid only about two hours. The case seemed to afford materials which might have been made better use of. I sat in court in a very commodious place, below the president, to whom I was introduced. Mr. Brougham and Sergeant Copley sat by me. Lord Glen- bervie was also present. " I hope to reach England by the 20th of this month. I think that my tour has done me good ; biit the symptoms of gout are still troublesome. I doubt much how I shall stand hard work at present. The nervous state in which I have been for some time past, and the fatigues under which I have long laboured, have affected my eyes very Inconveniently. The bracing weather which is now coming on may perhaps do me good. I shall visit Brussels and the glorious field of Waterloo in my way home." The inspection, however, of his neighbour's insti tutions, and the observance of foreign places, manners, and pursuits, did not constitute Lord Ellenborough's most important occupation during his visit to Paris. The opportunity his present leisure afforded for self- inspection, and the true light in which he feared not to regard the accumulating indications of declining health, now quickened into still more active exercise those serious religious impressions for which, not withstanding the incessant interruptions of a profes sional life, he had always been remarkable. Whilst thus influenced, his Lordship composed, when at Paris, the following prayer, preserved by the filial piety of his Lordship's eldest daughter, of which, at the author's earnest entreaty, that lady has most obligingly sanctioned the publication. A lively ap preciation of the benefits which frequently accrue to the cause of religion from the display of practical 234 ' LIFE OF Chap.XXXHL Christianity in the lives of great and eminent secular characters has led to this somewhat unusual step. Often have the most pious and beautiful aspirations emanated from distinguished public men; but the present composition exhibits a characteristic not al ways discernible in prayers originating from such a source, for it distinctly recognises the grand Christian doctrine, that sinful creatures like ourselves can only derive their expectations of future happiness from the mercy of God, through the merits of their Saviour: — " O God, heavenly Father ! by whose providence and goodness all things were made and have their being, and from whom all the blessings and comforts of this life, and all the hopes and expectations of happiness hereafter, are through the merits of our blessed Saviour derived to us thy sinful creatures, I humbly offer up my most grateful thanks and acknowledgments for thy divine goodness and protection con stantly vouchsafed to me through the whole course of my life, particularly in indulging to me such faculties of mind and body, and such means of health and strength, as have hitherto enabled me to obtain and to enjoy, many great worldly comforts and advantages. Grant me, O Lord ! I humbly beseech thee, a due sense of these thy manifold blessings, together with a steadfast disposition and purpose to use them for the benefit of my fellow-creatures and thy honour and glory ; and grant, O Lord I that no decay or diminution of any of these faculties and means of happiness, may excite in my mind any dissatisfied or desponding thoughts or feelings ; but that I may always place my firm trust and confidence in thy divine goodness ; and whether the blessings heretofore indulged to me shall be continued or cease, and whether thou shalt give them or take them away, I may still, in humble obedience to thy divine will, submit myself in all things with patience and resignation to the dispensations of thy divine providence, humbly and gratefully blessing, praising, and magnifying thy holy name, for ever and ever. Amen. "Paris, 1817." 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 235 The benefit which apparently his Lordship had derived from his visit to Paris induced Lord Eldon, about this period, to make the following affectionate and feeling suggestion to Lord Sidmouth : — " There is no object which I have more at heart than the re storation of Lord Ellenborough's health ; and it has struck me that if his stay abroad is Ukely to strengthen, and his immediate return to impede, the hopes of complete recovery, it is our bounden duty to attempt to give him the benefit of a further stay. If he is coming here in the beginning only of recovery, I fear he comes too soon." The letter then suggests that, as Lord EUenborough's " absence for the next term might be fully justified, being equally advisable for the public and himself, his Lordship might be coun- seUed to remain abroad, the Prince Regent first giving his assent." This prudent and friendly advice met, it will readily be imagined, with a most welcome re ception in the quarter to which it was addressed ; but, before any step could be taken in the matter, Lord Sidmouth received a cheerful letter from his friend, dated Sitting bourne, October 17th, announcing the safe arrival of himself and party at that place, laden with "burnt wood from Huguomont, cuttings from the Wellington tree, and bullets extracted from the groves by themselves, as distinguished from the spurious exhibits sold to traveUers." Much, however, as his Lordship was renovated, a return to " those arduous duties of his office " which Mr. Justice Dallas pronounced to be " beyond human strength," speedily justified Lord Eldon's anxiety lest the restoration should not be found complete. This became painfully manifest to the Chief Justice him- 236 LIFE OF Chap.XXXHL self at the three trials of William Hone, on the 18th of December and two following days, for publishing profane and blasphemous libels. So strongly, indeed^ did his Lordship feel the failure of vision on this oc casion, that upon his return home he wrote a letter, intended to prepare the government for his early re signation, the foul copy of which he forwarded to Lord Sidmouth, ynth. the following preface affixed: — " The draft of a letter meant to be sent to Lord Sid mouth ; which Lord E. begs may be returned to him, in order that it may be copied fair." The letter, as here given, is transcribed from the original draft, in some parts nearly iUegible, in Lord EUenborough's hand- writing. The fair copy, if sent, was, doubtless, either retained by Lord Liverpool, or placed amongst the public documents. " My dear Lord, ' Dec. 21st, 1817. " The disgraceful events which have occurred at Guildhall within the last three or four days have led me, both on account of the public and myself, to consider very seriously my own sufficiency, particularly in point of bodily health and strength, to discharge the official duties of my station in the manner in which, at the present critical moment. It is peculiarly necessary they should be discharged. Your Lord ship is, I believe, aware that I have long complained of a considerable diminution of my powers of sight ; and though, after consulting Sir Wathen Waller, Mr. Travers, and Mr. Stevenson, I not only have no reason to apprehend any danger of total blindness, but have reason to believe that the optic nerve is not in any manner injured; yet, inasmuch as the inconvenience and difficulty I feel in taking notes in court and in immediately referring to and using them there, occasions a very painful impediment to the prompt and effi cient discharge of my public functions, I have for some time meditated on the duty which this circumstance appeared to 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 237 impose upon me, both In respect to the public and myself, to retire from an office which I could no longer execute to their full satisfaction or my own, I do not mean that I have re ceived as yet any intimation whatever of dissatisfaction on this account from any quarter ; but I am sensible of, and alarmed at, my own defect in the particular I have alluded to, and think it proper to obviate any public inconvenience or public or private censure, by retiring in time. I have therefore taken the liberty of announcing to your Lordship that I wish to carry my meditated purpose of resignation into effect as soon as the convenience- of government In regard to the due selection and appointment of my successor may allow. I have to request, therefore, that your Lordship will have the goodness to communicate this my purpose to your colleagues. Lord Liverpool, the Lord Chancellor, and Lord Castlereagh, and after it has received their consideration, to submit it, with aU humility, to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, to whose gracious condescension, in the favour able acceptance of my imperfect services, I have been so much and so long indebted. It is my anxious wish to occa sion no embarrassment to his Royal Highness's government by the execution of the purpose I announce ; and I will therefore postpone it till an arrangement perfectly satisfactory shall have been made for fiUing up the vacancy my resigna tion will occasion. I do not think it necessary to request your Lordship and the other members of his Royal High ness's government, and I trust that I have no occasion to request his Royal Highness himself, to acquit me of the baseness of deserting the pubho service in a moment of ap prehended difficulty and danger. In the mean time, and until my purpose shall be carried Into full effect, my labour and attention shaU be addressed to the discharge of my official duties, as it has been for years long past ; trusting that any imperfection which may occur in their discharge from the infirmity I have mentioned, or from any other, may receive at their hands the most candid aUowance. ' I have the honour to be, with the most sincere regard and esteem, my dear Lord, your very faithful and obliged humble servant, " Ellenborough." 238 LIFE of Chap.XXXIH. To the above deeply interesting communication Lord Sidmouth, on the same day, returned this affec tionate reply : — " My dear Lord, Richmond Park, Dec. 21st, 1817. " I have perused the draft of your intended letter with all the feeling which it was so weU calculated to excite. Your public career will live ' in aetemitate temporum, famS, rerum *; ' but it is not yet at its close, for a sufficient successor Is not, I am convinced, at present to be found. But time will be given for inquiry and consideration on the part of the go vernment, and for some progress towards fitness for the situ ation on the part of those who can alone be thought of as at all competent to fill it. Sir William Scott is come ; much chagrined at late events, but pleased to hear that you had not suffered. " I am ever, my dear Lord, most sincerely yours, " Sidmouth. " P. S. There is a passage or two in your letter in which you appear to me too solicitous to disclaim what no one could, by any possibility, impute," As the importance of Lord Ellenborough's services, and the extreme difficulty of providing a competent successor, must have been universally felt, the anxiety with which the government looked forward to the impending resignation may be readily imagined. The dreaded period, however, did not arrive until the 18th of September, 1818, on which day Lord Sid mouth received from Lord Ellenborough a copy of his final letter of resignation, as published in the " Life of Lord Eldon," enclosed in the foUovsdng note : — " My dear Lord, Worthing, Sept. I8th, 1818. " Before I send the letter herein copied, which I have been long meditating to send to the Lord Chancellor, as the Tacit. Agric. p. 46. 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 239 proper channel of such a communication between the Prince Regent and his judges, I thought I might venture upon first transmitting it to your Lordship, in order to have your opinion upon its' form and manner. For the necessity of the measure itself I am responsible, in truth and conscience, and most painfully do I feel myself, upon every ground, obliged to adopt It. I will beg the favour of an early answer ; upon receiving which, my letter to the ChanceUor will be for warded. Yours most faithfully, " Ellenborough." Lord Sidmouth's reply to this letter has not been preserved ; but its tenor is obvious, from the fact that the resignation itself, corresponding verbatim with the draft first mentioned, was forwarded to Lord "Eldon on the 21st of September. On some day pre vious to the 19th of October, the noble patient was removed to St. James's Square, as on that day Lord Sidmouth had there a satisfactory interview with his suffering friend. On the 20th, however, he had the mortification of learning from Lady EUenborough that " the grateful excitement of yesterday had ex hausted the spirits of her dear Lord, and that he had again sunk into the same state of depression under which he had laboured before the happy meeting." Lord Ellenborough now became " anxious for the ap pointment of his successor." Accordingly, on the 29th of October, Lord Eldon and Lord Sidmouth waited upon him with the form of resignation, which, " though his mind was in a very infirm state, and his hand weak and unsteady, he was still able to sign." Lord Sid mouth described the circumstances of this interview to Mr. Bathurst on the 1st of November in the follow ing passage : — " You will have learnt from the papers that Abbott is to preside in the King's Bench, 240 life of Chap.XXXIH. and Dallas in the Common Pleas. Both situations were offered to Shepherd, and the latter to Gifford. Poor Lord Ellenborough is declining rapidly. Mind and body appear to become weaker every day. On Thursday he signed the instrument of his final separ ation from pubUc life. Lady Ellenborough, with her two elder daughters, and her two elder sons, were present, besides the Chancellor and myself. It was an extraordinary and trying scene. The Chancel lor, who had not seen Lord E. for more than two months, felt it almost overpowering." To Lord Ellenborough the step from resignation to the grave was short indeed. Only six weeks elapsed ere Lord Sidmouth informed their common friend, Mr. Bond, that " the frame of adamant and the soul of fire " were lifeless. 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 241 CHAPTER XXXIV. 1818, 1819. Letter from the Earl of Sheffield to Viscount Sidmouth, The Duke of Wellington enters the Cabinet. Opening of the new Parliament. Business of the Session. Progress of Disaffection. Letter from Lord Sidmouth to Lord Fitz william. Great Meeting at Birmingham. Sir Charles . Wolseley elected a Legislatorial Attorney. A Constable shot. Lords Lieutenant at their Posts. Letters from, the Dukes of Newcastle and Devonshire, Meeting appointed in Man chester for the \^th of August, Preparations. Difficulty of ascertaining the precise Moment to quell a Riot. Instruc tions given by Lord Sidmouth prior to the Meeting. Pre parations made by the Magistrates at Manchester. Sir William Jolliffe's Account of the Military Proceedings on the Day ofthe Meeting. Sentiments of Lord Sidmouth on receiving the Intelligence. He considers it his Duty to support the Magistrates, His Letter to the Lords Lieu tenant, conveying the Regent's Thanks to the Magistrates, His Argument in Defence of this Step. Letter from Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, conveying the high Approbation of the Prince Regent. Hunt and his Associates indicted for Con spiracy. Bills found. The Opposition strongly disapprove of the Conduct ofthe Magistrates and the Government. They commence the System of calling public Meetings, Address of the City of London utterly inconsistent with the Facts, Yorkshire County Meeting, Dismissal of Lord Fitzwilliam, That Step approved by Mr, Banks — And Mr, Wilberforce, In pursuance of the principle already laid down, of introducing, if possible, into this work some memo rial of each of Lord Sidmouth's principal correspond- VOL. III. R 242 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIV- ents, a letter will now be presented, selected from many others upon the same or similar subjects, which, from time to time. Lord Sidmouth received from the Earl of Sheffield.* These documents manifest, in some instances, a degree of inteUigence, forethought, and practical adaptation of remedies to evils, which anticipated the spirit of improvement then arising in the land ; and hence their exclusion from this biography has been acceded to with regret. Con sidering, however, the interest still attached to the subjects discussed in it, no reader, it is hoped, wiU regard as an unwelcome intruder the subjoined let ter, which, at the age of eighty-three ! , the sagacious and venerable writer addressed to Viscount Sid mouth : . — " My dear Lord, Sheffield Place, Dec. 13th, 1818. " Although I doubt not your Lordship has ample informa tion, I cannot resist the pleasure of communicating the very satisfactory accounts I have received from different parts, of the state of trade and manufactures, and particularly from the neighbourhood of Birmingham, Warwickshire, and Stafford shire. Both trade and manufactures are In a fiourishing condi tion, and likely to improve still further. There appears to be little speculation beyond the regular demands of the different markets, men without adequate capital finding it almost im possible to procure credit ; so that there is now no disposition to force a trade, and no Injurious competition among the merchants to procure the execution of orders, and, conse- * Lord Sheffield, who was previously an Irish baron, received an English barony in 1802, from Mr. Addington, who said, many years afterwards, that his Lordship and Lord Arden were the only peers he had created, except in direct testimony for public service. Lord Sheffield died in May, 1821, at the advanced age of eighty- six. 1818. LORD SIDMOUTH. 243 quently, wages are fair and reasonable. I conceive that things cannot be In a much better train either for the merchant or manufacturer, not so for the constitution or agriculture of the country : the first, I fear, is en decadence ; the case however of the latter Is somewhat better than It was, though far short of that of the trading part of the com munity. The demand for land is considerably Increased, but in many instances at reduced rents. Agriculture, the most essential of all concerns. Is so extremely depressed by the great increase of tithes and of parochial rates, that I cannot refrain from being its strenuous advocate : and so strongly am I Impressed with the evil consequences of the excessive load of such taxation on the landed interests, and particularly on the occupiers in the southern and midland parts of Eng land, that it is wonderful to me that agriculture has not been In those districts annihilated ; and there is nothing of which I am more thoroughly convinced than the necessity of afford ing it every relief and encouragement possible. I do not conceive that the subject of the corn laws can be renewed at present with advantage. The ignorance and supineness of the land-owners generally is so excessive ; the violence of the middling and lower classes so overbearing ; the use made of it by the popularity hunters of all descriptions so pernicious and vile ; the fears of government so great, and at the same time so natural, that, upon the whole, I do not entertain a hope of any beneficial results, from any efforts that are now making, or may be made, for a considerable time. It Is greatly to be regretted, however, that in the last correction of the corn laws, foreign grain, under any circumstances, should be admitted- duty free : It would have been sufficient to have lowered the import duties, as to wheat, when the price In our market was 51, per quarter ; but I by no means wish ministers so soon to be embroiled again on that subject, nor do I think, earnest as I am on this head, that this is the proper time to renew the discussion, or to attempt a change with respect to the duties. I would not, however, wish to damp the ardour of those who urge the principle, that every thing arising from the soil, and every manufacture of the country, should be protected by adequate Import duties ; as B 2 244 LIFE OF Chap. XXXrV. that principle Is generally observed with regard to every article except wool, and must be in a country so heavily tithed, and necessarily burdened with such an extraordinary degree of taxation. Previously to the year 1793, no direct or assessed tax, affecting agriculture, was tolerated, and surely it is now expedient, whenever possible, to rehnquish those taxes which particularly affect that most essential interest of the country, and to adopt such other measures as will enable it to support the heavy imposts which faU upon it. The legislature mlgBt now show attention to the grievances of the occupiers of land, by relinquishing all the direct taxes imposed on agriculture during the late war ; and it wIU only be common justice to protect the wool of the country from being debased in value, by the Import of wool from every part of the world free of duty, and it Is not difficult to de monstrate that a moderate duty on the import of foreign wool would not affect, even in a slight degree, the great mass of our woollen manufacture. * * * The levity of the public on the most interesting and Important subjects Is often not only very extraordinary, but even ridiculous. The well-founded alarm on the ruinous and impolitic management of the poor, which apjieared to make a deep and general im pression, seems now to be forgotten except by the oppressed occupiers of lands, who so severely feel the effects of it. The pubhc mind is not yet ripe for such a great measure as might prove an effectual remedy ; but in the mean time I think something might be done. Is your Lordship disposed to repeal all the laws relating to the poor (heterogeneous, dis cordant, impracticable, unintelligible, and absurd as they are,) to the 43d of Elizabeth, and to re-enact all those parts of them which the circumstances of the times may require, (de fining the powers of the magistrates, the parish officers, and the claims of the poor,) and form them Into a regular intelli gible code ? for I verily believe there is not one magistrate, nor any clerk (who governs him) who is acquainted with them all. I believe I am one of the oldest magistrates in the kingdom, being in my fiftieth year, and yet I have never met with any man who seemed fully acquainted with them. If an intelligent select committee, having a practical know- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 245 ledge of the subject (without which the ablest men are not competent to it), could be induced to undertake this work, I have no doubt but that a law could be so framed as to lead to a great amelioration of our present vile system, if not gradually to a complete remedy. But I must not impose more of my notions on your Lordship. You must be now quite tired of me. If you think there is any thing In this letter worthy of Lord Liverpool's attention, I wish it to be communicated to him ; but as I Inflicted on his Lordship some time ago a large dose respecting the poor, I refrain from a direct communication. I am, seemingly, as well as ever I was ; but I must not risk myself In town before the end of March, except for two nights on the meeting of par liament. In order to take my seat and enable me to leave a proxy. I have the honour to be, with very sincere regard, my dear Lord, most truly your Lordship's faithful servant, " Sheffield." At the commencement of the eventful year 1819, Lord Sidmouth passed a few " most agreeable days," on a visit to the Prince Regent, at Brighton. The opening of parUament, however, by commission, on the 21st of January, recalled him to his official pre parations for the longest and sharpest campaign he had yet been engaged in against fear and disaffection. The speech with which the new parliament was greeted contained, perhaps, a more flattering picture of the "flourishing condition" of the country than was altogether warranted by subsequent events, and it recommended one measure, namely, a material re duction in the military establishments of the country, which added greatly to the difficulties in which Lord Sidmouth immediately afterwards found himself placed.* But whilst the means which the govern- ' Lord Sidmouth always deprecated this experiment, which proved so extremely inconvenient, that, after persevering for four R 3 246 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. ment possessed of suppressing insurrection were thus unfortunately diminished, it received a vast addition to its moral strength in the counsels and experience of the Duke of Wellington, who, being released from his high and important command by the removal of the army of occupation from France, now, for the first time, took a seat in the British cabinet. The state of the country, which was daily becoming more formidable, effectually debarred Lord Sidmouth from engaging prominently in the general business of the session, which terminated on the 13th of July. All that will be presented to the reader, therefore, on that subject is the foUowing brief summary, ad dressed by his Lordship, on the 21st of June, to Lord Exmouth ; from which it appears that some little distrust was at first entertained of the disposi tion of the new parliament : — " The close of our par liamentary campaign is far more satisfactory than its commencement. The government has now received decisive proofs of that degree of confidence without which it could not be conducted honourably to our selves, or usefuUy to the public. Your proxy was placed in the hands of my friend. Lord Powis, my own being full. I was desirous of Captain Pellew's * attendance on the 7th of June, and for a few subse- years, the government were obliged, in 1823, to relinquish it, and to augment the army. * Captain the Hon. PownoU Bastard PeUew, R. N., afterwards the second Viscount Exmouth, represented the town of Laun- ceston in parUament from 1812 to 1829. The subject under debate on the 7th of June, which appears to have been the first real trial of strength in the new parUament on a vital question, was Mr. Vansittart's " resolutions relating to the public income and expenditure." They were carried by 329 over 132. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 247 quent days ; but was unwilling to suggest it, fearing it might be inconvenient to him to leave his duty."* The leaders of disaffection had now advanced another stage in the march of revolution, and found themselves enabled to extend the excitement of their deluded foUowers from the destruction of mills and machinery, and animosity against their employers, to subjects of a political nature. They therefore as sumed, for the first time, the name and character of Radical Reformers ; and endeavoured to dishearten the loyal, and encourage the rebellious, by collecting im mense numbers together at public meetings in popu lous places, for the avowed purpose of electing par liamentary representatives, but with the real object of creating disturbance and apprehension. One of these assemblages, which occurred at Hanslet Moor, near Leeds, was the occasion of the last private and confidential letter which, it is believed. Lord Sid mouth addressed to Earl Fitzwilliam. It is dated July the 24th, and expresses " great satisfaction at learning that the meeting last Monday was less nu merous, and the language of the orators less violent, than at the former meeting at the same place. The turbulent and disaffected in the country," his Lord ship proceeds, " will not derive encouragement from the proceedings on Wednesday last in Smithfield ; and I trust we may look forward with well-grounded hopes to such an increased demand, at no distant period, for the exertions of industry, as wiU reduce within very narrow limits the influence of those whose * His Lordship received the freedom of the city of London from the Merchant Tailors' Company on the lOth of March in this year. B 4 248 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. sole object is the subversion of our established insti tutions." The meeting in Smithfield was one over which Hunt had presided, and which ended without dis turbance ; but at an immense assemblage at Birming ham, on the 12th of July, Sir Charles Wolseley, a Staffordshire baronet, was elected legislatorial attor ney and representative in parliament of that town. Government now found it indispensably necessary to exercise whatever power the law might possess in putting a stop to these alarming proceedings. Ac cordingly, Sir Charles Wolseley and a dissenting preacher, named Harrison, were arrested, by a con stable by name Birch, for seditious words spoken by them at pubUc meetings; which act of lawful au thority the disaffected resented by shooting poor Birch in the open street, outside the court-house, at Stock port, at the very time when the magistrates were examining the prisoners within. At this period, it should be remembered, there was no suspension act, the army had been largely reduced, and the law for the suppression of riots, in itself not very inteUi- gible, was almost universally misunderstood. No wonder, then, that, as Lord Sidmouth complained to Lord Lonsdale, " the existing laws should be found inadequate to the difficulties and dangers with which the government had at that time to contend, and which could only be overcome by the law or the sword." At this conjuncture most of the lords lieu tenant proceeded to their posts*, and the Duke of De- * On the 15th of August, the Duke of Newcastle wrote to Lord Sidmouth from Stevenage, on his way down to his lieutenancy, in these memorable words : — " I am very sorry that I have not had the advantage of con- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 249 vonshire, " who had just returned to England after a long absence, expressed to Lord Sidmouth his rea diness to set out for Derbyshire immediately on re ceiving an intimation from his Lordship to that effect." We have now reached the eventful month of August, and so anxious was the moment that Lord Sidmouth could only get away from his office from Friday to Tuesday, in order to establish his family at Broadstairs for a few weeks. From that place he wrote to Lord Exmouth on the 15th, that '¦' tiie^laws were not strong enough for the times, but that thej^ must be made so, if it we^:. meant to afford the coun try a reasonable hope of permanent tranquillity. The plentiful season was, however, unfavourable for sedi tion, and at Manchester there was, happily, an in creased demand for labour. The magistrates, too, were roused into exertion, and the laws were enforced with vigour in most ofthe disturbed districts." On the day succeeding that on which the above remarks were penned, a circumstance occurred in the place mentioned therein, which was subjected to more misrepresentation, and exposed Lord Sidmouth to a greater amount of undeserved obloquy, than any other event of his life. Following the examples of Birmingham and Leeds, the reformers of Manchester had ventured to appoint a public meeting for Monday, the 9th of August, to elect a legislatorial attorney as representative of that place ; but on the magistrates issuing a notice declaring such an assemblage to be versing with your Lordship immediately before leaving London. However, pray remember that I am always ready, and that I will punctuaUy, faithfully, and fearlessly perform every known duty. In the hour of danger or adversity you may rely upon me. More I will not add, but I think it right to repeat this declaration." 250 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. iUegal, " and requiring the people to abstain from at tending it at their peril," they reUnquished that de- ^sign, and advertised another meeting to be holden in St. Peter's Field, in Manchester, on Monday, the 16th of August, for the purpose of petitioning for a reform of parliament. It was now evident, even to the least observant, that a crisis had arrived. On the part of the disaffected no efforts were omitted to impress a formidable character on their approaching meeting. Noct&riiai drillings were carried on throughout the neighbourhood t6~"ii ^great extent, on pretence of marching to the meeting in better order ; but, as Mr. Norris, the police magistrate, "observed, " miUtary discipline was not requisite for that purpose, and a more alarming object was so palpable, that it was impossible to mistake it." In short, as the grand jury at the quarter sessions at Salford observed, in their address to the magistrates, " the restless spirit of sedition had at length matured its designs, and was now assuming a tone of defiance, and pursuing a system of organisation which indicated an approach ing effort to involve the country in all the horrors of a revolution." It is scarcely necessary to observe that the government afforded the local authorities all possible assistance in their preparations to avert this approaching storm ; that a strong military force was collected at Manchester, and that Lord Sidmouth was in constant communication with the magistrates. But " in periods of disorder and approaching insurrec tion," as Mr. Bond at this time observed to his Lord ship, " the most difficult and important point is to ascertain to what extent you shall allow the evil to proceed : for unless there is enough done to indicate great and threatening danger, the better classes will 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 251 not be convinced of the necessity of interference ; you can never, therefore, call the law into execution with any good effect before the mischief is in part accomplished." Unquestionably the responsibility of deciding this " difficult and important point," though on this occasion unjustly cast upon Lord Sidmouth, belonged in reality to the local magistrate, who on all ordinary occasions acts entirely on his own indi vidual authority, and when necessary, can exclusively authorise the military to act as his coadjutors for the suppression of riots, without in any way referring to the Secretary of State, or deriving additional authority from him. In corresponding, therefore, with the local authorities in districts where riots are expected, the Secretary of State can only offer his advice, and even that is obviously impossible in cases requiring immediate decision. For these reasons Lord Sidmouth issued no express directions to the magistrates of Manchester as to the employment of the military. The substance of the communications he made to them immediately pre vious to the 1 6th of August is wholly comprised in the following summary carefully extracted from copies of those documents. The magistrates having announced their intention to put in force the Watch and Ward Act (52 Geo. HI.), his Lordship, on the 2d of August, " approved of that resolution, and would not doubt that, filled as that part of England was with miUtary, there would be found energy to act on that statute." Writing, three days afterwards, respecting the meeting ap pointed for the 9th, which was subsequently post poned, he told them that " he expected occasion to 252 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. arise for their energy to display itself, and that they may feel assured of the cordial support of the govern ment." On the 7th he suggested their "avaiUng themselves of the postponement of the expected meet ing, to put forth a monitory and conciliatory address to the lower classes." On the 12th he expressed him self " not surprised that the magistrates had, under the belief that the postponed meeting was reaUy about to take place, desired Sir John Byng's attendance; but glad, as the event proved, that he had been pre vented from answering their call." Thus general and concise were the previous com munications between Lord Sidmouth and the magis trates. He relied with encouraging confidence on their best exertions ; they fully depended on his Lord ship's support in every honest attempt to discharge their duty; and both expected from the public a friendly construction of their conduct, and a just and reasonable appreciation of the difficulties of their position. The preparations of the magistrates, which cor responded vdth those made on other occasions when they anticipated tumultuary meetings, were arranged as follows : — A special committee of their body had been in constant attendance for the three preceding days, and had resolved not to stop the numerous columns expected to pour in from various roads, but to allow them to reach the place of their destination. The military were put in requisition, and a corps of yeomanry was sent for from the adjoining county of Cheshire: the magistrates established themselves in a house on one side of the area of St. Peter's Field, where they commanded a full view of the pro- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 253 ceedings : one of them, Mr. Trafford Trafford, ac companied the commanding officer on the field, and two hundred special constables surrounded the hust ings, which consisted of two waggons placed in the centre of the area, and kept open a communication with the house in which the magistrates were sta tioned. Attention must now be directed to the military proceedings, of which the reader is presented with a circumstantial narrative, most obligingly supplied by Sir William J. H. JoUiffe, Bart., M. P., who, as a lieutenant in the 15th Hussars, was himself an actor in the scene he has so ably described. The statement has received the entire approval of Edward Smyth, Esq., of Norwich, who commanded a troop of the Mac clesfield squadron of the Cheshire yeomanry corps on that memorable day, and whose remarks on the cir cumstances mentioned in it are attached, in the shape of notes, to the parts to which they relate : — " My dear Sir, 9. St. James's Place, April 11th, 1843. " Twenty-five years have passed since the collision unfor tunately occurred between the population of Manchester and Its neighbourhood, and the military stationed in that town, on the 16th of August, 1819. " I was, at that time, a lieutenant In the ISth King's Hussars, which regiment had been quartered In Manchester cavalry barracks about six weeks. This was my first ac quaintance with a 'large manufacturing population. I had little knowledge of the condition of that population ; whether or no a great degree of distress was then prevalent*, or whether or no the distrust and bad feeling, which appeared to (exist between the employers and employed, was wholly or Captain Smyth does not believe there was. 254 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. in part caused by the agitation of political questions. I will not, therefore, enter into any speculations upon these points ; but I will endeavour to narrate the facts which fell under my own observation, although acting, as of course I was, under the command of others, and In a subordinate situation. The military force stationed in Manchester consisted of six troops of the 15th Hussars, under the command of Colonel Dalrymple; one troop of horse artillery, with two guns, under Major Dyneley ; nearly the whole of the 3 Ist regi ment, under Colonel Guy L'Estrange* (who commanded the whole force as senior officer). Some companies of the 88th regiment, and the Cheshire yeomanry f , had also been brought into the town, in anticipation of disturbances which might result from the expected meeting ; and these latter had only arrived on the morning of the 16 th, or a few hours pre viously ; and, lastly, there was a troop of Manchester yeo manry cavalry, consisting of about forty members, who, from the manner in which they were made use of (to say the least), greatly aggravated the disasters of the day. Their ranks were filled chiefly by wealthy master manufacturers; and, without the knowledge which would have been pos sessed by a (strictly speaking) military body, they were placed, most unwisely, as it appeared, under the immediate command and orders of the civil authorities. " Our regiment paraded in field-exercise order at about half- past eight, or, it might be, nine o'clock, a. m. Two squadrons * Unfortunately Sir John Byng, the General of the district, not having been previously sent for, was at his head quarters at Pon tefract. An express, however, was afterwards despatched to him, and he arrived in the night of the 16th and 17th at Manchester, from whence he transmitted Colonel L'Estrange's oflicial report to Lord Sidmouth. Sir John stated in his own letter that " he hoped his Lordship would approve of the Lieutenant-Colonel having employed the corps of Cheshire yeomanry and the Manchester troop, who, at the request of the magistrates, had assembled with the greatest alacrity in full numbers." t The Cheshire yeomanry consisting of six troops, and com prising between 300 and 400 men, were commanded by Colonel Townshend, and had marched on the same morning from Knuts ford. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 255 of It were marched into the town about ten o'clock. They were formed up and dismounted in a wide street, the name of which I forget, to the north of St. Peter's Field (the place appointed for the meeting), and at the distance of nearly a quarter of a mile from it. The Cheshire yeomanry were formed, on our left, in the same street. One troop of our regiment was attached to the artillery, which took up a posi tion between the cavalry barracks and the town; and one troop remained in charge of the barracks. " The two squadrons with which I was stationed must have remained dismounted nearly two hours. During the greater portion of that period, a solid mass of people continued moving along a street about a hundred yards to our front, on their way to the place of meeting. Other oflScers, as well as myself, occasionally rode to the front (to the end of a street) to see them pass. They marched, at a brisk pace, in ranks weU closed up, five or six bands of music being Interspersed ; and there appeared to be but few women with them. Mr. Hunt, with two or three other men, and, I think, two women* dressed in light blue and white, were in an open carriage, drawn by the people. This carriage was adorned with blue and white flags; and the day was fine, and hot. As soon as the great bulk of the procession had passed, we were ordered to stand to our horses. In a very short time afterwards the four troops of the 15th mounted, and at once moved off by the right, at a trot which was increased to a canter. Some one who had been sent from the place of meeting to bring us up led the way, through a number of narrow streets and by a circuitous route, to (what I will call) the south-west corner of St. Peter's Field. We advanced along the south side of this space of ground, without a halt or pause even : the words ' Front ! ' and ' Forward ! ' were given, and the trumpet sounded the charge at the very moment the threes wheeled up. When fronted, our line ex- * Mr. Hay, the magistrate, in his letter to Lord Sidmouth of the 16th August, states that there was but one female, whose name he mentions, who disgraced herself by occupying so unenviable a seat. A second, it is hoped, could not have been found. 256 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. tended quite across the ground*, which, in aU parts, was so filled with people that their hats seemed to touch. " It was then, for the first time, that I saw the Manchester troop of yeomanry : they were scattered singly, or In small groups, over the greater part of the field, literally hemmed up, and hedged into the mob, so that they were powerless either to make an Impression or to escape : in fact, they were in the power of those whom they were designed to overawe ; and it required only a glance to discover their helpless posi tion, and the necessity of our being brought to their rescue. As I was, at the time. Informed, this hopeless state of things happened thus : — A platform had been erected near the centre of the field, from which Mr. Hunt and others were to address the multitude ; and the magistrates, having ordered a strong body of constables to be In readiness to arrest the speakers, unfortunately imagined that they should support the peace officers by bringing up this troop of yeomanry at a walk. I The result of this movement. Instead of that which the magistrates desired, was unexpectedly to place this small body of horsemen (so introduced Into a dense mob) entirely * The whole space was only from two to three acres. It has since been entirely built over. t It was given in evidence by Mr. Hulton, the chairman of the magistrates, at Hunt's subsequent trial at York, that the employ ment of the yeomanry arose solely from accident ; that when Nadin, the chief constable, declared it to be impossible to execute the warrant without military force, both Colonel L'Estrange and the commandant of the yeomanry were written to, directing them to bring up their troops, but that the hussars missed their way, and, consequently, the yeomanry arrived first. He added, that the yeomanry advanced at flrst four abreast i, but the shouts of the mob, and the brandishing of their sticks, frightened the horses, which were raw and unused to the work, and that they could only advance very slowly from the pressure of the multitude, which instantly closed behind them, in order to separate them from one another. He also swore that the communication with the hustings by a line of constables was broken by the people closing round the hustings six deep, and linking their arms together. 1 They attempted to advance by two, but the horses being un steady, and the people getting between the files, they were imme diately separated, and several unhorsed. — Captain Smyth, 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 257 at the mercy of the people by whom they were, on all sides, pressed upon and surrounded. " The charge of the hussars, to which I have just alluded, swept this mingled mass of human beings before it : people, yeomen, and constables. In their confused attempts to escape, ran one over the other; so that, by the time we had arrived at the end of the field, the fugitives were literally piled up to a considerable elevation above the level of the ground.* (I may here, by the way, state, that this field, as It Is called, was merely an open space of ground, surrounded by build ings, and Itself, I rather think, in course of being built upon.) The hussars drove the people forward with the flats of their swords ; but sometimes, as Is almost inevitably the case when men are placed In such situations, the edge was used, both by the hussars, and, as I have heard, by the yeomen also ; but of this latter fact, however, I was not cognisant; and be lieving, though I do, that nine out of ten of the sabre wounds were caused by the hussars, I must still consider that it re dounds highly to the humane forbearance of the men of the 15th that more wounds were not received, when the vast numbers are taken Into consideration with whom they were brought into hostile collision; beyond all doubt, however, the far greater amount of injuries arose from the pressure of the routed multitude, f The hussars, on the left, pursued down the various streets which led from the place ; those on the right met with something more of resistance. The mob had taken possession of various buildings on that side, par ticularly of a Quaker's chapel and burial ground enclosed with a wall. This they occupied for some little time ; and, in attempting to displace them, some of the men and horses were struck with stones and brick-bats. I was on the left ; and as soon as I had passed completely over, the ground, and found myself In the street on the other side, I turned back, and then, seeing a sort of fight still going on on the right, I " went In that direction. At the very moment I reached the * " The yeomanry and infantry stationed at the four corners opened to allow the multitude to escape." — Capt. Smyth. f " Quite correct." — Capt. Smyth. VOL. HI. S 258 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. Quakers' meeting-house, I saw a farrier of the ISth ride at a small door in the outer wall, and, to my surprise, his horse struck It with such force that it flew open : two or three hussars then rode in, and the place was immediately in their possession. I then turned towards the elevated platform, which still remained in the centre of the field with persons upon It : a few straggling hussars and yeomen, together with a number of men having the appearance of peace officers, were congregating about it. On my way thither I met the commanding officer of my regiment, who directed me to find a trumpeter, in order that he might sound the ' rally ' or ' retreat.' This sent me again down the street I had first been in (after the pursuing men of my troop) ; but I had not ridden above a hundred yards before I found a trumpeter, and returned with him to the Colonel. The field and the adjacent streets now presented an extraordinary sight : the ground was quite covered with hats, shoes, sticks, musical Instruments*, and other things. Here and there lay the unfortunates who were too much injured to move away ; and this sight was rendered the more distressing by observing some women among the sufferers. " Standing near the corner of the street where I had been sent in search of a trumpeter, a brother officer cahed my attention to a pistol being fired from a window, f I saw It fired twice; and I believe It had been fired once before I observed It. " Some of the 31st regiment, just now arriving on the * " Add clubs, brick-bats, and large stones." — Capt. Smyth. f " Captain Smytli's troop of yeomanry was stationed at the corner next to a cluster of unfinished houses, on the roof of which two or three men had placed themselves with a gun. The fellow who held it used to retire behind the chimney to load, and then came forward to fire. Capt. Smyth's attention was directed to him by the farrier of his troop, who said, ' That fellow is baking his gun at either you or me. I have seen him flre at us more than once.' The man was soon perceived from the opposite side of the square by some of the 88th, who fired a shot or two over the roof and cleared the spot." — Capt. Smyth. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 259 ground, were ordered to take possession of this house ; but I do not know if it was carried into effect. " I next went towards a private of the regiment, whose horse had fallen over a piece of timber nearly in the middle of the square, and who was most seriously injured. There were many of these pieces of timber (or timber trees) lying upon the ground ; and, as these could not be distinguished when the mob covered them, they had caused bad falls to one officer's horse and to many of the troopers'. " While I was attending to the removal of the wounded soldier, the artillery troop, with the troop of hussars attached to it, arrived on the ground from the same direction by which we had entered the field : these were quickly followed by the Cheshire yeomanry. The 31st regiment came in another direction ; and the whole remained formed up until our squadrons had fallen in again. " Carriages were brought to convey the wounded to the Manchester Infirmary ; and the troop of hussars, wbich came up with the guns, was marched off" to escort to the gaol a number of persons who had been arrested, and among these Mr, Hunt. For some time the town was patrolled by the troops, the streets being nearly empty, and the shops, for the most part, closed. We then returned to the barracks. I should not omit to mention, that, before the men were dismissed, the arms were minutely examined; and that no carbine or pistol was found to have been fired, and only one pistol to have been loaded. About eight o'clock, p. m., one squadron of the 15th Hussars (two troops) was ordered on duty to form part of a strong night picket, the other part of which consisted of two companies of the 88th regiment. This picket was stationed at a place called the New Cross, at the end of Oldham Street. As soon as it had taken up its position a mob assembled about It, which increased as the darkness came on : stones were thrown at the soldiers : the hussars many times cleared the ground by driving the mob up the streets leading from the New Cross. But these attempts to get rid of the annoyance were only successful for the moment; for the people got through the houses or narrow passages from One street Into another, and the troops s 2 260 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. were again attacked, and many men and horses struck with stones. This lasted nearly an hour and a half; and the sol diers being more and more pressed upon, a town magistrate, who was with the picket, read the E-Iot Act, and the officer in command ordered the 88th to fire (which they did by pla toon firing) down three of the streets. The firing lasted only a few minutes: perhaps not more than thirty shots were fired ; but these had a magical effect : the mob ran away, and dispersed forthwith, leaving three or four persons on the ground with gun-shot wounds. " At four o'clock in the morning the picket squadron was relieved by another squadron of the regiment. With this latter squadron I was on duty ; and after we had patroUed the town for two hours, the officer in command sent me to the magistrates (who had remained assembled during the night) to report to them that the town was perfectly quiet, and to request their sanction to the return of the military to their quarters. " On the afternoon of the 1 7th I visited, in company with some military medical officers, the infirmary. I saw there from twelve to twenty cases of sabre wounds ; several persons that were severely crushed, and, among these, two women, who appeared not likely to recover. One man was in a dying state from a gun-shot wound in the head ; another had had his leg amputated : both these casualties arose from the fire of the 88th the night before. Two or three were reputed dead; one of them, a constable, killed in St. Peter's Field*; but I saw none ofthe bodies. * " This man, by name Ashworth, was accidentally rode over in the charge of the 1 5th Hussars. One of the Manchester yeomen, Mr. Holmes, was struck off his horse by a brick-bat, and had his skull fractured either by the blow or the fall." Capt. Smyth adds, " that the Cheshire yeomanry paraded the town through the night of the 16th and 17th, and the next night lay at their horses' heads in St. Peter's Field." He has not the slightest doubt that the intention was to sack the town. The men all went from his brother's (Professor Smyth's) colliery near Macclesfield, and the other collieries were deserted for the same object. When his corps was dismissed on the I6th, they Vere distributed amongst 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 261 " As shortly as I could, I have now related what fell under my own observation during these twenty-four hours. * * * I trust that I have, at least in some degree, com plied with your wishes ; and I beg you will believe me, my dear Sir, yours most truly, " Will*". J. Hilton Jolliffe. " To Thomas Grimston Bucknall Estcourt, Esq., M. P." Lord Sidmouth's first observations to his eldest daughter, on receiving the intelligence on the 18th, indicate no suspicion on his part that undue violence had been exercised, or any erroneous measures pur sued. "The proceedings," he said, "at Manchester on Monday were not of an ordinary character, but they will, I trust, prove a salutary lesson to modern reformers. Hunt and his associates are in custody, and their flags, &c. have been seized or destroyed by the special constables and soldiery, all of whom behaved Avith the greatest spirit and temper ; but forbearance became impossible." Thus, then, the means which his Lordship had placed at the disposal of the magistrates for the pre servation of the peace had proved fully adequate to the purpose ; and it was impossible, therefore, up to this time, for the severest judge to attach to his con duct any imputation of blame. Such, however, was the anxiety which the magistrates now manifested, on contemplating the results of their own resolute mea sures, that Lord Sidmouth (after consulting those colleagues who were within reach, and obtaining the permission of the Prince Regent) at once resolved the public-houses ; but being called out again on a fresh alarm, it was found that the mob had secretly locked up several of the men and horses in the different biUets, and it was necessary to send round a sergeant's party from house to house to liberate them. s 3 262 LH?E OF Chap.XXXIV. to take on himself a full share of the responsibility, by addressing letters to the Earls of Derby and Stam ford on the 21st of August, conveying the thanks of the Prince Regent to the magistrates and yeomanry of Lancashire and Cheshire, for their conduct on the occasion. His Royal Highness's sanction to this important step was communicated in the following letter: — " Eoyal George Yacht, off Christchurch, Aug. 19th, 1819. " My Lord, " The Prince Regent commands me to convey to your Lordship his approbation and high commendation of the conduct of the magistrates and civil authorities at Man chester, as well as of the officers and troops, both regular and yeomanry cavalry, whose firmness and effectual support of the civil power preserved the peace of the town upon that most critical occasion. His Royal Highness entertains a favourable sense of the forbearance of Lieut.-Col. L'Estrange in the execution of his duty ; and bestows the greatest praise upon the zeal and alacrity manifested by Major Trafford and Lieut.-Col. Townshend and their respective corps. I have the honour to be, &c. &c. " B. Bloomfield. " To the Lord Viscount Sidmouth." Lord Sidmouth was aware that this proceeding would subject him to the charge of precipitation ; but he was acting upon what he considered an essential principle of government, namely, to acquire the confidence of the magistracy, especially in cri tical times, by showing a readiness to support them in all honest, reasonable, and weU intended acts, without inquiring too minutely whether they might have performed their duty a little better or a little worse.* So impressed was his Lordship with the im- * This sentiment was well expressed by the venerable Earl of 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 263 portance of this principle, that he constantly de clared in after-life, that had the question recurred, he should again have pursued a course, the policy of which was not less obvious than its justice. If, indeed, the government had left those magistrates exposed to the storm of popular indignation, until the verdict against Hunt and his associates in the succeeding year had demonstrated the legality of their conduct, the magistracy at large must, from the dread of abandonment, have failed in duty to wards that royal authority, which either could not or would not stand by them in the hour of peril; and thus, in all probability, the most calamitous consequences would have ensued. His Lordship's opinion on this subject was not, like many favourite systems, founded only on theory ; for his argument, when discussing these events many years later, com prised two substantial facts, one proving the advan tage of governments enjoying the confidence of the subordinate authorities ; the other showing, from a subsequent example under nearly parallel circum stances (the only distinction being in the stage to which the offenders had proceeded), the evils re sulting from the absence of promptitude in the sup pression of outrage. The first related to Lord Nel- Sheffield in a letter to Lord Sidmouth on the first of Novem ber: — " To attack," h6 observed, " the executive for supporting the magistracy on such an occasion appears to me perfectly senseless. How can it be supposed that any magistrates will act unless as sured of support ? nay, unless supported with a high hand ? As surely as the executive shrinks from encouraging, approving, and supporting the magistracy, there wdll be an end of all subordina tion." s 4 264 life of Chap.XXXIV. son, who, on telling Lord Sidmouth, after the battle of Copenhagen, the anecdote respecting his disre gard of the signal of recall, added, " But I did not mind, for / knew you would stand by me if I acted for the best:" the second was founded on a comparison between the different modes adopted for the dis persion of the riotous asemblages at Manchester in 1819, and at Bristol in 1831. In the former instance, a prompt and vigorous system was pursued, and the town was saved and restored to tranquillity in a few hours, at an expense of (according to Mr. Hay) only six lives, a few criminals consigned to imprisonment, and the loss of a day's industry : but in the case of Bristol, the deadly torpor of non-interference, arising from an apprehension on the part of the military commander that he would not receive the support of the government if he acted in a vigorous manner, con signed the doomed city for three days to the merciless fury of the mob, from which it was only at length rescued at the tremendous cost of the Episcopal Palace, both the prisons, the Mansion House, Excise Office, Custom House, and numerous private dweU- ings of the respectable inhabitants sacked and de stroyed, many lives* either sacrificed by the soldiery, or destroyed in the conflagration of the city ; and, to close the melancholy catalogue, twenty-one miser able criminals, of whom four were executed, con- * The pubUshed return accounts for only twelve kiUed and ninety -four wounded, but no doubt was entertained that a much larger number lost their lives, especially drunken persons, in the well-stocked cellars of the houses that were burnt. Indeed the remains of several were afterwards found. The property destroyed was estimated at nearly half a million. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 265 demned to death by the outraged laws of their country. This was the difference, in effect, between a decisive and a hesitating system of policy. Such is a brief outline of the argument by which his Lordship justified a step of which he never after wards doubted the propriety, namely, his assuming a part of the responsibility of the proceedings at Manchester. And this after-thought, let it be re membered, was the only part of the whole trans action for which he Avas personally answerable. For of the calamitous events of the 16th of August he could know nothing until after their occurrence. They were quite as likely to have happened at any other meeting as at that. His instructions and prepar ations were, on all occasions of that nature, precisely alike. It was not long before Lord Sidmouth's whole conduct in these proceedings received the deliberate approbation both of parliament and of a jury ; but during the interim he was subjected to the grossest calumnies and misrepresentations. Indifferent, how ever, to such treatment, he was now occupied in investigating the evidence against Hunt and his associates, which he informed the Regent, on the 25th of August, " did not afford sufficient ground for pro ceeding against them for high treason; but that it fully warranted a prosecution for a treasonable con spiracy, which would be instituted immediately in order that the bill of indictment might be presented to the grand jury at the ensuing summer assizes for the county of Lancaster."* The tactics of the dis- * This was done accordingly, and the grand jury of the county palatine assembled at Manchester found true bills against Hunt 266 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. affected were now changed ; and since, after the vigour shown by the government at Manchester, they de spaired of effecting their objects through intimida tion, they now relinquished for the moment their former grievances, and endeavoured to unite all the opponents of government in condemning the dis persion of the meeting at that place. The dread which the peaceable and well disposed classes enter tained of the violent reformers had greatly subsided, when they saw the revolutionary phalanx so easily put to flight by the troopers at Manchester ; the con necting link, therefore, of apprehended danger being removed, the usual political influences began again to prevail, and the question at issue, though in reality unchanged, was by many no longer regarded as a grand contest between law and anarchy for the existence of the monarchy, but simply as a struggle between Tories and Whigs for the possession of power. Lord Grenville, indeed, and some others, gave an honourable support to the administration; but the majority of that party, regarding this as a legitimate subject of opposition, and naturally jealous of any appearance of interference with the freedom of discussion, pursued their usual policy, and did not hesitate to express unqualified disapprobation of the recent unexpected exercise of authority. One of the modes by which they manifested their dis pleasure on the occasion, was the assemblage of county meetings for the purpose of petitioning the Prince Regent to institute an inquiry into the proceedings at Manchester. A course which, though perfectly con- and nine others for a conspiracy. The accused parties, however, all traversed to the next assizes. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 267 stitutional under ordinary circumstances, was re garded by government as fraught with much danger to the country at that particular conjuncture. For it was calculated not only to intimidate the ma gistracy at large, and indispose them to act with energy under the critical and difficult circumstances likely to arise, but also to encourage the disaffected in their mischievous career, by representing them as injured parties, instead of under their real character of lawless aggressors ; and it tended, moreover, to increase their moral weight, by exhibiting them to the public as co-operating with a powerful party, whose respect or confidence, they did not, in reality, either deserve or possess. * This series of movements, on the part of respectable persons, as distinguished from those who originated the mischief, was commenced on the 9th of September by the Common Council of London, to whom Mr. Waithman presented a series of seven resolutions, and a petition to the Prince Regent founded upon them, of which, as the principal features were afterwards adopted by the Yorkshire, Norfolk, and other meet ings, some notice must here be taken. After declar ing that " under the free forms of the British con- * This sentiment was well explained by the Marquis of Buck ingham in the following letter, which he addressed to the Bishop of Hereford on the lOth of October : — " I assure your Lordship that I am highly gratified by the manner in which you have expressed your approbation of the line I have taken respecting the county meeting. I regret deeply to see loyal men like and his friends made the dupes of Hunt, WooUer, and Co., whose object is civil war, and who would naturally prefer obtaining that object through the indirect means of enlisting the Whigs in their cause, who possess weight, influence, and respectability, which the reformers have not.'' 268 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. stitution it was the undoubted right of Englishmen to assemble together for the purpose of deliberating upon public grievances," this document asserts po sitively, that " the meeting held at Manchester on the 1 6th of August was legally assembled; that its proceedings were conducted in an orderly and peace able manner, and that the people composing it were therefore entitled to protection; that nevertheless, although no act of riot or tumult had taken place, the magistrates issued their warrant for the appre hension of certain persons then present; to execute which, although no resistance whatever was made, resort was immediately had to the military, when the Manchester yeomanry rushed forward, and furiously attacked the peaceable citizens, by which great numbers of them were wantonly rode over, and many inhu manly sabred and kiUed. Into the outrages therefore thus committed, the petitioners prayed the Prince Regent to institute an immediate inquiry, in order that the guilty perpetrators might be brought to signal and condign punishment," Comparing these bold assertions vrith the real facts ; that the meeting was afterwards clearly proved tu multuous and illegal to the satisfaction both of par liament and courts of justice ; that, instead of " furiously rushing forward " as stated, the yeomanry advanced at a foot-pace ; that but six fatal casualties (including the case of the constable) occurred, two of which resulted from the nocturnal riot at New Cross ; and that this " peaceable and orderly as semblage" took with it to the meeting banners, badges, bands of music, mottos, clubs, stones, bricks, and fire-arms ; the present reader of this document cannot but regard it as an amusing specimen of tbe 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 269 exaggeration of former days. Presumptuous, how ever, and unfounded as this address and petition undoubtedly were, their presentation to the Regent afforded to Lord Sidmouth an opportunity, of which he gladly availed himself, of introducing into his Royal Highness's answer from the throne what " he intended as a reproof to the Common Council, and as a caution to the public." " I receive," the Regent observed, " with feelings of deep regret, this address and petition of the Lord Mayor, Alder men, and Commons of the City of London, in common council assembled. " At a time when ill-designing and turbulent men are act ively engaged in inflaming the minds of their fellow-subjects, and endeavouring, by means the most daring and insidious, to alienate them from their allegiance to his Majesty and the established constitution of the realm, it is on the vigilance and conduct of the magistrates that the preservation of the public tranquillity must In a great degree depend ; and a firm, faithful, and active discharge of their duty cannot but give them the strongest claim to the support and approbation of their sovereign and their country. With the circumstances which preceded the late meeting at Manchester, you must be . unacquainted ; and of those which attended it you appear to have been Incorrectly Informed. If, however, the laws were really violated on that occasion by those to whom It immedi ately belonged to assist in the execution of them, the tribunals of this country are open to afford redress ; but to institute an extra-judicial inquiry under such circumstances as the present would be manifestly inconsistent with the clearest principles of public justice." Yorkshire was the first county which engaged in this party movement. It is stated in the correspon dence, that the requisition to the high sheriff to call a meeting for the purposes above described was got up at the Doncaster races, by the party which came from Wentworth House. Be that as it may, the 270 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. meeting which 'occurred on the 14th of October, with out producing any circumstances particularly de serving of record, beyond the fact that it passed resolutions demanding an inquiry into the occur rences at Manchester, occasioned much painful em barrassment to ministers, on account of the prominent part taken in it by Earl Fitzwilliam, Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of the county. This is strongly indicated in a note which Lord Sidmouth addressed to the Earl of Liverpool on the 30 th of September. " The proceedings in Yorkshire have entirely given a new character to the Manchester question, and they, as certainly, constitute a new and important feature in the present critical state of the country." " As far as the Manchester business goes," Lord Liverpool replied, " it will identify even the respectable part-of the Opposition with Hunt and the radical reformers." Earl Fitzwilliam had in his high office rendered important services to the government on several occa sions, from the Luddite disturbances in 1812 to a very recent period. Lord Sidmouth had also enjoyed his Lordship's acquaintance ever since the days of their common friend Mr. Burke. Nothing therefore could have been more distressing to Lord Sidmouth than to be the instrument of directing the royal dis approbation against one he so much respected. There appeared, however, to be no alternative ; for had the ministers overlooked the indecorum of the represent ative of the sovereign requiring from that sovereign an inquiry into the conduct of his own government, it would have been considered an indication of weak ness and timidity, under which they could no longer have retained office with honour to themselves, or advantage to their king and country. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 271 It must have been a painful duty, however, for Lord Sidmouth, as he informed Lord Bathurst on the 19th of October, to write to Lord Liverpool " to call his attention to the conduct of Lord Fitzwilliam — who, in the county under his immediate charge, and in which he represented his Majesty, had thought proper to take the leading part in calling a public meeting for a purpose the most disrespectful to the Prince Regent, and in utter disregard of his Royal Highness's admonition from the throne upon receiv ing the address of the city of London. Upon these grounds," he added, " I then thought that he ought to be removed from the Lord Lieutenancy ofthe West Riding. That opinion is strengthened by his con duct at the county meeting. Lord L. concurs in this opinion, and so I have reason to think does Lord C. It was thought right, however, to call a cabinet, and it will meet here at two to-morrow." * The Prince Regent having acquiesced in the " recommendation of his confidential servants, that Earl Fitzwilliam should be informed that his Royal Highness had no further occasion for his Lordship's services as Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of York," it became Lord Sidmouth's duty, on the 21st of October, to make a communication to that effect to the noble Earl, who briefly replied, that he " de ferred with due submission to his Royal Highness's pleasure." On the following day. Lord Sidmouth offered the honour to the Earl of Harewood ; and on his declining, in consequence of his advanced age, it * There are three letters from Lord Sidmouth to the Lord Chancellor given in the life of the latter, vol. ii. p. 345. et seq., which relate to this same subject. 272 LIFE OF Chap.XXXIV. was conferred on his Lordship's eldest son. Lord Lascelles. As this indication of the firmness and spirit of the government increased for a moment the unpopularity of the home department, in justice to Lord Sidmouth a few passages will here be extracted from various letters of approval which he received on that occasion. The first which will be given proceeded from the pen of Henry Bankes, Esq., M. P. for Dorsetshire, a gen tleman whose testimony was especially valuable on such a question, as, in common with Mr. Wilberforce, he always professed to keep himself free from party trammels. The letter was addressed to Lord Sid mouth ; and after expressing Mr. Bankes's intention to attend the opening of the session, it proceeded as follows : — " I have often rejoiced that my lot was cast at a distance from manufactures, and populous towns, and amongst an orderly and quiet race of people; and I am sure that there never was more reason to estimate the value of that comfort than at present. You had no measures to keep with the Op position, who certainly have kept none with you and your friends ; you have therefore done right to set them at defiance by removing Lord Fitzwilliam. Those who hold situations of trust and dignity under the Crown, shotdd not betray the Crown to the pre judices or turbulence ofthe people." This letter Lord Sidmouth, on the 27th of October, forwarded to Lord Liverpool, who replied, that it " was very satisfactory. In return," he added, " you ¦will be glad to hear that I have had a letter from the Bishop of Lincoln this morning, in which he says, ' I have just had some conversation with Mr. Wil berforce, who expressed himself much .pleased with 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 273 the removal of Lord Fitzwilliam from the Lord Lieu tenancy of Yorkshire, and indeed in general with the measures of government.' " To conclude this part of the subject, on the 24th of October his Lordship received a most gracious auto graph letter from the Prince Regent, in which his Royal Highness was pleased to observe that " Lord FitzwiUiam had drawn upon himself his own dismis sal, by lending himself to such proceedings ; that the language of Brighton was strongly in praise of the measure ; and that every effect produced by it, as far as his Royal Highness could learn, was most satis factory." Lord Sidmouth had previously received similar encouragement from another illustrious member of the royal family, the Duke of Clarence, who, on writing to his Lordship from Dover, on the 13th of October, expressed himself in the following words : — "¦I rejoice to hear that parliament is to assemble in No vember, when I trust the legislature will put an effectual stop to these mischievous and tumultuous meetings. I visited the disaffected and disturbed districts in 1806, and even then saw with astonishment and grief that the evil spirit was already at work. * * * As a common observer, I must make one remark : the plan is too well organised not to have leaders and money, and I trust government will be able to trace out these two resources. I went abroad, I thought, a perfect John Bull ; but my residence on the Continent has made me more than ever prefer my own country to all others, and I am therefore more particularly anxious to see our constitution and advantages over the rest of the world preserved. We have, I trust, a good Lord Mayor, and the Marquis of Buck ingham has acted with great judgment and propriety. Adieu, and ever believe me, my dear Lord, " Yours sincerely^ William." VOL. III. T 274 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. CHAPTER XXXV. 1819. The Violence of County Meetings checked by the Vigour of the Government. Lord Sidmouth recommends counter Declara tions. His Correspondence with Edmond Wodehouse, Esq., M.P., Lord Darlington, and others. Government blamed by its Friends for Supineness, Lord Sidmouth justifies the Government in a Letter to Lord Lascelles, He discloses his Plan for remedying the existing Evils to Lord Liverpool, and recommends the early Meeting of Parliament, to which his Lordship at last assents. The Prince Regent calls, on Lord Sidmouth to devise remedial Measures, Lord Sid mouth engages in the Task with the Assistance of Lord Eldon, Letters from Lord Eldon to Lord Sidmouth, His Opinion that the Meeting at Manchester was a rebellious Riot, Proofs of the Necessity of an Augmentation of the Army, Serious Riots at Paisley. Rapid Transfer of Troops to Scotland, Spirited and Patriotic Conduct of the Prince Regent, Able-bodied Pensioners called out for Gar rison Duty, Disposition of the Troops. Duke of Welling ton's Instructions to Sir J. Byng on the Subject, Lord Sidmouth receives a Letter from his Grace. He writes to Sir J. Byng, Mr. Bathurst, and Mr. Yorke. Meeting of Parliament, Lord Grey's Amendment calling for Inquiry into the Proceedings of the \Qth of August, Lord Sid mouth's Reply. Large Majorities in favour of Government. Select Papers presented by Government to the House, Ana lysis of the Four Acts introduced by Lord Sidmouth, and of Two Acts introduced by Lords Eldon and Castlereagh, Conviction of Mr, Hunt and his Associates, The energy recently displayed having left the deter mination of the ministry to uphold the laws and make 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 275 the Regent's government respected no longer doubt ful, the beneficial effects of such timely vigour quickly became apparent in the subdued tone of the public meetings, and in the reviving confidence of the loyal and well-affected. In some instances the supporters ¦ of government boldly met, and foiled the allied forces of Whigs and Radical Reformers on their own chosen arena of county meetings. In two, indeed, — those - of Cornwall and Hampshire — they actually sought the contest, and won it. Too much, however, was risked in such experiments to render a frequent ap peal to them advisable, and consequently Lord Sid mouth recommended a different course in the annexed reply to J. T. Batt, Esq., who, on the 11th of Octo ber, had consulted him upon the expediency of con vening a public meeting of the supporters of govern ment in the county of Wilts : — " For the friends of the constitution to call a county meeting, unless they had a well-grounded confidence in a favourable re sult, would, I think, be improvident ; and how can .such a confidence be entertained at the present moment, when the struggle is between those who have property and those who have none ? of which latter description there would be an immense influx, it being next to impossible to exclude from a county meeting inhabitants not being freeholders.* It ap- * Lord LasceUes, in the account he sent to Lord Sidmouth of the Yorkshire meeting on the 14th of October, stated that " of the 10,000 or 12,000 persons who, according to the best calculation that could be made, attended the meeting, probably about 1000 or 1500 might be freeholders. The meeting, therefore, was entirely at the command of the radical leaders, three of whom were placed in conspicuous parts of the hustings to give the signals for applause or otherwise." T 2 ^276 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. pears to me, therefore, to be advisable for the loyal to abstain from calling public meetings ; but that some of the most respectable persons in the several cities and towns throughout the kingdom should meet and agree upon such a declaration as the crisis calls for, and, after having publicly announced it, leave copies of it at different houses of resort for sig nature. I doubt, however, whether even it is wise to take this course in counties, unless the ejieiay-shoiild start first." The plan here suggested, of counteracting the effect of a public meeting by a declaration of opinion privately signed by individuals, was successfully adopted in Yorkshire and other counties, as weU as in the city of London ; and although it necessarily presented much facility of attack to those who found their schemes disappointed by it, it produced a very beneficial effect throughout the kingdom. At that period of excitement, indeed, it must have conveyed a much clearer notion of the real sentiments of the reflecting portion of the community, than the pre arranged resolutions of county meetings ; where calm discussion was impracticable, and where the majority, swayed by passion, not by reason, was blindly led by " itinerant orators from Manchester, Leeds, and other places, who," as Sir Alexander Boswell reported on the 24th of October, had traveUed as far even as Scotland, " fomenting the spirit of evil." A second occasion on which Lord Sidmouth ex pressed his sentiments on this subject was when writing, on the 3d of October, to Edmond Wode house, Esq., M.P. for Norfolk, who had obligingly 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 277 informed his Lordship of an intention on the part of their opponents to call a meeting in that county : — " The Prince Regent's answer," he observed, " to the Lord MayoE, Aldermen, and Commons of the City of London v/as intended as a reproof to them, anrd as a caution to the public ; a considerable portion of which has been more inflamed and misled by unfounded assumptions and false statements than upon any other occasion within my recollection. It will be a satisfaction to you to know, that, of the lUegahty of the meeting of the 16th of August, no doubt whatever is enter tained by the Lord Chancellor and by the other law advisers of the crown, nor of the justifiable conduct of the magistrates a,nd yeomanry. Let those who think otherwise appeal to the proper tribunals, before which also those persons, if any there are, should be brought who may be charged with instances of individual and unwarrantable violence, for which neither ma gistrates nor military officers can be answerable. Tf "there be a complaint against ministers, let the charge be made m par liament, where it can be fully entered into and where they can be heard, and if they fail to justify their conduct, let the sentence be pronounced against them which they will then be proved to have deserved. But the sole purpose of all these public meetings is to create such a prejudice in the minds of the people as may operate upon the proceedings of courts of law, and even upon the deliberations of parliament. The In justice of those who promote them appears, therefore, to me to be flagrant, and I am sure it is unexampled. If there is any description of men to whom, from justice, gratitude, and policy, protection and support are particularly due, it is the magistracy of this country ; and, surely, these considerations apply in no ordinary degree to the yeomanry also. But the object Is to decry both ; and, if that object be attained, there will be no alternative but anarchy or a military government. But I have said more, much more than I Intended. I wUl only add, that if there are any particular points upon which you would wish to be fuhy and accurately informed, you will oblige me by mentioning them, and I wiU answer your en quiries to the best of my power. I am, &c., " Sidmouth." T 3 278 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. Attention must now revert to the general corre spondence, the course of which, from an anxiety to trace the subject of county meetings and addresses to a conclusion, has been somewhat anticipated. In reviewing the sentiments of the numerous correspon dents who alluded to the proceedings at Manchester, it is remarkable that, with the solitary exception of the Earl of Darlington, who considered the employ ment of the military " a very precipitate measure," they all admitted the legality and propriety of the magistrates' interference. One writer remarked that " his Lordship's early demonstration of power was an act of mercy for which he was entitled to the coun try's gratitude ; " adding that, " had the department been so administered in 1780, very many horrors might have been averted." Lord Redesdale, writing on the 19 th of August, went so far as to say that " every meeting for radical reform was not merely a seditious attempt to undermine the existing constitu tion of government, by bringing it into hatred and contempt, but it was an overt act of treasonable con spiracy against that constitution of government, in cluding the king as its head, and bound by his coro nation oath to maintain it." His Lordship admitted, however, that " something more explicit " was now required, and he suggested, therefore, that a declara tory law, which he doubted not that parliament would pass, should be proposed, to remove aU doubt of the treasonable criminality of such assemblies." Lord Sheffield also, writing on the 2d of October, " entirely coincided with many very considerable persons with whom he corresponded, as to the neces sity of some new laws being enacted to check the 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 279 licentiousness of the press, and the progress of wild and extravagant doctrines. * * * During the many years I have lived," he proceeded, " the temper of the times never appeared more alarming, or to require more precaution and energy than at present. 'Wilkes and Uberty' was a respectable thing com pared to it ; yet that cry disgusted me so much at the time that I relinquished the youthful ardour vulgarly caUed patriotism ; and it firmly established in my mind the principle that it is not only the duty but the interest of every independent man to support the government of the country whenever he consistently can." " Nothing," his Lordship observed in another letter, " annoys me more than the quibbling remarks on the conduct of the magistracy and yeomanry. If itinerant orators of the lowest character are to as semble the population, and place them in military array, under the pretence of amending the constitu tion, and they are to be allowed to remain together until the civil power is overwhelmed, there must be an end of all government." It is a singular fact that whilst the disaffected were upbraiding Lord Sidmouth and the executive authorities over whom he presided for their severity, many of the letters complain of their lenity and supineness. The truth is, that government was not armed with sufficient powers to restrain the spirit of disaffection then' prevailing in the land; nor did it possess, during the recess of parliament, adequate means of encouraging the good, and restraining the evil doers, by the promulgation of its wishes, opinions, and intentions. It was blamed, therefore, for not " exercising an authority which it did not possess, . and T 4 280 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. for permitting evils which it had no power to prevent.' On reflecting upon this posture of affairs, Lord Sid mouth satisfied himself that to ensure a permanent and effectual remedy three things should be done: parliament should be assembled as soon as possible ; the law should be armed with new powers ; and the military force should be increased. The first of these measures he proposed very early in September to Lord Liverpool, who showed considerable reluctance to comply with it ; so much so, indeed, that in corre sponding with his Lordship on the subject. Lord Sidmouth, as he told the Chancellor, " felt it incum bent upon him to express his sentiments in a manner which he wished he could have thought himself justi fied in avoiding." Lord Sidmouth freely delivered his opinions on this point in the following justifica tion of his conduct to Lord Lascelles, who, in the letter in which he reported the proceedings of the meeting at York, had candidly stated that " govern ment was much blamed for supineness under present circumstances, and that no zeal could be raised in support of the administration " : — " WTiitehaU, Oct. 15th, 1819. " In the substance of your Lordship's opinions on the pre sent critical state of the country I entirely concur. Though I may speak with an unbecoming confidence, I venture to assert that there has been no want of vigilance and exertion on the part of the government. But the laws are insufficient, and the military force of the country too weak for the descrip tion and extent of the danger with which we have to con tend. On these accounts, as well as on others, I rejoice that parliament is soon to be assembled ; and I must acknowledge to your Lordship my regret that it was not assembled sooner. When parliament Is decried and derided, it is of the first Im- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 281 portance to uphold its authority; and that cannot be done without resorting to Its power. I hope, and I sincerely think, that I am as unwilling as any one to call for or to wish for an exercise of its power beyond the limits of an actual necessity; but we must legislate up to that necessity, if the country is to be effectually protected. * * * The progress of disaffection can only be checked by vigilance, promptitude, and vigour ; by an activity and determination, on the part of the friends of the constitution, equal to, and surpassing, what is manifested by Its enemies. Of these dis positions there are, I am happy to say, strong and increasing indications. Believe me, &c. ,&c. " SiDMOUTH." This subject is also aUuded to in the foUovnng let ter, which his Lordship addressed to Mr. Bathurst on the 14th of September : — "I send you an important document, which I received on Saturday last from Lord Stanley.* My own opinion has long been that the meeting of parliament ought not to be delayed beyond the month of November ; and this communi cation has strengthened it. For near a fortnight I did not see one of my colleagues. To-morrow there will be a cabinet at this office. It will be attended * This was a statement from the grand jury of the county palatine of Lancaster, assembled at the summer assizes, represent ing the " unhappily disturbed condition in which they found a large district of the county to be placed," and signed by his Lord ship, as their foreman. It was declared in this document " that *the system of intimidation was such that individuals were de terred from declaring their sentiments, or giving information against offenders;" that the object of the disaffected "was no other than to reverse the order of society, and to wrest the landed property from their possessors by force ; that the magistrates, few in numbers, and harassed by continued attention to their duties, were unable to maintain the public peace, and that in one district neither warrants could be executed nor legal process enforced." 282 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. by the Duke of Wellington, Lord Liverpool, Lord Castlereagh, and myself." The cabinet on that occa sion came to no decision, but agreed to meet again on the following Tuesday, when, as Lord Sidmouth informed the Chancellor, who was in Dorsetshire, "the point to be considered would be, whether or no parliament should be assembled before Christmas, concerning which there would be, he thought, much difference of opinion. He was himself convinced that there was no time to be lost." The cabinet, on the 21st, decided unfavourably to Lord Sidmouth's views respecting the early meeting of parliament; but new circumstances subsequently arose, especially the requisitions in Yorkshire and elsewhere, which shook Lord Liverpool's opinion, and induced him to observe to Lord Sidmouth, on the 1st of October, that "he thought it may be right for him to call the cabinet together again, particularly with the feelings he appeared stiU to entertain re specting a meeting of parliament in November." Lord Sidmouth instantly availed himself of this permission, by convening the cabinet for the Sth of October, as he informed Mr. Bathurst on the 4th, in the terms annexed : — " The cabinet is summoned for Friday, at Lord Liverpool's request, as he thinks that the question of meeting before Christmas is much changed since it was last discussed ; but his bias is StiU to the negative. My opinion is unaltered ; but I lament the delay, as I think it has given great ad vantages to our opponents. These, however, are considerably counteracted by the more prominent conduct of the loyal, and especially by the improved 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 283 prospect in the city, ' where the proceedings are be coming very satisfactory and encouraging.' * * * " The deputation of magistrates from Lancashire and Cheshire have been four days in town. Their report is very unpleasant. At Manchester, and in its neigh bourhood, nearly all the lower orders are corrupted, and all the middUng and higher intimidated." The result of the cabinet meeting was an order for the assemblage of parUament on the 23d of November, a decision which induced Lord Eldon to remark, " Better late than later." It now, therefore, became Lord Sidmouth's duty anxiously to consider and prepare those new mea sures, the necessity for which had induced him to urge the government to call parliament together at so unusual a period. Of these, Ohe of the most im portant was the regulation of the press, which, as he observed to Mr. Caldecot, was " at present a most malignant and formidable enemy to the constitution, to which it owed its freedom." To this object he was urged, as well by his own deep sense of its importance as by the gracious commands of the Prince Regent, conveyed to him by Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, on the 11th of September, in the following terms : — " His Royal Highness has read your Lordship's letter, covering the enclosure from Lord Stanley, the con tents of which have deeply impressed him. The jPrince Regent, however, is without apprehension for the result, provided your Lordship, in conjunction with the law officers and the government, devise some system calculated to repress the publications circulated throughout all the manufacturing districts. 284 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV: and to which his Royal Highness ascribes much of the present unpleasant state of the country." Thus urged and thus sanctioned. Lord Sidmouth sought the co-operation of the Chancellor, who was at this time enjoying his vacation at Encombe.^ When, therefore. Lord Eldon, in his correspondence with Lord Sidmouth respecting the legal steps con sequent on the recent proceedings at Manchester, threw out a hint that he " might give him further trouble on these questions," the latter replied, in terms of brief but ready acquiescence, " Proceed, and give me all the advice and assistance you can." The first letter, in answer to this invitation, is dated September 16th ; and after indulging in an indignant philippic on the licentiousness of the press, and on what was doing with respect to the Manchester business, goes on in the following manner : — "It is impossible^ I think, to look at all these things without being convinced that some alteration must be made in the law which gives the traverse to a distant period in those cases in which the public safety requires that there should be more immediate trial. The trials for conspiracy for misdemeanour, I am afraid will, by the means above mentioned, be rendered wholly ineffica cious, a fact which would have attended, though for other reasons, prosecutions for a higher offence ; but such prosecutions would, in the interim, have kept the public mind in a state much better suited to the real nature of what has passed. I agree, however — though I think the case would have supported, in law, the prosecutions for higher offences — that the attention due to the opinions of those who must con duct the government prosecutions left no option be- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 285 tween prosecution for misdemeanour and prosecution for the higher offence. " I continue to think it essential that some law should pass to prevent the drilling, either secretly or pubUcly, except under the King's authority. * * * Something must be done — although it vnll require great consideration to determine precisely what — to repress these public meetings in open places. * * * I ponder upon this in my walks and rides. Great care must be taken not to break in upon habits founded on constitutional English liberty further than is necessary to secure the direct object of the law of England — the happiness, safety, and liberty of the public. So far as it is necessary for that purpose, the necessity must be met and provided for effectually. There is another, point of much moment — to consider what may be right as to union societies, and societies acting by delegates in political matters. There is a further point — the dissemination of political poison in cheap publications. They have driven out of the world all the cheap tracts inculcating the doctrines of morality and religion." Having thus fully opened his case, his Lordship concluded his letter by pro mising a repetition of " trouble," which promise, four days afterwards, September 20th, he proceeded thus to fulfil. After "expressing his satisfaction upon reading the Prince's answer to the city," and strongly declaring his opinion in favour of an early meeting of parlia ment, his Lordship observes as foUows : — "I cannot convince myself that the meeting was not an overt act of treason, and that Hunt's presence, in the cir cumstances, would not have been sufficient, in law, to 286 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. affect him. If that course had been taken, we ought to have heard little of the scandalous resolutions in the city and other places. But it was impossible to take that course. The dispersing the meeting with force, and so early, can only be justified in con sidering it as a riot actually commenced, and a rebellious riot ; for I see such riots in the books. " I beUeve I shall be very well able, before parlia ment meets, to prove that it was such, and that it was, in law, justifiable to disperse it forcibly * : whether, if force was justifiable, force was used be yond what was reasonable, and therefore not justifi ably and in excess, may be another question. I believe our old authors will bear me out in the notions I form as to meetings such in their nature and circumstances as that held at Manchester : take all their flags, and aU the inscriptions upon them ; if those inscriptions were in language used by the individuals present ; if ' Liberty and death ! ' was re sounded from one part of the multitude, ' Reform or revolution ! ' from another, might it not well be reasoned that this was a rebellious riot ? and can it make a difference, a substantial difference, that the multitude assemble under banners speaking for them all, and uttering for them all sedition and treason f Is not the inscription on each banner to be deemed the language of every individual arrayed under it ? * Extract from Townshend's Lives of Twelve eminent Judges : — " With regard to the meeting at Peterloo, when he read in his law books that numbers constituted force, and force terror, and terror iUegality, he felt that no one could say the Manchester meeting was not an illegal one." — Lord Eldon's Speech in the /House of Lords. 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 287 " I see Mr. Waithman puts all his nonsense upon the Riot Act not being read ; not being read an hour ; not being heard, or audibly read. This is a very fooUsh and very fatal mistake. If persons riotously assembled remain for an hour after the act is read, they are felons; but if the act is not read, by the common law they are rioters, answerable to the law, as such, the moment they become rioters ; and I appre hend it is clear that long before the Riot Act passed, there were, in the contemplation of law, riots and rioters ; riots which might be put an end to by force, and rioters who might also be put an end to by force, if the riots in which they were engaged could not otherwise be put an end to. This should be laboured in the press, for the contrary is inculcated with such mischievous industry, that the prosecutions on ac count of this Manchester meeting wiU otherwise be completely written down long before they can be tried. Soon after the riots of 1780, and between the years 1793 and 1796, there were a great many smaU works, for general information, published, some very valuable, many very useful, on this topic, and others connected with it, which, if they could be looked up, and again circulated, would do a great deal of good." As the preceding letter defined the real state of the law respecting riots and tumultuous assemblages, that which followed on the 4th of October showed how little the law on the subject was at that time understood. " Much, unless I mistake the law, might be done under the law as it now stands, if it was understood, and magistrates durst act upon it. The coroner's jury at Oldham does not understand it ; those who state the Riot Act was not read, or that it 288 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. was not read an hour, don't understand it; those who complain of the magistrates not giving previous notice of the illegality of the meeting don't under stand it. They gave notice of the iUegality of the first meeting, because those who advertised it adver tised what was iUegal — choosing a member; but when the advertisement for the meeting stated no illegal purpose, whether the meeting would be illegal could only be determined when it took place, and the magistrates could not advertise against it. But un less the law, by declaration or enactment, is made clear, I know not what fatal consequences may attach upon persons who have been doing their duty, arising out of the ignorance or terror of those who are to ad minister the law — coroner's juries, trying juries, or even future grand juries. I am glad to see some symptoms of loyalty arising in the city, but it will not do, if parliament does not declare the law, and add to it where it is not sufficient. * * * jf parlia ment will not do what the safety of the country de-, mands, let the responsibility rest with them. Surely it is bold to take it entirely upon ourselves. * * * I still think that we ought to bring parUament together, even if there were reason to apprehend that it would not give efficacious aid to the preserv ation of the established order of things, in which case very distressing consequences may foUow. But I cannot forbear to think, that parliament will either aid us, or if it wUl not, that the responsibility should rest with them, and that we should not expose our selves to the upbraidings of those who will be ready enough to tell us that we ought to have applied to parliament, if evil ensues. Indeed it is a little luclcy 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 289 that the proclamation has issued before government has been compelled to that step by lords lieutenant, nobility, and gentry, in association with the Black Dwarf, Sherwin and Co. — to their shame be it said." This last paragraph has been extracted from a letter written on the 20th of October ; shortly after which date the Chancellor returned to town, and added his wisdom and experience to the large amount of talent and legal knowledge which the Attorney and Solicitor General, Sir Robert Gifford and Sir John Copley, were applying to the preparation of the new code of laws intended to be proposed to parliament on its assemblage.* But, in addition to the necessity of adapting. the laws to the critical state of the times, there existed another urgent ground of anxiety, in the numerical insufficiency of the mUitary force of the kingdom. * There was another learned barrister, Erancis Ludlow Holt, Esq., whom it would be ungrateful in the biographer of Lord Sid mouth not to mention as having afforded his Lordship much valuable assistance on this and on other occasions whenever a sound knowledge of constitutional law, and a laborious research into, and a popular explanation of, questions misunderstood by the community, were required. In such cases Mr. Holt usuaUy came forward with a pamphlet, letter, or paragraph, well calculated to inform the public mind ; indeed, two papers written by him with this view in the year 1818, one an argument in refutation of Lord Pplkstone's claim, on behalf of magistrates, to visit state prisoners on their own authority, the other an answer to Mr. Brougham's letter to Sir Samuel EomiUy, are mentioned with high commenda tion by Lord Ellenborough in almost the last letters which that eminent judge addressed to Lord Sidmouth. Mr. Holt was eventually appointed to the Vice ChanceUorship of the county of Lancaster, through Lord Sidmouth's recommend ation, and died about the year 1844. VOL. III. U 290 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. Whilst the waUs of parliament were ringing with complaints of a standing army, the troops, before the large reduction of the preceding year, would have proved inadequate to the occupation of the principal garrisons, even at a period of profound domestic tranquillity. It may be imagined, therefore, what the state of things now was, when circumstances had rendered the whole manufacturing population of England disaffected. A few facts may be mentioned to show the extreme deficiency of means against which the Home Department had at this time to struggle. When the rioters in Ely held possession of the town of Littleport, the whole regular force that could be collected to oppose them was eighteen dra goons. A detachment of hussars, consisting of the same number, constituted all that could be spared to put down the Derbyshire insurrection. But a yet more striking case remains to be mentioned. On the 18th of September, 1819, whUst Lord Sidmouth was rejoicing in the unusual circumstance of a London jury at length, in the case of Carlisle, convicting a publisher of blasphemous and flagitious writings, he received intelUgence of alarming riots in the neigh bourhood of Glasgow, especially at Paisley, together with a pressing application for an augmentation of the forces under Sir Thomas Bradford, the General commanding that district. The only mode of an swering this demand was by depriving Portsmouth of two regiments, composing the garrison, and supplying their place with marines untU the 33d regiment could be brought from Guernsey ; and then government had no immediate means of conveying these troops to Scotland except by avaiUng itself of the gracious per- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 291 mission of the Prince Regent, who was at that time cruising in the Channel, under the protection of the Liffey frigate, to employ his Royal Highness's escort for that purpose. This whole arrangement was effected on the 18th of October ; and on the same day a regiment of dragoons was ordered from Nottingham, where its presence was still greatly needed, to Car lisle, from whence it might be forwarded to Glasgow, or remain under Sir John Byng, as occasion should require. This was considered a less evil, as Lord Sidmouth informed Lord Bathurst, than "moving the Blues or the Life Guards, either of which he should be extremely unwilling to send to a distance from London and its neighbourhood." On the same busy day Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, by command of the Regent, wrote to Lord Sidmouth from the " Royal George yacht, to express his Royal Highness's plea sure at the extraordinary expedition with which this service had been performed. It has occurred to his Royal Highness," the letter proceeds, " that the battalion of Guards stationed at Brighton should be made disposable ; and I am instructed to place it so without the delay of reference to him. His Royal Highness is deeply impressed with the necessity of the most vigorous exertions to put the spirit down, which may yet be considered in an infant state, but which must ere long grow into a giant of strength, to subdue which the crippled means of the country are wholly inadequate. His Royal Highness will look anxiously for your Lordship's daily reports, and com mands me to repeat his highest approval ofthe wisdom and energy displayed by your Lordship in the conduct u 2 292 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. of the very arduous and intricate duties of your department." Such" was the untiring energy, such the judicious expedients, by which the government, from the Prince Regent down to its humblest member, endeavoured to compensate for the alarming deficiency of means placed at its disposal. With every care, however, symptoms of weakness could not always be concealed ; and a result of such disclosure was a reduction in the number and activity of some of its usual friends, who, attributing to supineness what arose from ne cessity, became indifferent to an administration, which, as they imagined, no longer exerted itself to encourage and support them. Two modes were now resorted to, for the purpose of augmenting the mUitary force of the kingdom — promoting the formation of corps of yeomanry, and caUing out and embodying aU the pensioners capable of service, to the amount of 10,000 or 11,000 men, and forming them into battalions to occupy the various garrisons and military posts, ahd thus set free the regular troops for active operations. Lord Sidmouth vigorously applied himself to the pro motion of these objects ; their progress, however, was much too gradual for the emergency : the only remain-' ing expedient therefore, during the interim, was to con ceal the inadequacy of the force, by its skilful disposition and arrangement ; in effecting which object the new cabinet minister, the Duke of Wellington, readUy lent his invaluable assistance. An instance of this, which Lord Sidmouth was very fond of relating, wiU now be described. On the 21st of October his Lordship was anxiously revolving in his office- the usual per plexing problem — how the largest number of dis- 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 293 affected towns might be kept in order by the smallest amount of disposable force — when his Grace dropped in, and on hearing the difficulty, most kindly said, " Can I be of any use to you ? shall I write a few hints to Byng ?" The offer, as none will doubt, being gladly accepted, the Duke immediately sat down, and with characteristic energy struck off, and left open, on " the long table," to be copied and forwarded, a most able and elaborate letter of instructions to Sir John Byng, which, when afterwards presented at the Horse Guards, were pronounced by the Duke of York and other competent authorities to be the best that could possibly have been advised for the purpose in tended. As that important military document^ how ever, is doubtless treasured by the gallant nobleman to whom it was originally addressed, this biography is not entitled to the use of any portion of its contents. A letter, however, which his Grace shortly after wards addressed to Lord Sidmouth on the same subject, of military protection, will, by permission, be here introduced. " My dear Lord, Stratfieldsaye, Dec. 11th, 1819. " I had not an opportunity of speaking to you last night on the subject of your operations at Carlisle and Newcastle. I strongly recommend to you to order the magistrates at those places to carry into execution, without loss of time, the law against training, and to furnish them with the means of doing so. Do not let us be reproached again with having omitted to carry the laws into execution. * * *. By sending to each of these towns about 700 or 800 men, cavalry and infantry, and two pieces of cannon, or. In other words, two of the moveable columns, the force would be more than sufficient to do aU that can be required. Rely upon it that, in the circumstances in which we are placed, impression on either side is every thing. If, upon the passing of the u .3 294 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. training law, you prevent training either by the use of force or .by the appearance of force in ^the two places above men tioned, you wIU put a stop at once to all the proceedings of the insurgents. They are hke conquerors; they must go forward : the moment they are stopped, they are lost. Their adherents wUl lose all confidence ; and, by degrees, every in dividual will relapse into his old habits of loyalty or Indif ference. On the other hand, the moment the loyal see that there is a law which can prevent their practices, and means and inclination and determination to carry it into execution, they will regaui courage, and wlh do every thing that you can desire. In my opinion, if you send the troops, and order that the law shall be carried into execution, you will not be under the necessity of using them ; and the good effects of this step will be felt not only in these towns and their neighbourhood, but all over England. Observe, also, that if training is continued after the passing of the law — which It wiU be unless you send a force to prevent It — the insurgents will gain a very important victory. " Ever, my dear Lord, yours most sincerely, " Wellington." To convey a clearer impression of the laborious manner in which it was necessary at that time to administer the duties of the Home Department, a letter will now be presented, which Lord Sidmouth addressed to Sir John Byng on the 17th of October. " My dear Sir, " From information which has reached me from different quarters, it appears that the 1st of November is the day on which it is now In contemplation that the general rising should take place It is to your district that I look with the greatest anxiety, as it is the seat of the greatest danger — a danger highly aggravated, and in a very considerable degree produced, by intimidation. It Is In vain, now, to expect that the inhabitants of Manchester, Blackburn, Bolton, &c. &c. wIU make any powerful effort, or. Indeed, any effort at all, to protect themselves; and the military force under your 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. ^93 command must not be weakened by minute subdivisions. Every exertion will be made to increase its amount; and, with this view, one wing of the 90th regiment will be imme diately ordered to march upon Nottingham from Portsmouth, and the other will follow as soon as the 33d is arrived from Guernsey. I should hope, too, that the 52d might be drawn, without risk, from their present quarters Into the disturbed part of Lancashire ; but this, and every other suggestion of mine on such points, must be left to your own discretion, in which I need not say that my confidence is entire. It would, I own, be a satisfaction to me to hear that further protection could be given to the town and hundred of Blackburn. * * * In reply to an intimation I gave to Mr. Norrls, that the force now at Manchester could not be long continued there unless better accommodation were provided, he has assured me that arrangements had been made for that pur pose, which were satisfactory to the commanding officer. " The troops from Sunderland must have arrived at New castle most opportunely. The accounts which I received yesterday, from the latter place, were very unpleasant. The two sloops of war, which the Admiralty had sent at my request, were, however, in the Tyne. The Bolton meeting is likely to take place on the 25th. " I am, &c. &c. Sidmouth." Brighter times, however, were now approaching; and as " Lord Liverpool had at length been con vinced that the miUtary force ought immediately to be increased, government were now effecting the augmentation with the greatest possible despatch." This information was transmitted by Lord Sidmouth to Mr. Bathurst on the 26th of October ; and his Lordship added his hope, that " the invigorated tone and conduct of the government would have the effect of keeping down the spirit of insurgency, and of giving such confidence to the loyal, as to prevent any formidable explosion. But," he proceeded, " the ter- ti 4 296 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. ror and despondency prevalent in the West Riding, and at Manchester and its neighbourhood, though somewhat abated by recent measures, are beyond what I could have conceived possible under almost any circumstances in which the country could be placed. Meantime, you will be glad to hear that our friends are zealous ; that all approve ofthe early meet ing, and that a very large attendance is considered as certain." The improving prospects of the country, as the period appointed for the meeting of parliament ap proached, may be gathered from the tone of the letter inserted beneath, in which his Lordship, on the 7th of November, thanked Mr. Yorke for some valuable suggestions respecting parliamentary measures ren dered necessary by the critical state of the times. " Of the necessity of getting rid of the right of traversing, at least in cases of sedition and seditious libels, we are fully convinced ; and a bill Is prepared, and will be submitted to parliament for the purpose. * * * Information will be laid before parliament at its meeting, not for the purpose of inquiry — which is impossible till the trials are over — but for that of laying a ground for the measures to be proposed. The law must be made clear in some points, and strengthened in others ; particularly with respect to the press, military train ing and drilling, the fabrication of arms of certain descrip tions, and public meetings for political purposes. It was my earnest wish that parliament should meet earlier ; but better late than later. There will be a full attendance ; and I un derstand that a very satisfactory disposition is evinced, not only by our friends, but by many of our opponents. How similar, in many respects, are the present times to those of 1792 ! The meeting of parliament had then been too long delayed ; and the expedient for assembling It suddenly, was 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 297 afforded by a dance, at Dundee, round a May-pole, which was called the Tree of Liberty. Before the meeting of parliament Avas announced, all was terror ; as soon as the proclamation appeared, the loyal were animated, and the disaffected abashed ; and, when parliament met, many, who had been most appahed by the danger, began to question and doubt its existence. Such will be the case at the end of this month ; but government must stand forward, and seize the occasion for giving that strength to the law, without which there can be no security to the state." The meeting of parliament which Lord Sidmouth had so long desired at length arrived. It was opened by the Prince Regent in person on the 23d of No vember, and immediately proceeded to the transaction of the business, of which, two days previously. Lord Sidmouth had forwarded to Lord De Dunstanville the following syllabus : — " The bills to be proposed, and the information to be laid before parliament, are in readiness. The former are four in number. They relate to seditious meetings, to legal process, by tra versing, in cases of misdemeanour, to military training, and to the root of aU the evil, ' audax licentia' of the press. It will be a satisfaction' to you to hear that Lord Wellesley, Lord Grenville, and their friends in the two Houses of parUament, entertain and will ex press opinions in unison with those of the govern ment, or rather, of all persons of honest and intelligent minds; uninfluenced by party, throughout the king dom." The seditious practices in the manufacturing dis tricts, and the necessity of taking immediate mea sures for their counteraction and suppression, and for checking the dissemination of the doctrines of treason and impiety, constituted the leading features of the 298 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. speech from the throne, and of the address founded upon it. To the latter. Earl Grey moved an amend ment, of which the prominent point was the conduct of the authorities at Manchester on the 16th of Au gust, into which it pledged the House " to make a diligent and impartial inquiry." The domestic policy of the country, especially in regard to Manchester, being thus singled out for attack, Lord Sidmouth, whose duty it was, as the minister chiefly responsible, to defend the government against the noble Earl, confined his reply to that question. " The magis trates alluded to," he stated, "were not merely ma gistrates of the town, or appointed by the govern ment, but a committee of twelve county magistrates of the highest respectability, selected by the county in the beginning of July, for the purpose of watching over the conduct of persons whose designs were too evident to be mistaken. From the liberal construc tion which the high courts of law had invariably placed on unintentional aberrations of magistrates, it was reasonable to expect that a similar indulgence would, if necessary, be extended to those gentlemen ; especially when the difficulties and danger of their situation was considered. Their conduct, however, on the day in question required no unusual allowance or presumption in their favour. The fact of an im mense assemblage marching in military array, coming in large bodies from a distance, and declaring their object to be the total subversion of the constitution or death — these persons carrying caps of liberty, bearing pikes apparently dipped in blood, and flags inscribed with the most seditious expressions — all this was sufficient to justify every act which the 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 299 magistrates had sanctioned." His Lordship next asserted, " with the utmost confidence, and on high authority, not only the illegality, but the treasonable character of the assembly of the 16th of August, and then proceeded to justify himself for addressing the letter to the lords-lieutenant of Chester and Lancas ter, communicating the approbation of the govern ment to the magistrates and yeomanry." To prove that he could not with propriety have pursued a dif ferent course on that occasion, he made the following plain statement of facts : — " An account of the transactions reached ministers on Tuesday night, the 17th. On Wednesday two of the magistrates, one of whom was Mr. Hay, the chairman of the Salford quarter sessions, arrived in town to give the fullest information to the government. A cabinet council, comprising all the members within reach, and attended by the law officers of the crown, was immediately assembled, to receive the statement and explanations of these gentlemen ; and the result was, that the law officers gave it as their opinion that the conduct of the magistrates was completely justified by the ne cessity under which they acted. With this convic tion on the minds of ministers the letter in question was written. If, convinced as they were that the magistrates deserved the approbation of government, they had delayed to communicate it until they had made unnecessary inquiries, they would have acted not only unwisely but unjustly. The parties whose conduct was before them for adjudication had per formed a most painful and dangerous duty : they had ' exposed their lives for the preservation of the public peace ; they had explained the necessity which had 300 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV compelled them to act ; the presumption was in favour. of their veracity ; and were ministers to say to them,' in such a case, ' No, though we approve of your pro ceedings — though we are of opinion that you acted Avith proper spirit, temper, and discretion — it still is possible that facts may hereafter come out against you, and therefore, on this vague anticipation, we will refrain from thanking you until we have heard the statement of your accusers?' Would such con duct have been fair, manly, generous, or pohtic ? What would have been thought of it by the other magistrates of the kingdom ? Could they, with im punity, temporise in a manner so base and so unjust towards a body of men to whom the protection of the public peace was intrusted ? " On the other topic which had been adverted to — the dismissal of Lord Fitzwilliam from the lieute nancy of the West Riding of Yorkshire — he would only say that the different view which that noble Lord and his Majesty's ministers took of the state of the country, and the public declaration which he signed in opposition to their wishes, showed that all confi dence between him and them had ceased, and that a separation had become indispensable." As that was the only occasion on which his Lord ship entered into a public defence of his conduct respecting the proceedings at Manchester, it has been thought advisable to omit no portion of the argu ments which he employed in his personal justifica tion. A much briefer process, however, will be pursued with reference to the bills for invigorating the executive arm, which passed in the course of this " session, as both the necessity for such measures., and 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 301 the general nature of their provisions, are considered to have been sufficiently explained in the preceding pages. The apprehension lest parliament should not be found sufficiently alive to the danger of the crisis was speedily dissipated by the divisions in the two Houses on the address, which presented such prepon derating majorities for the government as constituted a complete vote of confidence in their favour.* On the opening of the session a selection of eighty- one papers, relating to the internal state of the king dom, was presented to both Houses of parUament, by command of the Prince Regent, as the evidence on which ministers desired to ground their application for additional laws.f On the 29th of November Lord Sidmouth first in troduced to the House of Lords some of the bills founded on these documents ; and as he availed him self of the occasion to explain the whole series of measures about to be proposed, for the purpose of protecting the peaceful many against the turbulent and tyrannical few, advantage wUl be taken of the opportunity to present the reader with a brief de scription of these acts, as they eventually passed, in stead of tracing their progress through the various discussions they underwent in the two Houses of par liament. The bUls which his Lordship brought in on the * In the Lords 34 for the amendment, 159 for the address; in the Commons 150 for the amendment, 381 for the address. t As Hunt and his associates had traversed until the succeeding Lent assizes, this appeared to the government to be the only mode of disclosing to parliament the proofs they possessed of the dis affected state of the country, without interfering with the course of justice as regarded those parties. 302 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. 29th were entitled, "An Act to prevent the Training of Persons to the Use of Arms, and to the Practice of Military Evolutions and Exercise ; " " An Act to authorise Justices of the Peace in certain disturbed Counties to seize and detain Arms collected or kept for Purposes dangerous to the Public Peace ; " and " An Act for the more effectual Prevention and Punishment of blasphemous and seditious Libels ; " and that brought in on the 17th of December was entitled " An Act for more effectually preventing seditious Meetings and Assemblies." By the first of these acts meetings and assemblies of persons for the purpose of being trained, or of practising miUtary exercise, were prohibited, and parties so assembling were, on conviction, liable to be punished by fine and imprisonment not exceeding twO years. Under the second act justices were empowered to issue warrants for searching for and seizing weapons dangerous to the public peace, and to detain and hold to bail per sons found carrying arms under suspicious circum stances. But the provisions of this act were confined to certain counties of England and Scotland which were then in a disturbed state, and to such other counties as should by proclamation be declared to be so disturbed as to make it necessary that its provi sions should be enforced therein. The third act authorised the court, in which a verdict should be given, or judgment by default had, against any person for composing or publishing any blasphemous or sedi tious libel, to order the seizure of all copies of the Ubel in the possession of such person ; such copies to be restored to the defendant if judgment should be arrested or reversed, otherwise, to be disposed of as 1819. LORD SIDMOUTH. 303 the court should direct ; and it provided for the punishment of persons convicted of a second offence, but which punishment has since been repealed. By the fourth act no meetings of more than fifty persons (except county meetings, or meetings of any city or borough convened as therein mentioned) were to be holden, unless in separate parishes, and with notice to a justice of the peace by seven householders. No persons were to attend such meetings but free holders of the county, or members of the corporation, or inhabitants of the city or parish, &c. for which the meeting should be held, or members of parliament, or voters for such county or city, &c. &c. Persons were prohibited from attending such meetings armed, or with flags or banners. Extensive powers were given to justices for dispersing illegal meetings, and for punishing the parties attending them ; and the justices were indemnified in case such parties should be killed or hurt in the endeavour to disperse or ap prehend them. By this act, also, places used for lec tures or debates, to which persons w:ere admitted on payment of money, were required to be licensed by justices of the peace at their special or quarter ses sions, under a penalty of 20^. The second and the last of the above four acts were to remain in force for periods that were limited, and they were not re-enacted. Besides the four bills brought in by Lord Sid mouth, the Lord Chancellor, on the 29th of November, introduced a bill " to prevent Delay in the Admi nistration of Justice in Cases of Misdemeanour;" and on the 3d of December Lord Castlereagh brought into the House of Commons a bill " to make certain 304 LIFE OF Chap. XXXV. Publications subject to the Duties of Stamps upon Newspapers, and to restrain the Abuses arising from the Publication of blasphemous and seditious Libels ; " which bUls, as well as the others, were all passed pre vious to the adjournment of the two Houses on the 29th of December, and being classed with Lord Sid mouth's four bills, were commonly caUed The Six Acts. It only remains to state the result of the trial of Hunt and of his associates. They were tried at York on the 16th of March, 1820, and nine following days, before Mr. Justice Bayley and a special jury, and .five of their number, namely. Hunt himself, Johnson, Knight, Healy, and Bamford, were con victed of " unlawfully meeting together, with divers other persons unknown, to a large number, for the purpose of creating discontent and disaffection, and of exciting the King's subjects to hatred of the govern ment and constitution." * On the 15th of May they received judgment from the Court of King's Bench; which was, two years and six months' imprisonment to Hunt, and one year's imprisonment to the others. Thus, the Ulegality of the meeting was finaUy pro nounced by a British jury. * 3 Barnewall and Alderson's Reports, p. 566.. 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 305 CHAPTER XXXVL 1820. Formation of Veteran Battalions, The Yeomanry augmented. Salutary Effect of the recent Acts of Parliament, , Death of King George III, and of the Duke of Kent, Letter from the Princess of Hesse Homburg, Alarming Illness of the new King, Difference between George IV. and his Ministers. Plot to assassinate the King's Ministers long knoicn to the ¦ Government. Difficulty felt in dealing with it. Plan for the Arrest of the Conspirators. Source from whence Go vernment derived its Information. Circumstances attending the Arrest of the Conspirators. Public Indignation on the Subject. The Conspirators committed for High Treason. The King's Approval of Lord SidmoutKs Conduct. The Trial and Execution of the Conspirators. Falsehood and Absurdity of the Plea that they were seduced by Edwards. Congratulations. Spirit of Disaffection not yet wholly subdued. The Duke of Wellington recommends calling out the Militia. The Queen returns to England.. Bill of Pains and Penalties. Lord Sidmouth orders the Dispersion of the Mob at Charing Cross. Progress of the Queen's Trial. Termination of the Proceedings against her Ma jesty, a Triumph to neither Party. The Queen's Visit to St. Paul's Cathedral. Lord Sidmouth to the Bishop of Landaff. Effect of the Trial on the Position of the King's Government. Resignation of Mr. Canning. Anxiety of Lord Liverpool. Lord Sidmouth asks Mr. Bathurst to take Mr. Canning's Office pro tempore. Lord Sidmouth to Lord Hastings and Lord Exmouth on the State of Public Affairs, During the earUest days of the eventful year 1820, Lord Sidmouth found a cheering occupation, in car- VOL. III. X 306 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. rying out the legislative measures of the preceding session, and in tracing their happy results. Under the former head, his exertions were unceasing to make the disposable military force of the kingdom equal to any exigency that might arise, by promoting the formation of veteran battalions, and of corps of yeomanry. The advantages of this policy are shown in the foUowing statement, which he made to Mr. Canning on the 6th of January. " Sir John Bjmg has been just strengthened with three regiments of infantry, in consequence of the occupation of the works at Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Chatham by some of the newly formed veteran battalions." The interest his Lordship took in the augmentation of that valuable and constitutional force, the yeomanry, may be gathered from the terms in which he thanked Mr. Edmund PoUexfen Bastard, M. P. for Devon shire, for his efforts in raising a corps in that county. " My dear Sir, Richmond Park, 11th January, 1820. " I am very much pleased with the prospect described In your letter, and have now no doubt that your hopes of raising eight troops- will be fully realised. This, for your honour and that of the county of Devon, will be the most considerable instance of public spirit and loyalty, of such a description, that has been displayed since the termination of the war." His Lordship then remarked, that he "daily re ceived most satisfactory proofs of the good effects of the measures recently adopted by Parliament. The confidence of the loyal was raised, and that of ,-the disaffected depressed in every part of the kingdom." Lord Sidmouth wrote at this period in the same con- 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 307 fident tone to Mr. Bathurst and Mr. Pole Care^^. " The accounts from the country," he observes to the former, "are improving: that is, the loyal are be coming more confident, and the radicals less so ; but we must be constantly on our guard." " The press," he remarked to the latter, " is the ' fons et origo raali.' Its licentiousness, and the facility of circu lating libels, are, I trust, materially checked." " You are, no doubt, aware," he wrote to Lord Exmouth, " that the benefits of the recent measures are already manifest. Not that the dispositions of the principal agitators are in the smallest degree changed ; but the means and power of doing mischief are lessened and restrained; and the confidence of the loyal and weU-disposed are unquestionably increased and increasing." Whilst thus his Lordship was rejoicing in these favourable indications, his loyalty was destined to undergo a most distressing shock. On the 2 2d of January he received a note from Dr. Maton, who had been hastily summoned to Sidmouth, to attend the Duke of Kent, announcing that " his royal Highness was labouring under a most severe inflam mation in the region of the diaphragm, and could not be expected to survive more than a day or two." This apprehension was too fatally realised on the 23d ; upon which day. Lord Sidmouth, when an nouncing the afiUcting intelligence to Mr. Bathurst, added " in confidence " an intimation that the scene was likely also to be soon closed at Windsor ; " a very marked and rapid change having taken place in the King's state within the last week ; which kept them 308 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. in almost daily expectation of hearing that all was over." The dreaded yet merciful dispensation which de prived Lord Sidmouth of that venerated Sovereign who had honoured him with so many marks of favour and confidence, (and whom he had served with the utmost devotion and fidelity for so protracted a perio^,/ occurred on the 29th of January, not from any particular malady, but from the total decay of the vital powers. The anxious and exciting events which immediately succeeded afforded his Lordship no favourable opportunity of fully expressing his sentiments on this solemn occasion ; but it will not Tae doubted that, as he told Lord Talbot, he " cor dially shared in all those feelings of veneration, love, and gratitude, which no human being ever could claim to the same amount as their late revered sovereign." These were strong expressions, — too strong, perhaps, even for that occasion ; and as such did not usually flow from his Lordship's pen, they constitute a striking indication of the manner in which the event affected him. That his Lordship was considered by the royal family as mourning more like a friend than a subject, is evidenced by the following unconstrained, pious, and eloquent sentiments, which on the 12th of March a daughter of the departed monarch, herself now deceased, addressed to him from Hesse Hombourg. " My adored father's death, and the finding him so valued, respected, mourned, and regretted, has gone most deeply to my heart. For himself, dear Angel, the change was undoubtedly a blessed one. He is now at peace, and enjoying the just reward of his 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 309 pious, virtuous, and well-spent life. In laying down his earthly crown he has received his celestial one, which can never be lost to him. In the hearts of his children and his subjects he will ever live ; and may God in his mercy grant that the virtues of both my excellent parents may be our safeguard and examples through life." Scarcely had that venerable father of his people breathed his last, when a fresh source of anxiety arose in the dangerous illness of the new sovereign, who had hardly ascended his father's throne ere he appeared destined immediately to share his tomb. The circumstances of this alarming event are stated in the annexed letter, which Lord Sidmouth addressed to Earl Talbot on the 3rd of February. " A new calamity has been impending for the last fcAV days, but we may now hope that it will be averted. The situation of his present Majesty was extremely alarming during the greater part of Tuesday night" (Feb. 1st) ; " but the formidable symptoms have gra dually given way, and all apprehensions of a fatal result appear to be over. There is still, however, great cause for anxiety on account of the Uability of his Majesty to a fresh attack, to resist which his con stitution may have become unequal. The quantity of blood taken from him in the course of twelve or thirteen hours, by the advice of Dr. Tierney, was enormous, and to that alone the preservation of his Majesty's life is, through the blessing of Providence, to be ascribed. * * * There are, however, very painful obstacles to a rapid recovery. How much better is it to weep over departed excellence in the nearest and dearest of all connexions," — alluding to the very X 3 310 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. recent death of Countess Talbot — " than to be har- rassed by living misconduct." Parliament, which, on the demise of the crown, in pursuance of statutes, had assembled pro forma, on Sunday the 30th of January, after employing three days in the swearing in of members, had adjourned to the 17th of February. The interval was partly occupied by anxious discussions between the sovereign and his ministers, which, as Lord Sidmouth informed the Viceroy of Ireland in the subjoined note, very nearly terminated in a dissolution of the government.* " My dear Lord, Eichmond Park, Feb. 13th, 1820. " I am very sorry not to have written to you yesterday ; but if you knew how the day was passed, you would not be surprised at the omission. " The government Is In a very strange, and, I must ac knowledge, in a precarious state. I cannot enter into par ticulars by letter; but you shaU be made acquainted with them when I have the pleasure of seeing your Lordship In town. In the mean time, I can only say, that it does not appear to me to be probable' that a council will be held on an early day. " Believe me, &c. &c. Sidmouth. « The Eari Talbot" The next paper in the series introduces the reader to a new and appaUing feature of that eventful period. It is a letter which, on the 23d of February, Sir Benjamin Bloomfield addressed to Lord Sidmouth, * The subject of this disagreement, as stated in the Life of Lord Eldon, vol. ii. p. 367., was the King's urging his ministers to obtain for him a divorce. This they resisted as long as the Queen should refrain from any obtrusive proceeding ; but the King could only be satisfied by receiving an assurance from them that should her Majesty at any time force herself into notice hy returning to England, they would then accede to his desire. 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 311 expressing the King's desire to see his Lordship, and stating that "his Majesty y^fSiS perfectly composed, and was greatly struck with the general vigilance dis played by the police under his Lordship's guidance and direction." These remarkable expressions related to an atrocious conspiracy to assassinate the King's mi nisters, with which the Government had been for some time acquainted, and which was intended to be carried into execution on the 23d, when the whole fifteen were expected to assemble at a cabinet dinner at Lord Harrowby's house, in Grosvenor Square. Arthur Thistlewood, the ringleader in this ferocious plot, had, it will be recollected, been condemned in May, 1818, to one year's imprisonment in Horsham gaol, for sending a challenge to Lord Sidmouth. On obtaining his release, he appears to have returned to his trea sonable practices, with a strong desire of revenge superadded to his previous feeling of hatred to the government; and, in the autumn of 1819, was re ported to Lord Sidmouth as being engaged with WooUer in a tour of encouragement and inspection to Nottingham and other disaffected districts. But although general insurrections were fixed upon for the 1st of November, and again for the 13th of December, the latter of which appeared so threatening 'that several Lord Lieutenants — namely, the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Lonsdale, Lord Stamford, and Lord LasceUes — were despatched from town on the 8th, to their respective counties ; such was the effect of the vigilance of government, and of the energy displayed by parliament in the new enactments, that each of these schemes was successively reUnquished as hope less. The result, however, in one instance, of the X 4 312 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. " masterly style in which," as Mr. Steele observed, " Lord Sidmouth had done his business," was, that Thistlewood and a few others, despairing of success through open violence, began to meditate a yet darker crime. The earliest intimation of the detection of this plot is contained in a note of the 5th of January from the Duke of Wellington, which states that his Grace "had just heard that Lord Sidmouth had dis covered another conspirapy, and was therefore ready to go to him, if he should be wanted, at a moment's notice." Lord Sidmouth used to state, that he early became acquainted with the particulars of this scheme, which were of so frantic and sanguinary a character -as at first hardly to appear credible. Facts, how ever, too clearly proved that there were, at the least, from twenty to thirty persons who had resolved to obtain admittance into the house where the ministers were assembled at their customary weekly dinner, under pretence of presenting a note, and to massacre the whole ; and then, taking advantage of the panic which this would occasion to set fire to the barracks, seize the artiUery, Mansion House, Bank, and Tower, and establish a provisional government ! Such a plan^ of which the absurdity almost equaUed the criminality, the ministers probably would scarcely have regardeds as seriously adopted, but that they knew the desperate character of the men, and had ascertained that a dep6t of arms and ammunition had actually been formed at the lodgings of one of them. Lord Sid mouth had also been apprised that, on a previous occasion, when the cabinet dinner was to take place at Lord Westmoreland's, Thistlewood and one of his accomplices had resolved to wait at his Lordship's 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 313 door, in order to observe the respective ministers alight from their carriages, and thus make themselves better acquainted with their persons. Accordingly, when, at the appointed hour, his Lordship drove up to the house in Grosvenor Square, he saw Thistlewood standing near, and attentively watching his move ments * ; and on his afterwards mentioning the cir cumstance to his colleagues, he found that some of them, though not apprised of what was to occur, had also remarked the proceedings of the two suspicious by-standers with some uneasiness. Lord Sidmouth was also aware that the conspirators had been dis concerted by the necessary suspension of the cabinet dinners, in consequence, first, of the Christmas re cess, and afterwards of the King's death, and had debated the expediency of not awaiting their re sumption, but of making the attempt on the night of the King's funeral. Government, however, was thought too well prepared for that project to be advisable, and consequently the attempt Avas deferred until Wednesday the 23d of February, when it was understood that the cabinet dinner would take place at Lord Harrowby's house, in Grosvenor Square, which point was selected as affording, if required, greater facilities of escape into the country, f * The two conspirators had on this occasion an unusually good opportunity of making themselves acquainted with his person. For, on his Lordship entering his carriage, the footman had closed the door on the skirt of his coat, and was now obliged to walk round to the opposite side of the carriage in order to Uberate him. ¦f Downing Street and the Admiralty, where the two preceding dinners had been held, being cub de sac, were considered by the conspirators too dangerously situated for their purpose. Lord Harrowby's was the first cabinet dinner after their plan was matured, occurring in a locality of which they approved. 314 LEFE OF Chap. XXXVL It was now a subject of anxious consideration, for the government to decide what, under the circum stances, was best to be done. Had they at once seized the conspirators, and brought them to trial, the whole plot would have been attributed to the invention of ministers, or the instigation of spies, the evidence would have failed to convince a London jury, and a triumphant acquittal would have set the miscreants again loose upon society, to renew their projects with, perhaps, better success. On the other hand, to await the attack, even after making every preparation pos sible for resistance, involved consequences much too serious to be rashly encountered. Instead therefore of resorting to either of these expedients, the govern ment resolved to aUow the plot to proceed unmo lested, to the verge of* execution, and then to arrest the conspirators, under circumstances which could leave no reasonable doubt of their guilty intentions. It was known that these parties had fixed upon and engaged a stable and loft in Cato Street*, — a retired street running parallel with the Edgeware Road, — as a dep6t for their arms and ammunition, and a ren dezvous from whence they might conveniently set * The Attorney-General, in his opening, described it as " an obscure street having a very narrow entrance at each end, only one of which was accessible by a horse or carriage. The east end led into John Street, the west into Queen Street, both of which streets ran into the Edgeware Road. The stable was the first building on the right hand side on entering from John Street. It was nearly opposite to a small public house called the Horse and Groom, which was the place where Ruthven, "Wright, and one or two more policemen, mustered in plain clothes about six o'clock on the evening of the 23d of February, in order to watch the motions of the conspirators, and be ready to join Mr. Birnie's party on its arrival." ^820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 315 out on their murderous expedition ; and a deter mination was formed to endeavour to apprehend them in this place when just on the point of sallying forth. The great difficulty in effecting this object was, to prevent the conspirators from learning that their plans had been discovered; for had they once sus pected this, their detection would have been impos sible, and such was their anxiety on this point, that through the whole of the j^receding day and night. Lord Harrowby's house was constantly watched by two of their number. Every thing therefore in that quarter likely to awaken suspicion was carefully avoided; and although the ministers had resolved not to attend the dinner, but after dining in private to assemble at Lord Liverpool's, and there await the result, the preparations in Grosvenor Square were aUowed to proceed, and the servants led to expect the guests at the usual hour of seven. It was arranged that the apprehension of the conspirators should be effected by Mr. Birnie, the police magistrate, who at the proper time was to proceed at once to Cato Street for that purpose, accompanied by a strong party of police officers and a detachment of the Foot Guards, which he was to call for in his way past Portman Street barracks. * One of the most delicate parts of the arrangement, and the only one which in the ex ecution did not fully answer its intended purpose, was by what previous steps to ensure the troops being ready to attend Mr. Birnie instantly, without * Mr. Birnie had established himself in a position not far from the seat of action, from whence he set policemen on the watch, who reported to him their observations, which he forwarded to the Home Office as occasion required. 316 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL exciting the suspicion of the conspirators, who, it was known, exercised surprising vigilance in watch ing every act and motion of the government. To effect this object, the strictest orders were issued some little time previously, that at the Portman Street barracks a party of soldiers should be con stantly ready to turn out at a moment's notice ; and so anxious was Lord Sidmouth on this point as the day approached, that he communicated speciaUy with the Horse Guards, to ascertain whether, in military phraseology, the order really meant what it appeared to mean ; and also whether its strict and literal ob servance could be perfectly relied upon. It must have long been obvious to the reader from this account of Lord Sidmouth's preparations, that his Lordship received frequent and accurate infor mation of the conspirators' proceedings. The prin cipal informant was a modeller and itinerant vendor of images, named Edwards, who first opened himself at Windsor, as early as the month of November, to Sir Herbert Taylor, then occupying an important official situation in the establishment of George III. Sir Herbert wisely lost no time in introducing him to the authorities at the Home Office, who from that moment, until the catastrophe in Cato Street, maintained a constant communication with him; — employing during the interim every practicable op portunity of verifying his reports through the medium of the police. From this person a knowledge of the plot was thus derived very shortly after its forma tion. The cow-keeper, therefore, named Thomas Hidon, who presented the letter to Lord Harrowby in the Park on the 22d of February, and who ap- 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 317 peared afterwards as a witness at the trial, only conveyed the same inteUigence to the government which had previously become known to them through other channels * : his testimony, however, was found extremely useful in corroborating that of Edwards, whose revelations were proved by the sequel to have been, in the main, correct. It appears from the official report of the subsequent trials, that there was also a third party, an Irishman named Dwyer, who being introduced by Davidson to Thistlewood, was by the latter entrusted with the secret ; and who, on revealing what he had seen and heard to a Major James, was very properly advised by that gentleman to go to the Home Office, which he did about one o'clock p. M. on the 23d. Thus forewarned, there fore, and thus prepared. Lord Sidmouth viewed with out apprehension the arrival of the eventful day. In the course of that afternoon the conspirators were observed to be secretly conveying sacks containing arms and ammunition into the rendezvous in Cato Street ; and at length, when the appointed hour of the cabinet dinner approached, and it was calculated that the traitors would be congregated for the enter prise, Mr. Birnie, accompanied by about twelve or fourteen police officers who had been ordered to as semble, well armed, at seven o'clock, without being informed of the purpose for which they were required, set forth with a warrant for the apprehension of the pa,i;ties. Whilst on his way, he received intelligence * It is seldom that an useful service to the public can be so easily rewarded as was the case in the present instance. Hidon's ambition was fully gratified by a hackney coach Ucence, then technically termed " a pair of plates." 318 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL that the conspirators had manifested symptoms of hesitation and confusion, on hearing from their scouts that the ministers had not assembled at Lord Har rowby's house at the expected hour*, and he con sequently hastened his progress lest they should dis perse before his arrival. Upon reaching the barracks he found that the soldiers, instead of being ready to tum out instantaneously as was intended, were only in a state of forward preparation to be called out, and that a brief space of time must consequently elapse before they could accompany him. Apprehending therefore that if he were to lose these few but im portant moments, he Should find the place deserted, he hurried forward with only his own men, leaving directions for the detachment to follow him with all possible speed. This doubtless the gallant soldiers did ; but the short delay, and their inability to find • the entrance into Cato Street from ignorance of the locality, proved fatal to the complete success of the enterprise ; for on the police officers entering the loft, which they could only do singly and by a ladder, and declaring their object to the twenty-four or twenty- five persons whom they found assembled there, This tlewood, after stabbing Smithers, the foremost of them, through the heart, and ordering the lights to * It happened that the Archbishop of York, who lived next door to Lord Harrowby, gave a dinner on that day, and the con spirators were for some time deceived by seeing the Archbishop's visitors arrive. The usual hour of the cabinet dinners was seven, but it was not until eight o'clock that Lord Harrowby wrote a note to his butler to countermand the preparations. The dinner was relinquished, to avoid the danger to which the ministers might have been exposed had the conspirators set out on their enterprise before Mr. Birnie's arrival in Cato Street. 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 319 be extinguished, made a rush with his companions, which the officers could not withstand, and thus in the darkness and confusion, and after the exchange of several shots, he. Brunt, Adams, who was afterwards admitted king's evidence, and about twelve others, 'effected their escape. * The piquet now arrived most opportunely to intercept the retreat of the remainder, and to gain possession of the loft from whence the officers had been expelled ; and after some firing and no slight resistance, during which Captain Fitzcla- rence and Serjeant Legge were exposed to consider able danger, nine prisoners, including Ings, Tidd, and Davidson, and a quantity of arms and ammunition, were secured, f Captain Fitzclarence stated on the trial that it was between eight o'clock and a quarter past when his detachment reached the stables ; and as it was seven o'clock when the police officers were ordered to attend at Bow Street, this gives the time with sufficient accuracy. Lord Sidmouth, in after years, used to describe the regret and mortification of the ministers when * The poUce officers appear to have behaved with great heroism on this occasion. Besides poor Smithers, policeman Westcott was wounded in the arm by Thistlewood with a pistol ball, a second, Wright, was stabbed in the right side by Tidd, and a third, named Brookes, was shot in the neck and shoulder by Ings. Comparatively recent as this occurrence was, the author has found, upon inquiry, that neither Mr. Birnie, nor one of the persons who accompanied him, is now alive. f It was deposed at the trial by Adams, the king's evidence, that Ings declared that he would bring away the heads of Lord Castlereagh and Lord Sidmouth, and that he was provided with two bags and a large knife for that purpose ; and it was a striking corroboration of this testimony, that Brookes, the police officer who pursued and secured Ings, swore that he had upon him two , ..J . 1 i.„:r 1 — i,„ „„c taken. 320 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL their suspense was first broken by intelligence thait Smithers was slain, and that Thistlewood had escaped. On this latter point, however, his Lordship consoled them with an assurance, which fortunately he was enabled to fulfil, that he would present that criminal before them as a prisoner before the following even ing. Accordingly, early the next morning, Thistle wood was apprehended in bed at No. 8. White Street, Moorfields; and thus the only evil which resulted from his momentary escape was a charge to the public of lOOOZ., offered by government as a reward for his discovery. Brunt also was seized at his lodgings in Gray's Inn Lane ; and in his and Ings's rooms were found above a thousand ball cartridges, a large quantity of gunpowder, pike-handles, fire-balls, hand grenades, and other instruments of destruction. The above brief description of one ofthe most heart less and inconceivable plots that ever entered into the human imagination comprises the substance of Lord Sidmouth's own reminiscences on the subject, as related to the author in numerous conversations, and as corroborated in every point which required con firmation by reference to the Sidmouth papers, or to the recollection of survivors. All England rung with astonishment and horror at this dreadful instance of atrocious depravity, and at the scandal and infamy which it had brought upon the national character. As Lord Sidmouth observed to Earl Delawarr, " even the most hardened incredulity was staggered by it, and party feelings appeared to be absorbed in those of indignation, which the lower orders had also evinced very strikingly upon the occasion." On Sunday, February 27th, Lord Sidmouth with 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 321 the rest of the King's ministers, pubUcly returned thanks to the Almighty, in the Chapel Royal, St. James's, for their merciful preservation. Numerous were the letters on this subject which now poured in upon his Lordship, on all sides, from anxious friends. The King had removed to Brighton for the recovery of his health ; but such was his Majesty's anxiety respecting these events, that he " desired from Lord Sidmouth a precis of each day's pro ceedings." In observance of this command, his Lordship, on the 3d of March, informed his Majesty, through the medium of Sir Benjamin Bloomfield, that " eleven of the conspirators had that day been fully convicted for trial on the charges of high treason and murder, and three for high treason only. Three had also been remanded for further examination, and warrants had been issued against several others. It daily becomes more evident," his Lordship added, " that an expectation prevailed amongst the disaffected in the northern parts of the kingdom, that an important blow would be struck in London previous to the expiration of the month of February." An interesting result of this daily cor respondence with the Pavilion was the frequent expression of royal approval of Lord Sidmouth's meritorious services. Thus, on the 8th of March, Sir B. Bloomfield was instructed to observe : — " The King read your Lordship's letter with great interest, and took occasion to bestow the highest praise upon the zeal and vigilance you had displayed, and which were now unfolding themselves in the detection of crimes which have brought our land to the condition VOL. III. Y 322 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. heretofore reserved only for revolutionary France."* Four days afterwards his Majesty's gracious appro bation was again expressed in a manner peculiarly felicitous. " The King's remark upon your Lord ship's letter of this morning was, ' He is the Duke of Wellington upon home service.'' His Majesty's per suasion is full and complete, that if England is to be preserved England, the arrangements you have made will lead to that preservation." It now only remains briefly to relate the particulars of that act of retributive justice by which the de struction prepared by those wicked men for the King's ministers was made to recoil upon their own heads. On the 8th of March a special commission was issued to the Lord Chief Justices Abbott and Dallas, Chief Baron Richards, Mr. Justice Richard son, and Baron Garrow, for the trial of these offend ers, which was opened on the 27th of March and two following days, when true biUs were found against Arthur Thistlewood, William Davidson, James Ings, John Thomas Brunt, Richard Tidd, and six others, for high treason, and against six of the same parties for murder. On Monday, the 17th of AprU, the commission again assembled at the Old Bailey, when Thistlewood was put on his trial for high treason; and as the facts were too clear for contradiction, and the offence too heinous for extenuation, after an inquiry which extended into the third day, he was fijund guilty on the third and fourth counts, which charged him with high treason, in conspiring to levy war, and in actuaUy levying war, against the King. * The Duke de Berri had just then been assassinated in Paris. JS20. LORD SIDMOUTH. 323 The trial of Ings, Brunt, Tidd, and Davidson, fol lowed with the same result, after which the remaining prisoners were allowed to withdraw their plea of not guilty, and to plead guilty, in order that they might experience the mercy of the crown. On the 27th of April the whole of the prisoners were sentenced to death by Chief Justice Abbott ; and on the 1st of May the five principal conspirators underwent the sentence of high treason with aU its appaUing forms at the usual place of execution. Four of them, who had proclaimed themselves Deists, carried out to the last moment the awful principles, if such they could be called, of their unbelief, and left the world, as one of ihem remarked, "to find out" — alas! too soon, to their cost, too late for their benefit — "the great secret." The fifth, Davidson, a man of colour, through ihe exertions of the Ordinary, Mr. Cotton, was reclaimed, at the very close of the eleventh hour, to the paths of Christianity, and died acknowledging, apparently with unfeigned contrition, the magnitude of his offence, and imploring the mercy and inter vention of the Redeemer. Thistlewood, in a violent and offensive address to the Court previous to his receiving sentence, had imputed the whole conception and infamy of the conspiracy to the informer Edwards. It is impos sible, however, to suppose that any person whatever, not being an idiot, could, unless with a willing, nay, an approving mind, be persuaded by another to commit the crimes of high treason and murder ; and still more incredible is it that Thistlewood, who was evidently an educated man, possessing considerable T 2 324 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL abilities, should have been deUberately seduced into such an atrocious enterprise by a person in every respect inferior to himself. And this is obvious on the face of his own statement, which describes Edwards as discarded by his landlord for his " bad character, immorality, and swindUng conduct;" as, in short, " in every sense of the word a viUain of the deepest atrocity." Yet this was the instrument who,. if we believe Thistlewood, induced him, after aspiring to the rank of a leader amongst the reformers, to engage, contrary both to his judgment and con science, in an undertaking of the deepest criminality. With the exception, therefore, of the near relatives of the executed malefactors, who indicted Edwards for treason, and of Alderman Wood, who, in a cor respondence with Lord Sidmouth, which he pub Ushed, wanted his Lordship to detain George Edwards in the country by an iUegal exercise of power, the miserable plea that any encouragement given by Edwards could entitle Thistlewood and his associates to the smaUest amount of sympathy or commiseration under their enormous crime was universally dis carded. Hence men of every party, rank, and degree, who desired, with Dr. Adam Clarke, " the honour of the ever-blessed God, loyalty to their King, and peace and good will amongst their feUow-subjects," sup ported the government and laws, and cordially agreed in the following sentiments of that pious and learned divine, with which the present notice of this painful subject will be concluded : — " Most feelingly do I thank God, and congratulate your Lordship on your escape from the destruction 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 325 threatened against yourself, and your noble and honourable companions in the labours of the state. May the Almighty have your Lordship and family in his continual keeping, and crown you with the honours of your country, and the glories of his kingdom." A desire to present a connected review of the above proceedings has carried the narrative beyond the regular course of events ; to which, therefore, as far as Lord Sidmouth was concerned therein, it is necessary now to revert. The conviction of Hunt and his companions in the month of March, at the assizes at York, has already been noticed. It might have been expected that this satisfactory circum stance, added to the horror excited by the event in Cato Street, and the strength afforded to the govern- ihent by the recent enactments, would have deprived the evil spirit of sedition of its last hope of success. The disaffected, however, possessed perseverance ¦worthy of a far better cause; and their exercise of it induced Lord Sidmouth to inform the King, in his daily report of the 9th of March, " that the committees had met more frequently of late in several parts of the kingdom, and that it was evident they were in close communication with each other, and on the watch for a favourable opportunity of exciting dis turbance, or of striking a blow." That opportunity, as the radical leaders appear to have thought, had now nearly arrived; for on the 21st of March Lord Sidmouth informed the Duke of Wellington that "the accounts from Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, &C.&C., were extremely unsatisfactory, and that a T 3 326 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL simultaneous explosion appeared to be meditated at an early period." These indications of impending danger led to an immediate investigation as to the amount of miUtary force which the government had at its command to meet any serious contingency which might arise either at home or abroad; and from this it appeared that although the country was, at the moment, free from any actual disturbance, the Commander-in-Chief had not a single regiment, either of cavalry or infantry, at his disposition, to answer any new demand that might occur, without with drawing it from some service in which it was at present employed. This fact induced the Duke of Wellington to point out to Lord Sidmouth the great importance of organising without loss of time the whole of the militia of the United Kingdom in order that the government might have some disposable force in reserve, upon which it could rely, in case attempts should be made to execute any ' of the schemes which, there could be no doubt, were then in agitation. It does not appear from the papers of Lord Sidmouth, that any immediate steps were taken in furtherance of his Grace's valuable suggestion, which is only thus cursorily alluded to, in order to show the extreme difficulty which Lord Sidmouth must have experienced in preserving peace, with such slender means at command, during the anxious tinies which now ensued. It was during the interval of tranquillity between the Cato Street conspiracy and the Queen's trial, that Lord Sidmouth's paternal feelings were grati fied by the marriage of his second son, the present 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 327 Viscount, to Miss Young, and that the writer of this biography was honoured with the hand of his Lord ship's second daughter. A circumstance was now impending — the re turn of Queen Caroline to England — calculated to supply the disaffected with more effectual means of harassing the King's government than they had ever possessed before. The unfortunate position in which their Majesties had long stood towards each other being such as to render a satisfactory accom modation altogether hopeless, the divisions and heart-burnings which must necessarily result from the existence of rival courts, and two royal establish ments in the same metropolis at the same time, were so obvious, that aU sensible persons united in hoping that the Queen would wisely prefer retirement, tran quillity, and independence abroad, to splendour and anxiety at home. At this period, therefore, strong expectations were entertained that her Majesty would listen to the advice of those who were wisely recom mending the former course for her adoption. The shouts, however, which welcomed the Queen of England on her arrival in the British metropolis, on the 6th of June, too plainly informed the peaceable and reflecting members of the community, that all hopes of an arrangement were at an end, and that the disunion which unhappily prevailed between the two most exalted personages in the realm must now, too probably, be extended also to their subjects.* * One of the modes in which the mob expressed their joy at the Queen's return was by nocturnal attacks on the windows of obnoxious individuals. Lord Sidmouth's residence sustained three T 4 328 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. Lord Sidmouth had fuUy coincided with his col leagues in the decision they had formed at the com mencement of the reign, to take no steps whatever with reference to a divorce, as long as ier Majesty should refrain from returning to England. He also successive sieges, all of which it was the narrator's fate to witness. On the first night, I>r. BaiUie was visiting an invaUd member of the family when the house was assailed ; and the expressions of surprise with which he diversified his medical instructions as each intrusive missUe formed acquaintance with the window shutters, afforded Lord Sidmouth materials for one of his most amusing anecdotes. On the second evening, a very large family party happened to be assembled in the honse, and the garrison being thus strong, it saUied forth, headed by Lord Exmouth, and attacked the assailants, who, disconcerted possibly by this tmusual system of tactics, in stantly dispersed. One prisoner was taken, a juvemle printer, who, hy his insolence, which was consummate, obtained for him self the glory of a night's imprisonment, instead of a lecture. The third attack occurred on a Wednesday evening, whilst Lord Sid mouth was attending the cabinet dinner. It was feeble and of brief duration ; and as no further annoyance was anticipated by the police ofiScers, the narrator, who had been left in charge, retired to his lodgings in the same street. Shortly afterwards he heard the mob returning, and hastened back to his Lordship's door, asainst which the watchman had placed himself. Before, however, thej could gain admittance, the PhiUstines were upon them, fillj|ig the whole footway, and hemming them up in the entrance. At this moment a carriage dashed rapidly down the street, dre^t up at the door, and Lord Sidmouth exclaimed from within it — " Let me out ; I must get out : " but another, and a commanding voice, replied — "Tou shaU not aUght; drive on;" and instantly the carriage bounded forward, and disappeared, but not before the glass of the window nearest the speaker had been shivered to atoms by a stick or stone. In a moment afterwards, at a signal given, the mob dispersed, leaving the watchman and his com panion the only occupants of the street. In a few minutes the same carriage returned, escorted by a smaU party ofthe Life-Guards. It was that of the Duke of WelUngton, and contained his Grace, Lord Eldon, and Lord Sidmouth. '1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 329 « entirely agreed with Lord Liverpool in the sentiment quoted by Lord Hutchinson, in his letter to Mr. Brougham, that "if her Majesty should be so ill- advised as to come over to this country, there must be an end to aU negotiation and compromise," and " immediate proceedings must be taken against her." In short, to Lord Sidmouth, as a cabinet minister, belonged his full share of the responsibility attached to the Queen's trial, and to the proceedings conse quent thereto ; but as that was only a fifteenth por tion of the whole amount, and as his Lordship took no part in the parliamentary discussions, being, in truth, fully occupied in preserving the peace of the country, it does not appear necessary in this work to take any particular notice of those distressing pro ceedings. The second reading of the Bill of Pains and Penal ties, or in other words, the commencement of the examination of evidence, touching the Queen's con duct, before the House of Lords, had been fixed for the 17th of August; and as this unhappy inquiry seemed to have called into activity all the evil spirits and passions of the times. Lord Sidmouth's exertions to maintain the tranquiUity of the metropolis were almost unexampled. His Lordship's utmost vigilance, however, could not wholly secure himself and other noble peers from insult on their way to parliament for the fulfilment of their duty. During the period of the inquiry. Lord Exmouth was his guest at Rich mond Park, and numerous were the little adventures which befell their Lordships, as they daily proceeded too;ether on foot from the Home Office to the House 330 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL of Lords.* No serious insult, however, was at any time experienced ; neither did Lord Sidmouth, though constantly threatened in anonymous letters, and having frequently, as in the cases of Thistlewood and others, very desperate characters to deal with, ever encounter any actual assaults or danger, in his daily journeys, often at very late hours, to and from Rich mond Park. On those occasions he usually drove himself in an old-fashioned open whiskey, and at aU periods of excitement loaded pistols were placed on the seat for the use of himself and his companion ; but, providentially, there never was any necessity to employ them. Probably his confidence and fear lessness generated respect ; for he observed, that the same persons who at the commencement of the inquiry into the Queen's conduct saluted him with hisses as he passed by, before its conclusion fell into the habit of touching their hats to him. His Lordship frequently remarked, that one of his most anxious moments was at the time of her Majesty's arrival in town, when a portion of the military sta tioned at the Mews at Charing Cross manifested symptoms of discontent at the inconvenience and crowded state of their barracks, and were therefore immediately ordered off, in two divisions, on two suc- * In consequence of an injury on the knee from the kick of a horse. Lord Sidmouth at that time required, when walking, the support of a friend's arm. On one of these occasions, when Lord Castlereagh was affording that assistance, in the absence of Lord Exmouth, they encountered much hissing and groaning from a mob through which they were passing in Parliament Street. " Here we go," observed Lord Sidmouth, " the two most popular men in England." " Yes," Lord Castlereagh rejoined, " through a grateful and admiring multitude." 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 331 cessive mornings, to Portsmouth. The night before the last detachment marched, a formidable mob as-' sembled around the barracks at Charing Cross, calling to the soldiers within to come out and join them. Lord Sidmouth, who had been hastily summoned from his friend Mr. Duncombe's house, in Arlington Street, where he was dining, on passing the spot in tbe way to his office, found this tumult at its height; and instantly seeing the danger of aUowing it to pro ceed, with the King's palace close at hand on one side, and the government offices on the other, he hastened to the Horse Guards, called out the troop of the 2d Life Guards, under Captain Ridout, which was on duty, and gave them his personal orders to dis perse the mob. This object was immediately effected, but not without the application of considerable force. His Lordship indeed was of opinion, that had the cir cumstance occurred at a distance from the metropolis, the means that were necessarily employed to suppress this disturbance would have subjected the government to the full proportion of invective usually lavished upon it on such occasions : in consequence, however, as his Lordship conjectured, of the approximation of the danger, not a word of complaint was ever uttered on this subject.* * During the progress of this tedious inquiry, Lord Sidmouth was deprived of two highly valued friends — Di-. Busby, Dean of Rochester, and Mr. Hatsell. The former, who had been his Lord ship's early school and coUege acquaintance, died in the month of September, whilst on a tour in the Highlands. His character was drawn by the Bishop of Hereford in the subjoined extract, dated September the 1 2th : — " The few friends of early years that stiU remain, do, if possible, become more valuable. Alas ! poor Busby. His death was yesterday mentioned to me abruptly, and my heart 332 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVi: The postponement of the proceedings in the House of Lords from the 8th of September to the 3d of October, to afford her Majesty's advisers time to coUect the witnesses and prepare her defence, brought no relief to Lord Sidmouth, who found it impossible to leave his post for a single day. This, indeed, he justly regarded as the most formidable crisis the country had experienced since the conclusion of the general peace, and he therefore effected his prepara tions with a caution proportionate to the danger. His feelings at that period he expressed on various occasions, especiaUy on the 24th of September, when replying to a -former coUeague, who from his retire ment had addressed the annexed remarks to his friend in office: — "I cannot describe to you how grievously I suffer, and have suffered, on account of the dan gerous and deplorable situation in which our country, the King's government, indeed all of us, have been so long placed — a situation out of which, I profess, I see no satisfactory, indeed no safe, deliverance. As far as I can judge, however, the conduct of yourself and colleagues in general seems to have been every thing that could be expected from honour, wisdom. sunk at the communication. For evenness of temper, pleasantry of manners, firmness of mind, sound principles, right judgment, honourable conduct, and fidelity of attachment, he was a man of decided and amiable character." As regards Mr. Hatsell, he has been so frequently mentioned in these volumes, and is so universaUy known as the learned and experienced chief clerk of the House of Commons, whose useful ness still survives, in his invaluable book of " Precedents," that it is only necessary to add, that he closed a green and happy old age of eighty-six, without suffering or previous illness, at his house at Marden, on the 25th of October. 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 333 and steadiness, under the most novel, embarrassing, and trying circumstances." " In venting your feelings," Lord Sidmouth repUed, " you have precisely expressed mine : — ' Imo in corde pudor, mixtoque insania luctu, Fuimus Trees " — and aU that just and honest pride which once gave comfort and dignity to a state of existence in this country, is nearly cancelled and obliterated. * * * I am, however, much more under the influence of indignation than of any feeling which approaches to despondency." The Queen's defence terminated on the 26th of October ; and as this singular inquiry drew towards a conclusion, the interest attached to it naturally became more exciting, and the position of the go vernment more unpleasant. This Lord Sidmouth intimated to Mr. Bathurst on the 27th, in the fol lowing terms : — " Matters here are in a critical state. Fear and faction are actively and not un- successfuUy at work ; and it is possible that we may be in a minority, and that the fate of the govern ment may be decided in a very few days. * * * The Attorney-General has acquitted himself to-day most ably and powerfully." Sir Robert Gifford's exertions appear to have produced their effect, since, two days afterwards, the report to the same party was as follows : — " Some change has taken place since I last wrote to you. The Attorney-General has made a strong impression, which has been well fol lowed up by Copley. The case is indeed overwhelm ing. * * * At all events, I am satisfied that 334 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL defeat itself is better than retreat." The result of the investigation is well known. It was neither a defeat nor a retreat, but a mixture of both. The second reading of the BUl of Pains and Penalties was carried on the 6th of November, by a majority of 28, the third reading, four days afterwards, by one of 9 only. Upon this Lord Liverpool announced that, " considering the state of public feeling, and the division of sentiment so nearly balanced, just evinced by their Lordships, the King's ministers had come to the determination not to proceed further with the measure." This conclusion, by which neither side obtained a victory, was, to a certain extent, a disappointment to both ; for the Queen did not succeed in establishing her innocence, and the ministers failed in carrying their bill. As far as the latter were concerned, and, judging merely from the result, this, probably, was the safest and least inconvenient mode in which the question could have been decided. For, on one hand, the government was enabled, by the force of moral character, to maintain its position under so severe a shock, and, on the other, popular excitement, satis fied by the extrication of the Queen, not only gra dually subsided, but also resisted, beyond expecta tion, all mischievous attempts to rekindle it. Any hope of a respite from anxiety which Lord Sidmouth might have founded on the prorogation of parliament was speedily dissipated by an announce ment, which the Queen made to the authorities of St. Paul's, of her Majesty's intention to attend divine service in that Cathedral on Wednesday, the 29th of November. This led to a long correspondence 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 335 between Dr. Van Mildert, then Bishop of Llandaff and Dean of St. Paul's, and Lord Sidmouth, the purport of which will be best explained by a few extracts from the letters of the latter : — " WhitehaU, Nov. 21st. " In reply to a question stated by your Lordship, I have to acquaint you that it is wholly out of the power of the government to prevent her Majesty's intention of attending divine service in St. Paul's Cathedral from being carried into effect. It is, however, incumbent upon us, and upon myself in particular, to suggest and adopt such measures as may render its accomplishment as little hazardous as possible to the peace of the metropolis. " The indignation expressed by your Lordship on this occasion is no more than strictly becomes your station and character. At the present moment, nothing is so much to be dreaded and reprobated as fear and apathy; and we must feel strongly, and act resolutely, if we are to entertain a reasonable hope of conquering the difficulties and dangers which surround us ; but, if we are not wanting to ourselves, I have no doubt of the residt. The outrage at Ewelme* has drawn forth from the public an expression of respect for your Lordship, which, for a moment, was lost sight of by a part of your deluded flock." " Nov. 23d. " It cannot, I trust, be necessary for me to express my decided opinion, in concurrence with that of your Lordship, that ' nothing but the ordinary service of the day should be performed, and that no alterations should be made in the liturgy.' My persuasion is, that no serious disturbance will take place ; still, however, it is necessary that every possible * This mild and paternal " shepherd and bishop" of the little rural parish of Ewelme, had just been obliged to take refuge in Oxford from the violence of his ungrateful parishioners — a plain proof how thoroughly the virus of disaffectioy had poisoned the .land through its whole length and breadth. 336 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVL precaution should be taken to prevent it. With this view, It appears desirable that a representation should be made, by your Lordship and the Chapter, to the Lord Mayor, express ing an earnest hope that his Lordship would adopt the most effectual measures to prevent any serious disturbance, at or near the Cathedral, on the occasion in question. * * * The necessary arrangements have also been made to afford the most effectual military support to the civil power in the metropolis, on Wednesday next, in case of necessity. * * * For the purpose of protecting the approaches to the Cathe dral, barriers wiU be erected, and other measures of precau tion taken to regulate and control the description and number of persons to be admitted into the church and churchyard. For the safety of the edifice, or for that of the persons who are to officiate, I beg your Lordship to be assured that I entertain no apprehension whatever." The correspondence was then continued on this question, which was unanimously decided in the ne-- gative, whether, in case "application should.be made for any special return of thanks on behalf of her Majesty," it should be permitted ; and it terminated with an expression of satisfaction on the part of the Bishop that "this strange exhibition had gone off with less disgrace to the country than might have been expected; although, after all, it had been a mockery of religious solemnity at which every serious Christian must shudder." During all these harassing duties nothing was more surprising than the persevering and indomitable spirit with which Lord Sidmouth encountered them. " As long," he observed to Mr. Loraine Smith on the 3d of December, " as the country gentlemen of Eng land continue what they are, the disaffected will never succeed in exciting rebellion, or in effecting a revolution. With respect to what is passing, I can 18'20. LORD SIDMOUTH. 337 and do make the greatest aUowance for the feelings of the ignorant, but none at all for the conduct of those who are capable of judging. * * * But, thank God, Great' Britain is a good sea boat, and there never yet was a storm which she was unable to weather." The "Life of Lord Eldon"* contains an intima tion that the government did not weather this storm without encountering the usual result under per plexing circumstances ; namely, difference of opinion amongst the crew. This appears to be confirmed by the two letters annexed, which Lord Sidmouth ad dressed to Mr. Bathurst on the 15th and 20th of December: — "The interval since I last wrote to you has been an unpleasant one. Liverpool went to Walmer in a very uneasy state of mind and spirits ; and during his absence I had some painful communi cations at C H . C followed him to Walmer, where he stayed three or four days, and on Saturday L returned. On Tuesday C cir culated a draft of a letter from himself to the King, containing his resignation ; and on Wednesday the letter was laid before his Majesty. I was immediately sent for to C H . The King, however, I know, was not taken by surprise. * * * It is a most unfortunate circumstance, and involves us in very serious difficulties. He means to go abroad. It appears to me to be very doubtful, from the irritability at one great house, and the restlessness at a greater, whether the government wiU hold together. It is agreed to keep C 's resignation * Vol. ii. p. 398. 338 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVI. a secret, if possible, tiU some arrangements can be made in consequence of it. I am sick and tired, but I shaU not shrink. This is my second week day at Richmond Park since the 12 th of August, and I stay to clear off an arrear of letters, for I have no respite at my office." Five days afterwards the subject was pursued as foUows : — "I went to Fife House this morning, by appointment, and was grieved to learn that there was an insuperable difficulty in the way of Peel's becom ing a member of the government at this time. What that difficulty is, it is not necessary now to state, but you wiU be glad to hear that it is only temporary. It is, however, agreed that it would not be advisable, under present circumstances, to ' knock at any other door ; but to suspend the definite arrangement tiU the battle has been fought in the House of Commons, where ' cita mors aut victoria laeta ' assuredly awaits us. The point, therefore, to be noAV considered and decided is, how the vacancy at the India Board is to be fiUed up ad interim ; and it is the opinion of Lords Liverpool and Castlereagh, and I confess it is my own, that the office of president should be associated, at present, with that of some person now a member of the cabinet ; and vsdth that view the only person who is looked to is yourself. I have stated your health, &c. &c., but in vain. * * * If our friends should not give us the support which we have now every reason to expect, in our resistance to any attempt to obtain a palace for the Queen, or to insert her name in the liturgy, the government must be changed. If we are supported, there wUl be no diffi culty in making a satisfactory arrangement, which 1820. LORD SIDMOUTH. 339 Lord Liverpool promises shaU take place with as little delay as possible." * Lowering as were the clouds which overhung the conclusion of this anxious and harassing year. Lord Sidmouth ponsidered them less portentous than those which had accompanied its progress ; and this he ex pressed to two intimate friends in the foUowing extracts, with which this eventful chapter will be brought to its termination. The first, dated Rich mond Park, December 30th, was addressed to the Marquis of Hastings, then Governor General in India. * * * "I will not now enter upon matters of public concern ; some of which will have excited in your mind the strongest feelings of indignation, grief, and shame. ' Pudet haec opprobria nobis, Et dici potuisse, et non potuisse refelli.' The prospect, however, is improving; and I have no doubt the storm will be weathered. Amidst num berless points of difficulty, there are some few upon which all are agreed ; one of them is the wisdom and splendour of your Lordship's administration, and of the transcendant services which you have rendered, not to the East India Company only, but to your country. I ardently hope that your health may be long preserved, and that you may enjoy, in the highest degree, all the comforts of domestic life, and * After much persuasion, and suggesting various objections, which were all overruled, Mr. Bathurst consented to the arrange ment, on the understanding that he was not to receive the emolu ments of the office, and was gazetted on the 13 th of January, 1821. He was not, however, released from his unusual position until the Sth of February, 1822, when he was succeeded at the Board of Control by the Right Hon. Charles W. WiUiams Wynn. 340 LIFE OF : Chap. XXXVI. aU the gratification which can be derived froni public gratitude, and from the consciousness of having deserved it." The second was addressed on the following day to Lord Exmouth, in respect to whom the ties of family connexion were now superadded to those of ancient friendship. " I have to thank you, my dear Lord, for three kind and welcome letters. * * * Xhe King is improved in health and spirits, and you may rest assured he will be firmly sup ported by his government, which, however, cannot serve him usefuUy unless they are also firmly supported by parliament. We have taken our determination." The Queen wiU neither be harassed nor molested ; but to a palace, and to the insertion of her name in the liturgy, we shall never consent ; and if parliament should differ from us on those points, the govern ment must fall. But the reports from our friends are ex tremely satisfactory. * * * Your friend. Sir Dennis Pack, called on Friday in Clifford Street. Perhaps I may succeed in endeavouring to induce him to give us a day at Kichmond Park. We unite in cordial regards and good wishes to your self. Lady Exmouth, and all your family. May the next year be fraught with happiness to you and yours, and may it be marked by the return of good sense, right feelings, and true loyalty to our agitated and distempered country. In fair or foul weather, I shall remain, my dear Lord, " Most truly yours, " Sidmouth. « To Admiral Viscount Exmouth, G.C.B." 1821. LORD SIDMOUTH. 341 CHAPTER XXXVII. 1821. Favourable Change in public Opinion respecting the Ministers, Correspondence with Sir Walter Scott, The Catholic Question — Letters of Dr, Adam Clarke and Dr. RenneU on that Subject. Lord SidmoutKs Speech on the Question. He meditates an early Retirement ft^ Office — Accom panies the King to Ireland. His Correspondence from Dublin — Details the King's Proceedings to Lord Liverpool. Death of the Queen — Lord Liverpool to Lord Sidmouth on that Subject. Lord Liverpool to Lord Sidmouth, detailing the Circumstances of the Removal of the Queen's Remains on the \Ath. of August. Abstract of the military Proceed ings on that Day. Lord Stowell to Lord Sidmouth. The King's Proceedings in Dublin. His valedictory Advice to his Irish Subjects. The King visits Germany. Lord Sid mouth one of the Lords Jiistices, Recommencement of Dis turbances in Ireland. At the close of the preceding year, that principle in the British constitution which pronounces the ministers responsible for actions not always in strict ness their own, had operated most unfavourably for the existing government. The proceedings of parties, over whom they possessed no control, had compeUed a resort to unpopular measures, their failure in which had excited amongst their opponents a lively expect ation of their speedy overthrow. At this point, how ever, re-action ensued, and on the meeting of parlia ment on the 23d of January, 1821, ministers found to their astonishment, that their position, which they 342 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVJL imagined to be most precarious, was, in reality, secure. They had resolved to stake their existence on their refusal to introduce the Queen's name into the liturgy, and to provide her Majesty with a palace ; and in the division upon Lord Tavistock's motion on the 6th of February, which embraced the whole ques tion of their conduct towards the Queen, they were supported by the unusual majority of 146. This favourable change induced Lord Sidmouth to observe to Mr Bond, that " throughout the country the pros pect was rather improving ; he could not indeed say, ' concidunt venti ; ' but the weather was moderated, the wind was not so loud and violent, and our good old sea boat was likely to ride out the storm without any damage to her hull, and with very little to her saUs and rigging." It was at this period that his Lordship found himself at leisure to cultivate the in timacy of Sir Walter Scott, then staying in London, from whom, on the 17th of February, he received the following note : — " My dear Lord, " I am truly grieved that an engagement with Mr. Coutts, on Saturday the 24th, prevents my having the honour to wait upon your Lordship at the White Lodge. " I have a petition to present to your Lordship, which I presume to do in this manner. My only remaining brother — a man to whom nature has been highly bountiful and for tune much the contrary, and to whom, amongst others, Waverley and its whole cycle of novels have been ascribed — is sending home to my care his only son and my godson, whom I am very desirous, if I may so far presume on your Lordship's interest with the Commissioners of the Board of Control, should be sent out as a cadet for India in the next shipment of that commodity, which I suppose will take place this time next year. I shall then have had time to look after 1821. LORD SIDMOUTH. 343 imperfections in his very singular education ; for his only In structor In classical knowledge has been his father, who has had to re-learn his forgotten Latin for the nonce. My god son's nurture, however, has been of a truly military cha racter ; for he was brought up in the mess-room of a Highland regiment, and finished his studies under the celebrated Colonel Norton, chief sachem of the Mohawks. I am in formed Walter dances the war-dance and whoops the war- Avhoop to admiration. " Seriously, and begging your Lordship's pardon for all this folly, I am truly anxious to secure some opening for this poor youth, who has nothing to trust to but what I can do for him. His father was one of the most active, fearless, and zealous loyalists I ever knew. I once saw him clear the theatre of half-a-dozen democrats as he would have turned out so many puppy dogs. Lord Advocate knew him well. " I am going to Lord Montague's for two days. When I return, your Lordship wUl, perhaps, permit me the honour of waiting upon you. We have silenced the Scottish Whigs for our time, and, I think, drawn the flower of Scot land around the King and Constitution. Literally I do not exceed the mark. In the meeting where Lord Huntley (our cock of the north, as he Is called,) presided over 800 gentle men : there was Influence and following enough among us to raise 50,000 men; property enough to equip and pay them for a year ; young men — not unacquainted with arms — enough to discipline them; and one or two experienced generals to command them. I told this to my Whig friends, who were bullying me about the popular voice ; and added, they might begin when they liked ; we were as ready as they. " I am always, my dear Lord, your obliged and faithful, humble servant, " Walter Scott.* " Waterloo Hotel, Jermyn Street, Saturday. " I have news from Scotland, this morning, that I am a grandfather." * The author was present when Lord Sidmouth received this letter, and well remembers his pointing out with approbation the deUcate adroitness with which the writer had touched (as if acci- 344 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVII. Sir Walter Scott, during his present excursion, when asked by Lord Sidmouth how long he purposed to remain in'the south, had answered " fifty pounds;" a period fortunately sufficient to enable his Lordship to enjoy his society at Richmond Park, and to submit to his inspection, as, we find from Sir Walter's diary, he again did on the 24th of May, 1828, some of the documents presented to the public in this work. On this occasion Lord Sidmouth invited a party of Scottish friends, who, he was aware, did not judge too severely of what he always denominated "that noble treason, of the 45 " — including Lord Huntley, Lord Melville, Sir William Grant, &c. &c. — to meet their celebrated countryman ; and the members of his Lordship's family still retain a vivid recoUection of the shouting and dancing with which, when Lady Huntley sat down to the piano, they accompanied her Ladyship's feeling execution of their favourite national airs. Sir Walter finally left London early in April, aud on the evening of the 6th reached Manchester, from whence, whilst in a state " betwixt sleeping and wakiiTg," he addressed to the Hon. John Villiers, dentally) upon aU the topics ; such as, " the cock of the north," a Highland regiment, the Indian chieftain, turning out the demo crats, Scottish loyalty, &c. &c., which were best calculated to excite his Lordship's sympathies. It is scarcely necessary to add, that Lord Sidmouth's influence was successfully exerted with Mr. Bathurst, who then presided, gratuitously, over the Board of Control, and that when some preferable destination was after wards found for the son of the putative father of the Waverley novels, the cadetship reserved for him was given to some other protege of Sir "Walter Scott. The grandson, whose birth Sir Walter, in the joy of his heart, could not help mentioning, was the lamented " Hugh Littlejohn," so weU known to all youthful readers of Scottish history. I«21. LORD SIDMOUTH. 345 afterwards Earl of Clarendon, a paper of considerable; length, on the subject of a projected " Royal Society of Literature," which he enclosed in the following letter * to Lord Sidmouth : — " My dear Lord Sidmouth, " This accompanies a letter for Mr. Vihiers respecting a proposal of great peril which he made to me two days before I left London. I am sure your Lordship must have heard something of a society for pensioning a certain number of men of letters, giving prizes, &c. &c., which proceeds, as It appears to me, entirely upon a misconception of the world as it now Is, and of the present state of literature. Mr. Villiers mentioned that his communication to me was confidential; * It will shortly be seen that his Lordship caused a copy of this paper to be taken, which, after having been long mislaid, has been found amongst his papers ; and as Sir Walter's able and talented biographer (see Life, vol. v. p. 57.) had expressed his inability to recover the document, it was in the first in stance forwarded to that gentleman as more properly belonging to his work than to the present. Mr. Lockhart, however, hav ing voluntarily relinquished the exclusive use of it, in observ ance of his obliging suggestions, it is introduced into the Appendix to this volume. Its recovery formed the subject of a communica tion, which Lord Sidmouth received in January, 1837, from Mr. Morritt of Eokeby, in which, after stating that Mr. Lock hart was preparing to publish the "Life" of Sir Walter Scott, and would, doubtless produce a " standard work containing as characteristic a portrait of Scott as we possess of Johnson," he alluded as follows to " this additional specimen of Scott's matchless versatiUty of power and wisdom:" — " I shall never forget that you showed me at the time the masterly letter which he sent you, many years ago, on the question of giving the royal name to the literary society. His advice was not acted upon; but the talent, wit, and admirable good sense which the letter contained, after such a journey, and with so little premeditation, displayed his power of mind and character perhaps more than any Ughter essays that we have of his. * * * I think you wiU enter into the delight which it gave me at the time, and if you can find it, pray, for the love we both of us hear to Scott's name and memory, let Mr. Lockhart add this admirable composition to the other remains of our lamented friend with which he has already been furnished." 346 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVIL but I am very desirous that my opinion on such a subject, valeat quantum, should pass through your Lordship's haods, as you are at once a friend to literature, and an exceUent judge of the manner In which It may be best encouraged. For my own part, I was never so clear In an opinion In my life, as that the proposed attempt would be much worse than merely abortive. I may, however, be entirely wrong, and am open to conviction, and would, in that case, become a subscriber to the association ; though I would beg to dechne being a member of what is called the honorary class, to which, with its titles and duties, I feel a decided repugnance. When your Lordship has glanced your eye over the letter, wiU you have the goodness to seal it with. a head, and send It to Mr. Vilhers, without any Intimation that it passed through your hand. I use this great freedom, because I am desirous that your Lordship should be In full possession of my senti ments, such as they are, upon a subject which, I am aware, wiU Interest you particularly, and which, at the same time. Is one of the very few cases in which long experience enables me to give an opinion with some degree of confidence. The thing is of great consequence ; the more so, as Mr. Villiers hinted It had already gone too far for them to recede. In my opinion they had better recede, at all risks, than take the consequences of advancing. I am sincerely anxious about it, and shaU be very sorry if my opinion should give pain either to Mr. Villiers, or the Bishop of St. David's, or any of the well-meaning supporters of the scheme. For his Ma jesty I need not say my devoted respect ; but ' better service shall I never do him, than hindering this deed.' I have half thought of coming up to see the coronation, should it go on, and could your Lordship find some excuse for me to our Lord President, to whom a hint of your wish, on such a sub ject, would be a sufficient reason to give me leave of absence for ten days. My kindest and best respects attend the ladles; and I am always, my dear Lord, your Lordship's much obliged and faithful, humble servant, "Walter Scott. " Manchester (now quiet and loyal). " Friday, eleven at night ; having travelled down without a moment's stop. This to serve as an apology for bad writlnsr and inaccuracies of all sorts." 1821. LORD SIDMOUTH. 347 To this letter Lord Sidmouth replied on the 15th of April in the following terms : — "* * * The project is justly hable to all the objections which you have stated, without the balance of a solitary re commendation in Its favour. Sir William Scott first announced to me Its birth, and we concurred In reprobating It In terms less weighty and forcible, though even more decided than your own. I then was Informed of it, incidentally, by the Bishop of St. David's, Its first parent, to whom I urged Its Immediate strangulation ; but I was told that the exhortation came too late.f * * * I have taken a great and, perhaps, unwar rantable liberty — that of having your letter copied; but It was so by a confidential person. It shall not be shown with out your permission, but I earnestly wish to be allowed to show it to the King. I am confident It would be well taken, and that the knowledge of your sentiments would have the best effect. Let me hear from you on this point at your ear liest convenience. I wiU not fail to write to the Lord Presi dent, according to your desire. " The best wishes and regards of all here constantly attend you. " Believe me, &c. " Sidmouth." Sir Walter's reply, which is published in the fifth volume of his life, expressed his consent to any use being made of his former letter, which would answer the purpose for which it was written ; and his Lord ship availed himself of this permission to show it to Mr. Morritt, who entirely coincided in " the mas terly view of the subject which their mutual friend had taken." At this period the House of Commons exhibited a f As this society partakes of a charitable as well as a literary character, it will doubly gratify the benevolent reader to learn that, ijotwithstanding the sinister prognostics of so many eminent objectors, it still flourishes. 348 LIFE OF Chap. XXXVn. new feature, which was considered ominous of the approaching concession of the Catholic claims. On the 28th of February Mr. Plunkett's motion for a committee on those claims was carried by a majority of 6, and on the 2d of April a bill for the removal of Roman Catholic disabilities passed that branch of the legislature by a majority of 19. The House of Lords, therefore, now became the battle field of a cause of which Lord Sidmouth had long been re garded one of the principal champions. Amongst the letters, which, under the alarm consequent on this threatened innovation, many serious and reflect ing persons addressed to his Lordship, is one from the pen of Doctor Adam Clarke, which supplies the foUowing extracts : — " Some time ago I had the honour to inform your Lordship that I had made some most important selections from the records of the kingdom relative to the Catholic question. These having been made under the record commission, at the head of which your Lordship stands, I shall feel it my duty to intrust to your Lordship, that should the matter come before the Lords, you may be able to show from unimpeachable evidence the danger of conceding what is now claimed, as well as the ab solute falsity of some of the main positions held by the foreign universities, in their answers to Mr. Pitt. Many who are from principle and conscience attached most warmly to the civU and religious estabUshments of the country, are greatly distressed to find his Ma jesty's ministers divided on a subject of such vast importance to the Protestant interest, and the cause of civil liberty. Much hope, however, is reposed in your Lordship's exertions and influence, whose strong iS^L LORD SIDMOUTH. 349' attachment to the Protestant faith is so well known; Your Lordship may rest assured that a great majority of his Majesty's subjects are hostile to the proposed innovations on the religious and civil constitution of the country ; and contemplate the concession of the claims now made by the Catholics, with the deepest apprehension and alarm. I am truly sorry that any ^ood men should be found advocates for this measure, ¦5^ 408 LIFE OF Chap. XXX of sordid lucre, should have expressed great indigna tion at this unjustifiable attack, or that the House of Commons, which divided nearly four to one against the motion*, should, when it learnt the facts of Lord Sidmouth's disinterestedness, have exhibited the feel ing which was described to his Lordship two days afterwards by the Honourable Captain Pellew, M.P. for Launceston, in the terms subjoined : — " My very dear Lord, Cowes, June 28th, 1822. " If I was gratified by adding one vote to your Lordship's cause on Wednesday night, how shall I describe what I felt at the decided, and I may almost say universal, r.pgard and respect that pervaded the House of Commons during the dis cussion of the Pension Bill, as far as your Lordship was con cerned. I am sure, my dear Lord, you wiU agree with me In thinking such a feeling as this Is a man's best reward for a life spent In the public service ; for In my conscience I be lieve no minister ever retired from public life with so high, so honest, a character as your Lordship, and who possessed. In so eminent a degree, the esteem and good opinion of all the well-disposed and right-thinking part of the community. " I remain, &c. &c. " P. B. Pellew." Those who attacked Lord Sidmouth on that occa sion may not possibly have been acquainted with the real circumstances, and were only influenced by political considerations. The subject, therefore, is here introduced, not in disparagement of individuals, but merely to indicate the uncharitableness and iUi- berality of party spirit, and its constant tendency to create erroneous feeUngs and impressions.f * The numbers were 143 to 42. t " It is no wonder," Mr. Hume has observed, in treating of the calumnious accusation against Charles II. and the Duke of York, 1'822. LORD. SIDMOUTH. 409 Early in the month of August, 1822, Lord Sid mouth availed himself of his liberty to visit his second daughter, at her residence in Yorkshire, where, on the morning of the 14th, he was aroused from his sleep by a messenger, who brought the distressing tidings of the death of the Marquis of Londonderry. His surprise and grief on receiving this intelligence were remarkable. Only on the 3d of the same month he had dined with his Lordship at his retirement at Foots' Cray, and had been much struck with the vivacity and cheerfulness he then displayed. As the King was in Scotland, and there remained no one at head quarters to assist Lord Liverpool, Lord Sidmouth hastened up to town, where he attended the funeral of his lamented friend in Westminster Abbey on the -20th, and took part in the deliberations consequent on the loss of so important a member of the administra tion. Some of these proceedings his Lordship briefly described to Mr. Bathurst in a letter dated " Clifford Street, August the 16th." " You wiU not," he ob serves, " be surprised to hear that I am in town. After such a communication as that which I received on Wednesday morning, I could not bear to remain at Sutton, whence I arrived at four o'clock yesterday afternoon, accompanied by G. Pellew. I have seen Lord Liverpool, who is tolerably well. * * ..,* Our poor friend had betrayed symptoms of a disturbed of having murdered the Earl of Essex, " that faction is so pro ductive of vices of aU kinds. For, besides that it inflames all the passions, it tends much to remove those great restraints, honour ¦and shame ; when men find that no iniquity can lose them the applause of their own party, and no innocence secure theiin against the calumnies of the opposite." Vol. viii. p. 200. 4L0 . LIFE OF • Chap. XXXIX. and agitated mind, occasionaUy, towards the close of the session. * * * Huskisson told me yesterday that he was in a state of extreme irritabiUty and apprehension respecting the Superannuation BUl. The most generous and intrepid of mankind also was harassed by suspicion and alarm." * * * After officiating as a pall-bearer at the funeral on the 20th, when, as he informed Mr. Bathurst, " upon the production of the coffin from the hearse, there were three cheers from some savages amongst the populace," his Lordship resumed the course of family visits which had been so painfully interrupted. No further incident worthy of record disturbed the tranquillity of his comparative retirement during the remainder of the present or the earlier portion of the succeeding year.* Before, however, this new course of life had long been pursued, one result of his Lordship's retirement, which, probably, had not been anticipated, was experienced in the revival of those desolate and lonely feelings which even the most affectionate filial attentions will not entirely remove, occasioned by his domestic bereavement twelve years before. These had hitherto been post poned, but not eradicated, by the incessant labours and onerous responsibilities of his official situation -which left him no leisure for their indulgence ; but Ms Lordship had no sooner returned to the quiet scenes and habits of earUer days than he felt that * During the two years of his Lordship's comparative relaxation, he sustained the loss of three old and valued friends, whose deaths must have confirmed hipi in the propriety of his own final retire ment — Mr. Le Mesurier died in July, 1822; Dr. Blackburne in January, 1823 ; and Mr. Bond in the October foUowiujg. 1822. LORD SIDMOUTH. 411 there exists in the conjugal relation a sympathy of mind, an intercommunity of thought and feeling, which nothing else can adequately supply. Under these circumstances, early in the summer of 1823 he successfully addressed his attentions to the only .daughter of his early and admired friend. Lord Stowell, and the widow of Thomas Townsend, Esq., of Honington Hall, Warwickshire ; and on the 29th of July was united to that lady in the parish church of St. George's, Hanover Square. Notwithstanding a very considerable disparity in the ages of Lord and Lady Sidmouth, this marriage proved one of true affection, and was productive of a large increase of happiness to all parties concerned. Erom the lengthened acquaintance and intimate neighbourhood of her father and present husband, the lady had known and admired the latter from her earliest years. Constant association with learning and genius at her father's house had matured her judgment, and an affectionate and devoted attend ance of ten years on an invalid husband had diffused over her whole character the mellowed effects of time. Thus early formed and matured, her Ladyship's ar dent thirst for knowledge, and her admiration of every thing that was "great or good, rendered her a Suitable and interesting companion for one more ad vanced and experienced than herself; whilst her own ¦exceUent understanding enabled her to appreciate, and her gentle and affectionate disposition to admire, the numerous eminent and attaching qualifications of the object of her wise selection. Though delicacy might prefer the omission, yet gratitude requires the mention, of the prudent, friendly,- and generous line 412 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. of conduct by which she quickly won the very sincere affection of the members of Lord Sidmouth's family. The only essential requisite to his Lordship's entire enjoyment of the sweets of retirement being thus sup plied, it was not probable that his self-approval of the step he had taken in the preceding year would undergo any diminution. His friends, therefore, much as they regretted the circumstance, were not surprised to learn, a little more than a year after his marriage, that on returning from his autumnal ex cursion, he had severed the one remaining link which connected him with public Ufe, by requesting Lord Liverpool on the 26th of November, 1824, "to lay before his Majesty his humble request that he would be graciously pleased to dispense with his future attendance at the cabinet." Anticipating opposition to his wishes, Lord Sidmouth took this final step without consulting his friends ; and it was not until he had received from Lord Liverpool the annexed reluctant acceptance of his resignation that he com municated the fact to a single correspondent : — . [Private.] " My dear Lord, Coombe Wood, Nov. 29th, 1824. " I have received, with great regret and concern, your letter informing me of your determination to withdraw your self from the cabinet. Whilst I must lament any circum stance that can interrupt. In any degree, those confidential communications on public affairs which have now for so many years existed between us, I feel It due to you to say, that if your domestic arrangements would not admit of your being a regular attendant at the cabinets and in the House of Lords, I cannot blame your decision. " I shaU Immediately lay before the King the letter which I have received from you ; and I have no doubt his Majesty 1824. LORD SIDMOUTH. i. wIU most fully participate In the regret which I must exf rience on the occasion of your retirement. " Believe me, my dear Lord, very sincerely yours, " LlVERPOOI As soon as his Lordship's severance from offici life was completed, he imparted the fact to his frien Lord Bexley, in the following note : — " My dear Lord, Richmond Park, Nov. 30th, 1824. " Before this reaches you, you will probably have hea of my having requested the King's permission to withdrs from the cabinet, at which, as I shall reside chiefly In t country. It would not be possible for me to attend wi proper regularity. I took the step upon full conslderatic and without the previous knowledge of any person whatev( except Lord Liverpool, whom I desired to lay^ my reque before his Majesty. I have thus closed my public hi during which I have served my country zealously and fait fully ; and I ardently wish that I could have served it mo TisefuUy. All I now hope for is, ' a calm evening to a bu day.' On all my Intercourse with you, from the very coi mencement of our acquaintance to the present time, I refle with great and unaUoyed pleasure ; and your friendship w constitute a very material part of my comfort and happlnc - during the remainder of my life. " Ever affectionately yours, " SlDMOUTE Although his Lordship, in the foregoing letter, Ji assigned the difficulty of attendance as the promine: ground of his resignation, it appears from a corr spondence with Mr. Canning, in July, 1824, whic though perfectly amicable, manifests a considerab difference in their views respecting South Americ that there existed another reason which possibly vai have contributed to that step ; namely, his inabUr to reconcile his opinion to that "of so man^ of h 414 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. coUeagues," who advocated the immediate " recogni tion by his Majesty of the independence of Buenog Ayres." It is evident, indeed, that he already per ceived the germs of those approaching changes in the poUcy of the cabinet, and those differences amongst its members, which would probably have led to its early dissolution, even if that event had not been precipitated by the sudden and eventuaUy fatal seizure which befeU Lord Liverpool in February, 1827. We may reason ably suppose, therefore, that a laudable desire to avoid unprofitable discussions, and to close his public career in harmony with all his colleagues,. had some share in accelerating his Lordship's resignation. The limits of this work preclude even an attempt to trace with minuteness the steps of this venerable statesman through the twenty years of dignified Christian retirement which he was permitted to en joy. He continued to manifest that deep interest which a patriot must ever take in the welfare of his country, lamenting over all invasions of its constitu tion, rejoicing at its prosperity, and, in its adversity, always looking forward in search of a brighter pros pect. From his suburban retirement, also, he con tinued to pay careful attention to his duties as a peer of parliament, giving his personal attendance on aU important questions as long as health permitted, and afterwards, to the last, intrusting his proxy to his faithful and valued friend. Lord Bexley. As we trace his descent, however, through the vale of years, the few particulars of his pubUc conduct which still remain unnoticed wiU be brought to light ; neverthe less, it is to his conduct in retirement, and the em ployment of his private hours, that attention wiU 1S25. LORD SIDMOUTH. 415 chiefly be directed during the remaining pages of this work. ; From the period of his resignation Lord Sidmouth divided his leisure hours between Richmond Park and Early Court, in Berkshire — the peaceful abode of Lady Sidmouth's maternal ancestors. There he was principally occupied in the pursuits of literature ; in the exercise of benevolence and charity ; in cheer ful and instructive converse with his family and friends ; in the society of his admirable partner (whose precarious health was the only drawback to his hap piness), and in sharing her anxiety, whilst with true filial devotion she watched over the decUning years of her distinguished father. His autumns he usually dedicated to a series of visits amongst his friends in the Avest of England ; but during the summers of 1825 and 1826 he indulged himself and family in two brief expeditions into France and Germany. On the first of these occasions he " set out early in August, accompanied by his three unmarried .daughters — Lady Sidmouth remaining with her father, to whom her attentions were as valuable as they were de lightful to herself." Landing at Calais, the party " visited Lisle, Ghent, Antwerp, Brussels, Namur, Liege, Aix-la-Chapelle, Cologne, Frankfort, Heidel berg, Strasburg, Chalons, and Paris ; returning, at the end of five weeks, by Boulogne." At Frankfort the Queen Dowager of Wirtemberg graciously sent a message to Lord Sidmouth ; in consequence of which, he and his eldest daughter waited upon her Majesty, who was then at the H6tel d'Angleterre. Her re-" semblance to King George III. was very striking, and the Queen seemed much pleased with Lord Sid- 416 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. mouth's notice of it. She related some interesting^ circumstances which occurred during the war ; and mentioned, that at one time her only means of com munication with the royal family in England was through the Emperor Napoleon, who courteously for warded her letters. On the same day. Lord Sidmouth and his eldest 'daughter had the honour of dining with the Landgrave of Hesse Hombourg and her" Royal Highness the Landgravine (Princess EUzabeth), by whom they were received in the most kind and gracious manner at the Ch&teau de Hombourg ; and the Princess presented Lord Sidmouth with a beau tiful snuff box, which he preserved amongst his most valued reUcs.* In his second excursion in the August and Sep tember of the foUowing year. Lord Sidmouth was accompanied by his lady. In the first instance they directed their course to HoUand ; and, after " visiting Utrecht, Amsterdam, and Harlem — Avhich all sur passed their expectations — the Hague, which rather disappointed them, and Leyden, of which they could not say a favourable word," retraced their steps to Boulogne, where Lady Sidmouth had the gratifi- * Shortly after his return to England, Lord Sidmouth received a letter from his attached and valued friend and poUtical adherent, Charles Duncomhe, Esq., to inform him of " the good Protestant spirit that was spreading in Yorkshire, and that a deputation from a highly influential meeting at York had just waited upon his son, to obtain his consent to being put in nomination for the county whenever a dissolution should take place." Not long afterwards his Lordship had the satisfaction to see his friend elevated to the. peerage by the title of Lord Feversham, and his son elected one of the representatives of Yorkshire, an honour which he continued tc enjoy until his accession to the House of Lords. ; 1827.. LORD SIDMOUTH. 417 cation to find her father and brother. Here the traveUers were joined by Lord Sidmouth's three daughters, and shortly afterwards proceeded with them on a little excursion to the banks of that " re volutionary torrent, the Loire." Arrived in La Vendue, his Lordship took a peculiar interest in trac ing the memorials of the heroic and devoted army of Royalists ; and, at Nantes, visited the scene of the murderous Noyades, and the spot where the brave but unfortunate Charrette closed his patriotic career. Prosperous, however, and gratifying as these ex peditions Avere, they served principally to strengthen Lord Sidmouth's devoted attachment and deeply- rooted preference for the habits and institutions of his own country ; and he did not hesitate, on his return, to inform his correspondents hoAV " delighted he was again to find himself on British ground." - Thus his days flew rapidly onwards, presenting no particulars for special record, until the sudden and calamitous visitation which befell Lord Liverpool in February, 1827, awakened at once his anxiety for his country, and his sympathy for his friend, whose rising talents he had himself first employed in a high official situation, by appointing him Secretary of State in 1801, and in intimate communion with Avhom, as a confidential adviser of the croAvn, he had passed so many years Avith the utmost harmony and satisfac tion. His own firmness in council, and vigour in action, Avere a stay and support to Lord Liverpool, Avhose anxious mind, ever intent upon its duties, re posed with confidence on the calm and manly deci sion of Lord Sidmouth's character. On the other hand, his Lordship ascribed to Lord Liverpool, in VOL. in. E E 418 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. addition to the most unimpeachable and sterling in tegrity, the possession of other highly valuable and essential properties of a leading statesman. In de scribing those qualifications, he used to remark that Lord Liverpool was discretion personified — that he was the best, fairest, and most perspicuous debater in parliament of a knotty and important question he had almost ever known ; and that, in council, he brought a foresight to bear upon the impending dif ficulties of any subject, and the probable proceedings of an opposing party, such as none of his contem poraries possessed in an equal degree. It Avas not, therefore, on private grounds alone that Lord Sidmouth deplored the stroke which had deprived the administration of its head and bond of union. It was impossible, he could contemplate the public results of that event, combined with the pre vailing aspect of the times, without perceiving indica tions of the approaching invasion of those leading principles of church and state policy, which he had been accustomed through life to regard as established and unchangeable. Considerations, however, of this nature usually proved less mortifying to him than to the generality of mankind. The principles of his philosophy were founded on religion and resignation ; and are thought to have been happily expressed in the following letter, which he addressed to his daughter and son-in-law on the commencement of the preceding year : — " The first use of my pen, on this the first day of the ncAv year, shall be to thank you for tAvo very gratifying letters of congratulation. It has pleased God to permit the last year to pass vdthout any afflicting change in the wide circle of our family 1827. LORD SIDMOUTH. 419 connexions : but whilst we are grateful for the past, let us not be so weak and presumptuous respecting the future, as not to b^ aware that many severe trials await us all, and that it is our urgent duty to prepare our minds to meet them with resignation and forti tude. Yours is a fair prospect ; but it would be as weak to wish as it would be to expect that any human prospect should be without clouds ; and certain it is, that from every cloud real good may be derived. ' " To be resign'd when ills betide, ' Patient when favours are denied. And pleas'd with favours given : Dear -. , this is Wisdom's part. This is that incense of the heart Whose fragrance reaches heaven." The year 1827 witnessed the completion of his Lordship's 70th year, " bringing with it, as he re marked, an awful admonition, by which, Avith the blessing of God, he hoped to profit." At that ad vanced period of life the pangs occasioned by the 1qs§ of friends necessarily become more frequent ; and on the 6th of January in this year we find Lord Col chester condoling Avith him on the death of the Duke of York, which calamitous event had occurred on the preceding day. " Sorrow, unfeigned and unavailing sorrow," he observed, " makes me turn towards you, to pour out my grief for the loss of the Duke of York. A more gk)omy event has not happened in our days,. The state and the army will both miss their support." From his inmost heart could Lord Sidmouth respond to these sentiments ; for he ardently admired the Duke's manly, generous, and patriotic £ E 2 420 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. character, and had long been honoured by his Royal Highness with many gratifying proofs of confidence and friendship. In the month which foUowed this national bereavement. Lord Sidmouth's repose was for a time interrupted by the parliamentary agitation of that " vexata questio," the corn laws, on which he always espoused those views which tended to en courage domestic production, and make the kingdom independent of foreign supply. In writing to Mr. Pole CarcAV, on the 7th of February, upon this sub ject, respecting which he used to say, " England is England's best customer," his Lordship dropped the folloAving observation, which is thought to be not altogether inapplicable to existing circum stances : — " There is one truth to which I have always attached the greatest importance, and which ought to be universally broached and inculcated. I mean that agriculturists are in an error in sup posing that the discouragement of importation would raise the price of corn ; as are the manufacturers in imagining that the encouragement of foreign supply would have the effect of lowering it. This truth is not brought to view by the light of political economy, but established upon the solid foundation of experience." The only remaining subject of the year in Avhich Lord Sidmouth took a peculiar interest, was his venerable father-in-law's retirement in December, at the age of eighty-two, from the judgment- seat of the court of Admiralty. This was a step which, it will be seen. Lord Sidmouth had long considered ad visable, and therefore cordially rejoiced at. The 1828. LORD SIDMOUTH. 421 letter in which he mentioned this circumstance to his eldest daughter alludes also to the omission of Lord Eldon's name from the list of members of the Welling ton administration — an omission which he sincerely regretted, as calculated to deprive the government of a portion of the confidence and popularity which it would otherwise have received. This, however, did not prevent him from enforcing on every occasion the incalculable importance of supporting the new government, or from most highly admiring the disin terested and patriotic conduct of its chief, who, purely from devotion to his sovereign and country, took upon himself so undesired an office. These topics are thus briefly touched in the letter before alluded to, which is dated January 27th, 1828. " Lord Stowell, as you probably will have heard, has resigned his office, to Ijady S.'s and my great relief and satisfaction. Almost all the letters I have received (and they have been numerous) have expressed extreme disappoint ment and chagrin at the manner in which the new government is constituted. * * * In fact, the opportunity of forming an administration that would have gone the farthest towards satisfying the country has been most unfortunately lost ; but though the vessel may not be manned entirely to our mind, I hope she will be found sea-Avorthy, and wiU conduct us into port." A few days afterwards his Lordship reported to Mr. Bathurst the substance of " a talk, which, though brief, was very interesting," that he had held on the 4th of February with the premier. " I stated to his Grace that I should not fail to give my support to the government whenever it could be £ E 3 422 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. given consistently with the opinions which he knew I entertained on certain subjects ; that I was happy to see him in the situation which he held, because I thought it afforded the best hopes of re-establishing confidence, and a good understanding between this country and the powers on the Continent, and of averting from us the evU of an unprincipled war. These hopes, I am happy to say, appeared to be en tertained by himself, and his whole behaviour was perfectly open and friendly." As regarded the repeal of the Sacramental Test Act, which was effected in the session of 1828, his Lordship informed his daughter on the 15th of March, that " he should not oppose the bill if it contained the oath or declaration which Mr. Peel expected to carry in the HoUse of Commons." But in the autumn of this year Symptonds appeared of meditated conces sion to the claims of the King's Roman Catholic sub jects Avhich gave great uneasiness to Lord Sidmouth and other veteran supporters of the church-and-state principles of the 18th century. Amongst those most deeply interested on this occasion was Lord StoweU, who, on the 24th of November, called forth all the remaining energies of his mind, in strongly urging Lord Sidmouth " to depart from those resolu tions of consulting his own ease, whereby he en dangered the public safety, and to reconsider more seriously the question of his returning to office; he did not mean to any office of a laborious nature, but to such a one as would give him a right of inter- feting in the councUs of the state, which did not appear to be going on in a very salutary manner. This," he added, " is the wish of aU your friends, not 1828. LORD SIDMOUTH. 423 for their private interest, but for the great object of tlie public safety. Can there be a doubt that the Duke of Wellington, yourself, and my brother would come into office with general acclamation, and would be hailed as the restorers of public tranquillity ? I write this ex animo ; I am sure it would be the most popular act of your life." * Lord Sidmouth had now entered his seventy-first year ; and although the judge who at eighty-two composed the celebrated decision on the case of the Slave Grace, when unable through infirmity either to write or read it, might consistently deem a man of only seventy capable of rendering further public ser vice to his country ; yet the party addressed prized much too highly the " eleganter actae aetatis placida ac lenis senectus," not to leave to younger and less un bending • poUticians the task of regulating and re straining, as best they might, the growing tendency ofthe pubUc mind towards changes and innovations. * Lord StoweU's eyesight had now so nearly failed, that he employed an amanuensis to write this letter. He must have sub mitted to the same necessity in preparing his judgment in the slave case, had he not availed himself of the willing and able assistance of his daughter's highly-valued and excellent friend, the late Mrs. Gaskell of Thornes House, near Wakefield, who cheerfully ttndertoak the office of writing down the judgment from his dic tation, and procuring from his library the references for which he had occasion. Until this period, his Lordship's intellect still exhibited occasional traces of its former brightness, though the flashes Were rapidly becoming fewer and fainter. He was no admirer of the prevailing raga for universal education, and about this time made a remark on the subject with which Lord Sidmouth was much struck. " If you provide," he said, " a larger amount of highly-cultivated talent than there is a demand for, the surplus is Vefy likely to turn sour." E E 4 424 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. Firm, therefore, to his determination. Lord Sidmouth, during the remainder of his life, restricted himself to the temperate but uncompromising discharge of his duties as a private member of the British legislature. In that capacity, indeed, he fully obeyed the dictates of his conscience, partaking most usefully in that arduous struggle in Avhich the House of Peers en deavoured to preserve for posterity the blessings of the British constitution ; and regulating his vote on each occasion, not by expediency — for which, like his first royal master, he entertained a rooted disUke — but by a firm adherence to established principles. Hence, as each momentous question arose, those who knew him well could readily anticipate his decision upon it ; and none of his friends, therefore, were sur prised, when, in opposition to some of the most valued and honoured of his former colleagues, he re sisted the Roman Catholic Relief BiU, even to the last division on the third reading ; and when, three years afterwards, he manifested his disapproval of the Reform Bill in the same unflinching manner. These two are the only remaining subjects of his Lordship's public conduct, of which further mention will be made in this work, and of them, the promise, recently made, to be brief will allow only the slightest possible outline to be given. On the 4th of February, 1829, Lord Sidmouth attended the ministerial dinner at the Duke of Wel lington's, and previous to the reading of the speech, had the honour of a short conversation with his Grace on the subject of the important concession re commended in it. The Duke, Avho was extremely friendly and candid, rested his justification solely on 1829. LORD SIDMOUTH. 425 political necessity* ; and he did not appear either sur prised or displeased at Lord Sidmouth's declaration, '¦'that he would be obliged, however reluctantly, to oppose the government on that particular question." A few days after this conference his Lordship briefly expressed his sentiments in the following note ad dressed to Lord Exmouth, who fully participated in his anxiety and disapprobation on this momentous subject : — "Of your opinion and intentions I have had no doubt ; of mine you could not but be assured. For many persons great allowances must be made, on account of their confidence in the judgment of the Duke of WelUngton, and in the correctness of his view of the comparative danger of resistance or con cession. I cannot, however, sacrifice principle to expediency, nor become a party in attempting to avert immediate difficulties at the expense of an irre mediable, a permanent, and, I fear, a fatal blow to the Protestant constitution of this country. When the bill for putting down the Roman Catholic Asso ciation shall have passed through the House of Lords, Mr. Peel will then introduce into the House of Com mons his rheasure of concession and securities ; the latter may diminish, but they cannot counteract the evil." Lord Exmouth, in his reply, expressed much , gratification at finding his friend " waiting events so ' unmoved and serene ; determined to do what was right himself ; regarding the discord around him with * " It is a bad business," he said, " but we are aground." — " Does your Grace think, then," asked Lord Sidmouth, " that this concession will tranquillise Ireland?" — " I can't tell : I hope it will," answered the Duke, who shortly discovered, and had the magnanimity to admit, his mistake. 426 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. silent contempt ; willing to run any risk to save his country, and trusting to the protection of Providence for the result." Influenced by such motives, on the 4th of April, which was the third night of the debate. Lord Sid mouth opposed the motion for the second reading of the Roman Catholic ReUef Bill, in a highly argu mentative and statesmanlike speech, which, as it was the last he ever delivered in parliament, is presented, Avithout abbreviation, in the Appendix. His Lordship rose in reply to the Earl of Westmoreland, who had attributed the necessity for concession which, he Avas pleased to suppose, existed, to the encouragement given by Lord Liverpool's goA^ernment to those who were favourable to the Roman Catholic claims, and had specially attributed to Lord Sidmouth the re sponsibility of the three foUowing measures : " The appointment of Mr. Charles Grant to be the leading minister for Ireland; allowing the Roman CathoUc bishops, in their paraphernalia, to present an address to the King * ; and the letter addressed to the people of Ireland on his Majesty's departure." To these topics,' therefore, his Lordship's reply, in the first instance, was addressed. Lord Sidmouth fought this battle under a conviction of inevitable defeat ; and only a few days previously had written thus to his son-in-law : — " For the first time in my Ufe I am dis- * The truth is, that Lord Sidmouth firmly resisted the claim urged by Lord Fingall, that the Roman CathoUc bishops, when presenting their address to the King, on his visit to Ireland, should be received by his Majesty on his throne. It was finally arranged that they should be received, as the Presbyterian ministers were, in their robes, in the royal closet. 1829. LORD SIDMOUTH. 427 heai'tened. We seem to be in a shattered boat, and in a strange and agitated sea, without pilot, chart, or compass." His surprise, therefore, at seeing the bill passed, on the 10th of April, by the votes of 213 peers over that of 109, in the same House which, on the preceding year, had rejected a similar bill by a niajority of 45, was not equal to that of Lord Ex mouth, who put to him the question — " How, my dear Lord, can we account for this immense majority ? I had formed no conception that the influence of government could have been so strong in our House : I think that you must yourself have been surprised, long as you have been accustomed to manage the affairs of the kingdom." The answer which Lord Sidmouth returned to his friend's inquiry is not knoAvn ; but one " apology for, or rather justification of, the ministerial measure of emancipation," which had been quoted to him by his son-in-law, he rejected with indignation, as " utterly unfounded in fact, and most futile and conternptible, if the fact were true. I have heard," he proceeded, " a great deal during my life of the probable defection of our soldiers, but never knew an instance of it - — in the first American war, in the Irish rebellion, in the time of the Radicals, in the Queen's business, &c. &c. Lord Londonderry knew his countrymen, and raised a regiment consist ing of IJnited Irishmen, to assist in putting down the rebellious and formidable confederacy to which they helonged; and they never failed him. And yet in the pretext stated is to be found the explanation and feXcuse for a permanent and irremediable blow to the Protestant constitution of this country." On the 26th of June, 1830, Lord Sidmouth's feeUngs 428 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. of loyal and dutiful attachment sustained a painful shock in the decease of his Majesty George the Fourth — a soA'ereign whom for ten years he had served with the utmost firmness and success, under the most trying and difficult circumstances ; and who had testified his sense of those services by substantial marks of appro bation, accompanied with the gracious offer of still higher rewards. We now pass on to the only subject remaining for consideration — that of parliamentary reform. At the assembling of the new parliament, summoned on the accession of King William the Fourth, many valued representatives of the principles of former times were no longer to be found.* Still, probably, the minister might haA'e stood his ground, if the whole body of his original supporters could, like Lord Sid mouth, have forgiven his concession of the preceding year. This, however, was not the case ; and, on the 15th of November, some of these parties, uniting with the original opposition, in a division on a motion for a select committee respecting the civil list, placed the government in a minority of twenty-nine. In writing to Mr. Bathurst on the foUowing day, Lord Sidmouth expressed much disappointment at this pro ceeding. " Last night's division," he said, " was a surprise to the ministers and their opponents. The general expectation appears to be that the Duke will resign to-day. In that case, the regrets of the good, and the fears of the wise, will be almost universal," The event did occur as here predicted ; and "his Lord ship at once anticipated from it the most disastrous consequences to the principles which, through life, he had espoused. Nor was he mistaken; for Avhen his 1831. LORD SIDMOUTH. 429 Majesty, on the Duke of Wellington's resignation, sent for Earl Grey, that nobleman, true, it must be admitted, to the opinions of his Ufe, would not under take to form a new government except on the condi- , tion that parliamentary reform was to be made a cabinet question. Accordingly, Avhen parliament, which had been prorogued for an unusual period, to enable the King's servants to concert their measure of reform, re-assembled, on the 3d of February, the ministerial plan was submitted to the House of Com mons by Lord John Russell; and, after a series of important debates, its principle was affirmed on the 22d of March, by a majority of one, in a house con sisting of 608 members : — the largest number that had ever been assembled. On the 19th of April ministers were defeated in committee on their pro position to reduce the aggregate number of members in the House to the extent of sixty-two, by a majority of eight ; and, in consequence, they advised his Ma jesty immediately to dissolve his parliament, although it had not yet completed its first session. The new parliament assembled on the 14th of June ; and elected, as if was, under circumstances of such unparalleled excitement, the early trans mission of a bill of reform from the Lower to the Upper House no longer remained a matter of doubt. This event, therefore, took place on the 22d of Sep tember, and the 3d of October was selected by the Peers for the discussion of the measure. Lord Sid mouth Avas now seventy-five ; but the occasion fully aroused his patriotism and, pristine energies, and called forth his activity to save his country, if possible, from Avhat he considered a grievous calamity. 430 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. " Neptunus muros magnoque amota tridenti, Fundamenta quatit" — was his expression to his son-in-law : — " This trident is actively at work, and the venerable old edifice is tottering." Influenced by such motives to exertion, his Lordship is found, on the 25th of Sep tember, requesting the attendance in his seat of the Bishop of Salisbury, Avho replied, that " although he had for some time considered himself as emeritus, and was inclined never to enter the House of Lords again, yet that the tremendous measure now before the House, and his Lordship's acute feelings on the sub ject, which accorded entirely with his oavh, Avould certainly induce him to venture up to London to oppose a measure, which, he feared, would end, not very remotely, in the overthrow of the monarchy and the church." Although he had prepared notes and heads for a speech, with much care and ability. Lord Sidmouth did not find an opportunity to address the House on the subject of reform — prevented, pro bably, by the multiplicity of speakers, and the ex citement and confusion which prevailed even in that usually decorous assembly; but he attended every debate on the question, and constituted one of the majority of forty-one, by which, on the 7th of Oc tober, after a discussion of five nights, the first Re form Bill was rejected. His Lordship held the proxy of Lord Exmouth, whose decUning health prevented his attendance, but Avho regarded passing events with an interest dictated by that pure flame of patriotism Avhich, in minds influenced by religion and benevo lence, never burns more brightly than AA^hen the end 1831. LORD SIDMOUTH. 431 of life approaches. To him Lord Sidmouth, on the llth of October, thus expressed his sentiments re specting this absorbing topic : — " You will have heard with delight the result of last week's service ; and you will not be sorry to hear, that, hard as it was, I have not suffered from it. What is to follow perplexes all the powers of conjecture ; a creation of peers, resignation of ministers, prorogation of parlia ment, all come within these limits. At all events, we must expect a considerable degree of agitation, which no pains will be spared to keep up and heighten. But we have done our duty ; and there can be no comparison but what, I am convinced, wiU prove satisfactory, between the consequences of performing and those which could not but be anticipated from neglecting it. But I write as a short-sighted mortal ; a higher power must decide our destiny. * * * " Pray mention Sir William Grant in your next, and tell him that I have just passed two hours at Lady Gifford's with Sir Walter Scott- He is feeble on his legs, and he has an aged countenance; but there is very little abatement in the vigour and animation of his conversation, or, as far as I could judge, in the promptitude of his recollection. He is bound to the Mediterranean." His Lordship employed a part of the brief interval between the rejection of the former Reform Bill and the production of its successor, on the 12th of De cember, in discussing with Mr. Pole Carew the best means " of introducing, with a probability of success, such alterations in the existing state of the represent ation as would satisfy the right-minded part of the community without injustice to individuals, or dan- 432 Eli^E OF Cuap. XXXIX. & ger to established institutions. The notion," he added, " that something must be done, is very gene rally entertained ; but whatever that may be, it AviU not, I am satisfied, materially improve the composi tion of the House of Commons ; it wiU not render it better suited to the purposes for which it exists. Until it is proved that some great practical CAdl is justly attributable to the present structure of that House, and that it would admit of a remedy which would not be productive of some evil of equal or greater magnitude, my objections to a general reform will remain unshaken. Still I am compelled to feel that this ground is no longer tenable ; and that an attempt must be made to satisfy the more temperate and conscientious reformers, without endangering the established institutions of the country. Some sug gestions have been stated to me which appear Avell calculated for an outline to an efficient and salutary measure. If we were near each other I should have great pleasure in discussing Avith you the vicAvs which I have taken of this momentous subject ; but I really have not health or spirits, still less inclination, to obtrude such a statement upon you." Whilst his Lordship was thus engaged, the populace of Bristol, Nottingham, &c. &c., exhibited, in acts of incen diarism, robbery, and bloodshed, the extremes to Avhich an infuriated mob is capable of proceeding, Avhen excited by unprincipled demagogues, and liber ated from that Avholesome moral restraint which Lord Sidmouth, by his Avise precautions and unbend ing firmness, had exercised over them for so long a period. On the 28t.h of December, shortly after the revised measure of reform had been promulgated. 1832. LORD SIDMOUTH. 433 Lord Sidmouth expressed his opinion of it to his re cent correspondent on that subject in the following terms : — " The new biU is divested of some of the injustice and some of the inconsistencies and absur dities of the former ; but of these an abundance is slUl retained. The destructive character and ten dency of the old bill remain unchanged and unmiti gated in the new. Under its provisions too many doors will be closed against that accessibility to the House of Commons which ought to be afforded to all the classes of the community ; and under its opera tion a domineering democratical influence firmly and irrevocably established. All attempts at reasonable compromise have proved abortive ; and it is too evi dent that this object could not be effected Avithout concessions which would be dangerous, or without such alterations in the biU as government dare not, and will not, accede to, whatever their Avishes may be." A brief representation of the fears and hopes by which his Lordship Avas affected during the progress of the biU through the House of Commons wiU now be extracted from the letters which he addressed at this period to his friends. On the 23d of January he observed to his daugh ter, that " the project of extinguishing the House of Ijords as a branch of the legislature appeared to have met with some obstacle, which might, however, be only temporary." " If a firm stand were to be made in the highest quarter, ' Lear might be a king again.' " This gleam of hope, however, appears speedily to have departed. " Would to God," he observed to Lord Exmouth on the 14th of February, " that we VOL. III. F F 434 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. could be relieved from the dead weight that oppresses our unhappy country; consisting, as it does, of a spurious liberality, of most dangerous though mock reform, of disgrace abroad, and misrule and turbu lence at home." " You will find us aU," he wrote, three days afterwards, to his son-in-law, " impressed with a deep sense of the awful state of the times. But fear is weakness. Let each of us discharge his various duties zealously and firmly, and learn to say, with humble confidence, ' Je crains Dieu (cher Abner), et je n'ai point d'autre crainte.' " The day of action was now approaching : this he announced to Lord Exmouth on the 14th of March in the foUowing terms : — " Early in the next month our contest will probably be commenced. There is too much reason to apprehend that some persons will do what they think wrong from the fear of doing what they think right. If the bill is aUowed to go into a committee no amendment can or Avill be made in it, which ought to satisfy those whose sole object is to preserve the constitution, and which, at the same time, would be compatible with that efficiency which Lord Grey expressed his determination to maintain. In short, if he cannot have his own way in the committee, new peers will be made, and he wUl then have his own way upon the report. Our most valued friends, thank God, are firm. If vou have not seen Mr. Croker's protest, I beg to recom mend it to your attentive perusal." Writing to the same friend on the 29th of March, he thus resumes the subject : — " Lord Eldon's heart is in the momen tous subject now before the House of Lords. The unsteadiness of some of those who contributed to the 1832. LORD SIDMOUTH. 435 victory in October last affects him deeply, as it must every one who thinks as he, and you, and I think, and who feel, on such subjects, as we feel. For my OAvn part, I should prefer seeing this destructive bill carried by a most unconstitutional and flagrant mis use of the royal prerogative, than at the expense of the consistency, honour, and character, of the House of Lords, /will not, therefore, assist in relieving Lord Grey from the inducement to do wrong by doing Avrong myself." With such impressions, his Lordship, on the 9th, 10th, llth, and 13th of April, attended, in his place, the debate on the second reading of the biU, which terminated in the motion being carried by a majority of nine, he himself voting in the minority.* " Never," he afterwards said, "was there a greater disparity between argument and numbers, than on that memorable occasion." The subject was again discussed, by the House of Lords in committee, on the 7th of May, upon the question whether, as proposed by Lord Lyndhurst, the enfranchising clauses should not be considered before the House entered on the subject of dis franchisement, when Lord Sidmouth voted in the majority of 151 over 116, against the ministerial proposition. On this disappointment. Lord Grey (as was generally understood) immediately advised the King to confer peerages on a sufficient number of pledged supporters of the bill to insure the passing of that measure; and when the anxious monarch declined such a daring exercise of his pre rogative — which embraced, in reality, a departure * Contents, 184; non-contents, 175. F p 2 436 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. from the spirit of the constitution scarcely less violent than those which had so recently caused his royal brother of France to lose his croAvn — his Lord ship presented the alternative of his immediate re signation. This alternative, after taking a day for deliberation, his Majesty accepted, and immediately sent for his former Chancellor, Lord Lyndhurst, by Avhose advice he next consulted the Duke of WeUing ton, who, with his usual devotion to his country, and disregard of self, undertook the thankless office of endeavouring to form a new administration. His Grace on that occasion did Lord Sidmouth the honour to take him into his councils, and the latter attended the several meetings which were held at Apsley House. The circumstances of the country, however, were then too inextricable for the wisest advice to have unravelled, and, consequently, after a week passed in fruitless consultations, the Duke communicated to his Majesty that the commission with which he was intrusted had failed.* The true heroism with which his Grace had devoted himself on this occasion excited so warmly the admiration of some resident members of the University of Oxford, that they forrrted themselves into a committee, of which the Poetry Professor, the Rev. John Keble, acted as secretary, for the purpose of privately raising funds for procuring a bust of the * This information Lord Sidmouth immediately imparted to his son-in-law in the note annexed : — " My Dear George, Batt's Hotel, Tuesday, S P.M. " The Duke's endeavours to form an administration have not succeeded. Lord Grey will, consequently, remain in office. I am desired to be at Apsley House at half-past nine this evening. " Ever yours, " S." 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 437 Duke by some eminent artist, to be placed in the picture gallery, in commemoration of his noble con duct at that conjuncture. When a sufficient amount had been coUected, the committee, through Mr. Keble, applied to Lord Sidmouth to make their wishes knoAvn to his Grace, and to request his acquiescence in their humble scheme. This his Lordship accord ingly did; and on the 3d of April, 1833, received from the Duke the foUowing reply : — « My dear Lord Sidmouth, London, April 2d, 1833. " Tih I received your note of the 30th, I had not an idea that any body of his Majesty's subjects had thought proper to approve of the course which I followed upon the occasion referred to. I felt that my duty to the King required that I should make a great sacrifice of opinion to serve him, and to save his Majesty and the country from what I considered a great evil. Others were not of the same opinion. I failed in performing the service which I intended to perform ; and I imagined that I had satisfied nobody but myself and those of my friends who were aware of my motives, and who knew what I was doing, and the course which I intended to follow. " It Is very gratifying to me to learn that Mr. Keble, and other gentlemen of the University of Oxford, observed and approved of my conduct, and that they are desirous of tes tifying their sense of It in the manner stated In the letter addressed to your Lordship. " They may rely upon It that I will attend Mr. Chantrey, or any body else they please, with the greatest satisfaction. " I wIU do so, not only because I am personally gratified by their approbation ; but I am grateful to them, as a public man and a faithful subject of the King, for the encourage ment which they give to others to devote themselves to the King's service, by their applause of the course which I fol lowed on that occasion. " Ever, my dear Lord, yours most sincerely, " Wellington. " The Viscount Sidmouth, Kichmond Park." r r 3 438 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. In forwarding this reply. Lord Sidmouth expressed to Mr. Keble " the great satisfaction he felt at the special reference made on this occasion to the conduct of the Duke of Wellington in the preceding month of May, under circumstances the most critical; for in his humble opinion there never was an instance, in the course of his Grace's splendid career, in which the magnanimity of his character, and his high sense of loyalty and public duty, were more eminently dis played." The sequel of the history, after the faUure of this attempt to form an administration entertain ing more moderate views, may soon be related. On Lord Grey's resumption of the bill. Sir Herbert Tay lor communicated to some of the Opposition peers, " his Majesty's Avish that they would drop their further opposition to the Reform Bill, so that it might pass without delay ; " and the consequence of this was, that a sufficient number of peers absented themselves from the remaining divisions, to enable ministers to carry their measure. Lord Sidmouth, personaUy, Avas no party to this arrangement, and he voted again on the 21st of May, in a small minority of 36 against 91, upon a question respecting the Tower Hamlets ; after which, seeing the inutility of further resistance, he discontinued his attendance. * * The bill was read a third time, and passed on the 4th of June after a division of 106 to 22, but neither the Duke of "WeUington Lord Eldon, nor Lord Sidmouth, was present on that occasion. Lord Sidmouth voted once more in that session, on the 2d of July in favour of Lord Eoden's motion on the state of Ireland, when he was also in the minority; and again, on the 30th of July, 1833, against the third reading of the Church Temporalities (Ireland) BiU, when he was once more outvoted by 135 to 81. During one 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 439 ' This event constituted the termination of Lord Sid-^ mouth's political life. It has been described some what circumstantially, that the reader may learn the sentiments of him whom Pitt, Fox, and Burke re spected as their Speaker, on the revolution thus effected in the assembly over Avhich he had so long presided. From that period Lord Sidmouth courted still more sedulously the shades of retirement, and, Avith one or two exceptions, only attended in the House of Lords for the purpose of taking his seat at the commencement of a ncAV parliament, and thus en titling himself to a proxy, which he usually intrusted to the confidential and judicious custody of Lord Bexley. As he informed his son-in-law — " his public life might then be considered as closed : thenceforth he should rarely, if ever, attend the House of Lords. There was a time for all things, and his time for re tirement had arrived." He was now 76 ; nevertheless, by his religious and moral habits in youth, and his diligent and patriotic exertions in manhood, he had laid the foundation of a happy and contented old age ; and certainly few ever enjoyed that blessing to a greater extent. To describe the amiable course of of the debates upon the reform question, he held a friendly col loquy with Earl Grey, who, he always thought, had been carried far beyond the views and intentions he originally entertained on the introduction of this measure. " I hope," Lord Sidmouth said, " God will forgive you on account of this bill : I don't think I can." To this Lord Grey replied, " Mark my words : within two years you will find that we have become unpopular, for having brought forward the most aristocratic measure that ever was proposed in parliament." p p 4 440 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. such a man, through the eleven years of his serene and gradual decline, in a way to satisfy the affec tionate expectations and lively recollections of those who had the happiness to witness it, is an undertak ing which the author, from personal feeUngs, well knows to be impossible. With the exception, indeed, of those delicate traits of character, the refined nature of which almost defies delineation, there is little else to record of his Lordship during this period, save the gradually contracting circle of his contemporaries and earlier friends, who one by one disappeared from around him, until at length he stood, like the last remaining column of some venerable fane — upright, and still beauteous in its loneliness, yet " single, unpropp'd, and nodding to its fall." Some of these bereavements have already been mentioned; and as a record of the remainder will afford a convenient, if not the most suitable oppor tunity of continuing the biography to that final point which must terminate its own existence, a fcAV of them will now be described in the order in which they occurred. The characters and opinions of Lord Colchester, who died in May, 1829, and of Lord Redesdale, who only survived until January, 1830, and the sincere regard Lord Sidmouth entertained for them, are matters with which the reader is already fully acquainted. But some further mention must here be made of another contemporary statesman whom Lord Sidmouth was destined to survive. Although his Lordship and Mr. Tierney were not early acquainted, at a later period the vicissitudes of public life brought them frequently in contact; and they were at one 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 441 time associated, and at another opposed, yet without diminution of mutual regard and esteem. Such, at least, were Lord Sidmouth's feelings ; for his Lordship recorded, with evident marks of regret, that Mr. Tierney had suddenly expired, whilst sitting in his study, on the 25th of January, 1830. The memo randum to that effect is affixed to a copy of some MS. prayers found in the desk of the deceased, which Mr. John Pearse, for many years M. P. for Devizes, and the mutual friend of the parties, thinking they would interest Lord Sidmouth, kindly forwarded to him. ' The conjecture was correct : his Lordship was so much gratified by the perusal of these pious effusions, that he submitted them, in strict confidence, to a few of his most intimate friends. Nor were they in any respect undeserving of that distinction. They abound with marks of heartfelt sincerity, which clearly desig nate the writer as a man of deep and warm religious feeling ; and as they fully and freely recognise those grand Christian doctrines to which the gift of salva tion is attached, they wUl now, with the obliging per mission of Mr. Tierney's son and representative, be presented to the reader, as a valuable and gratifying instance of the possibility of living under the influence of Christian principles, even amidst the turmoils of party poUtics, and the frequent interruptions of a public Ufe. " March 20th, 1827. Entered upon my 67th year. Tuesday. " Almighty God, for the- continual possession and enjoy ment of my faculties, and for all thy infinite mercies from year to year vouchsafed to me, I humbly offer the sacrifice of 442 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. thanksgiving. As I approach to death, give me grace to profit by what remains of my life. " Purify and cleanse my thoughts, O Lord : fortify me in all good Intentions : make me to walk according to thy laws ; to love, honour, and reverence thy holy name and thy word ; to practise the precepts of the Gospel, and firmly and unfeign- edly to believe in the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ, our most blessed Lord and Redeemer." « Thursday, March 20th, 1828. " Lord, give me grace to profit by the timely warnings with which thy goodness has visited me ; and may the con sciousness of the Increasing danger which surrounds me prepare me for the hour of death. For aU thy past mercies vouch safed unto me, I bless and adore thee. Spare me, O Lord ; turn not away from me for my offences ; and grant to my old age such a contrite sense of my infirmities, as may quicken "in me a deep repentance for my transgressions in this hfe, and such an humble confidence in the mediation of Jesus Christ, our Lord, as may justify my hopes of pardon In the life to come." " Friday, 20th, 1829. Entered my 69th year. " Lord, I tread on the confines of life : let every hour re mind me of my approach to death ; and may thy grace attend upon me and direct my progress to the grave. " Quicken in me, most merciful Father, a deep sense of contrition for the manifold sins and Iniquities of my past life, so that at the last, when I shall stand before thee for judg ment, I may, with humble hope, appeal for pardon and for giveness to thy unbounded mercy, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, my blessed Lord and Saviour." In the letter which accompanied the transmission of these prayers to Lord Sidmouth, Mr. Pearse ob served, that " the one dated March 20th, 1828, was written at a period when Mr. Tierney, in conversation with himself and other friends, expressed his convic tion, founded on shortness of breathing and other 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 443 symptoms, that he had water on the chest, and should not last long." Mr. Pearse concludes with an expres sion of satisfaction which it is pleasing to recite — " That with the great talents poor Tierney possessed, and the degree in which he was, all his life, actively engaged in party politics, he was not unmindful of his first and paramount duties to his Creator, and died a devout Christian." The summer of 1831 deprived Lord Sidmouth of two of his earliest and most intimate friends — his brother-in-law, Mr. Bathurst, who died on the 15th of August, in the 78 th year of his age, and Sir Ben jamin Hobhouse. The former, in particular, was as much endeared to him by the ties of family connexion as by the yet more attaching bonds of early school and college recollections — by an intimacy and cor respondence in after-Ufe which was never interrupted, and by an entire and unchangeable sympathy of poli tical principles and party feeling during their pro longed public career. Mr. Bathurst was a man of much and varied information, a sound judgment, and acute understanding ; and — not to mention the confidence and high opinion of Lord Sidmouth himself — the anxiety which Mr. Pitt, Lord Grenville, Mr. Perceval, and Lord Liverpool, successively showed to introduce him into their cabinets, bears witness to his value as 4 sound counsellor, a ready and effective speaker in parliament, and an able and diligent transactor of official business. Mr. Bathurst had fought all the battles of the constitution side by side Avith his rela tive and friend, until the concession of the Roman Catholic claims, previous to which occurrence he had wholly retired from public life ; but he partook in all 444 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. his brother-in-law's feelings on that occasion, as he also did with respect to the Reform Bill, to which subject, indeed, his last letter to Lord Sidmouth, dated May 24th, 1831, only two months prior to his decease, principally related. On this distressing occasion his Lordship opened his heart to Lord Ex mouth on the 19th August, in the following expres sions : — " You will have heard, Avith regret, of the sad event at Lydney, and in that regret Sir WUliam Grant, I am sure, will participate. It has closed a friendship which, during a period of sixty-two years, never experienced a moment's interruption. Full justice is done to my lamented friend by his neigh bours of all classes and descriptions. He was the referee in their differences, the adviser in their diffi culties, the benefactor in their distresses. The trials to which I have lately been subjected have not, I trust, been lost upon me. ' Still drops some leaf from withering life away.' " The year 1832 brought, also, its bereavements, and those of the most afflicting kind. On the 30th of April his Lordship received information of the death, on the preceding evening, of the good and venerable Bishop Huntingford, which intelligence he communicated to his son-in-laAv in the terms sub joined : — " You will have heard that I have lost my oldest, earliest, and dearest friend. Of my intimate school acquaintances one only remains — Pole Carew — and he is in a tottering state. These are serious, and, I trust, salutary, but not disheartening, admonitions." The piety, integrity, disinterestedness, and simplicity of the bishop's character; his classical enthusiasm. 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 445 and his devoted attachment to Lord Sidmouth _ all these quaUties, it is hoped, have been fully exhibited in the progress of this work. The good bishop to the last was influenced by his " two favourite maxims, which," as he told Lord Sidmouth not long before, "were in daily application," namely, "few evils are so great but that they might be greater;" and, "under every suffering may be found some source of consolation, if the mind will but look for it." The good prelate's last letter to his friend Avas dated only three weeks before his death. It was written under considerable anxiety respecting the Reform Bill, then at its highest stage of excitement, and recited with much approbation the following remark of Dr. Johnson : — " No man is more an enemy to public peace than he who fills weak heads with imaginary claims, and breaks the series of cIat-I subordination by inciting the lower classes of mankind to encroach upon the higher." The duration and nature of the intercourse between these friends, and Lord Sidmouth's unabated affection for his early instructor, are, perhaps, suffi ciently expressed in the following extracts from two of his Lordship's later letters to the bishop : — " For the last fortnight I have occasionally enjoyed a very high treat — that of reading over letters from near relatives and intimate friends, which I received between the years 1770 and 1790. Of these, your letters and those of my father are the most numerous, and the most valuable. I deeply feel that their main purpose has been incompletely answered ; but I am sure that they have been useful to me throughout my life. They shall be arranged and left as a treasure, and, I 446 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. trust, a benefit to my children's children." The next extract was written only a short time before their final separation : — "I am now in my 75th year : God grant that I may ' grow wiser and better as my strength wears away.' Sixty-three years have elapsed since you first impressed me with those feel ings towards you which have accompanied me through life, and which, whilst life lasts, will remain fixed in the heart of your affectionate friend, S." The year 1832 did not pass away Avithout depriving Lord Sidmouth of another valued friend, in Vice- Admiral the Honourable Sir Henry Blackwood, Bart., who was carried off suddenly by fever on the 13th of December, aged sixty-three years, fifty-one of which he had spent in the active service of his country. Lord Sidmouth's partiality for the naval heroes of England has frequently been mentioned; and Sir Henry was one of that gallant band whom his Lord ship had for many years admitted to his intimacy, as a frequent visiter and correspondent. Sir Henry's services, especially on the memorable 21st of October, 1805, would, doubtless, have drawn his Lordship's heart towards him, had not the friendship been pre viously completed by the union of the former vrith Miss Gore, who had been in habits of intimacy vrith Lord Sidmouth and his family from her earUest years. From that period their intercourse remained frequent and uninterrupted; and his Lordship must have deeply felt the void occasioned by the loss of his warm hearted friend's animated and interesting converse. Lord Sidmouth was frequently consulted respecting the delineation of character inscribed upon Sir Henry's monument in Westminster Abbey, in which it was 1833. LORD SIDMOUTH. 447 stated, that Avith his high professional qualities " was combined a strong sense of religion, and that his energy, promptitude, and valour derived additional lustre from the virtues which adorned his personal character." The 23d of January, 1833, took from Lord Sid mouth another naval friend, bound to him by the strongest ties of mutual affection. Admiral Lord Ex mouth, who, during a prolonged and painful iUness, had exercised the qualities of fortitude, resignation, humUity, and composure, to an extent which clearly denoted the predominance of Christian motives and expectations over all earthly ties, and all temporal considerations. Lord Sidmouth's just appreciation of the qualities which distinguished the deceased may best be ascertained by reference to his letters on the painful subject. The first extract was addressed on the 24th of November to his son-in-laAv, in reply to a communication stating that aU hope of ultimate recovery was now abandoned : — " Your letter has brought before us a most affecting, and, I trust, in structive representation of the tranquil and pious close of a most useful and exemplary life. It is gra- tifyiiig to know that justice is done to your beloved father on this side the grave ; and to be assured that his name will long be remembered and held in respect. It must be soothing to his mind to be sur rounded by a most affectionate and grateful famUy, as it must be to them to be at his bed-side, ' assidere deficienti, satiari vultu, amplexu.' If a few words could be conveyed from me to the ear of my friend, it would be to express my fervent but humble hope tliat a friendship which, during a long period in this 448 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. Avorld, has been Avarm, constant, and uninterrupted, may be renewed and perpetuated in another state of existence." Writing not long afterwards to Lord De Dunstan ville, his Lordship aUuded to the melancholy scene at Teignmouth in the following terms : — " AU the ac counts of our poor friend are most interesting : he has suffered much, but his patience has never forsaken him ; and he perfected, on his death-bed, the example which he set to his family during a long, virtuous, and honourable life. We, my dear Lord, shall deeply deplore his loss ; but the share we have had in his intimacy will ever be a subject of pride and delightful recollection to both of us." .In the succeeding July Lord Sidmouth, in common Avith the whole civilised portion of the human family, lamented the death of Mr. Wilberforce, whom, in his letter of condolence to the Reverend Henry William WUberforce, he truly styled " a shining light to his country and to the world." His Lordship Avas one of the earliest of that body of friends and admirers who signed the requisition to the family, proposing that the funeral should take place pubUcly in West minster Abbey; and he much regretted that an accidental misdirection prevented his receiving the reply in time to admit of his attendance at that mournful ceremony. He also seconded a resolution, at the meeting held on the 22d of August, for the purpose of originating some public testimonial in honour of the deceased philanthropist. The tAvo succeeding years were equally productive of solemn and approximate warnings. In March, 1834, and January, 1835, to the death, in the former 1835. LORD SIDMOUTH. 449 year, of his early associate and, subsequently, in public Ufe, his alternate ally and opponent. Lord GrenviUe*, were added those of two justly-appreciated friends — one the only surviving companion of his schoolday recreations, and both the constant partici pators in his political proceedings and opinions, the - Right Honourable Charles Yorke, and the Right Honourable R. Pole Carew. The year 1835 still further reduced the rapidly diminishing number of Lord Sidmouth's friends ; and in addition to Lord De DunstanviUe, Mr. Bankes, and other intimates yet remaining from the older genera tion, he had to lament the untimely death of Lady Sidmouth's only brother, the Honourable William Scott, who expired on the 26th of November, leaving his venerable father vrithout descendants to inherit his nobly acquired honours. Lord Stowell himself, worn down by time and infirmities, quickly followed his son to the grave. He died on the 28th of January, 1836, having completed his 90th year on the 28th of the preceding -October. His Lordship's case was no exception to the remark which has pronounced lawyers not to be always the best managers of their own concerns ; for, Avhen preparing his will, he had not contemplated the possibility of his surviving his son, and, consequently, had made no provision for such contingency. His daughter was perfectly aware how essential to her interests a re-arrangement of her father's affairs would prove under these circumstances ; but such was her disinterestedness, and that of Lord * Lord Sidmouth informed his son-in-law, on Lord GrenviUe's death, that " George III. and Lord Grenville had both, separately, told him that they knew who was the author of Junius, and that he thought it probable some disclosure would now be made.'' VOL. III. Gt G 450 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. Sidmouth, that their only anxiety was to keep the parent in ignorance of the death of his son, and thus spare him the pang which the bereavement would have occasioned him ; and in this pious object they fortunately succeeded.* Lord and Lady Sidmouth's first step on coming into possession of Lord StoweU's fortune was immediately to relinquish — the former the pension of 3000^. per annum for life granted him by his Majesty George the Fourth, on his retirement from office in 1822 ; and the latter the jointure which she derived from the family of her first husband. The circumstances attending the resignation of the pension, which King WiUiam the Fourth said *' was just what he should have expected from a man whose Ufe had been one of consistency throughout," are fully explained in the foUoAving extract from a Treasury minute, dated 19th of February, 1836 : — " The Viscount Melbourne lays before the Board a letter which he has received from the Viscount Sidmouth, dated Richmond Park, 15th February, 1836, requesting the fevour of his Lordship to lay before the King, with his (Lord Sid mouth's) humble duty, his resignation of the pension of 3000Z. granted to him by his late most gracious Majesty, King George IV. f * By a further exercise of her Uberality, Lady Sidmouth founded. a scholarship, termed the Stowell scholarship, in the University of Oxford for the encouragement of the study of civil law, and en dowed it with the interest of 4000^. sterling. She also, in con junction with her husband, presented four acres of valuable budding land in the town of Reading for the site of the new Berkshire hospital. f This letter Lord Melbourne acknowledged in the following terms of courteous approbation : — " My Lord, Downing Street, February 17th, 1836. " I have the honour of acknowledging your Lordship's letter of the 15th instant, which I wiU lose no time in laying before his 1836. LORD SIDMOUTH. 451 " My Lords direct that the charge for the pension of 3000?. granted to the Viscount Sidmouth be discontinued in future. ; " Acquaint Lord Sidmouth, that my Lords cannot give directions to carry Into effect his Lordship's resignation of the pension granted to him for his official services, without at the same time expressing their sense of the pubhc spirit and dis interestedness which have induced his Lordship to abandon his vested right In a pension secured by Act of Parhament, and thus dlinlnlshing the charge upon the resources of the country. " F. Baring." Mr. Spring Rice, the ChanceUor of the Exchequer, in communicating this circumstance to the House of Commons, observed that he " thought Lord Sidmouth entitled to the thanks of the House and of the public for the example he had set ; and Mr. Hume declared himself " of the same opinion, and hoped that others who could afford to resign their pension would do likewise." His Lordship's own sentiments on the subject are comprised in the following observations, addressed to his son-in-law : — " Thanks, my dear George, for your letter: your opinion and that of dear Fanny on the resignation of my pension is very satisfactory. This step was the result of thorough consideration ; and adverse as it was to the opinion of all those to whom I mentioned the subject, I felt it to be necessary for the ease and comfort of my own mind." Majesty. I beg leave to assure your Lordship that I fully appre ciate, as it deserves, the generous and patriotic conduct which you have so promptly held upon the present occasion, and I remain, my Lord, with great respect, " Your Lordship's faithful and obedient servant, " Melbourne. " The Viscount Sidmouth." , G G 2 452 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. Lord Sidmouth's few remaining friends were now falling rapidly around him ; and his venerable father- in-law's demise was followed, on the 28th of May, by that of the Duke of Gordon, a man truly endeared to his friends by the affectionate warmth and noble generosity of his nature. It was his Grace's annual practice to send Lord Sidmouth some little memento, accompanied by a note of cordial greeting. The happy manner in which these effusions of the heart were expressed, and the genuine marks contained in them of real sympathy and feeling, insured their careful preservation amongst Lord Sidmouth's most valued MS. treasures : one of them has already been introduced into this work. In the hope, however, that the reader will coincide in his Lordship's estima tion of them, two others will now be presented for his perusal. The first is dated — " My dear Lord Sidmouth, Dover, May 4th, 1822. " As I had not the good fortune to find you at home when I called, I cannot deny myself the satisfaction of requesting you will accept my sincere and best thanks for all your kind nesses to me, of which I shall ever retain a grateful remem brance. Happy, Indeed, should I be, if, at any period of my life, I could make any sort of return to you for so many acts of goodness as I have experienced ; or prove how much respect, esteem, and attachment I feel towards you ; and the Interest I shall ever have in the welfare of yourself and your family. God bless you, and believe me ever your sincere friend, " HUNTLET." The second is selected from a later part of the series : — " Gordon Castle, Jan. 1st, 1833. " My very dear Sidmouth, " At this season, when the mind naturally surveys the events of the past year, and we cast our kindest thoughts on 1836. LORD SIDMOUTH. 453 our friends, there Is no one to whom my heart turns with more affection than to you. God grant that you and Lady Sidmouth, as well as those around you, may long enjoy His choicest blessings ; and, as you advance In the journey, may be cheered by the distant beams of that brighter sun which can alone render the lot of life, even In its most enviable con dition, truly desirable. Remember us to your good Lady and daughters ; and be assured, till the last, I shall remain, " Your affectionate friend, " Gordon." The progress and result of his Grace's last illness, which occurred in London, and was of brief duration, were communicated daily to Lord Sidmouth by their mutual intimate, Mr. Pearse, a man of congenial friendliness of heart. The note which conveyed the fatal intelligence is dated " Craig's Court, Saturday, May 28th," and contains the following passages : — " Alas ! my dear Lord, the scene is closed. The poor Duke died this morning without any bodily suffering — in this respect to the consolation of those about him, his strength being entirely expended. * * * Thus has passed from this world of troubles one of the best men that ever lived ; in his noble character, or in the warmth of his friendships, Arithout parallel. The loss to the admirable Duchess will render her whole re maining life one of deep sorrow. To his many friends f — your Lordship distinguished amongst them — and to myself, so ardently attached to him as I have been, his loss will be irreparable, and can never entirely depart from our memories for the short remainder of our days. The dear Duke possessed a heart, in aU its appUcations, which is rarely to be found." * * * A melancholy interest attaches to the above letter, inasmuch as it forms a suitable introduction to the Gf G 3 454 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. death of the warm-hearted writer himself, who only survived his noble friend until the 21st of the fol lowing July. Lord Sidmouth felt both these losses very deeply. On the 20th of June, 1837, the British empire was deprived of that truly benevolent and patriotic mo narch King WUliam IY. It will not be doubted that Lord Sidmouth participated most deeply in the general sorrow produced by this national bereavement: but as his state of health would not permit him to take any active part on the occasion, it is only ne cessary to add, that through life his Lordship had always experienced from his Majesty the most kind, gracious, and condescending treatment ; and that he regarded his Majesty Arith affectionate veneration, as well for his own attractive qualities, as for his royal father's sake. Lord Sidmouth shortly afterwards encountered another shock in the death of Lord Eldon, who closed his highly distinguished and valuable career on the 13th of January, 1838, in the 87th year of his age. The character of this eminent lawyer and statesman has been elsewhere so fully and ably deUneated, that it is only necessary to mention now the affectionate attachment and perfect accordance on almost every subject, either of public or private interest, which had long subsisted between his Lordship and Lord Sidmouth, especiaUy since the year 1807. This sym pathy was further strengthened in 1823 by the mar riage of the latter to Lord Eldon's beloved niece the daughter of his favourite brother — from the date of which event Lord Sidmouth was regarded by both those extraordinary men quite as one of themselves. 1842. LORD SIDMOUTH. 455 In the year 1840 his Lordship lost his " old and excellent friend Marquis Camden" — an event which, as he remarked to his son-in-law, " constituted another awful, and, he trusted, salutary admonition." Two years afterwards, on the Sd of June, 1842, he had to lament the death of Lord RoUe, the only re maining friend of his boyish days. Lord RoUe and his Lordship had knoAvn each other as neighbours in Devonshire from their early youth ; and this circum stance, together with the entire accordance of their political Adews, naturally led to a close intimacy and friendly correspondence, which remained uninter rupted to the close of life. Lord RoUe was highly respected in his native county — which he long repre sented in parliament — for his loyal and fearless con servatism and munificent generosity. He took a prominent and manly part in the House of Commons on many of the most agitating questions of the close of the last century, especiaUy on Mr. Fox's India bill, the regency question, and the war of the revo lution, as a zealous supporter of Mr. Pitt ; and thus often rendered himself obnoxious to the Opposition party. On the 36th of September, in the same year. Lord Sidmouth was deprived of his last remaining college 'friend, by the death of Marquis Wellesley, in the 83d year of his age. After the Marquis's retirement from public life, he had resided, first at Fulham, and then at Kingston House, Knightsbridge ; and this approxi mation afforded facilities for the renewal of early in timacy, of which the friends gladly topk advantage. A frequent epistolary intercourse consequently arose, which has afforded the foUoAving picture of the green G G 4 456 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. and vigorous state of Lord Wellesley's mind and spirits at that advanced period of his life. " Kingston House, February 19th, 1840. " My dear Lord Sidmouth, " I am deeply sensible of the kindness of your Inquiries : I have suffered a great deal of inconvenience, but they tell me my complaint Is not dangerous. I am not, however, so infirm of mind as to be unprepared for a caU ; and In this, I know, I agree with you, as on most other subjects, for sixty- one years, our first meeting being In the theatre, at Oxford, in July, 1779. Thank my God, He has granted me the use of all my faculties to this hour, when they are all not only as perfect (especially memory) as they ever were, but even more so. This Is a resource to me which sheds balm over every infirmity of the body. The other day I quoted the old verses to my brother Arthur, ' My mind to me a kingdom is ;' and it Is strictly truth ; for the vivacity of my mind (by the grace of its Maker) supplies me with new life and spirit every hour. * * * I am grieved to hear that you have not been well ; but I trust your complaints are not greater than mine ; and that we shall meet again, and see one another whenever the light of day shall shine on this quarter of the world." Not long afterwards Lord Sidmouth received from the Marquis a presentation copy of his " Primitiae et ReUquise," accompanied by the foUoAring note : — " Kingston House, March 14th, 1840. " My sleepless nights have obliged me to caU for relief on the nine old ladies whom we have so often visited together in the olden time. * * * I now send you a little book of trifles which the unportunity of various friends, especiaUy Brougham, has induced me to collect for private use. It may amuse you for half an hour. * * * There is a dedi- 1842, LORD SIDMOUTH. 457 cation to Brougham, who is the author of the printing, although not of the work. It contains a high but just pane gyric on his eloquence. He has an exceUent heart and an admirable temper, and his knowledge Is boundless; and he has my and your enthusiasm for Homer, Demosthenes, and Virgil." * * * " Aug. 23d, 1840. " I am very sorry to have missed the opportunity of seeing you yesterday ; but I am obliged to dine regularly at an early hour, and you happened to call just as I had sat down to dinner * * * Under the favour of Providence I con tinue to gain strength and health. What think you of the French war, and of our Irish rupture of the Union ? I now renounce the Catholic cause. " Ever yours, most affectionately, " Wellesley." The tAvo last communications which Lord Sidmouth ever received from Lord Wellesley, .are dated respec tively, June the llth and July the 2d, 1841, and relate principally to a change which had recently taken place in the Marquis's views of public affairs, which led him ta follow the political course of his brother the Duke of WeUington. " I am going on weU," his Lordship wrote on the former day, " as my medical advisers inform me, but I think the weather greatly retards my recovery. I rejoice more and more every hour in my poUtical course, which I find is generaUy approved. God grant that the great cause may prosper, of which I will not despair." " The elections," he observes in the second note, " engross all attention. I think their course is favourable, but not so much so as I expected, nor, I fear, as the crisis demands. Ire land, in some parts, is absolutely in a state of civil 458 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. ^^j. * * * On the whole, the state of aiffairs is tremendous.^' The progress of Lord Sidmouth's serene and pro tracted old age had now, as regarded the earliest intimates of his youth, left him altogether alone, and he stood amongst his loving and admiring descendants of the present peaceful generation, a venerable me morial of the anxious times and astounding scenes he had vritnessed — like some ancient tower sur rounded by modern habitations. Nor were these timely and merciful warnings of a gracious Pro vidence bestowed upon him in vain. Several years before, he had expressed to his daughter an " anxiety to be at home and in winter-quarters, when he should proceed at once and in earnest, to set his house^ in order " — and this work he had evidently engaged in Avith aU diligence ; for whilst the love of his country remained unabated, and he continued to manifest to wards those around him that affectionate interest, that active benevolence, that unchangeable complacency, which adorned his character no less at the close of his career than throughout its progress, still it was evident from the deUght he took in the solitude and silence of his chamber, that he was even now in com munion with another world — to which, indeed, from his venerable appearance, his talk of those who were gone, and the conquest he had achieved over human passions and feelings, he might almost have been regarded as already belonging. Even the study in which he spent his hours of meditation was a memo rial of scenes past, a foretaste, he humbly trusted, of scenes to come — being covered with the portraits of lost friends: and there it was that about this 18^42. LORD SIDMOUTH. 459 period, he held the conversation vrith Miss Halsted (then a guest in his house), which her faithful pen has thus recorded. " Here you find me" — he said to the lady, who had surprised him communing, in idea, with the spirits of the departed great, and wise, and brave, and eloquent, whose lifeless similitudes hung beside him — " here you find me surrounded by my early friends and valued contemporaries. There is the Bishop of Hereford, my first tutor at Win chester College, whose correspondence I enjoyed until he was removed from the earth — there hangs Lord Ellenborough — there Lord Stowell — Pitt —Perceval — Lord Nelson — Lord Hood — Lord Exmouth — Windham — Sir William Grant, and many other faces and names which can never be obliterated from my mind. ' That your administration may be the most glorious in the pages of our history ' (pointing to the portrait of Nelson), ' is the earnest prayer, and shaU be the unceasing endeavour of your affectionate friend Nelson.' He paused a moment. ' But they are all gone — all passed away except myself.' Here he looked up with one of those placid smiles which once seen could never be forgotten. ' And I too shall soon be remembered but in name, and deeds that, God be praised, I can dweU on with a clear conscience and a tranquil mind. I am not aware of having ever wilfully injured or given pain to any human being. When compelled by my position to do so, 'my own inclinations were deeply probed, .but I never allowed my personal feeUngs to be placed in comparison with my duty to my country and my sovereign.' Then taking up a book of sacred poetry which a tenderly beloved grand-daughter, recently deceased, had be- 460 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. queathed to him, and holding it open at the page on which her name had been inscribed, he added — ' Who could have thought I should have survived that dear child?' Here his affections seemed quite to over power him, and it became evident that the venerable mourner desired to be left to commune alone vrith thoughts which had become too trying for utterance." Before, however, this man of other times was gathered in " like a shock of corn in his season," he had yet a separation to undergo, the heaviest, in deed, that could now have befallen him, in the death of her who for nearly nineteen years had been his affectionate companion and confidant, the solace of his retirement, the delight of his social hours, the friend and benefactress of his famUy. Lady Sid mouth, from her suffering and decUning state of health, had long been the object of her lord's ten derest soUcitude ; and it was a frequent occasion of regret to them both, that from the effects of old age on one hand, and of indisposition on the other, they could not contribute as much as they desired to each other's comfort and aUeviation. In the spring of 1842 the obviously fatal tendency of Lady Sidmouth's case was accelerated by an attack of influenza, to Avhich, after a struggle of ten days, her shattered con stitution yielded on the evening of the 26th of April, She Avas perfectly conscious of her danger, and showed the most beautiful composure, giving minute direc tions to those around her as to the execution of her wishes after her decease. She also, on the day of her release, received the blessed sacrament, Arith her husband, his eldest daughter, and her own beloved friend Mrs. GaskeU, at the hands of Archdeacon 1842. LORD SIDMOUTH. 461 Lyall ; and when the moment of the sun's setting ap proached, she desired her curtain might be drawn up that she might fix her eyes for the last time on that glorious luminary.* JSTothing could be more striking than Lord Sid mouth's chastened and resigned sorrow under this affliction. It was that of one who knew the separation must be short ; that the hour of his own departure drew near. The most pleasing and earnest of his remaining occupations consisted in fulfilling, to the letter, the will and purposes of the deceased ; and when it was found that, in the exercise of her gene rosity, she had bequeathed a larger aggregate sum than she had at her disposal, he insisted on supplying the deficiency from his private funds. -One of her Ladyship's favourite objects, in which he took a deep interest, and which he just lived to see completed, was the erection of a new church at Early, towards which he contributed three acres of land for the site, in addition to a donation of 500^. His Lordship derived, undoubtedly, much reUef from the fulfilment * The great bulk of Lord StoweU's property passed away at her Ladyship's decease ; hut of the comparatively small portion which was placed at her disposal at~the time of her first marriage, she made a very righteous and considerate distribution — remembering with great liberality the members of her husband's family, together ' with many other friends. Nor, whilst thus beneficent to indi- ' viduals, was she indifierent to the claims of Christian charity ; for she left 2000Z. to the new Berkshire hospital, 1250^. towards the endowment of a new church in the hamlet of Early, and parish of Sunning, and 7000?. for distribution amongst public charities in connexion with the church, at the discretion of her valued friend Archdeacon LyaU. Her Ladyship was buried in the family vault in Smnning church, beside the remains of her father, mother, and brother. 462 LDTE OF Chap. XXXIX. of these pious duties ; but his best consolation under his bereavement consisted in the humble but assured hope expressed in the foUoAring prayer, which he composed at this time for his private use : — " I acknowledge, O Lord ! with devout humility, •the blessed influence of thy grace upon my beloved wife through out her exemplary life, and which Imparted to the close of it, through thy mercy, an earnest and a foretaste of eternal hap piness. Vouchsafe, O Lord ! if it be thy good pleasure, to bestow on me the same assistance of thy grace, to enable me to know and to feel as I ought, and repent me truly of my past sins and transgressions, and so to conduct myself, during the remaining period of my mortal existence, as to render me not altogether unworthy, at the close of it, through thy grace and mercy In Christ Jesus our Lord, of being made a par-r taker, with her and those most dear to me, of a blessed Immortality. Amen." Lord Sidmouth had noAV reached that period when he must have felt that the only source of happiness remaining for him in this world consisted in the beUef that there was another and a happier state beyond, where those who had gone before him were awaiting his arrival. The blessings of life, as far as it was good for him to possess them, he had enjoyed ; its duties he had fulfilled. His house, also, he had long set in order ; and in the happy marriages of his two younger daughters in the year 1838, he had seen his family arrangements finally disposed of and com pleted.* AU that remained, therefore, was to set a good example of Christian resignation to those around him, by awaiting, in a frame of mind equally removed from presumptuous eagerness and timid reluctance, * The elder of these two ladies was married to the Eev. Horace Currie, and the younger to Thomas Barker WaU, Esq. 1842. LORD SIDMOUTH. 463 the hour of his Mastery's coming ; wisely preparing meanwhile for his departure, by detaching himself, as far as possible, from earthly cares and interruptions. With this view, in July, 1842, he resigned into the hands of the Dean and Chapter the honourable office of High Steward of Westminster, to which he had been appointed by them above twenty years before ; and it was with difficulty that he Avas dissuaded, even by the gracious solicitation of the ranger, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, from also relinquishing the deputy-rangership of the royal park in which he resided. His annual visit to his Devon shire estates, from which, vrith his family, he used to derive so much gratification, he discontinued after the year 1838, finding the round of visits which the tour entailed upon him, however gratifying to his feelings, too exciting for his health and spirits. Until 1841 his Lordship used frequently, for short periods, to inhabit Lady Sidmouth's favourite retirement. Early Court; but whilst residing there in the autumn of that year, he experienced a severe attack of in flammation of the chest, from which he was with dif ficulty relieved by the skUful treatment of Dr. Smith, and from that time it was deemed advisable that he should reside altogether at Richmond Park. It was /at this last place that in the summer of the same year some slight indications of paralysis appeared ; but severer symptoms were providentiaUy averted by the prompt and judicious measures resorted to by Dr. Julius. The seizure, however, had permanently affected the optic nerve ; and although he continued to write with some difficulty until July, 1842, which is the date of the last autograph letter he addressed 464 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. to his son-in-law, yet he attributed to that attack his inability to read, even with the assistance of glasses. This new affliction, and the resigned and contented spirit in which he received it, we find thus described in notes which he addressed to his second daughter. " Feb. 3d, 1842. " During the letter-writing part of the day I am a poor creature, languid and somnolent. My eyes, too, are fahlng, and, I fear, will not last much longer. Yet I have abundant cause for gratitude ; and I hope that I feel it as I ought." " Feb. 15th. " My sight Is now falling rapidly. The power of reading is all but gone ; but, thank God, I suffer no pain, and have. In fact, no ailment or infirmity that I ought to complain of." Of this same cheerful character also was the general tone of his conversation. " I have several ailments," he used to say to those around him, "but no com plaints." ProvidentiaUy, his cheerful submission to the diminution in the powers of sight was not further tested, as his vision did not wholly fail him to the last. His placid frame of mind readily accommodated itself to his being read to, and in that manner, in addition to his daily portions from Scripture and the liturgy, he was enabled to pursue a regular course of historical and other interesting and improving studies. From this it wUl be understood that, although his spirit was chiefly directed towards another world, he never was so gloomily alienated from the present one as not to manifest a tender and unceasing con cern for the welfare of his family, his friends, and, especially, his country. His anxiety on this latter subject was shown only the month before his decease, in a letter to Lord Bexley, requesting his Lordship 1842. LORD SIDMOUTH. 465 to hold his proxy ; and, still more, during his last illness, in a conversation Avith his physician, to whom he declared that he ought to feel better in conse quence of "three cordials" — meaning three pieces of favourable intelligence of a political nature which had been communicated to him that morning through the journals. Now, whatever may be thought of this trait of character, it emanated, in Lord Sidmouth, from the purest love of his country and mankind. It was the patriotism of a Christian and a philanthropist, and, as such, it reviA^ed the panegyric of Pope on Lord Cobham : — " And you, brave Cobham, to the latest breath, Shall feel your ruling passion strong in death : Such in those moments as in all the past. Oh ! save my country, Heav'n, shall be your last." With Lord Sidmouth, indeed, patriotism was the concentration of every manly virtue, and every Chris tian grace. It regulated the course of his official career; it guided his footsteps through the vale of years and of retirement, and it even shed a momen tary radiance upon the closing scenes of his life. Thus tranquil and resigned, Arilling to remain, yet praying to depart and be with Christ, this venerable man expected the summons for his departure. It was a goodly sight to behold him, with his white and flowing hair, his countenance beaming with benevo lence, and his noble figure upright and tall as ever, yet tottering under the weight of years with almost infantine weakness, bid an early adieu to his famUy at the close of his cheerful and inteUectual evening. There was a solemnity in his blessing, a tenderness in their leave-taking, an anxious watching of his VOL. III. H H 466 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. slowly-departing footsteps, which was truly impres sive; every one feeling that it might be their last parting ; all knowing that the final separation could not be very remote. Having thus conducted his Lordship to the period at which his resigned and patient spirit was calmly awaiting that rest which remaineth for the people of God, advantage will be taken of the interval to offer some brief remarks, and to record a few remain ing anecdotes and recoUections of him, which may possibly assist the reader in forming a more correct estimate of his public and private character. Greatness is a relative term ; and whether the world will assign it to an individual must depend, not simply on intrinsic merit, but also on the peculiar circum stances of the period, and upon comparison vrith other eminent men. In a more settled and peaceful era, when there would naturally be fewer competitors for the distinction, Lord Sidmouth's claim to this appel lation would have been strong indeed. But in those eventful times, and amidst such a constellation of wonderful men as was then above the horizon, the character which may be most safely claimed for his Lordship is that of a faithful, vrise, vigilant, and intrepid minister. Not that the preceding pages do not present him to riew as a statesman sage in council and vigorous in action, who throughout a prolonged public Ufe performed more valuable ser vices, and committed much fcAver errors, than many of those who have enjoyed, for the moment, a higher reputation. But the characteristics of his conduct were better calculated to produce the sober and equable fruits of prudence, judgment, and reflection, than those sudden flashes of genius by which con- 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH. 467 temporary applause is chiefly attracted. He wanted also, or, at least, he did not exercise to a sufficient ¦extent, the one quality by which, in a free country, attention may best be attracted — that of a command ing eloquence. He was a reasoner rather than an orator. A desire, therefore, to remove the obscurity in which his Lordship's real merits and services have hitherto been enveloped has furnished the principal inducement to the present publication. It is hoped that the springs and motives of his policy being thus made known, and considered in connexion with the circumstances by which it was influenced, his conduct and principles will at length be appreciated as they deserve. It will then, it is presumed, be admitted, that one who could safely conduct the affairs of state at a moment when the political surface of the whole world was heaving in terrific commotion, and who afterwards preserved the domestic peace of the coun try under difficulties the most appalling, could have been no ordinary statesman ; it will then be pro- Jnounced, that, although he may not have been the %remost in that group of public men which made the Vge in which he flourished for ever memorable, he %tiU possessed many qualities of a very high order in themselves, and peculiarly suited to those perilous times, which enabled him to render most essential Services to his country. But whatever degree of merit may have belonged to Lord Sidmouth as a statesman, in treating of his personal character there can be no hesitation in assigning to him the possession of those qualifications which constitute the charm and ornament of private 468 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. life. His temper, reported to have been naturaUy warm, had been brought so habituaUy under the influence of self-control, that, during a close in timacy of twenty-four years, the author never in a single instance knew it to be unreasonably disturbed. The same equanimity governed all the sensibilities and affections of his mind. It restrained his every feeling — his hopes and fears, his joys and sorrows, his successes and disappointments, Arithin the bounds of a Christian moderation, and preserved him ever calm, cheerful, and resigned — the delight, the pride, the instructor of aU around him.* To the ambition of personal elevation and aggrandisement he was alto gether a stranger : in all he did he was guided entirely by principle ; and the only reward he ever desired for his services was the confidence and regard of his sovereign, the respect of good men, and the approba tion of his own conscience.* His fortitude was surprising. Nothing could shake his nerves: on the expected approach, and on the sudden and unforeseen appearance of danger, he was equally imperturbable. " He considered," he once said to his father, " that no one was fit to be a public man who cared a farthing whether he should die in * " There are two quaUties," his Lordship used to observe, "essentiaUy requisite for success in public life — temper and courage. Lord Camden, when speaking to Lord Mansfield of the wonderful ability which Mr. Pitt displayed in the cabinet, observed — " He has, besides, a perfect command of temper." " That," Lord' Mansfield interposed, "is every thing." " No," Lord Camden re sumed, " it is not every thing, but every thing else is nothing with out it." t One of his later remarks was, that "at his age it struck, him very much, what little proportion there is between man's ambition and the shortness of his life." 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH. * 469 his bed or on a scaffold ; " and on the principle thus early laid doAvn he consistently acted. The general rule of his life was — unbending firmness of purpose, and a tenacious adherence to what he considered right, tempered by the utmost gentleness, moderation, and indulgence towards individuals — an indulgence which extended even to their errors and imperfections — one of his favourite maxims being, that " it was a very important part of wisdom to know what to over look." He had been much impressed with a remark made to him by King George III " Give me the man who judges one human being with severity, and every other with indulgence ; " and once on repeating this to a friend, he added, that " he had endeavoured to make it his own rule, and wished he had succeeded more perfectly." This benevolent disposition ren dered him on all occasions, apart from public duty, one of the most placable, forbearing, and patient of men : it led him also to exercise towards all a gene rosity of the most expanded nature, far surpassing the bounds which prudence usually prescribes ; and it created in him a confiding disposition — a desire to ¦believe well, and a reluctance to think ill, of his felloAv- creatures — most unusual in old age, and still more remarkable in one who must have seen so much of [what was evil. * His unbending adherence to the principles and opinions with which he set out in life resembled that of his royal master, and was remarkable, even in those times when unchangeableness was more easily practised than it is at present. Of those who en countered, vrith him, the political storms of the revo lutionary war, fcAV succeeded so well in maintaining H H 3 470 • LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. an undeviating and consistent course. It was an unwillingness — amounting in hira almost to impos-r sibility — to deviate from any favourite principle of action Avhich somewhat accelerated his final retire ment from public life, and which would, probably, have produced the same result, even if his taking that step had not been so fully justified by his advancing years. Hence his opinions on the Roman CathoUc and other great questions of his day never underwent any material variation ; and so far from approAdng of sud den and extensive alterations, even where some change might be desirable, the opinion he held was, that " where institutions had become defective, the rule of a statesman should be to preserve and improve." Yet, unchangeable as he himself was, he could make generous and liberal allowances for others. " I think it very uncharitable," he once said, " to condemn a man for expressing contrary opinions at different periods of his life, as Ave all know how, continually ncAV views of the same subject present themselves to the mind ; and why should we blame others for expressing' Avhat we so often, ourselves, feel ? " The principal modification observable in his opinions as be advanced in years is one which denotes his constantly expand ing benevolence, and the increasing influence of Christian feeUngs. " I used," he said, when speaking of the wars in which England had been engaged during his time — " I used to think aU the sufferings of war lost in its glory ; now I consider all its glory lost in its sufferings. So one's feelings change." He always evinced an aversion to the spurious Uberality of the day ; by Avhich, in his opinion, right and wrong were too often confounded, and the sound est and most valuable principles surrendered. So 18^. LORD SIDMOUTH. 471 strong, indeed, was this dislike, that, in the eagerness of conversation on some much- controverted subject,' he once said to a friend, " I hate Uberality : nine times out of ten it is cowardice, and the tenth time it is want of principle." The same feeling extended to the Strained humanity of the age, which, when car ried to the full extent of the maAvkish sentiment pre valent at the period, tended, he thought, frequently to divert sympathy from its legitimate objects — the deserving and unfortunate — and to concentrate it upon the criminal and unworthy. When enlarging upon this topic, he usually concluded his observations with the following quotation from the poetry of the Anti-jacobin : — " For the crush'd beetle first, the widow'd dove, And aU the Warbled sorrows of the grove ; Next, for poor sufiering guilt, and, last of all. For parents, friends, a king and country's fall." His sanguine and cheerful perseverance under dif ficulties, and his determination never to despair, have been fully exhibited in the progress of this work. To make the best of every thing was with him a fixed principle of action. As he told the author, in April, 1835, " I have always fought under the standard of hope, and I never shaU desert it." This, indeed, he regarded as a sacred duty; and, in fulfilment of it, he once ventured to express to Lord Eldon the regret he felt at hearing his Lordship say, in a moment of despondence, that " in ten years the prosperity of this country would be at an end, and there would be no sovereign on the throne of England." " When men of your weight and influence," he replied, " pro claim such sentiments, they suggest ideas to people H H 4 472 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. which would otherwise never have occurred." "I have known the British constitution long," he ob served to another friend : "it has often been in dan ger, but it has always scrambled through it." Another striking characteristic was his sacred re gard for truth, which he not only recommended by precept, but also adhered to in his practice, with a consistency and strictness which the most rigid moralist might have envied. In his ideas of educa tion, truth was the great lesson to be inculcated ; its violation, the great offence to be dreaded and extir pated. Even the usual compliments and conventual excuses of society he could barely tolerate. It may easily be conceived, therefore, with what aversion he regarded the frequent party and political fabrications to which the perilous times in which he lived unhap pily gave rise, and the still more numerous brood of exaggerations, mis-statements, or inventions, which fashion, scandal, and malice, were perpetuaUy engen dering. Whenever any rumour, disparaging or in jurious to another, was reported to him, his almost invariable reply was, "I don't believe one word of it ; " and it was quite remarkable how often his scep ticism on such occasions proved, upon inquiry, to be well founded. One particular, of which the reader can now scarcely require to be reminded, was the candid and charitable construction which his Lordship was ever disposed to place upon the conduct of his opponents. This trait the author has anxiously endeavoured to imitate, and happy wUl he be should he hereafter find that he has,. in any measure, succeeded. If, however, it should appear that he has been unintentionally carried further 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH. 473 ihan was required by a due regard for historical truth, and that he has introduced into this work expressions or opinions which are calculated to inflict pain on any honest and honourable mind, he here desires to ob serve that it will prove to him a source of deep and lasting regret. Probably the most attractive, certainly the most obvious, feature in this good man's character, was his universal benevolence and good-will, as he exercised it towards all men, and especially towards his family, his kindred, and his friends, in instiUing wise and beneficial advice. The judicious and attractive man ner in which, on those occasions, his experience con veyed its useful and impressive lessons may, perhaps, be best illustrated by the production of a few instances. Of these, the first which vrill be presented is the reply he made on receiving the congratulations of his second daughter, on Christmas-day, 1836 : — " All my wishes and prayers, dearest Fanny, are congenial to yours : may every returning year present to you and George, and aU dear to you, a cheering prospect as well as a delightful retrospect. The latter, however, cannot be enjoyed without a consciousness that we have received blessings with gratitude, and met difficulties and trials with calmness and submission." A second example of the careful interest with which he was wont to interlace his familiar letters vrith instructive matter is extracted from his reply to a dutiful and affectionate address of his five children on his 76th birth-day. After a warm expression of his thanks, he added, " Do not fail to bear in mind that I have entered my 76th year, and be not unprepared for the separation which must take place ere long; 474 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. and let it be our earnest and constant endeavour to obtain, through the mercy of God, a re-union blessed and everlasting." Of a similar character are the fol lowing sentiments, addressed to one of his children who had informed him of the death of a favourite servant : — " You have had a severe domestic trial, to which I trust you have not beeii unequal. To feel afflicting dispensations as it is natural and right that we should feel them, and to bear them as it is our duty to bear them, is to fulfil some of the most important purposes for which we are sent into the world." To the same party, when suffering from misplaced and iU-requited confidence, he wrote as follows : — "I am very sorry for your domestic vexations ; but what family is free from them in some way or other ? May you be spared severer trials ; though, if yofl should be so risited, I am convinced that you will bear them as becomes a pious and well-conditioned mind. This is the happy way to consider all events in human life : take the good, remember it, act upon it, and forget the evil." To a favourite youth, on his going to re side at Oxford, he gave the following adrice : — "Be studious, Arithout being gloomy ; be social, without being dissipated. Take the straightforward path ; let nothing interfere vrith your sense of duty, and your peace of mind will never be affected by the opinions of others concerning your motives of action." * The patience, amounting almost to cheerfulness, Arith which he regarded the approach of old age, and the growing infirmities incidental to that state, it was impossible not to admire. He never complained ; and when, on inquiries being put, he was obUged to * Miss Bryan's Notes, 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH. 475 acknowledge the existence of pain or inconvenience, he usually qualified the admission, by alluding either to the facility Avith which the evil could be endured, or to the presence of some compensating advantage. The mere passing of his time without suffering he regarded as a blessing. " In youth," he used to say, "the absence of pleasure is pain; in old age, the absence of pain is pleasure." The last point Avhich will be introduced into this brief allusion to Lord Sidmouth's private character is his respect for religion. Of this, an instance Avill be selected from his correspondence with his stcAvard, in Devonshire, who had forwarded an application to his Lordship from the incumbent of the parish for a small piece of land to render the vicarage more commodious : — "I shall readily afford Mr. the accommoda tion he requires, since I consider it only my duty, as a landed proprietor in the village, to do all in my power to encourage the clergyman's residence amongst his parishioners." In these words. Lord Sidmouth has propounded an admirable example to the landed aristocracy throughout the kingdom ; and, after his Lordship had thus acted, it will not surprise the reader to find the curate, upon the resignation of his charge, addressing him in the following terms : — '' On the eve of taking my final leave of this parish, after a residence of above 1 3 years, both gratitude and duty prompt me to thank your Lordship for numerous and uninterrupted kindnesses, which have greatly contributed to make my abode here comfortable and happy. As the parochial minister, I have ever felt that your Lordship's influence, Invariably thrown into the same scale, has given a weight and authority, which, if any good has been effected through my ministry, must have considerably tended to Increase it. It is not only 476 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. to your Lordship, but also to Lady Sidmouth and your family, that I feel deeply grateful for the ready and kind attentiotl ever given to any suggestion relating to the poor, the sick, and the education of the young. * * * " I remain, &c. &c. " Upottery, Dec. 16th, 1833. " GeORGE T. SmITH." It was after his dinner on the 3d of February, 1844, that the vigilant eye of Lord Sidmouth's eldest daughter observed in him some slight symptoms of cold, which, having increased in the course of the 4th, were on the following day pronounced, by Dr. Julius, to be those of influenza. For three or four days the dis order appeared to yield to the judicious treatment prescribed, but on the 10th it had again assumed a serious aspect, insomuch that, on the next morning, at the suggestion of Dr. Julius, Dr. Holland was caUed in. All human skill, however, was unavaiUng ; and from the moment of this relapse the vital powers of the venerable patient, enfeebled by years, gradually yielded to the insidious malady. It was a great blessing that his last days were wholly un embittered by suffering, and that he was mercifully permitted to retain his faculties unimpaired to the end. The poet of the lonely night-watches has observed, that — " The chamber where the good man meets his fate * Is privileg'd beyond the common walk Of virtuous life, quite in the verge of heaven ;" and since, from the commencement of the attack his Lordship clearly foresaAv its fatal termination, fuU many a "lecture — silent, but of sovereign power" did those twelve solemn days reveal, which, could it with propriety be disclosed, would prove a most in- 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH, 477 teresting and instructive warning. Two of his daughters were residing with him at this time : his son hastened to him at the first alarm, and his re maining children quickly followed. He repeatedly spoke of them in the tenderest manner. " I love all my children," he said, " all equally : they have been the happiness of my life, and wheh I am taken from them, I trust my countenance will bear the impress of a grateful smile." Again, on the following day, ¦yvhen speaking of the hourly expected arrival of two of his daughters and their husbands, he added, " Kind, dutiful, affectionate children all have been to me ; and if I am permitted to attain to that happy state to which I humbly aspire, and am permitted to look down, how often shall I be with you, my children." In conversing with his family, he frequently alluded, in the calmest manner, and without the smallest re serve, to his approaching departure. Thus, on one occasion, in answer to his son-in-law Mr. Currie's in quiry, " How he felt ? " he said, " Breaking up and breaking down, my dear Horace ; but that gives me no disquietude." " You put your whole trust in the merits of your Saviour ?" "I hope I may say I do." " This has not come upon you unawares, I think ? " " No ; I have had many warnings, and I look forward to be re-united, with all those I love, in a blessed im mortality." " On the morning of the fatal Thursday, February 15th, one of his sons-in-law went early to his chamber to relieve Dr. George Julius, who had sat up with him aU night. The Dean found, at first, his Lordship's .mind slightly wandering ; but on repeating to him 478 LIFE OF Chap. XXXIX. from memory, and with the requisite alterations, the commendatory prayers from the Visitation Service, and Bishop Wilson's beautiful ' Litany for the Dying,' he had the satisfaction of observing the beloved patient recall his scattered thoughts, and, as he trusted, unite in his humble supplications." The above brief particulars have been selected from a family record of those impressive and improving death-bed scenes. The remaining portion, though deeply interesting to relations and friends, is of too solemn a character for indiscriminate perusal, with the exception, perhaps, of the foUoAring sentence, which describes the moment of final separation : — " AU his children now knelt weeping around his bed. I held his right hand in mine, and once, when I wiped his brow, he faintly said, , ' Who ?' Day, his . faithful attendant, replied, ' Miss Addington, my Lord.' He with difficulty articulated, ' Mary Anne,' and that was the last word he ever uttered. The breathing now gradually became fainter : the dear hand began to lose its vital warmth ; and at 7 o'clock P.M., of Thursday, the 15th of February, Arith one or two deep sighs, the earthly tie Avas severed, and the pure and noble spirit soared into the blessed presence of its God." " The first feeling of all our hearts was not sorrow, but deep reverence and humble gratitude. Our privileges had indeed been great in being permitted to associate so long with such a character, and to witness an old age vigorous in inteUect and active in usefulness ; warm in feelings and affections, yet serene in temper ; and a death full of the hope of immortality 1844. LORD SIDMOUTH. 479 through faith in Him who 'is the resurrection and the life."* * His Lordship's mortal remains were conveyed, on the 22d of February, amidst the tears of many, and the regrets of aU, to the family vault at Mortlake, in the chancel of which church a simple mural tablet bears the following inscription 'to his mepiory, from the pen of Sir Robert Inglis : — IN AN ADJACENT VAULT IS DEPOSITED THE BODY OF THE RT. HON. HENRY ADDINGTON, VISCOUNT SIDMOUTH, A STATESMAN, AND A CHRISTIAN: A STATESMAN, THEOUGH NEARLY HALF A CENTURY OF SERVICE IN THE HIGHEST OFFICES OF ENGLAND — FAITHFUL TO HIS SOVEREIGN, AND DEVOTED TO HIS COUNTRY : AND A CHRISTIAN, EATEN FROM YOUTH TO EXTREME OLD AGE ; IN EVERY RELATION OF PUBLIC, SOCIAL, AND PRIVATE LIFE, FAIR AND CONSISTENT IN RELIGIOUS PRINCIPLE : WHO HAVING LIVED IN CHARITY TOWARDS ALL MEN, DIED IN CHEERFUL, THANKFUL SUBMISSION TO GOD, PLACING ALL HIS HOPE IN THE LORD, HIS SAATEOUR. HE WAS BORN MAY 30tH, 1757, AND DIED FEBRUARY I5tH, 1844. HE MARRIED (1.) URSULA MARY, DAUGHTER AND CO-HEIRESS OF LEONARD HAMMOND, ESQ. ; AND (2.) MARY ANNE, DAUGHTER AND HEIRESS OF WILLIAM SCOTT LORD STOWELL. 480 APPENDIX TO THE THIRD VOLUME. " My dear Sir, Manchester, April 6th, 1821, 10 at night. " I HAVE been thinking on the scheme you had the good ness to mention to me ; and as the objections which occur to me are of a very strong character, I am about to lay them before you more fully than our hasty conversation permitted. God knows I should be sufficiently diffident of my own opinion In most cases where It stands In opposition to those for whom I entertain so much respect, and to whom. In almost all other Instances, I should be most willing to defer. But this Is a matter In which my experience, as an author, who has been twenty years before the public, maintaining, during that long space, a much higher rank of popularity than he deserves, may entitle me to speak with some opportunities of. knowledge to which few others can lay claim ; and to be silent merely out of politeness, or false modesty, would, in the circumstances, be a folly If not a crime: — since it is obvious that the measure, if not eminently successful, would be a marked failure for malignant satire to fix his fangs upon, and that the noble purpose of the Sovereign would be made the means of heaping on all concerned ridicule, and calumny, and abuse. My personal feelings would naturally determine me against becoming a member of such an Association. These, however unwilhngly, I might set aside ; but convinced, as I am, that the scheme will be hurtful at once to the community of letters, and to the respect due to the Sovereign, my own feelings are out of the question, and it becomes only my duty to consider the measure as these are implicated. In the first Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 481 place, I think such an association entirely useless. If a man of any rank or station does any thing in the present day worthy of the patronage of the public, he Is sure to obtain it. For such a work of genius as the plan proposes to remunerate Avith 100/., any bookseller would give ten or twenty times that sum ; and for the work of an author of any eminence 3000Z. or 4000/. Is a very common recompense. In short, a man may, according to his talents, make from 500/. a year to as many thousands, providing he employs those talents with prudence and dihgenee. With such re wards before them, men will not Avillingly contend for a much more petty prize, where failure would be a sort of dis honour, and where the honour acquired by success might be very doubtful. There is therefore really no occasion for encouraging, by a society, the competition of authors. The land Is before them, and if they reaUy have merit, they seldom fail to conquer their share of public applause and private profit. " It win happen, no doubt, that either from the impro vidence which sometimes attends genius, or from singularly adverse circumstances, or from some peculiar turn of tem per, habits, or disposition, men of great genius and talent miss the tide of fortune and popularity, fall among the shallows, and make a bad voyage of it. It would highly become his Majesty, In the honourable zeal which he has evinced for the encouragement of literature In all its branches, to consider the cases of such indiriduals ; but such cases are now-a-days extremely rare. I cannot, in my knowledge of letters, recollect more than two men whose merit is unde niable, while I am afraid their circumstances are narrow. I mean Coleridge and Maturln. To give either, or both of them, such relief as his Majesty's princely benevolence might judge fitting, would be an action well becoming his royal munificence, and of a piece with many other generous actions of the same kind. But I protest that (excepting perhaps Bloomfield, of whose circumstances I know little,) I do not remember any other of undisputed genius, who could gracefuUy accept 100^. a year, or to whom such a sum could be handsomely offered. That there would be VOL. III. I I 482 LIFE OF Appendix. men enough to grasp at It, would be certain; but then they would be the very individuals whose mediocrity of genius and active cupidity of disposition would render them undeserving of the royal benevolence, or render the royal benevolence ridiculous If bestowed upon them. "But the association is not merely unnecessary and useless ; It Avill, if attempted, meet a grand and mortifying failure, and that from a great concurrence of reasons. In the first place, you propose (If I understand you rightly) to exclude &c., for reasons moral or political. But allowing these reasons their full weight, how will the public look on an association for literary purposes, where such men, whose talents are undisputed, are either left out, or choose to stay out ; or what weight would that society have on the public mind ? Yery little, I should think ; while it would be liable to all the shots which malice, and wit mingled, could fire against it. But besides this, I think — (judging, however, only from my own feel ings) — that few men who have acquired some reputation in literature, would choose to enrol themselves with the obscure pedants of universities and schools— men most respectable, doubtless, and useful in their own way — excellent judges of an obscure passage in a Greek author — understanding, per haps, the value of a bottle of old port — connoisseurs In tobacco, and not wholly Ignorant of the mystery of punch- making; but certainly a sort of persons whom I, for one, would never wish to sit with, as assessors of the fine arts. There are many men, and I know several myself, to whom this description does not apply. But for one who has lived all his life with gentlemen, and men of the world, to mingle his voice with men who have lived entirely out of the world, and whose opinions must be founded on principles so dif ferent from our own, would be no very pleasing situation. Besides, every man who has acquired any celebrity In letters would naturally feel that the object, or rather the natural consequence of such a society, would be to average talent, and that while he brought to the common stock aU which he had of his own, he was, on the contrary, to take on his shoulders a portion of their lack of public credit. Now this Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 483 is what no one will consider as fair play ; and I believe you will find it very difficult to recruit your honorary class on such conditions, with those names which you would be most desirous to have, and without which a national Institution of the kind would be a jest. " But we wIU suppose them aU filled up, and assembled. By what rule of criticism are they to proceed in determining the merits of the candidates on whom they are to sit in judgment? The lake school have one way of judging — that of Scotland another — Gifford, Frere, Canning, &c. a third — and twenty others have as many besides. The vote would not be like that of the Institute ; for in science, and even in painting and sculpture, there are conceded points, on which all men make a common stand. But in literature you will find twenty people entertaining as many different opinions upon that which is called taste, in proportion to their different temperaments, habits, and prejudices of educa tion. They could only agree upon one rule of decision, and that would be to choose the pieces which were \e.&st faulty ; for though literary men do not agree In their estimates of excellence, they coincide, in general, in condemning the same class of errors. But the poems, thus unexceptionable, belong in general to that very class of mediocrity, AvhIch neither gods, men, nor columns, not even the columns of a modern newspaper, are disposed to tolerate, and which are assuredly sufficiently common, without being placed under the special patronage of a society. " As to the men who are to be stipendiaries of 100/. a year ; on what decent footing can they, receiving a pension not more than is given to a man-servant in a large 'establishment, hold an open and fair front with the public, or with the other classes of the association ? I declare they will only be regarded as the badged and ticketed alms men of hterature; and sooner than accept it, were I In a situation to need it, I would cut my right hand off, and beg for bread with my left — when I had thus given assurance that I could never again commit the sin of using a pen. How is it possible, I repeat, for those stipendiaries to hold any thino- like a fair and open front with the patrons, or honorary I I 2 484 LIFE OF Appendix. classes ? and if you destroy equality, you debase all the ge nerous pride of a young author. " Besides, we are by habit and character an Irritable race. Leave us at a distance from each other, and we may observe decorum; but force Into one body a set of literary men, differing so widely in politics, in taste, in temper, and in manners — having no earthly thing in com mon except their general Irritability of temper, and a black speck on their middle finger — what can be expected, but all sorts of quarrels, tracasserles, lampoons, libels, and duels ? Fabrlclo's feast of the actors, in Gil Bias, would be a joke to It. It would give rise, supposing the whole asso ciation did not fall Into general and silent contempt, to a sequence of ridiculous and contemptible feuds, the more de spicable that those engaged in them were perhaps, some of them, men of genius, " Lewis the Fourteenth, In his plenitude of power, failed to make the Academy respectable ; nor did It ever produce any member who rose above mediocrity. Those of genius who were associated with it made their way at a late period, and rather because the Academy wanted them, than because they required any honours It could bestow. In England, such a monopoly of talent would be ten times more misplaced. We all know John Bull, and that, for mere contradiction's sake, he will overlook what Is admirable, rather than admire upon any thing resembling compulsion. Every judgment of the proposed society would be the subject of a thousand wicked jests, merely because It appeared In shape of an injunction, which seemed to impose on the public a particular creed of taste ; and a happy time woidd the patrons and honorarles have of It, betwixt the Internal dis sensions of the hive of wasps they had undertaken to manage, and the hooting and clamouring of the public out of doors. " I have stih to add, that this society, like some weU-meant charitable associations, would go far to occasion the discon tinuance of that private assistance which Is so much more useful both to the Individual and to the pubhc. Let me speak a proud word for myself: I have not for several years, and even when money has been scarce with me, given less Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 485 than from 50/. to 100/. a-year to the aid of unfortunate men of literature In various ways. Your proposed society would relieve me of this burthen ; but could It distribute the relief with such secrecy or attention to the feelings of those who receive it ? There is no merit In my doing this, for I work up to It ; that is, I labour some hours more, in order to gain the means of this charity, than I would do on my own ac count; and I know it is a common practice with many liter£iry men to do the same — from the same very natural motive. But all this would fall if the matter were taken up by a privileged society ; and the poor devil. In his necessity, would be sent there as naturally as you give a beggar a men dicity ticket. " I was very sorry to hear you intimate that matters had gone so far in this affair as to render a retreat difficult. But be It ever so difficult, a timely retreat is better than a defeat ; and what can be said, after all, save that the King had. In his eagerness to advance literature, listened to a plan which, upon mature examination, was found attended with too many objections to be carried Into execution? The circumstances, so well known to a veteran hack of letters like myself, could not possibly occur to the sovereign, or those with whom he at first consulted. I would have his grace flow directly from himself, and his own knowledge, taste, and judgment, rather than through the Interposition of any society. His Majesty's kindness, and the honourable and gratifying distinction of those who have cultivated letters with success, has been Illustrated by very many examples, besides those conferred on one Individual, who may justly say of the marks of royal favour, that they ' "Were meant for merit, though they fell on me.' If his Majesty should be pleased to relieve the wants of the two or three men of acknowledged talent who are subject to them ; or If he would condescend to bestow small pensions on the wives and families of men early cut off In the career of letters, he would show his Interest In literature, and, at the same time, his benevolence. The assistance of young per sons In education (provided they are selected strictly with I I 3 486 LIFE OF Appendix-. a view to proper qualifications) is also a princely charity ; and either, or all of these, might be gracefully and na turally substituted for the present plan. If a device could be fallen upon to diminish the quantity and Improve the quality of our literature, it would have an admirable effect. But the present scheme would have exactly the contrary tendency. The number of persons who can paint a little, play a little music, or write indifferent verses, is Infinite, in proportion to those who are masters of those faculties ; and their daubing, scraping, and poetasterlng Is, to say the least, a great nuisance to their friends and the public ; and the misfortune is, that these pretenders never have tact enough to detect their own Insufficiency. A man of genius Is always doubtful of his best performances, because his ex pression does and must fall infinitely below his powers of con ception ; and what he is able to embody to the eye of the reader Is far short of the vision he has had before his own. But the moderes In literature are teased with no such doubts, and are usually as completely satisfied with their own pro ductions as all the rest of the world are bored by them. All such will thrust their efforts on the proposed adjudgers of the prizes (and who on earth would have patience to read or con sider them ?), while, from modesty or pride, real genius would stand aloof from competing with such opponents. Your invitation would have the effect of the witches' Incantation — ' All ill come running in, all good keep out.' I would, besides, call your attention to the extreme Inde licacy of authors, practising the same art, sitting as judges on each other's performances — a task which, with all Its un popularity and odium, few would undertake who had the least capacity of performing it well. " In a pohtical point of view, the proposed plan Is capable of being most grossly misrepresented. It would be no sooner announced than the Jacobin scribblers would hold it forth as an attempt on the part of the sovereign to blind and to enslave his people, by pensioning their men of letters, and attaching them personally to the crown. No matter how false and infamous such a calumny, it is Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 487 precisely the kind of charge which the public beast would swallow greedily ; and, from that moment, the Influence of any individual connected with that society, on the public mind. Is gone for ever. Absolute Independence is of all things most necessary to a public man, whether in politics or literature. To be useful to his king and country, he must not only be a free man, but he must stand aloof from every thing which can be represented or misrepresented as personal dependence. And the bounty of the crown also, when bestowed on men of letters, should be so given as to show that it was the reward of merit, not the boon given to a partisan. But I should never end were I to state the various objections which occur to the practicability and utility of the proposed association. I am sensible I have stated these very confusedly ; but some excuse Is due, considering I have just travelled two hundred miles without a moment's stop; yet, the matter being on my mind, that you should have all that the experience of my calhng suggests, before you come to a final determination, therefore I write this before I sleep. I beg my best respects to Mrs. Villiers ; I will have Hai tutti taiti * copied out for her whenever I get to Edin burgh, to which place you may have the goodness to address, should any part of my letter require answer or explanation. My kindest and best respects attend my Lord Clarendon ; and believe me ever, &c. &c. " Walter Scott. " To the Hon. John Villiers." II. SPEECH OF LORD SIDMOUTH ON THE CATHOLIC QUESTION, 1829. " It was not uncommon (he said) for persons not quite satis fied with their own conduct to resort to the expedient of In culpating that of others. In the hope and for the purpose of diverting attention from themselves. Whether this was the * An ancient Scotch militaEy air. I I 4 488 LIFE of Appendix. case with his noble friend who had just sat down could only be known to himself. He (Lord Sidmouth) had, however, no hesitation In declaring that nothing which he had ever heard in either House of parliament had so much astonished him as the speech which the noble Lord had delivered this day ; but he would endeavour to confine his observations upon It to those parts which referred Immediately to himself; and he would then avail himself of the present occasion to express his sentiments on the bill before the House. " A period of more than ten years had elapsed since a highly respectable gentleman (Mr. Charles Grant) was appointed to the situation of Chief Secretary In Ireland ; and for that appointment and its supposed consequences the noble Lord had been pleased to pronounce that he (Lord Sidmouth), as Home Secretary, was peculiarly responsible. " Now, it was well known to the members of the govern ment at that time, and it could not, as he conceived, be un known to the noble Lord himself, that In that appointment he had no concern whatever. He was then in a state of great family distress, and was absent In the discharge of one of the most painful duties which It had ever been his lot to per form * ; and, upon his return to his official business, he found that the urgency of the public service had led to the appoint ment In question. To say that he was not surprised and that he was not displeased at that appointment, would be untrue. His sentiments upon it were expressed to his noble and lamented friend (the Earl of Liverpool) then at the head of the government ; they were known by his noble friend. Earl Talbot, then Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; they were also known to the right honourable gentleman himself. It was painful to him to have these declarations extorted from him ; but when he was charged with having contributed, by that appointment, to produce the difficulties and evils of the pre sent crisis, he was surely entitled to break through punctilio, as far as it could be done consistently with his public duty, and let the fact be known. " He now came to the animadversions which the noble * The funeral of his brother. Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 489 Lord had passed on his conduct when in Ireland. These were also perfectly new to him ; and he thought it somewhat strange that, from the habits of official Intercourse and of personal friendship in which he had long lived with the noble Lord, he should, after an Interval of nearly eight years, now leam, for the first time, that there were parts of his conduct, when he was In Ireland, of which the noble Lord did not approve. The special object, however, of the noble Lord's displeasure, and which he has pronounced to be ' one of the causes to which the present dilemma is to be traced,' was the presentation, by the Eoman Catholic bishops, of a congratu latory address to his Majesty upon his arrival In Ireland. Previous to his having the honour of accompanying his Ma jesty to Ireland, he was asked by a noble Lord (the late Lord Donoughmore) whether there could be any objection to such a presentation ? On that point he consulted persons on whose judgment he could rely, and, amongst others, the late Earl of Liverpool. All were of opinion that it was not pos sible to refuse to receive such an address ; but It was also stated that it could only be received from the Roman Catholic bishops in their episcopal, and not In their diocesan character. That they were bishops, as much so as the right reverend prelates now in that House, no doubt could be entertained ; every man knew that a person who had received ordination under the Roman Catholic church, and had renounced the Roman Catholic religion, was entitled to act as a Protestant priest without a second ordination. It would also not be denied that if a Roman Catholic bishop were, upon his renun ciation of the Roman Catholic faith, to be appointed to a bishopric by the sovereign of this country, a second consecra tion would not be necessary. Tbat they were, then, bishops there was no doubt ; and how was it possible to advise his Majesty not to receive a respectable body of men In the cha racter which rightfully belonged to them? They did not come as bishops of this or that diocese ; but they came as bishops, and as bishops they were received. But the noble Lord had also complained that the bishops attended in their ' paraphernalia.' Whether this was the case or not, he was unable to state ; but If they did attend In their episcopal 490 LIFE OF Appendix. dress, how could that be reasonably objected to ? Besides, it must be recollected that, according to the practice of a century, the ministers of the three dissenting denominations — Pres byterians, Independents, and Anabaptists — have enjoyed the privilege of presenting their addresses to the King, not in the closet where these Bishops were received, but to the King upon the throne. " The next charge of the noble Lord refers to his Ma jesty's parting letter to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland ; which letter, he (Lord Sidmouth) had the honour to advise, as well as to sign. Now, he would appeal to his noble friend, the Marquis of Wellesley, who soon succeeded to that high situation, and who held It for some years, whether there was a single word in that letter which did or could Induce his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects to hope for a change of system In Ireland ? It had not the remotest reference to the Roman Catholic question. It merely recommended the ces sation of personal animosities, and the cultivation and encour agement of that good-will and of those kindly feehngs towards each other, amongst all descriptions of the community, which it was one of the main objects of his Majesty's visit to promote. " There was one remark of the noble Lord, with reference to the bill before the House, upon which he wished to say a few words. The noble Lord seemed to think that we should act unfairly If, after having passed the bill for the suppression of the Roman Catholic Association, and having assured his Majesty, that, conformably to the recommendation from the throne at the opening of the session, we would take Into our deliberate consideration the whole condition of Ire land, we should hesitate about agreeing to the second reading of this bill. Now, what he (Lord Sidmouth) complained of was, that we were called upon to support this bill without having had any opportunity of entering upon that considera"- tion which his Majesty had recommended, and to which we had pledged ourselves in consequence of that recommendation. It was and must have been expected that such an opportunity would have been afforded us either In a select committee or In a committee of the whole House ; and that full information would have been laid before us, upon which to form our judg ment upon this momentous subject. But all the Information Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 491 .upon which we were now required to proceed, for it was evident M-e were to expect no more, was that contained In the speech of the noble Duke ; and If it should happen that we were not satisfied with that information, and were of opinion that it did not warrant our proceeding to the second reading of the biU, was It unfair or disingenuous in those who enter tained such an opinion, to vote against it ? On the contrary, it was our duty so to act ; to persevere, under such circum stances. In the course which we have hitherto pursued ; and to avert. If possible, a great and permanent change in the Protestant constitution of our country, upon grounds which we deem insufficient and unsatisfactory. " He thought It most improvident, and highly deroga tory to the dignity of the crown, that. In the same speech which strongly recommended the suppression of the Ro man Catholic Association as a body inconsistent with the spirit of the constitution and the preservation of public tranquillity, the prospect should have been held out and the expectation encouraged, that, as soon as a bill had passed for that purpose, aU the points for which the Asso ciation had been formed should be conceded, and ah Its pro fessed purposes accomplished. There was, surely, another - and far more becoming course which might have been pur sued : first, to put down the Catholic Association (and if he had been friendly to concession, this Is the course which he would have recommended) ; first, he repeated, to put down the Association, and ascertain the effect of that measure -before parliament was called upon to pass such a bill as that upon the table. But it had been said, that, although the present deplorable state of Ireland, organised and disorganised as It had been represented to be, was to be chiefly imputed to the Roman Catholic Association, the House of Commons ¦vyould not consent to its suppression unless it were accom panied with the measure of concession. This was Incredible ; it was, indeed, an opprobrious imputation on that branch of the legislature to suppose, that, having passed a bill four years ao-o for the suppression of that Association, and having found that it had not answered its purpose, they would not now consent to take a step to render that purpose effectual, and thus rescue their country from the continued and aggravated 492 LIFE OF Appendix. dangers produced by that Association, except upon the con dition that their consent was to be purchased by concession. "But the real point at Issue was this: his Majesty's go vernment were of opinion that the disfranchisement of the forty-shilling freeholders was necessary ; and they were also of opinion that this point could not be attained, unless accom panied by concession : and, on the other hand, the former advocates of concession would not agree to disfranchisement without it. He differed from both these parties. He thought that disfranchisement, highly important and desirable as it was, would be far too dearly purchased by concession. With the dangerous consequences of the measures of 1793, his mind had been long and deeply Impressed. He had received that Impression whilst the measure was under discussion In the Irish parliament, from the speeches of many able and eminent men, and particularly from those of the late Earl of Clare and of Mr. Foster, then speaker of the Irish House of Commons. They had too justly predicted its fatal and In evitable consequences. Mr. Burke, with whom It originated, had benevolently supposed that it would have the effect of raising a large proportion of the lower orders in Ireland in the scale of the community ; that they would have the power of volition in the exercise of their franchise ; and that having favours to bestow and rights to exercise, they would become objects of attention and consideration. But these hopes proved delusive ; landed proprietors soon began to parcel out their lands Into small freeholds, as they were called, and thus they expected to Increase their provincial and political im portance. For a time they possessed absolute and uncon trolled authority over the franchises of those who held these freeholds ; but the priest at length stepped In, and then that authority was instantly cancelled ; the promise to the land lord, with the probability and even the certainty of ejectment, (an easy process, considering the wretched poverty of these nominal freeholders,) was superseded ; it became a ' conflict between God and man' (as appeared in evidence before the committees of the two Houses of Parliament In 1825) ; ' be tween their eternal and temporal interests ; ' and the priests thus became masters of the elective franchises of an immense Appendix. lORD SIDMOUTH. 493 proportion of the population of Ireland. But were those, who till the present time were opposed to concession, insen sible to, or regardless of these consequences, the inevitable certainty of which constituted the main ground of the necessity of the legislative Union between Great Britain and Ireland ? or do they now mean to say that they were resolved to resist concession till these consequences had been produced ; but that when produced, as they have been, they would then change their course and accede to a measure of unlimited concession? This was a dilemma, but It appeared to him to be one to which such persons were obviously brought. " But we are told that ' we cannot stop where we are ; ' to which he would reply in the words used on a former occasion by the right hon. gentleman who brought forward this measure in the House of Commons, ' we are more likely to stop where we are, than to stop where we shall.be, if we advance to the point to which we are invited.' Something, we are perpetually told, must be done ; to which he would reply, that nothing is preferable to that something now re commended. But he was decidedly of opinion that something and much might be done ; and much had been done already, though the beneficial effects of what had been done had been cramped and kept under by agitators ; by the Cathohc Asso ciation; and by other causes to which he would not now advert. Much had been done during the administration of the noble lords the Earl of Talbot and the Marquess of Wel lesley, when lords lieutenant; the bill, denominated the Peace-preserving Bill, the constabulary force, the appoint ment of assistant barristers, the regulation of fees In the higher courts of justice, the improvement of the magistracy, and In the authority of grand juries, the frequent and public administration of justice at the petty sessions, and the Im portant meg,sure of the commutation of tithes, had all been adopted In the course of a very few years. Much, however, remained to be done, and much will be done. If we mean to apply measures really remedial to the actual evils of Ireland ; those evils are poverty, ignorance, and bigotry, and It is from those evils that the country requires emancipation. " His Lordship then enumerated the poverty, want of edu- 494 LIFE OF Appendix. cation, and involuntary Idleness of the Irish peasant, the denial of the countenance and example of a resident landlord, the absence of all provision In sickness, accident, misfortune, or old age ; and a distrust, founded on these causes, in the due administration of the laws, as amongst the reasons why he Is the ready tool of rebellion, and so reckless of the preservation of a life without charms and without comforts. To remedy these evils, the removal of the chief obstacles to the residence of the principal landowners on their property, was indispen sably requisite ; but in very many parts of Ireland this could not be expected, or effected, without laws fully sufficient to insure protection to their property, their families, and them selves ; and what can be the efficiency of laws unless It be secured by an able, upright, and firm administration of them? For this purpose an intelligent and Independent magistracy Is necessary ; and the best hopes of providing a magistracy of this description would be found In a Lord Lieutenant In every county In Ireland, as In England and Scotland, who would be responsible for the selection, and. In a great degree, for the conduct of magistrates in the county of which he had the charge. Of the beneficial effects arising from the exist ence of such an authority In every county of Great Britain, he had long had the most ample and satisfactory experience : but the inducements to the higher orders to reside on their property would be imperfect without the removal of the principal inducements of the lower to disorder and rapine, the sure forerunners of sedition and rebellion. Of these, poverty, hopeless poverty. Is the primary cause ; and till the benevolence and wisdom of the laws shall have provided the means of subsistence for those who cannot derive them from their own labour, or from the produce of their own narrow spot of ground, there can be no security whatever for life and property, and no tranquillity In Ireland. As to the present measure, however advisable It may be deemed by some, from other considerations, Lord Sidmouth contended that It bore no relation whatever to the wretched condition of the great mass of the Irish population. It was not a remedial measure. It would not give bread to the hungry, nor education to the ignorant; but let the attention of Appendix. LORD SIDMOUTH. 495 government and parliament continue to be directed to the internal state of Ireland, and, at no distant period, security and confidence' being established, British capital will be fearlessly applied to caU forth its abundant and Invaluable resources ; and, as the population advance from poverty and ignorance, the hold of bigotry will be loosened, and a fair prospect opened to that unhappy country, for which pros perity and tranquillity must, he feared, be looked for in vain from the measure now under their Lordships' immediate consideration. To all measures of a similar tendency he had constantly given a decided, but, he trusted, not an intem perate opposition ; an opposition always painful to himself; for it was Impossible for any one who had a spark of generosity - in his heart, not to be desirous that all his fellow-subjects should participate in the privileges which he himself enjoyed^ But his opinion remained unmoved; he saw no sufficient grounds for, but he saw some additional ones against, any change in the course which their Lordships had hitherto pursued. It had been observed by Mr. Burke, in reference to the question before us, ' that a concession, in which the governing power of our country loses its dignity, is dearly bought even by him who attains his object. All the people have a deep interest in the dignity of parliament.' In ad dition to this great authority, he would venture to express his own conviction, that tranquillity has never yet been pro duced, and is never likely to be produced, by extorted conces sion." Lord Sidmouth concluded by saying, " that he would not be a party In consigning the great Interests of his country into the hands of those who were not masters of their own consciences, their own opinions, and their own conduct; and who were hostile, sincerely and conscientiously hostile, he admitted, to the welfare and existence of that Church estab lishment which Is indlssolubly interwoven with the welfare and existence of the state ; and he would not consent to pur chase a temporary and precarious tranquillity by a permanent and irremediable change In the Protestant constitution of the kingdom. " Many other considerations pressed upon his mind ; but he would trespass no longer upon the indulgence of their Lord- 496 LIFE OF LORD SIDMOUTH. Appendix. ships, than whilst he read from a pamphlet, pubhshed in 1805, a passage which expressed his own sentiments in language far better than that In which they could be expressed by himself: — 'Let us never forget, that our wise ancestors (even without the awful example of the French Revolution before their eyes) were cautious how they tried innovations in government ; let us keep in mind, that they never indulged the theoretical hope of gaining over a discontented party In the state, by timidly yielding to their claims ; and never were guilty of the weakness of disgusting their tried sup porters by hazardous experiments to conciliate their oppo nents ; but by manfully meeting the dangers with which they were constantly surrounded, they secured the confidence of their friends, aud extorted the respect even of their adver saries. If, In the inscrutable decrees of Providence, it be or dained that the venerable fabric of the constitution which our ancestors have raised must at length fall, let us, at least, have the consolation to reflect, that we ourselves have not, by shaking the pillars, accelerated its destruction.'" He added, " that he should give his vote against the motion that the bill be now read a second time, and for the amendment proposed by the most reverend prelate, that it be read a second time on this day six months." THE END. London : Spottiswoode and Shaw, New-street- Square. YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 9002 01482 0659