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The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.

by Edward Farr · English · Gutenberg #19218 · 7,108,377 chars · public domain (US)

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Title: The History of England in Three Volumes, Vol.III.

Author: Edward Farr
        E. H. Nolan


        
Release date: September 8, 2006 [eBook #19218]
                Most recently updated: February 25, 2024

Language: English

Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19218

Credits: Produced by David Widger


*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND IN THREE VOLUMES, VOL.III. ***




[Illustration: frontispiece.jpg QUEEN VICTORIA]

[Illustration: titlepage12.jpg VIGNETTE]




THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND

Volume III.


BY DAVID HUME, ESQ.

1688




London: James S. Virtue, City Road and Ivy Lane
New York: 26 John Street
1860




In Three Volumes:

VOLUME ONE: The History Of England From The Invasion Of Julius Cæsar To
The End Of The Reign Of James The Second............ By David Hume, Esq.

VOLUME TWO: Continued from the Reign of William and Mary to the Death of
George II........................................... by Tobias Smollett.

VOLUME THREE: From the Accession of George III. to the Twenty-Third Year
of the Reign of Queen Victoria............... by E. Farr and E.H. Nolan.




VOLUME THREE




CONTINUATION

OF

THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND,


By E. Farr and E. H. Nolan


[Illustration: 3–001–george3.jpg GEORGE III.]


{GEORGE III. 1760–1765}

GEORGE III.




CHAPTER I.

     Accession of George III...... Meeting of Parliament, &c.
     Judges made independent of the Crown..... Changes in the
     Cabinet..... The Operations of the War..... The Resignation of
     Mr. Pitt..... The Marriage of the King..... Coronation of
     their Majesties..... Meeting of Parliament..... Disturbances
     in Ireland..... War with Spain..... France and Spain declare
     War against Portugal..... Dissensions in the Cabinet.....
     Events in Germany, &c. Negociations for Peace..... The
     Meeting of Parliament, and the Conclusion of Peace..... The
     Resignation of Bute..... The Character and Impeachment of
     Wilkes..... Changes in the Cabinet..... Meeting of Parliament,
     and further proceedings against Wilkes..... Proposition to
     tax the American Colonies..... Opposition of the Americans.....
     War with the North American Indians..... Domestic
     Occurrences

{1760}




ACCESSION OF GEORGE III.

Few monarchs ever ascended a throne under more auspicious circumstances
than George III. The sources of national wealth and prosperity
were daily becoming developed, and the British arms were everywhere
victorious. So extensive were their conquests, indeed, that it may
be said, the sun rose and set, at this date, within the limits of the
British dominions.

Prince George, who was the eldest son of the late Frederick, Prince of
Wales, was riding on horseback in the neighbourhood of Kew palace, with
his groom of the stole, Lord Bute, when news was brought him that his
grandfather was dead. This intelligence was confirmed soon after by
the arrival of Mr. Pitt, the head of the government, and they repaired
together to Kew. On the next morning George went up to St. James’s,
where Pitt waited upon him, and presented the sketch of an address to
be pronounced at the meeting of the privy council. Pitt, however, was
doomed to find a rival where he thought to have found a friend. He was
told by his majesty, that an address had already been prepared, which
convinced him that Bute, on whose favour he had reckoned, would not
be contented with a subordinate place in the new government, but would
aspire to the highest offices in the state. In the course of the day,
October 26th, George was proclaimed king with the usual solemnities.

The accession of George, notwithstanding, did not involve any immediate
change in the existing administration. The Earl of Bute, together with
Prince Edward, Duke of York, were admitted into the privy council, but
it was given out that his majesty was satisfied, and even charmed,
with the existing cabinet, and that he would make no changes, with the
exception of a few in the household and in the minor offices. One of the
first acts of George III., was a proclamation “for the encouragement of
piety and virtue, and for preventing and punishing of vice, profaneness,
and immorality.” This was naturally looked upon as a token of his
majesty’s virtue and devotion, which view was borne out by his after
character; for although the proclamation may be considered in the
light of a dead letter as regards actual operation, it was enforced,
or recommended, by his example; and example hath a louder tongue either
than precept, proclamations, or laws. From the beginning to the close
of his long reign, George III. manifested a decent, moral, and religious
life, which doubtless had very beneficial effects upon society at large.

On the accession of the new king, parliament was prorogued, first to
the thirteenth, and afterwards to the eighteenth, of November. In the
meantime, public attention was engaged by the equipment of a large
squadron of men-of-war and transports at Portsmouth, and speculations
were rife as to the policy of the monarch—whether it would be
favourable to war or to peace. All classes of society, however, agreed
in anticipating the happiest results from his rule, since he had been
born and bred among them, and was well acquainted with the language,
manners, laws, and institutions of the people over whom he presided.
Loyal and dutiful addresses, expressing such sentiments, were presented
to the young monarch by the city of London, the two universities, and
from various bodies of people, to all which he returned sententious but
suitable replies, declaring his fixed resolve to respect their rights
and conciliate their esteem. A letter was addressed to him by the
venerable Bishop of London, Dr. Sherlock, as a parting benediction, in
which he gave him the following wise council:—“You, sir,” he writes,
“are the person whom the people ardently desire; which affection of
theirs is happily returned by your majesty’s declared concern for their
prosperity: and let nothing disturb this mutual consent; let there be
but one contest, whether the king loves the people best, or the people
him; and may it be a long, a very long, contest; may it never be
decided, but let it remain doubtful; and may the paternal affection on
the one side, and the filial obedience on the other, he had in perpetual
remembrance.”




MEETING OF PARLIAMENT ETC.

The new king met parliament for the first time on the eighteenth of
November. He opened the session with a speech, announcing not only the
state of public and domestic affairs, but also the general principles by
which he intended to rule. One clause in his speech was very gratifying
to the people: “Born and educated in this country,” he observed, “I
glory in the name of Briton.” Having uttered this memorable sentence, he
said it would be the happiness of his life to promote the happiness and
interests of his loyal and affectionate people; and that their civil
and religious rights were equally as dear to him as the valuable
prerogatives of his crown. He then declared, that on his accession to
the throne of his ancestors he found the kingdom in a flourishing and
glorious state; victorious and happy; although engaged in a necessary
war, which, in the language of the late reign, he designated, “a war for
the Protestant interest.” In this speech he neither spoke of peace nor
negociation, but asked the assistance of parliament to prosecute this
war with vigour. Finally, addressing the Commons on the subject of
supplies, he concluded his speech thus:—“The eyes of all Europe are on
you; from your resolutions the Protestant interest hopes for protection,
as well as all our friends for the preservation of their independency;
and our enemies fear the final disappointment of their ambitious and
destructive views: let these hopes and fears be confirmed and augmented,
by the vigour, unanimity, and despatch of our proceedings. In this
expectation I am the more encouraged, by a pleasing circumstance, which
I consider one of the most auspicious omens of my reign—that happy
extinction of divisions, and that union and good harmony, which continue
to prevail amongst my subjects, afford me the most agreeable prospects;
the natural disposition and wish of my heart are to cement and promote
them; and I promise myself, that nothing will arise on your part to
interrupt or disturb a situation so essential to the true and lasting
felicity of this great people.” This speech was warmly responded to
by addresses from both houses of parliament; and the supplies for the
ensuing year, amounting to £19,616,119, were cheerfully voted, while the
civil list was fixed at £809,000; the king, on his part, consenting to
such a disposition of the hereditary revenues of the crown, as might
best promote the interests of the nation.

War, therefore, was to be continued, and Mr. Pitt and his colleagues
seemed to be confirmed in office: yet at this very moment the train was
laying for their expulsion. Earl Bute was anxious to become secretary
of state, and he was busily engaged in a correspondence with the noted
intriguer, Bubb Doddington. A few days after the meeting of parliament
his lordship declared to Doddington, that Lord Holderness “was ready at
his desire to quarrel with his fellow ministers, and go to the king and
throw up with seeming-anger, and then he (Bute) might come in without
seeming to displace anybody.” This expedient, however, did not please
Doddington, and Bute paid deference to his opinion. Still the two
friends took counsel together on this important affair. In a letter
from Doddington to Bute, which was written in December, he advises “that
nothing be done that can be justly imputed to precipitation; nothing
delayed that can be imputed to fear.” He adds: “Remember, my noble and
generous friend, that to recover monarchy from the inveterate usurpation
of oligarchy, is a point too arduous and important to be achieved
without much difficulty, and some degree of danger; though none but what
attentive moderation and unalterable firmness will certainly surmount.”

In his career of ambition, Bute, who was “better fitted to perform
Lothario on the stage,” than to act as secretary of state, paid small
regard to danger, but kept his eye fixed steadily on the point he had
in view. In January, he told Doddington that “Mr. Pitt meditated a
retreat;” and in the same month Doddington writes to him—“If the
intelligence they bring me be true, Mr. Pitt goes down fast in the city,
and faster at this end of the town: they add, you rise daily. This may
not be true; but if he sinks, you will observe that his system sinks
with him, and that there is nothing to replace it but recalling the
troops and leaving Hanover in deposit.” Again, on the 6th of February,
Lord Bute declared, that it was easy to make the Duke of Newcastle
resign, but at the same time he expressed a doubt as to the expediency
of beginning in that quarter. Doddington replied, that he saw no
objection to this step; and that if Bute thought there was, he might put
it into hands that would resign it to him when he thought proper to take
it. But Bute was not disposed to try the duke too much, nor to risk
too bold a leap at once: so all ill humours were concealed under a fair
surface.

Had Earl Bute taken any decisive step thus early in the reign of the new
king, it would probably have exposed him to public derision and scorn.
At this time the old system seemed to please everybody; and among the
supplies voted by the House of Commons, none were more freely granted
than the continental subsidies, and especially that of £670,000 to
the King of Prussia. His victory at Torgau, which subjected all
Saxony—Dresden excepted—to his power, was made known in England just
before the meeting of parliament, and it had the effect of raising him
high in the public favour of the people of England. Nor was it less
advantageous to him on the Continent. His victory, with its results,
indeed, were a full compensation to him for the previous losses he had
sustained during the campaign. Laudohn raised the siege of Cosel, and
evacuated Silesia; the Russians raised that of Colburg, and retreated
into Poland; and the Swedes were driven out of Western Pomerania. In
the same spirit of gratitude, the parliament granted £200,000 to our
colonies in America, for the expenses they had incurred, and the
efforts they had made in the present war—a war which laid some of the
groundworks of the independence which a few years later was claimed by
those colonies.




JUDGES MADE INDEPENDENT OF THE CROWN.

By an act passed in the year 1701, under the reign of William III., the
commissions of the judges were continued _quamdiu bené se gesserint_;
or the power of displacing them was taken from the crown, and their
continuance in office was made solely dependent on the faithful
discharge of their duties, so that it might be lawful to remove them
on the address of both houses to the king. Still, at the demise of the
crown, their offices were vacated, and George II. had even refused to
renew the commission of a judge who had given him personal offence.
Towards the close of this session, his present majesty, in a speech from
the throne, recommended an important improvement in this matter, which
greatly increased his popularity. He declared his wish to render the
bench still more independent of the crown, and the administration of
justice still more impartial; and he recommended that provisions should
be made for the continuance of their commissions and salaries, without
any reference to the death of one king, or the accession of his
successor. In compliance with this expressed wish, a bill was framed for
rendering the judges thus independent, which was carried through both
houses. It received the royal assent on the 19th of March, on which day
his majesty put an end to the session.




CHANGES IN THE CABINET.

Before this event took place, a certain party in the state began to
think that circumstances would authorise them to commence a gradual
change of ministers, and of the policy of the nation. In this his
majesty seems to have coincided, for on the same day that he closed the
session, Mr. Legge, who was co-partner with Mr. Pitt in popularity,
was unceremoniously dismissed from the office of chancellor of the
exchequer, and Sir Francis Dashwood nominated his successor. On the same
day, also, Lord Holderness having secured a pecuniary indemnification,
with the reversion of the wardenship of the cinque ports, resigned the
office of secretary of state in favour of Lord Bute. It was said that
the king “was tired of having two secretaries, of which one (Pitt)
_would_ do nothing, and the other (Holderness) _could_ do nothing; and
that he would have a secretary who both could and would act.” At the
same time, Lord Halifax was advanced from the board of trade to be
Lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and was replaced by Lord Barrington; and the
Duke of Richmond, displeased by a military promotion injurious to his
brother, resigned his post as lord of the bedchamber. Other changes, of
minor importance, took place—such as the introduction of several Tories
into the offices of the court, and there was a considerable addition
made to the peerage. These changes were, doubtless, unpalatable to Mr.
Pitt; but Horace Walpole says that he was somewhat softened by the offer
of the place of cofferer for his brother-in-law, James Grenville. At all
events Mr. Pitt continued in office, and Earl Bute consented to leave
the management of foreign affairs in his hands; but at the same time,
both Bute and his majesty gave him to understand that an end _must_ be
put to the war.




THE OPERATIONS OF THE WAR.

Since the accession of George III., the events of the war had been
various. Although Frederick the Great had driven the Russians and
Austrians from his capital, they were still within his own territory;
while the French were on the side of the Rhine, and the Swedes continued
to threaten invasions. Such was his situation when he heard that George
II, was dead; that his successor was desirous of peace; that some of his
advisers were projecting a separate treaty with France; and that it was
probable that the English subsidies would soon be discontinued. This
intelligence in some degree was confirmed by the tardiness with which
the subsidy, so readily granted by the parliament in December, was paid
into his treasury. Nothing daunted, however, Frederick planned fresh
campaigns, and remonstrated with England; and, as an effect of the bold
front he put upon his affairs, he had the satisfaction of learning,
before he went into winter-quarters, that the Russians had retired
beyond the Vistula, and that the Austrians and Swedes had departed
out of Brandenburg, Silesia, and Pomerania. Still his situation was a
critical one. His losses in men had been great, his coffers were empty,
and his recruiting was therefore difficult: he looked forward to the
campaign of 1761 with doubt and anxiety.

Contrary to the general rules of war, this campaign opened in the very
depth of the winter. Contrasting the strong constitutions of his
troops with the less hardy character of his opponents, Prince Ferdinand
resolved to take them thus by surprise. Accordingly, early in February,
by a sudden attack, he drove the French out of their quarters near
Cassel, and they were only saved from utter destruction, by the defiles,
and other difficulties of the country, which favoured their retreat.
Almost simultaneously with this achievement, the Prussian general,
Sybourg, effected a junction with the Hanoverian general, Sporken,
and took three thousand French prisoners. Subsequently, these generals
defeated the troops of the empire under General Clefeld; and Prince
Ferdinand followed up these advantages by laying siege to Cassel,
Marbourg, and Ziegenhayn. He was ably seconded in his operations by
the Marquis of Granby, but he failed in capturing these places, and
was compelled to retire into the electorate of Hanover. The retreat
of Ferdinand took place in April, and in the same month the hereditary
Prince of Brunswick was defeated by the French under Broglie, near
Frankfort.

At this time, Frederick had certain information that the English were
negociating with the French. This information appears to have paralysed
his efforts, for preparations were not recommenced before June. On their
part the French, also, were inactive till that time, when Broglie, being
joined by the Prince of Soubise with large reinforcements, endeavoured
to drive Prince Ferdinand and the combined army of English and
Hanoverians from their entrenchments at Hohenower. On two several days
Broglie made a fierce attack upon his posts, chiefly directing his
murderous fire against that commanded by Lord Granby; but on the second
day the French gave way, and made a precipitate retreat, leaving behind
them several pieces of cannon, with five thousand of their comrades
sleeping the sleep of death. Their non-success produced mutual
recriminations between Broglie and Soubise, who had never perfectly
agreed, and they resolved to separate: Broglie crossed the Weser, and
threatened to fall upon Hanover, while Soubise crossed the Lippe, as if
with the intention of laying siege to Munster.

The division of the French army caused a corresponding division in that
of Prince Ferdinand; for whilst he marched with one half to watch the
operations of Broglie, the hereditary Prince of Brunswick marched with
the other half to check the career of Soubise. The skill and vigour of
Ferdinand prevented Broglie from making any important conquests, though
he could not protect the country from his ravages. Perceiving, indeed,
that he could not check the onward march of his enemy, Ferdinand turned
aside into Hesse, and cut off all the communications of the French
in that country, destroying their magazines and menacing their forts,
which, as he foresaw, had the effect of alarming Broglie, and causing
him to retreat out of Hanover. In the meantime, the hereditary Prince of
Brunswick had checked the career of Soubise, and destroyed many of his
magazines; and soon after the French went into winter quarters—Soubise
on the Lower Rhine, and Broglie at Cassel.

Frederick had taken the field in the month of April, and had marched
into Silesia, where the fortress of Schweidnitz was threatened by
the Austrian general, Laudon. On his approach, Laudon retreated into
Bohemia, where he was joined by fresh columns of Russians under Marshal
Butterlin. At the same time another Russian horde, under Romanzow,
re-occupied Pomerania. The Austrian and Russian generals conceived that
they could hem in Frederick, and prevent his escape; but aware of his
danger, the skilful monarch threw himself into his fortified camp of
Buntzelwitz, from behind the strong ramparts of which he laughed his
enemies to scorn. A blockade was attempted, but the country, wasted by
long wars, had become like a wilderness, and afforded no food either
for man or horse; while their provision-waggons, 5000 in number, had all
been taken by a flying column of Prussians, under General Platen, who
had also destroyed three of the largest magazines which the Russians had
established on the confines of Poland. Famine stared them in the face,
and breaking up their blockade, Butterlin marched into Pomerania, and
Laudon to an entrenched camp, near Fribourg. Thus relieved, Frederick
marched towards Upper Silesia, which proved to be an unfortunate
movement; for Laudon, taking advantage of it, rushed from his entrenched
camp, made an assault by night upon Schweidnitz, which lie took by
storm, and then took up his winter-quarters in Silesia. About the same
time the Russians, assisted by the Swedes, took Colberg, which enabled
them to winter in Pomerania and Brandenburg.

In the meantime the arms of the English had, for the most part, been
successfully employed. Pondicherry, the capital settlement of the
French in, the East Indies, and their last stronghold in that country,
surrendered at discretion to Colonel Coote, after the garrison and
inhabitants had been reduced to the necessity of feeding on the flesh of
camels and elephants, and even upon dogs and vermin. In the West Indies,
also, Lord Rollo and Sir James Douglas reduced the island of Dominica,
which, contrary to treaty, had been fortified by the French. A
less important conquest was made on the coast of Brittany. A secret
expedition, which had been for some time in preparation, suddenly sailed
from Spithead, and under the command of Commodore Kepple, with troops on
board under General Hodgson, took its course across the Channel. Great
things were expected as the result of this expedition, but it only
enacted the old story of “The mountain in labour.” The point against
which this force was directed was the sterile rock of Bellisle, which,
at the expense of two thousand lives, was captured. Thus disappointed,
the people complained of the obstinacy of Pitt, and asked,
sarcastically, what could be done with it? Nevertheless, if it was no
use to England, it was a place of importance to France, as commanding
a large extent of coast, and affording a convenient receptacle to
privateers, whence it was insisted on as a valuable article of exchange,
when peace was concluded between the two nations.




THE RESIGNATION OF MR. PITT.

At this time France was rapidly sinking under the efforts made to
sustain war. Many of her colonies were conquered, her navy was ruined,
and her finances exhausted, while the people were impoverished and
discontented. Under these circumstances the king wished for repose and
peace, and in this wish, Sweden, Poland, and even Russia were ready to
join. Austria alone, whose empress-queen was bent on the recovery of
Silesia, and the overthrow of its conqueror Frederick, was desirous of
prolonging hostilities.

This wish of the king of France—which was also the wish of his
people—seemed to be favoured by circumstances in England. The influence
of Pitt was daily growing weaker, and Bute was fast gaining paramount
ascendancy. The French ministers, therefore, flattered themselves that
there would be no great difficulty in negociating; especially as they
were ready and willing to make some sacrifices, in order to obtain
peace. Accordingly an interchange of memorials was commenced, and in the
month of July Mr. Stanley was dispatched to Paris, while the Count de
Bussy came over to London, for the purpose of negociating. Preliminaries
were mutually proposed and examined. On their part the French offered
to cede Canada; to restore Minorca in exchange for Guadaloupe and
Marigalante; to give up Senegal and Goree for Anamaboo and Acra; to
renounce all claim to Cape Breton, on which no fortification was to
be erected; and to consent that Dunkirk should be demolished. But one
demand made by the French was fatal to the success of the negociations.
They demanded the restitution of all the captures made at sea by the
English before the declaration of war, on the ground that such captures
were contrary to all international law, which restitution was sternly
and absolutely refused, the English ministers arguing, that the right of
all hostile operations results not from a formal declaration of war, but
from the original hostilities of the aggressor. Another obstacle in the
way of peace, was the refusal of the French to restore Cassel, Gueldres,
and other places which they had taken from his Prussian majesty,
although they were ready to evacuate what they occupied in Hanover. And
as if these obstacles were not sufficient, the French preliminaries
were accompanied by a private memorial, demanding from England the
satisfaction of certain claims advanced by Spain, a country with which,
though differences existed, England was at peace. The French ambassador
was given to understand on this point, that the king of England would
never suffer his disputes with Spain to be thus mixed up with the
negociations carrying on with his country, and the cabinet called upon
the Spanish ambassador to disavow all participation in such a procedure,
and to state that his court was neither cognizant of it, nor wished to
blend its trifling differences with the weighty quarrels of France. But
this demand produced an unlooked-for budget, The Spanish ambassador at
first returned an evasive reply, but he was soon authorized by the court
of Spain to declare, that the proceedings of the French envoy had the
entire sanction of his Catholic majesty; and that, while his master was
anxious for peace, he was united as much by mutual interest as by the
ties of blood with the king of France. The fact is, Charles III., who
now occupied the throne of Spain, had privately agreed, before this
date, with the King of France, to consider every power as their common
enemy who might become the enemy of either, and to afford mutual
succours by sea and land. It had been also stipulated between them, that
no proposal of peace to their common enemies was to be made except by
common consent; that the two monarchs were to act as if they formed one
and the same power; that they should maintain for each other all the
possessions which they might possess at the conclusion of peace; and
finally, that the King of Naples might be allowed to participate in
their treaty, though no other family, except a prince of the house of
Bourbon, was to be admitted into this family compact.

Negociations for peace, therefore, proved abortive. Even Bute considered
many of the proposals of the French if not insulting to the majesty
of the British nation, at least inadmissible. Yet these négociations
resulted in the downfall of Pitt. At the council-table, that great
minister represented that Spain was only waiting for the arrival of
her annual plate-fleet from America, and then she would declare war.
He proposed, therefore, that her declaration should be anticipated by
England: that war should be forthwith proclaimed against Spain, and a
fleet sent out to intercept her ships and treasures from the western
world. He likewise proposed an immediate attack upon her colonies;
recommending the capture of the Havannah and the occupation of the
Isthmus of Panama, from whence an expedition might be sent against
Manilla and the Philippine Isles, to intercept the communication between
the continent of South America and the rich regions of the East. It
suited the purpose of Bute, however, to raise the laugh of incredulity
as to the declaration of war by Spain, questioning, at the same time,
the real meaning of the treaty entered into between the two Bourbons.
The other members of the cabinet also—Lord Temple excepted—pronounced
the measures proposed by Pitt too precipitate, and he had no alternative
but to resign; especially as he found, also, that the king was adverse
to his schemes. Accordingly, on the 6th of October, Pitt delivered
up his seals to the king, which his majesty received with ease and
firmness, but without requesting him to resume them. The monarch,
notwithstanding, lamented to him the loss of so valuable a servant,
while he declared that even if his cabinet had been unanimous for war
with Spain, he should have found great difficulty in consenting to such
a measure. Pitt was affected by the kind, yet dignified, behaviour of
the young king. “I confess, sire,” said he, with emotion, “I had but
too much reason to expect your majesty’s displeasure: I did not come
prepared for this exceeding goodness: pardon me, sir; it overpowers,—it
oppresses me.”

Pitt retired with a pension of £3,000 per annum, which was to be
continued for three lives. The peerage was offered him, but he declined
it personally, accepting it only for his wife and her issue. He was
succeeded in office by Lord Egremont, son of the great Tory, Sir William
Wyndam. At the same time Lord Temple retired from office, and the privy
seal was given to the Duke of Bedford. The resignation of Mr. Pitt, with
his honours and rewards, were published in the Gazette on the following
day, and in the same paper a letter was published from the English
ambassador at Madrid, which was replete with assurances of the pacific
intentions of Spain. On this circumstance, combined with the resignation
of Mr. Pitt, Burke remarks:—“It must be owned that this manouvre was
very skilfully executed: for it at once gave the people to understand
the true motive to the resignation, the insufficiency of that motive,
and the gracious-ness of the king, notwithstanding the abrupt departure
of his minister. If after this the late minister should choose to
enter into opposition, he must go into it loaded and oppressed with the
imputation of the blackest ingratitude; if, on the other hand, he should
retire from business, or should concur in support of that administration
which he had left, because he disapproved its measures, his acquiescence
would be attributed by the multitude to a bargain for his forsaking
the public, and that the title and his pension were the considerations.
These were the barriers that opposed against that torrent of popular
rage which it was apprehended would proceed from this resignation. And
the truth is, they answered their end perfectly.”

This reasoning of Mr. Burke was strictly correct. The friends and
partisans of Mr. Pitt raised violent clamours against Bute, for
displacing a man who had raised the nation from its once abject state to
the pinnacle of glory; and addresses, resolutions, and condolences
were set on foot in London and the greater corporations, with a view
of exciting the smaller cities and boroughs in England to follow the
example. The press, also, was active in vilifying Bute for the part
he had taken in this affair. But Bute had his friends as well as his
enemies, and Pitt had his enemies as well as his friends. The press
worked on both sides of the question; while it vilified Bute, it
animadverted on Pitt’s pensions and honours. At the same time the people
were only partially in the favour of the ex-minister. The progress
of addresses, resolutions, and condolences was languid, and in some
instances the people were disposed to cast odium _upon_, and to blacken
the character _of_, the retired secretary. The popularity of Pitt was,
in truth, obscured with mists and clouds for a time, and it was not
till after he had raised a few thunder-storms of opposition, that his
political atmosphere once again became radiant with the sunshine of
prosperity. For the mind of Pitt was not to be long borne down by its
heavy weight of gratitude to royalty, or by public accusations: he soon
shook off the one, and resolutely braved the other.




THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING.

On the 8th of July the young king having called an extraordinary
council, made the following declaration to its members:—“Having nothing
so much at heart as to procure the welfare and happiness of my people,
and to render the same stable and permanent to posterity, I have, ever
since my accession to the throne, turned my thoughts towards the choice
of a princess for my consort; and I now with great satisfaction acquaint
you, that after the fullest information, and mature deliberation, I am
come to a resolution to demand in marriage the Princess Charlotte of
Mecklenberg Strelitz; a princess distinguished by every eminent virtue
and amiable endowment; whose illustrious line has constantly shown the
firmest zeal for the Protestant religion, and a particular attachment
to my family. I have judged it proper to communicate to you these my
intentions, in order that you may be fully apprised of a matter so
highly important to me and to my kingdoms, and which I persuade myself
will be most acceptable to my loving subjects.”

The preliminary negociations concerning this union had been conducted
with great secresy, whence this announcement occasioned some surprise to
most of the members of the extraordinary council. It met, however, with
the warmest approbation of them all, and the treaty was concluded on the
15th of August. The Earl of Harcourt, with the Duchesses of Ancaster and
Hamilton, were selected to escort the young bride to England, and Lord
Anson was the commander of the fleet destined to convoy the royal yacht.
Princess Charlotte arrived in England on the 7th of September, and on
the following day she was escorted to St. James’s, where she was met by
his majesty.

Before the arrival of the future Queen of England, in a letter to one
of his correspondents, Lord Harcourt had given this description of
her:—“Our queen, that is to be, has seen very little of the world;
but her very good sense, vivacity, and cheerfulness, I dare say will
recommend her to the king, and make her the darling of the British
nation. She is no regular beauty; but she is of a pretty size, has a
charming complexion, with very pretty eyes, and is finely made.” Lord
Harcourt was right in his conjectures concerning the views which the
king would take of his young bride. It is said, that in the first
interview, although he saluted her tenderly, the king was disappointed
in not finding in the princess those personal charms which he had
expected. But this was only a momentary feeling. The king soon
became interested in her artlessness, cheerful manners, and obliging
disposition, while the whole court was loud in their praises of her
affability, and even of her beauty. “In half an hour,” says Horace
Walpole, “one heard of nothing but proclamations of her beauty:
everybody was content; everybody was pleased.” So the marriage
took place in the midst of good-humour and rejoicings: the nuptial
benediction was given by Dr. Seeker, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the
Duke of Cumberland gave away the bride.




CORONATION OF THEIR MAJESTIES.

Extraordinary preparations were made for the coronation of their
majesties. It took place on the 22nd of September, and though described
as solemn and magnificent, it did not materially differ from preceding
coronations. The crown was placed on the head of the monarch by
Archbishop Seeker, and before his majesty partook of the holy sacrament,
he exhibited a very pleasing instance of piety before the assembled
court. As he approached the altar, he asked if he might lay aside his
crown; and when the archbishop, after consulting with Bishop Pearce,
replied, that no order existed on the subject in the service, he
rejoined, “Then it ought to be done;” at the same time taking the diadem
from his head, he placed it, reverentially, on the altar. His majesty
wished the queen to manifest the same reverence to the Almighty, but
being informed that her crown was fastened to her hair, he did not press
the subject. On the return of the procession, an incident occurred,
which, had it happened among the nations of antiquity, would have been
considered an omen of evil portent, which could only have been averted
by a whole hecatomb of sacrifices. The most valuable diamond in his
majesty’s diadem fell from it, and was for some time lost, but it was
afterwards found, and restored to his crown. The coronation of George
III. could boast of one very extraordinary spectator among the many
thousands present. This was Charles Edward Stuart, the young Pretender,
who had come over in disguise, and who obtained admission into the
abbey, and witnessed all the ceremonies consecrating a king on that
throne which he considered legitimately belonged to his father or
himself! It is said that George knew that he was in London, and that
he would not allow him to be molested; feeling, no doubt, secure in the
affections of a loyal people. And that he was secure, the éclat with
which the great festival of his coronation passed off, fully manifested.
All combined to testify that their majesties were very popular, and that
they had good reasons for anticipating a happy and prosperous reign.




MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The new parliament met on the 3rd of November, when Sir John Cust was
elected speaker of the commons. He was presented to his majesty on the
6th, on which day the king, having first approved of the choice, thus
addressed both houses:—“At the opening of the first parliament summoned
and elected under my authority, I with pleasure notice an event which
has made me completely happy, and given universal joy to my loving
subjects. My marriage with a princess, eminently distinguished by every
virtue and amiable endowment, while it affords me all possible domestic
comfort, cannot but highly contribute to the happiness of my kingdoms,
which has been, and always shall be, the first object in every action of
my life.

“It has been my earnest wish that this first period of my reign might be
marked with another felicity; the restoring of the blessings of peace to
my people, and putting an end to the calamities of war, under which so
great a part of Europe suffers: but though overtures were made to
me, and my good brother and ally, the King of Prussia, by the several
belligerent powers, in order to a general pacification, for which
purpose a congress was appointed, and propositions were made to me by
France for a particular peace with that crown, which were followed by an
actual négociation; yet that congress has not hitherto taken place, and
the negociation with France is entirely broken off.

“The sincerity of my disposition to effectuate this good work has been
manifested in the progress of it: and I have the consolation to reflect,
that the continuance of the war, and the further effusion of Christian
blood, to which it was the desire of my heart to put a stop, cannot,
with justice, be imputed to me.

“Our military operations have been in no degree suspended or delayed;
and it has pleased God to grant us further important success, by the
conquest of the islands of Belleisle and Dominica: and by the reduction
of Pondicherry, which has in a manner annihilated the French power in
the East Indies. In other parts, where the enemy’s numbers were greatly
superior, their principal designs and projects have been generally
disappointed, by a conduct which does the highest honour to the
distinguished capacity of my general, Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, and
by the valour of my troops. The magnanimity and ability of the King of
Prussia have eminently appeared in resisting such numerous armies, and
surmounting so great difficulties.

“In this situation I am glad to have an opportunity of receiving the
truest information of the sense of my people by a new choice of their
representatives: I am fully persuaded you will agree with me in opinion,
that the steady exertion of our most vigorous efforts, in every part
where the enemy may still be attacked with advantage, is the only means
that can be productive of such a peace as may with reason be expected
from our successes. It is therefore my fixed resolution, with your
concurrence and support, to carry on the war in the most effectual
manner, for the interest and advantage of my kingdoms; and to maintain
to the utmost of my power the good faith and honour of my crown, by
adhering firmly to the engagements entered into with my allies. In
this I will persevere until my enemies, moved by their own losses and
distresses, and touched with the miseries of so many nations, shall
yield to the equitable conditions of an honourable peace: in which
case, as well as in the prosecution of the war, I do assure you, no
consideration whatever shall make me depart from the true interests of
these my kingdoms, and the honour and dignity of my crown.”

His majesty concluded his speech by calling upon the commons for
adequate supplies to enable him to prosecute the war with vigour, and by
asking for a provision for the queen in case she should survive him. The
commons, besides the usual address, sent a message of congratulation to
the queen, and they proved the sincerity of their professions by making
her a grant of £100,000 per annum, with Somerset House and the Lodge in
Richmond Park annexed: a patent also passed the privy seal, granting her
majesty the yearly sum of £40,000 for the support of her dignity. On the
subject of the supplies for the ensuing year, however, a long and
stormy debate took place; and a month elapsed before they were finally
adjusted. Opposition to them chiefly arose from the circumstance that
the sentiments of the people, and likewise of the court, were beginning
to change respecting the German war. But Lord Egremont found himself
compelled to walk in the very steps which Pitt had marked out, at
least for some time, and the large demands made were pressed upon the
parliament, and finally received its sanction. Seventy thousand seamen
were voted, and it was agreed to maintain 67,676 effective men, beside
the militia of England, two regiments of fencibles in Scotland, the
provincial troops in America, and 67,167 German auxiliaries. Some new
taxes, also, were imposed, including an additional one on windows, and
an increased duty on spirituous liquors, in order to pay the interest
of £12,000,000, which it was found necessary to borrow, to make good
the deficiences of last session. In the whole the supplies for the year
1762, voted by the parliament, amounted to more than £18,000,000: two
millions of which were required for the defence of Portugal.

{GEORGE III. 1760–1765}




DISTURBANCES IN IRELAND.

In the month of October, Lord Halifax, the new Lord-lieutenant of
Ireland met his Majesty’s first parliament in that country. The Irish
parliament responded to the sentiments of the English parliament
respecting the accession of the young monarch. Addresses replete with
loyalty were voted by both houses; and the greatest confidence was
expressed in the rule of Lord Halifax, auguring the happiest results
from his administration, and promising cordial co-operation. That
ill-fated country, however, was restless as the waves of the ocean.
During the vice-royalty of the Duke of Bedford, it had been totally
under the dominion of the lord’s justices, and they had recently made
an attempt to gain popularity, by expressing doubts in the privy
council concerning the propriety of sending over a money bill, lest the
rejection of it should occasion the dissolution of the new parliament,
and thereby endanger the peace of the country. They were opposed in
their views by Lord Chancellor Bowes and his party, and party violence
was inflamed to the highest pitch. The popular coalition prevailed so
far as to alter the established custom, by sending a bill not for the
actual supplies, but relating to a vote of credit for Ireland, whence
all ferment on this subject subsided. In such a contest it is not likely
that the people would have joined, but they had grievances of their
own, which endangered the public tranquillity. In his speech to the new
parliament, Lord Halifax had recommended that the linen trade, which had
been confined to the southern parts of the kingdom, should be extended
throughout the country, inasmuch as there was a large demand for it, and
it might thereby be made a source of wealth to the whole country. True
patriots would have observed the wisdom of, and have acquiesced in, this
measure; but self-interest in Ireland, as in all countries under the
face of the sun, prevailed over the feelings of patriotism. The people
in the southern parts of the kingdom murmured at such a project, as
it would affect their personal interests, and their discontents were
increased by the conversion of considerable quantities of land from a
state of tillage to that of pasturage, for the purpose of feeding more
cattle. By this measure, great numbers of the peasantry were deprived
at once, not only of employment, but of their cottages. Many small farms
were indeed still let to some cottagers at rack-rent, which cottages
had the right of commonage, guaranteed to them in their leases; but
afterwards the commons were enclosed, and no recompense was made to the
tenants by the landlords. Thus provoked, and being joined by the idle
and dissolute, these unhappy people sought to redress their own wrongs
by acts of violence. Fences were destroyed, horses and arms were
seized, cattle were maltreated, and obnoxious persons, especially
tithe-proctors, were exposed to their vengeance. Many were stripped
naked, and made to ride on horses with saddles formed of the skins of
hedgehogs, or buried up to their chins in holes lined with thorns
that were trodden down closely to their bodies. From their outrageous
violence these people obtained the name of “Levellers,” but afterwards,
from the circumstance of their wearing white shirts over their clothes
for the purpose of disguise, they were termed “White Boys.” Their
outrages demanded the strong arm of the law, and the royal troops were
employed in their suppression. Many suffered the extreme penalty of the
law, though many more were permitted to escape through the lenity of
the judges, whence the disorders long prevailed. As the rioters were
all Romanists, a popish plot was suspected, and the Romish clergy were
charged with promoting their outrages. A motion was made in parliament
to investigate this matter, but there not being sufficient evidence
to inculpate any parties, it was dropped, and no efficient remedy was
therefore applied to heal the disorder.




WAR WITH SPAIN.

The year had not closed before the ministers found that a rupture with
Spain was inevitable. The first intimation of it was detected in the
menacing conduct of the court of Versailles; and Lord Bristol, the
English ambassador at Madrid, was instructed to demand the real
intentions of Charles III., and the real purport of the family compact.
General Wall, the Spanish minister replied more insolently than before;
but an open rupture was avoided till the plate-ships had arrived at
Cadiz with all the wealth expected from Spanish America. Then it was
seen that the political vision of Pitt could penetrate much deeper than
that of Bute and his colleagues. Complaining of the haughty spirit and
the discord which prevailed in the British cabinet, and of the insults
offered to his sovereign, Wall informed Bristol that he might leave
Spain as soon as he pleased, and at the same time issued orders to
detain all English ships then in the ports of Spain. Lord Bristol
returned; the Count of Fuentes, the Spanish ambassador, quitted London,
and war was mutually declared by both countries.

The declaration of war was made on the 4th of January, and on the 19th
parliament met after its adjournment, when the king informed both houses
of the measures he had been compelled to adopt. The members of both
houses were unanimous in their approbation of his majesty’s conduct,
and in assurances of vigorous support. The consideration of the
intelligence, notwithstanding, caused a stormy debate, but as no regular
opposition was organized, and government was supported by Pitt, clamour
died away, and the war met with general approbation. In the house
of lords, a motion was made reprobating the expense of the German
campaigns, and recommending a recall of the British troops for the
security of our own dominions; but it was strongly opposed, and the
previous question was carried by a large majority. Preparations were
therefore made for war with Spain, without diminishing the expenses
of the war in Germany; and while fresh troops were enlisted, some wise
alterations were made by parliament in the militia laws, by which a
line was drawn between those persons liable to serve, and such as were
exempt.

Operations were commenced in the Havannah. On the 5th of March, an
expedition sailed under the command of General Lord Albemarle and
Admiral Pococke, in order to strike a severe blow against the commerce
of Spain in that quarter. This expedition was joined in the West Indies
by a strong squadron commanded by Sir James Douglas, and sailing through
the Straits of Bahama, it arrived before the Havannah on the 5th of
June. A landing was easily effected and siege was laid to the Moro,
a strong fort which defended the harbour, and which was considered
impregnable. The difficulties in making the approaches on a hard rocky
soil were great, and the troops suffered from sickness, fatigue, and
the fire of the enemy; but being joined by fresh reinforcements from New
York and our West Indian Islands, the fort was isolated from the town,
and it was then stormed through a narrow and perilous breach, and
carried at the point of the bayonet. The city of Havannah maintained the
siege a fortnight longer; but it was compelled to capitulate, and it was
yielded up with 180 miles of country westward, or all the best part of
the island of Cuba. Nine Spanish ships of the line and three frigates
were taken in the harbour, and three ships of the line and a galleon
were destroyed, while the booty that fell into the hands of the victors
amounted to £3,000,000 sterling. But the ultimate advantages of this
victory promised to be greater than its immediate results. By the
possession of the Havannah, indeed, England obtained the absolute
command of the passage pursued by the plate-fleets of Spain, and seemed
to lay the wealth of that country at her feet.

It was not in the western hemisphere alone, that the dominions of the
King of Spain were attacked. When the news of the war reached the
East Indies an armament was fitted out at Madras, under the command
of Admiral Cornish and Sir William Draper, which suddenly appeared
off Manilla, the capital of Luconia, and the surrounding isles. Draper
landed his forces and took possession of the suburbs of Manilla, before
the inhabitants were well aware of the war between Spain and England.
Manilla was governed by the archbishop, who proved by his conduct, that
like the ecclesiastics of the middle ages, he could both fight and say
mass. The archbishop excited the natives to assault the assailants in
the rear, while at the head of about eight hundred Spainards he opposed
them in front. The Indians fought with almost incredible ferocity; but
they were cut to pieces by the sword, or died gnawing with their teeth
the bayonets by which they were transfixed. The works of Manilla were
carried by storm, and Draper’s forces, which were chiefly composed of
Sepoys and Lascars, began to plunder and destroy the city. The inner
citadel, however, remained uncaptured, and the archbishop with the
magistrates, and some of the garrison threw themselves into it for
safety. A capitulation ensued, by which the city and port of Manilla,
with several ships and the military stores, were surrendered to
England, while a ransom was given for all private property, amounting
to 4,000,000 dollars. The fruits of this important conquest did not
terminate here. Two ships were despatched from the British squadron
to intercept the rich galleon Phillippina, and though they missed this
prize, they captured the Santa Trinidad, a great Manilla and Acapulco
galleon, with a cargo valued at 3,000,000 dollars. The whole group of
islands then submitted to the English flag.

The English arms were equally successful in a series of attacks on
the remaining French West India Islands. Martinique, Grenada, the
Grenadines, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and Tobago, were all captured by an
army under general Moncton and a squadron under Admiral Rodney, so that
England obtained possession of the entire chain of the Caribbees. It
was in vain that the French in that part of the world sought to stem the
onward progress of the British arms: they were overpowering, and being
hopeless of succour from their mother-country, the French everywhere
submitted to the conquerors.




FRANCE AND SPAIN DECLARE WAR AGAINST PORTUGAL.

Before the news of the loss of Havannah and Manilla reached the court
of Spain, that court had commenced a land campaign on the continent. A
close alliance had long subsisted between England and Portugal, whence
France and Spain at this period chose to consider the king of Portugal
as the creature of the King of England. These two powers therefore
determined on a rupture with Portugal, unless the Portuguese should
renounce their English alliance. Preparations were accordingly made
for an invasion of Portugal by France as well as by Spain, while in the
meantime a joint memorial was presented by the two powers, inviting the
king of that country to join the alliance of the Bourbons against Great
Britain, which they were pleased to designate “the common enemy of all
maritime nations.” At the same time they insisted that he should expel
all English merchants and English sojourners from his kingdom, and close
his ports to English shipping. It was added that if he acceeded to these
proposals, his fortresses and sea-ports should be garrisoned by French
and Spanish troops to protect him from England’s vengeance, but that
if he refused—and the answer was to be given within four days—he must
take the consequences of such a line of policy.

There were circumstances existing which ought to have disarmed all
hostility on the part of France and Spain towards Portugal, even if
that hostility had been founded in justice. The Portuguese had not yet
recovered from the effects of the earthquake which, in 1756, had reduced
a third part of Lisbon to a ruinous heap. Then again, the Portuguese
power was acknowledged to be weak; but, above all, the King of Portugal
was the near relation of the King of Spain. The weakness of the
Portuguese government, however, was rather a temptation than a barrier
to the view of the Spanish monarch, and as for the claims of kindred,
they were absorbed in his views of ambition. Portugal was incorporated
geographically, and he longed to incorporate it politically with Spain,
whence the claims of misfortune and kindred were overlooked by him.
Conscience, moreover, was not allowed to assert its sway over his
actions, for he had armed himself against its lawful power by leaving
the decision of peace or war to his Portuguese majesty. If he joined
the Bourbon alliance, well and good, for the forces of France and Spain
would obtain possession of Portugal at an easy rate; but if not, if
he still adhered to his old alliance with England, then it would be
manifest to all the world, if he lost the kingdom, it would be his own
fault: in such cheap estimation does ambition hold morality.

At this period, Portugal had not an army exceeding 20,000 men, and her
fleet was reduced to six ships of the line and a few frigates, while her
fortresses were in ruins. In such a desperate condition, therefore, it
might have been expected that, however repugnant to his inclinations,
the heir of the house of Braganza would have broken his alliance with
England, and have joined the Family Compact. Prudence would seem to have
dictated such a step, but he acted otherwise. He had spirit enough to
declare that he would never submit to such conditions; and the French
and Spanish ambassadors quitted Lisbon, while their armies on the
frontiers put themselves in motion towards his capital. Ruin seemed to
await the monarch of Portugal. Braganza, Miranda, and Torre de Moncorvo
were captured by the Marquis of Saria, who commanded the Spanish army
north of the Douro, while another body of Spanish troops penetrated
south of the Douro into Beira, and occupied a post near Almeida. But
the Spaniards were doomed to receive a check. The militia and the brave
peasantry of Portugal, assisted and directed by some British officers,
maintained a destructive war of posts on the forces of Saria, and thus
stemmed his onward progress till relief came from England.

On the 11th of May, George III. ordered the following message to be laid
before the house of commons:—“His majesty, relying on the known zeal
and affection of his faithful commons, and considering that in
this conjuncture emergencies may arise, which may be of the utmost
importance, and be attended with the most pernicious consequences, if
proper means should not be immediately applied to prevent or defeat
them; and his majesty also taking into his most serious consideration
the imminent danger with which the kingdom of Portugal, an ancient and
natural ally of his crown, is threatened by the powers now in open
war with his majesty, and of what importance the preservation of that
kingdom is to the commercial interests of this country, is desirous that
the house would enable him to defray any extraordinary expenses of the
war incurred, or to be incurred for the service of the year 1762; and to
take all such measures as may be necessary to disappoint or defeat
any enterprises or designs of his enemies against his majesty or his
allies.”

This message was favourably received; Pitt advocated the cause of our
ancient ally with fervour and eloquence, and the house of commons voted
£1,000,000 sterling for the purposes therein specified. And this vote
was followed by prompt and effective measures to arrest the arms of
France and Spain. Eight thousand British troops under the command
of Lord Tyrawley, the Earl of Loudon, General Townshend, Lord George
Lennox, and Brigadiers Crawford and Burgoyne, landed in Portugal, and
immediately commenced operations. At the same time the native Portuguese
army consented to submit to the command of the Count de la Lippe, an
active and experienced German officer, who had commanded the British
artillery in Germany. The events of this campaign were complicated and
various. Lippe concentrated the principal part of the Portuguese forces
at Puente de Marcello, to prevent the progress of the Spanish arms
northward, while Brigadier Burgoyne was detached to fall upon Valencia
d’Alcantara, on the frontiers of Spain, southward. Burgoyne carried
Valencia d’Alcantara by a _coup-de-main_, capturing a Spanish general
with all his staff, and all the magazines which Spain had there
collected for the purpose of an invasion along the Tagus, and then
retraced his steps to Pnente de Marcello. At the same time Almeida was
taken by the Spanish general, Count d’Aranda, and having garrisoned this
place, and Ciudad Rodrigo, he marched towards the Tagus, designing to
pass into the Alemtejo. When, however, he arrived at Villa Velha, on the
Tagus, he found that the passage of the river would be disputed. Lippe,
aware of his designs, had marched to Abrantes, the key of Portugal on
the Tagus, and had posted detachments under Burgoyne and the Count
de St. Jago at the adjacent passes of Alvite and at Niza. The Spanish
general obtained possession of the castle of Villa Velha, and drove
the Count de St. Jago from the pass of Alvite; but while some of the
Spaniards were pursuing the routed Portuguese forces, Burgoyne threw
a detachment across the Tagus upon Villa Velha, and while the Count
d’Abrantes was amused in front by a feigned attack from Niza, this
detachment, commanded by Colonel Lee, entered their quarters in the
rear, and began a terrible fire of musquetry. It was under cover of the
night that Lee entered the quarters of the Spanish commander, and thus
surprised, the Spaniards were routed with terrible slaughter, while
their magazines were destroyed and their guns spiked. This was a blow
from which the Spaniards could not recover; and the French invading
forces having failed in their co-operation, his provisions beginning to
fail, the autumnal rains to descend in torrents, and the peasantry to
block up the roads, the Count d’Aranda dismantled the few fortresses he
had taken, and returned to Spain. To all these losses and defeats was
added the capture of the Spanish ship, Hermione, off Cape St. Vincent,
by the English, having treasure on board that amounted to nearly
£1,000,000 sterling. The only expedition of the English which failed
during this year was that against Buenos Ayres, which was as ill
conceived as it was paltry. But this gave Spain no hope for the future.
Taught experience by reverses, the war with England became, indeed,
unpopular with the Spanish people, and their universal cry was, at
the close of this campaign, “Peace with England, and war with all the
world!”




DISSENSIONS IN THE CABINET.

Early in January of this year died the Czarina Elizabeth, one of the
most bitter and inveterate enemies of our ally, the King of Prussia. She
was succeeded in her empire by Peter III., who, by the month of March,
had concluded a close alliance with Frederick, placing an army of 20,000
men, which had hitherto fought against him, entirely at his disposal to
fight against Austria. This had no sooner become known to the English
cabinet, than Bute and his party proposed that no further subsidies
should be paid to Frederick; at the same time, they reminded his
Prussian majesty, that he had himself declared that if he were once
secured by the neutrality of Russia, he should have little need of
further assistance from England. But the old Duke of Newcastle would
not admit the validity of this reasoning of his colleagues. He waited
on Bute, and declared his intention to resign, unless a subsidy of
£2,000,000 was paid, and the continental war continued. Bute answered
drily, “that if the money were granted, peace might be retarded;” but he
never requested him to continue in office, nor said a civil word to the
aged politician. Accordingly, the Duke repaired from the minister to his
master, and resigned his office, refusing a pension which was offered
as a reward for his services, and for the large sacrifices which he had
made since he had been minister, out of his private fortunes. “If he
could no longer be permitted to serve his country,” he said, “he was at
least determined not to be a burden on it: that if his private fortune
had suffered by his loyalty, it was his pleasure, his glory, and his
pride; and that he desired no reward but his majesty’s approbation.”
 Horace Walpole says, that he retired from the royal presence
comparatively a poor man, to find how solitary and deserted could be the
mansion of an ex-minister. Newcastle had been more than forty-five years
in the cabinet, and this utter disregard to money-making exhibits his
patriotism in a strong light: few would have served their country so
long without well replenishing their coffers, especially at that age,
when the virtues of disinterestedness and self-abnegation were exotic
rather than indigenous to the human heart.

Bute had his reasons for answering the Duke of Newcastle coldly, and the
result answered his expectations. He succeeded the ex-minister at the
head of the treasury, “taking the reins of government with almost as
little experience as Phaeton, and meeting with a fall almost as soon.”
 Mr. George Grenville was appointed secretary of state; but he afterwards
exchanged posts with Lord Halifax, who had recently been appointed head
of the admiralty. Lord Barrington was removed from the Exchequer in
which office he was succeeded by Sir Francis Dashwood, and he was
appointed treasurer of the navy. Soon after the Duke of Devonshire
resigned his post of lord high chamberlain, and the Earl of Hardwicke
retired from public life altogether. Many of the friends of the duke
retained their places or accepted others; but several noblemen and
commoners of distinction before the end of the year ranged themselves in
the ranks of opposition. Amongst these was the Duke of Newcastle,
who, although during the summer he had abstained from opposing the
government, at length formed a political connexion with the Duke of
Cumberland, whom he had before invariably opposed.




EVENTS IN GERMANY, ETC.

Frederick of Prussia had not only entered into an alliance with Russia,
but towards the end of May he had concluded a peace with Sweden.
Backed by these two powers he boasted that he was in possession of
more advantages than he could have derived from gaining three pitched
battles, and without waiting for the English subsidy he took the field.
He began operations in Silesia, and directed his attention to the
recovery of Schweidnitz. He was aided in his designs by his brother,
Prince Henry, who had gained an important battle near Freyburg, and thus
changed the aspect of affairs in Saxony; but while he was intent on his
plans, he was threatened with a sudden reverse of fortune. This was the
death of his new ally, the Czar Peter.

After making peace with Frederick, and sending 20,000 of his troops
to serve under him, Peter, from a spirit of admiration of the Prussian
monarch, and of enthusiasm in his cause, insisted upon introducing the
Prussian discipline, and even the Prussian uniform into his army. He
set the example by appearing in the dress of a Prussian general, and he
often observed that, if he had remained Duke of Holstein, he would have
commanded a regiment in the Prussian service, and have become personally
acquainted with Frederick. This naturally offended the national
prejudices; but he took a more fatal step for his own welfare, by
building or dedicating Protestant chapels, by ordering the removal
of painted images of saints from the churches, and by checking the
entrances of novices into convents. By these measures he therefore
gained himself many enemies both among the military and the priesthood.
Every third man he admitted into his councils or his presence, it has
been said, was a traitor. His fall, however, might have been far distant
but for the wife of his bosom. Catherine, Princess of Anhalt Zerbst,
charmed the Russians as much as Peter disgusted them, and she was,
moreover, induced to believe that he had discovered her guilty connexion
with Count Gregory Orloff, and entertained a design of divorcing her and
casting her into prison, that he might raise his own favourite mistress,
Elizabeth Countess of Woronzow, to the throne. Hence—and being also
inflamed with ambition—Catherine lent a willing ear to the complaints
of the army, clergy, and nobility, and, aided by them, she effected
another revolution in Russia. Habited in the garb of a man, and
surrounded by some of the military and nobility, she proceeded to
the church of the Virgin Mary of Casan, where a vast concourse of the
clergy, the nobles, and the soldiery hailed her on her arrival as their
deliverer. She was crowned sole empress by the Archbishop of Novogorod,
and all present took the oath of allegiance to her. From the church,
Catherine proceeded to the senate, which at once acknowledged her right,
and swore fidelity to her cause. All the adherents of her husband were
then arrested, and Peter himself was thrown into prison, where, after a
few days, he died, as some say by disease, but more probably as others
assert, by assassination.

No one was more interested in these proceedings than Frederick of
Prussia. He conceived that he might find an enemy as implacable in
Catherine as he had found in her predecessor, Elizabeth. His forebodings
were not fully realized, for while the empress recalled the Russian
troops serving under him, she restored the Prussian territories which
had been occupied by Elizabeth, and promised to observe a strict
neutrality. Thus set free from his fears, Frederick proceeded in his
campaign with his accustomed vigour. Schweidnitz and Silesia were
recovered, and the Austrians were driven into Bohemia, one part of the
Prussian army advancing to the very gates of Prague. At the same time,
the allied armies, under Prince Ferdinand and the Marquis of Granby,
reduced Cassel, expelled the French from Hesse, and effected the
salvation of Hanover—events which created alarm and despondency in the
French cabinet.




NEGOCIATIONS FOR PEACE.

Notwithstanding the uninterrupted success of the British arms, Lord Bute
was still anxious for peace. And his views at this time were seconded by
the voice of the people, who loudly complained of the increased taxation
and the expenses and burdens consequent upon this protracted war.
Accordingly, having indirectly sounded some of the French cabinet, Bute
engaged the neutral King of Sardinia to propose that it should resume
négociations for peace. Both France and Spain, taught experience by
their reverses, were eager for such a consummation; and Louis XV. had no
sooner received the hint, than he acted upon it with all his heart and
soul. Notes were interchanged, and it was agreed that a minister
should be appointed on either side forthwith. In compliance with this
agreement, the Duke of Bedford went as plenipotentiary and ambassador
extraordinary to Paris, and the Duke de Nivernois came over to London in
the same capacity. Preliminaries for peace were signed at Fontainbleau,
on the third of November, by the ministers of Great Britain, France,
Spain, and Portugal; and the sanction of the British parliament only was
wanting to carry them into effect.

The terms of the preliminaries signed at Fontainbleau were as
follow:—France consented to restore Minorca; to evacuate Hanover,
Cleves, Wesel, Gueldres, the territories of the Landgrave of Hesse, the
Duke of Brunswick, and the Count de la Lippe Bucke-burg, and every place
taken from his Prussian majesty. France, also, renounced all pretensions
to Nova Scotia, and ceded the islands of Cape Breton and St. John, with
the entire province of Canada, including the islands in the Gulf and
River of St. Lawrence; that part of Louisiana which is situate east of
the Mississippi, and the tract between the Ohio and St. Lawrence, on
which French forts had been erected, and which had been the proximate
cause of the war. On her part Spain resigned East and West Florida, with
all pretensions to fish on the coast of Newfoundland; and conceded the
full right of cutting logwood in the Bay of Honduras. France and Spain
promised full restitution to Portugal, and the fortifications of Dunkirk
were to be demolished, according to the tenor of previous treaties. For
these advantages, England agreed to restore Pondicherry, in the East
Indies, Goree, in Africa, and Martinique, Guadaloupe, Marigalante,
Desirade, and St. Lucie, in the West Indies, to France, together with
Belleisle, in Europe. To Spain she was to give up the Havannah, with all
other conquests in Cuba, The conquests England retained, beside those
specified in the preliminaries, were Senegal, in Africa, and St.
Vincent, Dominique, Tobago, Grenada, and the Grenadines, in the West
Indies. On the whole, England would evidently become a great gainer; but
the terms gave rise to great contention, and a struggle of party on the
meeting of Parliament.




THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT AND THE CONCLUSION OF PEACE.

Although the great body of the people of England desired peace,
yet there was a section of the community equally desirous for the
continuance of the war. The citizens of London had largely profited by
it; and during the negociations of last year they had instructed their
representatives to oppose any peace which did not reserve to England
all, or the greater part, of their conquests. This feeling was
heightened by the successes of the last campaign, and while the whole
glory of the war was assigned by them to Pitt, the very name of peace
was considered as a sacrifice of the national honour. Encouraged by
these feelings, Pitt organised a party in opposition to the cabinet, and
he was aided in this by many of the Whigs, who, irritated by the removal
of so many of their adherents from office, looked with jealousy upon the
actions of the favourite minister, Bute. The premier, likewise, was very
unpopular with the people, for although his views of peace coincided
with their own, yet he lacked the genius which could alone command
their admiration; and his cold, formal manners, and known lust of power,
subjected him to their scorn and contempt.

Parliament met on the 25th of November, and the preliminaries of peace
were then laid before both houses for their decision. In his opening
speech, his majesty remarked upon this subject:—“It was impossible to
execute what this nation has so gloriously performed in all parts of the
world, without the loss of great numbers of men. When you consider this
loss, whether on the principles of policy or humanity, you will see one
of the many reasons which induced me to enter early into negociation,
so as to make considerable progress in it before the fate of many
operations was determined; and now, to hasten the conclusion of it, to
prevent the necessity of making preparations for another campaign. As by
this peace my territories are greatly augmented, and new sources opened
for trades and manufactures, it is my earnest desire that you would
consider of such methods, in the settlements of our new acquisitions, as
shall most effectually tend to the security of those countries, and
to the improvement of the commerce and navigation of Great Britain. I
cannot mention our acquisitions without earnestly recommending to your
care and attention my gallant subjects, by whose valour they were made.
We could never have carried on this extensive war without the greatest
union at home. You will find the same union peculiarly necessary in
order to make the best use of the great advantages acquired by the
peace, and to lay the foundation of that economy which we owe to
ourselves and to our posterity, and which can alone relieve this nation
from the heavy burdens brought on it by the necessities of this long and
expensive war.”

There were points in this pacific speech of his majesty which were
perfectly unanswerable. Humanity, and the burdens of the country
demanded that the sword should be sheathed, and the demand was
eloquently seconded by the great advantages which England would secure
by the peace. Notwithstanding, opposition was not disarmed, and a fierce
war of words ensued. The motion for an address in the house of commons,
approving of the terms of the treaty, was moved by Mr. Fox, Pitt’s
ancient rival, who still retained the lucrative place of paymaster of
the forces. Pitt followed on the opposite side. He came to the house,
suffering from gout and wrapped up in flannel; but, nevertheless,
supported by two members, in an elaborate argument of more than three
hours, he advanced every objection that could be urged against the
negociations. The whole tenor of the treaty was denounced by him as
unsound and impolitic, and as derogatory to the honour of England. He
came, he said, at the hazard of his life to the house that day, to lift
up his voice, his hand, and his arm against the preliminary articles of
a treaty which obscured all the glories of the war, surrendered up
the interests of the nation, and sacrificed the public faith by the
abandonment of long-tried and faithful allies. Fox, supported by George
Grenville, replied in a less eloquent; tone, but with more cogent
arguments, and the ministers obtained a large majority. In the house of
lords, Bute undertook the defence of the measure, and in his speech,
the clauses of which fell from his lips like so many minute-guns, he
detailed the rise and progress of the negociations at large, and set
forth the advantages which England would derive from the treaty in
the best manner his talents for oratory—which were very mean—would
permit. He concluded his speech with declaring, that he desired no other
epitaph to be inscribed on his tomb, than that he was the adviser of
such a peace. He was opposed by Lord Temple, and supported by the Earl
of Halifax; and notwithstanding all the arguments of the opposing peers,
the address was carried by a large majority. The treaty was therefore
signed, and commercial communications, which had been stopped during the
war, were reopened with France.

Pitt had declared in his speech, that the desertion of the King of
Prussia, England’s most magnanimous ally, was insidious, base, and
treacherous. A glance at the preliminaries will suffice to prove that
Frederick’s interests were not forgotten. Frederick, moreover, was now
in a condition to defend himself. At this very time, in fact, he had
induced all the princes and states in Germany to sign a declaration of
neutrality, which led first to a truce between Austria and Prussia,
then to a congress, and finally, in that congress, to a treaty of peace
between Austria, Prussia, Saxony, and Poland. This treaty was not signed
till the 15th of February, 1763, but its terms were agreed upon before
the close of the present year. Frederick retained Silesia, and all the
territories that belonged to him before the war, and the other powers
were compelled to rest satisfied with their legitimate possessions,
without the slightest reparation for the damages they had endured, and
the sums they had spent, during this dream of their ambition. Thus ended
this Seven Years’ War—a war which had cost millions of lives, and in
which a large portion of Europe was devastated, and carnage was earned
into every quarter of the globe. England was a gainer by it, but her
acquisitions cost so much blood, and treasures, that it may fairly be
questioned whether her advantages were commensurate with the price she
paid for them.




THE RESIGNATION OF BUTE.

Notwithstanding the large majority ministers had obtained in both houses
of parliament on the subject of the newly-signed treaty, causes were at
work which soon effected their overthrow. Pitt was resolutely bent on
driving Bute from office; his stern opposition being ostensibly founded
on an assertion that he had thrown away the best advantages in the
treaty of peace. He was joined in his opposition by the old Duke of
Newcastle, whose halls again became the resort of politicians. Meetings
were held at his residence, in which nobles and commons alike concerted
together the means of making the peace unpopular, and bringing Bute into
still greater contempt with the public. Pens, dipped in gall, were set
to work to demonstrate to the people that Martinique, Guadaloupe, St.
Lucie, Pondicherry, and the Havannah ought to have been retained in the
treaty of Fontainebleau; that compensation in money ought to have been
obtained from both France and Spain; that, by demolishing the forts
in Honduras, English subjects were deprived of the logwood trade, and
subjected to the jealous rage of the Spaniards; and that an opportunity
of humbling the house of Bourbon had been completely thrown away. In
maintaining these propositions, dark insinuations were thrown out,
reflecting upon the characters of Bute, the king’s mother, and the Duke
of Bedford. They had all, it was said, touched French gold. Epigrams,
scandals, and stories, also, concerning Bute and the princess dowager,
rang from one end of the country to the other. And the conduct of the
princess and Bute seemed to justify the scandal, although it does not
appear to have rested on sure grounds. Thus they precluded, as much as
possible, all access to the king, except to Bute’s relatives connexions,
and dependents; and when Bute visited the princess it was generally
in the evening, and then in a sedan-chair belonging to a lady of the
household of the princess, and with close-drawn curtains. His enemies
did not fail to take advantage of his imprudent conduct, and they soon
succeeded in making him the most unpopular man in the three kingdoms.
This soon became manifest to the royal favourite; for addresses on
occasion of this peace were refused by the counties of York and Surrey,
and they came in slowly and ill-supported from other quarters. Bute,
however, was too proud and unconciliating to make any attempt to set
himself right in public opinion, and he suffered his enemies to work on,
till his character became unredeemable, and his downfall was effected.

Still Bute might possibly have enjoyed his high station for some time
longer had there not existed at this time a necessity for an increase
of taxation, and for a loan of three millions and a half, to enable
government to pay debts contracted during the war. This necessity could
not be fairly imputed to Bute, but he was unfortunate in his plan of
raising the loan, and in his choice of new taxes. Instead of throwing
the loan open to competition, he disposed of the shares privately, and
they immediately rose to eleven per cent, premium; whence he was charged
with gratifying himself or his dependents with £350,000 at the public
expense. His new tax was produced in the shape of ten shillings duty
per hogshead on cider and perry, which was to be paid by the first
purchaser, while an additional duty of eight pounds per ton was proposed
to be laid on French wines, and half that sum on other wines. The tax
on cider raised such a storm of opposition from the country members
generally, without reference to party, that Bute was induced to alter
both the sum and the mode of levying it—four shillings per hogshead was
to be paid, and it was to be levied upon the grower, through the medium
of the exciseman. This was not an unreasonable tax, for ale and porter
were already taxed both directly and indirectly, and no argument could
show that while a liquor produced from malt contributed to the public
exigencies, a liquor produced from apples should be exempt. Englishmen,
however, were always averse to the visits of the excisemen; and the
city of London, the cities of Exeter and Worcester, and the counties of
Devonshire and Herefordshire, the interests of which were concerned
in the matter more nearly than the citizens of London, petitioned the
commons, the lords, and the throne, against the bill. A general threat
was made, that the apples should rot upon the ground rather than be made
into a beverage subject to such a duty and such annoyances. In the
house of commons, also, Pitt spoke long and eloquently against the bill;
inveighing bitterly against the intrusion of officers into the private
dwellings of Englishmen; quoting the well-known maxim that in England
“every man’s house is his castle.” Stern opposition was, moreover, made
in the house of lords; and, had Bute been wise, he would have bowed
deferentially to the public feeling, and have adopted some other mode
of raising the money less repugnant to the temper and disposition of the
people. Bute, however, to use a figurative expression, proudly bared his
head to the tempest which was playing around him. He was determined
that the bill should pass, and he carried his point despite the fierce
opposition of the whole country. The bill passed into a law, and
although there were four different kinds of cider, varying in price from
five to fifty shillings per hogshead, they were all taxed alike.

Yet Bute was not made of such stern material that he could defy the
people with impunity. He had gained this victory over them, but he
evidently felt that their voice was omnipotent, and that if he longer
resisted it, he might possibly one day, and that soon, be doomed to
suffer disgrace by defeat. Under these circumstances, almost as soon
as the bill passed into a law, he surprised his friends and his enemies
alike, by suddenly tendering his resignation. Opinions varied as to his
motives for taking such a step. Some of his enemies said that he had
retired from the rising storm of national indignation, and that Pitt
had politically killed him; others that the king and queen, whose strict
morality of conduct was well known, had at length taken umbrage at his
intimacy with the queen dowager; while others asserted that he abandoned
his post from a consciousness of guilt, and a dread of impeachment for
certain acts not yet made known to the public. On the other hand,
his friends asserted that his retirement arose from his hatred of the
intrigues of a public life, and represented him as panting in the midst
of the toils of his office for literary and rural retirement. His own
reason, as expressed to a friend, was, that he found himself powerless
in his own cabinet. “Single in a cabinet of my own forming,” he
observed, “no aid in the house of lords to support me, except two peers,
[Denbigh and Pomfret]; both the secretaries of state silent, and the
lord chief justice, whom I myself brought into office, voting for me,
yet speaking against me; the ground I tread upon is so hollow, that I am
afraid, not only of falling myself, but of involving my royal master in
my ruin. It is time for me to retire.” Bute retired as proudly as he had
exercised his office, for he neither asked for pension nor sinecure, and
his retirement was followed by that of Sir Francis Dashwood, chancellor
of the exchequer, and of Fox, who were elevated to the peerage: the
former as Baron le Despencer, and the latter as Baron Holland. Mr.
George Grenville succeeded to the premiership, and also to the place
which had been occupied by Dashwood, uniting in himself the offices of
chancellor of the exchequer and first lord of the treasury. But Bute
still acted behind the scenes. He pulled the strings, and Grenville and
the rest of the cabinet answered his motions, as mechanically as though
they had been so many puppets. Grenville, indeed, seems to have been
chosen by the king and Bute, as a willing instrument for carrying their
plans into ready execution.




THE CHARACTER AND IMPEACHMENT OF WILKES.

One of the most sturdy opponents of Bute and his administration had been
the celebrated John Wilkes, member of parliament for Aylesbury, and a
lieutenant-colonel in the Buckinghamshire militia. On first entering
into office, Bute, by the advice of Bubb Doddington, had established a
newspaper, styled “The Briton,” the ostensible object of which was,
to advocate the measures of Bute’s administration. Many writers were
employed to write for this paper; and while they exalted the premier,
they did not fail to vilify his opponents. To oppose this organ of the
ministers, another paper was set on foot, and conducted by Wilkes, under
the title of “The North Briton.” Wilkes was a man of ruined fortune
and of dissolute habits; but he was active, enterprising, and daring,
and possessed a considerable fund of wit and repartee. In the beginning
of this reign, he had solicited a lucrative post under government,
but had been disappointed. His failure was attributed by him to the
influence which Bute held over the monarch, and he began to vent his
spleen against the minister and his coadjutors in scandalizing and
calumniating their actions and private characters. Both in conversation
and in the “North Briton,” they were ever made the butts of his ready
wit. He even reviled, stigmatized, and heaped curses upon Bute’s country
and countrymen. According to his showing, the river Tweed was the line
of demarcation between all that was honourable and noble, and all that
was dishonourable and servile—south of that river, honour, virtue,
and patriotism flourished; north of it, malice, meanness, and slavery
prevailed. Every Scotchman was painted by him as a hungry beggar,
time-server, and traitor. Wilkes was, perhaps, not singular in his
antipathies at this time against the Scotch, for wiser men than him
exhibited them in their writings and in their conversation, arising in a
great measure from the circumstance of the introduction of large numbers
of them into the offices of government. But in this, Bute acted as any
other man would have done under similar circumstances, as every one
possesses by nature a predilection for their own country and countrymen.
This conduct, therefore, of Wilkes was as unwise as it was unjust and
impolitic. Still no danger would have occurred to himself from the
display of such bitter feelings, had he confined his malevolence to the
subjects of Great Britain. Grown bold by impunity, however, Wilkes at
length pointed his pen at the royal family, and even at the monarch
himself; and, by so doing, he raised a persecution against himself,
which has rendered him a prominent object in the annals of his country.
On the 19th of April his majesty prorogued parliament, and in the next
number of the “North Briton,” the celebrated 45th, Wilkes accused the
monarch of uttering a direct falsehood in his speech on that occasion.
Whether Grenville was more sensitive than his predecessor had shown
himself, or whether Bute instigated him to take notice of this attack,
in order to revenge himself upon Wilkes, is not clear, but it is certain
that on the 26th a general warrant was issued from the secretary of
state’s office, signed and sealed by Lord Halifax, for the arrest of the
authors, printers, and publishers of the seditious paper, and for the
seizure of their papers. No names were specified in this warrant, and
within three days, no less than forty-nine persons were taken upon mere
suspicion. These were innocent, but on the 29th, Kearsley, the
avowed publisher, and Balfe, the printer, were taken into custody, who
confessed that Wilkes was the author of the paper. Accordingly, the
crown lawyers having been consulted, the messengers were directed to
seize Wilkes, and bring him forthwith before the secretary of state.
It was in vain that the offender asserted that they were acting upon an
illegal warrant: his papers were seized, and he was carried before Lord
Halifax. At the request of Wilkes, his friend, Lord Temple, applied to
the court of common pleas for a writ of habeas corpus, and the motion
was granted; but before it could be prepared, he was committed to the
Tower in close custody, and his friends, his counsel, and his solicitor
were denied access to him. The confinement of Wilkes, however, was
of short duration, for on the 3rd of May, a writ of habeas corpus was
directed to the constable of the Tower, by which he was brought before
the court in Westminster Hall. In that court he made a virulent speech
against the existing administration, broadly asserting that there was a
plot among its members for destroying the liberties of the nation, and
that he was selected as their victim, because they could not corrupt him
with their gold. The court took time to consider the matter, and on the
6th, Lord Chief Justice Pratt proceeded to deliver the joint opinion of
the judges. This opinion was, that though the commitment of Wilkes
and the general warrant were not in themselves illegal, as they were
justified by numerous precedents, yet he was entitled to his discharge
by virtue of his privilege as a member of parliament; that privilege
being only forfeited by members who were guilty either of treason,
felony, or a breach of the peace. Wilkes was therefore discharged, but
the attorney-general immediately instituted a prosecution against him
for the libel in question, and the king deprived him of his commission
as colonel in the Buckinghamshire militia, and dismissed his friend Lord
Temple from the lord-lieutenancy of Buckinghamshire, and struck his
name out of the roll of privy councillors. The liberation of Wilkes was
followed by a long inky war. Upon regaining the use of his pen, he wrote
a letter to the secretaries of state, in which he complained of the
treatment he had received, and accused them of holding in their hands,
goods of which his house had been robbed by their messengers. This
letter, to which government replied, was printed and distributed by
thousands, and considerable numbers of the opposition in parliament
rallied round the author of the “North Briton,” while the populace began
to hail him throughout the country, as the noblest patriot England had
known since the days of Algernon Sidney and Hampden. Taking advantage
of his popularity, when he found publishers averse to the hazard of
publishing his works, he established a printing-press in his own house,
where he struck off copies of the proceedings against him, which were
sold at one guinea each; a blasphemous and obscene poem entitled, “An
Essay on Woman,” with annotations; and the forty-five first numbers of
the “North Briton,” with notes and emendations. His pen was seconded by
hundreds of newspaper writers and pamphleteers who wrote on his behalf,
and John Wilkes thereby became one of the most popular men in all
England. Men, even of talents and probity, though they detested his
immoralities, associated his name with the idea of liberty, and the
proceedings against him were designated as the tyrannical efforts of
arbitrary power.

{GEORGE III. 1760–1765}




CHANGES IN THE CABINET.

Mr. George Grenville had been first brought into notice by his connexion
with Mr. Pitt. He was a man of integrity and of understanding, but he
lacked the personal influence, and the abilities which could alone
give stability to a political party. His proceedings against Wilkes,
moreover, had brought his cabinet into public contempt, and in the month
of August he was deprived of the best supporter of his administration,
by the death of Lord Egremont. The loss of this nobleman brought his
cabinet, indeed, to the verge of dissolution, and a coalition of parties
was hence deemed desirable. To this end Bute waited, at his majesty’s
commands, on his stern rival, Pitt, to whom he stated the king’s wish of
employing political talent and integrity without respect of persons
or parties. This was done without the knowledge of the members of
the existing cabinet, and Pitt consented to wait upon his majesty at
Buckingham House. He was received graciously, and in a conference which
lasted three hours, he expatiated on the infirmities of the peace, and
the disorders of the state; and the remedy he proposed to adopt, was the
restoration of the Whigs to office; they only, he asserted, having the
public confidence. This was on Saturday, the 27th of August, and at this
time his majesty made no objection to his proposals, and he appointed a
second interview on the following Monday. On Sunday, Pitt was closeted
with the Duke of Newcastle, in arranging the new administration, in full
confidence that the king was acquiescent. Pitt, however, did not find
his majesty so pliant on the Monday, as he expected, and he was doomed
to experience a complete disappointment of his views and hopes. The king
wished to provide for Grenville, by allotting him the profitable place
of paymaster of the forces, and to restore Lord Temple to favour, by
placing him at the head of the treasury; but although both Grenville and
Temple were Pitt’s relatives, he would not consent. “The alliance of the
great Whig interests which had supported the revolution government,”
 he said, “was indispensable.” The whole project, therefore, fell to the
ground. His majesty broke up the conference by observing, “This will not
do; my honour is concerned, and I must support it.”

Negociation with Pitt having failed, overtures were made to the Duke of
Bedford, who, it was thought, possessed sufficient influence—though he
was little less unpopular than Bute himself—to support the tottering
cabinet. His grace accepted the post of lord president of the council,
Lord Sandwich was made secretary of state, and Lord Egmont was placed at
the head of the admiralty. Grenville still retained his post, though the
Duke of Bedford gave his name to the ministry.




MEETING OF PARLIAMENT, AND FURTHER PROCEEDINGS AGAINST WILKES.

Parliament met on the 15th of November, when his majesty exhorted both
houses to cultivate the blessings of peace; to improve the commercial
acquisitions of the country; to attend to the reduction of the debts
contracted in the late war; to improve the navy; and to promote domestic
union, and discourage the licentious spirit which prevailed, to the
utter subversion of the true principles of liberty.

The allusion in his Majesty’s speech to the licentious spirit prevalent
at that time in England, had reference to Wilkes and his associates.
Many men of fashion and dissipation had lived with him and upon him
recently as boon companions and partners in debauchery. Together with
him, they formed the Dilettanti Club in Palace Yard, and they also
revived the Hell-Fire Club of the days of the Duke of Wharton, at
Medmenham Abbey, Bucks, where they revelled in obscenity, and made
everything that was moral or religious, a subject of their scorn and
derision. Over the grand entrance of this abbey was inscribed, _Fays ce
que voudras_, “Do what you like;” and the jokes of the members of the
club consisted principally in wearing monkish dresses, and drinking wine
out of a communion cup to a pagan divinity. For the entertainment of
these men, some of whom were even more conspicuous in their profligacy
than Wilkes himself, he took a house at the court end of the town, by
which he incurred expenses his fortune could not support, and which they
were not willing to discharge. They could feast at his table, and drink
his claret; but his entertainments and his wit, which they equally
enjoyed, must be set down to his own account. Nay, one of his
companions, the new secretary of state, Lord Sandwich, one of the most
notorious of the whole club, now suddenly turned round upon him, and
accused him of leading a profligate and debauched life!

On the return of the commons to their own house, Grenville, aware of the
intention of Wilkes to make a formal complaint respecting the breach of
privilege, anticipated him by relating what had passed in the arrest
and liberation of that member, and by laying the libel on the table.
The house by a large majority-resolved, that the 45th No. of the “North
Briton” was a false, scandalous, and seditious libel, and ordered that
the said paper should be burned by the hands of the common hangman.
In reply, Wilkes declared that the rights of all the members had been
violated in his person, and he requested that the question of privilege
should be at once taken into consideration. The house adjourned this
question for one week, but on the same night, Lord Sandwich produced in
the house of lords, a copy of the “Essay on Woman,” and loudly exclaimed
against the profaneness and indecency of this poetical production of
Wilkes. His attack on Wilkes surprised most men who heard him, but he
was followed by one who had a right to complain. Dr. Warburton, now
Bishop of Gloucester, inveighed bitterly on the use which had been made
of his name in the annotations, and commented in severe language on the
outrageous infidelity of the production, declaring that when the author
of it arrived in hell, he would not find one companion there among its
“blackest fiends.” A day was appointed for bringing John Wilkes to their
lordship’s bar, to answer to a charge of a breach of privilege; but in
the meantime, an event occurred which rendered it impossible for him
to appear. In the course of the debate in the lower house, Mr. Martin,
member for Camelford, who had been secretary to the treasury during
Bute’s administration, and had been attacked in the “North Briton,”
 stigmatized Wilkes as a “cowardly, malignant, and scandalous scoundrel.”
 His words were twice repeated, as he looked across the house at the
object of his attack, with rage flashing from his eyes. Wilkes seemed
to hear with cool indifference, but on leaving the house, he addressed a
note to Martin, and a meeting in Hyde Park was the consequence, in which
the former was dangerously wounded. It was reported the next day that
he was delirious, and crowds of people surrounded his house, hooting
and shouting at his murderers: had he died, the populace would have
considered him a martyr in the cause of liberty; but he recovered.

The question of privilege came on in the house of commons on the 23rd of
November, and it lasted two whole days. Wilkes was defended by Pitt, who
came to the house again enveloped in flannel, and this time supported by
crutches. While Pitt defended him, however, he was careful to maintain
his own character. He condemned the whole series of “North Britons,”
 as illiberal, unmanly, and detestable; declaimed against all national
reflections, as having a tendency to promote disloyal feelings and
disunity: asserted that his majesty’s complaint was well founded, just,
and necessary; and declared that the author did not deserve to rank
among the human species, as he was the blasphemer of his God, and the
libeller of his sovereign. He was not connected with Wilkes, he said,
nor had he any connexion with writers of his stamp. At the same time, he
reprobated the facility with which parliament was surrendering its own
privileges, carefully impressing on the house, that in so doing, he
was simply delivering a constitutional opinion, and not vindicating the
character of John Wilkes. The speech of Pitt was characterised by great
eloquence and acuteness, but the measure was warmly defended by other
members, and at the conclusion, a resolution was carried by a large
majority, to the effect, “That the privilege of parliament does not
extend to the case of writing and publishing seditious libels, nor ought
to be allowed to obstruct the ordinary course of the laws in the speedy
and effectual prosecution of so heinous and dangerous an offence.”
 The concurrence of the lords was not obtained without considerable
difficulty, and when it was obtained, a spirited protest was signed
by seventeen peers, affirming it to be “incompatible with the dignity,
gravity, and justice of the house, thus to explain away a parliamentary
privilege of such magnitude and importance, founded in the wisdom of
ages, declared with precision in their standing orders, repeatedly
confirmed, and hitherto preserved inviolable by the spirit of their
ancestors; called to it only by the other house on a particular
occasion, and to serve a particular purpose, _ex post facto, ex
parte, et pendente lite_, the courts below.” On the 1st of December, a
conference of both houses took place, when both lords and commons agreed
in a loyal address to the king, expressive of their detestation of the
libels against him; and Wilkes was ordered to attend at the bar of the
commons in a week, should his health permit.

In the meantime—on the 3rd of the month—there was a terrible riot in
London occasioned, by the burning of the “North Briton” in Cheapside.
The execution of this sentence was entrusted to Alderman Harley,
sheriff of London, and he assembled the city officers and the common
hangman at the Royal Exchange, to put it into effect. The people,
however, manifested a very different spirit from that of their
representatives. So violent were they, that Harley was compelled
to retreat to the Mansion House, where the lord mayor was sitting,
surrounded by members of the common council, who were almost to a man
the friends and admirers of Wilkes, and therefore not disposed to take
part in the matter. The hangman was compelled to follow the sheriff. He
had succeeded in partially burning the paper with a link, when cheered
on by some gentlemen standing at the windows of houses near the spot,
the mob rushed upon him, and rescued the fragments, carrying them in
triumph to Temple Bar, where a fire was kindled and a large jack-boot
was committed to the flames, in derision of the Earl of Bute. The city
was restored to its usual tranquillity in about an hour and a half,
the mob dispersing of their own accord; but the affair occupied the
attention of parliament four days, during which time nothing else was
done, except voting a pension of £80,000 as a dowry to the Princess
Augusta, the king’s sister, who was about to be married to the Duke
of Brunswick. In the debate on the subject of the riot, it was fully
manifested that the populace of London was generally in favour of
Wilkes; but both houses concurred in voting that the rioters were
disturbers of the public peace, dangerous to the liberties of the
country, and obstructors of national justice. Thanks were also voted to
the sheriffs, and an address was presented to his majesty, praying that
measures might be taken to discover and punish the offenders.

By their proceedings against Wilkes ministers had surrounded themselves
with a maze of perplexity. Actions were brought by the printers, and
others arrested under the general warrant, to recover damages for false
imprisonment, and a verdict was universally given in their favour. These
actions were brought against the messengers: Wilkes had nobler game
in view. He brought actions against the two secretaries of state,
Lord Egremont and Lord Halifax, and against Robert Wood, Esq., late
under-secretary. Egremont was now dead, Halifax stood upon his privilege
and defied the court, till relieved by the sentence of outlawry that was
passed upon Wilkes, but Wood was condemned to pay £1000 damages to the
plaintiff. At this trial, the lord chief justice Pratt was bold enough
to declare that general warrants were unconstitutional, illegal, and
absolutely void, and to challenge a reference of this opinion to the
twelve judges. This was not deemed expedient, and Pratt’s judgment
respecting the illegality of warrants was shortly afterwards confirmed
by the court of king’s bench. The boldness of Pratt secured for him
great popularity. He was presented with the freedom of the cities of
London and Dublin, and others; and in addition to this mark of respect,
the corporation of London requested that he would sit for his picture,
which was to be placed in Guildhall, as a memorial of their gratitude.

The popularity of Wilkes was at this time increased by an attempt made
upon his life by one Alexander Dun, a Scotchman, who sought admission
into the patriot’s house, and who publicly declared that he and ten
others were determined to cut him off. A new penknife was found in his
pocket, and for this alleged attempt against the life of a member of
parliament, Dun was carried before the commons, who voted him insane,
and ordered his dismissal. The court of king’s bench, however, committed
Dun to prison for want of bail and securities, and looking upon facts
only in a cursory light, the people believed that the government was
determined to make away with the defender of their liberties. All this
tended to render the cabinet so obnoxious, that Horace Walpole was
apprehensive that there would have been some violent commotion.

When the day arrived for the attendance of Wilkes at the bar of the
house of commons, two medical gentlemen, Dr. Brocklesby and Mr. Graves
appeared, and made a declaration that he was unable, from the state of
his health, to obey the summons. The house granted a week’s delay, and
the excuse being repeated, the grant was extended beyond the Christmas
recess. At the same time it was ordered that a physician and surgeon of
their own appointing should see Wilkes, and report their opinion on his
case. These were refused admittance into his house; but to vindicate the
character of his own medical attendants, and to have the laugh at the
ministry, he called in two Scotch doctors, observing that as the house
wished him to be watched, two Scotchmen would prove the most proper
spies.

The Christmas recess arrived, and the Christmas festivities afforded a
short truce to this war of politicians. Wilkes, who could not have been
so ill as represented, went to Paris, where he obtained great admiration
by his wit in the salons and soirées of that gay city. He was thus
employed when the parliament met on the 19th of January, 1764. This was
the day fixed for his appearance, but the speaker produced a letter from
him, enclosing a certificate signed by a French physician and a French
surgeon, testifying that he could not quit Paris without danger to his
life. This certificate wanted the signature of a notary public to give
it authenticity, and the house, therefore, resolved to proceed against
Wilkes as though he were present. Witnesses and papers were examined,
and it was resolved, that No. 45 of the “North Briton,” which had been
voted a seditious libel, contained expressions of unexampled insolence
and contumely toward his majesty, the grossest aspersions upon both
houses of parliament, and the most audacious defiance of the whole
legislative authority. It was also denounced as having a manifest
tendency to alienate the affections of the people from their king,
to withdraw them from obedience to the laws, and to excite them to
insurrection. On the next day it was further resolved, that Wilkes
should be expelled the house, and a new writ was issued for the borough
of Aylesbury; a measure which ultimately had the effect of rendering him
a popular champion in the struggle between the house of commons and the
electors of Middlesex, which defined the power of the representative
body in relation to its constituency. Even now it greatly increased
the popularity of Wilkes among the great body of the people. On every
opportune occasion they loudly expressed their sentiments in his favour.
The king and his ministers were compelled to hear whenever they
appeared in public the grating and unwelcome exclamation of, “Wilkes and
liberty!”

Although ministers had triumphed over Wilkes personally, by obtaining
his expulsion from the house, yet they were doomed to suffer a check
from a motion naturally arising out of his prosecution. On the 13th
of February, it was moved by the opposition, that Wilkes’ complaint of
breach of privilege should be heard. On this subject they obtained a
large majority; his complaint being thrown out, after a stormy debate
which lasted three days and one whole night. This, however, was followed
by a resolution moved by Sir William Meredith, in which they were not
so successful, namely, “That a general warrant for apprehending and
securing the authors, printers, and publishers of a seditious libel,
together with their papers, is not warranted by law.” An adjournment was
proposed, but Pitt and others made speeches upon the subject, and when
the house divided, ministers had only the small majority of fourteen
upon the question of adjournment. This was virtually a defeat, and the
illegality of general warrants was so effectually established by the
numbers who voted on the side of the opposition, and by the sentiments
of the orators, that henceforth the use of them was wholly discontinued.
If, therefore, this prosecution of Wilkes was impolitic, it had at least
the effect of settling a great constitutional principle; nor was it long
before the measures taken against him effected other alterations in the
constitution equally important.

Wilkes having entered an appearance in Westminster Hall, was at length
tried and convicted on two indictments, for publishing the 45th Number
of the North Briton, and the “Essay on Woman.” He was afterwards
outlawed for not appearing in court to receive his sentence, whence
the suit he had instituted against Lord Halifax fell to the ground.
The cause of Wilkes, however, being identified with that of the
constitution, his popularity remained undiminished, and the spirit
excited by the proceedings against him was still as rife with bitterness
as ever.




PROPOSITION TO TAX THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

It was at this troubled season that George Grenville brought forward a
motion for extracting a direct revenue from the colonies. The idea was
not altogether new, for such a scheme had been hinted at during Sir
Robert Walpole’s administration. At this time it seems to have been
revived, by the general complaint heard among the people of England, of
the burden of taxation which they were called upon to bear. His majesty
proposed such a step, as a just, as well as advantageous measure for
relieving the country from the financial difficulties which had been
occasioned by a war undertaken for the protection and security of the
colonies themselves. Accordingly, a series of resolutions, respecting
new duties to be laid on goods imported by the Americans, was brought
into the House by Grenville on the 10th of March. These resolutions
passed with little notice; General Conway, it is said, being the only
member who protested against them; and they received the royal assent on
the 5th of April. The minister, also, proposed raising a direct revenue
from the colonies in the shape of a stamp-tax, but this was objected
to by the opposition, and it was postponed to another session. Certain
restrictions, however, were at the same time laid upon the profitable
contraband trade carried on by the Americans with the Spanish colonies;
a trade alike advantageous to England and the North American colonists,
but of which the Spanish government was constantly and bitterly
complaining to the court of Great Britain.




OPPOSITION OF THE AMERICANS.

It seems probable that ministers undertook this scheme of taxation, in
order to gain popularity. It had that effect in some slight degree. The
country gentlemen, in particular, were well pleased with the prospect of
the non-increase on the diminution of the land-tax, and other sections
of the community hoped eventually to have their burdens lightened by
such a measure. In proroguing parliament the king expressed his hearty
approbation of it, auguring the augmentation of the public revenues, a
unity of the interests of his most distant possessions, and an increase
of commerce, as its natural results. Like the Greek fisherman in
Theocritus, all dreamed of gold; but in the course of a few months this
pleasant dream was swept away by a strong wind across the Atlantic.

The inhabitants of New England received these “wise regulations” of the
British parliament “like knives put to their throats.” Perceiving that
the claim made by their mother-country to tax the colonies for her own
benefit, and at her own discretion, might possibly introduce a system of
oppression, they boldly denied the authority of parliament to levy any
direct tax on the colonies, and declared that it was a violation of
their rights as colonists, possessing by charter the privilege of taxing
themselves for their own support; and as British subjects, who ought not
to be taxed without their legitimate representatives. The disaffection
of the northern provinces extended to those of the south, and, as a
strong measure of resistance, all engaged to abstain from the use of
those luxuries which had hitherto been imported from Great Britain. They
also made colonial taxation a subject of their petitions to king, lords,
and commons, and thus firmly established the principle of resistance to
such a measure. Their resistance was confirmed by an unwise measure of
Grenville, who determined to intrust the execution of his prohibitory
orders to military and naval officers, who were disposed to act with
rigour. Government, also, had increased the salaries of judges, which
gave rise to an opinion that it was desirous of diminishing their
independence; and the governors had recently acted very arbitrarily, and
when complaints were made no attention was paid to them, or if a reply
was given, it was accompanied with rebuke. The colonists, moreover, were
encouraged in their spirit of resistance by the emigration of numbers
who had lately left England, and who being disaffected persons, diffused
republican sentiments in all the provinces. The seeds of discontent
were, in fact, sown far and wide before this new system of taxation
was projected, and it had the effect of causing them to germinate and
flourish.




WAR WITH THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

It unfortunately happened, that the news of colonial taxation arrived in
America when the colonists were in no very pleasant humour. On quitting
Canada, the French government still retained some slight connexion with
the native Indians, and partly by their agents, and in part through
encroachments made by the British on their hunting-grounds, they
were incited to war. The tribes flew to arms, designing to make a
simultaneous attack on all the English back-settlements in harvest-time,
and though their secret was made known, and their intentions prevented
in some places, yet the frontiers of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and
Virginia were mercilessly ravaged by them, and the inhabitants in those
parts utterly destroyed. The Indians also captured several forts in
Canada, and massacred the garrisons; and their flying parties frequently
intercepted and butchered the troops that were marching from place to
place, and plundered and murdered the traders in the upper part of the
country. Success made them more bold, and it seems probable, from the
display of courage and of military talent which they manifested, that
French officers were among them. They even resolved to advance on the
principal force stationed at Fort Pitt, and they marched forward in full
confidence of victory. In their route they defeated a detachment under
Captain Dalzel, and killed that unfortunate officer, and the soldiers
escaped with difficulty into Fort Detroit. Fort Pitt was now surrounded
by them, but they soon abandoned it, in order to attack Colonel Bouquet,
who was advancing with a strong corps under his command for its relief.
Fearful struggles took place between Colonel Bouquet and the Indians,
in which a great number was killed on both sides, but they were finally
routed, and as their bravest chiefs had perished, it was supposed that
their loss was irreparable. The Indians, however, in the other parts
of the country were not discouraged, and they surrounded an escort,
and slew about eighty officers and men near the falls of Niagara. Thus
disheartened, General Amherst used the powerful influence of Sir William
Johnstone, who was enabled to detach the Indians of the Six Nations
from the confederacy, and to engage them on the side of the British,
and after various skirmishes and surprises, the rest submitted on
conditions, or retired into the depths of their native wilds and
forests. In the treaty concluded with them all occasions of future
quarrels were guarded against; the limits of their territories were
accurately defined; their past offences forgiven; and they were
re-admitted to the friendship of Great Britain: the Indians on their
part solemnly engaging to commit no more acts of violence.

These occurrences had for the most part happened in the summer and
autumn of the year 1763. But the recollection of them was, from their
very nature, strongly impressed upon the minds of the colonists, when
they heard of the system proposed for their taxation. Moreover, every
one was armed for the defence of his home and property against the
Indians, and being now freed from their terrors in that quarter, they
were bold to think that they might be used against their mother-country,
should the scheme of colonial taxation not be abandoned. Hence the
colonists made a show of resistance by passing strong resolutions
against the measure, which were transmitted to their agents in London,
to be laid before government. The province of Pennsylvania appointed a
new agent to London, in the person of the celebrated Benjamin Franklin,
who was instructed to oppose the stamp-act to the very utmost, and
indeed every other act that might be proposed to the British parliament
to tax the Americans without their consent. A more efficient agent
than Franklin could not have been chosen by the Pennsylvanians. Born in
humble life, he had, nevertheless, raised himself by genius and steady
perseverance, to be a man of property and science, a leading magistrate,
a high functionary in their state, a powerful writer, a statesman, and a
philosopher.




DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES.

The measures of the new administration were generally approved of in the
house of commons, and on dismissing the parliament the king thanked
the members of both houses for their wise and spirited exertions,
and exhorted them all to employ the present season of tranquillity in
perfecting the peace so happily commenced. There was occasion for this
exhortation. The cider-tax occasioned many turbulent meetings, which
frequently ended in riot, and a great scarcity of provisions caused
an increase of robberies and crime to a large amount. These evils were
augmented by the discharge of large bodies of soldiers and sailors,
who either could not find employment, or from their previous occupation
could not settle down into habits of industry. Moreover, country
gentlemen and landed proprietors from all parts of the United Kingdom
came to the metropolis, in order to gain posts under government, leaving
their estates to be managed by stewards and bailiffs, the results of
which were that they involved themselves in debt, and that they
raised their rents for the purpose of relieving themselves. Discontent
everywhere prevailed, and especially in Scotland and Ireland, and many
thousands emigrated to the North American provinces, that they might be
able to obtain a subsistence for their families, and at the same time
preserve their religion and the customs of their fathers.

This year was marked by many maritime discoveries. A spirit of
enterprize, fostered by the munificence of the king, was displayed,
indeed, equal to that which distinguished the 15th and 16th centuries,
and which produced advantages to the country of equal importance to
those produced by the recent war. Byron, Wallis, Carteret, Cook, and
Mulgrave, all set sail during this year, and in a few years discoveries
were made which outrivalled all which had occurred since the expeditions
of Columbus.

During this autumn Pitt broke his recently-formed league with the old
Duke of Newcastle, telling him in a letter that he resolved henceforward
to act for himself, to keep himself free from all stipulations, and to
oppose or support measures in parliament upon his own responsibility. It
is not clear why Pitt came to this resolution; but perhaps it may
have arisen from his growing infirmity of body and temper, and of his
overbearing pride. From his letter, in fact, it is made very manifest
that his pride was offended, because the system of war which he had so
long and eloquently defended was given up “by silence” in a full house.
Hence it was, probably, that he was induced to stand single, and dare to
appeal to his country solely upon the merits—real or supposed—of his
principles. At all events, it seems certain that his resolution did
not arise, as some have imagined, from dark and inexplicable intrigue,
though it may wear that imposing aspect. But after all, as it has been
well observed, it is next to impossible to understand the extraordinary
alternations of alliance, neutrality, and opposition, between Pitt and
the old Duke of Newcastle.

In the course of this year, the treaty of Fontainbleau was somewhat
shaken by a French ship of the line having seized Turk’s Island, in the
West Indies, and making the English inhabitants prisoners. The Spaniards
also annoyed and interrupted the English logwood-cutters at Honduras,
and were supposed to have seized a ship in the Mediterranean. These
occurrences happened during the recess of parliament, but before the
houses met, both the court of France and Spain disavowed all hostile
proceedings, and gave explanations to the English cabinet, which were
deemed satisfactory. It was evident, however, that the Bourbon courts
were not satisfied with the terms of the recent peace, and that their
weakness alone prevented them from renewing the struggle: their chagrin
and enmity were but ill-concealed under the mask of friendship, which
defeat in the field of battle had compelled them to wear.




CHAPTER II.

{GEORGE III. 1765–1769}

     The Meeting of Parliament..... Debates on Colonial
     Taxation..... Instability of the Cabinet..... Attempts to
     form a new Administration..... Opposition to the Stamp
     Duties in America..... Embarrassment of Ministers and
     Meeting of Parliament..... Sentiments of the Americans on
     the Declaratory  Act..... The Dissolution of the
     Rockingham  Cabinet..... Decline of Lord Chatham’s
     Popularity..... Meeting of Parliament..... East India
     Question..... American Taxation..... Changes in the
     Ministry..... Proceedings in America..... Domestic Troubles
     and  Commotions..... The Return of Wilkes, &c.
     Resignation of Lord Chatham..... The Affairs of Wilkes.....
     Meeting of Parliament..... Debate on Wilkes, &c.
     Debates on America..... East India Affairs..... Prorogation
     of Parliament, &c. Discontents in England and Ireland.

{1765}




THE MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament assembled on the 10th of January, 1765. The leading topics of
the king’s speech referred to continental events, from which he augured
the continuation of peace. In allusion to American taxation and American
discontents, he recommended the carrying out of Grenville’s measures,
and the enforcing obedience in the colonies. He remarked:—“The
experience I have had of your former conduct makes me rely on your
wisdom and firmness, in promoting that obedience to the laws, and
respect to the legislative authority of this kingdom, which is
essentially necessary for the safety of the whole, and in establishing
such regulations as may best connect and strengthen every part of my
dominions for their mutual benefit and support.” In this speech, also,
his majesty announced the approaching marriage of his youngest sister,
the Princess Caroline, with the Prince Royal of Denmark: a union which
was ultimately attended with tragical consequences.

Early in this session complaints were made by the opposition that the
court of Spain had not paid the Manilla ransom, which gave rise to
an angry debate; the ministers warmly defending the conduct of the
Spaniards in this particular. An attempt was also again made by the
opposition to procure a resolution against the illegality of general
warrants, but decision on this point was eluded, and the previous
question carried. Another motion, to restrain the attorney-general in
his power of filing informations _ex officio_, which was made by the
opposition, was likewise negatived by a ministerial majority. But these
were only so many preludes to a storm which took place on the subject of
colonial taxation.




DEBATES ON COLONIAL TAXATION.

It has been seen that the measure of laying a duty on stamps had been
postponed, in order to give the colonists time to propose any other
mode of taxation in lieu of it more agreeable to their own feelings. The
agents of America, however, all replied that they were instructed not
only to oppose the stamp-tax, but every other bill which assumed as a
principle the right of taxing the colonies. They urged in reply to
the statement, that it was reasonable for America to contribute her
proportion toward the general expenses of the empire; that, “America had
never been backward in obeying the constitutional requisitions of the
crown, and contributing liberally, in her own assemblies, towards
the expenses of wars, in which, conjointly with England, she had
been engaged; that in the course of the last memorable contest, her
patriotism had been so conspicuous, that large sums had been repeatedly
voted, as an indemnification to the colonists for exertions allowed
to be far beyond their means and resources; and that the proper
compensation to Britain for the expense of rearing and protecting her
colonies was the monopoly of their trade, the absolute direction and
regulation of which was universally acknowledged to be inherent in the
British legislature.”

In all ages of the world sovereign states have assumed to themselves the
right of taxing their dependant colonies for the general good. A glance
at ancient history, however, is sufficient to prove that there is danger
in the expedient. By colonial taxation Athens involved herself in many
dangerous wars, which proved highly prejudicial to her interests, and
which reads a powerful lesson to modern states and kingdoms on this
subject. The British king and British cabinet, however, had, like the
Athenians, to learn a lesson from experience, and not from the pages
of history. Conceiving that they had gone too far to recede, they were
resolutely determined not to yield their claim of right. The memorials
were not even allowed to be read in the house, for the British
legislature, with few exceptions, considered the right which they
questioned to be indisputable. Fifty-five resolutions of the committee
of ways and means, relating to this branch of the revenue, were agreed
to by the commons, and they were afterwards incorporated into an act
for laying nearly the same stamp-duties on the American colonies as were
payable at the time in England. The debate on this subject was generally
languid, but on Townshend venturing to assert, that the Americans were
“children planted by our care and nourished by our indulgence,” Colonel
Barre, who had served beyond the Atlantic, and knew both the country and
people well, exclaimed vehemently, “They planted by your care! No! your
oppression planted them in America—they fled from your tyranny to
a then uncultivated and inhospitable wilderness, exposed to all the
hardships to which human nature is liable. They nourished by your
indulgence! No! they grew by your neglect of them; your care of them
was displayed, as soon as you began to take care about them, in sending
persons to rule them who were the deputies of deputies of ministers—men
whose behaviour on many occasions has caused the blood of those sons
of liberty to recoil within them—men who have been promoted to the
highest seats of justice in that country, in order to escape being
brought to the bar of justice in their own. I have been conversant with
the Americans, and I know them to be loyal indeed, but a people jealous
of their liberties, and who will vindicate them if ever they should be
violated; and let my prediction of this day be remembered, that the same
spirit of freedom which actuated that people at first will accompany
them still.” The prediction of Colonel Barre was treated as emanating
from his loss of the regiment which he had commanded in America; and
the bill passed both houses without any difficulty, and it received the
royal assent by commission on the 22nd of March. It passed from a lack
of knowledge of American affairs; from an indifference to the interests
of the colonists; and from sheer cupidity. The profits which we had
derived from commerce with the Americans, and which were the ostensible
object proposed in planting the colonies, were not sufficient: if we
could obtain it, we must share in their profits likewise. But this was
a question which time only could solve; a riddle, which events must
explain.




INSTABILITY OF THE CABINET.

Ministers seemed to have carried matters with a high hand in parliament
during the previous debates, but there were nevertheless causes at work
which tended to weaken and dissolve their administration. The Americans
had already put their threats into execution concerning their abstinence
from the use of British goods, and this created great alarm among
shipowners, merchants, manufacturers, artizans, and labourers. The
complaints of the two latter classes of the community were increased
by a scarcity of bread, and the high price of provisions, which were
ascribed to the mal-administration of the ministers. These popular
discontents, however, might have been disregarded, had not Grenville
given offence to a royal personage, whose resentment would have ensured
the downfall of even a much greater and more popular man than the prime
minister.

About a week after he had given his assent to the American Stamp Act,
it was reported that his majesty was seriously ill, and it would appear
that his illness was a slight attack of that fearful malady which thrice
afflicted him during his long reign, and incapacitated him for his
kingly duties. This time his malady was transient; but, taking warning
by it, he acquainted his ministers that he was anxious for a Regency
Bill, and told them the particulars of his intention. The sketch of such
a bill was drawn up by Fox, now Lord Holland, which left the regent
to be named by the king, and which, among other members of the royal
family, omitted the name of the queen. The queen’s name was subsequently
added, but no mention was made of the Princess-dowager of Wales. The
king himself proposed that he should be invested with power, from time
to time, by instruments under his sign manual, to appoint either the
queen or any other person of the royal family, usually residing in Great
Britain, to be guardian of his succession and regent of the kingdom,
until his successor should have attained his eighteenth year. A bill to
this effect was carried in the upper house, but in the commons a motion
was made requiring the king to name those persons whom he would intrust
with so important a charge. This motion was negatived, and a question
was then raised as to the construction of the words “any other member
of the royal family,” and the answer given was, that they meant
“the descendants of George the Second.” This interpretation would have
excluded the princess-dowager from all share in the public councils, and
therefore an amendment was moved at the next reading to insert her
name next to that of the queen. This amendment was carried by a large
majority; but it was foreseen that the king would resent the insult put
upon his mother in both houses, and would attempt to rid himself of Mr.
Grenville and Lord Halifax, who had omitted to insert her name in the
bill at the very outset of the proceedings.

On the 15th of May, the king went in person to give his assent to
this bill. On that occasion a mob of silk-weavers and others, from
Spitalfields, went to St. James’s Palace with black flags and other
symptoms of mourning and distress, to present a petition, complaining
that they were reduced to a state of starvation by the importation of
French silks. Both houses of parliament were surrounded by them, where
they insulted various members, and even terrified the lords into an
adjournment. In the evening they attacked Bedford-house, and began to
pull down the walls, declaring that the duke had been bribed to make the
treaty of Fontainbleau, and that it had brought poverty and all other
curses into England. The riot act was read, and the mob dispersed, but
the streets were crowded with soldiers for some days for fear of an
outbreak. Reports were also spread of mutinies among the sailors at
Portsmouth, insurrections among the Norwich weavers, and riots in Essex
and Lancashire. The cabinet and country alike seemed to be fast going
to pieces; whence his majesty, combined with the insult offered to his
mother, resolved to make some attempt to form a new administration,
hoping thereby to effect a change in the aspect of public affairs.




ATTEMPTS TO FORM A NEW ADMINISTRATION.

In a letter written to the Earl of Hertford, when the yells of the
populace of London were ringing in his ears, Mr. Burke writes:—“The
Regency Bill has shown such want of capacity in the ministers, such an
inattention to the honour of the crown, if not such a design against it;
such imposition and surprise upon the king, and such a misrepresentation
of the disposition of parliament to the sovereign, that there is no
doubt a fixed resolution to get rid of them all—unless perhaps of
Grenville—but principally of the Duke of Bedford; so that you will have
much more reason to be surprised to find the ministry standing by the
end of next week, than to hear of their entire removal. Nothing but an
intractable temper in your friend Pitt can prevent a most admirable
and lasting system from being put together, and this crisis will show
whether pride or patriotism be predominant in his character: for you may
be assured he has it now in his power to come into the service of his
country upon any plan of politics he may choose to dictate, with great
and honourable terms to himself and to every friend he has in the world,
and with such a strength of power as will be equal to everything but
absolute despotism over the king and kingdom. A few days will show
whether he will take this part, or that of continuing on his back at
Hayes, talking fustian, excluded from all ministerial, and incapable
of all parliamentary service: for his gout is worse than ever, but his
pride may disable him more than his gout.”

At the very time Burke wrote thus, negociations were in progress with
Pitt. For when ministers went to the king on the 16th of May, to receive
his commands for his speech at the end of the session, he had given them
to understand that he would only have it prorogued, since he intended
to make a change in the administration. In consequence of this
determination, his majesty sent his uncle, the Duke of Cumberland,
to Hayes, in Kent, to treat with Pitt. The final reply of Pitt to the
offers is said to have been, “that he was ready to go to St. James’s
provided he might carry with him the constitution.” A total change of
men, measures, and counsels was involved in this reply; but the king had
some “friends” whom he wished to retain in their official situations,
and such a sweeping change could not be conceded. The Duke of Cumberland
continued his endeavours to form a ministry for a day or two, but no
one, possessing any merit, would undertake office when it was known
that Pitt had refused, and the king was compelled to retain his old
ministers. This was a mortifying circumstance in itself, but it was
rendered doubly so by the insolent behaviour of some of the members of
the cabinet. When he desired to know the conditions of their continuance
in office, they peremptorily demanded a royal promise of never
consulting the Earl of Bute; the instant dismissal of Mr. Mackenzie, his
lordship’s brother, from his high offices in Scotland; the deprivation
of the paymastership of the forces, held by Lord Holland, which should
be given to a member of the House of Commons; the nomination of Lord
Granby to be head of the army; and the discretionary power of nominating
to the government of Ireland whoever they pleased. The king expressed
his anger and astonishment at these hard terms, and bade them return at
ten o’clock at night for his answer. A partial compliance, however, was
necessary, and before the appointed hour he sent them word by the lord
chancellor that he would not bind himself by a promise never to consult
Bute, though he acquiesced in the propriety of not letting him interfere
in the councils of the state; that he consented to displace Mr.
Mackenzie from his office, as well as Lord Holland; but that he
absolutely refused the article about Lord Granby. Ministers now took
time to consider, but they were too fond of office to retire without
being actually compelled. On the following morning they gave up the
point of Lord Granby, and contented themselves with the promise of
not permitting Bute to interfere. They were, therefore, to continue in
office; and Charles Townshend was made paymaster of the forces, while
Lord Weymouth was appointed to the government in Ireland. But the king
considered that he was dishonoured, and that he was held in thraldom
by his ministers, whence he soon made fresh efforts to deliver himself.
Again he negociated with Pitt, and again negociations with him fell to
the ground. Pitt could not engage without Lord Temple, and Temple, when
sent for, raised objections which rendered the whole scheme abortive.
But the king was resolute in his determination to free himself from the
chains by which his ministers had enthralled him. Early in July, he
once more applied to his uncle, who undertook to treat with the Duke
of Newcastle, whose parliamentary weight was nearly a counterpoise to
Pitt’s oratory and popularity. Newcastle joined Cumberland in addressing
himself to the more moderate section of the opposition, and at length
a new ministry was formed. The Marquis of Rockingham became head of the
treasury; General Conway became one of the secretaries of state, and was
intrusted with the House of Commons; the Duke of Grafton was the other
secretary of state; Mr. Dowdeswell was the chancellor of the exchequer;
the Earl of Hertford was made lord-lieutenant of Ireland, instead of
Lord Weymouth; the president’s chair, vacated by the Duke of Bedford,
was given to Lord Winchelsea; and the Duke of Newcastle contented
himself with the privy seal. The celebrated Edmund Burke was engaged as
private secretary by Lord Rockingham, and now, for the first time, had
a seat in parliament. There seemed a reasonable hope that this ministry
would obtain strength and durability, but it wanted Pitt for its
supporter; and it was weakened in October by the death of the Duke of
Cumberland. This blow was more severely felt, because there was a want
of union in the members of this cabinet from the first, and where
there is no union there can be no real strength. Moreover, the Earl
of Rockingham, though one of the most honest, honourable, and
well-intentioned men in existence at that period, lacked the ability
for collecting the scattered energies of party, and forming them into a
system, whence it was soon found that his cabinet was unpopular; and, at
no distant period of time, it was compelled to give place to another. In
the whole course of its existence, indeed, it exhibited the lack of that
vitality which could alone make it memorable and enduring.

{GEORGE III 1765–1769.}




OPPOSITION TO THE STAMP DUTIES IN AMERICA.

The fatal effects of Grenville’s Stamp Act were soon made manifest—the
storm which the anticipation of it had raised, grew into a perfect
hurricane as soon as it was known in America that it was consummated.
Throughout the whole country a disposition existed to resist to the
death, rather than submit. The episcopalian and aristocratic colonists
of Virginia, alike with the presbyterian and democratic colonists of New
England, denounced the measure in the strongest language, and displayed
strong feelings of dislike to it. Nay, the Assembly of Virginia, which
hitherto had been pre-eminent in loyalty, was now the first to set an
example of disobedience. The House of Assembly there was shaken by
the eloquence of Patrick Henry, who took the lead in the debate. In
a resolution which he brought forward against the Stamp Act, Henry
exclaimed—“Cæsar had his Brutus; Charles I. his Oliver Cromwell; and
George III.”—the orator at this point was interrupted by a voice crying
“treason!” and, pausing for a moment, he added, “and George III. may
profit by that example. If that be treason, make the most of it.” When
tranquillity was restored, the assembly voted a series of resolutions,
declaring that the first settlers in Virginia had brought with them all
the privileges and immunities enjoyed by the people of England; that
they possessed the exclusive right of taxing themselves in their own
representative assemblies, which right had been constantly recognised by
the king and parliament of Great Britain; and that every attempt to
vest such a power in any other person or persons was illegal,
unconstitutional, and unjust, and had a tendency to destroy both
British and American independence. This had a great effect on the other
colonies, and the house of representatives of Boston suggested that a
congress should be held at New York, whither each province should send
deputies to concert measures for averting the grievance of the Stamp
Act. Nine out of thirteen of the colonies sent their delegates to this
congress, and fourteen strong resolutions were passed condemnatory of
the bill; and three petitions were concocted—one to the king, another
to the lords, and a third to the commons. From the decorous manner
adopted in its proceedings little alarm was excited, but by it an
important point was gained to the Americans—a closer connexion
was established by the meeting among the leading men of the various
colonies; and thus a way was prepared for a more general and extensive
combination should it be required by circumstances.

It was not in the assemblies alone that resistance to the Stamp Act was
manifested. Ominous proceedings were adopted by the public. As soon as
the news of it arrived in America, at Boston the colours of the shipping
were hoisted half-mast high, and the bells were rung muffled; at New
York the act was printed with a skull and cross bones, and hawked about
the streets by the title of “England’s Folly, and America’s Ruin;” while
at Philadelphia the people spiked the very guns on the ramparts.
The public irritation daily increased, and when at length the stamps
arrived, it was found impossible either to put them into circulation,
or to preserve them from destruction. The distributors were even forced
publicly to renounce, on oath, all concern with them; and riots broke
out in Boston, and several other cities, at which the public authorities
were compelled to connive. Law-agents generally resolved to forego the
practice of their profession rather than use stamps, and all stamped
mercantile or custom-house papers were seized as the ships came into
port, and publicly committed to the flames. By the 1st of November, the
time when the act came into operation, not a sheet of stamped paper was
to be found; and, therefore, all business which could not be legally
carried on without it, was brought to a stand—the courts of justice
were closed, and the ports shut up.

These measures were followed by others far more injurious to the
interests of Great Britain. Merchants entered into solemn engagements
not to order any more goods from England; to recall the orders already
given, if not fulfilled by the 1st of January, 1766; and not to dispose
of any goods sent to them on commission after that date, unless the
Stamp Act, and even the Sugar and Paper-money Acts were repealed.
Measures were also taken to render the importation of British
manufactures unnecessary. A society for the promotion of arts and
commerce was instituted at New York, and markets opened for the sale of
home-made goods, which soon poured into them from every quarter. Linens,
woollens, paper-hangings, coarse kind of iron-ware, and various other
articles of domestic life were approved by the society, and eagerly
purchased by the public. People of the highest fashion even preferred
wearing home-spun, or old clothes, rather than purchase articles which
could conduce to the welfare of Britain; and lest the new manufactories
should fail from want of materials, many entered into an engagement to
abstain from the flesh of the lamb. All classes were animated by the
spirit of resistance to their mother-country, and resolutions began to
be circulated of stopping exports as well as imports, and of preventing
the tobacco of Virginia and South Carolina from finding its way into the
British markets. The flame even spread to the West Indian plantations;
for in the islands of St. Christopher and Nevis, all stamps were
committed to the flames, and the distributors compelled to resign
office. Here was evidently work for the British Cabinet during the next
session of parliament, and we proceed to show how they acted.




EMBARRASSMENT OF MINISTERS AND MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

During the recess, ministers, who were divided in opinion and thwarted
by the king, could do nothing. It would not appear, indeed, that the
subject was considered of such vital importance as to demand instant
attention and extraordinary exertions. Parliament met on the 17th of
December, but it was only to be prorogued for the Christmas holidays,
and the king merely mentioned in his speech, that something had occurred
in America which would demand the attention of the legislature. In the
meantime a meeting was held at Rockingham-house, for the purpose of
arranging measures against the opening of the session, and particularly
with respect to America. Yet no vigorous measures were resolved on, and
all which they did decide upon was merely the terms in which the king’s
speech should be comprised when parliament reassembled.

{A.D. 1766}

Parliament reassembled on the 14th of January, when his majesty spoke
more at length on the subject of the American colonies, and said that
the papers were ordered to be laid before them. The subject was pointed
out to the members as the principal object of their deliberation, and it
was left to their wisdom, in full confidence the judgment and moderation
of the two houses would conciliate the colonists without compromising
the rights of the British legislature. Everything had been done, his
majesty said, by the governors, and the commanders of the forces in
America, for the suppression of riot and tumult, and the effectual
support of lawful authority—they had failed, and the rest was left to
them.

His majesty’s speech was followed by the presentation of the petitions
from America, and of numerous petitions from the great manufacturing
towns of the kingdom, which set forth the present ruin of all classes,
with the prospective derangement of the national finances; all which
seemed to declare that the time was arrived when effectual measures
should be taken for their redemption. Then succeeded the debate. It was
opened in the commons by Mr. Nugent, who condemned the opposition made
by the colonists, to what he deemed a reasonable and easy tax, yet
expressed his willingness to abandon it, provided they would solicit its
repeal as a boon, and acknowledge the right of the British legislature
to impose it: with him “a peppercorn as an acknowledgment of a right was
of more value than millions without such a concession.” Burke followed;
but nothing more is known of his first speech in parliament than that he
astonished the house by the force and fancy of his eloquence, and that
he gained by it the golden opinion of Pitt. That more experienced
orator next spoke, and his sentiments were more to the purpose. After
condemning the daring measures adopted by the late administration, and
blaming the indecision and tardy efforts of their successors, against
whom, as men, he had nothing to allege, as they were men of fair
characters, and such as he rejoiced to see in his majesty’s service,
bowing with grace and dignity to them, he observed—“Pardon me,
gentlemen, but confidence is a plant of slow growth in an aged bosom;
youth is the season of credulity. By comparing events with each other,
and reasoning from effects to causes, methinks I plainly discover an
overruling influence. I have had the honour to serve the crown, and if I
could have submitted to influence, I might have continued to serve, but
I would not be responsible for others. I have no local attachments:
it is indifferent to me whether a man was rocked in his cradle on this
side, or the other side of the Tweed. I sought for merit wherever it was
to be found. It is my boast that I was the first minister who looked for
it, and found it in the mountains of the north. I called it forth, and
drew into your service a hardy and intrepid race of men!—men who, when
left to your jealousy, became a prey to the artifices of your enemies,
and had gone nigh to overturn the state in the war before the last.
These men, in the last war, were brought to combat on your side; they
served with fidelity as they fought with valour, and conquered for you
in every part of the world. Detested be the national reflections against
them!—they are unjust, groundless, illiberal, unmanly. When I ceased
to serve his majesty as a minister, it was not the country of the man by
which I was moved; but the man of that country wanted wisdom, and held
principles incompatible with freedom.”

The great orator proceeded to observe, that when the resolution of
taxing America was first taken he was ill in bed, and if he could have
been brought to the floor of that house, he would have given his firm
testimony against the measure. He then expressed a hope that the members
of the British legislature would not consider it a point of honour, or
themselves bound to persevere in carrying out what they had begun.
His opinion was, that Great Britain had no right to lay a tax on the
American colonies; but at the same time he uttered this seemingly
contradictory opinion—that her authority over them was sovereign in
all cases of legislation. He said—“The colonists are subjects of this
kingdom, equally entitled with yourselves to all the natural advantages
of mankind, and the peculiar privileges of Englishmen: equally bound by
its laws, and equally participating in its free constitution. Taxation
is no part of the legislative power. Taxes are the voluntary gift and
grant of the commons alone. In legislation, the three estates of the
realm are alike concerned; but the concurrence of the peers and the
crown to a tax is only necessary to clothe it with the form of a law.
The gift and grant is of the commons alone.” Having shown in what way
the great bulk of the land had passed into the hands of the commons, he
remarked—“When, therefore, in this house, we give and grant, we give
and grant what is our own. But in an American tax what do we do?
We, your majesty’s commons of Great Britain, give and grant to your
majesty—what? our own property?—No; we give and grant the property
of your majesty’s commons of America! It is an absurdity in terms. The
distinction between legislation and taxation is essentially necessary to
liberty. The crown, the peers, are equally legislative powers with the
commons. If taxation be a part of simple legislation, the crown and the
peers have rights to taxation as well as yourselves—rights which they
will claim, which they will exercise, whenever the principle can be
supported by power.” Pitt then proceeded to combat the arguments
of those who asserted that America was represented in the British
parliament. “I would fain know,” said he, “by whom an American is
represented here. Is he represented by any knight of the shire, in any
county in this kingdom? Or will you tell him that he is represented
by any representative of a borough—a borough which perhaps its own
representatives never saw? This is what is called the rotten part of the
constitution. It cannot last a century: if it does not drop, it must be
amputated.” Pitt concluded by reasserting, that the commons of America,
represented in their assemblies, had ever been in possession of the
constitutional right of granting their own money; and this kingdom had
ever been in the possession of the rights of binding the colonies by her
laws, and by her regulations and restrictions in trade, navigation,
and manufactures, and in fact in everything, except taking money out of
their pockets without their free and full consent.

The house was awed by Pitt’s oratory, and, for some time, no one rose to
reply. General Conway at length broke the silence by frankly declaring
that his sentiments were generally conformable to those of Pitt; and by
excusing ministers for their tardy notice of the subject, on the grounds
that the first news of the troubles were vague and imperfect. In denying
the continued ascendency of Bute, however, the general spoke with great
warmth, utterly disclaiming it for himself, and, as far as he could
discern, for all the members of the cabinet. Grenville, who followed,
did not treat Pitt with such urbanity. He defended himself and his
measures with great warmth and ability, and boldly declared that the
seditious spirit of the colonies owed its birth to the factions in the
house of commons, and that gentlemen were careless of the consequences
of what they uttered, provided it answered the purposes of opposition.
As he ceased speaking, several members rose together; but Pitt was among
them, and a loud cry was made for him, so that the rest gave way, and
left him to answer the attack. Taking no notice of the denial which
Conway gave to his charge concerning Bute’s holding paramount influence
in the cabinet, which denial he could not with justice gainsay, he
confined his remarks to Grenville’s arguments and grave charge. Since,
he said, that member had gone into the justice, policy, and expediency
of the Stamp Act, he would follow him through the whole field, and
combat all his arguments. He bitterly complained that Grenville should
have designated the liberty of speech in that house as a crime; but
declared that the imputation should not prevent him from uttering his
sentiments upon the subject. He then proceeded thus:—“The gentleman
tells us America is obstinate—America is almost in open rebellion. I
rejoice that America has resisted. Three millions of people, so dead to
all the feelings of liberty as voluntary to submit to be slaves, would
have been fit instruments to make slaves of the rest.” Pitt then said,
that in all our wants of money, no minister, since the revolution,
had ever thought of taxing the American colonies; that he had, when in
office, refused to burn his fingers with an American Stamp Act; and he
recapitulated his arguments to prove that legislation and taxation were
two different things, and that while we had a right to regulate the
trade of the colonists, we could not legally or justly impose taxes upon
them. He then asserted, that the profits to Great Britain from the trade
of the colonies were two millions a year, and that this was the sum
which carried England triumphantly through the last war, and the price
America paid us for protection. “And shall,” he asked, “a miserable
financier come with a boast, that he can fetch a peppercorn into the
exchequer by the loss of millions to the nation?” He added—“I am
convinced the whole commercial system of America may be altered to
advantage: you have prohibited where you ought to have encouraged,
and you have encouraged where you ought to have prohibited: improper
restraints have been laid on the Continent in favour of the islands. Let
the acts of parliament, in consequence of treaties, remain; but let not
an English minister become a custom-house officer for Spain or for any
foreign power. Much is wrong; much may be amended for the general
good of the whole. The gentleman must not wonder that he was not
contradicted, when, as a minister, he asserted the right of parliament
to tax America. I know not how it is, but there is a modesty in this
house which does not choose to contradict a minister—even your chair,
sir, looks towards St. James’s. I wish gentlemen would think better of
this modesty; if they do not, perhaps the collective body may begin to
abate of its respect for the representative. A great deal has been said
without doors of the power, the strength of America—it is a topic that
ought to be cautiously meddled with. In a good cause, on a sound bottom,
the force of this country can crush America to atoms; but on this
ground, on the Stamp Act, when so many here will think it a crying
injustice, I am one who will lift up my hands against it;—in such a
cause your success would be hazardous. America, if she fell, would fall
like a strong man; she would embrace the pillars of the state, and
pull down the constitution along with her.” Pitt, then deprecating
the conduct of those who judged the Americans with an eye of severity,
said—“I acknowledge they have not acted in all things with prudence
and temper; they have been wronged; they have been driven to madness
by injustice. Will you punish them for the madness you have occasioned?
Rather let prudence and temper come first from this side. I will
undertake for America that she will follow the example. There are
two lines in a ballad of Prior, on a man’s behaviour to his wife,
so applicable to you and your colonies, that I cannot help repeating
them:—

     ‘Be to her faults a little blind;
      Be to her virtues very kind.’”

Pitt concluded by proposing that the Stamp Act should be repealed,
absolutely, totally, and immediately; but at the same time he advised,
that the repeal should be accompanied by the strongest declaration of
the sovereign authority of this country over the colonies, in everything
that relates to trade and manufactures—in fact, in everything except
taking their money out of their pockets without their consent.

This speech of Mr. Pitt had a potent effect upon the administration and
the country at large. Nearly all the ministers coincided in his views,
and petitions, which poured into the house from all parts against the
stamp act, and which had been imperiously rejected by the late cabinet,
were received with all due deference. Burke made two speeches against
it, which were commended by Pitt, and filled the town with wonder. So
great was the change in public opinion upon the subject, that a bill was
brought in by the ministers for the repeal of the act, which bill was
passed by a great majority. It was accompanied by a declaratory bill,
setting forth the supreme right, sovereignty, &c. of Great Britain over
her colonies in all other matters of legislation, and reprobating the
tumultuous proceedings of the colonists. The repeal act was sent up
to the lords, where it encountered a violent opposition, but it passed
toward the end of March, when it received the reluctant consent of the
crown. Sixty-one peers entered a strong protest against its non-taxing
principle, and it was observed that in both houses the members belonging
to the royal household voted with the opposition: a strong proof of his
majesty’s feeling upon this subject.

It was asserted by some that ministers were “bullied” into the repeal
of the stamp act by Pitt. This was manifestly unjust, both to the
great orator and the ministers themselves. In this session they showed
themselves equally ready to redress grievances at home as in America.
Thus they proposed and carried a repeal of the obnoxious cider-tax,
laying on a different duty, and the mode of collecting it; they passed
an act for restraining the importation of foreign silks; and they
abolished the old duties on houses and windows, and settled the rates
with greater equity toward the middle and lower classes of society. They
also appeased the general apprehension of a scarcity of bread, by
orders to prevent the exportation of corn, and by enforcing the old laws
against monopoly, forestalling, and regrating. Moreover, they passed a
bill for opening free ports in the islands of Dominica and Jamaica; made
several new and important regulations in the commercial system of the
colonies; and took off some burdensome restrictions. Finally, they
promoted the extension of trade in general by a commercial treaty with
Russia, and they obtained from France a liquidation of those bills which
had been left unsettled since the cession of Canada.

Still, though the legislative acts of this administration were of great
importance to the country, and were calculated to insure popularity,
its doom was sealed. By a large portion of the community, the members of
which it was composed were considered as intruders, who kept Pitt out
of office, and they had lost the confidence of the king by the repeal
of the Stamp Act. The resentment of the king was also excited by their
omitting to procure a supply of money for his younger brothers. Sensible
of their weakness, the Duke of Grafton resigned office, and the seals
which he resigned were given to the Duke of Richmond. When he resigned
he declared that he had no fault to find with his colleague’s, except
that they wanted strength, and that his opinion was, Mr. Pitt alone
could give vigour and solidity to any administration in the present
state of affairs. Under him, his grace said, he was “willing to serve
in any capacity, not merely as a general officer, but as a pioneer:
under him he would take up a spade or a mattock.” Such was the situation
in which the ministers found themselves at the close of this session,
which was prorogued early in June.




SENTIMENTS OF THE AMERICANS ON THE DECLARATORY ACT.

The manner in which the repeal of the Stamp Act was received in America
seemed to justify the measure. Although accompanied with the Declaratory
Act, it was welcomed by many persons among the higher classes, of honest
and upright mind, with great satisfaction. Washington declared that
those who were instrumental in procuring the repeal were entitled to the
thanks of all well-wishers to Great Britain and her colonies. There
were fierce republican spirits, however, in New England, who viewed the
Declaratory Act in the same light which they had viewed the Stamp Act;
and as soon as the first burst of joy had subsided, this was made the
subject of their declamation, and a stimulus to popular excitement.
Public writers were employed to prevent a return of harmony between
Great Britain and her colonies, and though addresses of thanks were
voted by the assemblies to the king, this was but an evanescent show
of gratitude. The same temper was found especially to prevail in the
assembly of Massachusets against the Declaratory Act, as had been
displayed against the Stamp Act, and the spirit of resistance soon
spread to the other colonies. The right of legislative authority assumed
by Great Britain over her colonies was loudly questioned, and bills were
passed in the assemblies independently of the British parliament, and
in defiance of our declared sovereign legislative right. One breach was
therefore healed by the repeal of the Stamp Act, but another was opened
by the scarcely less obnoxious act with which it was accompanied. A tree
of liberty had been planted, and there was a universal disposition
to preserve its leaves and its fruits from the touch of kingly and
sovereign power.




THE DISSOLUTION OF THE ROCKINGHAM CABINET.

The seeds of the dissolution of the ministry, as before shown, were
thickly scattered, and it was easy to foresee that the event was at
no great distance. Its fall, however, might have been retarded for a
little space, had it not been for the intrigues of the chancellor, Henry
Earl of Northington. In order to discredit the cabinet, that nobleman
started numerous difficulties on some legal points that were submitted
to his judgment, and set on foot several intrigues, which accelerated
its downfall. The first token of his defection appeared in the strong
dissatisfaction which he exhibited on account of the commercial treaty
with Russia, and it was soon after made more fully manifest in a meeting
of ministers on the subject of the government of Canada. There appears
to have been no good ground for his opposition, but Northington panted
for retirement, and longed to serve his ancient friend Pitt; whence it
pleased him to denounce a report drawn up and submitted to the council
on this subject as theoretical, visionary, and unworthy of practical
statesmen. The meeting broke up without coming to any conclusion, and
before another could be convened, Northington demanded an audience of
the king; resigned under the pretence that the present ministry was
unable to carry on the government; and recommended that his majesty
should call Pitt into his councils. In consequence of this,
Pitt received the personal commands of his majesty to form a new
administration, offering him a _carte blanche_ for its formation.

Hitherto Pitt had manifested great patriotism, having served his
country, apparently, for the love of it alone. That he was ambitious,
however, he now proved. In reply to his majesty’s commands he spoke of
his infirmities, and—although he was only fifty-eight years old—of his
great age. Under these circumstances he proposed taking to himself not
the premiership, with the direction of the house of commons, but the
office of privy-seal, which implied his exaltation to the peerage. The
king and the country alike stared with astonishment at this proposition,
but his views were not thwarted, and he proceeded to form his own
cabinet. Negociations failed with Lord Temple, the Marquess of
Rockingham, Lord Gower, Mr. Dowdeswell, and Lord Scarborough. In
the midst of them, however, Pitt received an autograph note from
his majesty, announcing his creation as Earl of Chatham, and thus
stimulated, he proceeded in his task. On the 2nd of August the members
of the new cabinet were formally announced in the Gazette. Pitt, as
Earl of Chatham, took the office of privy-seal; Lord Camden was made
chancellor; the Earl of Shelburne was appointed one of the secretaries
of state; General Conway continued in office as the other; the Duke of
Grafton was made first lord of the treasury; Charles Townshend became
chancellor of the exchequer; Sir Charles Saunders succeeded to the
admiralty; and the Earl of Hillsborough was nominated first lord of
trade. Several changes were also made in the subordinate places of the
treasury and the admiralty boards, and the strange medley, which soon
became more mixed and various, has been thus described by Burke:—“He
[Lord Chatham] made an administration so chequered and speckled; he
put together a piece of joinery so crossly indented and whimsically
dovetailed; a cabinet so variously inlaid; such a piece of diversified
mosaic; such a tesselated pavement without cement; here a bit of black
stone, and there a bit of white; patriots and courtiers; king’s friends
and republicans; Whigs and Tories; treacherous friends and open enemies;
that it was indeed a very curious show, but utterly unsafe to touch,
and unsure to stand on. The colleagues whom he had assorted at the same
boards stared at each other, and were obliged to ask, Sir, your name?
Sir, you have the advantage of me. Mr. Such-a-one, I beg a thousand
pardons. I venture to say it did so happen, that persons had a single
office divided between them, who had never spoken to each other in their
lives, until they found themselves, they knew not how, pigging together,
heads and points, in the same truckle bed.”




DECLINE OF LORD CHATHAM’S POPULARITY.

Lord Chesterfield characterised the exaltation of Pitt to an earldom as
“a fall up stairs”—a fall which hurt him so much, that he would never
be able to stand upright again. By his acceptance of a coronet, in
truth, he greatly diminished his popularity. Burke undermined his
influence in the city by two clever publications: in the first of these
he gave an account of the late short administration, and in the second
he gave a humorous and ironical reply to it, in which the disingenuous
conduct of their successors was ably exposed. The wit of Chesterfield
ably seconded the pen of Burke; and the Earl of Chatham soon found that
though he was dignified by the king, he had shorn himself of all his
honours in the sight of the people. The influence which the Earl of Bute
was supposed to have had over him tended still more to blight his fair
fame. He was taunted with being a willing agent of men whom he did not
esteem, and his acceptance of a peerage was a never-failing source of
invective. Moreover, in his negociations with his brother-in-law, Lord
Temple, he had quarrelled with that nobleman, and all its disparaging
circumstances were freely discussed to his lasting disadvantage.. A
shower of pamphlets appealed against him, and the city of London,
where his influence had recently reigned paramount, mortified him, by
declining repeated proposals of presenting him with an address on his
appointment. Men saw in him no longer the unblemished patriot, but
looked upon him as a cringing slave to royalty for place and power. In
their displeasure they may have judged too harshly, but it is certain,
as Lord Chesterfield observed, that he was no longer Mr. Pitt in any
respect, but _only_ the Earl of Chatham. The charms of his eloquence
were lost for ever, for when the people can place no confidence in their
rulers, the finest oratory is but an empty sound.

It happened unfortunately for the Earl of Chatham’s popularity, that
owing to a deficiency in the harvest of last year great scarcity
prevailed, and as distress existed on the continent. The people, always
disposed to look upon the dark side of the picture, apprehended that
the country would be involved in all the horrors of famine. The price
of provisions greatly increased, and in consequence tumultuous riots
occurred in various parts of the kingdom, in which many lives were lost.
Some of the rioters were captured, and special commissions were sent
into the country to try them, and, in many instances, they were brought
to condign punishment. A proclamation was issued for enforcing the law
against forestallers and regraters, but as the price of all articles
rose, and the city of London made a representation to the throne
respecting large orders for wheat which had been received from the
continent, another was issued prohibiting its exportation. At the same
time an embargo was laid by royal authority on all outward-bound vessels
laden with corn.

It was not in England alone that the waning influence of the Earl of
Chatham became manifest. One of his first diplomatic attempts was to
establish a powerful northern confederacy, principally between England,
Prussia, and Russia, in order to counterbalance the formidable alliance
framed by the Bourbons in their family compact. The king of Prussia,
however, was averse to the formation of any new and stricter connexions
with England, as well on account of the usage he had met with during the
late war, as of the unsettled state of the government of Great Britain
since the peace. “Till he saw,” he said, “more stability in our
administration, he did not choose to draw his connexions with us
closer,” and the negociations was therefore dropped.




MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

The session was opened on the 11th of November, and the principal
topic of the king’s speech was the scarcity of corn; and measures were
recommended, if necessary, for allaying or remedying the evil. The
address was opposed in both houses, and in the commons four amendments
were moved, but the government in every instance had a majority. On the
subject of the embargo, however, and the delay of assembling parliament
when the country was in such critical circumstances, ministers had a
harder battle to fight. It was thought right to pass a bill of indemnity
in favour of those who had acted in obedience to the council with
respect to the embargo, and when this bill was brought in by a member
of the cabinet, a remark was made, that although it provided for the
security of the inferior officers, who had acted under the proclamation,
it passed over those who advised the measure. This gave rise to much
altercation and debate, especially among the lords, where the Earl of
Chatham, Lord Camden, and others, who had long been the advocates of
popular rights, vindicated the present exercise of royal prerogative,
not on the plea of necessity but of right: arguing that a dispensing
power was inherent in the crown, which might be exerted during the
recess of parliament, but which expired whenever parliament reassembled.
Camden asserted that Junius Brutus would not have hesitated to entrust
such a power even to a Nero, and that it was at most but “a forty
day’s tyranny.” The Earl of Chatham was a more powerful advocate of the
measure. He vindicated the issuing of the embargo by legal authority
during the recess of parliament as an act of power justifiable on the
ground of necessity, and he read a paragraph from Locke on Government,
to show that his views were borne out by that great friend of liberty,
that constitutional philosopher, and that liberal statesman. The
sentiments of the ministers, however, were strongly opposed by Lords
Temple, Lyttleton, and Mansfield, the latter of whom, though he had once
been spell-bound by court influence, “rode the great horse Liberty with
much applause.” The Earl of Chatham replied, but the constitutional
principles which his opposers laid down could not be answered with
success, for although parliament passed the act of indemnity, yet the
opposition lords so enlightened the public mind upon the subject, that
the cry was instantly raised that the present ministers had sold their
consciences to the court, and were in a league to extend the prerogative
beyond the precedent of the worst periods in English history. The
ferment was greatly increased by Mr. Beckford’s declaring in the house
of commons, that the crown had in all cases of necessity a power to
dispense with laws: an assertion which retraction, explanation, and
contradiction from the same lips, could not efface from the public mind.
When the bill passed it was in an amended state: the amendment including
the advisers, as well as the officers, who had acted under the orders
of council in enforcing the embargo. But even this, which implied an
acknowledgment of error, was not sufficient to satisfy the public mind,
for the clamour still continued against the ministers. The Earl of
Chatham was also embarrassed by other circumstances, and in order to
strengthen his hands, he was compelled to forego his determination,
and to overlook his declaration, that he would never again have any
connexion with the old Duke of Newcastle. The duke had a party which
would be important to so weak a cabinet, and in order to gratify him,
Lord Edgecumbe was ungraciously dismissed from his office of treasurer
of the household, to make room for Sir John Shelley, a near relation
of his grace. But the remedy was as bad as the disease. Indignant at the
treatment which their colleague had received, Lord Resborough, the Duke
of Portland, the Earl of Scarborough, Lord Monson, Sir Charles Saunders,
first lord of the admiralty, Admiral Keppel, and Sir William Meredith,
all sent in their resignation, and they, with their adherents, ranged
themselves on the side of the opposition. These numerous secessions
compelled Chatham to negociate more explicitly, not only with
Newcastle’s party, but with that also which was headed by the Duke of
Bedford. The place of first lord of the admiralty was offered to
Lord Gower, who took a journey to Woburn, for the express purpose of
consulting his grace upon the subject. But negociations with the Bedford
party concluded with its total alienation from the administration, nor
were those who accepted office thoroughly conciliated. These were Sir
Edward Hawke, who was made first lord of the admiralty, and Sir Percy
Brett and Mr. Jenkinson, who filled the other seats of the board; while
Lords Hillsborough and Le Despenser were appointed joint postmasters.
The ministry, as thus patched up, was more anomalous than ever, and
Chatham aware of this, and seeing that his popularity was daily more and
more declining, became a prey to grief, disappointment, and vexation.
At times he sank into the lowest state of despondency, and left his
incapable colleagues, to make their own arrangements and adopt their
own measures. But they could not act efficiently without him. Burke
says:—“Having put so much the larger part of his enemies and opposers
into power, the confusion was such that his own principles could not
possibly have any effect, or influence, in the conduct of others. If
ever he fell into a fit of the gout, or if any other cause withdrew
him from public cares, principles directly the contrary were sure to
predominate. When he had executed his plan, he had not an inch of ground
to stand upon. When he had accomplished his scheme of administration,
he was no longer a minister. When his face was hid but for a moment, his
whole system was on a wide sea without chart or compass.” Yet Chatham,
just before the recess, put a bold front upon his affairs in the house.
He proclaimed a war against party cabals, and asserted that his great
point was to destroy faction, and that he could face and dare the
greatest and proudest connexions. But this was an Herculean task which
neither Chatham nor any other minister has yet been able to accomplish.
Faction is an hydraheaded monster, which no man can destroy, either by
the charms of his eloquence or the terror of his countenance.

{A.D. 1767}

Chatham found that the warfare was an unequal one, and that he had not
sufficient strength to withstand the power of his enemies. Hence, at the
end of December, when all the appointments were made, he retired to his
estate of Burton Pynset, which had been recently left him, where he took
up his abode, doing nothing for the state, and yet taking the salary
attached to his office. Parliament reassembled after the recess without
him, his friends in the cabinet wondering at, and the king himself
lamenting, his absence. Yet the ministers attempted to work without him.
The chancellor of the exchequer proposed that the land-tax should be
continued at four shillings in the pound, stating that the proceeds of
such a tax would enable him to bring about the most brilliant operation
of finance recorded in the annals of Great Britain. This was a new
measure, for hitherto it had been the practice at the return of peace to
take off any addition that had been made to the land-tax in time of war.
Hence when Townshend proposed it in committee he was laughed at by the
country members, who contended for its reduction to three, or even
two, shillings in the pound. Townshend had nobody by him to second his
assertions, or give him powerful support; and when Mr. Grenville moved
that the land-tax should be reduced to three shillings, his motion
was carried by a majority of eighteen. It was said that the country
gentlemen in effecting this reduction, “had bribed themselves with a
shilling in the pound of their own land-tax,” but as this was the first
money-bill in which any cabinet had been successfully opposed since
the Revolution, it was rightly viewed as a symptom of weakness in the
administration: yet Townshend retained his office.

{GEORGE III. 1765–1769}




EAST INDIA QUESTION.

The great question discussed in parliament during this session related
to the East Indies. At this period the East India Company held “the
gorgeous East in fee.” The merchant princes of Leadenhall-street, who
commenced their career with a strip of sea-coast on the outermost limits
of Hindostan, had now acquired principalities and kingdoms, and had even
made themselves masters of the vast inheritance of Aurungzebe. Fortunate
as the Argonauts, they found and possessed themselves of the “golden
fleece,” which had been the object of their search. Enormous fortunes
were made with a rapidity hitherto unknown, and they were gathered into
the laps of even the most obscure adventurers. The fables of the ring
and the lamp were more than realised, and the fountain from whence these
riches ran appeared to flow from an inexhaustible source. Men had only
to go and stand by its brink, and if avarice could be satisfied, they
might soon return home with not only sufficient wealth to maintain
them in opulence and splendour, but with some to spare for the poor and
needy.

Such were the views which government seems to have taken of these
merchant princes. Early in November a committee was appointed for
investigating the nature of their charters, treaties, and grants, and
for calculating the expenses which had been incurred on their account
by government. In the course of this scrutiny two questions suggested
themselves to the committee; namely, whether the company had any right
to territorial acquisitions, and whether it was proper for them to enjoy
a monopoly of trade. Some of the members argued that the company had
a right, while on the other side some maintained that, from the costly
protection afforded it, government had an equitable claim to the
revenues of all territory acquired by conquest. It was the opinion of
the cabinet, that the state did not possess its proper share of the
company’s profits, and the chancellor of the exchequer conceived that by
either taking their territorial conquests into the hands of government,
or making them pay largely for keeping that management in their ow a
hands, the state would obtain that wealth of which it stood so much
in need. Chatham’s attention was drawn to this subject, but he merely
advised that Beckford should make a motion for examining into the state
of the East India Company, and remained still in the west of England.
This motion was made, and the house resolved itself into a committee of
inquiry, and called for papers. In the meantime the company suggested
an amicable arrangement, and presented a series of demands, among which
were—that the administration should prolong the charter to the year
1800, or to a further term, and to confirm to the company the sole and
exclusive trade of the East Indies for three years at least after the
expiration of the charter granted in the last reign; that it should
agree to an alteration in the inland duty upon tea, with the view of
preventing smuggling; that it should allow a drawback on the exportation
of tea; that it should alter the duties on calicoes and muslins; that
it should consent to some proper methods of recruiting the company’s
military forces, and for strengthening their cause in India; that it
should prevent the commanders of the company’s ships and others from
conveying any kind of warlike stores clandestinely to the East Indies;
that it should use its strong interposition with the court of France
to obtain large sums of money which the company had expended for the
maintenance and transport of French prisoners to Europe; and that it
should use its strong interposition likewise with the court of Spain
with respect to the Manilla ransom, that the company might obtain
indemnification for the great expenses incurred by that expedition. The
company laid before the house their charters, treaties with the native
sovereigns, letters and correspondence, and the state of their revenues
in Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; but the whole affair was so complicated,
that the ministers could not make themselves thoroughly masters of
the subject. Not one would, in fact, undertake the management of the
business. They shifted the proposals from one to another, and could not
come to any determination what to accept or what to reject. At every
stage of the business it was attended with violent debates. Townshend
was strongly in favour of an amicable arrangement with the company,
laying great stress on the _quantum_ to be given for the prolongation of
the term of their charter, while Company declared that the salvation
of the country depended upon the proper adjustment of this nice affair.
Still Chatham kept aloof from the business, and he either would not from
illness, or could not from despondency, give his thoughts and directions
in writing as to what steps to take and what further motion to make. In
the end, therefore, after many divisions, a bill was framed, granting
nearly all that was asked for by the company, and binding it to pay
£400,000 per annum, in half-yearly payments, and to indemnify the
exchequer, should any loss be sustained in consequence of lowering
the inland duties on tea, and the allowance of the drawback on its
exportation. But the term of this contract was limited to two years;
commencing from the 1st of February of the current year; so that the
company had a further interference with their territories and wealth in
prospect: but till the expiration of that term, their territorial rights
were fully admitted.

While this subject was under parliamentary discussion, the proprietors
of East India stock demanded of the court, that, as the company had
gained so much territory and so many new advantages, a larger dividend
should be declared. In compliance with this demand the dividends were
increased from ten to twelve and a half per cent., which step called for
the interference of government. In order to check a proceeding which was
considered calculated to renew the gambling stock and share jobbing of
the memorable South Sea year, two bills were brought into the house by
ministers; one for regulating the qualifications of voters in trading
companies, and the other for restraining and limiting the making of
dividends by the company; fixing them at ten per cent. This latter bill
encountered a most violent opposition both by the company and in the
house, particularly by the lords, but it was carried, and received the
royal sanction.




AMERICAN TAXATION.

Soon after the reassembling of parliament Mr. Grenville, intent upon
taxing America, had proposed saddling that country for the support
of troops, &c., and the chancellor of the exchequer, in reply, pledged
himself to the house to find a revenue in the colonies sufficient to
meet the expenses. Accordingly, during the session, he introduced a
bill to lay certain duties on glass, tea, paper, and painters’ colours,
imported from Great Britain into America. This bill was carried through
both houses with the greatest facility, and another act passed with
equal facility, which placed these duties, and all other customs and
duties in the American colonies, under the management of the
king’s resident commissioners. These acts were followed by one more
justifiable. The assembly of New York had refused to comply with the
statute requiring a grant of additional rations to the troops stationed
in that province; and the refractory disposition of the colonists made
it manifest that their intention was to deny the jurisdiction of Great
Britain altogether. It was evident that a spirit of infatuation had
taken deep root in America, and it was easy to foresee that confusion
and bloodshed would one day ensue. Under these circumstances, and with a
view of checking the onward progress of the march of insubordination, an
act was passed, prohibiting the governor, council, and assembly of New
York from passing any legislative act, till satisfaction should be given
as to the treatment of the commissioners and troops, and submission paid
to the Mutiny Act. But no measure which the parliament of England could
devise, whether coercive or conciliatory, could tame the fierce spirit
which the Stamp Act had created, and the new scheme of duties on imports
was calculated to confirm in hostility to Great Britain. The breach grew
wider and wider, until at length it was past all remedy.




CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY.

Parliament was prorogued on the 2nd of July, with a speech from his
majesty, in which he acknowledged annuities of £8000, which had been
settled during this session on each of the king’s brothers; namely, the
Dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland. During the recess, an event
occurred which threatened to overthrow the tottering cabinet. This
was the death of Charles Townshend, who suddenly expired on the 4th of
September. But before his death, there were signs of a dissolution of
the ministry, and Townshend was actually engaged in the projection of
a new administration. Lord Northington and General Conway had both
expressed a wish to resign, and the Duke of Grafton showed a greater
disposition for pleasure than for business, whence negociations were
opened by Townshend with the Rockingham party.

His death set these aside, but several changes soon afterwards took
place among the great officers of state. The Earl of Chatham, afflicted
with the gout, and indisposed to business, still remained idle; and the
king therefore, authorized the Duke of Grafton to make the necessary
changes in the cabinet. All that could be done, however, before the
meeting of parliament, was to entrust the seals of the office of
chancellor of the exchequer to Lord Mansfield, chief justice of the
king’s bench, and to empower him to renew negociations with the Duke of
Bedford, in which the Duke of Grafton had been unsuccessful.

The ministry was in this unsettled state when the parliament met in
November. The principal point recommended to its attention by his
majesty was the high price of corn, with the consequent suffering of the
poor. This subject was also impressed on parliament by strong petitions
from all parts of the country; and an act was passed, extending the
prohibition against exportation, and encouraging the importation of
grain.

In the midst of these proceedings, Lord North was prevailed upon to
accept the chancellorship of the exchequer; Mr. Thomas Townshend, cousin
of the late Charles Townshend, succeeded him as joint paymaster of the
forces; and his place, as one of the lords of the treasury, was given
to Mr. Jenkinson. Soon after this, General Conway and Lord Northington
insisted on resigning, and fresh overtures were made to the Duke of
Bedford. That nobleman having been gained over, Earl Gower became
president of the council in the place of Lord Northington, and Lord
Weymouth secretary of state in lieu of Conway. At the same time the Earl
of Hillsborough was appointed third secretary of state, which was a new
office; and he was succeeded as joint paymaster with Lord North, by
the Duke of Bedford’s ally, Lord Sandwich. General Conway was
appointed lieutenant-general of the ordnance; and the ministry, thus
reconstructed, took the name of the Duke of Grafton’s administration. As
for the Earl of Chatham he was still a cipher, keeping aloof at Bath, or
at Burton Pynsent, or at Hayes in Kent, where he would neither see
nor speak to anybody. But he still retained the privy seal, and still
retained the emoluments of office, and the king was afraid to deprive
him of them.

{A.D. 1768}

Parliament, in this session, extended the act which restricted the
East India Company’s dividends to ten per cent.; but scarcely any
other business was transacted beside the voting of supplies. The king
prorogued parliament on the 10th of March, and on the 12th of that month
it was dissolved by proclamation, it having nearly completed its legal
term of seven years.




PROCEEDINGS IN AMERICA.

The new Revenue Act, which imposed duties on various articles of
merchandise, excited great resentment in America. It was looked upon by
the colonists, indeed, as a deceptive measure, having a similar object
to that of the Stamp Act, and it had the effect of reviving a question,
which the British parliament should have endeavoured to have consigned
to utter oblivion. The Americans, animated by a spirit of resistance,
would now no longer acknowledge that distinction between external and
internal taxation, on which they had at first grounded their claim
for relief. Their presses teemed with invectives against the British
legislature, and it was confidently asserted that England was resolved
to reduce the colonies to a state of abject slavery. The assembly of
Massachusets Bay took the lead in opposing the government, and it soon
engaged the other colonies to join in resisting the mother-country.
A petition was likewise sent by that house to the king, and letters,
signed by their speaker, to several of the British cabinet, containing
statements of their rights and grievances, and soliciting relief.

A letter was also sent to Mr. De Berdt, their agent in London,
instructing him to oppose the obnoxious measure on every ground of right
and policy. This letter adverted to the appropriation of the revenue
intended to be thus unconstitutionally raised—stating that it was to
supply a support for governors and judges, and a standing army. On both
these grounds, as well as its unconstitutional nature, the house opposed
it, remarking, on the subject of the standing army, in the following
terms, by way of remonstrance:—“As Englishmen and British subjects, we
have an aversion to a standing army, which we reckon dangerous to our
civil liberties; and considering the examples of ancient times, it seems
a little surprising that a mother-state should trust large bodies of
mercenary troops in her colonies, at so great a distance from her; lest,
in process of time, when the spirits of the people shall be depressed by
the military power, another Caesar should arise and usurp the authority
of his master.”

A circular letter was sent, in the name of the assembly of Massachusets
Bay, to the other provincial assemblies, informing them of the measures
already taken; and it was couched in such terms that it had the effect
of lulling the suspicions of some whose opinions were not so violent,
and of making many of them firm adherents to the cause of liberty. The
conduct of this republican assembly excited strong indignation in the
ministry. A letter was sent, by Lord Hillsborough, to the governor,
expressing great displeasure against those who had endeavoured to revive
the dissensions which had been so injurious to both countries, and
directing him to dissolve the assembly if it should decline to rescind
the vote which gave rise to the circular. This letter was laid before
the house; but instead of rescinding the vote, it justified the spirit
and language of the circular, and declared that, as it had been answered
by several of the assemblies, the vote had been already executed, and
could not therefore be rescinded. The conclusion of this uncompromising
reply was as follows:—“We take this opportunity faithfully to represent
to your excellency, that the new revenue acts and measures are not only
disagreeable, but in every view are deemed an insupportable burden and
grievance, with very few exceptions, by all the freeholders and other
inhabitants of this jurisdiction: and we beg leave, once for all, to
assure your excellency, that those of this opinion are no ‘party or
expiring faction;’—they have at all times been ready to devote their
time and fortune to his majesty’s service. Of loyalty, this majority
could as reasonably boast as any who may happen to enjoy your
excellency’s smiles: their reputation, rank, and fortune, are at least
equal to those who may have sometimes been considered as the only
friends in good government; while some of the best blood in the colony,
even in the two houses of assembly, lawfully convened and duly acting,
have been openly charged with the unpardonable crime of oppugnation
against the royal authority. We have now only to inform your excellency,
that this house has voted not to rescind, as required, its resolution;
and that, in a division on the question, there were ninety-two nays, and
seventeen yeas. In all this we have been actuated by a conscientious,
and finally, by a clear and determined sense of duty to God, to our
king, our country, and our latest posterity; and we most ardently wish
and humbly pray, that in your future conduct, your excellency may be
influenced by the same privileges.”

A letter to the same import was addressed, by the assembly, to Lord
Hillsborough. But this was its last act. When the governor had received
the above communication, he immediately dissolved it, and the
province was left for

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