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 the remainder of the year without a legislature. Opposition, however, was not checked by such a measure—rather it was carried on with more spirit than ever. Riots took place at Boston and Halifax, and arms and ammunition were provided, under the pretext of anticipated war with France A meeting of delegates, from all the towns of the province, was convened at Boston, which was attended by deputies from every one except Hatfield. This convention sent a communication to the governor, disclaiming all intention of performing any act of government; professing to have met, in dark and distressing times, to consult and advise measures for the peace and good order of his majesty’s subjects in the province; and praying that he would call together the legislative assembly. The governor refused to receive any communication from the meeting, warned it of the irregularity of its proceedings, and assured it that his majesty was determined to maintain his entire sovereignty over the province. A deputation was then sent to the governor by the convention, but it was refused admission into his presence, and a committee of nine persons were appointed to consult on the best mode of promoting peace and good order in the province. This committee sent in its report, and the meeting drew up a petition to the king, which was transmitted to the agent in London, and it then broke up. This was on the 29th of September, and on the same day, two regiments and a detachment of artillery from Halifax inarched into Boston. These were soon after joined by two more regiments from Ireland, under General Gage; and thus awed, the province was restored to comparative tranquillity. But underneath this show of quiet there were heart-burnings, which nothing but the recognition of American independence could allay. Associations formed throughout the whole length and breadth of America, by the exertions of the assembly of Massachusets Bay, stirred up and kept alive the flame of discord, and occasion need but fan it, and it would kindle into a blaze; the lurid glare of which would be seen burning brightly, and raging furiously across the wide Atlantic. The proceedings in America were but as yet, in truth, the warnings of a terrible commotion—the first intimations of an irruption, more frightful in its nature, and more disastrous in its consequences, than the bursting forth of the fire-streaming bowels of Mounts Ætna and Vesuvius, or the devastations of an earthquake. For the storms of human passion, when they burst forth in war and bloodshed, are more desolating to the human family, than any outbreak of visible nature recorded in the many-paged annals of history.

DOMESTIC TROUBLES AND COMMOTIONS.

While America threatened some fearful catastrophe, Great Britain was scarcely less disturbed by internal troubles and commotions. Much as he desired the happiness of the people, the jewels set in his majesty’s crown were intermixed with sharp, piercing thorns. This is plainly observable in the previous pages, wherein the difficulties which had beset his various administrations, and which chiefly arose from the discordant passions of their members, are historically narrated. Burke rightly observes:—“Our constitution stands on a nice equipoise, with steep precipices and deep waters on all sides of it: in removing it from a dangerous leaning toward one side, there may be a risk of oversetting it on the other. Every project or a material change in a government so complicated, combined, at the same time, with external circumstances still more complicated, is a matter full of difficulties.” This is not the language of a casual observer of men and manners, but of a profound politician. It is borne out by his majesty’s early experience. The scheme which he adopted soon after his accession of breaking the power of the Whig aristocracy, and of calling men of different parties to the service of the state, was not only surrounded with difficulties, but fraught with clanger. Men looked with favour on the long-established supremacy of these great families, and their influence and power were therefore not easily broken. Bute sought to dissolve the spell; but the hand of Bute was not that of a magician, and he signally failed in the attempt. Broken, but not subdued, the aristocracy formed new parties, and acted upon new principles, all calculated, when dictated by the spirit of opposition, to annoy the sovereign, and disarrange the machinery of the state. Cabinets, formed with nice art and care, were unable to withstand their opponents; whence their frequent disarrangements and dissolutions. The age became signalised by ministerial revolutions and cabinet abortions; and why? because the cabinets formed were not supported by public opinion. Parliament itself had lost much of its credit with the people by reason of its indecisive measures. It had forfeited their confidence, nor could the recall of Pitt to the helm of state restore it to their favour, or rescue the sovereign from the dilemma in which he had placed himself. Intractable at all times, from the opposition he had met with, and from ill health, he had become so imperious, that, like an old Roman consul, he would fain have yoked the people, the cabinet, and the monarch to his chariot-wheels. Moreover, since he had become an earl, he was a changed man. He no longer sided with, but against, the people; sheltering himself from their clamours in the stronghold of privilege. Hence it was, that when he coalesced with others, he found no support on which he could lean with safety, and by which he could assist the monarch. His staff was but a reed on which, if he leant, it pierced his hand. This Chatham felt; and though he clung tenaciously to office, from the fear of displaying his weakness and incapacity, he only acted, when he did act, behind the scenes. Ministerial exertions were also paralysed by another cause. A prevalent notion existed that there was a mysterious power about the court which worked to the detriment of the public good. This was a constant theme of invective among the opposition, and, it would seem, not without good reason. But there was another cause of obstruction to the measures formed by government. This was found in the democratical spirit, which now universally prevailed. Courted by the aristocracy, who had till very recently

“Held them dangling at arm’s length in scorn,”

and grown comparatively wealthy since relieved from the pressure of war, the population became restless, jealous, and insubordinate. The man whose fortune was only made, as it were, yesterday, deemed himself as great a man as the highest and noblest born aristocrat; while the man who had squandered away his patrimony, sought to restore himself from his fallen position in society, by assuming principles of patriotism which in his heart he despised. Moreover, the conduct of their rulers, which had been too frequently vacillating and manifestly corrupt, taught the great body of the people to look upon them with suspicion and distrust. Talk they as loud as they might of honesty of intention, of unimpeachable integrity, and of pure patriotism, the people nevertheless would not now believe them. Hence, political associations began to be formed; taverns were made so many parliament houses; and the people seemed as if they were resolved to take the government into their own hands.

But oh! ye Muses, keep your votary’s feet From tavern-haunts where politicians meet Where rector, doctor, and attorney pause, First on each parish, then each public cause: Indited roads and rates that still increase; The murmuring poor, who will not fast in peace: Election zeal and friendship since declined, A tax commuted, or a tithe in kind; The Dutch and German? kindling into strife; Hull port and poachers vile!—the serious ills of life.

THE RETURN OF WILKES, ETC.

Such was the state of society when writs were issued for a new election. Encouraged by it, John Wilkes once more stepped upon the stage, and offered himself as a candidate for the suffrages of the people. And, as it has been well said, Mephistopheles himself could not have chosen a better time for mischief. For, at this time, the populace had no idol in whom they could place their confidence, and they hailed his reappearance with delight. By their aid, indeed, he soon became enabled to insult his sovereign, and to trample on the legislature with impunity. Unprincipled as he was, he became the man of their choice, and their “champion bold” in the cause of what was called liberty.

Wilkes had made an attempt to return to England during the Rockingham ministry, but that party would not receive his overtures. Recently he had also sounded the Duke of Grafton, with whom he had formerly been on terms of intimacy; but his application for his mediation with the king was treated by that nobleman with neglect and disdain. Thus disappointed, and finding his situation at Paris, from his accumulated load of debt, disagreeable, he at length resolved to brave every danger. During the elections, he boldly presented himself at Guildhall, as a candidate to represent the metropolitan city in parliament. He was received with rapturous applause by the populace; but his present views were frustrated by some of the good citizens of London, who exerted all their influence to insure his defeat. Nothing daunted, however, Wilkes immediately offered himself for the county, and he was returned by the freeholders of Middlesex, by a very large majority. The mob, on this occasion, was in a transport of joy. The air rang with shouts of “Wilkes and Liberty!” and by way of exhibiting their exultation at their triumph, they demolished Bute’s windows in the west, and the windows of the mansion-house, in the east of the city.

Having secured his election for Middlesex, and confident of the support of the people, Wilkes appeared, in the month of April, in the court of king’s bench, and declared himself ready to submit to the laws of his country. Lord Mansfield, then on the bench, suggested that as he was not before the court by any legal process, no notice could be taken of his professed submission, and he was permitted to depart. On retiring, he was received with loud acclamations by the mob, and the general impression was, that Wilkes had conquered the government, and that the arm of the people was stronger than the arm of the law. Wilkes, likewise, may have flattered himself that he was secure from all further process; but, if so, he soon found himself deceived. Within a week, a writ of _capias ut legatum_ was issued against him, and he was taken into custody. Sergeant Glynn, his counsel, pointed out several errors in the outlawry, and offered bail; but the judges decided that no bail could be taken, and he was at once committed to the king’s bench prison. But the populace was resolved to reverse this decree. As he was proceeding over Westminster-bridge, they stopped the coach in which he was conveyed, took out the horses, and dragged him in triumph through the city, to a public-house in Spitalfields, where they retained him till nearly midnight. Wilkes, however, thought proper, when the people dispersed, to repair to the marshal of the king’s bench, out of whose hands the mob had rescued him, and surrender himself. But as soon as it was known that the “patriot” was in prison, the mob showed signs of rescuing him again. Crowds collected around his prison-house, pulled down the outward fence, and made a bonfire with it on the spot. An order was sent to the horse-guards, and a body of soldiers were stationed near the prison, but this only tended to increase the popular excitement. Every day, for nearly a fortnight, the mob abused the soldiers, and the soldiers threatened the mob, so that the metropolis was one continued scene of riot and confusion; Wilkes adding fuel to the flames from within the doors of his prison.

Such was the public temper when parliament reassembled on the 10th of May. The people supposed that neither strong walls, nor stronger laws, could prevent Wilkes from taking his seat in the house of commons, as member for Middlesex; and they assembled in great numbers round the gates of his prison, in order to escort him to Westminster. But the gates remained bolted and barred, and Wilkes continued secure within. They waited patiently for awhile, but when doubts arose whether they should be permitted to see then-idol, their patience at first grew into uneasiness, until at length it gendered into a storm of furious disappointment and passion. Demands were made for his appearance, but they were unheeded and unanswered. Their violence grew with their clamour, and it was in vain that they were urged to depart in peace. Stones and brickbats were aimed at the heads of the magistrates who attempted to read the riot act, and the military by whom they were guarded. Self-defence compelled the order to fire, which was readily obeyed by the soldiers; the more so, because the companies selected for the service were nearly all Highlanders and Lowland Scots, whose strong national feelings had been wounded by Wilkes, in his North Briton. Four or five persons were killed, and many more wounded; and among those who perished was a youth of the name of Allen, who had taken no part in the riot. One of the soldiers gave chase to a young man who had been pelting them, and by mistake shot Allen in a cow-house, near St. George’s-fields, while he was in the act of protesting his innocence. This occurrence tended to increase the popular rage. At the coroner’s inquest, a verdict of wilful murder was brought in against the soldier who shot Allen, and two others were charged with aiding and abetting. Maclean—for that was the name of the soldier who shot Allen—was committed to prison, and warrants were issued against the others as accessories. At the same time, Mr. Gillam, one of the Surrey magistrates, who had given the order to fire, was indicted for murder. On the other hand, the parliament then sitting voted loyal addresses to his majesty on the occasion, with assurances that every measure, which was adopted for the maintenance of the authority of the laws, had their hearty concurrence; and Lord Barrington returned thanks to the officers and men employed in this service, and directed that the crown lawyers should defend the soldiers under prosecution. This had the effect of exasperating the populace still more. They saw that the soldiers would be acquitted—which was actually the case, and rewarded likewise—and the exploit was named by the unenviable denomination of “The Massacre of St. George’s-fields.” Exciting papers were stuck up in every part of the metropolis, and even on the very walls of St. James’s-palace. The mansion-house was assailed so frequently that a constant guard of soldiers was necessary to defend it from demolition. The firm of civil authority appeared too weak to control the unbridled passions of the populace; and it was rendered still more impotent by other riots and disturbances which broke out unconnected with politics. Coalheavers, sailors, and watermen at this time complained of low wages, and of frauds practised upon them by their employers; and Stepney-fields likewise became a scene of combat which could only be quelled by the military.

On the 8th of June, Wilkes’s case was again heard in the king’s bench. His outlawry was reversed, because he had voluntarily surrendered: but he was sentenced, for the seditious sentiments contained in the ‘North Briton’, to be confined in prison ten calendar months, and to pay a fine of £500; and for publishing the ‘Essay on Woman’, to pay a similar fine, and to be imprisoned twelve calendar months, to commence at the expiration of the term of the former imprisonment. He was, also, to find security for his good behaviour for seven years—himself in the sum of £1000, and two sureties in £500 each. On the trial, facts were divulged very disgraceful to the temper of the people. In order to ensure impunity for their idol, anonymous letters had been sent to chief-justice Mansfield, threatening him, and insulting him by every species of insult and intimidation. His lordship spoke feelingly and wisely in delivering the judgment of the court on these unworthy and unmanly proceedings:—“The last event,” said he, “which can happen to a man never comes too soon, if he falls in support of the law and liberty of his country; for liberty is synonymous with law and government: as for himself, the temper of his mind, and the colour and conduct of his life, had given him a suit of armour against these arrows.”

The sentence passed against Wilkes tended only to increase his popularity. Though immured within the walls of a prison, he became now in the very zenith of his fame. Subscriptions were raised to pay off his debts; valuable presents were conferred on him; and his portrait met the eyes of the passers-by, over the doors of the public-houses, in every part of the kingdom. The popularity of Wilkes was, if possible, augmented by the issue of the trials of the magistrate and soldiers for the murder of Allen, and those who fell in “the massacre of St. George’s-fields.” They were all acquitted; and instead of being censured for a breach of discipline by the authorities, Maclean received from government the sum of thirty guineas for his sufferings on a false accusation. This was exceedingly impolitic; for it had the effect of further exasperating that huge-chafed monster, the populace, whose power is not to be provoked or despised with impunity.

RESIGNATION OF LORD CHATHAM.

A ministry so hetrogeneous in its composition as that which now administered the affairs of Great Britain could hardly be expected to act in union and with firmness at this critical season. The Earl of Chatham gave proof that he was not disposed to act with the opponents of Wilkes, by declaring to Sir William Beauchamp, who was contesting the election of Middlesex with Sergeant Glynn, and who applied to him for his assistance and countenance, that he constantly declined meddling in elections. His disinclination to act at all was, also, elicited by the Duke of Grafton, who sighed “after a life much more pleasing to his mind” than that of presiding over the government. Grafton urged the Countess of Chatham—for he dared not trouble his lordship—to state whether she thought her lord would resign. The countess, in reply, assured the noble duke that there was but little prospect of his ever being able to enter much into business; and intimated, that he was privy to, and highly disapproved of, an intention entertained of dismissing Lord Shelburne; adding, that he would never consent nor concur in such a removal, his services being of great importance to the administration. All the while the Earl of Chatham knew that it was Lord Shelburne’s intention of resigning voluntarily, which he did immediately after, having for his successor, as secretary for the southern department, Lord Weymouth from the northern, in whose post the Earl of Rochford was placed. From this cause, and being also displeased with the conduct of his colleagues regarding America, Chatham at length resolved to tender his resignation. He wrote to the Duke of Grafton, informing him that his health would no longer permit him to be useful to his majesty, and begging that his grace would lay him at his majesty’s feet, with his utmost duty and earnest request, that he would grant him his royal permission to resign the privy seal. It was in vain that the Duke of Grafton endeavoured to dissuade him from his purpose, on the grounds that his services were at this moment indispensable. His request was repeated in more positive terms, and a letter was sent also to the king to the same intent. His majesty now tried whether the refractory lord could not be brought to a proper sense of his duty. He wrote in reply:—“As you entered upon this employment in August, 1766, at my own requisition, I think I have a right to insist on your remaining in my service; for I with pleasure look forward to the time of your recovery, when I may I have your assistance in resisting the torrent of factions this country so much labours under. This thought is the more frequent in my mind, as the lord chancellor and the Duke of Grafton take every opportunity to declare warmly their desire of seeing that: therefore I again repeat it, you must not think of retiring, but of pursuing what may be most conducive to your health, and to my seeing you take a public share in my affairs.” It is probable that the Earl of Chatham was not so sanguine as his majesty concerning his ability to resist “the torrent of factions,” for he shrunk from his task in coward fear. In his reply, affliction, submission, gratitude, veneration, and despair was seen in almost every line, and he insisted upon adhering to his purpose. Accordingly, he sent the privy seal by Lord Camden, who delivered it into the king’s hands, and who, to increase the monarch’s embarrassments, wished to resign likewise. Overcome by his majesty’s entreaties, however, Camden consented to remain in office.

The resignation of Chatham did not excite greater interest than the resignation of the meanest officer in the state. Even Thackeray, his admiring biographer, was obliged to make this confession:—“A greater contrast in the feelings of the cabinet and the nation upon the present resignation of Lord Chatham to those which were evinced upon his dismission from office in 1757, and upon his retirement in 1761, can scarcely be imagined. His dismission in 1757 excited one common cry of enthusiastic admiration towards himself, and of indignation towards his political opponents. The attention, not only of Great Britain, but of the whole of Europe, was attracted by his resignation in 1761; and although the voices of his countrymen were not so universally united in his favour as upon the former occasion, the event was considered as affecting the interests of nations in the four quarters of the globe. The resignation of Lord Chatham, in 1768, was, in fact, nothing more than the relinquishment of an appointment in which he had long ceased to exercise his authority, or to exert his abilities. It was expected by the ministry—it was little regarded by the people of Great Britain—it was almost unknown to the continent of Europe.” So low had the Earl of Chatham descended from his giddy height of popularity—so little to be depended upon is the breath of the people.

On the contrary, the causes which led to the retirement of Lord Shelburne, had the effect of increasing the reputation of that ex-minister, and of endearing him to the public. The ancient republic of Genoa had long been endeavouring to reduce the Corsicans to her obedience, but was compelled to give up the contest in despair. She resigned her right of sovereignty—real or pretended—to Louis XV.; and the French fitted out an armament to take possession of Corsica by force of arms. The Corsicans maintained that they were not to be bought and sold like revolted subjects and rebels; and their chosen chief, General Paoli, represented the cruelty of the case to all Europe, addressing himself in a special manner to England. As islanders and freemen, the English warmly sympathised with them. The Earl of Chatham and Lord Shelburne, likewise, felt deeply interested in the cause of the Corsicans; and the latter authorised Lord Rochford, the ambassador at Paris, to address a spirited remonstrance to the French cabinet on the subject. These orders, however, were not supported by the rest of the administration; the French court took no notice of the remonstrance; and Lord Shelburne was compelled to resign. Corsica was therefore abandoned to France, who established her supremacy by shedding much blood. This naturally created feelings of respect for Lord Shelburne in the breasts of the English people; and, as naturally, the feelings of contempt for his cold, calculating, official colleagues.

THE AFFAIRS OF WILKES.

By this time Sergeant Glynn had been elected for the county of Middlesex. Glynn was the friend and companion of Wilkes, and it happened that some of the chairmen of his opponent killed a man of the name of Clarke in an affray. At this period, such events were by no means uncommon, but as Sir William Beauchamp was a ministerial candidate, the populace spread surmises abroad, and circulated accusations detrimental to his character. He was charged with being an employer of assassins, and two of his chairmen were tried at the Old Bailey for murder. They were acquitted, but this only tended to increase the popular excitement against the ministers. Wilkes still more inflamed it by his intemperate conduct. Lord Weymouth sent a letter to the bench of magistrates for the county of Surrey, expressing the warmest approbation of their conduct, and recommending them to quell all tumults on their first rising by the aid of the civil and military power. This letter, or a copy of it, having fallen into the hands of Wilkes, it was published by him, with an inflammatory preface, in which he called the affair in St. George’s Fields “a horrid massacre, and the consequence of a hellish project deliberately planned.” Irritated by his imprisonment, Wilkes, indeed, seems now to have set his fortune on the cast of a die, and the only way of playing the game successfully, seems to have been, considered by him, that of inflaming the passions of the people, already enraged beyond endurance, to the utmost. But the ministers resolved that he should not act with impunity, and this last act determined them upon taking effectual measures to overthrow his cause, finally and for ever. But the determination taken by them only aided the “patriot” in his ambitious projects, and tended to increase their own unpopularity.

{GEORGE III. 1765–1769}

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament, with the Duke of Grafton at its head, assembled on the 8th of November. In his speech his majesty alluded to the signs of commotion among the continental powers which now existed; to the state of our American colonies, especially to the proceedings at Boston, which he denounced in strong terms; and to the late abundant harvest, which he viewed with satisfaction, as having come opportunely to the relief of his poorer subjects. In the house of lords the address was agreed to unanimously, but the commons offered many objections, criticising the conduct of government with reference to America, Corsica, and its continental policy, whence it was not carried without much angry feeling.

The first question debated was that of corn. To prevent the recurrence of scarcity, a bill was prepared for enlarging the prohibition against exportation, and for preventing distillation from wheat. A more effectual mode of securing plenty would have been to have passed a bill for the better cultivation of the lands already in use, and for the enclosure of large tracts of land then uncultivated. But government had no extended views at this period, and, moreover, its attention was absorbed in the consideration of the one all-engrossing subject—civil discord.

DEBATE ON WILKES.

Before the session was a week old, Wilkes and the parliament were at open war. Determined upon keeping up the spirit of animosity among his admirers, the great agitator presented a petition to the house of commons, by means of Sir Joseph Mawbey, one of the members for Southwark, which recited all the proceedings of government against him, and claimed redress and liberty as a member of that house. A violent debate took place, and it was agreed that Wilkes should have liberty to attend the house to support his allegations, and that he should be allowed the assistance of counsel. He was to appear on the 2nd of December, but in the meantime a member moved for an Inquiry into the occurrences in St. George’s Fields, and of the conduct of the military employed on that occasion. This motion was negatived, and when Burke, who acted as leader of the Rockingham party, renewed it, it shared the same fate: some observed because many members were afraid of investigating the subject too closely.

{A.D. 1769}

The house postponed the hearing of Wilkes and his counsel, and this postponement was several times repeated. They were unheard on the 23rd of January, when Mr. Martin, member for Gatton, moved, “That John Wilkes, Esq., although he is convicted of publishing a seditious libel, is entitled to privilege of parliament.” An amendment was moved by Lord North to the effect, “That John Wilkes, Esq., although he is convicted of printing and publishing a malignant, seditious, and scandalous libel, and of printing and publishing three obscene and impious libels, and now stands committed to the king’s-bench prison, by virtue of two several judgments in the court of king’s-bench, for the said offences, is entitled, by privilege of parliament, to be discharged from his imprisonment for the said offences.” After a fiery debate, the amendment was carried by a large majority; and Mr. Martin, feeling himself disgraced by its making him the patron of sedition, obscenity, and impiety, moved, “That, in entering in the votes of this day the proceedings of the house upon the said question, the original motion be stated, with the proceedings of the house in making the several amendments thereto.” This was reasonable, but when put to the vote it was rejected.

By these proceedings the temper of the house towards Wilkes was fully manifested, and it seemed morally certain that when his petition was taken into consideration it would prove a failure. It was on the 27th of January that this debate fairly commenced. On that day Lord North moved that the petitioner’s counsel should be confined to two specified points only; namely, to prove the allegations in his petition, which asserted that Lord Mansfield had altered the record of his indictment the day before his trial in Westminster-hall; and that Mr. Carteret Webb, solicitor to the treasury, had bribed one Curry, a man in Wilkes’s employment, to purloin the copy of the “Essay on Woman,” for which he was undergoing imprisonment. This motion was agreed to, though not without fierce opposition, and Wilkes appeared at the bar of the house on the 31st, to make good these allegations. He objected, that as a member he could not legally appear there without taking the oaths, but this was overruled, he then proceeded to support his allegations, but all he could substantiate was, that Lord Mansfield had made an alteration on the record, and as this was in accordance with ancient custom, and had been sanctioned by all the judges, the house agreed, without a division, that the petitioner had not made good the two allegations upon which he had been heard, and that his petition was frivolous.

The tables were now turned. Lord Weymouth made a complaint in the upper house, regarding a breach of privilege, in publishing his letter sent to the magistrates of Surrey, with an inflammatory preface. A conference between the two houses had been held, and Wilkes was charged with this misdemeanour before the bar of the commons. But at that bar Wilkes not only avowed himself the author of the publication, but claimed the thanks of his country for having exposed Weymouth’s “bloody scroll.” It was immediately resolved by the commons that he was guilty of a seditious libel, calculated “to inflame and stir up the minds of his majesty’s subjects to sedition, and to a total subversion of all good order and legal government.” This was on the 2nd of February, and on the following day Lord Barrington moved, “That John Wilkes, Esq., a member of this house, who hath at the bar of this house certified himself to be the author and publisher of what this house has resolved to be an insolent, scandalous, and seditious libel, and who has been convicted in the court of king’s-bench of having printed and published a seditious libel, and three obscene and impious libels, and by the judgment of the said court has been sentenced to undergo twenty-two months imprisonment, and is now in execution under the said judgment, be expelled this house.” A long and vehement debate followed this motion, Burke, Grenville, Beckford, and others taking the part of Wilkes, but the motion was carried by a large majority at midnight, and a new writ was issued for the election of another member for Middlesex.

Burke denominated the expulsion of Wilkes from the house as the fifth act of the tragi-comedy acted by his majesty’s servants, for the benefit of the agitator, at the expense of the constitution. As for Wilkes himself, he was nothing daunted by it, for after indulging in many witticisms at the expense of his adversaries, he declared that he would stand again for Middlesex, and expressed his conviction that he should be returned. And the event answered his expectation. Liberty and Wilkes were now synonymous terms, and no ministerial candidate had a chance of obtaining the popular favour in preference to him. He was rechosen representative for Middlesex free of all expense to himself, but the house declared him incapable of being elected during the present parliament. The popularity of Wilkes, however, increased in proportion as the opposition to him in the house assumed a vindictive character. The agitator, in fact, only laughed at his adversaries, and said he would try again. Great efforts were made this time by the ministerial party to ensure his defeat, but it was to no purpose. Assisted by the public press, the mob, and many opulent merchants, who deemed him the champion of liberty, Wilkes was again triumphantly returned member for Middlesex: his opponent, Mr. Dingley, not being able to get himself named for fear of the mob’s violence. But again the house of commons declared Wilkes’s return null and void, and ordered a new writ.

The popular feeling was displayed on the occasion of this second election in a very unequivocal manner. The partisans of Dingley met at the King’s-arms tavern, in Cornhill, for the purpose of proposing a loyal address to his majesty, in contradiction of certain instructions which had been prepared by the city. This was prevented by the Wilkites, who mingled among them, and who created such an uproar, that nothing could be agreed upon. At a second meeting, however, in another place, the Dingleyans were more successful; but on the 22nd of March, when they went to present the address, they were beset by a countless mob, shouting, “Wilkes and liberty—liberty and Wilkes for ever!” They were even pelted with dirt from the kennels, and assailed with every species of violence and insult. A hearse was dragged before them, covered with paintings, representing the death of Allen, in St. George’s-fields, and the murder at Brentford by Sir William Proctor’s chairmen. So violent was the conduct of the mob, that many of those who were going with the address made off through by-streets, or ran into houses for protection. Few remained when they arrived at the court of St. James’s, and the mob attempted to pass through the gates with their ominous vehicle. This was resisted by the guard, and when the mob persevered, Lord Talbot rushed out and seized two of them, while the soldiers on duty captured fifteen more, and they were carried to prison.

In opposing the election of Wilkes, therefore, there was considerable danger. Hence, when the third writ was issued, Colonel Henry Lawes Luttrell, who was then sitting in the house as member for Bossiney, conceived that he, as a military man, might assist ministers in their dilemma by offering himself as a member for Middlesex. To this end he vacated his seat for Bossiney, and the house ordered the sheriffs to be in attendance with a large number of extra constables round the hustings at Brentford, for the preservation of peace. Encouraged by this care, and by the colonel’s boldness, two other candidates appeared at the hustings, to solicit the suffrages of the people. But all the care of the government, and all the exertions of the candidates were vain. Wilkes was a third time re-elected, and illuminations throughout the whole city of London testified the triumph of the people. The house of commons, however, was firm in its opposition to the popular idol and the popular feeling. A motion was made, and carried by a large majority, to alter this return, and to insert the name of Luttrell in place of Wilkes. The freeholders of Middlesex, looking only at the poll-book, exclaimed against the iniquity of this measure, as Luttrell had not above a fourth part of the votes which were entered on behalf of Wilkes; and they presented a petition to the commons, begging them to rescind their motion. An animated discussion followed this petition, but Luttrell was confirmed in his seat by a still greater majority. The exertions of the people were, therefore, rendered null and void, but Wilkes was as great a favourite with them as ever. Ten days after, he was chosen alderman of the city of London; and he was represented everywhere as a meritorious patriot, who was suffering for the cause of the people. And it cannot be denied that the conduct of ministers towards Wilkes assumed rather the aspect of vindictive persecution than that of strict justice. It was this that gave to Wilkes the importance he had obtained in the sight of the populace—an importance which his merits and his talents could never have given him.

DEBATES ON AMERICA.

During this session, committees had been appointed by both houses to examine and report upon papers relative to American affairs, which were submitted to them by the crown. Measures of rigour were urged by majorities in both houses. The lords voted strong-resolutions relative to the unwarrantable and rebellious conduct of the legislature and people of Massachusets-bay, and recommended, in an address to the king, that the criminals should be brought over to England and tried by a special commission, according to a statute of the thirty-fifth of Henry the Eighth. It was moved in the commons that they should concur in this measure; and, after a long and spirited debate, in which many warning voices were lifted up against it, the motion was carried. This was on the 26th of January, and a few days after the subject was again brought before the house of commons, and the ministers were again warned of the danger of driving matters to extremities. Mr. Rose Fuller moved that the address should be recommitted, but no arguments which he, or any speaker that took part with him adduced, could alter the disposition of the house upon the subject, and his motion was negatived by a large majority. On the 14th of March, the subject of American affairs was resumed. This was occasioned by a petition, or remonstrance, from New York, which denied the right of parliament to tax the Americans in any way. Lord North proposed that such a paper should not be received. He was opposed by Mr. Grenville, Mr. Burke, and Colonel Barre; but the house had made up its mind to show no favour to the Americans, and Lord North’s motion was carried. Colonel Barre reminded the house that he had predicted all that would happen on passing the Stamp Act, and he now boldly asserted, that if ministers persisted in their present course, the whole continent of North America would rise in arms, and these colonies perhaps be lost to England for ever. But the ministers were deaf to argument, remonstrance, and warning, and they still determined upon rigorous measures. Later in the season, Governor Pownall moved, in a long speech, that the revenue acts affecting America should be forthwith repealed. This was the only mode of preserving the allegiance of that country; but it was pleaded that the session was too far advanced to enter upon the subject—all important as it was—and its discussion was therefore deferred till the next meeting of parliament, and then it was too late.

EAST INDIA AFFAIRS.

During this session the charter of the East India Company was prolonged for the further term of five years, on conditions similar to those in the last agreement. The company was to continue to pay £400,000 per annum, and to continue to export British goods, at an average of equal value with those sent to India during the last five years. The company, however, was now allowed to increase its dividend to twelve and a half per cent., provided it did not in any one year put on more than one per cent. If any decrease of dividend was found to be necessary, then the sum payable to government was to be reduced proportionately, and if the dividend fell to six per cent., it was to cease altogether. This bargain had scarcely been renewed when intelligence arrived from Hindostan, that Hyder Ally had reduced the company, after an expensive war, to sue for a dishonourable peace, and India stock fell rapidly.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Early in this session it was announced in a message from the king, that, in consequence of a deficiency in some branches of the revenue appropriated to the civil list, debts had been contracted to the amount of £513,511, which his majesty trusted that house would enable him to discharge. The opposition demanded the production of papers to account for these arrears, which were promised by Lord North, if they would vote the money first. This proposition was warmly opposed, but, in the end, the house showed its loyalty by voting the money. On the 9th of May, the king went down to prorogue parliament. This was the day after the last vehement debate and division on the election of Wilkes; and as he was passing from the palace to the house of lords, he was grossly insulted by the populace. In his speech, his majesty exhorted the members, with more than ordinary earnestness, to exert themselves in their several counties to repress the efforts of the disaffected, and in maintaining public peace and good order.

DISCONTENTS IN ENGLAND AND IRELAND.

There was great occasion for his majesty’s advice to the members of parliament, but they were powerless to effect that which he desired, and which was a “consummation devoutly to be wished” by every lover of good order. During this summer, discontent was more prevalent than at any preceding period of this reign. The disputes with the Americans, and the expulsion of Wilkes from his seat in parliament, had the effect of keeping the public mind in a state of constant excitement. This latter cause gave the greater umbrage to the people, because a man was sitting in his place who was supported only by a minority. This involved a constitutional right of great importance, and a question was mooted, whether expulsion constituted disqualification during the current parliament. The pen of Dr. Johnson was employed in proving the affirmative; his chief argument being, that the power of disqualification was necessary to the house of commons, for otherwise expulsion would not be a real, but a nominal punishment. Other pens were employed in proving the contrary; and among them was that of Junius, whose argument rested on the axiom that political expediency does not prove existing law, and who defied his opponents to produce any statute applicable to the subject. Junius also argued that, although the house of commons could expel, the concurrence of every branch of the legislature was necessary to incapacitate. Junius, whose extraordinary powers as a writer on politics have rarely, if ever, been surpassed, was the most bitter antagonist of the present government. The Middlesex election was eagerly embraced by him as an opportunity of advancing the great object he had in view—namely, that of the restoration of the Whig aristocracy to power. He dipped his pen in gall for this purpose, attacking the Duke of Grafton’s administration with virulent invective and energetic eloquence, if haply he might effect its overthrow. He marred his fame, however, by an exhibition of personal resentment against individual members of the cabinet, and by putting forth foul calumnies from his secret hiding-place against the highest characters in the realm. Political writers may be bold in uttering truth, but when they use slander as one of their most powerful weapons, then they sink their characters as men, and forfeit their claim to be heard by society. But this was not the opinion in those days of turbulent excitement. Junius was heard and heeded by the mass, and though he did not break up the administration, which was the main object he had in view, his writings had the effect of confirming the people in their opposition to government. Faction was so prevalent that ministers sought to counteract it by procuring loyal addresses from various parts of the country. Only four counties, a few corporations, and the two universities responded to their call; while, on the other hand, numerous petitions of a contrary tendency, were got up without any difficulty. Discontent ruled dominant before the legislature reassembled, both in the city of London, and throughout the whole country. With a view of embarrassing government, Alderman Beckford was again elected to the mayoralty, although some ancient by-laws forbade the same person to be chosen twice within the space of seven years. This objection was urged, but overruled by precedents. Ministerial troubles grew on every side. Ireland, as well as England and America, was in a state of trouble and commotion. At this time it was overrun by Levellers, White-boys, Oak-boys, and Hearts-of-Steel—factions which were bound together by secret oaths and a mutual detestation of tithes. Nor was the Irish parliament less disorderly. In the month of October a bill was brought into the Irish house of commons for increasing the military establishment in that country, which was recommended by the lord-lieutenant, and although it was carried, it was not till after it had encountered a violent opposition. In the month of November, also, the Irish commons claimed the right of framing all money-bills, which hitherto had been sent over to them by the English cabinet. They rejected the one sent over this year, and although they voted a more liberal supply of their own freewill, the lord-lieutenant would not recognise the newly-claimed right. He called it a violation of the law, and an encroachment upon the king’s prerogative. He entered his protest against it, and he then suddenly prorogued parliament before it had done any business. Thus his majesty was surrounded by troubles in almost every part of his dominions. England, Ireland, and America were all arrayed against him, and insubordination was the order of the day. What made his situation more critical was, that he had not a minister of sufficient ability to guide the helm of the state, so as to keep it clear from the rocks and the shoals by which it was surrounded.