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About Google Book Search Google’s mission is to organize the world’s information and to make it universally accessible and useful. Google Book Search helps readers discover the world’s books while helping authors and publishers reach new audiences. You can search through the full text of this book on the web at http://books.google.com/ -.■F^ (JJ HARVARD COLLEGE LIBRARY jMEMOIRS^ , THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM AMD HIS CONTEMPORARIES. WITH ORIGINAL LETTERS AND DOCUMENTS NOW FIRST PUBLISHED. BY GEORGE THOMAS, EARL OF ALBEMARLE. IN TWO’ VOLUMES. VOL. I. LONDON: RICHARD BENTLEY, NEW BURLINGTON STREET, WltoJet in ©rtfnarp to JUer /Sajestp. M.DCCC.LII. MEMOIRS OF MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM AMD HIS CONTEMPORARIES. /harvard^ university! LIBRARY I V^H D W J LONDON: Printed by Samu bl Bbbtlbt and Ca^ Bangor Houm^ Shoo Lana. PREFACE. Some years ago, while assisting my brother, Mr. Thomas Keppel, in collecting materials for his “ Life of Viscount Keppel,” I met with several of the letters relating to Lord Rockingham’s time, which I now send forth to the world. It occurred to me that the publication of them would be a desirable .contribution to literature. The Bedford and Chatham Correspondence have already displayed the opinions which guided two sections of the Whig party : there remained a third, which hitherto has had no exponent—that section, namely, of which Lord Rockingham became, soon after George the Third’s accession, the acknowledged leader. I have endeavoured to supply this defect in the present Volumes. The Letters will speak for themselves. In the Illustrations which connect them I have endeavoured to restore a portion of their contemporary interest. Whatever opinion may be formed of my portion of the work; the value to the historian will remain the same. . TO CHARLES WILLIAM, EARL FITZWILLIAM, K.G. HEIR TO THE VIRTUES AND TALENTS OF UIS UNCLE THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM, THESE MEMOIRS ARE DEDICATED WITH EVERY SENTIMENT OF AFFECTION AND RESPECT, BY THE AUTHOR. viii PREFACE. The staple of the work consists of the Papers of Lord Rockingham himself, now in the possession of his nephew and successor, the present Earl Fitzwilliam. My own family collection furnished its quota ; and I have been further assisted by the kindness of the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Hardwicke, and the Rev. Charles Lee, great nephew of Lord Rockingham’s friend, Attorney-General Lee, who have granted me free access to their respective family documents. To my friend, Sir Denis Le Marchant, my best acknowledgments are due, for a sketch of the character of the Right Honourable Henry Seymour Conway, accompanied by several interesting letters, written during the early period of the Field Marshal’s life. I avail myself, likewise, of this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the officers of the British Museum, Sir Henry Ellis, Sir Frederick Madden, Messrs. Panizzi, Holmes, Watts, and Von Bach, for the readiness and courtesy with which they have on all occasions assisted me in my researches. 11, Grosvenor Square, January 19, 1852. CONTENTS. . OF THE FIRST VOLUME. CHAPTER I. FAGS George the Third's First Speech.—His Claim to the Character of " Briton * considered.—His Education.—The Leicester House School of Politics.—The First Day of the King's Reign.—Char racters of Newcastle, Chatham, Choiseul, and Hardwicke . 1 CHAPTER II. Menaced Invasion of 1759.—France sues for Peace.—rfans Stanley.—Abbe de Bussy.—Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke.—Negociations for Peace.—Lord Hardwicke to Viscount Royston.—Character of the Duke of Bedford.—Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke.—Lord Hardwicke to Lord Royston. —The Pacific Professions of France considered.— Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke.—Mr. Pitt resigns the Seals.—Letters from Dr. Birch and Soame Jenyns . . • .20 pi :m CHAPTER HIT Earl of Egremont appointed Pitt's Successor.—Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke.—Threatened Rupture with Spain.— Lord Royston to Mr. Yorke.—Want of Union at Court.—Sum- CONTENTS. PAG! moning a New Parliament—Rival Lists.—Characters of Lord Temple and George Grenville.—Choice of a Speaker.—The King's Visit to the City.—Pitt's Conduct on that Occasion.— Mr. Milbanke to Lord Rockingham.—Character of Barre.—Mr. Milhanke to Lord Rockingham.—Effects of the Parliamentary Debate • • • • . . .54 CHAPTER IV. War with Spain declared.—Letter of Duke of Newcastle.— Proposed Attack on the Havannah.—Earl of Albemarle.—Commodore Keppel.—Sir George Pocock.—Letter to Lord Albemarle. —Character of Count de Viri.—Choiseul to Bailli de Solar.— Letter to Lord Hardwicke.—Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke.—Lord Bute's secret Negociation with Vienna.—Letters from the Duke of Newcastle to Lords Hardwicke and Rockingham, on his Resignation of the Office of First Lord of the Treasury, and to the Duke of Cumberland with his Answer . . 85 CHAPTER V. ' Duke.of Newcastle’s Resignation.—Character of Sir Francis Dashwood. — Negociatfons for Peace. — Character of Duc de Nivemais.—Capture of the Havannah.—Henry Fox.—Court Persecution of the Whig Party.—Duke of Devonshire's Dismissal.—Character of Lord Rockingham.—Characters of Lords Kinnoull, Lincoln, and Ashburnham, and Duke of Rutland.— Proposed Alliance among the Whigs.—Dismissal of Whig Lord Lieutenants and Custom-House Officers.—Lord Mansfield . 117 CHAPTER VI. Resignation of Lord Bute.—Alleged Motives for it.—Grenville Administration.—Imprisonment and Liberation of Wilkes.— Leicester House Scheme.—Negociations between Lord Bute and Mr. Pitt.—Mr. Pitt’s Interviews with the King.—Bedford Ad- CONTENTS. xi MUI ministration.—Death of Duke of Devonshire.—Proposed New Ministerial Arrangements.—Correspondence between Lord Hard-wicko and his Brother . . . . . 165 CHAPTER VII. Arbitrary Dismissal of General Conway and other Military Officers.—Letters relating to the Regency Bill.—Duke of Cumberland's Statement of Negociation for Change of Ministers.— Character of Lord Lyttelton.—Protectionist Riots.—Appointment of Commander of the Troops.—Correspondence with the King and His Ministers on the Riots.—Prorogation of Parliament.—Ministerial Difficulties of the King. . • .180 CHAPTER VIII. Meeting of Whig Leaders.—Characters of the Duke of Grafton, Gen. Conway, Dowdeswell, Lord John Cavendish, Thomas Townshend, and Sir G. Savile.—Rockingham Administration.— Character of, and Overtures to, Lord Shelburne.—Lord Dartmouth.—Lord Holland's Overtures.-*—Death of Duke of Cumberland.—The “ General Warrant.’’—The King's Aversion to the Rockingham Administration.—The Stamp Act—Opening of Parliament—The King's Correspondence on Parliamentary Debates.—Proposed Change of Ministry.—Overtures to Pitt— Characters of Lords Talbot and Northington.—Right of Taxing the Colonies.—Cabinet Resolutions on the Stamp Act—Correspondence and Debates on its Repeal.—Pamphlet on the Repeat —Character of Jeremiah Dyson.—Bill for Repeal passed. .218 CHAPTER IX. Hume and Rousseau.—The Militia Bill—Character of Mr. Trecothick.—Dinner in Celebration of the Stamp Act Repeat— Mistrust of England in Continental States.—Resolutions on Xli CONTENTS. PAOS General Warrants.—Resignation of Duke of Grafton.—Extracts from Lord Hardwicke’s “ Meinoriall.”—Character of Duke of Richmond.—Characters of Lords North and Egmont—Duke of Richmond's Journal—Inquiry into Lord Bute’s suspected Interference in Public Affairs.—Pitt appointed Minister.—Dismissal of the Rockingham Ministry . . . . . 315 Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway . .371 MEMOIRS or TUB * MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES. CHAPTER I. GEORGB TUB THIRD'S FIRST SPEECH. — UIS CLAIM TO TUB CHARACTER OF “ BRITON ” CONSIDERED.- UIS EDUCATION.-TUB LEICESTER HOUSE SCHOOL OF POLITICS. — THE FIRST DAT OF THE KING'S REION.—CHARACTERS OF NEWCASTLE------------CHATHAM-CHOISEUL-AND HARDWICKS. “ Born and educated in this country, I glory in the name of Briton, and the peculiar happiness of my life will ever consist in promoting the welfare of a people, whose loyalty and warm affection I consider as the greatest and most permanent security of my throne.” Such was one of the first sentences which George the Third addressed to Parliament, on his assumption of the kingly office. By the words of the paragraph here cited, he evidently intended to imply some pre-eminence on his own part over his two immediate predecessors, who were “born and educated” in another land. That the sovereign should have first drawn VOL. I. B 2 GEORGE THE THIRD. [1760. breath within his own sea-girt isle, that he should speak its langnage, unalloyed by foreign accent or idiom, were attractive novelties to Englishmen who, for nearly half a century, bad been governed by alien princes. Equally new and pleasing was it to the people to find in the new monarch, a youth of manly form, of an open and ingenuous countenance, of affable and prepossessing manners, and untainted with the usual vices of his age and station. But, admitting these moral and physical advantages, it may, I think, be questioned whether he were really better qualified than his royal progenitors to promote the welfare of the people whose affection and loyalty he thus aspired to possess. To any “ education ” befitting the constitutional sovereign of Great Britain he had little or no claim. In tastes and habits be was an Englishman; so much the mother country had done for him: but his youth bad been passed almost exclusively in the society of his mother, the Princess Dowager of Wales, and of his governor, John Stuart, Earl of Bute. The former, a German Princess, derived her notions of the rights and' immunities of a sovereign from the petty despotic court in which she had been herself brought up. The latter, a Scotch nobleman, arbitrary and inexperienced, mysterious and intriguing, added to these disqualifications for a royal instructor, that of having hitherto lived in such complete seclusion, as to know as little as his youthful pupil himself of the character and feelings of the English people. It had ever been the Princess’s aim to instil 17G0.J LEICESTER HOUSE POLITICS. 3 into her son’s mind her own political prejudices. From his boyhood she bad whispered into his ear, “ George, be King." Lord Bute had sedulously enforced this maternal precept, and the joint tutelage of these two instructors proved, during his protracted reign, that the seed had fallen upon no ungenial ground. Immediately on the accession, of George the Third to the throne, an artful system of party management was organized so as to give effect to these precepts and injunctions. The system, indeed, was not altogether new. It originated in the factious court of Frederick Prince of Wales, George the Second's eldest son. From the residence of the heir apparent, its centre and cradle, it was denominated the Leicester House School of Politics. Its inventor was Bolingbroke, and its leading features are shadowed forth in the “ Craftsman ” and the “ Idea of a Patriot King." In the preceding reigr a somewhat similar experiment had been made bj Pulteney, Wyndham, and Carteret. But it was Lore Bute, the favourite of the youthful sovereign, wh< really rendered the machinery, for a time, effective. The primary object of the Leicester House systen was to break up the powerful Whig confederacy whicl had been, with little intermission, in power since th< Revolution, and without any interval since the acces sion of the House of Brunswick. Strong in famih connexion and popular sympathy, the Whigs had seate< and retained that dynasty on the throne, and thei motive in upholding a foreign rather than a nativ B t 4 LEICESTER HOUSE POLITICS. [1700. line of princes was, that they might the more effectually protect the liberties of the people against the encroachments of the crown. But since the Whigs, collectively, were too powerful and too popular a body to be summarily dismissed, the leading men were to be removed, one by one, from the Cabinet and the Household. They would thus be expelled from office without the benefit of popular feeling in their behalf, and would enter opposition as a corps distrustful of one another, and disunited among themselves. - Had the designs of the Court been confined to the adoption of a less liberal school of policy, the new scheme would not have differed from an ordinary intrigue for the removal of opponents and the acquisition of office. But the royal junto had a deeper and more unconstitutional purpose in view. They wished virtually to supersede both the old Whig and Tory parties, and to create a third party, which might form a permanent barrier against the attempt of any future cabinet to act independently of the royal will. The old method of ruling by favourites was to be revived under a new form. In the place of an individual minister, a Buckingham or a Strafford, whom popular odium might easily displace, or an Abigail Masham, whom a responsible minister might purchase or disregard, a cabinet or household of favourites was to be placed around the sovereign, in numbers sufficient to divide and weaken popular hatred, and with influence enough to command a certain measure of political support. A confederacy of renegades from every political h^^ wiiirtiiiiitr i^iMi ♦ *1 i \ 1 1760.] LORD HARDWICKE’s MEM ORI ALL. 5 section of the state was accordingly formed, which was afterwards known by the appellation of “King’s Friends.” The members of this new association abjured all party distinction, and professed to regard the pleasure of the sovereign as the sole source and condition of power. Although holding many of the offices under the crown, they ’acted irrespectively of the King’s constitutional advisers, and voted with or against ministers according to the expressed or supposed predilections of their royal master. In a “ Mcmoriall of Family Occurrences,” written by the second Earl of Hardwicke,* in the year 1770, he describes the treatment which the Whigs experienced at the accession of George the Third. He refers, it is • Philip Yorke succeeded to the earldom of Hardwicke* on the death of his father* the celebrated Chancellor* in 1764. He sat for several years in the House of Commons as member for Cambridgeshire* under the title of Viscount Royston* and was a frequent and effective speaker in Parliament He became subsequently Lord-lieutenant of the county* and High Steward for the University of Cambridge. In 1766 he was admitted into Lord Rockingham’s cabinet He was indeed a warm friend of that statesman* but, unable from the infirm state of his health to take any very active part in politics* he devoted the greater part of his time to literary pursuits. Lord Hardwicke was a writer both in prose and verse. While an undergraduate at Cambridge* he was a contributor to the “ Athenian Letters.” He published also “ State Papers,” and the “ Life of Sir Dudley Carloton.” Some of his poetical compositions may be met with in the Cambridge Collection of Verses. He was the friend of Birch* Soame Jenyns* and Dr. Young, all three of whom have dedicated some of their works to him. He was also in correspondence with Robertson* Hume* and Garrick. His private letters* many of which appear in these pages* convey a favourable impression of his abilities. . • FUST DAY OF [HM. true, only to hi* own relations, but the remarks apply equally to the party of which the Yorke family were leading members. “In the beginning of the new reign,” writes Lord Hardwicks, “ no apparent alteration happened in our situation,—we were cooled and courted for the first weeks of it: in short, the exterior was fair andplantible; but, in reality, Lord Bute had the sole power and influence; and he was determined to work out the old servants of the crown, as soon as he possibly could bring it about, notwithstanding the many difficulties which seemed to be in the way of it. How he accomplished tide great task, which has made him, ever since, so unhappy a man, is not within the compass of this paper. It will suffice to mention, that he principally availed himself, with great art and finesse, of the dissensions between the Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Pitt; that he played off one against the other occasionally, till he had got rid of the popular minister; and when that was compassed, he strengthened himself in the cabinet by bringing in Lord Egremont and Mr. Grenville, and never left intriguing till he had rendered it impracticable for the old Duke to continue in office with credit or honour.” With the tenderness which characterized the Whig of that period towards a prince of the dynasty of its own adoption, Lord Hardwicke has omitted to mention Lord Bute’s most effective coadjutor, in playing off Newcastle against Pitt,—the sovereign himself; who, in all the mysteries of king-craft, so far, at least, as they 1760.] THE KING’S REIGN. 7 consisted in <( art and finesse,” was perhaps the more accomplished adept of the two. To the truth of this charge, the transactions of the very first day of his reign bear evidence. Early on the 26 th of October, 1760, his grandfather, George the Second, had risen apparently in his usual health. At half-past seven of the same morning he had ceased to breathe. His death took the nation, but not his successor, by surprise. “The Princess Amelia,” says Walpole, “ as soon as she was certain of her father's death, sent an account of it to the Prince of Wales,' but he had already been apprized of it. He was riding, and received a note from a German valet de chambre, with a private mark agreed upon between them. Without surprise or emotion, without dropping a word that indicated what had happened, he said his horse was lame, and turned back to Kew. At dismounting, he said to the groom, “ I have said this Horse was lame, I forbid you to say to the contrary.” From Kew, the new king went to Carlton House, which then belonged to the Princess Dowager. Here he first met his ministers. The account of what passed at that interview, and the manner in which he adroitly “ played off” one minister against the other, are given in the following letter from his first Lord of the Treasury, written the day after the demise of the Crown. 8 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1760. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THS EARL OF HARDWICKS. • Codepit,* October 26,1760. “I will give you a short account of what passed since our ever to be lamented loss. Mr. Martin f had * From the Cockpit at Whitehall, Philip Herbert, Bail of Pembroke and Montgomery saw Charles the First walk from St. Jamels to the scaffold. Here, in the Council Chambers, Ouiscard stabbed Harley, Earl of Oxford, “ And fixed disease in Harley's dosing lifeu* Thus for Cunningham's “ London.” What follows is from the pen of that most excellent man and upright, intelligent judge, the late Lord Chief Justice Tindal to his niece Mrs. Frederic West, who obligingly, at my request, wrote to him for the information it contains. “ As to your enquiry about the Cockpit, you will find frequent mention of it in the time of Charles the Second and James the Second, both in Evelyn's “ Memoirs " and in Pepys’s. At that time it was used for the purpose its name denotes, frequent matches of cock-fighting being carried on there by the Court, forming part, as it did, of the Palace of Westminster, close behind the place where the Treasury now stands. Queen Anne, of course, did not indulge in such unladylike amusements ; and the graver manners of the Court during the succeeding reigns, soon put the site upon which it stood to a more useful destination ; for it was turned into a Court for the Committee of the Privy Council to sit in, on the decision of all Prize causes, all appeals from the courts in the colonies of Jersey and Guernsey, and the like. “ There is at this moment, nearly on the same spot, a new court for the same purposes, forming part of the Treasury buildings. I myself have fought many matches there when I was at the bar, not with warlike birds armed with steel spurs, but with the more peaceable weapons of argument, and at this day I not unfrequently form one of the judges there to decide the contests of the combatants.” t Samuel Martin, Member for Camelford, Secretary of the Treasury. He owed this office to Mr. Legge, and was the earliest deserter from Newcastle's standard. He earned for himself considerable notoriety by his duel with Wilkes, whom he shot through the body. 1760.] TO LORD HARDWICKS. 9 orders to send to me yesterday upon the road, to come immediately to the new King at Carlton House. I first went to Kensington, and there put on my clothes, and went to Carlton House, where I expected to meet the council; but, upon my arrival, found Mr. Martin. He explained it, that I was to come alone. Immediately my Lord Bute came to me, and told me that the King would see me before anybody, or before he went to council; that compliments from him, Lord Bute, now were unnecessary; that he had been, and should be my friend,—I should see it I made suitable returns, and was called in to the King. He began by telling me, that he desired to see me before he went to council; that he had always a very good opinion of me; he knew my constant zeal for his family, and my duty to his grandfather, which he thought would be pledges or proofs of my zeal for him. I said very truly, that no one subject His Majesty had, wished him more ease, honour, tranquillity, and success in the high station to which Providence had now called him; and I think I cannot show my duty to my late royal master better, than by contributing the little in my power, to the ease He is said to have practised at a target six months before he uttered the words which led to the hostile meeting. As ministerial favours quickly succeeded this affair, Churchill assumes that he took this step as the readiest way to acquire or regain them. In his “ Duellist,** the poet speaks of Martin, as, “ Placing his craft in confidence, And making honour a pretence To do a deed of deepest shame, Whilst filthy lucre is hu aim.’* IO LETTER TO LORD HARDWICKS. [1780. and success of the reign of his grandson and successor. His Majesty said these remarkable words, * My Lard Bute it your good friend J to which I replied, I thought my Lord Bute was so. Mr. Pitt was not sent for to Carlton House tin some time after I had been there, and suspects, and, indeed said, the declaration was concerted with me, whereas I did not know one single word of it tin the King communicated it to my Lord Halifax, Mr. Pitt and myself, and ordered me to read it, which I did very dearly and distinctly. His Majesty then said these words, ‘ Ie fare anything wrong in point of form f * We all bowed and went out of the closet Mr. Pitt afterwards said he did not hear it distinctly, particularly the last words. I then, from memory, repeated it to him. “ He wrote last night to Lord Bute. He had a con* ference of two hours, and told me that, as far as related to himself, Mr. Pitt, it was as satisfactory as he could -wish. In short, Pitt was extremely hurt with the dedaration projected, executed and entered in the council books, of which he had no previous notice. It was at first (engaged in a bloody war.* ( That,’ says Pitt, ’is false in the English part of it, we are sine dade victor? * and that the last words about * peace’ certainly hurt him; he said the ’allies’were left out; and to be short, it is altered, and Mr. Pitt’s words were put in, but Lord Bute is not pleased.” * From front to rear the bloodleu victor speA, Mowed down the embattled field, and wide the daughter opread. FbaxciO’s Horace, B. it, Od. 14. 1700.] DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. 11 Mr. Harris, who has given this letter tn e&1ensot in his Life of Chancellor Hardwicke, has made two errors, one of omission, the other of commission, which mate* rially weaken the point of Mr. Pitt’s remarks. The learned biographer has not given the Latin quotation, and he has written “ words ” instead of “ allies.” The last word of the following paragraph from the King’s Speech will point out the latter erratum, and the words in italics will show the epithet which Pitt substituted for “ bloody.” “ And as I mount the throne in the midst of an arpensive but just and necessary war, I shall endeavour to execute it in the manner likely to bring on an honourable and lasting peace in concert with my ‘ allies.’ ” It is with much diffidence I venture to appear as an apologist for the writer of the foregoing letter. Forty-six years of public service have procured for the Duke of Newcastle notoriety rather than reputation. Few portraits, indeed, have been sketched by so many unfriendly hands. Smollett, King, Glover, Chesterfield, Walpole, Waldegrave, Dodington, have each assailed him in turn. He was, in fact, the butt against which contemporary ridicule levelled all its shafts. That he was fretful, busy, intriguing, unmethodical, and selfsufficient; that his demeanour lacked dignity, and that he mistook expedients for principles, cannot be denied; indeed his numerous unpublished letters, to which I have had access, rather corroborate than weaken the fidelity with which these traits have been deli- 44 12 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. [1760. neated. Bat his contemporaries would see only the superficial and ridiculous points of Newcastle’s character. They would not do justice to his many sterling good qualities. He was courteous, affable, accessible, humane, a warm friend, a placable enemy. His talents were not sufficiently appreciated. They were far above mediocrity. It was his want of method that made them not more generally available. He both spoke and wrote with ability and readiness. Upon his private life rested no stain, and in an age of political immorality he was one of the most personally disinterested men of his day. He understood clearly our relations with the continental states. His views of civil and religious freedom were in advance of his age, and he acted on them whenever his fears, his jealousies, or his ambition—a most comprehensive exception indeed—permitted his opinions to affect his conduct. His faults were obvious; he clung indecorously to place and power. But it does not appear that either its emoluments or even honours were the real attractions of office. Newcastle, like the Sergeant-at-Law in Chaucer’s tale, had a morbid appetite for employment:— “ No whar bo besy a man as he thar n’as. And yet he seemyd hesier than he was.” To this restless craving for occupation, may be ascribed the Duke’s officious intermeddling with the departments of his colleagues, and his querulous jealousy of the least interference with that over which he himself presided. Like an enthusiastic chess-player, he would 1700.] EARL OF CHATHAM. 13 eagerly direct another’s moves, while he would hardly endure even a looker on at his own game. In the following pages frequent mention will be made of Newcastle’s great contemporary, William Pitt, afterwards Earl of Chatham. Original documents will be produced illustrative of his character and bis policy. Should this eminent statesman appear in an unfavourable light, the reader is requested to weigh well the authorities before he rejects the verdict There is no wish to derogate from Lord Chatham’s real merits. Yet the writer of these pages cannot overlook the almost concurrent testimony of his contemporaries, or conceal from himself that Pitt’s reputation was more specious than solid. His brilliancy as an orator, in fact, obscured as “with excess of light” his errors as a statesman. Much will remain to him when the glare has been removed from bis renown ; but the public has been too prone to take Lord Chatham at his own estimate of himself, and not to have distinguished sufficiently between the dazzling surface and the substantial worth. Few public men, indeed, present a more imposing aspect to posterity. The effect of his eloquence is unquestioned, but his speeches themselves have been scantily recorded. He was at once the Cicero and the Roscius of his age: a great orator, and a consummate actor. As a member of the cabinet, he was incredibly haughty, impracticable, and even obstructive to bis colleagues. As a leader of opposition, he was more formidable as an assailant than faithful to his adherents or consistent in his measures. EARL OF CHATHAM. [l?W. ( I its sovereign, he was alternately harsh and subent; to the nation he was an energetic, but a y and hazardous guide, never scrupling to arouse ion, or to incur debt where glory was to be won flood or field.” Finally, as a statesman, he dis-ed rather the accomplishments of a Bolingbroke i the solid prudence of a Burleigh. He shone cipally as a war minister. His talent for coning military operations blinded him to the disastrous is of war to his own country, and to mankind, ocial improvements, or financial skill, he exhibited proofs.* He rendered his country glorious rather i prosperous: and he bequeathed to his successors, dangerous rather than the salutary precedent of erring “ arms to the gown.” ?hese were his defects, and they were grievous; but virtues too were singular and illustrious, especially hey be measured by the general standard of his age. is private life,” as Lord Chesterfield justly remarks, as stained by no vice, and sullied by no meanness.” i habits were domestic, his sentiments lofty, his iwledge was various, and his taste refined. His ,crs to his nephew, Lord Camelford, breathe a noble I generous spirit, and abound in weighty sense and .ceful diction. Throughout his correspondence with wife and his illustrious son, pervades a tenderness Junius’s Letters, xi.: “ I entirely agree with Macaroni, that thu ntry doet owe more to Lord Chatham than it ever can repay, for tint we owe the greatest part of our national debt, and that, I am s, we never can repay.” ' 1700.] DUC DE CHOISEUL. 16 which shows that his arrogance was part of his theatrical, rather than of his natural temper. He was made up of contrasts. It is much easier to eulogise or to condemn him, than to draw a just portrait. He was a man to be loved and to be feared equally. To him belongs the merit of having been the first to raise the standard of morality in public men. To him also, unfortunately, clings the discredit of raising his voice at all seasons for open war, from the moment when on first entering parliament he promoted a rupture with Spain, in order to overthrow an obnoxious minister, to the time when, with his dying breath, he braved the enmity of Europe, rather than forego the claims of England to supremacy over emancipated America. The letters which are interspersed in this work will show the strong and various inconsistencies of this powerful, rather than great statesman. The councils of France were, at this time, guided by Etienne Francois Duc de Choiseul, a man who rivalled Pitt in the boldness of his measures and the energy of his character, as he resembled him in his public and private profusion. The common ancestor of the De Choiseuls was Regnier, Comte de Choiseul, who flourished in 1060. The Duke has been described by a contemporary, as being **of an excessive ugliness;” but this plainness was redeemed by the brilliancy of his eyes and the intelligent expression of his countenance. His manners were gay, flippant and presumptuous. He was thoroughly unguarded in his language, and careless > DUC DE CHOISEUL. [1700. bom he offended. The Dauphin having complained । L>ouis the Fifteenth of his conduct, Choiseul replied, -“ That he might have the misfortune to become his abject, but that he would never be his servant.” His lit clever, pointed, and satirical, vented itself in epi-^ams and bons mots, and the bitter irony of his remarks s said, to have suggested to Gresset, the original of Cleon, in the comedy of Le Mechant. He commenced his career as a soldier, as Comte de Stainville, and acquired much distinction in his profession. The favour of Madame de Pompadour turned him from war to diplomacy. After obtaining, through her influence, the embassies of Rome and Vienna, he succeeded, in 1757, Cardinal Bernis as minister of foreign affairs. From this period Choiseul became virtually the head of the French Cabinet, although he was never formally invested with the title of Minister. It was in vain that Pitt enfeebled the armies, and annihilated the navies of France. Choiseul reinvigorated the one and replaced the other, and by his famous “Family Compact,” in 1761, he united once more against England, the sovereigns of the House of Bourbon. His firmness long secured for him the confidence even of an unstable and profligate master, while his expulsion of the Jesuits in 1764, rendered him the darling of the French nation. His name was in every mouth, his portrait on every snuff-box. In the following extract, from a letter of the Duke of Newcastle to Lord Rockingham, 8th of July 1767, we have a contemporary glimpse of Choiseul’s renown. “ France, ’.f 1761.] EARL OF HARDWICKE. 17 everybody knows, is master of Spain, and those two monarchies are as effectually united as if they were under one head. The Duc de Choiseul, the present sole minister, absolute, able, bold, and enterprising, and I suppose no friend in heart to us. Their army complete to a man, well officered, well appointed, and well paid. Their trade flourishing everywhere, and encroaching upon ours, and I am afraid, after what has passed, their credit as stable as ours.” Choiseul had risen by the favour of one royal mistress: he owed his fall to the displeasure of another. Having by some biting sarcasm offended the notorious Madame du Barri, he was, in 1770, driven by her intrigues from the capital. His departure was an ovation. His exile on his estate at Chantilly thinned the halls of Versailles. For all great and good men shunned the court of the sovereign, while a splendid and select society flocked to the retreat of the banished minister. Madame du Defland has drawn an agreeable picture of the retirement of the Duc and Duchesse de Choiseul; and the AbM Barthdlemi has introduced them into his “ Anacharsis,” under the names of Arsane ' and Phedame. If the sufirages of contemporaries and posthumous history may be accepted as proofs of extraordinary merit, Philip Yorke, first Earl of Hardwicke, may be justly considered a great man. His greatness, indeed, had not the glare of Pitt's reputation; it was rather forensic than parliamentary, and more judicial than either. His gifts were both natural and acquired. He yoL. i. c 1 18 CHARACTER OF [1901. .1 had nearly all the qualities of a great orator, and nearly every charm of personal demeanour. His manners perhaps would have been more attractive if he could have acquired a little more ease. But a certain degree of stateliness was natural to him. He lived on terms, of intimate friendship with his sons, yet he would address them as “ Dear Lord Royston,” and “ Dear Mr. Yorke.” As a Judge, his demeanour was perfect “When Lord Hardwicke,” said Lord Mansfield — an admirable critic of eloquence and law —“ pronounced his decrees, Wisdom herself might be supposed to speak.” His appointment to the Great Seal forms an era in our juris* prudence He resigned it, indeed, in 1756, but he was still regarded as the ministerial leader in the House of lords. George the Second held Lord Hardwicke in such esteem, that during his frequent absences from England he six times appointed him one of the Lords Justices for administering the affairs of Government In the cabinet and on the woolsack he was indeed (< a counsellor well fitted to advise.” To the strictest integrity be added consummate knowledge of the law; to his professional experience he brought acquaintance with men and manners, and bis skill in foreign politics * and international jurisprudence equalled his learning in the statute book. His eloquence was of the grave, deliberative kind. It did not arouse the passions, but it convinced the reason of his audience. His arguments were a chain of demonstrations; his illustrations were enforced by expressive and handsome features, and by dignified and graceful gestures. The moral character 1701.] THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. 19 of Lord Hardwickc corresponded with his public career; he was temperate and consistent. In the bosom of his family he was as indulgent and estimable as Pitt himself, while to his friends and colleagues he was more equable and trustworthy. His staunch Whig politics did not render him a mere partisan. He gave reasons for his faith, and indeed inclined rather more to the side of Prerogative than was acceptable to some of his political associates. A noble, serene, and deeply learned man, Lord Hardwicke may be regarded as the most able member of the administration which George the Third inherited from his predecessor. c 9. 20 FRENCH INVASION MENACED. [1701. . CHAPTER IL ns icto imtasios or 1709. — nu i i — HANLEY.-------ABb£ DE ! OWL--MJK1 1 FO : *: ?KF.------N ELOCUTIONS VOB MUCK - tOTRTOW^—CHARACTER OF THB MJ - ^AiTLE TO LORD BAnDWIOKBA-LOl 1 — THE PACIFIC PROFEEMOM1 OP — IEWCABTLR TO LORD 1ABDWICKB. — .11 — LETTERS FROM DU IHBCH ABD I Earlt in 1759, France declared her intention of making a descent upon the British coast This was bat the repetition of a menace which, uttered three years before, had caused consternation, disaster, and ci-grace throughout the land, and led to the judicial warder of Admiral Byng. But in the interval between the first and second threat, the helm of state passed from the trembling hands of Newcastle into the firm pasp of the elder Pitt. The change soon became naaifest; a few months after France had made the boastful announcement, her troops had been beaten, I W fleets annihilated, her commerce destroyed, her I ' conies rendered valueless, and her credit reduced I to so low an ebb that her government was obliged to I declare itself ^nkrupt in no less than eleven descrip-I tins of stock * .4 i 4 i i Mai .J MR. STANLEY. 21 In this desperate state of affairs, Clioiseul sued for peace. But Pitt, who thought the prosperity of a country depended upon conquests, rather than com- , merce, and who fully partook of the vulgar prejudice, that “France is our natural enemy,” turned a deaf ^ ; ear to every offer of accommodation. “ Some time be- .' i fore, he would,” he said, “ have been content to bring i that country on her knees, now he would not rest till . he had laid heron her back.”* All further attempts . । at negociation were, in consequence, for a time aban- . doned; but, in the spring of 1761, Choiseul, encouraged ■ by the pacific declaration of George the Third, made p lother effort to bring hostilities to a close. His over- . tures were favourably received by the pacific section of ; the Cabinet,f who were all agreed as to the expediency ' of closing a war which had outlived its original objects, . ': and who so far prevailed, as to appoint three commie* '' sioners for a general congress, to arrange that ministers * ;• should be sent from the respective Courts of London and ; France, to settle the preliminaries of peace. Augsburgh . was the proposed place of meeting for the commissioners. . Hans Stanley, of Paulton’s Park, New Forest,| the ^ negociator on the part of England, was grandson of ; Sir Hans Sloane, the founder of the British Museum. !. He was a man of awkward appearance, ungracious " i • Walpole. + The Dukes of Newcastle, Bedford, and Devonshire, Lords Hardwicke, Mansfield, and Granville, 4c. t Mr. William Sloane Stanley, the present possessor of Paulton’s Park, is great nephew of Mr. Hans Stanley. •. ABBi DB BU88T. [1W manners, irascible temper, and eccentric habits. Yet he possessed considerable talents and acquirements. Lady Hervey describes him as “a very ingenious, sensible, knowing, conversable person, and what is still better, a worthy, honest, valuable man.” In the Chatham administration he was appointed Ambassador to St. Petersburg. He continued to hold some office or other till 1780, when he was displaced. This treat* ■tent so preyed upon his mind that he put a period The French minister, the Abb6 de Bussy, was one of the senior clerks of the French Foreign Office. He had, on a former occasion, been sent by Ms court on a mission to George the Second, whom he greatly disgusted by the impertinence of his manners. The King once asking him “ Is there anything new in Paris?” Bussy flippantly replied, “Yes! Sire, there is a frost.” The Abbd was adroit, persuasive, and thoroughly conversant with business. He had formerly been private secretary to the Duc de Richelieu. He was a short, thickset, deformed little man, and had the nickname of Bussy Ragotin, to distinguish him from Dupleix’s coadjutor in the Carnatic, who was called Bussy Butin, and from Madame de S^vigne’s agreeable cousin and correspondent, the Comte de Bussy Rabutin. Beyond the appointment of these negociators, the peace party in the cabinet were unable to make any advance. Two days before the bearer of the French * olive-branch arrived in London, Pitt dispatched a large **iiJ« aMA£Mbjaiak£i£ 1701.] DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO LORD HARDWICKS. 23 armament under the joint command of Major-General Hodgson and Commodore Keppel, to Belleisle, in order to effect the reduction of that island. “ The plan,** says Walpole, “ was by many believed calculated solely to provoke the Court of France, and to break off the negociation.”* The language of the great war-minister breathed the same spirit in the Cabinet and in the royal closet, as in his public acts and demonstrations. In a letter to Lord Hardwicke, dated the 15th of April, 1761, the Duke of Newcastle gives an account of a long audience of Mr. Pitt with the King. After stating that his great rival’s conduct was “as bad, as unjust, as hostile, and as impracticable as ever came even from him,” the Duke thus proceeds:— “ When he (Pitt) came out he told me part of it, and his Majesty told me the rest Mr. Pitt said he had laid his thoughts fully before the King; that he had told his Majesty that he did by no means think ill of the state of the war; that he was far from doing it with regard to the war in Germany; that he thought the total destruction of the French in the East Indies, the probability of taking Martinico, and the effect this expedition to Belleisle might have; at well at the probable events of thit campaign, would enable ut to gel a peace which should secure to us aS Canada, Cape Breton, the islands, the harbours, the fisheries, and particularly the exclusive fishery of Newfoundland; that if he was even capable of signing a treaty without it, • “Ge®. III. i. sc." 24 . NEGOCUTION8 [1WL he should be sorry he had ever got again the use of his right hand, which usehe had but just recovered; and went on railing at the Commissariat as the occasion of all our misfortune. ' “The King said, he was sure I had done my part, and when Mr. Pitt talked of an inquiry, the King arid he knew I had given strict orders for a strict inquiry to' be made. He then fold the King his scheme of peace. His Majesty understood him, as I did, to mean that be should at first acquaint the French Minister, who is expected here, that these are the terms from which we will not depart. His Majesty reasoned strongly with him against making any such declaration... I withdrew fully satisfied with the King and myself but mote sensible of the injustice and ingratitude of Mr. Pitt than ever man was. I told the King, whenever any measure of his own (Pitt’s) miscarried he would fling the blame upon anybody to get off himself — King of Prussia, Elector of Hanover, or any other person whatever. Mr. Pitt talked strange stuff to me. Upon the whole, I look upon all he said to me for a menace, in which he will be greatly disappointed; but at the same time I see what I am to expect from him and his bloodhounds.” In the course of the negociations, France proposed to guarantee Canada to England, and, in return for this concession, desired a confirmation of the same privilege of fishing on the coast of Newfoundland, that had been enjoyed by her subjects under the treaty of Utrecht; that Cape Breton should be restored as an abri or point 1761.] FOB PEACE. 25 of refuge for their fishermen. Upon this proposal the Duke of Newcastle writes as follows to the Earl of Hardwicke:— “August 7th. 1761. “ The method I would propose to your consideration is this, that after M. Bussy has received and executed his orders, and Mr. Pitt has had Mr. Stanley’s full account and observations which he has promised, we should propose to state our real ultimatum, which we should make as low and as near .to that we may judge would be accepted as possible. The great point is that of the fisheries; the rest, I think, may be accommodated. “ Whether there is a right to fish in the Gulf of St Lawrence, or whether that part of the sea is properly called Mare Clausum or Mare Liberum,* I can’t pretend to say, but it is what Mr. Pitt has ever been fencing against, and is, to be sure, in itself a considerable question in point of interest and navigation. The next point is the giving some unfortified place, a port in those seas as a place of refreshment or refuge for their seamen. “ But the great point to be thoroughly weighed and considered is what will, what must be the consequence of our breaking off this negociation for peace, and continuing this dangerous and expensive war, and whether after many more millions spent, and many thousand more valuable lives lost, we may not be in a condition to accept a much worse peace than we even • Thu is in allusion to two celebrated treatises by Selden and Grutius in the preceding century. 26 LORD HARDWICKS [1701. now may have, and infinitely worse than we might have had three years ago.” At the same time that M. de Bussy presented the French ultimatum to our Government, he wrote to Mr. Pitt to beg for a conference upon its contents. The British Minister drew up an answer to the application, and laid it before the Cabinet Council on the 13th of the month; “ Not,” writes the Duke of Devonshire, “ as a document to be deliberated upon, but as a decision to be adopted.”* This statement is confirmed in the following letter, which furnishes a forcible illustration of the haughty tone which Pitt habitually adopted towards such of bis colleagues as happened to differ from him. EARL OF HARDWICKE TO VISCOUNT ROYSTON. “ Grosvenor Square, August 15th, 1761. “ Tired with the attendance of two very long disagreeable days, I sit down to thank you for your kind letter of the 11th. Our first meeting was on Thursday (13th), when we sat from half-an-hour past one till half-an-hour past seven; and yesterday (14th), from two till half-an-hour after five. Very stormy they were; but we rid out the tempest. Mr. P------------had no conference with Bussy, though the latter had asked one by letter.] The reasons assigned for declining it, * Wiffen’i House of Russell, ii. 472. t “M. de Bussy to Mr. PitU August 5th, 1761: — If your 1701.] TO LORD ROYSTON. 27 were taken from some passages in the letter, relative to the return of the French memorial concerning Spain, and of the other concerning the King of Prussia’s countries and places conquered by the arms of France;* but more particularly by reason of a strong complaint made of the (Ton imperatif et pea fait pour la negotiation,’ used in the letter, sending back those two memorials, and in the paper of pointe. We know that the draught of Bussy's letter was transmitted to him in hoc verba by the Duc de Cboiseul, with orders to send it as it was. You guess who was much hurt by this; though in my conscience, I think the balance of words is still on our side. After much altercation, and some thumps of the fist on the table, it was at last carried (on my motion), that the conference should be had; but not without an answer to Bussy's letter, by which the interview was to be appointed. The meeting of yesterday was pro* fessedly upon the draught of that answer. It was produced: much too long and too irritating, f Several objections were humbly made, and strongly supported; but not a word would be parted with. ‘ We would not suffer our draught to be cobbled!’ Neither side receded, but it will go as drawn. If, after this letter, excellency is desirous of having a conference with me on the subject of the ultimatum, I will attend your commands.”—Par. Hist. xv. 1055. * French Ultimatum.—" As to what concerns IVeid, Gueldrea, and other countries in Westphalia, belonging to the King of Prussia, which are actually in the possession of the Empress Queen, the King (of France) cannot stipulate to surrender the conquests of his allies.” —Par. Hist. ♦ See Parliamentary History, xv. 1059. ^A&aSDQZaafe^b 28 CHARACTER OF [1701. Bussy agrees to the conference without fresh orders from his Court, I shall think it a good sign, that 'France has no mind to break off the negociation. A. long letter was read from your friend Stanley,* of just half a quire of folio paper, in a close hand. It is a very able one, though with a mixture of flights and improprieties. But he says in so many words, that he is absolutely convinced and sure, that the French Court will as soon part with a province of old France, as with the entire fishery, and that he is no more attended to when he talks upon that subject, than if he talked of Japan. M. de Choisenl says he should be pulled to pieces in the streets of Paris. There are also some civil but strong observations upon the style of his principal,! which you may be sure contributed not a little to the ill-humour. I remember Sir Robert Walpole used to say that two nations might be writ into a war, and so 1 think they may into perpetuating a war.” All the members of the Whig cabinet were opposed to this warlike policy, with the exception of Pitt himself, and his brother-in-law Lord Temple. But the real, if not the acknowledged leader of the advocates of peace, was John Russell, fourth Duke of .Bedford. Upon him alone the loud thunders and supercilious bearing of the great commoner, made no impression. • “ Article IV. of the answer of the British Minister to the ultimatum of France.”—See Par. Hist xv. 1063. t Mr. Pitt. 1701.) THE DUKE OF BEDFORD. 29 “ When they wanted to combat Pitt," says Horace Walpole, “they always summoned the Duke of Bedford." The noble author of the Reform Bill, has, I think, sue* cessfully rescued his great grandfather’s reputation from the virulence of Junius and other assailants. For that virulence, there were at the time many pretexts. The Duke's character presented several points of attack to his adversaries. His abilities were rather solid than brilliant. He was an inelegant speaker; although, in the opinion of an admirable judge of parliamentary eloquence,* “he was not without some reasoning matter, and method.” But neither by his oratory nor by his pen was he qualified to demolish argument, or to blunt and intimidate invective. He filled with credit to himself, many of the highest offices in the state, and while at the head of the Admiralty, contributed greatly to improve the efficiency of the navy. His feelings were naturally warm; but neither in friendship nor in enmity was he very discriminating. He was more under the influence of domestic and social pre-pefesessions, than was quite salutary for his public character: for his relations were Tories, and his companions profligates, and the prejudices and excesses of his own circle reacted upon his own estimation with the world. Hence the Duke of Bedford was often held responsible for errors of conduct from which he was himself really exempt. In his case, the proverb “ noscitur ex sociis," was applied in its full extent, and to his general disadvantage. Partly through the vices im- • Chesterfield. 30 duu or nvunu [mi. puled to him, and pertly from his facility in adopting the time of hie companions, he became one of the moat unpopular men of his day. Prior to his departure for his embassy, he was hooted by the mob, and aa he was getting into the boat at Brighton, that was to convey him to the packet, some one in the crowd called out, “ It'is not the first time he has turned his back on Old England.* . . hi two respects posterity win judge of the Duke more impartially than Ms contemporaries could do. He was not, like them, daisied by the glare of war, and he held doctrines analogous to those of free trade. Thus the very opinions which render his descendant and namesake “to known, so honoured” by his countrymen in these our times, were the source of obloquy and misrepresentation to the “John Russell” of the eighteenth century. Indignant at the dictation to which the Duke of Bedford had been subjected in the two “ long disagreeable days ” to which Lord Hardwicke refers, his grace declared his determination of taking no further part in deliberations upon which there was to be no exercise of private judgment. A like assurance was made by the Duke of Devonshire, and on the 17th of August the Duke of Newcastle apprises Lord Hardwicke of his resolution to desire the King’s leave to retire from business. - “The manner,” continues the Duke, “and matter used and agitated in all our late meetings, the determined resolution to carry on this dangerous and ex- 1701.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 31 pensive war, without considering how or with whom; the treatment that the greatest and most respectable persons meet with, if they presume to differ with any thing that has been done, or shall be proposed, and the making personal points of what ought to be free, cool, and deliberate debate and consideration amongst those whom his Majesty has appointed for that purpose —this conduct has, and will drive every person from the Council who is at liberty to go. The Duke of Bedford has already taken the resolution to come no more. The Duke of Devonshire the same, after the present consideration of the peace be over, which will now be very soon at an end. Tour lordship (my great and first adviser and assistant there) will not, I conclude, come oftener than shall be absolutely necessary. My Lord Mansfield, I conclude the same. In what situation and with whom alone should I then be, if I was weak enough to remain in my present station. “ But that which has determined me is this. I doubt 1 the possibility of finding twenty millions (and less would not be sufficient) for carrying on the war another year. I see the dreadful consequences to the public, if it could be done, for it must be at such an interest as must affect for ever the proprietors of above one hundred millions in our Funds; and this, in myopinion, with less chance of obtaining a good peace at the end of the year 1762, than (if we had temper and good disposition) there is even, at the present time; and that, I think, is clearly Mr. Stanley’s opinion.” Although the Court had not deviated from its in- 32 PACIFIC PROFESSIONS OF FRANCE. [1761. tention of getting rid of the Whig Administration, it was most anxious to prevent their retirement at this critical juncture. Lord Bute told Dodington, in the early part of this year, he was not for pushing them yet, for if the peace was a bad one, as it must be, they would certainly proclaim that it was owing to their dismission, because they were not suffered to bring the great work to a happy conclusion, to whom the glorious successes which had hitherto attended their conducting it were entirely to be attributed.* In accordance with these views the King made it a personal request to the Duke of Bedford that he would attend the Cabinet Council in which the British ultimatum was to be presented, and “ the Duke was apprised that after much discourse with Lord Bute, he would not differ with them (the peace party) in the next discussion, but yield the opinion he had formerly expressed.”! The Court was alarmed into this concession by a dinner at Newcastle House, of which the Duke of Bedford had partaken. | Accordingly we shall find that at the next meeting of the Cabinet there was a considerable abatement in the tone previously adopted by the advocates for war. • Diary, p. 433. t Wiffen's House of Russell, Hi. 474. t Wiffen. 1701.] LORD HARDWICKE TO LORD ROYSTON. 33 EARL OF HARDWICKE TO VISCOUNT ROYSTON. “ Grosvenor Square, August Sind, 1761. ‘ Hi motus anitnorum atque heec certamina tanta. Tempons exigui spatio suspense quiescunt.’* “We had two meetings this week; the same persons present All was calm and decent. The great points of liberty to fish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and an abri. Many speeches. At last, both agreed to by aft Those who had the most violently opposed, professing to acquiesce in the opinions of others for the sake of preserving unanimity in the King’s council “For your clearer information, I enclose two papers: one, a short abstract, wherein you will see, in one view, wherein we and France have hitherto agreed, and wherein we differed. The other, notes, which I put down to assist my own memory, and from which I spoke. You need not trouble yourself to send them back; but bring them with you when you come to town. It is also agreed to speak clearly now about Dunkirk being put on the foot of the Treaty of Aix, and the liberty of fishing and drying fish on Newfoundland, according to the thirteenth article of the Treaty • It ii hardly necessary to point out the little freedom which Lord Hardwicke has taken with Virgil:— Hi motus animorum atque hoc certamina tanta, Puloerit exigui jactu compreua quiescunt. Virg. Georg, iv. 86-7. VOL. I. D 34 PACIFIC PROFESSIONS [IW* of Utrecht. It has also been agreed with the bonne Joi of the French king’s declaration about Nieu-port and Ostend; and that each side (after our par* ticular Peace made) may assist their respective allies in money only. Thus far is settled, and we meet on Monday to fix the particular place for the abri, which does require information and consideration. I suppose the despatch to your friend may go on Wednesday. Whether this will do now, I don’t pretend to prophesy, but I believe it would have done some time ago. Much will now turn upon the boasted union with Spain, which I fear has gone a great way. I should have told yon, the conferenee between Mr. P(itt) and B(ussy) was had, but that did not advance the negociation much. Mr. P.’s letter to Mons. B. was sent as drawn; to which B, in his answer, only says, that he should make no observation upon it, than to say, that, on consideration, he judged it best to leave it to his Court to determine whether any answer at all, and if so, what answer should be given to it; insinuating that the letter would have warranted him to write to his Court for further orders before he took his conference. They seem to endeavour to chicane about the limits of Canada on the side of the Ohio. Here we stand at present.” In the early stage of the negociations, France, not content with sending in to the British government her own memorial of propositions, forwarded also one from the Court of Madrid. Adolphus infers from this step, 1701.] OF FRANCE CONSIDERED. 35 that the French ministers were not “ sincere ” in their wish for peace. It is possible that the Court of Versailles, rather than submit to the terms which we have ■ seen Pitt was inclined to impose,* might have hoped । that another campaign would have rendered the British | cabinet more reasonable; but it is hardly to be supposed j that France, wholly exhausted in her resources, would, Ieven with the aid of an additional ally, have wished for a continuance of hostilities, or that Spain, entirely dependent on her distant colonies for her revenue, would have been desirous to embroil herself with the “ Mistress of the Seas.” The characters, indeed, of the persons possessing the principal influence in those countries are opposed to the historian’s hypothesis. The sensual Louis regarded, as is well known, all business connected with the war as a disagreeable interruption to that course of licentiousness into which he d plunged. Madame de Pompadour, the reigning favourite, was a friend to peace and England. To the Duke of Choiseul, “ peace,” as Mr. Wiffin properiy । observes, “ was almost as necessary as to Lord Bute; for, though he enjoyed the entire confidence of his sovereign, he had potent enemies, and the rupture of I a treaty so necessary to the treasury, and the repose of | France, would have been fatal to his credit, and, indeed, ■ existence as a minister. Then as to Charles the Third, though sovereign of Spain, and resenting the indignities which England had heaped upon him as King of the Two Sicilies; yet, being a wise, humane, and prudent * See page 21, line 19. * D 2 36 NEGOCIATIONS WITH FRANCE. [iWI. prince, he would hardly have wished for a war that must have put a stop to those plans of internal improvement, which he had been so anxious to introduce into his country; while his minister, Don Ricardo Wall, had created himself enemies for his supposed partiality towards English interests. The most natural conclusion appears to be, that France, anxious to avoid the mortifying concessions which wonld have sunk her in the scale of nations, sought the Spanish alliance, in the hope that England, from the fear of involving herself in a new war, might he induced to relax the rigour of her conditions. These expectations may have been strengthened by the pacific professions of the King and Lord Bute. Unfortunately, for all the countries concerned, the course adopted by France was productive of exactly contrary effects— although the memorial from Spain was immediately withdrawn, and the Court of Versailles disclaimed all intention of offence, Mr. Pitt’s resentment, so far from being appeased, turned into a fresh channel. He appeared to be now determined to lay Spain “ on her back,” as well as France, and instructed Lord Bristol to make the strongest remonstrances against a memorial which, as he termed it, ((best spoke its own enormity.” To Mr. Pitt’s angry representations, the Spanish minister replied with mneh temper and moderation; declared that the King of Spain was “ absolutely free from the least offence to His Majesty, and, indeed, appeared disposed to set aside every claim which the 1761.] LETTER TO LORD HARDWICKE. 37 national pride of bis master would allow him to concede.” These conciliatory advances were not, however, productive of an amicable adjustment. On the 18th of September, Mr. Pitt laid before the Cabinet intelligence which he had received of a secret treaty recently concluded between France and Spain. Conceiving the articles of this treaty to be adverse to the interests of Great Britain, he proposed to commence a series of hostile operations against Spain, and submitted a plan of them to the Council. These proposals bearing the signatures of himself and Lord Temple, became the subject of anxious discussion in the secret conclaves of the advocates for peace, and of stormy debate in the three Cabinet Councils which assembled to consider them. DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. “ September 21st, 1761. “ Mr. Pitt brought his paper, or rather protest, this day to the King, and offered it to his Majesty, who declined accepting it My Lord Bute was present, and said, ‘As you, Sir, have given your reasons, and those of Lord Temple, for your opinion, it is but reasonable that those who dissent from you should give theirs also.’ And I think it was agreed that Mr. Pitt’s paper should be inserted in the minute with our dissent. “ The King said to Mr. Pitt that he would take no resolution with regard to Spain till Mr. Stanley was 18 DUKE OP NEWCASTLE [1W. arrived, for he believed he might give some necessary Kghto with regard to Spain. . Mr. Pitt seemed surprised, hat said nothing. “ When he came to Council (my Lord Mansfield, who had been very ill in the night, was there), Mr. Pitt resumed the debate, so far as related to the paper, to which he was determined to adhere. “ Lord Bute spoke, and mentioned with great respect year Lordship’s absence^ and my Lord Presidents, 1 which, added to the use that might be had in seeing jMr. Stanley, was a reason fir putting off this con-raHeratkm. Mr. Pitt replied, that he had heard all hbt the most M men could say. He had not departed from his first opinion, and should not; neither ~ U he see any use that Mr. Stanley could be of Lord Bote named the King as wishing to have Stanley । Ure, before his Majesty came to any decision. The Deke of Devonshire and myself spoke strongly in ad-1 Bering to our former opinions. The Duke of Devon-I dire proposed the orders to be sent to Lord Bristol, I b require an explanation what the intentions of Spain I were, and to enter into the expedient proposed about I fte logwood; but, at all events, in case of an unsatis-Ihctory answer, my Lord Bristol should immediately I sure away. Lord Mansfield spoke long, not vary gdmdy, but rather on our side, laying it down that I it did not appear to him what operations could be un-I dertaken against Spain that would suffer by the delay. I “ That gave Mr. Pitt a great advantage, to expatiate ■ta his great schemes, and the almost certainty of the 1761.] TO LORD HARDWICKS. 39 success against the united force of the House of Bourbon; but then there was not an hour to be lost “ Lord M— replied, that (if that was the case, it would then appear in a very different light,’ and plainly made fair weather with Mr. Pitt. “ My Lord Bute mentioned his behaviour to me afterwards, and said, ‘ My lord, that is the man.’ * Mr. Pitt adhered to his paper, said he would not execute any other measure, and insinuated that the other Secretary of State might do it. f Mr. Pitt lamented his situation, repented of the difficulties he had been led into by the French negociation, and was determined now to abide by his own opinion. He spoke very long, very well, and very determined, but with great politeness and candour. His brother-in-law £ was the very reverse ; he spoke long, indeed, very pompously, very passionate, very ill-bred, but very determined; and showed plainly that their party was rather to quit, or at least to have uo share in any measure but their own. (( My Lord Temple was very abusive, and said he thought (some of the company had paid dear for their whistle, relaxation.' I took this up, I hope, with spirit, and I think, to the satisfaction of my friends. The meeting ended ; adjourned, as it were, sine die, for Stanley; and Mr. Pitt gave bis papers in form to my Lord Bute, to be delivered to the King. After all was over, my Lord Bute, the Duke of Devonshire, and I had • Note by second Lord Hardwicke: —“ Yet Lord Bute made great use of him afterwards.” t Lord Bute. J Earl Temple. 40 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1761. a most material conference, which they desired I would communicate to your Lordship. The Duke of Devonshire and I declared that no consideration or threat from Mr. Pitt should make us depart from our opinion. My Lord Bute said we were right; that the thing was over; that after what had passed, Mr. Pitt and my Lord Temple would not stay. Besides, if Mr. Pitt would execute nothing but his own paper, business could not go on, and, therefore, he would concert with * us what was to be done. “We both said that, without departing from our opinion, we wished anything might be done to keep Mr. Pitt; my Lord Bute said that was impossible.* DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. “ Newcastle House, September 23rd, 1761. “ The King with great difficulty made Mr. Pitt leave this letter * with his Majesty, and his Majesty was so good as to show it to me and to the Duke of Devonshire. The substance of it, to the best of my memory was, that he Duke de Choiseul had sent his sister, Madame de Grammontf to him, Stanley, to desire that the nego- ♦ From Mr. Stanley. t Beatrix de Choiseul Stainville married in 1759 the Due de Grammont. The duchess was a portly Amazon, with a florid complexion, small sparkling eyes, a rough voice, and haughty, overbearing manners. “Wonderfully agreeable,” says Walpole, “when she pleased; a vehement friend ,* rude and insolent enemy.” For thirty years her salons were the resort of all that was witty and gay in Paris. She had an almost unbounded influence over her brother. 1761.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 41 ciation might not be broken off; that he, Choiseul, was sincere for peace; that the affairs of Spain should not prevent it, or should be dropped; and that if we, England, meant sincerely peace, and not to justify ourselves to the public upon the measures we had taken, he, Choiseul, would sincerely concert with us the measures to be taken jointly with regard to our respective allies in Germany. Stanley also says, ‘ I have this not only from the Duke de Choiseul’s sister, but from M. Choi-seul’s enemies, and from some of the highest rank and distinction^ whom the King very rightly observed to me was from the Prince de Conti,* from whose house Mr. Her memory stands charged with having availed herself of that influence to promote the unjust accusation against General Lally, and to confirm the iniquitous and cruel sentence of death pronounced upon that brave but unfortunate officer. The duchess became, in her turn, the victim of a sentence equally iniquitous and cruel, as that which she had instigated. In April, 1794, she was dragged with her friend, la Duchesse du Ch&telet, before the bloody tribunal of Fouquier Tinville. She was accused of harbouring aristocrats. She haughtily replied, that she would not tell a lie to save her life. At length, turning round on her judge, she said,—“ Que ma mort soit decides, qela ne m’etonne pas, j’ai en quelque sort occupe Tattention du public, quoique je ne me sois jamais mcle d'aucune affaire depuis le commencement de la revolution, mes principes et ma maniire de penser sont connus; mail,” continued she, pointing to Madame de CbAtelet, “ pour cet ange, en quoi vous a-t-elle offend ? elle qui n*a jamais fait tort A personne et dont la vie entiere n’offre qu’un tableau de vertu et de bienfaisance.” Both were led from the tribunal to the scaffold. • Louis Francois de Bourbon was born in 1717, and succeeded his father as Prince de Conti in 1725. At the age of eighteen he entered the army, and made his first campaign with Marshal BeHeisle. In 1744 he was sent with twenty thousand French troops to co-operate with the Spaniards in the conquest of Piedmont At the battle of 42 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1181. Stanley dates hie letter. I find by the King that these letters have made no impression upon Mr. Pitt, though they have made a great one upon his Majesty and Lord Bute. The King seemed so provoked and so weary, that his Majesty was inclined to put an end, at all events, to the uncertaunty about Mr. Pitt. I told my Lord Bute of it, who admitted what I said to him, but observed very rightly, that the King went too fast. He said, Mr. Pitt had given in his opinion in writing to the King, which the King showed me this day. It is signed Temple (P.S.) W. Put* Coni be hod hit cuirass pierced in two places, and two hones shot under him. He served subsequently in Germany and Flanders, He returned to Paris at the time of the peace, devoted himself to literature, and associated with the most distinguished men of letters of his day. Some of his poetry has been preserved. Siding with those who were in opposition to the measures of the Court, the Prince incurred the displeasure of Louis the Fifteenth, who nicknamed him * mon cousin 1’avocat.” “ The Prince of Conti,** writes Lord Tavistock to his father in 1764, “ has gained great credit in the affairs of the parliament this winter, and continues very full of employment.’’ * In the following reign he supported the parliaments in their opposition to the economical reforms of Turgot. It is said that shortly before his death (which happened in 1776), he caused his coffin to be brought to him, and caused himself to be placed in it to see how it would fit. " He was," says Walpole, "handsome and royal in his figure, gracious at times, but arrogant, overbearing, luxurious, and.expensive.” * Bedford Correspondence, iii. 260. 1761.J TO LORD HARDWICKE. 43 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. “ Claremont, September 26th, 1761. “ The Jords, without exception, that is, our friends, have all been severally with the King, and have spoken their opinions boldly to his Majesty. The King told me nobody spoke stronger than my Lord Mansfield; and his Majesty is much pleased with my Lord Halifax. I am sorry to acquaint you, that yesterday a second letter was received from Mr. Stanley (copies of which I here enclose, and beg that you will return them to me); that Stanly, contrary to hi* declaration in his last letter of the 25th, is coming away without either waiting for, or putting M. Choiseul in mind of the memorial he promised us. I suppose he thought his orders were too strong for him to dare to disobey them. ■ “ Mr. Pitt saw the King 'yesterday, but said not one word upon Stanley's letter. He triumphs much upon Grimaldi's letter,* and /suppose will do no more upon that very remarkable expression in Stanley's, ‘when Spain declares war, I suspect an attack upon Portugal.' This, my Lord Bute says, supposes a resolution in Spain to * The Marquis Geronimo Grimaldi was at this time ambassador from the King of Spain to the Court of Versailles. He was a member of a noble Genoese family. He had been originally intended for the church, and received his education at Rome. In the time of Philip the Fifth, he was the representative of his native republie at the Court of Madrid, where he was known as the handsome Abbe. There he so wormed himself into the good graces of the Kin^ as to be retained in his service. Before he went to Paris, he had been sent by the Court of Madrid in a diplomatic capacity to Sweden and 44 LSTTEB TO LORD HARDWICKS. [1781. declare war. Bat* however unfortunate that may be, it by no means justifies Mr. Pitt’s advice, ‘ To break find wiA Aew? The King seems every day wore offMed will Air. Pitt, and plainly wattle to get rid qf &M (ft till GOGlttJ9 ' On the 20th of September, Mr. Stanley demanded his passports, and shortly afterwards arrived in England. The Duke of Newcastle thus announces to Lord Hardwieke his conference with the late envoy. . “Octoberlet, 1781. Thursdaymorning, “ I havk had a very long; dry, and fruitless conversation with my friend Stahley, the whole tending to war and not peace. Former facts abridged by him, softened, and not quite verified, and supported; pre-'sent dispositions stated in*a favourable light for the views and measures of those who differ with ns. “I send your lordship, for your consideration, before I see you, a note I took of what passed with my Lord Mansfield, relating to what we should do at our meeting to-morrow* Holland. On Iris return from hi> French embassy, he was, at the nomination of Choiseul, appointed minister of foreign affairs in the place of Don Ricardo Wall Grimaldi appears to have been a man of very inferior capacity. Choiseul, who acquired a great ascendancy over him, induced him to sacrifice the interests of Spain to those of France. But for his mismanagement the Havannah need not have been placed in jeopardy. The Duke of Bedford in Iris correspondence speaks of Grimaldi's intrigues, and of Iris hostile disposition towards England. ■ 1761.] RESIGNATION OF PITT. 45 [The following note upon this letter is by the second Lord Hardwicke.] “ After Mr. Pitt was out, Mr. Stanley did say. clearly, and to myself, that he thought his manner of negociat* ing, spoilt the peace, and that France, though humbled and weakened, was still a power which had an existence in the world. H." The “meeting to-morrow," alluded to in the foregoing letter, was summoned for the purpose of giving a final answer to Mr. Pitt's proposition. With the exception of the great war-minister, and his brother-in-law, Lord Temple, the cabinet was opposed to an immediate declaration of hostilities with Spain. Mr. Pitt, on this decision of his colleagues, declared “ this to be the last time he should sit in that counciL He thanked the ministers of the late King for their support; said he was himself called to the ministry by the voice of the people, to whom he considered himself as accountable for his conduct, and that he would no longer remain in a situation which made him responsible for measures he was no longer allowed to guide."* On the 5th of October, accordingly, he resigned his office, and his example was followed two days afterwards, by Lord Temple. Mr. Pitt's secession, and his motives for it, appear to have been foreseen by more than one person. “ Tour lordship must remember," writes Bubb Dodington to Lord Bute, “ some months ago, I said I thought Mr. * Annual Register, 1761, p. 43. 46 RESIGNATION OF PITT. [n«1. Pitt would never make peaces because he could never make such a peace, as he had taught the nation to expect.”* Soame Jenynsf makes a similar remark in • Adolphus’ History of England, App. vh p. 48 L + Soame Jenyns, the poet, M.K for Cambridge, a friend and neighbour of Lord Hardwicke, whose children he frequently made the subject# of hi# muse ; hence Walpole calls him “the poet laureate of the Yorker” This agreeable writer was born in 1703. During Sir Robert Walpole’s administration he was appointed a Lord of Trade, but having a great dislike to party distinctions, was allowed to hold hit appointment under every succeeding minister, until the Board itself was abolished. His writings in prose and poetry spread over almost the whole field of literature, comprising, amongst many other topics, Essays on theology, metaphysics, polities, and dancing. In private life, Jenyns was a man of much sweetness of temper He had a lively and pleasant turn of wit; his conversation was sparkling, "and,” according to the Rev. Mr. Cole, "full of merry conceits and agreeable drollery, which was heightened by his inarticulate manner of speaking through his broken teeth.” “ He was,” says Richard Cumberland, " the man who bore his part in all societies, with the most even temper and undisturbed hilarity, of all the good companions I ever knew. He came into your house at the very moment you had put upon your card; he dressed himself, to do your party honour, in all the colours of the jay; his lace, indeed, had long since lost its lustre, but bis coat had faithfully retained its cut ever since the days when gentlemen wore embroidered figured velvets, with short sleeves, boot cuffs, and buckram skirts. As Nature cast him in the exact mould of an ill-made pair of stiff stays, he followed her so close in the fashion of his coat, that it was doubted whether he did not wear them; because he had a protuberant wen just under hi# pole, he wore a wig that did not cover above half his head. His eyes were protruded like the eyes of the lobster, who wears them at the end of bis feelers ; and yet there was room between one of these and hi# nose for another wen, that added nothing to his beauty. Yet I heard this good man very innocently remark, when Gibbon published hi# History, that he wondered anybody so ugly could write a book.”— Memoirs, 4to, 247-8. MUMiMMMAiiMMi 1701.] ATTEMPT TO INJURE PITT’S CHARACTER. 47 the following extract from one of his letters to Lord Royston:— “lam not much surprised at the intended resignation, because I was always satisfied, that sooner or later, it must happen. Your lordship must remember, that I have often said Mr. P(itt) never would or could agree to any peace, but that he must push things so desperately, that no one could follow him, and then make that an excuse for quitting, when he found it impossible to go on; every event since, has confirmed me in this opinion, and I am certain that it is not in his power to act now on any other plan.” When Mr. Pitt quitted the government, the Court resolved he should leave his character behind him. Unconnected by birth with any of the old Whig families, the source of his power lay in the affections of the people. His haughty bearing towards the late sovereign, had long excluded him from that place in the administration, which in public opinion he was entitled to fill. This proscription had obtained for him a high reputation for independence, while his refusal to appropriate, when paymaster of the forces, the emoluments of bis office, bad produced an opinion highly favourable to his disinterestedness. To destroy his character for these two qualities, the Court persuaded him to accept the barony of Chatham for his wife Lady Hester Pitt, and an annuity of three thousand pounds a-year for three lives for himself. In the first instance, he appears to have been duped by these insidious boons, for, in his interview with the King, to give up the seals, 48 ATTEMPT TO INJURE PITT'S CHARACTER. [1761. be was so overcome by the apparent graciousness of his reception, that he declared he did not come prepared for such exceeding goodness, and hurst into tears; and in a letter to Lord Bute, in which he desires his lordship “to lay him at the royal feet,” he declares himself “penetrated with the bounteous favour of a most benign sovereign and master.” But he cannot long have doubted the design of the Court, for they inserted in tiie same gazette, his retignation of the seals, and his acceptance of the peerage and pension. Further to impugn the aggressive policy on which he grounded his resignation, they added an article from Spain, setting forth the pacific intentions of that country. The announcement was not without its effect at the moment “ The city and the people,” writes Rigby, on the 12th of October, “ are outrageous about Lady Cheatem, as they call her, and her husband's pension,” and in a postscript he mentions, that Mr. Pitt was to be burned that night in great pomp in the city. With a view to repel these attacks on his popularity, Pitt wrote to bis friend, Mr. Aiderman Beckford, to justify his conduct. The letter afterwards made its appearance in the Public Ledger. In this document he alleges the same reasons for his retirement that be had assigned to his colleague, that “ he would not remain responsible for measures which he was no longer allowed to guide.* >761.] DR. BIRCH TO LORD ROYSTON. 49 THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKS. " Newcastle House, October 20th, 1761. Tuesday, 7 o’clock. “ I acquainted Lord Bute with my city news, that all was fire and flame there; that Mr. Pitt’s letter had brought back all his old friends to him; that there was to be a meeting of the Common Council this day to instruct his Majesty in the most violent manner to support war and warlike measures; with some compliments to Mr. Pitt. My Lord Bute seemed quite unconcerned, and said bravely, that he did not trouble himself about it, or inquire what Mr. Pitt did. I told his Lordship that I knew, as I do, that an agent of Mr. Pitt’s said, ‘there was no union at Court;’ and Lord B. made me no answer to that.’’ DR. BIRCH* TO VISCOUNT ROYSTON. • Oct 27th, 1761. (( The St. James's Chronicle of this evening, will, in all probability, furnish your Lordship with a copy of • Thomas Birch was born in 1705. His parents were Quakers; bis father was a coffee-mill maker. The son, by unremitted application, and amidst numerous difficulties and disadvantages, became qualified to take orders, though he had not received an university education. In 1732 he was recommended to Chancellor Hardwieke, then attorney-general, to whom, and to whose son, the second earl, he became indebted for his numerous church preferments. In 1752 he was elected one of the Secretaries of the Royal Society, and the following year was created a doctor of divinity. Poor Bireh used to VOL. I. * E 50 DR. BIRCH [HOL Mr. Pitt’s letter to some eminent citizen, which appeared this morning in the Public Ledger, and occasioned so great# demand for that paper, that above three thousand were sold before noon; before which time the Gazetteer was reprinted with that letter, which came out early in the morning, wanting that very remarkable piece. Bristow, the publisher of the Ledger, acknowledged to me that he had seen the original, and that his copy was given to the public with the writer’s consent, but would not inform me to whom it was addressed, whether Sir James Hodges or Aiderman Beckford,* though he intimated that my Lord Mayor had a copy of it, or another pride himself on his riding. Tn 1766 he was kiDedby a fall from his horse. Hudibras has spoken of -------“An ancient sage philosopher Who had read Alexander Ron over." A reference to “Watts' Bibliotheca Britannica" will show that Birch's works are nearly as voluminous as those of Ross. His first great work was a General Dictionary, historical and critical, including a translation of Bayle, with several thousand new lives. He was the author of twelve other publications, chiefly historical or biographical ; and was an extensive contributor to many other works. Dr. Heathcote, a brother author, and fellow member of a club of literati, who met once a week to talk learnedly for three or four hours, says “ Birch was an honest, humane man, warm and zealous in his attachments to persons and principles, but of universal benevolence; that he was cheerful, lively, and spirited, an early riser, and a man of great general knowledge. He afforded much literary information to Johnson, who made him the subject of a Greek epigram* “Tom Birch," said the great lexicographer, “ is as brisk as a bee in conversation, but no sooner does he take a pen in his hand, than it becomes like a torpedo to him, and benumbs all his faculties." * William Beckford, M.P. for London, of whom more hereafter. Ah ■t X wei.] TO LORD ROYSTON. 51 letter to the same purpose sent to him. Your Lordship needs no criticism upon the inaccuracy of the composition,* nor shall I animadvert upon his avowal that his inducement to quit his post was because he was no longer allowed to guide the public measures. His owning the acceptance of the public marks of his Majesty's favour will overset the representation made by Mr. Beckford, who employed his agents to circulate on Thursday, that though Mr. Pitt had received such offers from Lord Bute, he had not yet accepted them. Mr. Dingley,f the Russian merchant, was in particular authorised by Mr. Beckford to declare this; and an attempt was made under the colour of such an assertion, to form a cabal in the city in his favour. On Thursday it was asserted that Mr. Pitt had written to his friend, Sir James * Wilkes used to say that Chatham was the best orator, and the worst letter-writer of the age. t Charles Dingley, the projector and proprietor of some saw-mills at Limehouse, was a man of much eccentricity. He obtained considerable notoriety in 1769, by standing in opposition to Wilkes and not obtaining a single vote. “ The hero of the meeting/* writes Lord Temple, M Master Dingley, struck Wilkes’s attorney, who knocked him down in return.** His own version of the encounter is contained in a letter to Lady Chatham:—" In 1745 I entered myself a common soldier in the foot-guards, and the same spirit of loyalty, and the desire to do some noble act, induced me to offer my services to snatch and destroy the danger and confusion, by representing the County of Middlesex. I got into a scuffle. By a blow I gave Wilkes’s attorney, Reynolds, I got such a hurt from his teeth, as to make my hand very lame and worthless.** Junius says that “the miserable Dingley was induced to oppose Wilkes by the Duke of Grafton, and that be died of a broken heart in consequence of having been so contemptuously treated.** a I M DUKR OP NEWCASTLE [1781 Hodges, to contradict the Gazette account from Madrid, of Saturday last, with regard to the pacific disposition of Spain; and yesterday there were alarming appear, ances of a new popular ferment, tending to restore him once more to power.” . • The "meeting of the Common Council,” to whidi the Duke of Newcastle alludes,* agreed upon a representation to the tour representatives of the City, urging them “ to oppose all attempts for giving up such places as may tend to lessen our present security, or by restoring the naval power of France, render us subject to fresh hostilities from that natural enemy;” and in another part alludes to the nation’s ability still to cany on, and vigorously prosecute the present just and necessary war.f r THE DUKE OE NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. * Claremont, Oct 18,1761. “ Mr. Pitt’s almost avowed opposition opens a new scene, and his directing that opposition to the application of the supplies, shows what I always foresaw, that all his malice would be directed against the old Administration, notwithstanding his compliments at CounciL He will think by that to be less offensive to the King by sparing his Minister and favourite, and may be glad not to be desperate with either. He will also * See ante, page 49, line 4. + Annual Regiiter for 1761, p. [SOI.] ; 1761.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 53 lay the enormous expenses occasioned singly by his ' own measures, on the corrupt, ignorant, or loose ad- ministration of the Treasury, which ought to have pre* vented it. I just touched yesterday upon Mr. Pitt’s most'astonishing letter; nothing can be more offensive to a King, more insolent in itself, more mischievous to Council, or show more marks of a hurt disappointed heart But it carries with it also, certain proofs of hatred, revenge, and opposition. Against whom? the principal object ought to be the principal actor in it. But, in fact, he was the sole author of it ' * Resolved to ruin or to rule the state.”’* j ___________ ; * Dryden’s Absalom and Achitopbel, Part I. v. 174. 54 EARL OF EGREMONT [W»l. CHAPTER III. BAU OI KlBMOn APPOINTED PITT’S SUCCESSOR. — DUE! OB NEWCASTLE TO LORD HARDWICKS.—THREATENED RUPTURE WITH SPAIN. ----LORD ROYSTON TO MR. YORKE. — WANT OP UNION AT COURT. — SUMMONING A NEW PARLIAMENT.—RIVAL LUTS.—CHARACTERS OP LORD TEMPLE AND GEORGE GRENVILLE.— CHOICE OP A SPEAKER.— THE KING'S VISIT TO THE CITY.—PITT’S TREATMENT ON THAT OCCASION.----MR.MILBANKE TO LORD ROCKINGHAM.—CHARACTER OP RARR£----MR. MILBANKE TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. — EPPECT8 OP THE PARLIAMENTARY DERATE. Newcastle had hoped that the retirement of his great rival and colleague would lead to the restoration of his own political pre-eminence. “ I never,” says Sir George Colebrooke,* “saw the Duke in higher spirits than after Mr. Pitt, thwarted by the Cabinet in his proposal of declaring war against Spain, had given notice of resignation;” but Lord Talbot, who as “a King's friend,” probably knew what was likely to happen, advised his Grace “ not to die for joy on the Monday, nor for fear on the Tuesday.” f The poor Duke was not left long in doubt, for immediately upon the resignation, Lord Bute assumed the entire management of public affairs. * Manuscript Memoir, quoted by Sir Denis Le Marchant in Walpole’s Memoirs of George the Third. t Walpole. 1781.] APPOINTED PITT'S SUCCESSOR. 55 The first act of the favourite was to bestow the vacant Seals on Charles Wyndham, Earl of Egremoirt, son of Sir William Wyndham, the celebrated Tory leader in the two preceding reigns. Walpole, who speaks disparagingly of him, admits that he had “a great deal of humour.” He was a thoroughly well-bred man, but of a haughty, overbearing disposition. Junius says ((that, notwithstanding his pride and Tory principles, he had some English stuff about him.” The principal act of his short ministry, was his answer to the Spanish memorial, which did him much credit Like his father, he died suddenly at the age of fifty-two. “If,” says Bishop Newton, “he had entered earlier into business, he might have made as considerable a figure as his father. He had seldom occasion to speak in parliament, but whenever he did speak, it was with great clearness, force, and energy, and he was thought very much to resemble his father in manner as well as good matter, having a little catch and impediment in his voice as Sir William Wyndham.”* It is difficult to form a correct opinion of the first official act of the new secretary; for although he declared that act to be his own, yet it is not quite clear from the letter that follows whether the document to which he was directed to put his name, expressed his own opinions, or whether, in the spirit of the new regime, he was the mere registrar of a royal edict. • Bithop Newton’s Life and Anecdotes, folio edition, p. 69-70. 56 DUKE OF NEWCAS LE TO LORD HARDWICKE. [1761. TU DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE SARL OF HARDWICKE. ' “October 20th, 1761. “ Lord Bute said, the King has given orders to my Lord Egremont to prepare a letter for my Lord Bristol,* expressing his Majesty’s desire to correspond with their (the Spaniards) assnrance to heal and soften all the depending disputes amicably with each other, 'provided thy made it appear to the King that there was nothing offensive contained in the last treaty with Paris.' My Lord Bute said, ‘this has been agreed at St • George William, second Earl of Bristol, eldest of the three sons of the celebrated Lord Hervey, and of the equally celebrated M Mary Lepela lady whose wit, beauty, and vivacity, inspired the pens of Pope, Chesterfield, Pulteney, and Voltaire, of whom, the last-named addressed her in English verse. Lord Bristol was at this time ambassador at the Court of Spain. Throughout his difficult mission he appears to have conducted himself with singular ability and temper. Walpole says he was “ a very Spaniard in formality and pride.* From other accounts he appears to have inherited that degree of effeminacy in person, manners, and dress, that led Pope to dub his father “ Lord Fanny.” But this exterior by no means indicated Lord Bristol’s real character. He was a man of great personal bravery. Sailing once in his brother Augustus Hervey’s ship during the Seven Years* war, the vessel was menaced with an attack from a French ship of greatly superior force. In spite of the entreaties of his brother, Bristol insisted upon remaining on deck, sword in hand, saying that as he had the honour to represent a Sovereign distinguished for personal courage, he ought to behave as his master would have done on a like occasion. When Bristol was ordered to quit Spain, in every Spanish village that he passed, he was pursued with huzzas and acclamations deprecating the war.—(European Magarino, xxix. 239.) Lord Bristol died in 1773. Both his brothers succeeded in turn to the earldom. * 1761.] THREATENED RUPTURE WITH SPAIN. 57 James’s, I suppose, between my Lord Egremont and himself; for, notwithstanding the little council of us four, I know nothing of the matter* “ I found, by his brother,* that strong measures and strong declarations are to do everything to prevent the junction of France and Spain. Sure, we have tried these measures long enough.” The official despatch here ordered to be prepared, whether emanating from the King himself, or the joint production of the conciliabulum, had very important results. The obvious policy of the Court was to pre* serve peace with Spain, for thus alone could Ministers hope to justify their rejection of Pitt's aggressive policy. The object of the letter, therefore, was evidently to “heal and soften all the depending disputes,” while the “ strong declarations ” it contained were to prove to the Court of Madrid* that the British Government had lost none of its vigour and efficacy by the late change of hands. The means did not answer the end. The proviso mentioned in the Duke of Newcastle’s letter was more than Castilian pride could endure. Don Bicardo Wall, the Spanish Minister, who had hitherto proved himself a warm friend to England, upon receiving Lord Egremont’s communication, de* dared with much vehemence of manner that he himself would be the man to advise the King of Spun, since his dominions were to be overwhelmed, at least to have them seized with arms in his subjects’ hands, * The Hon. Jame* Stuart Mackenzie, Lord Bute's only brother. 58 LORD ROYSTON [1761. and not to continue the passive victim he had hitherto appeared in the eyes of the world. Lord Bristol, the British Ambassador, 'was at the same time informed that no answer would be given, and that his Excellency might retire at the time and in the manner most convenient to himself. VISCOUNT ROYSTON TO THE HONOURABLE CHARLES YORKE. u Dear Brother, “ St. James's Square, Dec. 27, 1761. “ This affair of Spain gives me a good deal of concern, and. the more, as I cannot approve the conduct of our friends in it I think they have been weakly and timidly submitting to others, whom they ought to have led. They have been playing Mr. Pitt’s game in the nation, and that of France at the Court of Madrid. If ever there was a quarrel founded on punctilio and a point of good breeding, this seems to be the instance; and then it becomes a little serious to engage two nations in blood and enmity, on no stronger provocation. Lord Bristol has executed the King’s orders in a masterly manner, as appears by the copy of the note be left in Wall's closet, and which I doubt not the Duke of Newcastle will show you. Fuentes* will * Count de Fuentes, Spanish Ambassador at the Court of St. James’s. “ A dull, cold man,” according to Walpole, “ and wedded to all the forms of his religion.” From his public despatches, from his private letters in the Chatham Correspondence, and from Coxe’s account of him in his Memoirs of the Kings of Spain, he appears to have been a skilful diplomatist. “ M. de Fuentes,” writes Walpole to Lord Strafford, “ is a halfpenny print of Lord H-. His wife homely, but seems good-natured and civil. The son does not dege- 1701.] TO MR. YORKE. 59 impute to his Lordship's offensive language the rough answer of his Court, and will declare that the treaty between France and Spain is a mere family compact, on which the latter have given their guarantee to the former, with a view to what they, the French, shall lose in the course of this war. What are we then going to quarrel about? I must freely own, I think our Chief has been too passive in this affair. I mean, when the draught of Lord Egremont’s letter was considered in Council, and that he should have obliged them to weigh the consequences of extending and prolonging (I wish I may not add perpetuating) the war, a. little more coolly and deliberately. Though Mr. Pitt would not submit to have his draught cobbled,* the Earl of Egremont surely had no such privilege to plead; and when his Lordship said that hie head was concerned in writing a proper letter to Spain on this occasion, I wish he had been told that every Minister at the Board was equally responsible to his country for the advice he gave, and for the manner in which that advice was directed to be carried into execution. “ Above all, it was most extraordinary, in those who know Lord Bristol’s connections with Mr. Pitt, to entrust him with the execution of such orders, and Derate from such high-born ugliness; the daughter-in-law was sick, and they say is not ugly, and has as good a set of teeth as one can have when one has but two, and those black. They seem to have no curiosity, sit where they are placed, and ask no questions about so strange a country. Indeed, the Ambassadress could see nothing; for Dodington stood before, the whole time, sweating Spanish at her.* • See ante, page 27, line 22. 60 WART OF UNION AT COURT. [1W. not lay him under all the guards and restrictions in the warmer which words can convey. The first person who gave me any intimation of the style of the despatch to Madrid, and the opposition which Lord Eg(remont) had given to the softening it, was Mr. Jones,* about three weeks ago; and I can safely declare, that I then said to him everything that I now say, after the event. This quarrel with Spain opens sb wide a field of controversy—to many old claims, new acquisitions, schemes of private grin and public ambition, together with a certain increase of expense in every quarter where an attack is to be made or apprehended—that I own I see no end of the violent situation we are in, and which I doubt will continue till public distress or absolute inability compels us to wind up, not as we might, but as we may—* lOeravi animam mean.' ' . “ Tours affectionately, “ H.” In this same letter of Lord Egremont, which was afterwards submitted to Parliament, the ambassador at the Court of Spun was informed that “ the most perfect harmony and mutual confidence now reign in his Majesty's Councils.” This was evidently to do away with the report in the city that there was “ no union at Court.” The concluding paragraph in the Duke of Newcastle’s letter of the 20th, already quoted, will show how far the intimation was founded in fact. * Hugh Valence Jones, first cousin of Lord Royeton, aueceaavdy Secretary to the Duke of Newcastle, Member for Dover, and a Commissioner of Revenue in Ireland. . ■I J * 4 :h * 3 H J H 4 1701.] SUMMONING A NEW PARLIAMENT. 61 “ As for the matter (he, Mr. Stuart Mackenzie, said) of there being no union amongst us, that was the lie of the day, and would fall in twenty-four hours. I wish there were not so good grounds for the report.” The summoning of a new Parliament afforded the King an opportunity of violating the spirit of the Constitution without openly departing from the letter. The time was not wholly unfavourable for such attempts. The country had lost its early zeal for the principles of the Whigs. The Whigs were not cordially united among themselves. The Tory party had begun to resume their ascendancy in the counties, even some of the old Jacobites had re-entered the precincts of the court. The issue of writs was delayed purposely, in' order that Lord Bute might have the more time to mature his plans, and secure seats for the personal adherents of the Crown. From the following extracts it would appear that his Majesty, if he did not claim, at least appropriated to himself, as part of his personal prerogative, a share in the nomination to the government boroughs, and that both his ostensible minister, and his real adviser, each produced rival lists of his own friends and supporters. A century and a half had elapsed since similar artifices had been resorted to by the family, whose posterity the House of Hanover now excluded from the British throne. It appeared a bad omen, for the new reign to commence with a policy, the results of which had formerly overturned the monarchy. But neither the King nor his coterie were capable of benefiting by the lessons of history. 02 KIYAL LISTS. [1781. THl DDn OY MIWCA8TLB TO THS BAIL OY HA1DWIUKB. “January 19th, 1701. w I am to be with my Lord Bute to-morrow at St. James's whilst the King is at the House. I told his Lordriiip that I should come to talk to him about the Parliament, and that I had but just got my papers and lists. He said it was high time, and I think (though in very good humour) talked in such a manner, that I expect more lists from him than I shall carry to him. He said, Lord Falmouth had offered the King three members, but he did not tell me the King’s answer.” This liberal offer came from one of the most unblushing borough-mongers of the day. Hugh Boscawen, second Viscount Falmouth. In effrontery of solicitation he was equalled by Bubb Dodington alone, and he lacked the mother-wit which made that effrontery endurable. In George the Second’s reign, he told Pitt, at that time minister, that if he had not the garter, which was then vacant, his five members should vote against the government “ As long,” replied Pitt, “ as I remain in the Cabinet, your Lordship shall not receive that distinction:” then turning to some bystanders, he added, “Optat ephippia Bos.” — “Who calls me Boi?” inquired Falmouth.—“The remark,” replied Pitt, “ is not mine, but Horace’s.”—“If Horace 1761.] RIVAL LISTS. 63 Walpole,” exclaimed his Lordship, “ has' taken this liberty with my name I shall resent it.” * THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKS. " January 29th, 1761. “ I have heard nothing but civil messages from Lord Bute. Lord Anson told me yesterday, he complained of having heard nothing from me about the election. You know how I have been put off from time to time, and I don’t see that his Lordship is yet disposed to fix a certain day. Lord Anson also said that Lord B. told him, the King would have several members to put in. His Majesty must find places for them ! ” A. ' FROM THE SAME TO THE SAME. “ Newcastle House, Monday, 5 o’clock. “ I have received the enclosed list from Mr. Legge. I beg you would communicate it to the Duke of Devonshire, and my Lord Kinnoul, who, I hope, have told you what intelligence I had relating to Mr. Fox and his list. I see Legge proposes to make a complete list at present, and to alter it when he shall see the Court list I am promised that, as soon as it is settled; but Mr. Fox said this day, that they were to meet about it I doubt whether we shall have time to let our friends know what to do.” . . Mr. Legge, alluded to iu the foregoing letter, was at • WrualL 64 BIVAI. LISTS. [mi. this time Chancellor of the Exchequer, and member for Hampshire. 'He had, in 1759, offended George the Third, then Prince of Wales, by declining to withdraw his pretensions to the county representation, in favour of Mr., afterwards Sir Simeon, Stuart, a cousin of Lord Bute’s. The following tetter will show that this refusal was neither forgiven nor forgotten. THE DUKE OY NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUIS 01 ROCKING- • HAM. “ Mt Lord Anson has recaved orders from the King himself, to declare to the Docks,* that they may vote for whom they please in the Hampshire election, even though the Chancellor of the Exchequer is a candidate.” THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKS. “ I will go through the elections as well as I can, and endeavour to see what they (the Court) really intend. I think it is too late for them to do any mischief. They may be disagreeable, and defeat some of our friends, and act directly contrary to what they promised; but they can’t now alter the tone and complexion of the new parliament. That is all settled, and so far, my staying in to this time has been of use.” On the above letter, the second Lord Hardwire has made the following remark:— “ Notwithstanding the choice of the parliament^ which * Of Portimouth. 1761.] CHARACTER OF LORD TEMPLE. 65 the Duke of Newcastle piques himself upon, they forsook him for Lord Bute, when his standard was set up.” No two monarchs were probably ever more pestered by their advisers, than George the Second and his successor, by Lord Temple and George Grenville. Nor were their Majesties the only victims. There was scarcely a contemporary statesman who had not been bullied or bored by this ruthless pair of brothers. Both, indeed, were tormentors of the first order. Yet their connections rendered them indispensable; their talents, their knowledge of the world and of parliamentary forms, made them serviceable; and their profession of Whig principles gave them a kind of reputation for liberal sentiments. Richard, Earl Temple, the elder brother, had good business-habits, and much industry, and was by no means an inefficient speaker. His huge ungainly figure procured for him the nickname of ((Squire Gawky.” The qualities of his mind were indeed as loosely put together.as his limbs. With much ambition, his own wayward caprice, or masterless pride, constantly marred his plans of self-aggrandisement. He was frequently asking favours of George the Second. That monarch accounted himself at least a Turenne in war; yet his Privy Seal gracefully insinuated that his Majesty had no more spirit than Admiral Byng, whose death-warrant (unjustly however) he had just signed. One of Temple’s grand schemes was to establish a triumvirate government, to be composed of himself, his F VOL. L 06 CHARACTERS OF [IM. brother Georgy and his brother-in-law, Pitt,—threejnen whose opinions wero as opposite as the antipodes, and who woe almost always at personal variance wifli each other. Temple appears to have had no fixed principles of action. He adopted the cause of prerogative against the Americans, and the ride of Wilkes against the prerogative. Mischief appears to have been the main incentive of his actions; nevertheless, he preferred bring a backer rather than a principal. He was Wilkes’s prime instigator in Ids wicked pranks against the King and the Court He was likewise Chatham’s evil genius; and occasionally led his brother-in-law to commit imprudences into which a school-boy would scarcely have fallen. He was indeed the cause of half the errors and inconsistencies committed by that statesman. The result of his political life was, that Lord Temple, after thirty years’ factious meddling in public affairs, died, distrusted and avoided by the associates of his earlier days. George Grenville was greatly superior to his brother in talents. Pitt considered him to be the best parliament man in the House. Formal, punctual, and exact, he undoubtedly was. But his pride' and pertinacity were as obstructive, as his regularity was conducive, to progress in affairs. Ingratitude was one of his besetting sins. Whatever may have been Lord Bute’s demerits, he was at least Grenville’s benefactor. Whatever may have been Pitt’s profusion in war, Grenville long supported bis martial measures. Yet he was among the first to turn against Bute, and to upbraid Pitt for his extravagance. Unlike as were the brothers in personal appearance, 1701.] LORD TEMPLE AND GEORGE GRENVILLE. 67 there was much similarity in the conformation of their minds. Their common characteristics were pride, want of tact, and jealousy of all around them. Each lost office by the violence of his temper, and the haughtiness of each rendered a return to power impracticable. Each of them was revengeful; each vented his feelings in pamphlets. Each possessed a stream of words, which, in all places, and on all occasions, flowed from him “ in omne volubilis mvum.”* Like Temple, too, George Grenville regarded the King as the proper butt of his tedious harangues, and at times of his angry invective. “When he has wearied me for two hours,” said George the Third, exhausted after one of these inflictions, “he looks at his watch to see if he may not tire me for an hour more.” It was this last-named brother whom Lord Bute, at the commencement of 1761, succeeded in gaining over to the Court, having been, up to this period, the constant supporter of his brother-in-law, Mr. Pitt “ Avarice,” says Walpole, “ which he (Grenville) possessed in no less a proportion than his other passions, concurred to lead him from a master who browbeat and treated him superciliously, to worship the rising sun. Lord Bute was in want of tools, and it was a double prize to acquire them from his rival’s shop.” * Grenville was one evening at a concert. In the midst of a “ bravura " he addressed his neighbour in his usual loud monotonous voice on the subject of some grand fiscal scheme. This auditor sought a pretext to shift his place. Whereupon the financier, possessing himself of pen, ink, and paper, committed his thoughts to writing, making the pianoforte^ at which the ringer presided, serve for a table. F 2 68 CHOICE OF A SPEAKER. [WM. In the early part of the year, Mr. Grenville had "been admitted into the Cabinet; but on Pitt’s resignation of the seals, he was appointed ministerial leader of the House of Commons. A meeting was held at the Cockpit, the night before Parliament assembled, for the purpose of hearing the King’s speech read, and agreeing upon the choice of a Speaker. Since the days of Queen Anne, the Whigs only had attended on such occasions; but now that the friends of the Government and the friends of the King did not mean the same persons, the Tories uninvited made a strong muster of their forces. On this party, as on the sleeping courtiers in the fairy tale, time had wrought no change of sentiment or opinion. The crown, not the wearer of it, was the object of their idolatry. Casting aside as untenable their favorite dogma of indefeasible hereditary right, they complacently transferred their allegiance from a Stuart to a Guelph,—from a de jure to & de facto King. EDWIN LASCELLES,* ESQ., M.P., TO THE . MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Pall Mall, Star and Garter, Nov. 2,1761. “ After a very pleasant journey, we arrived in town • Edwin Lascelles, Esq., Member for Yorkshire, was elevated to the peerage in 1790, by the title of Lord Harewood, of Harewood Castle. Dying without iuue in 1795, the barony became extinct, bat hi# estates passed to his heir-at-law, Edward Lascelles, created raeeesaively Baron Harewood, Viscount Lascelles, Earl of Harewood. 1761.] CHOICE OF A SPEAKER. 69 this afternoon; I called upon Sir George’s* at eight o’clock, to go to the Cockpit, where we found such a crowd, of all complexions, especially of the old Tories, that with much difficulty we got up stairs. I made my way into the room, and got up to the table where G. G.f was placed at the head of it, and then recommending Sir J. Cust for Speaker, which everybody seemed to approve. Sir John replied in the episcopal style, and thus it ended. Half of those who were present, I am sure never saw that room before — Shuttleworth,| for one; he is coming to sup with us.” “ Sir John Cust is Speaker,” writes Walpole, “ and, bating his nose, the chair seems to be well filled.” § The new Speaker was selected for the post by Lord Bute, on account of his Tory politics. He was a country gentleman, of good family and large estates, of an amiable disposition and obliging manners. He was well acquainted with the usages of Parliament, but * Not Mr. Lascelles* colleague Sir George Savile, who was unable to attend the meeting but Sir George Armytage, Member for York. The Armytages are a very ancient Yorkshire family. The present Sir George is the great grandson of the baronet alluded to in Ma Lascelles’ letter. . f George Grenville. t James Shuttleworth, Member for Lancashire, a Tory follower of Lord Bute. His great grandaughter, the heiress of Ganthype, married Mr.Kaye, the Commissioner of Education, now Sir James Phillipe Kaye Shuttleworth, Bart. § The caricatures of the day point out the deficiency of the feature here alluded to. 70 TOR KING'S VISIT TO THS CITT. [1791. was deficient in the energy necessary to restrain the turbulence of an anreformed Parliament. The fidtowing day he continued what Mr. Lascelles terms “ the episcopal style,” retiming to sit down in the chair till he was forced into it by the donee violence of his proposer and seconder. . On the 9th of November, George the Third, who had been married only two months, went in state with his youthful Queen, to dine with the Lord Mayor. It was their Majesties’ first visit to the city. Mr. Pitt, yielding to Lord Temple’s persuasions, and as he afterwards declared, "against his better judgment,”* went with him in his carriage, and joined the procession. The result of this procedure might partly have been anticipated. The regal bride and bridegroom were received by the people with indifference, and Pitt’s late colleague, with cries of “No Newcastle salmon.” As for Lord Bute, he was assailed everywhere with hisses and execrations, and would probably have been torn in pieces by the mob, but for the interference of a band of butchers and prize-fighters, whom he had hired as a body-guard. All the enthusiasm of the populace was centred in Mr. Pitt, who was “honoured with the most hearty acclamations of people of all ranks,” f and so great was the feeling in his favour, that the mob clung about every part of the vehicle, hung upon the wheels, hugged his footman, and even kissed his horses.^ Mr. Pitt's “joining himself to a pomp dedicated to a * Chatham Correspondence, n. 165. + Gentleman's Magazine. t Annual Register, 1761, p. >37. ' : 1761.J PITT’S TREATMENT ON THAT OCCASION. 71 Court which he had just quitted was,” as Walpole observes,(< not decent.” The effect of his conduct upon the King is alluded to in a letter from the Duke of Newcastle to Lord Hardwicke, written a few days after the banquet^ in which he speaks of his Majesty's dis* pleasure with Mr. Pitt, for “ his abominable conduct on my Lord Mayor’s day.” The day of retaliation was at hand. On the 9th of December, the King’s Ministers were to move the renewal of the treaties with Prussia, and on the same day, the King’s friends were to propose as an amendment, the recall of the troops from Germany. “ A knot of chicken orators,” were to be let loose on the ex-Secretary, to impugn his favourite war policy, and to be as personally offensive to himself, as the forms of the House would allow. Some idea of the interest anticipated from this debate may be gathered from the fact, that the house was so crowded with ladies, that it became necessary afterwards, to enforce the .standing orders against the admission of strangers. “ The House,” writes Lord Royston to Lord Hardwicke, “ was hot, and crowded as full of ladies, as the House of Lords when the King goes to make a speech. The Members were standing above half-way up the floor.” JOHN MILBANKE,* ESQ., TO THE MARQUIS OP ROCKINGHAM. “Dec. 9,1761. “ The grand debate on the troops in Germany has been deferred a week, on account of Charles Bunbury, * Mr. Milbanke married the utter of Lord Rockingham. In 1766 he wm appointed Conunitrioner of the Revenue in Ireland. 72 MR. M1LBANKE [1W. a son of Sir William's, just imported from Florence, a pretty man, a bean, and ray fond of his figure,* who' is to handle that slight and easy question of continental measures, the Bustian Treaty, &&; to move to have our troops immediately recalled. Mr. Dempster,t a Scotchman, lately started up, of a promising genius, and Mr. Glover,£ are Ins seconds. I am told Mr. Bunbuty is under the banners of Mr. Fox. ' Whether * he means to patronize these popular points, and gun a tittie credit, or means it in enmity to Mr. P—» • Thomas Chsries Bunbury, of MOdenhaU, M.P. for Suffolk, fir which county he sat forty-three yean. “ Young Bunbury,* writes Walpole to Sir H. Mann, “whom I tent to you, and you have lately sent us back, is enrolled in a club of chicken orators.* In 1764, Mr. Bunbury succeeded his father in the baronetcy. Sir Charles was better known at Newmarket than St. Stephens, and was long the M father of the turf* His brother was the celebrated caricaturist In 1762, he became the husband of the beautiful Lady Sarah Lennox, whom it is supposed George the Third would have made his Queen, if he had not been prevented by the Princess Dowager. After the dissolution of this marriage with Bunbury in 1776, Lady Sarah took for her second husband the Hon. George Napier, and by him, amongst other children, had Charles, the late gallant Commander-in-Chief in - India. Lady Sarah was grandaughter of Charles first Duke of Richmond, the illegitimate son of Charles the Second, by Louisa de la Querouaille, Duchess of Portsmouth. Thus then there was till very lately in the active service of his country, an officer who is only fourth in descent from the * Merry Monarch.* f George Dempster, Member for Forfarshire. | Richard, or as he was familiarly called from his poem, * Leonidas* Glover, had received bis political education in Leicester House. He at this time sat for Weymouth, and was one of the Members of whom Bubb Dodington made a present to the King. At the age of sixteen he wrote a much-admired poem in honour of Sr Isaac Newton, and later in life the more celebrated political ballad 1761.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 73 (who is with the Ministry on this question), I know not. I shall not close my letter till I try to glean something from the debate of the day.* “Dec. 10th 1761. “ As the foregoing part of my letter was the opinion of the day, I let it stand, and now present you with what I can collect from hearsay. After C. Townshend* had opened his military Budget very ably, and declared the necessity of continuing the troops in Ger- of “ Hosier’s Ghost” His other poems were the “ Athenaid* and M Boadicea.” His last political act was to support the chums of the West India planters. “ In his person and habits he was a finished gentleman of the old school, slow and precise in his manner, grave and serious in his deportment, and always in the highest degree decorous. Before the year 1776, he wore a bag, his wig very accurately dressed, and a small cocked hat under his arm. In this costume he constantly walked from his house in St. James’s Street, Westminster, into the city.” This minute description of his dress was intended to identify him as the author of Junius, the M tall gentleman” who was seen to throw a letter of Junius* in Mr. WoodfalTs printing office in Ivy Lane. * The Right Hon. Charles Townshend. Burke’s character of this “splendid orb” is too well known to be repeated here. Vanity appears to have been his ruling passion. Among the few persons he feared was George Selwyn. These two wits had once a trial of skill. Selwyn prevailed in the war of words. Charles afterwards took Selwyn in his carriage to White’s. At parting, Selwyn said, “Remember this is the first set down you have given me to-day." Townshend “ had almost every great talent and every little quality. His vanity exceeded even his abilities, and his suspicions seemed to make him doubt if he had any. With such a capacity he must have been the greatest man of his age, and perhaps inferior to no man of Any Age, had his faults been only in moderate proportion. In short, if he had had but common truth, common sincerity, common honesty. [1701. many, a* we were in point of honour obliged to go on with the plan we had engaged in, a plan that we had hitherto succeeded so well in, that the employing 130,000 French in Germany, prevented them annoy* ing our coasts^ and recovering what we have conquered, beside^ the French might fall on Holland, who were not in a condition to defend themselves, , and that the totality of the war had been tire great means of 8M0ML* ' ' - -‘ ' ^ • * * : - “Rigby* spoke next; complained of the immense common modesty, common steadiness common courage? common sense.*—Walpolei * • Ite R^ Hom Bidiari Rigby, of MisttyHs^ 6r Tavistock, Paymaster of the Forces the heder of the Duke of Bedfad*s party in the House of Commons, hence called * Bloomsbury Dick.* “ His parts,* says Walpole, " were strong and quick, but totally uncultivated; and so much had he trusted to unaffected good sense, that he could never afterwards acquire the necessary temperament of art in public speaking; he placed his honour in a steady addiction to whatever faction he was united with; and from the gaiety of his temper, having indulged himself in profuse drinking, he was often hurried beyond the bounds of that interest which he meant should govern all his actions, and which his generous extravagance for ever combated.* We may gather from a letter written by Garrick to Burke what sort of a life Rigby led at Mistley. * If you had a house on the swamps of Essex, where you were obliged to drink brandy by way of small beer to keep the ague out of your bones, I should long to be with you, but I have not a day to spare till I set out fir the Paymaster * "When in his place in the House of Commons, Rigby,* says Wraxall, "was invariably habited in a full suit of a dark colour, without lace or embroidery, close buttoned, with his sword thrust through the pocket. Corpulent in his person, he was not on that account unwieldy or inactive. His countenance was very expressive^ but not of genius, still less did it indicate timidity or modesty* ^£M^lUeM fa I AM ^tiMMi 1761.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 75 expense, and the vast effusion of blood; attacked the Treaties, particularly that with the King of Prussia, , which confined us not to make a peace without his. consent; made a weak attack on Mr. Pitt with great heat and impetuosity, and sat down. “The next champion that stood up, was Sir F. B. Delaval,* who talked much, and said too little, for the recalling the troops: said he recollected to have heard a considerable person, lately retired from a great post, affirm, that whoever, in this country, of what size or stature soever, should venture to support Hanover measures, he would find it hang about his neck like a millstone, and sink him to the bottom of the sea ;-f* but * Sir Francis Blake Delaval, Bart. Member for Andover. He was at this time a zealous disciple of Leicester House, but later he became a member of the society styled “ The Supporters of the Bill of Rights.” He was, however, looked upon with distrust by his associates, who considered him as a spy from the Court On one occasion he and his family played • Othello” at Drury Lane, having hired the theatre for the purpose. In 1754, being opposed to Beckford at Shaftesbury, he thus addressed him :— “ Art thou the man whom men famed Beckford call I* To which the other replied:— “ Art thou the much more famous Delaval ? ” Sir Francis was no friend to the statesman upon whose conduct he now commented. When Pitt received the pension and the peerage, Delaval said, M The man is a fool; if he had gone into the city, told them he had a poor wife and children unprovided for, and opened a subscription, he would have got 500,0004 instead of SOOOZ. a-year.” t In the debate on the treaties in 1755, Pitt, attacking Fox, said, “ He did not know what majorities would do, but this treaty (with Prussia) would hang like a millstone round his neck, and rink any minister along with the nation.” — Walpole’s George the Second, L 413. 76 MR. MILBANKE [1761. he mw that person, though not very robust, sitting as if it sat light on his shoulders. ' ; “Stanley* spoke well and ably; said he should speak to a pointy that his late employment had given him an opportunity of examining thoroughly, and tint if it was proved, all the rest was needless, namely that the German war was highly detrimental to France; he also attempted to show, that the Austrian alliance with France was unnatural, and the French at this time hated the Austrians worse than the English. “ George Grenville spoke against the German war in general,! the Treaty, but thought it necessary, as we were so far embarrassed, to continue, but thought other plans might be proposed more effectual.^ “Mr. Pitt, with great serenity, congratulated the House on the temper of the day; that gentlemen spoke their opinions freely, without heat or animosity; gave his reasons artfully, for coming into, and going on with their plans, when he was entreated, pressed, and compelled to take the seals, but declared, from his infancy, he had ever inclined towards Continental measures; • The British Minister in France during the late unsuccessful negotiation. See above, p. 48. t Mr. Grenville “ had, during the last reign, avowedly or silently supported every one of Pitt’s expensive German measures; indeed, he had held by Pitt’s favour one of the most lucrative places under Government, the Treasurer of the Navy. The scene was changed, and Grenville with it*—Walpole’s George the Third, L 104. J Grenville “levelled several reflections indirectly at Mr. PpttJ and was more the aggressor than was perhaps advisable in this debate.*—Lord Royston to the Earl of Hardwicke, Dec. 9,1761. 1761.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 77 complimented his friend Stanley, to the highest degree, for his abilities in his late negociation; congratulated his King, his country, &c., that they had a person of so great capacity among them; sneered at Rigby and Sir Francis Delaval; said he would not disappoint the gentlemen so far as to take no notice of them; he confessed he did see the person of the latter standing up, and recollected to have heard him,—that was sufficient. (< Lord Barrington supported the German war, and took an opportunity of defending Lord Ligonier, who was absent, and had been attacked upon some trivial military matter, by Rigby. High words arose between them, and Rigby said, though he confessed himself not of abilities to face Mr. Pitt; he was not a bit afraid of that noble lord, upon any ground. Lord Barrington assured him in return, that he was not in the least afraid to meet that gentleman in any shape, on any ground. “ Mr. Ongley* spoke next, for recalling the troops, without prevailing much, and said nothing worthy of notice. ((Mr. Nugentf spoke next, with the Ministry, but indifferently. * Robert Henley, M.P. for Bedfordshire, auumed the surname of Ongley, on succeeding to the estates of his granduncle, Sr Richard Ongley. In 1776 he was created Baron Ongley, in the peerage of Ireland. " Ongley spoke on the same side with Rigby, that he came down to the House with an honest enmity to the German war."— Viscount Royston to the Earl of Hardwieke, Dee. 9,1761. + Robert Nugent, a native of Ireland. He had lived on terms of much intimacy with Frederick Prince of Wales, who, at the time of 78 MR. MILBANKR TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [lW. “Mr. Legge eaid that it appeared to him that the difference rose upon whether of two modes were the best*—the one that had succeeded, or one that might succeed; was much inclined to a peace,—not a bad one; and wished we had one. “ Tommy Townshend, Mr. Huett,* Bose Fuller,!— all for continuing the troops. “ Bose Fuller declared that he believed, if we recalled Mi death, awed him a coturideraNe sum of money. The debt contracted by the father was liquidated by the eon, who paid Mm off in the fam of places, pensions, and peerages. Nugent became sueoes-My Baron Nugent, Viscount Clare, and Bari Nugent. Opinions upon public matters he had none. He spoke and voted exactly as bis master bade him. His religious creed sat as loosely upon him as his political He was brought up a Protestant, turned Roman Catholic, wrote a satire on his original creed, and died in the bosom of the Church he had so much ridiculed. This * voluptuous Irishman,” as Olover calls him, was indebted to nature fa an athletic form, a vigorous constitution, and a stentorian vmce, an inexhaustible flow of spirits, a rich fund of humour, and a ready eloquence, in which bashfulness had no share. His coarse jokes lie scattered over the pages of Walpole. Nugent was author of several odes and epistles. He was a friend of Dr. Goldsmith, who addressed to him his celebrated * Haunch of Venison.” On one occasion he sent the Queen a bale of Irish manufacture^ accompanied by a copy of bad verses from himself. The wags of the “Rolliad* make her Majesty thank him for both pieces of ste^ • James Hewit, Member for Coventry, King’s Sergeant, brotherin-law of Sir George Savile. He subsequently became Lord Chancellor of Irdand. In 1768, he was created Viscount Lifford, in the peerage of that kingdom. The Duke of Grafton speaks of him in his Journal “as a true Wing, who bore a character to which all parties bore their assent of respect” + Rose Fuller, of Rose Hill, county of Sussex, MJ. fa Mudstone, and afterwards fa Rye, Chairman of Ways and Means in Lord Rock- 1701.] CHARACTER OF BARRE. 79 the troops, our whole conquests would fall back into the hands of the French. “The whole closed at eight o’clock, for continuing the troops, nemine contradicente.” Before I give Mr. Milbanke’s account of the second night’s debate, I would introduce the following sketch of a new and subsequently conspicuous performer on the parliamentary stage. Isaac Barrd was a native of Ireland. His parents kept a small grocer’s shop in Dublin. At an early age he entered the army, and served with much distinction in America, against the French. Dividing his time between literature and the study of his profession, he found a kindred spirit for both pursuits in General Wolfe, who lived with him on the most intimate terms. He was present on the heights of Abraham, where that gallant young soldier, in the moment of victory, received his mortal wound. He was himself wounded in the same action. In West’s celebrated picture of the death of Wolfe, Barrd forms one of the group of officers round the dying General. Returning to' England, in 1760, ingham's first Administration. He was for several years a zealous Whig, but suddenly cooled towards the party. Among Lord Rockingham’s papers u * list of the House of Commons, showing the political bias of each member; his name there appears among the w doubtfuls.” Almon says, that after Fuller's death it was discovered that he had for several years been in the receipt of a pension of 500t a-year. Burke, who knew nothing of the cause, but felt the effect of his desertion, lamented to Lord Rockingham that “his Lordship's withered old rose, who, in his best, was no better than adog-rose, had,' within a few weeks, totally altered his hue.”—Correspondence, iL 8. 80 MR. MILBANKE [1761. he became the following year, through the agency of Mr. Fox, Lord Shelburne’s nominee for Wycombe. His motive for attacking Pitt, in the manner described in the following letter, was for having neglected, as he supposed, his application for promotion. In a letter to Pitt, written in April 1760, he says, “After the defeat of his Majesty’s enemies, the trophies I can boast only indicate how much I suffered,—my zealous and sole advocate killed, my left eye rendered useless, and the ball still in my head.” ' His appearance on this his parliamentary dihut, is graphically described by Walpole. <( My ear was struck with sounds I had little been accustomed to of late— virulent abuse on the last reign,—and from a voice unknown to me. I turned and saw a face equally new; a black, robust man, of a military figure, rather hard-favoured than not, young, with a peculiar distortion on one side of his face, which it seems was a bullet lodged loosely in his cheek, and which gave a savage glare to one eye. What I less expected, from his appearance, was very classic and elegant diction, and as determined boldness as if accustomed to harangue in that place.” MR. MILBANKE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Argyle Street, Dec. 28th, 1671. “ In my last I was rather hasty, as I concluded before the sport was over. The next day produced some new combatants. Mr. Bunbury (whom I described in my last), with a flashy speech, and no small assurance^ 1701.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 81 abused Continental, Hanoverian, and Russian measures; called the King of Prussia * the petty elector of Branden-bourgh,’ and spoke disrespectfully of the late King; a great deal of bombast and false action; a set speech calculated for a reply to Mr. Pitt the day before, but kept till it was stale. “Mr. Glover gave a long history of treaties for several years back, and aimed to prove the absurdity of the Prussian Treaty, wherein we were bound not to make peace without the King of Prussia’s consent. Mr. Pitt showed the obligation was reciprocal, as was usual between parties engaged'in a general treaty. I pass over some stragglers, to hasten to the hero of the piece. Colonel Barre, an Irishman of low birth, bred an attorney, but taking to the sword, was in high favour with General Wolfe, and good repute as a soldier, with a most consummate assurance, good figure, military countenance, and ready at his tongue, made a most violent attack on our late measures, the late K—g, and a personal one on Mr. Pitt. After abusing our treaties, dec., he said the nation had been so biassed in the late reign by the Court, that from the K—g to the lowest of the people, we were all become Hanovers. Then he attacked Mr. Pitt’s political principles, and said his life had been a series of change and contradiction, from the beginning to the end; that after the most violent protestations against Continental and Hanoverian connections, when he had thrust himself into the Ministry, cameleon-like, he took the colour of the ground he stood on. He then ridiculed his vol. l a 82 MR. MILBANKE [1761. figure and action, saying, he was amazed to see the gentleman with solemn looks, with eyes uplift to heaven, one hand beating on his breast, and formally contradicting and disowning the principles he had maintained the day before. “ Mr. Pitt was so mortified and hurried, that he said once or twice to his friend Beckford, * What’s to be done?’ At last Beckford, all in a tremble, called him to order for using the King’s name, when, he said, the King had no confidence in him. A debate from thence arose on the use of the King’s name, when Mr. Fox started up, and said the use of the King’s name in that sense was not irregular, and that the honourable gentleman had said nothing disorderly from the beginning to the end, and so hallooed Barre on again,'who got up with the same intrepidity, and concluded without varying his style. I fancy the House would not have suffered such scurrility on any other person, but they sneered to see the great warrior worried. I find Mr. Pitt was exceedingly mortified to find the House so little inclined towards him. I fancy he expected to shelter himself behind the Duke of New—e, and his party in the House; and out of doors, thought he stood on good ground. In his speech, he had flattered the Duke, of New—e for his conduct at the head of the Treasury; in the same style he flattered Lord Anson. Barr^, in plain words, in one part of his speech, called him ‘the most infamous minister that ever England produced.’ M The Solicitor-General vindicated the late King very 1701.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 83 handsomely and ably, thoroughly answered all the disrespectful hints that were thrown out against him, and declared that, to his certain knowledge, so far from the King’s heaping up his Hanoverian treasures, and cutting up the bowels of Englishmen, as Baird had expressed himself, he never applied any money from hence to the defence of his Hanoverian territories, till he had entirely exhausted the whole of his Hanoverian coffers. This is a circumstance but little known, and deserves to be made public. “ I left Mr. Pitt’s answers to Sir Francis Delaval short in my first letter. He turned to Mr. Fox, and looked him full in the face, and said,(if any gentleman in this country would venture to take the lead, on any other plan but the present, he would make his heart ache;’ and now, I think, I have answered the millstone.** The effect produced upon the House by this extraordinary philippic may be judged of by the observation to which it gave rise. Pitt made no manner of reply; only turning to Beckford, and asking pretty loud, ** How far the scalping Indians cast their tomahawks?”* "When Barrd sat down, he was observed to eat a biscuit, upon which some one cried out, ** You should feed him upon raw flesh.” Another observed that he knew of nobody fit to enter against him but an officer in America, who was distinguished by the name of “ Kill him and eat him.” Charles Townshend, being asked when the House * Walpole’s Geoige III a t 84 EFFECTS OF THE PARLIAMENTART DEBATE. [1761 would rise for the holidays, replied, “ I do not know, but when it does the roads will be as dangerous as i the army were disbanded.” And Barrd, haring said that he would not answer for his head, but would foi his heart, “Yes,” said George Selwyn, “if he could not the former would have been broken long ago.” * • Walpole. 1763.] WAR WITH SPAIN DECLARED. 85 CHAPTER IV. WAB WITH Bin DBCLABBD. LETTEB OF DOU OF M1TCAITLI. FB0P06ED ATTACK OM THK BATABNAH.— BAU OF ALBBMABU. COMMODOU KEPPEL.-----------------------------------SIB OBOBOB POCOCK.-----------------LBTTBB TO LOU ALBEMABLE.—CHAKACTEB OF COVET DE VIEL—CH0I8EUL TO BAILU DB BOUL--------------------------------------------LBTTBB TO LOU BAUWICKB.---------------------DOU OF XBWCABTLB TO LOU BAUWICKB.-----------------------------------LOU BUTE'S BECKKT XBGOCIATIOB WITS VUEMA.---------------------------------------------LETTEBJ FBOM TU DUU OF MBWCABTLB TO LOBBS BAUWICU AU BOCKIMOBAM, OM HU BB8I0MATI0M OF TBB OFFICE OF FIBST LOU OF TU TBBASUBT, ABD TO TBB DUU OF OUXBEB-LAU WITH HU AMBWEB.--------------------------------' On the first day of the new year, the Count de Fuentes quitted England. On the fourth, war was formally proclaimed against Spain. The immediate occasion of these fresh hostilities, was Lord Egremont’s vapouring despatch. But the war might probably have been altogether avoided, had Mr. Pitt, while Minister, adopted a more conciliatory tone towards the Court of Versailles. If that statesman would have granted such terms to France as she could have accepted without losing her position in the scale of nations, the famous “ Family Compact,” the ostensible cause of the rupture, would have been altogether unnecessary. Thus when Pitt, at the meeting of Parliament, claimed credit for his foresight and intelligence, in recommending immediate hostilities, may not the prophet be accused of having had some share in fulfilling his own prediction? 86 LETTER OF DUKE OP NEWCASTLE. [IM It m due to the Duke of Newcastle, whom memory stands charged with political delinquencies enough, to show that from almost the greatest crime of which a public man can be guilty, that of unnecessarily involving his country in war, he was, in this instance, exempt His correspondence throughout shows, that he was opposed to the aggressive policy adopted towards Spain. Writing to Lord Hardwicke, on the 10th of January, he says:— - “Every friend I have dings in my ear, that the whole load of our miserable situation will be laid upon me. My Lord Bute complains that I am laying it all upon him; as long as he is the sole dictator, there it ought to lie. But I never withdraw from what I have advised and think right. To be sure I did, and do, think the Spanish affairs might have been treated in a manner that would have given us a chance to have avoided the war. But that was mere matter of opinion, in which, to be sure, others might, and indeed did, differ without any unkindness or disrespect to me. I have (shown), and shall show, as much desire to carry on this terrible war against Spain with success, as any* body; perhaps having tried a Spanish war with as much zeal, I am sure, as any man, even Mr. Pitt himself can do, and having found little success in it, I may perhaps not be quite so sanguine as others are.* Two days after the declaration of war, the Cabinet assembled, to concert measures for the approaching conflict - . 1703.] PROPOSED ATTACK ON THE HAVANNAH. 87 “At the meeting on Wednesday,” writes the Duke of Newcastle, “where there were none but the two Secretaries, the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Anson, Lord Ligonier,* Mr. Grenville, and myself, we began with my Lord Anson’s project, of attacking the Havan-nah, and after hearing the facilities, which his Lordship and Lord Ligonier apprehended there were in doing it, we all unanimously advised the undertaking it as certainly a measure of the greatest importance to Spain; and the method proposed by them for it, will cause as little additional expense as a measure of that magnitude and consequence would do.” In selecting the Havannah, the centre of the whole trade of the Spanish West Indies, as the point of attack, Ministers sought to avoid a repetition of the errors committed by their predecessors, in the former war with Spain, when operations were directed against so inferior a place as Porto Bello, instead of proceeding at once to Carthagena. The choice of the chief officers of this expedition was assigned to William, Duke of Cumberland. For • Field-Marshal Viacount Ligonier, of Enniskillen, created in 1766 an English EarL He was a Frenchman by birth, but entered the English service at an early age. “This honest old General,'' as Chesterfield calls him, served with much distinction under the Duke of Marlborough, and afterwards in the wars of Germany. So brilliant was his conduct at Dettingen, that George the Second invested him with the order of the Bath on the field of battle. Ligonier was a thoroughly amiable man, and was both a favourite in the eamp and the Court. He died in 1770, at the advanced age of ninety-two^ retaining the gaiety of Ms nation to the last. 88 EARL OF ALBEMARLE. [W* although the Whig predilections of tbs hero of Culloden prevented much intimacy between him and George the Third, yet the young King appear# to hero looked up to hie uncle aa a greet military authority, and to have nonsuited him on all matters connected with his profession. On this occasion, the Duke nominated to the chief command of the army, Lord Albemarle. Associated with Lord Albemarle, were his two . brothers. To Augustus Keppel, the elder, who boro the distinguishing pendant of commodore, were assigned the active naval operations of the siege, while upon William, devolved the storming of the Moro, the fort upon which the city of the Havannah mainly depended for its defofioe. George Keppel, third Earl of Albemarle, was at this time a Lieutenant-General, a Privy Councillor, Governor of Jersey, and Colonel of the King’s Own Dragoon Guards. From the age of sixteen he had been in the household of the Duke of Cumberland; and up to the period of his nomination, his Royal Highness's inseparable companion, whether in peace or war. After the battle of Culloden, Lord Albemarle, or, as he then was, Lord Bury, brought the intelligence of the victory to George the Second, who made him a present of a sword and five hundred guineas, and appointed him his aide-de-camp. He was very near, however, being disqualified for ever as a messenger of triumph, for on the morning of the action, “ a poor mountaineer approached the lines of the English, demanded quarter, and was sent to the rear. As he lounged backwards and for- 1704.] COMMODORE KEPPEL. 89 wards through the lines, apparently very indifferent to what was going on, and even paying no attention to the ridicule with which the soldiers greeted his uncouth appearance, Lord Bury, aide-de-camp to the Duke, happened to pass, in the discharge of his duties, when all at once the Highlander seized one of the soldiers’ muskets, and discharged it at that officer; receiving next moment, with perfect indifference, and as a matter of course, the shot with which another soldier immediately terminated his existence. He had intended to shoot the Duke of Cumberland, but fired prematurely, and without effect, at an inferior officer, whose gaudy apparel seemed, in his simple eyes, to indicate the highest rank.” * Augustus Keppel, the next brother, entered the navy at ten years of age, “ went foreign ” immediately, and continued afloat, with little intermission, until he hoisted his flag. After three years’ cruise in the Mediterranean, as a midshipman, he returned home, in time to. accompany Anson on his famous voyage round the world. He had the peak of his cap shot off at Payta, and was promoted to his lieutenancy for his gallantly in the capture of the Acapulco galleon. “On the 30th of November (1743), I went,” writes Augustus Keppel, “up in the cutter to Wampo, and so to Canton, to attend the Commodore to the Vice-King of Canton.” f On the 30th of November, 1843, bring, to a day, one • Chambers’* Hist of the Rebellion, n. 90-1. + Keppel's Life of Viscount Keppel, i. 68. 90 C0MM0D0BX KKPPBL. .IlM hundred yean later, Augustus Keppel's great nephew, Henry Keppel, also a sailor, succeeded for the first time in getting within the walls of Canton.* At the age of twenty, Augustus Keppel, haring now attained the rank of Captain, was appointed to the command of the * Maidstone^ • fine fifty-gun frigate, •in which he was the most successful cruiser of Ins time, until he ran her to pieces on the coast of Britany, while in hot pursuit of a large privateer, amidst rocks and shoals, and under the fire of the enemies' batteries. In the year 1749, Keppel was sent with a squadron of ships, to demand from the Dey of Algiers compensation for injuries inflicted upon English vessels by the Barbary pirates. The youthful Commodore and Envoy was of fair complexion and diminutive stature, and looked younger than his actual age—twenty-five years. “ On his arrival at the palace," says Northcote, “ he demanded an audience, and, on his admission to the divan, laid open his embassy, requiring at the same time, in the name of the Sovereign, ample satisfaction for the injuries done to the British flag. Surprised at’ the boldness of his remonstrances, and enraged at his demand for justice, the Dey, despising his apparent youth, exclaimed that he wondered at the insolence of the King of Great Britain, in sending him an insignificant beardless boy. • “On this the youthful hot-spirited Commodore replied, 'Had my master supposed that wisdom was • My brother. Captain Keppel, was then in command of H.M& •■Dido.” 17M.] COMMODORE KEPPEL. 91 measured by the length of beard, he would have sent your Deyship a he-goat’ The tyrant, unused to such language from the sycophants of his court, ordered his mutes to advance with the bowstring. The Commodore, being very near a window which looked out upon the bay, directed the attention of the African chief to the squadron then at anchor, telling him that if it was his pleasure to put him to death, there were Englishmen enough on board to make him a glorious funeral pile. The Dey cooled at this hint, and was wise enough to let him depart in safety.” * Keppel was the junior Member of the Court Martial that condemned Byng to death. His efforts to save that unfortunate Admiral are too well known to be repeated here. In the year 1758, Keppel captured the Island of Goree, and, the following year, commanded one of the eight ships which, under Lord Hawke, in a heavy gale of wind, a high sea, a strange and rocky coast, and a lee shore, completely annihilated the French fleet In this action Keppel sank the Th&de, an righty-gun ship, with a crew of fifteen hundred men. “Keppel’s ship,” says Walpole, “ was full of water, and he thought he was sinking; a sudden squall emptied his ship, but he was informed all his powder was wet (Then,’ said he, ‘ I am sorry I am safe.’ They came and told him a small quantity was undamaged. ‘ Very well,’ said he, ‘ then attack again.’ ”f The next year he was appointed, * Northcote’* Life of Sir Joshua Reynold*, L 33-3. t Walpole’* Life of George IL u. 395. 92 SIR GEORGE POCOCK. [1M with General Hodgson, to the joint command of the expedition to Bdlririe. Lord Albemarle’s naval coadjutor, in the expedition ■gainst the Savannah, was Admiral Sir George Pocock. Tins officer commenced his career under Sir George Byng. In 1748, as chief officer on the leeward station, he captured nearly forty vessels belonging to a French convoy. At the attack on Chandernagore, in 1757, he would not quit the deck, although he had reerived * ■even wounds. His principal services were in the East Indies. His competitor was poor Admiral Lally, who was so brutally executed in 1761. Lally was for some time a prisoner in England. On bring introduced to Pocock, he thus addressed him:—“ Dear .Sir George, as the first man in your profession, I cannot but respect and esteem you, though you have been the greatest enemy I ever had. But for you I should have triumphed in India, instead of being made a captive. When we first sailed out to give you battle, I had provided a number of musicians on board the ‘Zodiaque’ (the French flag-ship), intending to give the ladies a ball on our victory; but you left me only three fiddlers alive, and treated us all so roughly, that you quite spoiled ns for dancing.” To those who may wish to see a favourable portraiture of William, surnamed “ The Butcher,” from his severities in the Highlands, after the rebellion in 1745-6, the following letter, and others of similar tenor, may prove interesting. 1765.] LETTER TO LORD ALBEMARLE. 93 H. R. H. THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TO THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE. * * Mt DEAR LORD, “ Windsor, Great Lodge, Feb. 44,1762. “ A thousand thanks for your letter of the 22nd. I have felt the bad weather, that has lasted ever since we parted, both in body and mind, for I have had a sharp fit of the gout (which, by the by, is going off); but the contrary winds were still more unpleasant, as I dread the loss of one single day at present, and that not the less for Knowles’s* company, who is here croaking every day at dinner. Any bystander would think me the projector and jitter-out of the expedition; but the truth is, the subject is so tender, that I cahnot even allow suppositions, which, perhaps, are not quite groundless. “ I must not omit saying, that I gave your brotherf false intelligence about the Moro fort, for he asked me whether ships could anchor before that fort, and I answered in the negative; but on further inquiry of Knowles, he says, the men-of-war may anchor as near as they please, in from four to six fathoms water; • To Admiral Sr Charles Knowles is due the merit of the original project for the reduction of the Havannah. Returning from Jamaica in 1756, he obtained leave to view the fortifications of that city, and on the appearance of a rupture with Spain, submitted to Mr. Pitt a plan—probably the same which he laid before the Cabinet at the time of his resignation. Sir Charles afterwards showed his papera to the Duke of Cumberland, who forwarded them to the Government. t Commodore KeppeL 94 CHAKACTER OF COUKT DE VDU. [lM i though, he assured me, he had told year brother, yet ■ _ . _ I thought it beet to write myeeif. “I have a million of compliments and good wishes from my sister Mary;* and yon know too well how much , she loves me, not to think her sincere on the subject “Dear Albemarle, getaway as fast as I wish, and judge whether I don’t love my easterly wind more than ever. Nobody can toll better what yon have felt on tins . oecasiaa, for our feelings have truly sympathized, asI am in hopes they ever win. > : . ■ ; ' “ Tours for ever, • *.E.i • *• ■ «>> ,.. "■. J ■" “WILLIAM.** p: - ■ —, *;»v* 1 ».*/ 'Si '’; i * 1 H N H I M U ‘4 ■ 'J - 4 a b. and when that Secretary sent me a note this moment, and mentioned the declaration of war not being settled, to have (if this should be the case) a Council fixed for this very declaration of war, and to have no notice of it from either Secretary’s office, is an indignity, I believe, which never before was put upon a minister of my rank, station, age, and experience; add to all this, promises to Portugal of six thousand men, and even of money, and not one word said to me upon either, except that His Majesty was graciously pleased to tell me of the first (w?. the troops) but particularly said, that there was no promise of money. Though your Lordship will find, by my Lord Bute’s letter to General Yorke,* that even that was resolved also. I .mentioned the six thousand men to my Lord Bute; his Lordship said, that they would not promise money without speaking to me; I answered, (My Lord, Troopt an Money,' to which he replied,* That it true.* Betides, even Mr. Pitt, till towards the last, always had that attention to me (and, I believe, to your Lordship) as constantly to send me his draughts, with copies for my own use, desiring me to make such alterations as I should think proper, before he produced them at the meeting of the King's Servants. These Ministers act in a very different way. When the great and fatal news came of the rupture with Spain, I was summoned the next day but one to the meeting of the Lords; when I came to St James’s, the two Secretaries were * The Hon. Sir Joseph Yorke, K.B. third son of Lord Chancellot Hardwicke, from the year 1751 to 1780 Minieter at the Hagita. 104 DDKS OF NEWCASTLB [1761. in with the King: when they came out, neither of them add one word to me, by way of conversation,--everything had been settled before; and at Council, your Lordship saw how little passed, and since that, you know aU that has happened . ; > . “ Whether it was a presumption in me to write to the Minister in the manner I did on Sunday, I don’t know; I am apt to think that that which was wrote with quite a different view has displeased. The whole proves to me what I have mentioned to your Lordship before, that my Lord Butexs design is, that the first concoction of business shall be settled only between his Lordship, my Lord Egremont, and Mr. G. Grenville which is in fact by my Lord Bute only. In this situation I cannot, I will not, go on to execute the most burthensome, the most difficult, the most responsible office in the whole kingdom, without rightful concert, confidence, and communication; and that I desire my Lord Bute may be told. I have my doubts whether any the best instead of the worst behaviour towards me, could or should induce me to expose myself any longer in the station I am now in. I wish your Lordship would say what you think proper, at least upon that point which relates to the Council.” Unable; by personal slights, to drive his adversary from his post, Lord Bute, as will appear from the letters which follow, now assailed him in his administrative capacity. The Duke of Newcastle had always maintained that this nation was bound by every prin- 1782.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 105 ciple of honour, to continue subsidies to Prussia-Hitherto the favourite had supported him in tins sentiment When, on the Sth of February, the Duke of Bedford moved in the House of Lords the discontinuance of the war in Germany, Lord Bute opposed the motion, on the ground that “ the calling away the troops now would be attended with disgrace, infamy, and destruction.” The following letter is characteristio both of the public policy and the individual vacillation of the veteran Minister. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKE. “ April 10, 1782. “Though I have many observations to make, upon what passed at our last, meeting, chiefly upon Mr. Grenville's treatment of the Treasury, his arraigning the German war, and his urging even the most absurd impracticable method for reducing, or rather not paying, the money now actually due thereupon; and on my Lord Bute’s almost declaring that the Prussian subsidy should not be given,—I should scarce have troubled your Lordship with a letter upon them, if an incident had not happened since, in which, I think, we are all concerned, and myself very materially: nothing less than the inserting in the minute some material words, viz. ( in a proper and parliamentary method^ which were never so much as mentioned; but the view is plain, to answer Mr. Grenville’s view of not raising the second million upon the vote of credit or winking 106 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [l7«L fond, upon which your Lordship must remember no resolution was taken, but left to future consideration; as there was more than time sufficient for that purpose, the minute was read over correctly by my Lord Egremont word for word, and approved by everybody. If, after that, such a material alteration is to be made, and our names to be put to it without knowing one word of it, I for one will attend no more of these meetings. This is particularly hampering upon us in the Treasury, for I don’t understand what is meant by it; though it must have some meaning, or it wonld not have been inserted —‘ a proper and parliamentary method P The raising it upon the vote of credit is as proper and parliamentary method as any, if the vote of credit is extensive enough to enable you to do it. Does Mr. Grenville mean to come to Parliament for this measure? I suppose he does; but then he shonld consider where to raise the money by some new loan this year. For my part, I would not attempt it. I have promised to raise no new money this year, and I will not break my word for Mr. Grenville. But what is remarkable, no one man has been so strong with me against raising more money this year than this very Mr. Grenville. But, my dear Lord, the whole is plain; Mr. Grenville, and perhaps others, are determined to get rid of the German war immediately [and of the D. of N------tie too].* He therefore loads it with all the imputations he can find out, in order to render it so odious that nobody should * The words within the brackets inserted by the second Lord Hardwire. 1762.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 107 be for it; he sees that he cannot carry his point with me, and therefore he tries to overrule me in my own department; that, at to execution, he shall not do. I am not sure that his view may not be to force me out, and to set himself at the head of the Treasury.* That, with all my heart; for if there is not a peace (of which I don’t see the least appearance this summer), I am determined not to engage another year; let Mr. Grenville carry on his maritime war as he pleases, and much good may it do him. “ But to return to the question in the minute. I must have it set right; I cannot consent to have my name put to a thing I don’t understand, much less when I am to have no interpretation of it, and the execution in consequence. When I see my Lord Bute I shall tell him my thoughts. I don’t care to write about it to his Lordship, much less to Lord Egre-mont, to have it scanned by Mr. Grenville. <( If your Lordship agrees with me as to the fact, of which I am certain, and as to the consequences which I apprehend, you will be so good as to let me have your thoughts; or if accidentally yon should see Lord Bute, I wish you would talk to him upon it. . . . “ I hear a messenger from Petersburgh arrived yesterday. I know not one word of what he brought. I perceive Sir Joseph^ knew nothing of his passing by. Indeed that mystery between Ministers obstructs business extremely, and never was practised before. But ' * Note by second Lord Hardwicke. “ It certainly was the view." t Yorke. . 108 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1762. we deal too much in mystery throughout. I will add only one thought upon our foreign business. It should be determined forthwith whether we are to give the Prussian subsidy or not. The King of Prussia has been promised it. He ought to know in time whether that promise is to be fulfilled or not. I spoke two words to my Lord Bute upon it. I conjured him to think seriously before he refused it. All the answer I could get was, that the affair was still open.” TEE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO TEE EARL OF HARDWICKS. “ Newcastle House, May 3, 1762. “ I am under the greatest uneasiness and distress. The affair, I think, is over. I talked it fully with my Lord Barrington, who wrote a paper to prove that it was impossible for the Treasury to go on without a million in addition to that of the vote of credit; not to be put in the vote of credit^ but to be voted in the Committee of Supply. “ I went to Court at one o’clock, bnt my Lord Bute was gone. They said he was not well. When I went into the closet, I told the King I came to know his Majesty’s command about the message. His Majesty seemed not to understand me. The King then went immediately, of his own accord, to the vote of credit. * Ton will have but a million, my Lord.’ * Sir, that will not do.’ I have discoursed with my Lord Barrington, who says we must shut up the Exchequer, if we have not more granted. His Majesty persevered, 1762.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 109 and I told him, since that was so, his Majesty must put it in a way that his pleasure should he carried into execution, meaning that myself and my Lord B(arring-ton) could not. (< This being the case, it is most probable that I shall be obliged to resign on Wednesday next.” FROM THE SAME TO THE UHL " Newcastle House, Monday, May 10,1762. “ This day has produced some extraordinary discoveries, all tending to prove the resolution taken by my Lord Bute to force me out immediately. The King, who was very gracious the other day, said not one word to me upon my own subject,—a proof the party is taken. His Majesty talked very oddly about the borough Tiverton; that it was a Court borough; but, thank God, that is over, and I hope Mr. Gore chose.* Lord Bute went early away from Court to avoid the Duke of Devonshire and me. But, what is the more extraordinary, I send your Lordship direct proof, under Martin’s own hand, of such a behaviour in my Lord Bute to me in my office as hardly any gentleman acted towards another, let him be ever so insignificant. For a first Minister to give queries in writing to a Secretary of the Treasury, relating to facts to be known only in the Treasury, which facts were to determine his Lordship as to measures to be taken by the Government, without the participation or knowledge of the first * Mr. Gura was ducted for Tiverton. never heard of before, or ever to be acquiesced in by me. The guilt of that pitifhl secretary needs no explanation; the point now remaining to be considered to the time where, and the manner how, I should quit; as to tiie time^ I should think about the rising of the Parliament. As to the manner, I would put it upon the last offensive act of overruling, or rather in meddling with tiie business of my office, and engaging* my colleagues and my secretary in open opposition to me. This the Duke of Cumberland approves. I have great reason to be satisfied with Ins Royal Highness. I have asked one favour of him, I ask of all my friends, and that is this, not to quit their employments, but to let everybody know, that what I do is with their approbation, and with some, by their advice, and that they shall continue to act with me, in the same conduct as when I was in business, or otherwise 7 am to be the scape-goat for the whole. The Duke says the Duke of Devonshire will go no more to Council. I should think my friends should cease doing that when I resign.” Upon the above letter the second Lord Hardwicke observes, “ It is immaterial to ruminate on such old stories now, but the Duke of Newcastle when he quitted should either have got his friends to resign too, or retired absolutely, like L(ord) T(ownshen)d.” Burke, in his “ Thoughts on the Present Discontents,” 17M.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. Ill offers the following defence of their continuing in office after the retirement of their chief:— “ To the great Whig families it was extremely disagreeable, and seemed almost unnatural to oppose the administration of a Prince of the House of Brunswick. Day after day they hesitated and doubted and lingered, expecting that other counsels would take place, and were slow to be persuaded that all which had been done by the cabal was the effect, not of humour, but of system.” * DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUESS OF ROCKINGHAM. . “ May 19,1788. “ .... I was this day at Court. His Majesty was barely civil; would not do a very right thing in the post-office at the recommendation of my Lord Bess-boro’ f and Mr. Hampden. I desired the King’s leave to attend his Majesty some day next week to settle my private account, and that I hoped his Majesty would allow me to retire from my employment a day or two after the Parliament rose. His Majesty asked me, whether I should go to Claremont. I said, ‘Yes; I might afterwards go to other places.’ The King did * Burke’* Work*, ii. 838. t William Ponsonby, second Earl of Bessborough, married in 1739 Lady Caroline Cavendish, eldest daughter of William, third Duke of Devonshire. He was at this time one of the Postmasters General; an office which he resigned five months later. 112 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1764. not drop one word of concern at my leaving him, nor even made me a polite compliment, after near fifty yearf service, and devotion to the interest of his Royal finally. I will say nothing more of myself, hut that I believe never any man was so dismissed. But all this puts me the more in the right. C——* told the Duke of Devonshire that the resolution was taken not to ack metostay.” Writing on the 21st to Lord Hardwicks, the Duke of Newcastle soyas a The Duke of Devonshire told me this day as the greatest secret, that the King told him he would have a chapter of the Garter, and that he would give his brother Prince William one, and my Lord Bute the other.-f- They time it well, and I am glad of it The chapter is to be held on Thursday next, the day after my resignation. This lays me under the greatest difficulty. I am absolutely determined to go that day to Claremont, to avoid all speculations about the day after. I am afraid this will be thought want of respect in an old knight, to be absent at the election of a King’s brother. If that should be your Lordship’s opinion, I must come to town again on Thursday morning, and return immediately after the election to Claremont • Probably Mr. Calcraft, the army agent. + When this disposal of the vacant garters became known to Prince Henry, the liveliest of the King's brothers, he said, * I suppose Mr. Mackenzie (Lord Bute's brother) and I shall have the yreen ribands.” 1701] TO LORD HARDWICKS. 113 I don’t like-the appearance of assisting so soon after my resignation at Lord Bute’s election, but that is of no great moment.” ' There is no evidence to show that the Duke of Newcastle attended the investiture of the new knights. But he was present at their installation, which took place at Windsor, on the 22nd of September. “ The pomp was great; the King, Queen, and all the Royal family were there, except Princess Amelia.” “ His Grace (of Newcastle), Lord Temple and Lord Bute,” writes Walpole, “met last Wednesday at the installation of the last The first, when he performed the ceremony, embraced Lord Bute ; Lord Temple sat next him at dinner, but they did not exchange a syllable; and yet I do not esteem habitual virulence more than habitual dissimulation.”* This incident appears to have furnished a subject for the pencil of the caricaturists of the day. In a letter of the 28th of September the Duke of Newcastle observes to Lord Hardwicke: “ As to my kissing my Lord Bute at tie ceremony, it is a necessary part of it, and, determined as I am to have nothing to do with his Lordship as Minister, I am the more disposed to show all sorts of civilities as a gentleman. I own I don’t understand any of these prints and burlesques; I am too dull to taste them, and if they are not decyphered for me, I could not in the least guess, very often, what they mean. I don’t yet know what part I have in them, and * To Sir H. Mann, Sept. 86,1768. VOL. I. 1 114 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1701 as little what is designed for your Lordship. / detest the whole tiling.” Shortly after the decease of Frederick, Prince of Wales, “ The Duke,” as he was called, par excellence, had been on distant terms with the Duke of Newcastle, who had espoused the interests of the Princess Dowager, on the Regency question, to the prejudice of His Royal Highness's pretensions. But shortly prior to the date of the previous letter, the Duke of Cumberland was reconciled to the Duke of Newcastle, and became more immediately identified with that section of the Whigs, of which his Grace was the recognized leader. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO B.LH. TEE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. - * May 26,1762. “ His Majesty was pleased yesterday to express himself more graciously to me than he had done for some time past “ The King was afterwards pleased to speak more directly to the Duke of Devonshire, and said that he knew what I had done for the service of his family— that I had prejudiced my fortune by it; and therefore he wished the Duke of Devonshire would sound me, whether I would take a pension in any shape, privately or publicly, in any manner I should like. <( His Majesty was this day very gracious also. I told the King I came to resign my employment, and return his Majesty my thanks for his gracious offer to 1702.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 115 me yesterday, and more particularly for what he had said to the Duke of Devonshire. That as I never served his Majesty nor his Royal predecessors with any view to the emolument of my employments, I was determined when I was out of his service, not to be any charge to him. That if my fortune had suffered by my zeal for his Majesty’s Royal Family, it was my honour, my glory, and my pride; and the gracious sense* his Majesty had expressed of it was all the reward I desired. The King seemed to receive it very graciously; pressed me again to accept his offer, which his Majesty said he looked upon as a debt owing to me. To which I made the answer I have mentioned above. The King was pleased, at parting, to say that, he could depend on my support, to which I made a bow, and said nothing. I have been so much misunderstood on both sides of that question, that I thought it was best to be absolutely silent; as I had twice declared to the King, that I could make no promises, nor enter into any engagements upon that head.” H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TO THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. • Windsor, Great Lodge, Nay 26,1762. “ Mt Lord Duke of Newcastle,— “ I return you many thanks for the early communication of this great event, concerned as I and every honest man must be at it. Yet I have some pleasure to see the King has been pleased to show the sense he and is 116 LETTER TO DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. [1781. all his family ought to have of your long, expensive, and most useful services. But I must take the freedom to add, that I most heartily rejoice at the manner in which you received the King's good intentions. Your friends must like it, your enemies win not dare to blame it. We shall meet at the Chapter to-morrow. If court should be over in time, perhaps you may like to call upon me afterwards, if not, the Lodge is not so far from Claremont, bnt that I may flatter myself with your company sometimes, for we have become spectator* not actors, and have leisure to talk over past transactions, if precluded from the knowledge of fresh events. I hope you have no doubt but that I shall have the same regard for your services to the public, whether you are in place or out; and I must add that the manner of your going out has more decency and dignity than I have seen in my period. “ I remain, “ Your very affectionate friend, “ William.” 1762 ] DUKE OF NEWCASTLE'S RESIGNATION. 117 CHAPTER V. duke or Newcastle’s resignation. — cbabacteb or sib seances DASHWOOD.---NEGOCIATION8 FOB PEACE. — CHABACTEB OF DUO DE NIVERNAIS.—CAPTUR? OF THE SAVANNAH.—HENBT FOJL-^COURT PERSECUTION OF THE WHIG PABTT.-DUKE OF DEVON8HIBE's DISMISSAL.—CHABACTEBS OF LOBDS BUCKINGHAM, KINNOUL, LINCOLN, AND ASHBURNHAM, AND DUKE OF BUTLAND.— PROPOSED ALLIANCE AMONG THE WHIGS.—DISMISSAL OF WHIG LORD LIEUTENANTS AND CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS.—LORD MANSFIELD. On the Duke of Newcastle's resignation. Lord Bute became first Lord of the Treasury, Mr. Grenville, Secretary of State, and Sir Francis Dashwood, Chancellor of the Exchequer. This last appointment was not a happy one. Sir Francis was highly eccentric and grossly immoral. In his youth he went to Russia dressed in the costume of Charles the Twelfth of Sweden, in the hopes of captivating the heart of the Czarina. After leading a life free even for Italy, he returned to England, when he openly set at defiance eveiy principle of decency and decorum. It has been urged that the public service would suffer if the private character of its servants were too narrowly examined. But no plea of state expediency could be pleaded for such an appointment as that of Dashwood. His capacity was on a par with his propriety. His knowledge of accounts, if we 118 SUU or NEWCASTLE’S resignation, [hm. may believe his contemporaries, was confined to the reckoning of tavern bills, while to him “ a sum of five figures was an impenetrable secret” He had a coarse style of speaking, which had hitherto passed current for unadorned good sense; but no sooner did the new Chancellor of the Exchequer make his financial state* ment than the illusion was dispelled, and his budget was received with loud shouts of contemptuous laughter. Scarcely had the favourite been two months installed in his new office than he invited the old Duke to return* to the administration from which he had so lately driven him. In an interview with Lord Hardwicke,on the 28th of July, Lord Bute said, "He was glad to see the Duke of Newcastle look so well, and insuch good spirits; that he had been sorry to hear reports that he was uneasy.” Lord Hardwicke replied, that " He knew no grounds for such reports. He (the Duke) might possibly not be easy respecting the public, but that he never knew him in better health and cheerfulness personally in his life.” Lord Bute said it had given him a great deal of uneasiness that his Grace had thought it necessary for him to leave the administration as he did; that he thought he could have gone on with Ins Grace longer and better than with anybody else; for there was always a good humour about him, and he had not the starts and emotions that some others were liable to; that if he (the Duke) should think any office proper for his rank and age the King would most readily confer it.” The next conciliatory overtures were made through ^aiMMMMMSM 1762.] CAPTURE OF THE HAVANNAH. 121 would flatter the vanity and the tastes of Frederic.” But the philosophic monarch of Prussia was at that time in no very gracious mood with France, and vented his spleen by ridiculing its representative. Under Louis the Sixteenth, the Duke forfeited the favour which he had enjoyed under that monarch’s grandfather. His domestic joys were as transient as his court favours. His second wife, the Comtesse de Rochefort, whom he tenderly loved, died a few days after their marriage. Of his sons-in-law, one, the Comte de Gisors, fell at Cre-veldt, the other, the Duc de Brisac, was torn in pieces by a revolutionary mob. He himself was stripped of his hereditary distinctions and his fortune, and thrown into prison. The AbU Barthflemi, on that occasion of titles being abolished, said, “M. de Nivernais n’est plus Duc h la Cour, mais il Test encore an Parnasse.” But even in the dungeon his desire to please did not forsake him. The ex-Duke, now “Citizen Mancini,” wrote verses, even when momentarily expecting to be summoned to the scaffold. His good fortune—if to survive wealth, honours, and friends, can be so called— prevailed to the end. He survived the “Reign of Terror,” and died in 1798, at the advanced age of eighty-two, writing on the day of his decease a humorous epistle to his friend and doctor M. Caille. On the 29th of September, intelligence reached England of the fall of the Havannah. The siege had been obstinate and protracted, but on the 12th of August, the era of the succession of the House of Brunswick to the throne, and the day on which the Prince of Wales, 122 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [17M. afterwards George the Fourth, was born, that important city surrendered to the British arms. “ We have dwelt,” says Burke, in his “ Annual Register,” “on this memorable siege, a longer time than we have on our plan allowed to such transactions; because it was, without question, in itself the most considerable, and in its consequences the most decisive conquest we have made since the beginning of the war; and because in no operation were the courage, steadiness, and perseverance of the British troops, and the conduct of their leaders more conspicuous. The acquisition was a military advantage of the highest class; it was equal to the greatest naval victory, by its effects on the enemy’s marine, and in the plunder it equalled the produce of a national subsidy.” THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EAKL OF HAEDWICKB. “ Sept 30,176t “ I must begin by first most sincerely congratulating your Lordship that our fears for the Havannah are now over, by the surrender of that place with eleven men of war of the line, three more sunk, and one million and a half sterling in money,* of which I had the first account last night, from the postmaster at Cobham, upon Captain Hervey’s f going through there with the news, • The plunder exceeded three millions sterling. t The Hon. Augustus John Hervey* afterwards Earl of Bristol* third son of the celebrated Lord Hervey. He was born in 1724; entered the navy at an early age* formed part of Commodore Keppel's squadron in 1759, and was under his immediate command at the mjUU 1762-] TO LORD HARDWICKS. . 123 and in a moment after, by a very obliging letter from the Duke, enclosing my Lord Albemarle's to him, of both which I send your Lordship copies; as also of a letter which I had this morning from my Lord Albemarle. This event is of such real importance to the public, especially at this time, as you will see by the request of this letter, and does so much honour to the memory of those who projected and directed it, in which nobody can take a greater share than myself, and also to those who have had the execution of it, that I must own I have never known any one public success which has given me more real joy and satisfaction. I enclose also my Lord Egremont’s dry note, and my dry answer." VISCOUNT ROTSTON TO DR. BIRCH. “ Dear Birch, * Wimple, Sept so, 176*. “Lord Hardwicke received, this morning, by a Havannah. He was commanded by Keppel to cannonade the Moro Castle. In the heat of the action, while his drip was strewed with dead and dying, he wrote as follows to the Commodore. The letter, which is in my possession, is unsealed and written in penal upon the back of the private signals. * I have the misfortune to be aground. Pray send a frigate to drop a bower off, and send the end of the cable on board here. - Wo are luckily in a good line for our fire on the fort; but the smoke is so great that it makes it impossible to see the effect we have had, or are likely to have; nor can tell when the army will advance. Often duller, and ever yours, * * A. HnYir." A portrait of Captain Hervey by Sir Joshua Reynolds is in the possession of the Corporation of Bury St. Edmunds, and is placed by them in the public library. The background of the portrait represents the attack on the Moro Castle. 124 DUKE OF CUMBERLAND [IMS. flying packet from Mr. Cleveland, the great new* of oar success at the Savannah, upon which I most heartily congratulate you. I agree with you, that the impression of such a blow must render the Court of Spain more tractable in the negotiation, but how far, on the other hand, it may increase the dislike at home to a pacific system, I cannot pretend to determine. The nation in general will expect something very advantageous in the fhture treaty with Spun, in exchange for such a con. quest; and it is well, if the tid cry of Take and HM, is not revived on the occasion. The uninterrupted course of prosperity which has attended our arms, in enterprises the most difficult and important, is scarce to be paralleled in history, and will make this era in our annals a most splendid one.** « « • • « The following congratulatory letter must be read with all due allowance for the writer’s partiality. H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TO THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE. “ Windsor, Great Lodges Oct t, 176S. “ Mt dear Albemarle, “ You have made me the happiest man existing; nay, you have almost repaid me for the severe anxieties I have gone through for these last three months, betides the disagreeable and tedious time your absence gave, without reflection of what you were to go through. Upon tiie whole, no joy can equal mine, and I strut 1762.] TO LORD ALBEMARLE. 125 and plume myself as if it was I that had taken the Havannah. In short, you have done your king and country the most material service that any military man has ever done since we were a nation, and yon have shown yourself an excellent officer; all this, I knew, was in you, but now the world sees it, and owns it. “ Militarily speaking, I take your siege to have been the most difficult that has been since the invention of artillery. Sixty-eight days in that climate is alone prodigious; without any partiality to you, *tis a great action in itself, setting aside the immense service yon have done your country. I am so wrapped up still in your share of honour and glory, that I don't yet quite feel that pleasure I have to come to, as an Englishman, and ano&2 «o&/t er. “ Pray make my most sincere compliments to both your brothers. I hope, before you receive this, they will both be recovered. The storm of the Moro does William's heart and head great honour.* “I must thank you for your kind and informing letters. Your difficulties my heart shared with you; but, I must say, I grudged even myself the trouble you were at, in the middle of all your business and ill-health, to give me that satisfaction. I am sorry to say, the Minister f is not quite so much obliged to * Major-General the Hon. William Keppel took the Moro Castle^ upon which the town depended, by storm, but did all in his power to stop the further effusion of blood. t Lord Bute. . 120 UTTER TO LORD ALBEMARLE. [iW. you, for you have removed the peace. By this time, you know the change of hands, and great as you and the army have made us appear abroad, as little are we at home, by unavoidable divisions that increase daily. You may judge the part I take when I tell you that ‘Permit,** is, once a fortnight, for two hours at least, in the library here; you win see too much of all tins at your return, and it is an improper subject for a letter. The King was very gracious to me yesterday, and seemed to allow you and fondly the merit you and they deserve;—I won’t answer for the remand, f “We make you as rich as Croesus^} I hope it is so; if not, it is the least matter; health and owned merit are sufficient ingredients for happiness, so much the better if you add wealth to it. Brighton illuminated his thatched church, and all Egham was on fire, and even Bisbopsgate had its burn-fires and illuminations. I hear London, the City especially, were nobly lighted up. * “ Permit,” the name given at Court to the Duke of Newcastle, who always prefaced hit visits to the apartment of the Princesses with “ Est il pennis 1" In hit correspondence he speaks of himself under this tmthriftut. t " My nephew, Mr. Keppell,” says Walpole, “ is made Bishop of Exeter. How reverently ancient this makes me sound. Lady Albemarle I there is a happy mother 1 Honours, military and ecclesiastic, raining upon her children. She owns she has felt intoxicated. The moment the King had complimented the Duke of Cumberland on Lord Albemarle's success, the Duke stepped across to Lady Albemarle and said, * If it was not in the drawing-room, I would kiss you.* He it full as transported as she is.”—To Sir H. Mann, i. 119. X So spelt in the originaL 1762.] MINISTERIAL DIFFICULTIES. 127 “ Keep yourself well, and return to us soon. It has been a long absence for two friends like us; may it be the last. ((Ever your hearty and sincerely affectionate friend, “ William.” The hint thrown out by the Duke of Cumberland, in the preceding letter, that Lord Bute did not feel obliged to Lord Albemarle for the conquest of the Havannah, will receive elucidation from a letter that will shortly appear, but which itself requires a few preliminary observations. Short as had been Lord Bute’s tenure of the ministerial throne, it had not proved quite the bed of roses he anticipated. The peace, unpopular in itself, became doubly so from his being considered its author. The meeting of Parliament was at hand. The Treaty was to be carried through the House of Commons. A purchased majority was the only mode in which this object could be effected. To whom was the task of bribing members to be entrusted? Dashwood was not fit for the business, and Grenville would not undertake it unless the recipients of 'the bribes were to look up to him as their patron. In this dilemma Lord Bute tried to gain over Henry Fox, the pupil of the Whig minister Sir Robert Walpole, the private friend and political adherent of the Whig Duke of Cumberland, and the avowed opponent of the Leicester House faction. The favourite’s efforts were successfuL Grenville was sent back to the Admiralty very much against his will. 128 HENBT FOX [mt. Fox, in consideration of a peerage in perspective, consented to take the management of the Commons, and to secure their assent' to the peace, by any means, fair or find. So eager had Fox been to accept Lord Bute's invitation, that he closed the bargain before be had given any intimation of his intentions to the Duke of Cumberland, or any other of his political associates. The following letter appears to have been put forth as a feeler. THE BIGHT HOHOUSABLE HEEBT FOX TO HXH. THE DUKE OF CUMBEBUUn). u Sil, * Wednesday night, Sept. 29,1761. “ I most cordially wish your Royal Highness joy of Lord Albemarle's success, to hear the particulars of which letter, after I shall have seen Lord Bute tomorrow, I stay in town to-night. “ Testerday, peace was thought desperate, at which time Rigby saw Lord Bute, and found him to appearance firm and not at all frightened. At noon a messenger came to Nivernais, and to the Ministers, and some letters from the Duke of Bedford, which brought all that had been asked, or could be expected, and peace was thought certain, and so declared by Nivernais and Lord Bute. I went to dinner with the Duchess of Bedford in this opinion, and had my chaise at the door to carry me out of town as soon as dinner sbould be over. I found Lord Bute with the Duchess. 1762.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 129 He was excessively glad to hear I was there, and sent to me. He began with telling me how much he had wished, and how glad he was, to have half an hour's conversation with me, hoping he should learn your Royal Highness’s sentiments on this peace, which he had heard were changed. * If the K— were now to ask you, what did I think would be your opinion?’ For it imported his Majesty to know men's opinion, and no person’s more than your Royal Highness’s. But first he would show me the Peace, and tell me the state of the present case with regard to it. Had he seen me yesterday morning, he should have told me our enemies would not make peace; he must now, he was afraid, say, that our friends could not. He then showed me the Peace, with its Articles relating to Spain and Portugal, as well as France, and the strongest assurances from France of Spain’s consent in a week. In all these I think there were no amendments to be wished, but such as were merely verbal, and such as it cannot but be supposed the French would make as soon as asked. But, besides some immaterial objections made by G. Grenville, which he had been to tire Lord Bute with this morning, he at last declared that he could not bring himself to sign any Peace,, without stipulating some equivalent for the Havannah, which, by the way, be at that time thought we should not take; and be talked of sending for everybody that could be got to the Cabinet Council, nommtment, the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Hardwicke, and the Duke of VOL. L K - ■ 130 HENRY FOX [1703. Devonshire. ‘Ton have no right to send to the two first,’ says Lord Bate, * and neither of the three would come.’ In short, Grenville, frightened out of his wits, without knowing what compensation to ask, still insisted that he would sign no Peace without one. Lord Egremont, I hear, is as bad, or worse. (What do you think of this, Mr. Fox?’ ‘I think, my Lord, that you have been very unlucky in your choice.’ He asked Grenville whether he had any plan to lay before the King for carrying on a war, when he should toll his Majesty that he would not sign the Peace; for he, Lord Bute, assured him he had none. G. Grenville had none, but said, he was sure France would agree to this if asked (which your Royal Highness sees was the business of Spain, not France). My Lord Bute desired him not to tell the King that; for if it came to speculation, he had a right to declare his, and should tell the King that he was as fully persuaded that France would not, as Mr. Grenville was that she would agree to it. Lord Bute then returned to his question about your Royal Highness. I told him that your Royal Highness always was and would be very sensible of the King’s civilities, for you loved him; and that I believed your Royal Highness had rather any Minister made a good peace than his Lordship; but I was persuaded you had rather even his Lordship made it than that it should not be made at all. “ I was all this time so intent on finding out, if possible, what your Royal Highness wished to know, that I cannot be mistaken when I say, that he either 1762.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 131 disguised his sentiments admirably, or has, as yet, no thoughts of treating.* I brought the Duke of Newcastle’s name in often; and, when I could do it very naturally, I directly asked him, if there was any tendency on either side to unite. He answered, * None in the world; and if there had been such a report, there was not the least ground for it.* I asked the same as to Pitt and him. He answered, ‘ None;’ and added, that the rancour and aversion of Pitt and Lord Temple was as great as possible. “ I observed with astonishment, and so had Lord Gower and Rigby, who had talked with him before I came, that he seemed cool, and really at his ease, and, now and then, even jocose in talking of his own precious Cabinet Council. < ( Upon reflection, sir, though I believe he has no thought of treating, yet I believe that he must, and will be driven to it. If that should be the ease, and that the King tries to make your Royal Highness the mediator, it will be much more worthy of yon, than the character of the head of an opposition. Give me leave to add to what I said yesterday, these two considerations:—If his Majesty must have a sole Minister made in the room of his favourite, no share of administration left with that favourite, his Majesty is lost, for as long as he sits upon the throne; and however it might please people now, on reflection the usage would be • The word “ treating” might mean for peace, but the context and letter* which follow, will ahow that it related to inviting tome of the late Minister! to return to office. K t drove to treat, your Royal Highness will, I dare say, excuse my having offered, in conversation and in this letter, some things to your consideration, which I cannot forbear thinking have great weight. * * I am, Sir, Your Royal Highness’ ever obliged, ever obedient, and ever devoted, humble servant, “ H. Fox. “ Thursday morning. ** P. S. I am come from Lord Bute more than ever convinced that he never has had, or now has, a thought of retiring or treating. He says the French have been always told that if peace was not signed till the Havannah should be taken, some compensation should (u__-uM-(iiiii^^ j^ia^ijiy 1762.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. _ 193 be asked. He could wish this peace signed as it is, but nobody would join with him in that opinion; so a com-| pensation will be asked, and I guess it will be Florida. This puts off the difficulty arising from his secretaries, till an answer shall come from Spain. He shewed me Lord Albemarle’s letter to him, commending him and his letter very justly, and very highly. In conversation he spoke of the setting out this expedition; in which, he hoped he had some merit towards your Royal High* ness, and what had been his demerits since, he was at a loss to imagine. Indeed, sir, I could not tell him.” In giving in his adhesion to the Court, without con* suiting his Royal Highness, or any of his friends, Fox bad trusted to his own powers of persuasion to bring them over to his views. But in this expectation he was disappointed. When he made the avowal to the Duke, his Royal Highness bitterly reproached Fox with lending himself to the support of a tottering administration, and never again admitted him to his presence except at public levees, where he was treated with the utmost coldness and indignity, nor, as I shall have occasion to show, could any submission on his part ever restore him to the favour of that Prince. Failing with the Duke of Cumberland, Fox tried in turn to bring over the Duke of Devonshire and Lord Waldegrave to the Court, but in vain. “He even,” says Walpole, “ made applications to Newcastle, but the Duke of Cumberland had inspired even Newcastle and Devonshire with resolution.” In a letter to Lord Hardwicke, dated the 21st' 134 DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. [1782. of October, the Duke of Cumberland thus expresses himself: “ Instead of advancing loo fast, your Lordship will see that I have given a peremptory refusal to the overtures that have been made to me. Those by my Lord Halifax, I am sensible, as far as rebates to himself, were meant with all the friendship, affection, and respect imaginable. Those flung out by Mr. .For you will aU have in your turns. His view is to create jealousies amongst us, and to divide us. I thank God he has failed in his great attempt, and that will sufficiently mortify him.” Foiled in this attempt to weaken if not to sever the ties of the Whig party, the Court now adopted another course. The King, it was given out, would be King, —would not be dictated to by his Ministers. The prerogative was to shine out—great lords must be hum* bled. The first' victim to the new tactics was William Cavendish fifth Duke of Devonshire. In the preceding reign he had held the high posts of Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and First Lord of the Treasury, and Lord Waldegrave says, that “In the ordinary business of his office he showed great punctuality and diligence, and no want of capacity.” He now held the office of Lord Chamberlain. He was a man of unsullied purity of conduct in every relation of life, but cautious and timid in his disposition, and not disinclined to a court. He had a great aversion to Lord Bute, and had been ill-used by George the Third when Prince of Wales, as ■well as by the Princess Dowager, who ironically styled him “ the Prince of the Whigs.” 1762.] LETTER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 135 Shortly after Newcastle’s retirement, the Dake of Devonshire had intimated to the King that out of respect to his Majesty’s person he would, if it was the royal pleasure, continue Chamberlain, as he did not consider that office of a political nature. He repeated, however, that it was his determination to assist no longer at Councils which were conducted upon principles he.could not approve. Notwithstanding this declaration he received early in October an official summons to form one of the Cabinet to decide on the final orders of the peace. This, agreeably to what he had declared to the King, he declined doing in the most respectful manner. “ I am amazed,” writes the Duke of Newcastle, on the 12th of October, “ that after what had passed, the King should expose himself to a refusal, or to lay the Duke of Devonshire under so great a difficulty as the King’s commands on such an occasion must put upon him.” The result of this refusal is shown in the next letter. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Newcastle House, Oct 28, 1762, Thursday at nighL “ Mr dear Lord, “ This express brings your Lordship an account of the most extraordinary event that has happened in any court of Europe. The Duke of Devonshire went to St. James's (I believe, between you and me) with a design to resign the staff; but that, neither I nor any mortal knew, and I am sure was not suspected by the U 136 LETTER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1782. King or Lord Bute. The Duke of Devonshire desired to speak to the King. The page came out and told the Duke of Devonshire that his Majesty had commanded him to tell his Grace Jie would not see him. The Duke then desired to know to whom His Majesty would have him deliver his staff? His Majesty sent him word by the same page that he would send his orders to the Duke of Devonshire. My Lord Duke has since been with my Lord Egremont, and has delivered to him his key and staff I believe there never was such a behaviour to the first and best subject the King has. It must affect all the nobility, and all those who can approach His Majesty. Had I any call to it I know what I should do to-morrow. . . “Indeed, my dear Lord, these violences are very alarming, and the more as in this instance they are exercised upon one who the last time the King saw him at the installation was treated by His Majesty with the greatest seeming confidence and regard, and I know the Duke of Devonshire went to the Bath under the delusion that he was personalty particularly well with the King, and never heard otherwise from the Court till he met with this treatment at St James’s.” On the same day that the Duke of Devonshire resigned, his brother, Lord George Cavendish, rendered up his wand of Comptroller of the Household. “ He was,” continues the Duke of Newcastle, “ as ill-used in the closet as his brother, who was not permitted to come there. All the King said to Lord George was, (If a per- MA. ^^^gijij^jjl 1762.] CHARACTER OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. 137 son wants to resign his staff I don’t desire he should keep it’ His Majesty gave his head a toss back and retired towards the window to set the staff down, and this is all that passed.” ' ' This stretch of power called forth another opponent to the measures of the Court,—Charles Watson Wentworth, second Marquis of Rockingham, at this time a Lord of the Bedchamber, but soon to become the leader of the Whigs. This nobleman, born 19th March, 1730, was the youngest of five sons, who all, except himself, died in childhood. His father, Thomas Wentworth, was a direct descendant from the celebrated Earl of Strafford, whose fate is so intimately interwoven with that of his unfortunate master Charles the First* Mr. Wentworth became, in the course of nineteen years, a Knight of the Bath, member for the West Riding of Yorkshire, Lord Lieutenant of the same county, Baron Haith, Viscount Higham, Earl of Malton, Baron Rockingham, Marquis of Rockingham. So rapidly had some of these honours descended upon him, that Sir * The following hitherto unpublished letter of Lord Strafford ii addressed to his daughter. Lady Anne Wentworth, who afterwards married Edward Watson, second Baron Rockingham. It was written three weeks before his execution. Either he was unconscious of his impending fate, or he was anxious to delay for a time the affliction which its announcement would but too soon occasion:— “ My diabbst Naw, “ The time, I trust, drawes on wherein I may hope to see you, which will be one of the best sightes I can look upon in this world. Your father, as you desired, hath been hearde speake for himself, now thes three weekes together, and within a few days we shall see the conclusion. Ther is, I think, little fear of my life, soe I hope for a 138 CHARACTER OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. [l«R Robert Walpole mud jokingly, soon after hi* being created an earl, “ I suppose we shall soon see our friend Malton in opposition, for he has had no promotion in the peerage for the last fortnight” His son Charley the more immediate subject of our consideration, was educated at Eten. But little is known of him till the winter of 1745, when, at the age of fifteen, he went to Wentworth to pass the Christmas holidays. One morning he went out hunting, attended by a confidential groom, pamed Stephen Lobb. Nigh* came on, and neither master nor groom made their appearance. The next day it was reported that Lord Higham and Stephen were seen riding in a 'northerly direction. A short time afterwards a letter arrived from the truant himself, dated Carlisle, th'e head-quarters of the Duke of Cumberland, who had just taken the field against the Pretender. Zeal for the Whig cause had impelled him to join the royal army. His family were, or professed to be, much displeased with him for meanes to be left me, to let you tee how deaxe and much esteemed you are and ever shall be to me. ° Look that you learne to play the good housewife, for now, perchance, ther may be need of it; yet however fortune befall me, I shall willingly give you the first good of it, and content myself with the second. '* My dear hartte, plie your book and other learnings, which will be of use unto you hereafter, and you shall see we will live happily and contentedly, and live to see all the# stormes bio wen over, that so at leisure and in fairer weather, I may tell you that which I am, and must infallibly be, in all the conditions of life, Your loving father, “ Strafvobdb. “ Tower, this 19th April, 1641.* 1762.] CHARACTER OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. 139 the anxiety his escapade had occasioned them. One only stood up for the youthful volunteer. This was his aunt, Lady Bel Finch, who being of a kindred mind, rejoiced that“ the monkey Charles had shown such a spirit’* The letter which obtained his father's pardon, has not been preserved. But amongst his papers is the following to the Countess of Halton. It is without date, and written in a large schoolboy hand. . “ Dear Madam, “ When I think of the concern I have given you by my wild expedition, and how my whole life, quite from my infancy, has afforded you only a continued series of afflictions, it grieves me excessively that I did not think of the concern I was going to give you and my father before such an undertaking; but the desire I had of serving my King and country as much as lay in my power, did not give me time to think of the undutifulness of the action. As my father has been so kind as entirely to forgive my breach of duty, I hope I may, and shall have your forgiveness, which will render me quite happy. : “ I am, Madam, “ Your very dutiful Son, “ Higham.** In 1750, Lord Higham, or, as he had since become, the Earl of Malton, succeeded his father as Marquis of Rockingham. Soon after he came of age he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of the North and West 140 CHARACTER OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1762. Ridings of Yorkshire, and, in 1760, was made a Knight of the Garter. He had formerly been a Lord of the Bedchamber to George the Second, and held the same post under his successor, till the Duke of Devonshire resigned the Chamberlain’s wand. Eighteen years the leader of a party, and twice summoned to the councils of his reluctant sovereign, Lord Rockingham holds a prominent station in the reign of George the Third. Nor can it be objected to him that the fidelity of his adherence was secured by the ordinary ties of faction or interest. Faith to their leader was, to the Whigs, a virtual renunciation of all those rewards which a chief magistrate has it in his power to bestow. Their adherence was the loyalty of respect and affection, not the casual allegiance of a cabal. It stood the test of long discouragement. It 'survived the severer trial, of a brief official prosperity. The causes of the attachment of his followers must be sought in the character of the leader himself. Lord Rockingham possessed by nature a calm mind and a clear intellect, a warm benevolent heart, of which amiable and conciliatory manners were the index. He was imbued with sound views of the principles of the Constitution, and with a firm resolution to make those principles the guide of his actions. If eloquence were the sole criterion of a great leader or a great minister, Rockingham would have but small claims to such a title. The malady which consigned him to the tomb, when he was little more than fifty years of age, had imparted to his frame a sensibility of nerve which only extraordinaiy 1762.] CHARACTER OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. 141 occasions enabled him to overcome. He was a hesitating and an inelegant debater. His speeches, like those of the late Lord Althorp, commanded- attention, not from the enthusiasm aroused by the persuasive arguments of the orator, but from the confidence placed in the thorough integrity and practical good sense of the man. He stood in a similar relation to a great minister — to a Fox, a Grey, or a Russell—which an able chamber-counsel bears to an Erskine. He lacked the outward graces. He possessed the inward power. If success in public measures be a test of ability, Rockingham stood pre-eminent. In no one year between the Revolution and the Reform Bill were so many immunities gained for th^ people, or, more properly speaking, so many breaches in the Constitution repaired, as in what was contemptuously called his “ Lutestring Administration;” * and all too in the face of one of the ablest and most unscrupulous Oppositions, of which the King himself was the head. In his relations to George the Third, Rockingham was “ impar congressus Achilli.” He was thoroughly in earnest, but his earnestness was for his country. ' The King was likewise in earnest, but his earnestness was for his prerogative.. The one was all honesty, the other all insincerity. As the reader proceeds, he will find the royal letters most gracious, the royal conduct most disingenuous. He will perceive that the King authorized his Ministers to contradict rumours which • Charles Townshend said, the Rockingham “was a lutestring administration, fit ouly for summer wear.** - * 142 LORD ROCKINGHAM [ITOS. himself had circulated, and that the “ King’s friends ** were busily employed in refuting the official statements of the Cabinet. Had George the Third possessed common sincerity, Lord Rockingham’s efforts to preserve the American colonies would probably have been effectual. But between the Minister, whose “ virtues were his arts,”* and the Monarch, who, like Lysander, pieced the Bou’s hide with the fox’s skin, the struggle was unequal, and Rockingham was arrested in his career of usefulness, and added one more ministerial victim to royal duplicity. The attention of the reader should now be called to Lord Rockingham’s conduct on receiving the intimation of the Duke of Devonshire’s dismissal. Itwill be seen in the letter which foBows. ■ THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM TO THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. « SIR, “ Not. S, INI “ After the repeated instances of your Royal Highness’s condescension towards me, I hope it will not appear presumption in me to take the liberty to inform your Royal Highness of the motives and manner of my conduct. ' ' ■ “ The late treatment of the Duke of Devonshire seemed to me, in the strongest light, fully to explain * A quotation from Burke's inscription on the mausoleum at Wentworth, erected by the late Lord Fitzwilliam, in honour of his uncle. Lord Rockingham. 1762.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 143 the intention and the tendency of all the domestic arrangements. I, therefore, had the honour of an audience of his Majesty on Wednesday morning, wherein I humbly informed his Majesty, that it was with great concern that I saw the tendency of the counsels, which now had weight with him: that this event fully showed the determination that those persons who had hitherto been always the most steadily attached to his Royal predecessors, and who had hitherto deservedly had the greatest weight in this country, were now driven out of any share in the government in this country, and marked out rather as objects of his Majesty’s displeasure than of his favour: that the alarm was general among his Majesty’s most affectionate subjects, and that it appeared to me in this light;—it might be thought, if I continued in office, that I either had not the sentiments which I declared, or that I disguised them, and acted a part which I disclaimed. “ His Majesty’s answer was short; saying that he did not desire any person should continue in his service any longer than it was agreeable to him.” THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND’S ANSWER. “ Windsor Great Lodge, Nov. S, 176E. “Mr Lord Rockingham, “ I am very much obliged to you for the letting me know anything that relates to you, but much more for your information on so interesting an occasion as that of leaving the King’s personal service at present. . . 144 RESIGNATION OF LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1101. “I am moat sincerely sorry that we lire in such times, that a man of your rank and steady attachment to the King and his family, should find himself necessitated to take the step you hare taken. “You hare one satisfaction, that all the kingdom will be conrinced your views are meant entirely for his Majesty's service, however they may be received at present; and no one is more so than I am. ■ “I hope we shall soon see these clouds—nay storms —well over, and you, and others of your principles, at Court again. You’ll be so good to make my sincere compliments at Chatsworth, and I hope we shall soon see you quite well in town. - “ I remain your very affectionate friend, : 1 - “William.”' To the Marquis of Granby, Lord Rockingham, in announcing the same event, says— “ Seeing the affair in this light, I had the honour yesterday of an audience of the King, wherein I declared to his Majesty most fully, that, with the greatest concern, I saw that those whose counsels now weighed with his Majesty had, by this base step, fully explained the tendency of all their proceedings: that this, added to all that was gone before, would increase the alarm which I believed was very general among his Majesty's most affectionate subjects, and that, as my continuing in office might look as if I either did not feel these sentiments, or, if I did, that I disguised them, I 1702.] TREATMENT OF THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. 145 l>eggcd his Majesty’s permission to resign, that I might not appear to act a deceitful part, which I disdained; that I acted upon the dictates of my own judgment, and that his Majesty was the first man whom I had acquainted with my determination. His Majesty’s an* swer was short, only saying that he desired no person to continue in his service any longer than was agreeable to him." On the 4th November, the day on which Lord Rockingham resigned, the Duke of Manchester Was nominated to the Bedchamber. The King then in council, called for the book, and, with his own hand, struck out the Duke of Devonshire’s name from the list of Privy Councillors. The only two precedents for such a course in the preceding reign, were those of Lord Bath, and Lord George Sackville; the one for open and virulent opposition, the other for his conduct at the battle of Minden. From this exercise of the prerogative may be dated the first attempt since the Revolution to organize an opposition on constitutional grounds. Thus, after the crown had passed to another family, and the controversy had shifted itself to other grounds, we find the Whigs were once more banded together to resist the encroachments of prerogative upon privilege. “ The shocking event,” writes the Duke of Newcastle, “ in striking the Duke of Devonshire out of the Privy Council, enrages, frightens, and alarms everybody; and VOL. I. . L 146 EARLS OF KINNOULL AND UNCOLN. [170*. particularly my friend my Lord Kinnoull, who is come up a very different man from what I expected; full of wrath and resentment, without management or disguise, determined to quit the Chancellor of the Duchy immediately;* that ‘the Ministers (Lord Bute and Mr. Fox) have begun their acts of violence and they must take the consequence of it’ This, I dare say, we shall find the general language, except some few Hatt, who will do their own business. Lord Lincoln,! and I dare ♦ A few days afterwards, Thomas Hay, eighth Bail of Kinnoull, resigned the Chancelionhip of the Duchy of Lancaster, which he had held since 1758. During the life-time of Iris father, he sat as Viscount Dupplin, for the town of Cambridge, in three Parliaments. He was at different times a Lord of the Bedchamber and Paymaster of the Forces. In 1759 be was appointed Ambassador to the Court of Portugal, a mission rendered memorable by the line— “ Kinnoull’s lewd cargo, and Tyrawley*s crew.** After his resignation of his office, Lord Kinnoull retired to Scotland and passed the remainder of his life in improving Iris country-seat Mrs. Montague, who paid him a visit in 1770, writes,0Iwas delighted to find an old friend enjoying that heartfelt happiness which attends a life of virtue. He is continually employed in encouraging agriculture and manufacture, protecting the weak from injury, assisting the distressed, and animating the young to whatever is most fit and proper. He appears more happy than when he was whirled about in the vortex of the Duke of Newcastle.” + Henry Clinton, ninth Earl of Lincoln, married Catherine, eldest daughter of the Right Hon. Thomas Pelham, and succeeded to the Dukedom of Newcastle on the death of his uncle. In January 1768, he was made “ Auditor of the Exchequer for life, the amplest sinecure in England,** says Walpole,* except the Archbishopric of Canterbury.** The following is the same writer’s account of the expected resignation alluded to in the text :— " Lord Lincoln, Newcastle’s favourite nephew and heir, displayed MbUctaUSUbiUta 1702.] EARL OF ASHBURNHAM. 147 say my Lord Ashburnham,* will resign next week, according to what we settled the other night.” Amidst the many obstacles that presented themselves to .the formation of this confederacy, was the dislike of the Duke of Cumberland to Mr. Pitt. So strong had been this feeling in 1759, that the Duke had stipulated the dismissal of Mr. Pitt as the sine qua non of his acceptance of the command in Germany. But this difficulty was now overcome. Some weeks before, the Duke of Newcastle declared bis Royal Highness to be “ in a very good way, and much softened towards Mr. PUt ;f and in the letter just quoted, he says— more open ingratitude. He asked an audience of the King, called his uncle a factious old fool, and said he could not forget a message which himself had brought from his uncle to his Majesty in the year 1757, in which the Duke had signified to his then Royal Highness, that if he would not disturb the tranquillity of the rest of bis father's reign, the Duke, in or out of place, though he hoped the latter, would support his measures to the utmost. It was justice to recollect this promise ; but Lincoln's subsequent conduct, at the same time that it was inconsistent, was honourable neither to the King nor his unde. He had a second audience, in which he told the King that the Duke insisted on his resigning; * but if I must/ said he,11 will show but the more warmly the next day that I remember the message, of which I have kept a copy in writing? The third time when he went to resign, he said he must oppose. The King told him his tone waa much changed since his first audience. But the Court never had much reason to complain of Lord Lincoln's hostilities.” * John Ashburnham, second Earl of Ashbumham. Walpole speaks of him as “the chief favourite of the Duke of Newcastle^ whom he afterwards abandoned, being a very prudent and interested man.” He resigned at this time his offices of Lord of the Bed* chamber and Ranger of St. James's and Hyde Parks, and was made Keeper of the Great Wardrobe in Lord Rockingham's first adminis* tration. f Letter to Lord Hardwicke, September 50, 1768. L t 148 DUKE OF RUTLAND. [1702. “ I had yesterday a long conference with the Duke. I am every day more satisfied and convinced that his Royal Highness will act in concert with us in everything; and is in the Tightest disposition imaginable; firm and determined—not rash or passionate. I think the following resolution is a thorough proof of it, for his Royal Highness wonld never desire to see Mr. Pitt, and that (if possible), since the conclusion of the peace, if he intended to keep any measures with Mr. Fox. “ The Duke lays vast stress upon the Duke of Rutland’s* quitting. That devilish Fojc and Calcrafi f get in everywhere. The Duke apprehends Calcrafi will do great hurt with Granby. The Duke extremely approves our resolution, not to let our friends in the House of Commons resign, till we can communicate to * John Manners, third Duke of Rutland, father of the celebrated Marquis of Granby. His Grace was appointed Master of the Horse in 1761, but did not quit his office until five years afterwards, and then in order to facilitate some Ministerial arrangement of the King and Lord Chatham. In a letter, dated August 22, 1766, George the Third desires Lord Chatham to “ convey his approbation to the Duke of Rutland for his very meritorious conduct." f John Calcraft, a cousin, and formerly Private Secretary of the first Lord Holland, by whom he was introduced into public notice. He subsequently acquired a very large fortune as army agent. He afterwards abandoned his patron, and became in turn the confidential friend of the Duke of Bedford and Lord Chatham. It is probably to his desertion of Lord Holland that he is so severely handled by Junius, who always evinced a great partiality for that nobleman. The Duke of Cumberland^ apprehension that Calcraft would * do great hurt with Granby," was probably that knowing Granby to be embarrassed in his circumstances, he thought he might be under pecuniary obligations to Calcrafi. . 1702.] PITT’8 CONFERENCE WITH MR. T. WALPOLE. 149 them our plan of measures. Both his Royal Highness as well as myself wish that plan would be set about.” Another impediment which lay in the way of a political alliance of the various sections of the Whigs, was the dislike which Pitt entertained for the Duke of Newcastle. To soften this feeling, Thomas Walpole* had an interview with the great Commoner. The result of the conference is stated in the paper which follows. As the Duke of Newcastle observed in another letter: “ It it the man,” “ Mr. Pitt entered into a long discourse of his conduct, at the latter end of his late Majesty’s reign, and duirng his present Majesty’s, to the time of his resignation, when he was reduced to such a situation, that, out-toried by Lord B., and out-whigged by the D. of N., he had nobody to converse with but the Clerk of the House of Commons. “ That lately be bad been applied to by persons of high rank to concur with Lord B. for the public good, with offers much above his deserts, and therefore he was ashamed to mention them. He told those persons Lord B. could not expect he would abet the tran-scendancy of power his Lordship had arrived at, after what had passed between them upon that subject, on the day of his Majesty’s accession to the throne; when * Hon. Thoma* Walpole, second son of Horatio Lord Walpole of Wolverton, a partner of Sir Joshua Vanneck, a banker, whose dav^h* ter he married. He sat in many Parliaments. He was for some time Preindent of the Constitutional Society. Mr. Walpole died in 1S08. 150 PROPOSED OPPOSITION [1762. in a private conversation with his Lordship, Mr. Pitt told him his advancement to the management of the affairs of the country would not be for his Majesty’s service. “ Upon Lord B. taking the seals, Mr. Pitt having never seen Lord B. in private since the day above-mentioned, his Lordship came to acquaint Mr. Pitt with his promotion, and received the same opinions as before: that Mr. Pitt did not think it for his Majesty’s service. And that now his Lordship was arrived at fulness of power, he could not bear with the Duke of Devonshire, but insulted the nobility, intimidated the gentry, and trampled on the people, —he, Mr. Pitt, would never contribute to that yoke Lord B. was laying on the neck of the people. “ He said, if others had been as firm as himself, things would not have been brought to their present crisis; that he did not well see what was to be done; that the D. of N., D. of D^ and Lord Hardwicke had been so much disposed to a peace; the peace was now come, and seemed to be final “ Aller passing some strictures upon the late treaty of peace, “ Mr. Pitt then returned to the domestic part,— expressing his apprehension that the distinction of Whig and Tory was rising as high as ever; that he lay under great obligations to many gentlemen who had been of the denomination of Tories, but who, during his share of the administration, had supported government upon the principles of Whiggism and of the Revo- 1762.] OF THE WHIGS. 151 lution; that he would die a Whig, and support invariably those principles; yet he would concur in no proscriptive measures; and though it was necessary Lord B. should be removed from the office he now held, he might not think it quite for his Majesty’s service to have the Duke of N. succeed there: begging that this might not be thought to proceed from any resentment to the Duke of N., for whose person he had real regard, and who perhaps might have as much cause to complain of Mr. Pitt, as Mr. Pitt of his Grace. “With regard to himself, he had felt inexpressible anxieties at holding office against the goodwill of the Crown; that he would never put himself again in that situation, nor accept of any employment whilst his Majesty had that opinion of him which he was acquainted with.” Upon this document the Duke of Newcastle remarks, “ The Duke (of Cumberland) does not dislike the account Tommy Walpole gives of Mr. Pitt’s conversation. It is the man, and, as such, we must take him, if we would have him. . . The Duke apprehends he (the Duke of Cumberland) is to be closeted by the King, who will put him the short question, ‘ Will yon be for me or the Duke of Devonshire?’ His Royal Highness does not intend to go to St. James’s till the day before the Parliament, that they may know as late as possible his resolution and determination. He will take special care that none of his servants shall attend Mr. Fox’s meeting before the Parliament.’’ 152 COURT PERSECUTION [1781. Every Whig of note had by this time been driven from office, or been absorbed by the King’s friends. The deserters, indeed, formed a very numerous section. “ It is but too true,” writes Newcastle to Hardwicke, on the 19th December; “ what Mr. Fox said at first, my Lord Bute has got over all the Duke of Newcastle’s friends. Never was man who had it in his power to serve, to make, to choose, so great a part of the members of both Houses, so abandoned as I am at present.” The Court now pointed their batteries against the subalterns of the liberal party. Every relative, friend, or dependent of the Duke of Newcastle "was, one after the other, turned out of his office, and their proscription extended even to the offices of Customs and Excise. Lord Bute disclaimed these violent proceedings, and in some instances recompensed the aggrieved parties, the object being that he might have all the merit and Fox all the odium. Upon this conduct the Duke of Devonshire thus comments, in a letter of the 26th of December, 1762, to the Marquis of Rockingham. ** The turning out inferior officers, persons that are not in Parliament, and can have given no offence, is a cruel, unjust, and unheard of proceeding, and will most undoubtedly do the ministers no good, but on the contrary, create a general odium against them. As to one set of men endeavouring to throw it upon the other, I look upon it as mere artifice, for measures of this kind cannot be done but in concert^ and there- 1762.] OF THE WHIG PARTY. 153 fore I pay no regard to what they say on the subject, and only wish the time was come to retaliate upon them, and that they may have ample justice done them. “ I have wrote my mind fully to the Duke of Newcastle, that we should if possible keep‘our people quiet for some time; wait for events, and see what steps the Ministers take: if they propose anything that is wrong, oppose it; if not; let them alone, by which means we shall gain time to collect our strength, and see whom we can depend upon; if we can get leaders and a tolerable corps of troops, I am for battle; but I am against appearing in a weak opposition, as we shall make an insignificant figure, prejudice our friends, and do no good.” While one Duke was preparing, with his natural caution, temper, and dignity, for the approaching party struggle, another Duke—Newcastle—with an equally characteristic absence of these qualities, was venting his complaints to all who would listen to him. The Duke of Devonshire, to whom, among others, he had sent a detailed account of his grievances, wrote in reply:— “ I am not surprised that these things affect yon nearly, but the more you feel, the less you ought to show it, and therefore keep up your spirits, and consider that by talking of it and complaining, you afford matter of triumph to your euemies, and give them 154 DISMISSAL OF NEWCASTLE FROM [17«1 encouragement to proceed to further acts of violence against your particular friends, in order either to in* timidate you or to oppress you quite.” ? . . “ I agree entirely with the Duke of Cumberland, that it is mudi better we should be quiet for the pre* sent, and wait till some facts arise, that we can with weight and propriety lay hold of. When the Ministry come to lay open their plan, of force and the different regulations for this country in time of peace, I am persuaded there will be matter for animadversion. Another advantage will be, that it will give time to collect our strength, and find out whom we can really depend upon: for acting in the uncertain manner we did before Christmas, will expose us and make us weaker.” ■ In the letter from the Duke of Devonshire to Lord Rockingham, of the 26th of December, already quoted, his Grace says, “ I question much whether they will remove the Lord Lieutenants. I have told the Duke of Newcastle that the resigning deserves serious consideration, as our friends in the country may think we give them up. Ilowever, I shall be ready to do as my friends do; I should be glad to know your opinion in case his Grace (Newcastle) is removed, if you think it right to resign, whether you could stay till I came to town, that we might go together.” 1762.] HIS LORD-LIEUTENANCIES. 155 Three days prior to the date of this letter, the Duke of Newcastle received an official notification from Lord Halifax, of his being deprived of the Lieutenancies of Middlesex, Nottinghamshire, and Sussex, and of the Stewardship of Sherwood Forest The Duke of Devonshire, in a letter of condolence* upon this event, writes—“ I am pleased with a ton-mot that I am told is in one of the public papers (for I never read them), viz. that the Ministers have tinned out everybody your Grace helped to bring in, except the King.” To the Marquis of Rockingham the Duke of Newcastle also enclosed a copy of Lord Halifax’s letter, “ I send your Lordship,” he writes, “ a billet-dou* I received this morning from my good friend and relative, the Earl of Halifax. I dare say it is the only one of the sort, for I have heard of no other: pray let me know if you have had one. Your Lordship knows that my opinion has always been that I am to be run at and singled out from all the rest.” But on this occasion the poor Duke was not singled out, for the same official circular had been sent to the Duke of Grafton and Lord Rockingham, their respective Lieutenancies only being specified. In answer to Lord Halifax's letter, Lord Rockingham replied on the 24th of December. “ I had the honour to receive your Lordship’s letter, by his Majesty’s command, to acquaint me that his * Dated Bath, December 29, 1762. 156 DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE RESIGNS. [1W. Majesty had no further occasion for my services as Lord Lieutenant, Ac. Ihave one satisfaction which no person can deprive me of; which is, that during the time my father and I have held these offices, no opportunity has been omitted by either of showing our zeal for his Majesty’s royal family, or for the service of our country.” Walpole says that the same affront, the dismissal from the Lieutenancy, being designed for the Duke of Devonshire, Fox affected to make a point of saving him, but the Duke, with proper spirit, scorned to be obliged to him, and resigned to accompany his friends. This assertion is confirmed by the following letter. THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE TO THE EARL OF HALIFAX. “ Dee. SO, 1WL “ The removal of the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Rockingham from the Lieutenancies of their respective counties, appearing to me a clear indication that his Majesty does not think fit that those who have incurred his displeasure should continue his Lord Lieutenants, and, as I have the misfortune to come within that description, his Majesty having been advised to show me the strongest marks of his displeasure that could possibly be shown to any subject, I look upon it as a respect due to my sovereign, and I owe it to myself, not to continue any longer in such an office. I must therefore beg the favour of your Lordship to carry to the King my resignation of the Lord Lieu- Am iiiutttaj^tMslii 1762.] THE LORD-LIEUTENANCY OF DERBY. 157 tenancy and Custos Rotulorum of the County of Derby. “ I am, dec. “ Devonshire.** THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM TO THE EARL OF ' HARDWICKS. “ I am glad the Duke of Devonshire has resigned; I wish his Grace’s letter had been turned more seriously to the Ministers, but the effect in the world will tell the same as if it had been so expressed in his letter, for certainly the resignation is defeating the artifice, and declaring that his Grace cannot bear the surmise that either of the present Ministers prevented his being turned out along with the other Lord Lieutenants.” Lord Hardwicke says in answer—“ The observation which your Lordship makes, is, I think, in a great measure met by the words, * His Majesty having been advised,’ &c., which plainly point at the Ministers; but if these words should be thought to fall short, they are amply supplied by his spirited letter to the Duke of Newcastle, which his Grace judged very rightly in sending by the common post and trusting to their curiosity.” The dismissals were not long confined to persons of high rank; a bitter persecution raged in every department. Men holding such humble situations as door- manity may have satisfied, in some measure, their revenge. But if they meant by it to promote their interests in our county, I can assure them it will have a quite different effect. “ The Duke of Devonshire was so kind as to come hither on Saturday, and indeed his conversation was a great relief and comfort to me. The repeated proofs he gave me of his friendship, his manly way of talking and acting upon these cruelties committed upon me and my friends, and his resolution to let all the world know his detestation of them, will and must have an effect upon all honest men. “ My Lord Cornwallis,* and Lord Thomas Cavendish, * Charles Cornwallis, second Earl of Cornwallis, at this time a Lieutenant-Colonel in the army, became a General Officer, was 1763.) CUSTOM-HOUSE OFFICERS. 159 Lord Middleton,* and Mr. Onslow, whom I have seen since, are determined, as well as my Lord Villiers f ' and Tom Pelham, ‘ To cry aloud and spare not;1 and indeed, after such a behaviour, measures or management with the authors are only marks of fear and weakness, and will encourage these men in the continuance of their barbarous proceedings. There is not one single man turned out, against whom the slightest complaint can be made, in the execution of their office. Most of ' them were excellent officers. I find several of my friends are determined to mention these cruelties in their speeches in the House of Commons. . “I hope they will be supported by men of more weight and experience than themselves. They don't propose to make any motion or formal complaint. I bear the late Speaker j (who is provoked beyond mea* sure) says that may be regularly done; and I am told created Marquis Cornwallis in 1792, filled the office of Commanderin-Chief, was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in 1799* was twice Governor-General of India, in which country he died in 1805* * George Broderick, third Viscount Middleton) married, in 1752, Albinia Townshend, great niece of the Duke of. Newcastle^ and sister of Thomas Townshend, first Viscount Sydney. t George Bussy Villiers, Viscount Villiers, afterwards fourth Earl . of Jersey, Member for Tam worth, a Lord of Admiralty in 1761, which office he resigned in 1768. In Lord Rockingham's first administration he was Vice-Chamberlain, but did not quit office with hit friend. General Keppel, in anticipation of the united parties of Bedford and Rockingham coming into office in 1767, proposes to his brother to make (t examples of the Onslows, Townshends, Shelleys, not forgetting the little Lord Villiers.**—(Life of Lord Keppel, vol L p. 392). J The Right Hon. Arthur Onslow, for upwards of three and thirty 160 EARL OF MANSFIELD. [1763. that there are many instances in the old Journals of such speeches, or part of them, being inserted in these Journals.” The allusions in the next paragraph will be more intelligible, if we recall to mind that the name of Murray had been a few years earlier than the date of this letter intimately connected with Jacobitism, and -that the odium of such an imputation was by no means obsolete. In a poem entitled the “ Processionade,” published in 1746, William Murray, Earl of Mansfield, and Chief Justice of England, is thus celebrated:— yean Speaker of the House of Commons. He retired on the ISth of March, 1761. “ He was elected Speaker,** says Brown Willis. " by as unanimous a concurrence of all the Members in general, as any of them had been by their constituents in particular; and as he enjoyed this eminent station a longer time than any of his predecessors, so he executed this important trust with equal, if not superior, abilities to any of those who have gone before him.” “ No man,” Walpole says of him, “ ever supported with more firmness the privileges of the House, nor sustained the dignity of his office with more authority. His knowledge of the Constitution equalled his attachment. To the Crown he behaved with all the decorum of respect, without sacrificing his freedom of speech. Against the encroachments of the House of Peers he was an inflexible champion. His disinterested virtue supported him through all his pretensions; and though to conciliate popular favour he affected an impartiality that by turns led him to the borders of insincerity and contradiction, and though he was minutely attached to forms, and that it often made him troublesome in affairs of higher moment, it will be difficult to find a subject whom gravity will so well become, whose knowledge will be so useful and accurate, and whose fidelity to his trust will prove so unshaken.* 1703.] MURRAY OF BROUGHTON. 161 “ This new Tangled Scot, who was brought up at home, In the very same school as his brother at Rome, Kneeled conscious, as though his comrades might urge. He had formerly drunk to the King before George.* This charge was reiterated a few years afterwards by Lord Ravensworth, who brought the subject before the Privy Council and a Committee of the House of Lords. The nephew and brother of the Chief Justice had also both committed overt acts of treason. The former, David Murray, seventh Viscount Stormont, and one of the sixteen Representative Peers of .Scotland, had been “ out in the ’45,” and been pardoned: the latter, James Murray, of Broughton, titular Earl of Dunbar, had been the Pretender’s Private Secretary, and recompensed the confidence of his unfortunate patron, by betraying his as* sociates and directing the pursuers of the fugitive Stuart. How hateful to all honest Scotchmen—even to those who adhered to the House of Hanover in the Rebellion —the name of James Murray had become, will appear by the following anecdote, taken from Lockhart’s “Life of Sir Walter Scott” (vol. i. p. 244, 2nd edition). The Mr. and Mrs. Scott here mentioned were the father and mother of the great novelist. “ Mrs. Scottis curiosity was strongly excited one autumn by the regular appearance, at a certain hour every evening, of a sedan-chair, to deposit a person carefully muffled np in a mantle, who was immediately ushered into her husband’s private room, and commonly remained with him there until long after the usual bedtime of this orderly family. Mr. Scott answered her VOL. I. M 162’ LORD MANSFIELD. [l763. repeated inquiries with a vagueness which irritated the lady’s feelings more and more, until at last she could bear the thing no longer; but one evening, just as she heard the bell ring, as for the stranger’s chair to carry him off, she made her appearance into the forbidden parlour, with a salver in her hand, observing that she thought the gentlemen had sat so long, they would be better for a dish of tea, and had ventured to bring some for their acceptance. The stranger, a person of distinguished appearance and richly dressed, bowed to the lady and accepted the cup; but her husband knit his brows, and refused very coldly to partake of the refreshment. A moment afterwards the stranger withdrew, and Mr. Scott, lifting up the window-sash, took the cup, which he had left empty on the table, and tossed it out on the pavement The lady exclaimed for her china; but was put to silence by her husband’s sayings ‘ I can forgive you your little curiosity, madam, but you must pay the penalty. I admit into my house, on a piece of business, persons wholly unworthy to be treated as guests by my wife. Neither lip of me or of mine comes after Mr. Murray of Broughton.’’ With this preamble, I introduce the next paragraph in the Duke of Newcastle’s letter. ** I wish when my Lord Mansfield mentioned my name, your Lordship had given him your thoughts upon * these cruel measures. I should have been curious to know what my Lord Mansfield would have said, in justification of his friends the ministers, who are the 1763.) DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. 163 authors of them; or his own silence, inactivity, and indifference upon the occasion. “ Had I been a Scotch rebel, and pardoned, I might have had a good chance, in those times, to be one of the sixteen; but, in all times, common humanity would, as it did most remarkably in the two late glorious and compassionate reigns, have prevented the families of the rebels from starving, and, in some instances, have even put them upon a better foot than they were before. Most of the successors are Mr. Fox's creatures, but that makes no alteration. My Lord Bute is the man that does it, and must support it, and Mr. Fox the servile interested agent” Lord Waldegrave, in his “ Character of the Duke of Newcastle,” says, “ His mind can never be composed; his spirits are always agitated. Yet this constant ferment, which would wear out and destroy any other man, is perfectly agreeable to his constitution; he is at the very perfection of health when his fever is at the greatest height.”* According to Waldegrave’s hypothesis, Newcastle could not have bad a better physician than Lord Bute; for his treatment of him certainly kept his Grace in that constant ferment which the noble memoir-writer considers so salutary for him. But the best remedies may be abused; and the dismissal of his friends so acted upon the Duke’s excitable temperament, that he was thrown into a fever. Upon his recovery, he wrote to the Earl of Hardwicke as follows:— * Memoir*, pp. 11, IS. 164 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE. £1703. “Ml DEAEE8T L0U>, * Claremont, Jan. 8, J 763. “I flatter myself that your Lordship will not be displeased to have an account, under my own hand, that by the blessing of God, I am, I hope, perfectly recovered, and that I have reason to hope that the very severe discipline which I have undergone, having lost so great a quantity of bad, fiery, Bute blood, will greatly contribute to strengthen and amend my con* stitution. The goodness and affection of my friends, and most particularly your Lordship’s, has, I am persuaded, greatly contributed to my cure. . . . “ The courage, resolution, and cool behaviour of the Duke of Devonshire, upon the late occasion, have made such an impression upon my Lord Lincoln, that he is at once become an altered man both in his public and private situation towards me. He is highly pleased with the conduct of my great friends, and will join most heartily in it. In my private affairs, he is the first to settle everything to my satisfaction, and to make me perfectly easy, as he has done: you can’t imagine how happy I am, “ Nor envy Bon ins sunshine and his skies."* * “ Nor envied Jove his sunshine and his sides." Last line of the third act of Addison's tragedy of" Cato." 1763.] ABDICATION OF LORD BUTE. 165 CHAPTER VL IBIOinOI OF W1D BUTE.—ALLEGED MOTIVES FOE IT.—GUE VILLE ADMINISTRATION.--IMPRISONMENT AMD LIBERATION OF WILKEN.— LEICESTER HOUSE SCHEME.—NEGOCIATION8 BETWEEN LOBD BUTE AMD MB. PITT. -------MB. Pitt’s INTERVIEWS WITH THE KING. — BEDFORD ADMINISTRATION.--DEATH OF DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE.-PROPOSED NEW MINISTERIAL ARRANGEMENTS.—CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN LOBD HARDWICK! AND HIS BROTHER. Lord Bute had borne his blushing honours ten months, when he abandoned the post which he had incurred so much obloquy to attain. His motives for resignation still remain a mystery. The following is the motive assigned by Viscount Royston, in a letter to the Earl of Hardwicke. “ Bath, April 11,1763. “ The alarms of Lord Bute’s family about his personal safety, are reported here to be the immediate cause of this sudden and unexpected abdication.* I shall make no reflections on this strange scene; your Lordship has already reflected much better for yourself. The nil admirari of Horace seems in our days to be as applicable to politics as it is to ethics and philosophy.” * This is the view taken by Mr. Macaulay in his 2nd article on Chatham. 16G IMPRISONMENT OF WILKES. [1703. Three days prior to the date of this letter, Mr. Grenville was declared First Lord of the Treasury, and Lords Egremont and Halifax Secretaries of State. “Of the three,” says Walpole, “ Lord Halifax was by far the weakest, at the same time, most amiable man. His pride, like Lord Egremont’s, taught him much civility. He spoke readily and agreeably, and only wanted matter and argument. He aimed at virtues he could not support, or rather was carried away by his vices than sensible of them.” From other sources we learn that he possessed a handsome person, elegant manners, and a cultivated mind. Mr. Macaulay considers “ that the worst administration which has governed England since the Revolution, was that of George Grenville.”* It was certainly a very important one, for it had scarcely been installed in office, than it found itself involved in the ever memorable squabble with the notorious John Wilkes, at that time Member for Aylesbury. On the 23rd of the month, being a fortnight after the formation of the Grenville Ministry, appeared the famous “Number Forty-five of the North Briton.” In this paper, severe strictures were passed on the conduct of ministers in general, and on Lord Bute in particular. After a week’s deliberation, Wilkes was seized on a general warrant, and brought before Lords Halifax and Egremont, by whom he was committed to the Tower. His demeanour on the occasion would have served as a warning to wiser men, against meddling with such a * Macaulay’s “ Essays," in one volume, p. 747. JjtJ^J^ 1761] LIBERATION OF WILKES. 167 firebrand. On arriving at the place of his imprison* ment, he wounded the stately pride of Lord Egremont, by desiring to be confined in the same apartment where his father. Sir William Windham, had been kept on a charge of Jacobitism; and the national vanity of Lord Bute, by hoping that, if possible, he might not be lodged where any Scotchman had been prisoner. On the very day of his commitment to prison, his friends procured a writ of habeas-corpus from the Court of Common Pleas; and on the 3rd of May he was brought before Lord Chief Justice Pratt. In a speech, which lasted an hour, Wilkes complained “ that he hod been worse treated than any rebel Scot,”—a remark that was hailed with loud acclamations by the crowd in Westminster Hall. Three days afterwards, Pratt delivered bis judgment, in which he declared that Wilkes was “ entitled to his privilege as a Member of Parliament, because, although that privilege does not hold against a breach of the peace, it does against what only tend* to a breach of the peace.” Wilkes was in consequence set at liberty. Immediately after the enlargement of Wilkes, letters from the Honourable Charles Yorke and Sir Fletcher Norton, the Attorney and Solicitor-General, were presented to the Court, demanding to be admitted, as the case concerned the King’s interest. The Chief Justice’s answer to both was, that they had come too late. Upon these proceedings, the Attorney-General's brother, Viscount Royston, wrote to his friend Dr. Birch as follows:— 168 IMPRISONMENT OF WILKES. U«t * • DEAR Birch, “ Bath, May the 10th, 1783. “ Shall I congratulate you on the discharge of your old acquaintance? or shall 1 condole with you on the licentious spirit, repugnant to all decorum and order, .which has appeared amongst the populace on this occasion? or shall I lament that the proceedings of government have not been conducted with all the propriety and judgment one could wish? As a good Englishman and a dutiful subject, I shall concur in the two last particulars. The House of Commons is much obliged to Lord C(hief) J(ustice) P(ratt), for I do not know, that we ever claimed the privilege for ourselves, which he has been pleased to allow us. Has our old Speaker been consulted on the occasion? Did Pratt take any notice of tbe warrant of apprehension, which has the word treasonable, and leaves the messengers at large ? Is it thought that any art or management was used to bring down such great crowds to W-r H—IL I question whether the other Chief Justice will choose (if he can help it) to have the affair brought into his court I presume it will be fought through all the weapons, from the courts of justice to St Stephen’s CbapeL We have a story A^re, which I cannot give credit to, ‘ that Lord H(alifa)x asked W—kes if he was at tiie dinners,* and that the latter replied, that he did not sit down to table, but only blew the coals.’ ” • Note by Lord Hardwicke to hi* own letter.—“ The dinner* were amongst the opposition." Hiji] LETTER TO LORD DARDVICKE 169 It was a favourite scheme of the Leicester House faction, the moment an Administration was formed, to open a negociation with the chiefs of the different sections of Opposition, the object being to ensure a greater degree of subserviency from the Ministers to the wishes of the Crown. A plan of this nature was set in operation shortly after Grenville entered upon his functions of Premier, but, true to the principle of “ ruling by divisions,” the Court treated with each leader, to the exclusion of the other. Some of the letters which follow will show the working of this system. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EARL OF HARDWICKS. “ Claremont, June 30th, 1763. “ Mr. Pitt mentioned the proposals made to him Inf my Lord Bute, much in the same way that he had done to the Attorney General, and that his answer was, that he never would have anything to do with my Lord Bute; that he is now thoroughly connected with us; was determined to remain so, and to take all opportunities to do everything to bring ns together ... "... Lord Granby is just come in, so I must finish my letter sooner than I intended. I can’t, however, forbear repeating to your Lordship my thanks for your kind and able conversation with my Lord Egremont, and particularly in what your Lordship said of your humble servant, and the supposed declaration I had made, though I am still of the same opinion upon that head that I ever was.” 170 NEGOTIATION BETWEEN BUTE AND PITT. [I7S3. Note by second Lord Hardwicke:— “ N.B. It was in this conversation with Lord Egremont that my father had a direct offer from the King of President of the Council, then vacant, which he very properly declined, but did not mention to the Duke of Newcastle, to avoid jealousies, and to which his Grace was liable.” “ On this behaviour,” says Walpole, referring to the offers to Newcastle and Hardwicke — of that to Pitt he was not aware — “ the three ministers had determined to bring his Majesty to an explanation.” As to one of the three, Lord Egremont, he must have been in error, seeing that he was the actual negociator of the King with the ex-Chancellor. But there appears to be no doubt that the other two made a strong remonstrance to the King, that Grenville in particular “ reproached his Majesty with violating the assurances he had given them (the Ministers) that Lord Bute should meddle no more, and with abandoning the Ministers he had himself chosen.” * ‘ The death of Lord Egremont, which occurred on the 21st of August, hastened a negociation that had long been on the tapis, between Lord Bute and Mr. Pitt, which ended in the latter statesman being summoned to attend the King at Buckingham House. The interview lasted three hours, and Mr. Pitt considering himself authorized to form an administration, wrote an urgent summons to the Marquis of Rockingham. . 1703.] LETTER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 171 RIGHT HON. W. PITT TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “Jermyn Street, August 28th, 1763. “ A matter has opened which must make me very impatient to learn your Lordship’s sentiments. I will in this critical situation venture to request of yon to be so good as to come immediately to town. May I add that I shall esteem it a great favour if your Lordship could engage Sir George Savile to take the same journey, to whom I would write if I knew that my letter would be sure to find him. Be assured, I shall think any plan highly defective, in which a person of such honour and ability does not take a share. I saw the Duke of Newcastle at Claremont this morning, who joins in wishing extremely that your Lordship would come directly, to town, as his Grace’s desires on this subject will best stand for my apology for the liberty I am taking. I will add no more to your trouble than to assure you of the great truth and respect with which I am, &c., “ W. Pitt.” Lord Rockingham forwarded a copy of this letter to Sir George Savile, together with the following note from himself:— “ I will only now say in general, it is my earnest and steady opinion, that it is neither the conduct of an honest or of a wise man, to abet the skimming over the present confused system, but is the duty of us both to give what help we can towards a perfect and pro- 172 MH. PITT’S INTERVIEW WITH THE KINO. 1703.] bably permanent cure. Whether the time is yet come, is a matter difficult to judge upon; but I hope and trust that nothing will be entered upon without the fullest and clearest prospect of stability.” The above letter is dated “ Birom, Monday night, half-past twelve, August 29th, 1763.” On the morning of that day, Mr. Pitt had a second interview with the King, when his Majesty suddenly broke up the conference, by saying, “ Well, Mr. Pitt (I see, or I fear), this will not do; my honour is concerned, and I must support it” The following day, the 30th, Lord Shelburne, who had been the channel of communication with Mr. Pitt, wrote to that statesman, felicitating him personally on a negociation being at an end, which carried through the whole of it such shocking marks of insincerity, and three days afterwards resigned his post as President of the Board of Trade. VISCOUNT ROTSTON TO DR. BIRCH. . “Oct. 4, 1763. . “ It were endless to attempt detecting the falsities which are inserted in all the relations of the late very extraordinary negociation; but I cannot help contradicting one fact, which is positively inserted in the narrative you refer to in your last of the 1st instant, viz., that the K(ing) saw none of his ministers between the Saturday and the Monday. Now I have the best authority for saying that Mr. Grenville was in the 1784.] LETTER TO LORD I1ARDWICKE. 173 closet on Friday, and was introduced again on Saturday after the other gentleman* left it N.B. This is true; he told my brother so. It seems remarkable, and tends to confirm the public opinion of the present jumble at Court, that the papers published in defence of the A--------n, throw out pretty strong insinuations against Lord B., and that his Lordship’s advocates are as free in reflecting on the M-----rs. With me, “ * Tros Tyriusve mihi nullo ducrimine.*” The following extract of a letter from the Honourable Charles Yorke to his brother, second Earl of Hardwicke, written shortly after the decease of their father,! has reference to some attack upon the Memoirs of the exChancellor by Lord Northington, who succeeded him on the Woolsack in 1756. “ Mt DEAR Lord, “Saturday evening, Mar. 25 (1784). “ What you mention of the Lord Chancellor I never heard till this evening, from Dr. Plumptre, who had it from my brother John. It is very gross and undeserved. “ I am not aware of the custom to which another paragraph in the same letter appears to refer. “ But allow me to say, that if your Lordship sends rings to the Judges, I hope you will send one to the Lord Chancellor, that such a trifle may not be marked. I take it for granted that you called at his door upon * Mr. Pitt ' + Lord Hardwicke died on Tuesday the 6th of March. 1764. tfMffiMtMM^^ Mtt ihrtwMtfifti 174 LETTER TO CHARLES YORKE. [1784. taking your seat in the House of Lords. If any accident prevented it, I know that he is capable of being moved by such trifles. It is the temper of many. But I can only add, as to myself, that in truth, a situation between enemies and friends, I know that (without management and temper) it will be impossible for me to do anything, but retire at once into the country, out of a profession which is independent of everything but that impertinence which may be created by those whom the King places in the great offices of it.” Note by second Lord Hardwicke:—“ After Northing-ton’s language in the House of Lords, I did not wait upon him, nor (I think) send him a ring. My brother was too delicate and nice. He was above being hurt by the impertinence of any Chancellor. “H." THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHARLES YORKE. “ Dear Brother, “ St. James’* Square, July 26, 1764. “ I wish you would find a quarter of an hour to let me know in three lines, whether you saw the D. of Devon again, and what language he held. I ask because Jones told me he had made some thundering declaration to Mr. Pitt, about acting more vigorously next session, with an intimation that his friends would do so, whatever part he (Mr. P.) thought proper to take. “ I do not find that this made the Great Commoner more explicit. Jones says, the affair of the interview a^u^il^MiMjh^iuillaiMBJM^ 1764.] DUKE OF BEDFORD PRESIDENT OF COUNCIL. 175 with Ld. B. is less believed than it was a fortnight ago. “Jones picks up nothing material; yet messengers come and go between us. What is now talked of is, that the Parliament may now meet before Christmas, on account of the supply. “Lord Bute makes many hugger-mugger visits at Richmond, in a way neither creditable to his master nor himself.” In a letter to Dr. Birch, written at about this time, Lord Hardwicke asks, “Is it true that Mrs. Pritchard was greatly applauded the other night, upon speaking a line against favourites, in the ‘ Careless Husband?’ If the audiences begin to be so much on the catch, Mr. G(arric)k must be cautious what plays he acts. If it would not appear pedantic, I might remind you that Tully often mentions such circumstances which passed at the theatres, as indications of the temper of the people.” Soon after the failure of the negociation with Mr. -Pitt in 1763, the Duke of Bedford became President of the Council, and the ostensible head of the Government. The Bedford Administration experienced no better treatment than its predecessors. Like Grenville, the Duke stipulated for that which the King himself proposed, namely, the exclusion of Lord Bute from his presence, and from any participation in public afiairs.* * The Duke of Bedford to the Duke of Marlborough, May 19, 1765. 17« DEATH OF DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE. [1704. And the favourite himself wrote to the King, stating that for his Majesty's service, as well as for his own ease, be was resolved to remain at his house the ensuing winter. " He kepi the word of promise to the ear, But broke it to the hope.” He passed, it is true, the winter at Luton Hoo, returned to town early in the spring, and went publicly to Court and to the Ilouse of Lords. “ His return,” says Wiffen, “ was regarded by the Duke of Bedford as an entire infraction of the bond on which he had consented to take office." Since the retirement of the Duke of Newcastle from the Ministry, the Duke of Devonshire became the acknowledged leader of the Whigs, but his health rendered him unequal to the task which the partiality of his friends assigned him. He was obliged to be frequently absent from town, and at length retired to Spa, where he died on the 2nd of October this year,, in the forty-fifth year of his age. The rumours of disagreement between Lord Bute and the Ministers seeming to offer an opening for some new ministerial arrangement, Lord Hardwicke thus wrote to his brother, Mr. Charles Yorke, on the 11th of April, 1764:— “ Dear Brother, “I had my confab with his Grace of Devon this morning, whom I find quite without plan or system, much dissatisfied with Mr. Pitt, whom he knows nothing 1764.] LETTER TO CHARLES YORKE. 177 about, and finds he can make nothing of. He lays little weight on Charles Townshend’s information about accommodations at Court. I told his Grace, points must be waited for—that I saw none at present of magnitude sufficient to declare upon .... “ The Duke of Devonshire goes to Newmarket at the end of next week. I only mention this in case you had thoughts of waiting upon him. I think if you saw the Duke of Bedford, you might find out whether he would undertake any conciliatory scheme. My idea is, that Lord Bute, if pressed, would prefer Pitt and Temple, because they have fewest followers and cany the greater popularity. “ His Grace of Bedford has taken antipathy to Lord Bute, on account of the transaction of last summer. I think all this Paddy Noddy to little purpose. In losing Lord H(ardwicke) we are at sea without pilot or rudder. “ P.S. — The Duke of Devonshire said he thought Pitt would be more tractable, if we showed that we could go on without him. My opinion of Pitt is, that he will neither lead nor be driven. He is animal sni generis—un unique. The Duke admitted his health made him less to be depended upon." The first paragraph in the following letter evidently has reference to the removal of one of the Duke of Newcastle’s prottyts from the Palace Gardens; the second, to the dismissal of General Conway from the colonelcy of a regiment and the post of Groom of the VOL. I. N 178 DUKE OY NEWCASTLE * (1TO4. Bedchamber, for voting against Ministers in the question of “ General Warrants,”—a subject which, as Lord Hardwicke surmised, became the cheval de bataiUe of the opposition in the next session. THE EABL 01 HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHAELE8 TORKE. “ DIAB BROTHER, “St* Jamels Square, Ang. 3,1764. “ I send back his Grace's letter, and think much does not arise out of it. The turning out of Greening was an ill-natured act; but there is no making Aat a con* stitutional point, and the Duke chooses to forget that he stands ill with the King as well as the Minister, and that a domestic gardener to a Royal Palace is one of those places Which kings think they may make free with the disposal of . . . . . . * “ His Grace’s declaration to Mr. Pitt was premature, unless he knew better how to conduct, to increase, and strengthen his opposition ; but the great cheval de bataiUe will be, I apprehend, Conway’s affair; and that, to use a phrase of Sir William Temple’s, 'will make a meal's meat, but will not keep the house.’ ” THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE EABL OF HARDWICKE; “Sept 8,1764. “ The great reports of the Duke of Bedford’s uneasiness with my Lord Bute are, I believe, true. But it is very uncertain what, if any, material consequence will arise from it. I hear the language of Woburn is, that 1764 .] TO LORD HARDWICKS. 179 the Dake of Bedford knows nothing of my Lord Bute, has seen him but once, and does not know when he shall see him again; that the Duke of Bedford is Minister; that Lord Bute, the favourite, may obtain favours for his particular friends, as was the case of the regiment given to Colonel Fletcher.* That may be wrong, but that was a small object. That the Duke was coming up to town the 22nd of this month, and would then go to BatLf If this be true, it does not look as if his Grace thought himself the Minister, or troubled himself much about administration.” * “The affair of Turk’* Island, and the promotion of Colonel Fletcher over thirty-seven older officers, are the chief causes which have ripened our heats to such a height"—Walpole. t “ The Duke of Bedford has crossed the country from Bath to Woburn without coming to town."—Walpole , to Hertford, Nov. 9, 1764. .180 DISMISSAL or GENERAL CONWAY. [1W. CHAPTER VIL ABBITBABI DDTOMAI. O» SUliU OOIW1T ATO OTHKB MIUTABT oman*.—mina uumt to th* uoncr ku.—sou o» crainun'i aunian or bigociatiov to* cb*m> or imn*-Tm.—obabacibb or m» umm*—nononoBuz biohl — Anonnn* or oobxatobb or tbs noora.—oosuaron-nc* o> th* koi*.—noBOGATiOB or fabuambbt.—MtxiaiBBXAfc DimCVLTIli or TH* BIBO. - ■ The violent ministerial measures of the preceding session, naturally aroused a determined resistance on the part of the Whigs. The dismissal of General Conway and other military officers from their employments, as a royal penalty for their votes in Parliament, was no ordinary cause of provocation, and was regarded as a dangerous example, as well as a most unjust and arbitrary proceeding. With the view of inducing Mr. Pitt to co-operate with them in their opposition to the Courts Lord Rockingham was prevailed upon by the leading Whigs to pay the retired and refractory old statesman a visit at Hayes. His errand, indeed, proved fruitless. The Great Commoner condemned the dismissal of Conway; but “the question,” he said, “touched too near upon prerogative; it ought to have been brought on earlier in the session. He had never urged the subject being mooted at all.” Tn short, he produced doubts in 1765.] LETTER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 181 Lord Rockingham’s mind whether the cause he had at heart might not be more prejudiced than benefited by Mr. Pitt’s presence in the House of Commons; and he returned to town, “less satisfied than ever with Mr. Pitt”* • THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF . . ROCKINGHAM. ' • Bath, March 26,1765. • • * • * • “ I am more sorry than surprised, that your Lordship found Mr. Pitt in the disposition you did, with an appearance, and, I am afraid, with a real determination to remain inactive. It is agreeable to all his declarations for this last year, and to what he so positively declared in his letter to me. I doubt he is searching for reasons to justify that resolution,—one, I am sure, has not the least foundation. That toe had given up his war (and in that he means me only), for he does me the honour always to fling all the Home upon me, as I am persuaded your Lordship plainly perceived by his discourse; and greater injustice cannot be done a man. Could I be such a fool as to give up hit war, as he called it? Who provided for it? Who raised such immense sums for the support of it? Was it Mr. Pitt or myself? I will be bold to say, Mr. Pitt could not have done it; and am I to have all the reproach from Mr. Grenville and the enemies to the war, for the load of debt which I had brought upon the * Walpole's George the Third, ii. 87. 182 LETTERS RELATING TO [1705. nation, for the support of it, and am to be told by Mr. Pitt that I had given np his war? In short, I have seen so much of this cruel part towards me, that I am determined not to mind it, but to go on with Mr. Pitt as I have done, wishing and doing everything in my power that the public may have his assistance. For I see how much it is wanted. The opposition is dwindled down to nothing, and Mr. Grenville, for he is the man of consequence, and that does the business. Let them say what they will, Mr. Grenville, I say, will have champ libre, and nobody to oppose him.” The session of 1765 had been opened by the King in person, but towards the end of March, his Majesty was attacked by so serions an illness, that it became necessary to make some provision for the contingency of a long minority. Accordingly, on the 24th of April, the subject of a Regency was brought before Parliament, in a speech from the Throne. ' THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HONOURABLE CHARLES • ' ' , TORKE. “ Dear Brother, “St James’s Square, April tS, 17S5. . “We [theDuke of Newcastle and himself] had no conversation about the Regency Bill, except that I was able to acquaint him that Lord Halifax had moved to-day to take the King’s speech into consideration on Monday. I suppose the Bill will then be brought in. “ I was at the levde this morning; the King avail 1766.] THE REGENCY BILL. 188 fort bon visage. I walk in and out of St James’s like a country lord, whom nobody that knows anything has anything to say to. . . . “ Lord Lyttleton (whom I saw this morning) apprehended the debate would be on your second reacting. A notion prevails that Mr. Pitt will attend in the House. D. of Cumb. much hurt that the Princes of the blood are not to be named in Council of Regency. All laid to the door of Lord Bute; a scheme of his to keep Queen, brothers, Ac., dependent on his good word with the K—." The “ Memoriall” of the same writer affords some additional observations upon the same subject “ While the Regency Bill,” says his Lordship, “was in the House of Lords, the clause naming the King’s brothers was concerted, with the Duke of Cumberland, unknown to the Ministry till the King sent it to them. They, to return the compliment, framed the clause for omitting the Princess Dowager, [and] procured the King’s consent to it. This raised a storm in the interior of the palaces; and the result of it, after many intrigues and jarrings, was the overthrow of that administration.” An address was moved in the House of Lords by Lord Lyttleton, to give the King the power to name the person he would recommend. This was rejected by eighty-nine to thirty-one. The Duke of Richmond then moved that the Regency should consist of the Queen, the Princess Dowager, and all the descendants of the late King usually in England. On the following day, Lord Halifax moved the Duke of Richmond’s words, with the single omission of the Princess Dowager. The amend- * ment was agreed to. , : - . . ~ The Regency Bill was read a second time on the ! 7th of May. On the 9th, Mr. Morton, Member for Abingdon, Chief Justice of Chester, and well known to be in the Princess Dowager’s confidence, moved, with the King’s approval, and at Lord Northington’s suggestion, the insertion of her Royal Highness’s name. To Mr. Torke, who had taken an active part in the debate, his brother, Lord Hardwicke, wrote as follows.. “ I non you are well, after all your Houm of Commons fatigue, where I think there have been strange doings. Curiosity would engage me to attend the House of Lords on Monday, when you send up the Bill with your amendments; but as indisposition prevented my being in the beginning of the fray, I think it more prudent not to come in at the latter end. It is impossible not to concur with your mention of the P(rincess) of Wales’s name, now the point has been started; but surely the Court and the Ministry have contrived to bring the House of Lords into a very awkward situation, first inducing them to leap over the stick one way, and then bringing them to jump over it the other.” In consequence of the difficulties attendant upon these “ intrigues and jarrings,” the King solicited his uncle to form a government for him. The Duke accepted the 1706.] DUKE OF CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT. 185 office, and, after sundry messages to Hayes, at last paid Mr. Pitt a visit in person. No slight sensation was produced on the public mind by this condescension of the proudest of Princes towards the proudest of Commoners. Mr. Wright, in his “ House of Hanover,” has reproduced a caricature of the day, illustrative of the event It is entitled <( The Courier.” From the door of a hedge alehouse, protrudes a gouty foot The sign is an inflated bladder, on which is inscribed “ Popularity.” Underneath is the further inscription, “ W.P." On a cantering horse appears a figure intended to represent the very portly person of the Duke of Cumberland, and not unlike the statue of his Royal Highness in Cavendish Square. He wears a large pair of Dettingen boots and has a horn at his mouth. “ Yesterday,” says Walpole, “ the hero of Culloden went down in person to the conqueror of America, and, though tendering almost carte blanche, blanchiseime, for the constitution, and little short of it for Red Book of places, brought back nothing but a flat refusal” That this version was not the correct one, will appear from the account given by the Royal Ambassador himself. THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT.* “ An account of the Negociation for the intended change of Ministers, in April and May, 1765; recollected some days after the whole was over, by help of * To the best of my belief, the only two copies extant of this “ Statement’’are in Lord Fitzwilliam’s papers and my own family collection of MSS. I 186 DDKS OF CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT. [1784. Lord Albemarle, whom I had entrusted in the whole transaction, and who had his part also to act. “ On Easter Day, the 7th of April, 1765, I received his Majesty’s orders to attend him at the Queen’s House, before I set out for Newmarket. Accordingly, I attended there at ten o’clock that same morning, when his Mqjesty was pleased to inquire particularly after my health (I having been all the winter extremely ill), and said he had sent to me to meet him there, that I might save myself the fatigue of going up the stair* at St. James's, and of long standing in the drawingroom.* To which gracious words I returned my most dutiful thanks; and rejoiced in seeing his Majesty also thoroughly recovered. He said he was; but that yet his late illness had been an additional reason for him to desire to speak to me; for that though he was now well, yet God alone knew how soon an accident might befall him. Therefore, he acquainted me that the Thursday before, he had given to his four Ministers • The Duke of Cumberland was at this time considered in a very precarious state. In 1764, the wound he had received at Dettingen broke out at Newmarket. It became “ necessary to make an incision of many inches in his knee. Ranby” (the sergeant-surgeon to the King) “did not dare to propose that a hero should be tied, but was frightened out of his senses when the hero would hold the candle himself which none of his 'generals could bear to do. In the middle of the operation the Duke said, ‘ Hold I* Ranby said, Tor God’s sake, sir, let me proceed now; it will be worse to renew it? The Duke repeated, * I say, hold,’ and then calmly bade them give Ranby a clean waistcoat and cap, ‘for/ said he, ‘the poor man has sweat through these.’ It was true, but the Duke did not utter a groan.*— Walpole’s Letters to Lord Hertford, p. 154. . 17M.] DUKE OF CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT. 187 an order for preparing a Bill of Regency, in case any accident happened to him: that, heat being a good deal allayed, was an additional reason to him for having it done at a time when men’s passions were abated. ((I returned his Majesty my most dutiful thanks for this his gracious information: that I should give my thoughts fully and openly, when I should see the draft of the bill: that, as I rejoiced to see, then, no pressing necessity for any precautions against such an unfortunate event: therefore, I must own, I feared that the importance of the subject-matter would, especially at the end of a session, cause jealousies, which might frustrate his Majesty’s most gracious and generous intentions on this occasion: that, as to our heats, which his Majesty thought were allayed, I was sorry to be obliged to say, that far from it; that though the first people did not express their opinions and their feelings with as much warmth and as repeatedly as last year, it proceeded not from their being over; but that they were already communicated and spread out into the lower class of mankind, from whence it would be more difficult to eradicate them, and set their minds at ease. . . “ I did perceive, or at least thought I did, that his Majesty had still more on his mind to communicate, but I did not think it respectful to endeavour to know more fully what was in the King’s mind. Thus ended the first conversation I had had with the King in his closet or in private since the peace. ' “ The first or second day at Newmarket my Lord 188 DUKE OF CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT. [U65- Northumberland * took occasion to call upon me, singly one morning, under the pretence of going with me to the stables to see my horses. Whilst in the stables he much lamented both the King’s situation and that of his affairs; that with such an administration nothing great could be done; that they lived from day to day, whilst France was restoring their finances, paying off their debt, and putting their naval force again in condition. That, therefore, if ever it pleased France to begin with us, they would find us in the same exhausted state that had obliged us to grant them the favourable terms of peace they had obtained from us. I entirely agreed with his Lordship in the state in which he represented his Majesty’s affairs were, and that I was fully sensible of the diboires and indignities which these gentlemen in power insulted his Majesty with each day; instead of applying themselves to the good of the public in general, or to restoring to his Majesty the affections of his people. He said he rejoiced much in hearing me * Sir Hugh Smithson, Bart, married Lady Elizabeth Seymour, only daughter of Algernon Duke of Somerset, at whose death in 1749 he succeeded to the Earldom of Northumberland. He was created Duke of Northumberland under the Chatham administration. Though profuse and ostentatious, he was a kind and amiable man, a patron of the arts and of men of letters. He “ had an advantageous figure, and much courtesy in Iris address, which bring supported by most expensive magnificence, made him exceedingly popular with the meaner sort/’—Walpole. Lord Northumberland’s son, Lord Warkworth, having married Lord Bute's daughter, was admitted to the King’s private junto, which met daily at this time at Mr. Stow's, It consisted of Lord Bute, Lord Northumberland, Lord Mansfield, Sir Fletcher Norton, Mr. Stow, and Mr. Stow’s brother, the Primate of Ireland. 1765 .] DUKE OF CUMBERLAND'S STATEMENT. 189 express these sentiments, which he h^d never doubted to find in my breast, and which the King was convinced were implanted there; and that, if I had understood his Majesty, the King was intentioned to talk more fully himself over the state of his affairs, and that nothing had prevented that total confidence of his Majesty but fearing that he saw a coldness on my side to endeavour to extricate him out of the troubles he was engaged in. Whether the Lord Northumberland sent a messenger to town to acquaint his Majesty with this conversation, or no, I know not; but I am certain that a messenger was sent to him from London, upon the receipt of whom. I had a second visit during the week, which seemed to me more explicit, and to be warmer in the King's desire for assistance. “ On the 16th of April, in the evening, I received in town another visit from Lord Northumberland, acquainting me it was by the King's pleasure and his order that he had had those conversations with me at Newmarket. I assured him of my readiness; but that this Regency Bill, which was again upon the tapis, was of such importance, and of which I had not had the least communication; that therefore I must humbly deprecate the having any hand in whatever negociar-tions might be, during this Bill’s hanging over all our heads, without any person among those who were concerned being able to obtain two similar answers from any two of his Majesty’s servants in the law, or other-ways ; that, even as to myself, I had reason to fear and believe that my name was quite omitted, as well aa 190 DUKE OP CUMBERLAND’S STATEMENT. [1768. those of my nephews. The Lord Northumberland, in an awkward manner, denied his having at least any knowledge of such a design; but must stop the nego-ciation till things were riper for it. On Wednesday, the next day, we (Lord Albemarle and I) went into the country; but at night I. heard from the House of Lords, that not only my nephews and myself were totally left out, and that there were disputes whether or no it should be the Queen, by name, or the Queen or any of the Royal Family. On which Lord Albemarle went to town and expostulated roundly and warmly with the Earl of Northumberland. The consequence of which was, the King was pleased to signify to the House his pleasure that my nephews and I should stand fixed members of the Council of Regency. < ' “ The 80th of April I, set out for Newmarket, leaving Lord Albemarle, and most of the lords indeed, to attend the finishing of the Bill. During this week the Bill was sent to the Commons, after several amendments'and several extraordinary divisions in the House of Lords, wherein the Duke of Bedford had been so extremely masterly, that had his Grace stuck to his own opinion, he would have stood in a far different light than he had ever stood in, or ever will stand in again. For, after having amended and settled that part of the Bill touching the Queen’s Regency upon a clear, honour* able, popular plan, he allowed these his amendments to be totally overset by the House of Commons, and passed this Bill contrary to his former just amendments. -w-Mi-ltot mended the King to recall his ministers. While the affairs of the kingdom were in this un-settled state, the riots alluded to in the Duke of Cumberland’s narrative assumed a more alarming as* pect On Wednesday, the 15th of May, large bodies of weavers, with black flags, went down to the Houses of Parliament, and implored the King, who went in person to give his assent to the Regency Bill, to interpose in behalf of themselves and their families. The Duke of Bedford, who was better versed in the science of political economy than his contemporaries, defeated this impolitic attempt to obtain what would now be termed “protection to native industry.” He, consequently, became the principal object of the attack of the rioters. One of the mob taking up a large paving-stone, dashed it into his chariot The Duke broke the force of the blow by holding up his arm, but the stone cut his hand and bruised his temple. Two days afterwards, Bedford House was completely besieged by the rioters, who could only be repelled by a body of cavalry. Hence, it was deemed expedient to employ a larger military force. As the Ministers were now at open war with’the King, they made their arrangements necessary for the suppression of the disturbances subservient to the assertion of their authority. Aware that the King would wish to appoint the Duke of Cumberland on the occa- 208 APPOINTMENT OF COMMANDER OF TROOPS. [1765. sion, they not only resolved to nominate another officer to the chief command, but to insinuate very broadly to the King that his uncle was no “favourite of the people.” TRE EARL OF HALIFAX TO THE KING. May 20 (1765). “ His Majesty will determine whether it may not be proper to appoint the Marquis of Granby to the chief command of the troops to-morrow, with the Earl of Waldegrave (who offers himself, as well as the Duke of Richmond, for the service), or any other general officers his Majesty shall please to appoint. Lord Granby is a very popular man, and might save the lives of these deluded wretches, which may be exposed and sacrificed by another commander, equally well-intentioned, but less a favourite of the people." THE KING, IN REPLY, WRITES,— “ Lord Halifax, • “ I will be at St. James's by twelve to-morrow, when I will receive the address of the Lords, through the ■white staves. “ As to the directions I shall think necessary to give, for appointing any generals, I will also talk of that when I shall see you at that hour at St. James’s. “ A council must be ordered as for that hour. “ The regiment at Chatham must be instantly or- 1766 .] CORRESPONDENCE ON TOE RIOTS. 209 dered to advance. You will, therefore, intimate this, in my name, to the Secretary at War.”* The King sent copies of Lord Halifax’s memorandum and of his own answer, to the Duke of Cumberland, with the following letter from himself:— “Dear Uncle, “ The very friendly and warm part you have taken has given me real satisfaction; but I little thought I should be so troublesome to you, as the conduct of the men I have employed forces me. I, in the whole course of the transaction, had proposed consulting you in all military affairs. But now, I must desire you to take the command to-morrow morning, as Captain-General. I should think, Lord Albemarle very proper to put your orders in execution. I have sent this by one who haa my orders not to deliver it to any one but yourself, and to bring an immediate answer, and also your opinion where and how soon we can meet; for if any disturbance arises in the night, I should think the hour proposed for to-morrow too late. I beg you will show the enclosed abstract of their very extraordinary paper to thorn whom you think it may force to act a right part. “ I remain, dear Unde, “ Your most affectionate nephew, “George R.” • Lord Frederick Cavendish, who forwarded a transcript of these letters to Lord Rockingham writes, “ Here is the copy (Lord Albemarle's writing at the time) of the King’s letter to Lord Halifax. I think that the word instantly, in ordering the regiment to march from Chatham rather shows he was not quite at ease about the riots.” VOL. L P 210 CORRESPONDENCE ON THE RIOTS. [1765. The Duke of Cumberland’s answer— “ SlR, • “ Richmond. “ I shall ever obey your orders with obedience and readiness. All I hope is, I am only ordered, and expected on this occasion. “ 1 don’t imagine this report ought to break a moment of your Majesty’s rest. I wish to God you had no more formidable enemies than these poor wretches. “ I shall attend at eleven at St. James’s with that zeal and affection, “Your most humble and dutiful attached Uncle, “ Servant, and subject, . “William.” Copies of the foregoing correspondence were forwarded to Lord Rockingham by Lord Frederick Cavendish,* with the following letter from himself:— t "May 21, 1765. “ Enclosed are the papers your Lordship saw last night. His Royal Highness desires you would not • Lord Frederick Cavendish, third son of William, third Duke of Devonshire, godson of Frederick, Prince of Wales. He was, at this time, Lord of the Bedchamber to the Duke of Cumberland, a Major-General, and became eventually a Field-marshal. He was a good cavalry officer, and distinguished himself on several occasions in the Seven Years' War. “Lord Frederick," says Walpole, “ was lively, and having lived in courts and camps, a favourite of the Duke of Cumberland, was by far the most agreeable, and possessed the most useful sense of the whole family." 1705 ] PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT. 211 show any of them, except Lord Halifax’s letter to the King, and his Majesty’s answer, and of those two you may make such use as you think proper. “ Mr. Pitt said he thought, on such an information as the Secretary of State had, it was his duty, though he should happen to be under his Majesty’s displeasure, to suggest to him such measures as the exigency of the time might require, but owned he should not have wrote in such a style—thought his Majesty would do perfectly right in appointing his Royal Highness Commander-in-Chief, and he should say he approved of it. He was sorry to find there was so much confusion, but did not see a possibility of his being able to be of any service, for as yet be had heard nothing that gave him room to hope the Closet would be propitious to him. On the contrary, my Lord Bute, whose influence was as strong as ever, and whose notions of government were widely different from his, would disincline the King to his system; but expressed a wish that his Royal Highness would persuade his friends to undertake the King’s affairs. <( He drew a conclusion from the situation of the present Ministers, that if they were turned out for no other reason than supporting the measures they advised, it augured ill for him, and therefore he must know why they were turned out,” The Duke of Bedford and his coUeagues, once more in the ascendant, prorogued the Parliament on the 25th of May. The King, thwarted in his attempts to get rid -___________ 212 MINISTERIAL DIFFICULTIES OF THE KING. [1706. of them, took every occasion of marking his resentment against them. The Ministers proposed to make Lord Waldegrave Master of the Horse to the Queen. Her Majesty said, no Minister should interfere in her family, and appointed the Duke of Ancaster. The first regiment that fell vacant was bestowed on Lord Albemarle's brother, General Keppel. The young Duke of Devonshire was, by the desire of George the Third, earned to Court and greatly caressed by his Majesty, and it was intimated to his uncles that the King regretted the manner in which the Duke, his father, had been treated. On the other hand, the Ministers were not passive under these marks of the royal displeasure. On the 12th of June, the Duke of Bedford, Lords Sandwich and Halifax, and Mr. Grenville, brought the King a remonstrance, which took an hour in reading. When they were gone, the King said, that, “ If he had not broken out into the most profuse sweat, he should have been suffocated with indignation.” • Again was the Duke of Cumberland called upon to extricate his royal nephew out of his difficulties. Overtures were renewed to Mr. Pitt, who after two audiences of the King, undertook the direction of affairs, and even nominated to several offices. Thus Lord Temple was named for the Treasury, the Duke of Grafton for Secretary of State with himself, Sir George Savile for Secretary at War, and Saunders and Keppel for seats at the Admiralty Board. The last interview with the King was on the 22nd, on the following day the Duke of • Walpole’s George the Third. 1705.] LORD TEMPLE REFUSES OFFICE. 213 Newcastle wrote to Lord Albemarle. ** I had the honour this morning of your Lordship’s letter, wherein you acquaint me, by His Royal Highness’s order, with Mr. Pitt’s acceptance:" an intimation which does away with Adolphus’s statement that Mr. Pitt “ required time to deliberate." • ' • ‘ But scarcely bad these arrangements been concluded, when Temple declined to accept the Treasury. The effect which this refusal had upon his brother-in-law will be seen in the following letter from his Royal Highness the Duke of Cumberland:— H.R.H. THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND TO THE EARL OF - ALBEMARLE. “ Windsor Great Lodge, June 26, 176& “ I fear, by what I understood last night from Ins Majesty, that we are all afloat again, Lord Temple having most peremptorily and determinately refused bearing a part in any shape, great or small, in the Administration to be formed. This declaration of Lord Temple’s prevents Pitt from taking a share, which indeed most thoroughly and most heartily he had done. He, Pitt, is to be this morning with the King again, with whom he intended to part with the ntmost respect and thankfulness, declaring with what great satisfaction he would have undertaken affairs, if my Lord Temple would have come in with him. He is also to declare that he would not have displaced either the Earl of * Adolphus’* History of George the Third, i. 180, 2nd edition. 214 LETTER TO LORD ALBEMARLE. [1765. Huntingdon,* Lord Pomfret,f Lord Denbigh,J Lord Litchfield,J Lord Despenscr or Mr. Elliott, || or Mr. Os-wald.^[ Moreover, Mr. M'Kenzie to be restored to the sinc-cure of Privy Seal of Scotland, though not to power. “ These circumstances, so different from what I hoped and really thought were in a manner settled, must, I suppose, bring me to town again. In the mean time, either before you leave London, or else, if you don’t propose coming from thence to-day, I should beg a line from you by the return of the messenger, after you have seen the Marquis and the Duke of Grafton, informing them with the purport of this letter, and observing to them, that I found the King already intrenching himself with Pitt’s promises of mercy in so many particulars. By what I can pick up, Pitt is completely mortified, and I am heartily sorry for it, as he had entered more sincerely and cordially into the King’s service, nay, and went farther almost than the King’s views. “ I am your very affectionate friend, “ William.” * Francis Hastings, Earl of Huntingdon, Groom of the Stole, t George Fermor, second Earl of Pomfret, a Lord of the Bedchamber, Ranger of the Little Park at Windsor. | Basil Fielding, sixth Earl of Denbigh, Master of the Harners. § George Henry Lee, Earl of Lichfield, a Lord of the Bedchamber. || Mr., afterwards Sir Gilbert, Elliot, Treasurer of the Chambers, “ a chief confidant of the favourite." 5 James Oswald of Bruinikier, joint Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. All the persons here named were either Tories or “ King's friends." 1765.] LETTER TO LORD HARDWICKS. 216 The unpleasant position of the King from so many abortive attempts to form an administration, particularly the last, which had failed through the refusal of Lord Temple, is thus adverted to in a letter from MB. CAMBRIDGE* TO THE EARL OF HARDWIOKE. “ June t9th, 1765. “ Templa quam dilecta." f “ If your curiosity leads you to question me in that way, I answer, that all the Politicos leave me to my * Richard Owen Cambridge, author of the " Scribbleriad,” end several minor poems, also a contributor to the M World." Although his works are now almost forgotten, he was one of the most popular writers of Ms day. He was an agreeable companion, and possessed a most extensive acquaintance amongst men of all ranks, parties, and professions. He lived almost entirely at his villa at Twickenham, in a house still occupied by his family. Cambridge was a great toxophilite, the head of a duck swimming in the Thames was a favourite mark which he seldom missed. One singularity he had, which has ceased to be one now, he was a " teetotaller." His friend, Lord Chesterfield, thus describes him :—“ Cantabrigius drinks nothing but water, and rides more miles in a year than the keenest sportsman ; the former keeps his head clear, the latter his body in health : it is not from himself that he runs, but to his acquaintance, a synonymous term for his friends. Internally safe, he seeks no sanctuary from himself No intoxication for bis mind. His penetration makes him discover and divert himself with the follies of mankind, which his wit makes him to expose with the truest ridicule, but always without personal offence. Cheerful abroad, because happy at home, and thus happy because virtuous."—(A paper written to expose the folly and ill effects of hard drinking). f The family motto of Earl Temple, a punning paraphrase of a verse of the 84th Psalm. 216 MR. CAMBRIDGE [1785. own conjectures. The late interludes have ended like the tragedy of Tom Thumb, for all the dramatis person# are dead; and if Dr. Young was alive, he might truly begin a new piece:— w * Like Death a solitary king I reign? “ One authentic piece of news I will tell you, and you may make the most of it With my own eyes I have just seen the Duke of Cumberland cross the ferry to Richmond, otherwise I should begin my drama, * Enter a King and Mr. Brown * solus' There are who report that they have seen a ministry in manuscript nt Windsor, but I do not hear that it is yet ordered to be printed at Strawberry II ill,t — not • Lancelot Brown, the famous landscape gardener, called from the constant use of the words, “ This spot has great capabilities," “ Capability Brown.” The grounds of Richmond, Luton, Stowe, Nuneham, and Wimbleton bespeak the high cultivation of his taste. To some places, however, he would*not allow any “capabilities." When desired by the King to improve the grounds at Hampton Court, he declined the hopeless task, “ out of respect to himself and his profession.” To a nobleman whose territory was very dreary, Brown said, “ My lord, there is nothing to be done here, unless you plant one-half of your estate, and lay the other half under water." After laying out the fine piece of water at Blenheim, Brown is said to have exclaimed, “ Thames ! thou wilt never forgive me." The King was living at this time in such complete seclusion, that Cambridge’s idea of “ a King and Mr. Brown tolut" was very natural. By the Chatham Correspondence, it appears that his Majesty occasionally employed Mr. Brown on political errands. Mason says, that when Brown's death reached the royal ear, his Majesty went over to Richmond Gardens, and, in a tone of great satisfaction, said to the under gardener, “ Brown is dead. Now, Mellicant, you and I can do what we please." t Horace Walpole’s printing press at Strawberry HilL 1765.] TO LORD HARDWICKE. 217 un-apropos, as Conway is there to correct the press. Errata:—For * Ellis’ read * Conway,’ for ‘ Stanley ’ read * Ellis,’ for ‘ Clive’ read ‘ Young.’ “ G. Selwyn wants to make wit out of gold and pewter, but does not- bring them together, nor yet in opposition, with any tolerable success. I wish it had been witty, for your sake, for I send you nothing but a melancholy account of our miscarriages in wit and politics, and conclude very seriously, in praying for some happy end to the present very unhappy state of a great nation, and its greater dependencies, bring at present without government We laughed at the perplexity the foreigners were in the other day; I am afraid now we may be ashamed to think they see too plainly the con* temptible figure we make.” 218 MEETING OF WHIG LEADERS. [1705. CHAPTER VIII. MEETING 07 WHIG LEADERS. — CHARACTERS 07 DUKE OF GRAFTON, OEM. CONWAY, DOWDESWELL, LORD JOHN CAVENDISH, THOMAS TOWNSHEND, AND SIB O. SAVILE.—BOCKIN OH AM ADMINISTRATION.—CHARACTER 07, AND OVERTURES TO, LORD SHELBURNE.—LORD DARTMOUTH.—lord Holland’s overtures.—death of duke of Cumberland___THE “GENERAL WARRANT.”—THB KING’S AVERSION TO THE ROCKINGHAM ADMINISTRATION.—THB STAMP ACT.— OPENING 07 PARLIAMENT. — THB KING’S CORRESPONDENCE ON PARLIAMENTARY DEBATER—PROPOSED CHANGE OF MINISTRY.—OVERTURES TO PITT. ----------CHARACTERS OF LORDS TALBOT AND NORTHINGTON. — BIGHT OP TAXING THB COLONIES.—CABINET RESOLUTIONS ON THE STAMP ACT. ----------CORRESPONDENCE AND DEBATES ON ITS REPEAL.-PAMPHLET ON TUB REPEAL.-----------------------------CHARACTER OF JEREMIAH DYSON.—BILL FOR REPEAL PASSED. On the 30th of June, a meeting of the Whig leaders was held at the Duke of Newcastle’s. The following paper, drawn up by his Grace, makes us acquainted with the result of their deliberations:— “ This day, the Lords and Gentlemen hereunder mentioned, viz., “ 1. Duke of Portland, 2. Marquis of Rockingham, 3. Earl of Albemarle, 4. Earl of Ashburnham, 5. Earl of Besborough, 1765.] MEETING OF WHIG LEADERS. 219 6. Lori George } ' 7. Lord Frederick > Cavendish. 8. Lord John J * 9. Lord Viscount VHIiere, 10. Lord Grantham, 11. General Conway, * 12. Hon. Colonel Fitirvy, * 13. Hon. T. Walpole, 14. Captain Walsingham, . 15. Mr. George Onslow, 16. Mr. Charles Townshend of Rorningham, 17. Mr. Charles Townshend, juiuor, 18. Duke of Newcastle^ were unanimously of opinion that they could not venture to come into any new Administration, except it was agreed that the thought of replacing Mr. Mackenzie should be laid aside; and also, that some of the par* ticular friends of the Earl of Bute should be removed, as a proof to the world that the Earl of Bute should not, either publicly or privately, directly or indirectly, have any concern or influence in public affairs, or in the management or disposition of public employments. “ It was then considered whether these conditions, being previously agreed to (as his Majesty had been pleased to signify bis intention to have a new Administration) any of the persons here would, upon the conditions above mentioned, advise and assist the forming a new administration. Upon which there was a diflb* rence of opinion. u 1. Duke of Portland, 2. Marquis of Rockingham, 3. Earl of Albemarle, 4. Earl of Bet borough. 220 CHARACTER OF DUKE OF GRAFTON. [1704. 5. Lord George Cavendish, 6. Lord Frederick Cavendish, 7. Lord John Cavendish, 8. . Lord Grantham, 9. General Conway, 10. Colonel Fitzroy, 11. Captain Walsingham, 12. Duke of Newcastle, declared strongly of opinion that they should advise and assist the forming a new administration, to be composed of proper persons, upon the conditions above-mentioned. “ 1. Earl of Ashburnham, 2. Lord Viscount Villiers, 3. Mr. George Onslow, ♦. Mr. T. Walpole, 5. Mr. Charles Townshend of Homingham, 6. Mr. Charles Townshend, junior, were of opinion that, in the present circumstances, no new administration should be undertaken.” In accordance with the opinion of the majority of this meeting, a new Ministry was formed, at the head of which was the Marquis of Rockingham. Augustus Henry Fitzroy, third Duke of Grafton, obtained the seal of Secretary of State for the Southern Department. He was at this time in his thirty-second year, and possessed considerable graces, both of mind and person. But these advantages were marred by an infirmity of purpose or principle, which coloured, if it did not justify, the assaults of Junius. We are not bound to believe, on the assertion of that terrible 1765.] CHARACTER OP DUKE OF GRAFTON. 221 shadow,* that “the Duke of Grafton’s heart was the blackest in the kingdom.” But we can hardly avoid the conclusion, with his whole career before us, that the period of his ministerial life, during which he held office under a Tory Government, was calamitous for his country and disreputable to himself. He abandoned the principles in which he had been reared, and the patron by whom he had been initiated into statesmanship. He quitted Chatham for Bute, and the doctrines of the Whigs for those of the “hang’sFriends;” nor was his inconstancy more venial, because he occasionally allied himself with the Bedford party, and with the other political connections, at the suggestions of a selfish prudence, or a yet more selfish ambition. The incongruity of the Duke of Grafton’s conduct was the more striking, because the commencement and the close of his political life were both of them in strict accordance with the principles of the Constitution. Could his intermediate career be blotted out from the annals of his country, he would have transmitted a respectable, if not a distinguished, name to posterity. But his memory must ever be exposed to the censure which history pronounces upon those who sanction measures which they cannot approve; and who, by the distrust they thereby inspire, weaken the bonds of the more consistent sections of parties. “ The Duke of Grafton,” writes an anonymous contemporary, “ is one of the most persuasive, or rather pathetic, speakers in the House. His speeches are • “ Nominia umbra," the motto to the Letton of Junioa. ■ ■ - 222 CHARACTER OP DUKE OF GRAFTON. [1765. delivered tn the style of a gentleman and a scholar. His language is chosen, chaste, and correct. His judgment in arranging his matter is not equalled by either side of the House." Walpole has made the following contrast between this Duke and the one who succeeded him in his office:—“ Richmond and Grafton were much of an age; each regarded himself as a prince of the blood; and emulation soon created a sort of rivalship between them. The Duke of Richmond's figure was noble and his person singularly handsome. The Duke of Grafton was low, but manly, with much grace in his address. The passions of both were strong, but of the first, ardent; of the latter, slow and inflexible. The Duke of Grafton had a grace and dignity in his utterance, that commanded attention in lieu of matter; and his temper being shy and reserved, he was supposed to be endued with more steadiness than his subsequent conduct displayed." George Bloomfield, the elder brother of Robert, the “ Farmer’s Boy," thought that, in the books published by his brother, “ the great and truly good man, the late Duke of Grafton, ought to have been more particnlarly mentioned. Surely," continues George Bloomfield, “after near thirty years, the good sense and benevolence of that real noMeman may be mentioned. When in my boyhood he held the highest office in the state that a subject can fill, and, like all that attain such pre-eminence, had his enemies; yet the more Junius and others railed at him, the more I revered him. He was our ‘ Lord of the Manor,’ and 1765.] CHARACTER OF DUKE OF GRAFTON. 223 as I knew well his private character, I have no doubt that he was (all of a piece.* I have on foot joined the fox-chace, and followed the Duke many an hour, and witnessed his endearing condescension to all who could run and shout.” There was, however, a portion of society not of an age and size to participate in the Duke of Grafton*# favourite amusement, and these were not so honoured as George Bloomfield; and it is to that portion I then belonged. His Grace was not fond of children; they came in for no share of his “ endearing condescension.” I have a lively recollection of the awe with which he inspired me. As the Duke’s and my father’s country houses in Suffolk were only four miles distant, and the families were on intimate terms, I had frequent opportunities of seeing him during the first twelve years of my life. On some occasions I saw him in the luncheon room at Euston Hall, but this was a rare occurrence, for I was generally hurried out of the room whenever he was expected. I used mostly to meet him riding. He was usually mounted on a fiery thorough-bred horse, on which he sat with much ease and dignity. I know not how far local traditions may have mixed with personal recollections, but the <( mind’s eye” presents the picture of an elderly gentleman, of spare form, middle stature^ straight silver hair, a prominent nose, and a countenance of much severity; and dressed in a light-coloured tight-fitting coat, long black boots, and a small three-cornered hat But it was not to us little people only that the “ Junius Duke of Grafton” was formidable. From the 224 CHARACTER OF GENERAL CONWAY. [1706. accounts I have heard his nephew, the late General William Fitzroy, give of him, he was evidently an object of terror to “ Children of a larger growth." The leadership in the House of Commons was assigned to Lieut-General Henry Seymour Conway, who had served with distinction at Culloden, Fontenoy, and Laf-feldt, and in 1761 had commanded the British division under Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick. Conway was a better soldier than he was an officer, and more of an officer than a statesman. His features were singularly handsome, and be was dignified in his person and demeanour. Although his disposition was courteous, his constitutional timidity made him reserved, and he had the semblance of pride without the advantage of firmness. In the field he would march with imperturbable coolness up to the cannon’s mouth.* On the Treasury Bench he faltered and wavered; and although by no means deficient in eloquence, irresolution rendered his speeches tedious and obscure. This infirmity of purpose often laid him open to the sneers of bis contemporaries. It was said of him that if two doors opened to one apartment, Conway would be tortured to decide through which of them be should finally pass. He thus became exposed to the influence of any one who would advise him. Lord Rockingham urged upon him the claims of • “ 1 don’t pretend,” said George Stanhope, a brother of Lord Chesterfield’s,a to be like Harry Conway, who walks up to the mouth of a cannon with as much coolness and grace as if he was going to dance a minuet.”—Walpole. 1705.] CHARACTER OF DOWDESWELL. 225 political virtue and independence, but into the other ear Horace Walpole whispered the duty of self-interest; and Conway too generally preferred the worse to the better reason.* • The virtues of William Dowdeswell, the Chancellor of the Exchequer in the new Administration, have been recorded in the epitaph which Burke has inscribed upon bis tomb—“An epitaph so perfectly true,” says its author, “ that every word of it may be deposed upon oath.” Dowdeswell was fortunate in his chronicler, but still more fortunate in having authenticated by his life the portrait which friendship, both political and personal, has drawn of him in the following words:— “ His understanding was comprehensive, steady, vigorous, made for the practical business of the State. In debate he was clear, natural, and convincing. His knowledge on all things which concerned his duty profound : he understood, beyond any man of his time, the revenue of his country, which he preferred to every thing except its liberties; he was perfect master of the law of Parliament, and attached to its privileges, until they were set up against the rights of the people.* Lord John Cavendish, a younger son of the third Duke of Devonshire, was one of the new Lords of the Treasury. His tutor at Cambridge was Mason the poet, ’ * Since the above remark! on Conway were in type, my friend Sr Denis Le Marchant has sent me some of the FieM-Marshafe early letters to Walpole; which, as they are both characteristic and amusing, I have placed in the Appendix to this volume. VOL. I. Q faster than his memory retained. He was accurate in repeating words, sentences, nay, volumes if he pleased: nor was he defective in quickness or reasoning. Under the appearance of virgin modesty, he had a confidence in himself that nothing could equal, and a thirst of dominion still more extraordinary. It consisted solely in governing those with whom he was connected without views either of interest or power. His plan seemed to be the tyranny of a moral philosopher; he was a kind of heresiarch that sought to be adored by his enthusiastic disciples without a view of extending his sect beyond that circle. His fair little person, and the quaintness with which he untreasured as by rote the stores of his memory, occasioned George Selwyn to call him the learned Canary-bird* 1765.] CHARACTER OF THOMAS TOWNSHEND. 227 One of Lord John's colleagues at the Treasury Board was Thomas Townshend, a grandson of the second Viscount Townshend. His name must be familiar to every one, from Goldsmith's lines, wherein he represents Burke— * Though fraught with all learning, yet (training his throat. To persuade Tommy Townshend to lend him a vote.* “ He always," says Wraxall, “ spoke with facility— sometimes with energy—and was never embarrassed by any degree of timidity." When Lord Rockingham returned to power in 1782, Townshend was appointed one of the Secretaries of State. He continued to act with the Whigs until the coalition, when he ranged himself under the banners of the younger Pitt, at whose nomination he was successively created Baron and Viscount Sydney. Replacing Lord Fitzwilliam in the chair of the newly formed India Board, he is thus noticed in the “RoUiad”— “ Sydney, whom all the power* of rhetoric grace. Consistent Sydney fills Fitzwilliam's place. 0 had, by Nature, but proportioned been His strength'of genius to his length of drin. His mighty mind, in some prodigious plan. At once, with ease, had reached to Hindustan.” The Premier’s friend, Sir George Savile, was invited to take part in the Rockingham Administration. But with his habitual delicacy and candour he declined the offer, alleging that, as an independent Member of Parliament, he could better assert his privileges and serve his friends. Faction has spared the name of Savile: 9 t 228 CHARACTER OF [1765. contemporaries are unanimous in representing him as in the highest degree generous, benevolent, disinterested, and unostentatious—a high commendation in an age where mere negative virtues were rare, and statesmen imitated the maxims rather than the practice of Sir Robert Walpole. In person Savile was somewhat above the middle size; his figure was slender, his complexion adust, his constitution delicate; his address was easy, and almost bordering upon negligence. As an orator he possessed great facility of utterance, and was simple even to austerity in the choice of his words. In debate he was clear, sensible, and persuasive. A peculiar radiance spread over his features whenever philanthropy was the theme of his discourse. Indeed, the general belief in the honesty and benevolence of his intentions produced such an impression in favour of his arguments, that “ Truth came mended from his tongue.” His habits of thinking were very original. “ He had a head,” Walpole remarks, “ as acutely argumentative as if it had been made by a German logician for a model” He was a shrewd observer of contemporary statesmen. He predicted early the future greatness of Charles Fox. When that statesman was scarcely a man, he praised him for his readiness in finding out blots—his celerity in hitting the bird’s-eye of an argument, and his general talents for opposition. ** Hence,” said Savile, (< others may have more stock, but Fox has more ready money about him than any of his party;” Toleration in matters of religion is a doctrine of comparatively recent growth. It was imperfectly un- 1765.] SIR, GEORGE SAVILE. 229 derstood by the Whigs of the last century, who combined the ideas of Protestantism and the Hanoverian succession. It was utterly unknown to their political opponents, who recognized the Church of England as the sole Church of Christ; but Savile was an honourable exception to both these extremes. He advocated the claims of the Roman Catholics, and his advocacy exposed him to the fury of the Church and King mobs of the year ’80; and yet, even while his house was assailed, and frequent attempts were made to set it on fire, he spoke of the incendiaries with compassion, and ascribed the zeal of the multitude rather to their ignorance than to their evil passions, rather to their being led by blind guides than to the spontaneous aberration of their own feelings. Savile’s conduct on this occasion was highly characteristic. Several of his friends agreed to sit up with him during the night for the protection of his family. It was arranged amongst them that parties from time to time should sally forth in search of intelligence respecting the riots, but, as their accounts varied from each other, Savile said, with great composure, “Here, gentlemen, is a fine lesson for an historian. We have a fact of the day before us, reported by men of integrity and ability, anxious to search for truth, and willing to record it with as much circumstance and minuteness as possible. Yet, such is the nature of the human mind, that with all its inclinations to do right, it is under that operation which in some degree prevents it.” 230 ROCKINGHAM ADMINISTRATION. [170ft. Such was this wise and virtuous citizen, who indeed exhibited in his character many of the qualities which the Roman satirist ascribes to the senator Crispus:— “Cujus erant mares, quails facundia, mite Ingenium: maria ac terra® populosque regenti Quia comes utilior t" • In forming his ministry, Lord Rockingham was naturally anxious to secure the co-operation, or at least the neutrality, of Mr. Pitt. With this view he appointed his friends the Duke of Grafton and General Conway Secretaries of State; his brother-in-law, James Grenville, Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, and raised Chief-Justice Pratt to the Peerage, with the title of Baron Camden. But the advancement of friends, relations, or recent colleagues did not conciliate the impracticable Minister. He not only would not assist the Government, but by the disparaging tone that he adopted, he discouraged many of his followers from joining them. Thus, for example, when Sir Fletcher Norton was dismissed by Lord Rockingham from the Attorney-Generalship, because he was a bitter and uncompromising foe, Pitt sent word to Sir Fletcher, that “ he was not turned out by hit advice, and that, were he Minister, he should be glad of the assistance of such abilities.” The failure of Lord Rockingham to win over Lord Chatham and bis adherents is the more to be lamented, because, had the co-operation been effected, much of the misrule and misunderstanding which at this period • Juv. Sat. iv. 8t. 1765.] CHARACTER OF LORD SHELBURNE. 231 sullies English annals, might probably have been avoided. - Among those whom Pitt’s example and demeanour deterred was John Fitzmaurice, Earl of Shelburne. He was now in the twenty-ninth year of his age. The army was at that period the general school of men of high birth; and, as Viscount Fitzmaurice, he had greatly distinguished himself in the battles of Camper and Minden. At the commencement of the new reign he had been appointed one of the royal aides-de-camp; and in 1762 he represented High Wycombe in Parliament. In the year following he succeeded to the Earldom of Shelburue and a seat in the House of Lords. In 1768 he was for a few months President of the Board of Trade, but resigned that post on Mr. Pitt’s failure to 'form an Administration. For public life, Lord Shelburne possessed many eminent qualifications. His countenance was handsome and expressive; his demeanour dignified; his insight into character was shrewd and generally accurate. His wit was general, and his eloquence graceful and persuasive. His knowledge of business, especially that which related to foreign affairs, was extensive; and at times he was capable of steady application to official duties. Perhaps, however, Lord Shelburne was better adapted to second a political leader, than himself to conduct a leading department in the Cabinet There were, indeed, grave errors in his political career. In the first place, he was carried away by what we must consider an undue admiration of Lord Chatham. “ Regis ad exemplar,” he was often 232 CHARACTER OF [1765. sullen and impracticable in intercourse with his proper political allies. At an earlier period, indeed, he had been a staunch opponent of the “Great Commoner;” and he prompted the celebrated attack upon him by Colonel BarrS, of which mention has already been made in these pages. But Lord Shelburne seems to have thought with Mrs. Malaprop, that in unions it was “ as well to begin with a little aversion.” But his opposition became warm partisanship, and he even acted in concert with one who was nearly as formidable to friends as to foes, and on Lord Chatham's decease he became the leader of that section of Whigs which thenceforward was denominated “ the Shelburne party.” Lord Shelburne’s standing aloof from the Rockingham Ministry in 1765, and from Charles Fox’s Cabinet in 1783, were favourable neither to his own reputation nor to the interests of the country at large. Himself it placed in the false position of heading and perpetuating a schism, which had no just or even plausible ground to rest upon. The Whig party it enfeebled, while it enabled the Court to carry on its machinations against constitutional principles and the liberties of the people. The “ King’s friends ” indeed, when they contemplated the severance of their opponents, might be excused if they applauded their own success dividing and crippling adversaries who, if united among themselves, would have presented, an impenetrable phalanx against both the sovereign and his favourites. - . 176&J LORD SHELBURNE. 233 Division among the Whigs was, at this juncture, the one thing needful for the Court. These errors were the more regretted, because, in many respects, he was an enlightened and consistent statesman. In the affair of Wilkes, and in the case of the printers, he took the side of reason and liberty. He condemned the equally foolish and wicked measures in their dealings with the American Colonies; he uniformly resisted the encroachments of the Crown, while he advocated inquiry into the public expenditure, and the abolition of sinecure and superfluous places. On the appointment of the younger Pitt, in 1783, as First Lord of the Treasury, Lord Shelburne, who had then become Marquis of Lansdowne, retired into private life. The French Revolution once again recalled him to a public career, and he strenuously co-operated with the party which would have avoided the equally nryust and unfortunate interference with France—Diis aliter visum—but a strong union of the Whigs in 1793 would have saved ourselves and our neighbours from many crimes and much repentance. In his retirement at Bowood, Lord Shelburne became the host of the eccentric and philanthropic Jeremy Bentham. Lord Mansfield has spoken with encomium of the <( Fragment on Government,” but he took no notice of its author. Lord Shelburne, although he had introduced Blackstone to the King, both commended the <( Fragment ” and afforded a temporary home and much hearty encouragement to poor Bentham — at that 234 LETTER TO LORD SHELBURNE. (1766. time smarting under poverty, and suffering from all kinds of despondency. Bentham describes himself as coming to Bowood, u cowed by past humiliations; feeling like an outcast in the world.” “ Lord Shelburne,” he adds, ” raised me from the bottomless pit of humiliation, and made me feel I was something.” It comes not within the scope of this work to describe this intimacy further. So far as Lord Shelburne is concerned, however, his intercourse with the codifying philosopher was honourable to his heart and his understanding. THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM TO THE EARL OF SHELBURNE. “ Mt Lord, “July 11, 1765. “ I did myself the honour to wait upon your Lordship on last, but had not the good fortune to find you at home; and I should have desired the honour of a conversation with you, if I had had any expectation of succeeding with you in what I was empowered to propose. “ I must, nevertheless, in order not to appear wanting in respect to your Lordship, desire to know from your Lordship, whether it would be agreeable to you to return to preside at the Board of Trade. “ The conversation I have had with Mr. Dempster has given me the utmost satisfaction, as it permits me to flatter myself, that your Lordship is not disinclined 1765.] LETTER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 235 to give your countenance and assistance in support of his Majesty’s present servants; as well as that your Lordship is far from objecting to any applications bring made to Col. Barre.”* TUB EARL OF SHELBURNE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “Mr Lord, -July 11,170. “ It is impossible for me, except I could convey to your Lordship, at the same time, how desirous I have ever been, by unalterable duty and respect, to preserve his Majesty’s good opinion, to express to you the satisfaction and happiness it would give me to serve him in any situation, much more in the considerable one your Lordship does me the honour to point out to me. I am, therefore, extremely concerned, that betides the total ignorance I am under in regard to the measures you propose to pursue, a real consciouness of my own inability in so active an office to which the domestic habits I have lately fallen into add not a little, makes it absolutely incumbent on me to decline the honour done me, through a conviction that more evil might come to his Majesty’s affairs, than the little aid I could ever hope to give, could compensate. “ As to my future conduct, your Lordship will pardon me if I say, ‘ Measures and not men ’ will be the rule of it; especially as I can add, that besides the sincere * Colonel Band Mt in Parliament, through Lord Shelburne"* internet, for the Borough of Colne. 236 OVERTURES TO SHELBURNE. [1765- affection I shall ever bear his Majesty’s person, my opinion of the present state of this country, in many respects, is such as will make it matter of very serious concern to me, not to concur in whatever shall be proposed by his Majesty’s Ministers. • “ This, as I recollect, contains the substance of my conversation to Mr. Dempster, when he did me the favour to call on me some time ago, and in the course of bis visit took occasion to speak to me of myself. “ I am sorry it is impossible for me to give your Lordship any light in regard to Colonel Barri. So many public events have happened since be has been at a distance, that I cannot even conjecture what his sentiments may be in the present situation. Your Lordship may be assured, if he approves the public plan of government proposed, I shall hear with the greatest pleasure of his obeying the King’s commands, and yielding to your Lordship's wishes. “ I have the honour to be, with great consideration and regard, * * My Lord, “ Your most obedient and most humble servant, “ Shelburne.” These overtures to Lord Shelburne were renewed in the month of December of this year; and Mr. Pitt, in answer to his Lordship’s announcement, certainly gave him no encouragement to alter his determination. “ The openings,” writes Mr. Pitt, “ from Lord Rockingham to your Lordship and Colonel Barr^ yon will 17W.J EARL OF DARTMOUTH. 237 easily believe do not surprize me; nothing being so natural as for Ministers, under the double pressure of affairs all in confusion, and doubtful internal situation, to recur to distinguished abilities for assistance.”* On the failure of Lord Rockingham’s negociation with Lord Shelburne, the Chairmanship of the Board of Trade was bestowed on William Legge, second Earl of Dartmouth. He went out with the Whigs in 1766, but in 1772 was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies, and in 1775 became Keeper of the Privy Seal. He resigned his situation when Lord Rockingham became a second time Minister; and, in April, 1783, he was appointed Lord Steward of the Household, but resigned with his friends, and continned ever after in private life. Lord Dartmouth was always remarkable for his strict attention to his religious duties. Hervey, the author of “ Meditations,” ranks him among his friends. He bore an excellent character in all the domestic relations of life. The Grenville Ministry had annexed, among other conditions to their continuance in office, the exclusion of their late friend and ally, Lord Holland, from the Pay Office. This point was, perhaps, the only one which had been yielded without a murmur. Lord Holland had not been forgiven by the Princess Dowager for advising Mr. Pelham, on the death of her husband, to take her son (afterwards the King) from her, that she might not get an ascendant over him. Abandoned by the Court, Lord Holland tried to be reconciled to * Chatham Correspondence, u. 359. 238 LORD BOLLAND [1765. the friends whom he had deserted, particularly to the Duke of Cumberland. Eight days after the new Administration was formed, he addressed Lord Albemarle, whose cousin, Lady Caroline Lennox, he had married, in the following terms:— “ I never wrote with so much anxiety as I write this letter, and you can't wonder at it, since on it depends the only view I have, or ever shall have, of content and pleasure the remainder of my days. ((Whilst the new administration was forming, I thought my writing might be construed as an attempt to have a hand in forming it, which no man in England desired I should, and I as little as any. But it is now made, and, unless it does as the Duke of Bolton did, will live long, or I am mistaken. Lord Bute must be content with the revenge he has had of hit Calcraft; the King, with having got rid of G. Grenville, &c., and being treated for the future with good breeding; whilst his Royal Highness will meddle with public affairs only from the highest (his proper) sphere, unmolested with the little intrigues or under-plots of court politicians. I wish that I might again kiss his hand at Windsor, as I used to do; I say, though it is a bold word, as I wish to do, because 1 can, with the strictest truth, affirm solemnly, that my affection was never alienated one moment from his Royal Highness, my gratitude never lessened. His Majesty (with whom his Royal Highness has had lately much discourse, I hear) could, if he pleased, give ample testimony of this. But, 239 TO LORD ALBEMARLE. 1765.] it may be said, why should the Duke forgive and see me? Not, certainly, with hope of my being of any use whatever, more than if I was dead and buried. But, my dear Lord, he will see a devoted servant so obliged, that in his whole life he cannot make another man, with so much reason, or so much, or so affectionately, his, as I am. “If he would foiget everything but how he has obliged me, I could, and do think of nothing but how much I have been obliged; and, my dear Lord, you’d act like what you have always been, a generous and sincere friend, if you give me your best assistance on this occasion. “Whatever lies you may have heard, and I doubt not many have been told, indeed, my dear Lord Albemarle, I am not unworthy of your friendship for me with the Duke. 1 presume to hope an answer soon. When it does come, it’s the whole difference between a cheerful and a discontented life to, “ My dear Lord, yours ever, . “Hollaed. “ Nobody knows, or will know, that I have had tin courage to write this letter?’ The bad success which attended Lord Holland’s overtures, will be seen by the following letter from Lord Rockingham to the Duke of Cumberland, and from hit Royal Highness’s answer. 240 LORD ROCKINGHAM [1705. THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM TO THE DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. « Sir, “ October 20,1765. “ It is necessary for me to begin by apprising your Royal Highness of the origin of the affair which I now lay before you, and shall hope for your excuse if I am rather prolix. “ Lord Holland, through various channels, for some time has been labouring to persuade me to restore one Mr. Earle, of Wiltshire, who was Receiver of the LandTax, and who was turned out by G. Grenville, just before he left the Treasury, in order to give the place to a Mr. Wilkins, a friend and apothecary to Lord Suffolk. Lord Suffolk is a competitor with Lord Holland for the Borough of Malmsbury, in Wiltshire. “ I inquired some time ago, at the Treasury, into the circumstances of Mr. Earle's dismission, and found that Mr. Earle was rather behindhand with his remittances, and indeed that many other receivers were so too; but that he only was dismissed. I am quite persuaded that Mr. Earle's dismission proceeded from no other cause but the intention of Mr. Grenville to oblige and assist Lord Suffolk and to offend Lord Holland. I have again renewed an inquiry into what has been the general custom at the Treasury, when receivers have been dilatory in their remittances, and rather think that the usual process is, first by suspension, and that dismission only follows, if they do not quickly pay up the deficiencies, and cannot give good security for their 1765.] TO DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. 241 future better conduct In general, the dismission of a receiver is very unusual. The language I have held to those (who have, as I imagine, been employed by Lord Holland) has been, that I should not have the least difficulty in my own mind to do justice to a friend of Lord Holland, but that matter of favour was what I thought could not be expected. That I had restored many, who had been unjustly dismissed from low offices, but that I had not dealt in retaliation of injuries, even though pressed by friends to gratify their resentments. “ I was surprised on Thursday last at receiving a letter from Lord Holland, but much more so this morning at being told by Ratify/,* as mere chit chat, that Lord Holland had inquired of him, on what day and at what hour my levee was, as ‘ he, Lord Holland, intended to come.’ I treated this hint as very improbable, and then it was again renewed with a question: ‘ Why, you would not surely shut your doors to Lord Holland?’ I continued the same sort of reply, by treating it as improbable. “ Though I fear I tire your Royal Highness with this long narration, I must still beg to state to your 'Royal Highness my thoughts on this matter. If no hint is conveyed through Ranby, I do imagine that probably next Thursday Lord Holland will make his appearance at my levee. “ This phenomenon will, of course, occasion much speculation and much discourse, and, I think, will have two effects; the one is, that all parliamentary lookers* * Suigeon-general to the King. VOL. I. R 242 DUKE OF CUMBERLAND [1766. out will immediately conceive that it is a great addition of strength and support to the present administration, and many a wavering man will fix with us. “ The otJier effect is, that Lord Holland’s appearance will not tend to the general credit with the public, on which this administration founded their reliance of support. “ Your Royal Highness will not wonder that, seeing the affair in the light I do, I should request your Royal Highness for your directions. “I scarce believe, howsoever anxious Lord Holland may be on this point, relative to Mr. Earle, that his visit in Grosvenor-square is merely confined to that object Perhaps not having succeeded in other attempts he has made, he may think a public mark of his intentions to support the present administration, formed under your Royal Highness’s protection, may operate so far as to give him a chance of regaining, in some small degree, that favour which he now so much regrets. “ I sent to the Duke of Grafton this evening, and he has been with me; and after having stated the two points of view in which this affair strikes me, his Grace was as much perplexed to determine as I was. I must say, Sir, that to hesitate is laudable, and that it is the first time any administration ever hesitated, whether the acceptance of a declaration of Lord Holland’s in their favour, was matter of doubt I own it is to me much matter of doubt, and I would not take upon me to determine, on my own judgment alone, what may be of 1706.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 243 o^taBI so much general importance; and especially as I may think that it is the first step to a consequential intention. “ In all consideration, I submit it to your Royal Highness’s directions.” The next morning, the Duke of Cumberland thus replied to Lord Rockingham:— “ Mt LORD Rockingham, “Newmarket, October Slat, 1765. “ I have this evening received yours, with the enclosure from Lord Holland. “ I am highly sensible of your delicacy towards me, in not deciding on the propriety of this measure with the Duke of Grafton without my opinion on the subject; but, as you both seem to want to know my thoughts, I shall fully give them, having nothing more at heart than the honour and success that ought to attend the principles on which you undertook the administration. “ As little as the appearance of seeking Lord Holland would do honour to the Administration, as much hurt might come on the throwing of him into the enemy's scale. It were to be wished, he would have contented himself with letting his friends assist Government without appearing himself; but as that will not do, and that he will show himself personally at the Minister's, it is much better it should be publicly, and at a levee, than in any other way, because the whole world will see how far that goes, and is all on his side only. “If the granting bis request be just and proper, grant it, and accept his visit as a return of thanks for Bi 244 DEATH OF DUKE OF CUMBERLAND. [1766. justice done to his friend. Upon the whole, I do not see how you can shut your door upon him; and therefore, let the measure be his, and only acceptance on your side. “ Excuse the burry of this letter, and assure yourself that I am as zealous of your honour as you yourselves can be. “ I am, &c., “ William.” Ten days from the date of this letter, the writer had ceased to breathe. His Royal Highness had long been in a precarious state of health; he had grown enormously fat, had completely lost the use of one eye, and saw but imperfectly with the other. He was asthmatic, had had a paralytic stroke, and the wound in the leg that he had received at Dettingen never completely healed. On the 30th of October, the Duke was playing at piquet with General Hodgson; he grew confused and mistook the cards. The next day he was sufficiently recovered to appear at Court, and dined in the afternoon with Lord Albemarle. A Cabinet Council was held the same evening, at eight Being then at his house in Upper Grosvenor-street, just as the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Northington came into the room, he was seized with a suffocation. One of his valets, who was accustomed to bleed him, was called, and prepared to tie up his arm, but the Duke exclaimed, “ It is all over,” and immediately expired in Lord Albemarle’s arms. The Duke dying intestate, Lord Albemarle, under the 1765.] PRINCESS AMELIA TO LORD ALBEMARLE. 24f King's sign manual, took out letters of administration to his estate. With the exception of a few letters it my possession, all the Duke’s papers were burned, ai will be seen by the following letter from his Royal High ness’s favourite sister:— H. R. H. THE PRINCESS AMELIA TO THE EARL Of ALBEMARLE. “Gunnenbury, Nov. % 1785. “ You are always attentive and obliging, my goo* Lord Albemarle. I thank you for the letters, and : have burnt them. I need not tell you, I hope, how sen sibly I am pleased with the message the King hath sen you.* It would be a great pleasure to our friend 1 he could know it, and I think will do infinite honour t the King. “ I am, and ever shall be, ((My good Lord Albemarle, your sincere friend, “ Amelia. “ The King hath done me the honour to write to m a very gracious, affectionate, and feeling letter upo my great loss.” At the Duke of Cumberland’s request the King ha* promised Lord Albemarle the first vacant garter, an< his Majesty now with much propriety bestowed upo: him that recently vacated by his deceased master. * Through Lord Rockingham. The King’s letter is published i my brother’s Life of Lord Keppel, L 384. 246 MR. CHARLES YORKE [1766. Soon after Wilkes had been discharged by the Court of Common Pleas, actions were brought, at the suggestion of Lord Temple, against Lords Halifax and Egremont, against the under Secretary of State, the Solicitor of the Treasury, and the King’s messengers. Lord Chief Justice Pratt, before whom some of these actions were tried, declared it as his opinion that the warrant was illegal, that it was illegally executed, that the Secretaries of State were not within the Acts of Parliament of James the First and George the Second, and consequently that the action would be against the messengers. Accordingly the juries in all the cases of the parties attached under the warrant, found verdicts in favour of the plaintiffs, and awarded heavy damages. In the action against Mr. Wood, the Under-Secretary, Wilkes obtained damages to the amount of one thousand pounds. HON. CHARLES YORKE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Sunday morning, 9 o’clock, Nov. S, 1765. “ My dear Lord, “ The state of the material actions depending in the affair of the messengers is this. One was argued by the Solicitor-General in the Court of King’s Bench last Tenn. Two others, in the Court of Common Pleas. Thai depending in the King’s Bench stands now to be argued by me, as Attorney-General. Lord Mansfield and the other Judges have determined on the general warrant, and laid it out of the case. So that the points remaning are, Whether the Secretaries of State and their ser- !V 1765.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 247 !j vants are within the statute laws, which favour Justices MJ of Peace; and whether the messenger apprehending a 11 1 man who was not printer and publisher of (North Bri- | | ton/ No. 45, can justify under any warrant directing [ j him to take up those who were so. Now, I am clearly of > | opinion that even supposing the Secretaries of State are ■ j within the statutes, and supposing the warrant had been 1 ■ * proper, still the mistake cannot, in strictness, be justi- i । fled by the officer. In short, my Lord, the true com- । plaint of all these verdicts is the excess of damages, i ( which cannot be set right; and from what has passed in I j both Courts, I know that it is impossible to avoid the । payment of them .... As to the other actions in the J Common Pleas they turn mostly on the same points, except that, in one of them, the indefensible clause in i that old warrant, directing the general seizure of a liM-ler's papers, comes to be considered. * ' “ Upon the whole, the favour I must beg of yonr Lordship is to inform his Majesty, with my humble duty, that, in my opinion it is for his Majesty’s service and honour to make an end of all those proceedings. I Though the King may think, as the impartial world does, the damages too great, yet his servants must submit to the course of law and justice. <( Your Lordship knows that (in allusion to a Spanish phrase) I was for clearing the inkhorn in Westminster Hall, long since. But the time is now come, if it ought ever to be. And I trust, that his Majesty will have • the goodness (in the countenance and protection which . he is pleased to grant me) to leave this matter to me; 248 THE KING’S AVERSION [1765. unless any particular objections yet unexplained occur to his own royal mind. “ The misfortune of the Duke of Cumberland’s death has prevented the King from coming to St. James’s to day; otherwise I would have presumed to trouble him with one word upon this subject myself. “ Your Lordship will do it better for me. In the meantime, let me beg, that nothing be mentioned of this letter but to the person of the King himself. “ I am, my dear Lord, with the truest respect, “ Your affectionate and faithful humble servant, “ C. Yorke. “ P. S. Let me hear from you to-morrow morning. Wednesday is the first day of Term.” It was not to be supposed that the King would regard with a more favourable eye Ministers to whom his embarrassments alone had compelled him to consign the Government than those whom he had appointed of his own free will. Indeed, of the various political sects not one was so distasteful to the sovereign as that of which Lord Rockingham was the acknowledged head. They were at once too wealthy, too indifferent to office, too much actuated by public principles, too closely bound together by party ties, to yield to the King, or to suit the views of a Court, that required Ministers to be not the public servants of the State but the private domestics of the sovereign. Two years previously his Majesty had declared, in allusion to the Rockingham party, he would never suffer those Ministers of the late reign, “ who 1765.] TO THE ROCKINGHAM ADMINISTRATION. 249 had attempted to enslave him, to come into his service while he held the sceptre,” * and although his necessities compelled him to depart from the strict letter of his vow, he appears to have contemplated the continuance of his Ministers in office only until he could supply their places by a more subservient corps. The King’s disinclination to his. new servants was further strengthened by a circumstance not contemplated at the time of their coming into office. On the 9th of March 1764, Mr. Grenville introduced his. famous project of drawing a revenue from America by means of a duty upon stamps. Up to this period the Colonies appear to have excited but little attention, either in or out of Parliament. Sir Robert Walpole, true to his principle of u quieta non movere,” left the department entirely to the Duke of Newcastle, who had not opened a dispatch for a series of years. The late Lord Essex informed Sir Denis le Marchant that one of the under-secretaries of that day said to him, ((Mr. Grenville lost America because he read the American dispatches, which his predecessors had never done;” and so complete a sinecure was the Board of Trade then considered, that a Colonel Bladen, one of the commissioners, happening to apply himself to the duties of his office, the colonel went by the name of “ Trade,” while his colleagues were called “ Ilie Board.” The Ministers bad been called to the government a very short time, when they received intelligence of the * Bedford Correspondence. 250 THE STAMP ACT. [1706. general resistance of the Americans to the enforcement of the Act- The King would fain have brought the refractory colonists to obedience by measures of coercion, but the Rockingham Administration, desirous of restoring the loyalty of the Americans by the removal of the cause of their disaffection, early announced their intention to stand or fall by the repeal of the obnoxious law. The second Lord Hardwicke, after assigning, in his “ Memorial!," bis own reasons for assenting to the repeal, adds: “ But, from a personal inclination of the King, and influenced by Lord Bute and the Princess Dowager, the followers of Court favour went the other way, and half the Court at least voted in opposition to Administration.” “ Lord Rockingham,” says Nicholls, “ repealed the Stamp Act, and from that hour the King determined to remove him.” Amidst many ills which the Stamp Act caused to America, one advantage accrued to the new Ministry; it brought them in contact with men of business, and they became possessed of a knowledge of commercial matters, which their predecessors had never attained. In the foUowing letter, from a Mr. Sparhawk to Lord Rockingham, the practical working of the Act is pointed out. “ Mt Lord, “ I have just hinted at the Act of Parliament commonly called the Stamp Act, and, without stirring the question, how far this Government has an exclusive 1765.] THE STAMP ACT. 251 right of taxing its own inhabitants, will your Lordship allow me to say, that there has never happened among us anything that has thrown the people of this province, and indeed the whole continent, into such a consternation as this Act has occasioned. And besides its being universally disliked, it is thought by the best judges here to be wholly impracticable, from the nature of the Act and the peculiar circumstances of the colonies relative to it. It is much doubted whether all the circulating cash among us (which is no more than is absolutely necessary for the carrying on our trade and business, and answering the common occasions of life), supposing the Act should be carried into execution, would be sufficient to answer its demands. “ It is very plain, then, that the consequence thereof would be the ruin of the trade and commerce of the country; and your Lordship need not be told how detrimental that must be to the trade of our mother country, from whence we have imported annually such an immense, I may say, an amazing quantity of her manufactures, to her great utility and emolument. But it is to be hoped, my Lord, that the humble petition of the inhabitants (not less, perhaps, than two or three millions) of a whole continent, which are to be presented to his Majesty and the great Parliament of the nation, will be graciously heard; and that in their great wisdom and goodness they will remove our fears, and vouchsafe us deliverance. “ The high station Providence has placed you in, my Lord, will give your Lordship an opportunity of patro- 252 SIR GEORGE SAVILE [1765. nizing the distressed state of these American colonies, and of doing much towards the rendering of them hftPPy- ^1 your Lordship, then, pardon my freedom in requesting the favour of your interposition on our behalf, which, besides the satisfaction that must result to your Lordship from the reflection, will secure to your Lordship (so far as it shall be known) the esteem and affections of this whole people; and your Lordship’s memory will be transmitted to their latest posterity with eveiy mark of honour, gratitude and respect. “ I have the honour to be, &c. “ N. Spar hawk." Sir George Savile, inclosing an extract of a letter from Boston, relating to the distress of trade, accompanied it with the following letter from himself. “ Mt LORD, “Rufford, November 1,1785. “ Captain Grame writes, that I must be surprised at receiving a * naked Memorial, without a single Une of explanation, and void of mercantile terms, &c.’ The nakedness he means is, that it does not state the causes of the decline of trade; the taxes; and the Spanidi matters. The last he says he can account for, as bring a matter not to be talked of aloud; the first he blames much. “ I could not help observing this circumstance; and yet I am not sure but it might do as well. Pointing out the grievance might have looked concerted, or at least the effect of party spirit; and the cause does not 1765.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 253 want pointing out Their saying they are hurt, and drawing no consequences, has really, I think, more the air of sincerity. You can find out what hurts them. They speak as ignorant men. Our trade it hurt, what the devil have you been a doing f For our part, we don't pretend to understand your politics and American matters, but our trade is hurt; pray remedy it, and a plague of you if you wont. ’ “ To say. Doctor, that medicine has made me worse, may be pique or prejudice against the doctor; but to tell the doctor simply, one is worse, is the natural complaining of a man who really is worse. You may say. Gentlemen, you see these people had no acrimony against any man, but the effect breaks oat The testimony is sincere. I have no answer from Leeds or Wakefield. I wont say this is singular, because it is so from Leeds and Wakefield, but if grammar was out of my way, I should say so. “ Hartley has told your Lordship that I have no hobby-horse to ride to town upon. That is a very civil phrase. I do not mean to affect any modesty, and therefore will preface by saying, I find my talents in some ways better than I thought. I find them worse in the questions of finance. I can only say, I have the strongest faith in his opinions about them, and the critical and decisive moment of doing things whole. If he be right, I do beg most earnestly you will not refine, and mince, and do pretty welh Do it. Do it! and 1 now, now, now! ’ You flattered me much by observing the phrase, so you will know it again. It did not 254 LORD HARDWICKE [1705. come from the head. He is disheartened. One thing I am sure of. You advertise that G. G. should have continued Minister if you ride the heat as he did. He waited, and lay in a good place till he came to the ending post. I beseech you, make the play, if you are stout. “ Captain Grame, to supply the baldness of the Memorial, sends me the enclosed extract. “ I am, with my best compliments to the Marchioness, “ My Lord, “ Your most obedient, most bumble servant, - “ G. Savile.” “ (Lord Rockingham).” Prior to the meeting of Parliament, Lord Hardwicke was invited to attend the ministerial meetings, but it was not till the following year that he became a member of the Cabinet He had been previously invited to accept office, but he declined on the plea of his health. THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHARLES TORU. “ St James's Square, December 9th, 1765, . “ Dear Brother, “ 11 at night. “ I had not an opportunity of acquainting you last night, that when I waited on the Duke of Newcastle he asked me, without my having said anything which led to it, whether I should like to attend their meetings, viz., of the Ministers? I gave no direct answer, but rather of the declining kind. His Grace bid me consider of it, and talk with you upon it, and seemed to make no doubt of its being acceptable to his colleagues. 1765.] TO CHARLES YORKE. 255 This may be only a morning cajoleric, in which our old friend is a great adept, and I shall certainly not revive the subject; but if he says anything more upon it, shall leave it to his Grace and the other Ministers to do as they think proper. We shall see a little dearer after Tuesday, how the world is like to go, for I cannot help thinking that if the opposition are in spirits, and in numbers, they will kick up a riot the very first day. I presume his Grace meant, by attending their meetings, that I should be of the Cabinet Council. It would flatter my ambition (that is certain), and I hope I do not overrate my abilities in thinking that I should make as good a figure in it as many we have known called to that sanctum sanctorum. I am clear in opinion, not to ask for it; but if it should be offered, I see no reason for declining it, most sincerdy wishing, for the sake of the kingdom, that it was filled with persons of the best abilities and experience, who could agree to act together. I do not expect an answer to this, but if anything occurs, shall be glad to hear from you on the subject” Although Ministers had, soon after their coming into office, become aware of the dark cloud of discontent that lowered in America, it was not till near the meeting of Parliament that they heard the storm had burst One general feeling of indignation appears to have pervaded the colonies, on hearing that the Stamp Act had received the Royal Assent. At New York the townspeople reprinted the Act, and hawked it about the 256 THE KINO TO GENERAL S. CONWAY. [1765. streets as “ England’s folly and America’s ruin.” At Philadelphia the guns were spiked. At Boston the flags of the vessels in harbour were hoisted half-mast high, while muffled bells tolled a funeral knell. In Virginia, Patrick Henry, one of the Members of Congress, he whom Byron designates "--------the forest-born Demosthenes, Whose thunder shook the Philip of the seas,” exclaimed, “ Ctcsar had his Brutus, Charles the First his Oliver Cromwell, and George the Third may—” here cries of “ Treason ” drowned for a while the speaker’s words. When the tumult subsided, he adroitly added— “ profit by their example.” It was the news of these proceedings which led to the following letter from THE KING TO THE RIGHT HON. HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY. “ Lieut.-General Conway, . “ The enclosed is the memorial from Mr. Pitt. It is the copy of the one delivered by me to Lord Halifax, but I received this a day or two before that one. I am more and more grieved at the accounts of America. Where this spirit will end is not to be said. It is, undoubtedly, the most serious matter that ever came before Parliament; it requires more deliberation, candour, and temper than I fear it will meet with. “ 53 m. pact five, p.m. “ When the Memorial is copied, I desire to have the original returned.” . 1765.] OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. 267 Endorsed by General Conway, “ His Majesty, Dee. 5, 1765, opinion on America.” On the 17th of December, the following letter was written by THE KINO TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ I return you the list of Peers that attended the reading of the Speech last night. I am glad to see names among them that I thought doubtfully of before. In the evening, you will not forget to send me word whether there has been a debate. “ Past eleven, a. m." On the same day, the King opened the Session in person. In his Speech from the Throne, he stated that he had called the Two Houses together sooner than usual, in consequence “ of matters of importance which had lately occurred in some of his Colonies in America.”* Lord George Cavendish f moved, and Lord Palmerston | seconded the Address. Ko debate was expected, * Parliamentary History, xvi. 83. t Lord George Cavendish, second son of William* fourth Duke of Devonshire,—Member for Derbyshire, which county he represented in seven Parliaments. He was Comptroller of the Household in 1761 ; a Privy Councillor, and* in 1766, Lord Lieutenant of Derbyshire. | Henry Temple, second Viscount Palmerston. He had been a Lord of Trade, and was now appointed to the Admiralty Board. Ho was member for East Loo. He was a man of considerable accomplishments. Lord Palmerston was, in the male line, the representative of VOL. L 8 . 258 OPENING OF PARLIAMENT. [1765. as the Members who had vacated their seats, by accepting office, were absent on their canvass. But Mr. Grenville, perceiving that his Colonial policy would be called in question, proposed, as an amendment, to “ express the indignation of the House at the * outrageous tumults ’ in North America.” “ He spoke,” says Mr. Cooke,* “ en prince, and told us he should ask why the Parliament was not called together sooner, why his Majesty was advised to speak with so much lenity, and many other whys.” • On the 19th, the Duke of Bedford, who was at this time acting with his late official colleague, Mr. Grenville, moved for all papers that had been sent to America relating to the Stamp Act, and since the passing of it. The Duke of Grafton quashed that proposal, by promising all the papers should be produced. the Temple family, as the Duke of Buckingham was of the female line. He was succeeded in his title and estates in 1802, by the recent Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. • George Cooke, Member for Middlesex, Prothonotary of the Court of Common Pleas; “a pompous Jacobite,” according to Walpole. In Lord Chatham’s motley administration, Cooke was joint PaymasterGeneral with Lord North. It was in reference to the discordant politics of these two colleagues, that Burke said, “ Persons had a single office divided between them, who had never spoke to each other in their lives, until they found themselves, they knew not how, pigging together heads and points in the same truckle bed.” t Chatham Correspondence. 1765.] THE KING TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 259 THE KING TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ (Dee. 19th, 1765), 13 min. part 8, p. m. “ Lord Rockingham, “ The few squibs on the address would have appeared to me as planned by a late Secretary of State,* even if he had not been a speaker this day. From that quarter I make no doubt but every art will be used to hamper Administration during every debate; but that is so poor a conduct that it must turn against its own author. “ The Duke of Bedford's motion seems to be most extraordinary, for one would think it were necessary to weigh every paper carefully before they either themselves or by any committee, direct any of them to be printed.* To the Ministerial Leader of the Mouse of Commons, the King wrote as follows:— “ Lieut.-General Conwat, “ I thank you for your attention in sending me the account of the very ungentlemanlike conduct of Mr. Grenville on this day, for others of the Opposition, undoubtedly, act in the House of Commons by his advice. <( I hope people will be on their guard to-morrow, if he should again try to give some pain.”f * Mr. Grenville proposed the House should adjourn, but to the 9th instead of the 14th (Jan.), as Ministers intended. The motion was rejected by 77 to 35. f Egerton MSS. 984^—British Museum. s 2 260 THE KING TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1765. A reference to the “ Bedford Correspondence" * will show, that on the 31st of the following month the Duke of Bedford and Mr. Grenville, whose conduct the King here arraigns, received secret invitations from the Court to return to administration. The parliamentary records of this period of history are so scanty, that I have difficulty in assigning dates to the two letters which follow. It appears that on the 27th of December, 1765, “ Lord Temple declared that there was no truth in the reports spread of differences between himself and Mr. Pitt,” “ and, disheartened at so unpromising an outset of the session, he had the confidence and meanness to hurry to Mr. Pitt at Bath, but that Mr. Pitt was inflexible.” THE KING TO THE MARQUIS Of ROCKINGHAM. “ I am obliged to you for your summary account of this day’s debate, and shall be curious to-morrow to hear the grounds of Lord Temple’s so total a change of opinion. "10 min. past 10, f. m." THE KING TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. 11 If Lord Rockingham has nothing particular, except Lord Temple’s language yesterday, I will not give him the trouble of coming till a little after two to-morrow, at St James’s, as I shall go to church at twelve. " 20 past 9, a. m." ♦ VoL iii. pp. 325-9. 1765.] CHARACTER OF LORD DENBIGH. 261 The Ministers had now become aware of thepreca-riousness of their position. Lord Bute affected to hold the balance between the late and the present administrations; and “the Crown itself,” says Walpole, “ seemed inclined to consign its members to turn against its own measures. Lest mankind should mistake the part the Favourite intended to take on the Stamp Act, Lord Denbigh, * his Standard-bearer, and Augustus Hervey, asked leave to resign their places, as they purposed to vote against the repeat The farce was carried on by the King; and to prevent any panic in the minds of those who might have a mind to act the same part, his Majesty told them that they were at liberty to vote against him and keep their placet.* * Basil Fielding, sixth Earl of Denbigh, born 1719, a creature of Lord Bute, and Master of the Harrier*. In his youth he resided abroad nine years with Lord Bolingbroke. Cradock thinks he acquired much of his subtilty in debate from his long intimacy with that nobleman. If by the epithet “ Standard-bearer,” Walpole meant that Denbigh was the point round which the " King's Friends ” were in the habit of rallying, we find him, eighteen years later, serving the same purpose. “The Rolliad,” speaking of the Peers of Scotland, who assisted in throwing out Fox's famous “ India Bill,* say*^- “ With every change prepared to change their note, With every government prepared to vote; Save when, perhaps, on some important bill, They know, by second right, the royal wifl. With loyal Denbigh heading birds that ring. Oppose the Minister to please the King." In 1770, when the Peers drove the Common* from their Houses almost by main force, Colonel Barr^ drew a severe picture of the Court Lords, particularly of the Earls of Marchmont and Denbigh. —See Walpole's George the Thirds iv. 228. King professes to know nothing of what Lord Bate is doing, and yet will not speak to his servants, nor send to. Lord Bute. The Prince of Brunswick (I think) told Lord R. the last particular, for I do not believe the Marquis ventured to suggest so strong a measure. I know not what will come of all this embrogKo. The Ministry should in prudence leave their adversaries as weak ground to attack them npon as possible. Lord B. will overturn every Ministry who do not court him, and yet they most all dischum him by turns. The King should banish him. u P.S. This intelligence is material, or I should not send it.” The general belief at this period appears to have IUM«ibiMuaadecaA^aA f 1760.] PROPOSED CHANGE OF MINISTRY. 2$ been that Pitt, in refusing his assistance to the Roch ingham Administration, hoped to form a governmen composed of his two brothers-in-law and his kinsmax Lord Lyttleton. Lord Hardwicke, writing to his bn ther, Charles Yorke, on the 18th of July 1765, whe the Attorney-Generalship was offered him, says, “ I cannot conclude without taking up some points i your letter relative to the general state of affairs. Yc seem to think from such hints as you have receive that Mr. Pitt, the Grenvilles, and Lord Lyttleton mean 1 come back, and put themselves at the head of the ne system. I can understand Mr. Pitt’s becoming, befoi it is long and when these new Ministers are at a plung a part, or rather the head, of this Administration, i some shape or other; but in the present moment, cannot combine the Grenvilles (G. G. especially) ax Lord L. with the great Commoner, unless all this di ference between Mr. P. and his brother-in-law is political bam? The writer of the following letter, it will be see entertained a similar opinion. . THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE TO THE DUKE OF NEWCAST1 “ Tuesday (Jan. 7th, 1766), past 4 o'clock. “ In hopes of seeing your Grace I have called twi upon you to-day, and will wait upon you as early t morrow morning as you please. If I had the honr whether, as we bad differed on opposition points, it was not equally probable that we might disagree when we met together in Administration; and this would, in fact, have happened, for I never should have concurred in the tame despatches which were sent to America from hence on the first accounts of the Resolutions of the assemblies and the tumults at New York and Boston.” In another part of his narrative Lord Hardwicke says, “ I was rather disgusted with the half confidences which were made me during the course of the winter, and with the little weight which was given to my opinion, when it interfered with the plan which Lord Rockingham and friends were previously determined to follow in America and in mercantile affairs. I did not take an active part in Parliament, though, from the necessity of the times, and the universal clamour which kJtasMafiiM 1706.] ON THE STAMP ACT. 285 the merchants and manufacturers had raised about the Stamp Act, I concurred in the repeal of it.” With respect to the declaratory Act itself, his Lordship remarks: — “It was principally owing to my brother that the dignity and authority of the legislature were kept up by the Bill for asserting the dependence of the Colonies.” In the House of Commons, too, the Ministry would have been deprived of a very able coadjutor had they persisted in repealing the Act without asserting the abstract right of the Legislature to enforce it. I allude to Charles Yorke, Lord Hardwicke’s brother, at this time Attorney-General. The Resolutions passed in the Cabinet on the subject of the Declaratory Clause, and the subsequent correspondence between Lord Rockingham and Mr. Charles Yorke on the subject, will show, that, if the suggestions of the latter had been adopted, the Act itself would have been still more irritating to the feelings of the colonists. The words in the text are the Resolutions themselves, those within brackets the corrections of Mr. Yorke. I. “ Resolved, That it appears to this Committee that the most dangerous tumults and insurrections have been raised and carried on in several of the North American colonies, in open defiance of the powers and dignity of his Majesty’s government there, and in manifest violation of the laws and legislative authority of this kingdom. 286 RESOLUTIONS [1700. II. “ Resolved, That the said tumults have been greatly [ unwarrantably ] encouraged and inflamed by sundry [leaveout] votes and resolutions passed iu several assemblies of the said provinces [directly contrary to law, highly injurious to the honour of hie Majesty and this House], greatly derogatory to the honour and dignity of his Majesty’s Government, destructive of the legal and constitutional dependency of the said Colonies on the Imperial Crown and Parliament of Great Britain. hi. “ Resolved, That an humble address be presented to his Majesty, to desire that his Majesty would be pleased to give directions to the Governors of the aforesaid North American provinces [ . . . [ Hit Governors in N. America,] to take the most effectual methods for discovering and bringing to deserved punishment the authors, abettors, and perpetrators [and principal actors in] of the said riots and insurrections. IV. “ Resolved, That a humble address be presented to his Majesty to desire that his Majesty would be [graciously] pleased to give orders to the Governors of the several provinces where the above-mentioned [said] riots and insurrections have happened, that they should apply and recommend to the assemblies of the said provinces to make proper recompense to those who have suffered in their persons or properties in consequence thereof 1706.] ON THE STAMP ACT. 287 * T. “ Resolved, That the Parliament of Great Britain had, hath, and of a right ought to have, full power and authority to make laws and statutes of sufficient force and validity to bind the Colonies and people of America in all cases whatsoever [n well in caws of Taxation, a* in all other case* whatwever. J THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM TO THE HON. CHABLES YORKE. “ Jan. 25, 1766, Saturday evening. “ General Conway having sent to me the proposed Resolutions with some alterations which you have made, I cannot help troubling you with my doubts upon some of them. The Resolutions in general exceed in spirit what the generality of our friends wish, but, in expectation that coming into them will pave the way for the actual repeal of the Stamp Act, I think they will be agreed to. In one of your alterations I dislike the expression of undoubted rights, and am sure, upon consideration how goading that word would be to a great person in the House of Commons, it cannot be advisable -to put it in. ' “ The other alteration which I particularly object to, is the insertion of ‘ taxation,’ and I think I may say that it is our firm resolution in the House of Lords (I mean among ourselves) that that word must not be inserted. I see more and more the difficulties that surround us, and therefore feel the necessity of not temporizing. Convinced as I am that the confusion at 288 RESOLUTIONS [1766. home will be much too great (if the repeal is not obtained) for us to have withstood, either as private or public men, my opinion being entirely for repeal, I shall certainly persist in that measure; and though many in the House of Commons may be against us, and particularly some who have lately called themselves under the denomination of Lord B.’s friends; yet I am persuaded that the House will repeal the Stamp Act by a great majority. If it does, we shall then show how we stand as Administration. If it does not, I wish no man so great a curse as to desire him to be the person to take Administration, and be obliged to enforce the Act . . . On all occasions ever your most affectionate friend, “ Rockingham.” In a letter of the same date as the foregoing, Mr. Yorke writes— “ Since this letter was sealed up, your servant has brought a letter from your Lordship. If Mr. Conway and you have a mind in the third resolution to leave out the word undoubted; or even in the second resolution, the words directly contrary to law; and think that it will be a means of conciliating and softening in this wild time, I am not tenacious of such corrections, provided there is enough to express my real meaning. “ To 1 maintain the authority with dignify will assist the repeal? ” A petition was presented on the 27th of January, by 1760.] ON THE STAMP ACT. 289 Mr. Cooke, Member for Middlesex, from some of the American provinces assembled in Congress, against the Stamp Act. The “ Parliamentary History " makes no mention of the proceedings of this evening, yet the I debate was lively and the war of words fierce. It was, ' moreover, on this evening that Edmund Burke made i his first speech in Parliament. Messrs. Jenkinson and ' Dyson, both holding office under Lord Rockingham, • ' as did Nugent and Ellis, belonged to the Court party, who called the Congress a “ dangerous federal union.* High words passed in the course of the evening between Pitt and Norton. The latter having said that his blood was chilled by the gentleman’s sound-_ ing the trumpet of rebellion; the Great Commoner replied, that “ he would be glad to meet him in any ■ place, with the same opinions, when his blood was i ; warmer.* i , The following are a few of the remarks that called ; forth Norton's declaration. ■ Mr. Pitt affirmed the petition to be innocent, dutiful, ; and respectful. He painted the Americans as people । who, in an ill-fated hour, had left this country to fly । from the Star Chamber and High Commission Courts. J The desert smiled upon them in comparison of this country. It was the evil genius of this country that had riveted among them this union, now called dangerous and federal. He would emphatically hear the Colonies upon this their petition. “ You have broken the original compact if you have not a right of taxation. The repeal of the Stamp Act .was VOL. I. u 290 LORD HARDWICKE [1766. an inferior consideration to the receiving thia petition.” * The following comment upon Mr. Pitt’s speech, from a member of Lord Rockingham’s Cabinet, is an answer to those who condemn that statesman for introducing the Declaratory Act. THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHARLES YORKE. “ DEAR Brother, “^ Janies'* Square, 28th Jan., 1766. “ I am very sorry you was not at the House yesterday. The Great Commoner never laid himself so open, never asserted such absurd and pernicious doctrines, and richly deserved to have been called to the bar, or sent to the Tower. The petition was from an illegal congress, calling the right of Parliament in question; and on that account I could have wished you had been there to bear your testimony against it. “ I presume you have seen the resolutions which are intended for our House. Who is to be the mover I know not. I proposed some words to the third resolution about strengthening the King's hands, to preserve good order, &c., in the Colony—very measured ones, in my poor opinion — but which I think absolutely necessaiy. Some are substituted, which I do not like so well, and I flatter myself, you will approve mine. I heard such stuff" thrown out at the meeting by the Duke of Newcastle, and such a tame acquiescence from most of the Lords, that I was obliged, in duty to the Crown, to tell • • Walpole's George the Third, it t7O-l« 1768.] TO THE HON. CHARLES YORKE. 291 them what I thought of the proceedings and principles which prevail in North America. “ The question about the right is in general terms— all cases whatsoever. I presume it is the same in your House. Tell me what you wiU do, if taxation is pro* posed to be inserted. The Ministers desire to flatter North America, not to make it subordinate to this country. They dread the idea of sending more force there, which I think necessary to protect Government from tumult, and to enable the Governor to execute these resolutions. “What will come out of all this, the Lord above knows. I do not desire to trouble you with cone* spondence; but if it was the last time I ever heard from you, I beg to know your opinion:—first, about being for or against making particular mention of the power of taxing; secondly, about inserting some words in relation to strengthening the King’s hands; and thirdly, how we shall get rid of, or modify, the late Acts, which impose duties on North America. “ Reading the papers will take up a day more, and I suppose we shall not sit on the 30th of January. I do not like Mr. Conway's letters to the Governors, but those I shall not meddle with.0 The marked intention of a large portion of the King’s household to avail themselves of his Majesty's permission to vote against his Ministers, doubtless produced the two letters which follow. 292 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE [1766. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “Newcastle House, Jam 31, 1766. “ Mt zeal for his Majesty’s service, and for the success of his administration, makes me take the liberty to acquaint your Lordship that my Lord Albemarle, my Lord Besborough, my Lord Grantham (who are now here), as well as myself, are so much convinced of the necessity of carrying the repeal of the Stamp Act, that we fear, if that is not done, his Majesty’s service in Parliament may greatly suffer by it. For that reason, we presume to give it as our opinion, that your Lordship should lay the present state of this question before the King, and humbly represent to his Majesty, that if his Majesty will be graciously pleased to signify to bis Lords of the Bedchamber and his servants, at the time of his dressing, or after his levee, that his Majesty wishes the repeal, and thinks it for his service that it should he done, it will certainly he carried without difficulty. But if such a declaration be not made of his Majesty’s own inclination, we are very apprehensive that the many different kinds of opposition will join to defeat it. The three Lords were very earnest with me to send your Lordship this opinion, which I said I was very ready to do, if I might write in their name as well as my own; and this letter was wrote in their presence, and approved by them. If your Lordship should think that our humble opinion should have any weight with his Majesty, we are very willing that it should be submitted, with the utmost 1766.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 293 deference, to his Majesty’s consideration. I myself, or any of these Lords, have not the least doubt of his Majesty’s inclinations, hut there is at present so much industry in propagating everything that makes against us, that his Majesty’s own inclinations upon such an occasion cannot be too well known. Tour Lordship will, I am sure, excuse this letter, which proceeds perhaps from an over zeal, which his Majesty’s goodness will pardon." And in a second letter, of the same date, the Duke writes, (< I should not have troubled your Lordship upon this occasion, if my Lord Albemarle had not been under the greatest apprehensions for the loss of the repeal, and thought as the others did, that there then was an end of this Administration. This arises from the notion which now prevails, that Lord B. and all his friends (and they are very numerous at the House of Lords) will be all against us. Indeed, my Lord, nothing should be omitted. I have done and will do everything in my power. Pray send and talk to the Archbishop of York. You may show the other letter to the King if you think it necessary; but that is left entirely to your Lordship. You may acquaint the King you have such a letter; but don’t let the King be angry with us for our zeaL” Lord Rockingham, acting upon the suggestions contained in the two last-quoted letters, represented to the King that a Ministry undermined by the Household 294 GEN. CONWAY TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [l76«. could not much longer drag on a precarious existence; with how little effect his remonstrance was attended, may be inferred from the fact that, on the same evening the Government “carried a question by so small a majority, that, according to Parliamentary divination, it amounted to an overthrow.” A Scotch petition had been presented by Mr. Wedderburn, the consideration of which the Ministers proposed to defer for six weeks. They carried their point, but only by 148 to 139; Lord Mountstuart, Lord Bute's eldest son, Mr. Dyson, a Lord of Trade, Lord George Sackville, lately appointed by Lord Rockingham to the lucrative post of Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, Lord Strange, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and several Grooms of the Bedchamber, voted with the minority. General Conway, who reported the result of this division to the King, forwarded his Majesty’s answer to Lord Rockingham, with the following note from himself. “ Ml LORD, “ B. House, Saturday (Feb. lat, 1766). “ I wrote a short account of what passed yesterday, and sent a list of the voters, which yon saw, and just said I thought the buzz of some plan of a separation from his Majesty’s servants made it more remarked. Does the enclosed answer give you any light or opinion? This for yourself and the Duke of Grafton. “ Your Lordship’s, “ Most sincerely, “H.S.C.” 1766.] THE KING TO GENERAL CONWAY. 295 Sir John Anstruther, one of the gentlemen alluded, to in the first paragraph of the following letter, sat in Parliament for Crail, and was hereditary carver to the King in Scotland. “ Necessity and Anstruther are like one another; Necessity has no law, no more has Anstruther.” I know not for what place Mr. Alexander was a member. THE KING TO THE RIGHT HON. HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAY. “ Lieut.-General Conway, “ I have received your account of yesterday’s division on the Scotch petition of an undue election. By what Lord Rockingham dropped to me, that both were good men, I did not know that Administration meant, as such, to be active on this occasion. “ I am sorry any of the 15th Regiment of Dragoons have taken to robbing on the highway, and when brought to conviction, shall be firmly of opinion that the law must take its course; for soldiers have a maintenance, and therefore have no plea of distress. “ 26 p. m.” “ The situation of Ministers,” says Walpole, “ became every day more irksome and precarious.” “ Perhaps,” writes Lord Chesterfield, on the 10th of February, “ you expect from me a particular account of the present state of affairs. It varies, not only daily, but hourly. Most people think, and I among the res^ 296 THE KING [1766. that the date of the present Ministers is pretty nearly out; but how soon we are to have a new style, God knows. This, however, is certain, that the Ministers had a contested election in the House of Commons, and got it but by eleven votes; too small a minority to carry anything.” It appears to be in reference to this election that the following letter was written. THE KING TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Lord Rockingham, “Your attention in sending me this evening the account of the success of the Rochester election, is very commendable. A steady perseverance, unattended by heat, will overturn all oppositions, even in Parliament. “ 5 min. past 9, p. m. (2nd of February.)" “ The next day,” writes Chesterfield, * they (the Ministers) lost a question in the House of Lords, by three. The question in the House of Lords was, to enforce the execution of the Stamp Act vi el armit. The opposition carried the question against the Government by sixty-three to sixty.” The nature of the Minister’s remonstrance to the King, on this last act of hostility, may be inferred by his Majesty’s reply. 297 TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. W#o.] “ Lord Rockingham, “ I have received your resolution, of standing firmly, by the fate of the American question, which will certainly direct my language to the Chancellor. “10 min. past 11, p. m." The following day. Lord Hardwicke writes to Mr. Yorke:— “ Dear Brother, " St James's Square, Feb. S, 1786. “There is certainly a micmac at Court. What it will end in, God knows. Lord Rockingham was with the King two hours last night. Lord Chancellor has gone to the Queen’s Palace, as his Majesty does not appear in public. The talk is of a new Administration.” One of the modes which the Court adopted to bring Ministers into a state of subjection, was to enter into a pretended negociation with the leaders of opposition. Mr. Grenville, while at the helm of affairs, was frequently a victim of these “make believes.” Walpole mentions that a like system was set in operation against Lord Rockingham. This assertion derives some colour from the following letter, for it is hardly supposed that two such political time-servers as the lawyers therein mentioned would have acted against the King’s public servants, without his sanction. 298 LORD ALBEMARLE TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1760. THE EARL OF ALBEMARLE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM.* “ The King should be informed that Mr. Norton and Mr. Weddefburn are treating with Mr. Grenville; that the plan of opposition is to wait the decision of the repeal, to endeavour in the meantime to lessen the strength of the Administration by frequent divisions, depending upon Lord Bute and many of his Majesty's servants; that if the Repeal is not carried, they know the Ministers must resign, and that the King must call upon them, having no others to go to, when they will make their own terms, harder than any that have ever yet been made; and his Majesty has already had a specimen of their mercy; if there was any public mark of his Majesty's resolution to support his Ministers on the Repeal, I am sure it would have a very surprising effect, from conversations that I have bad. ** I have the honour to be, &c., “ Albemarle.” " Friday, pact 1 o’clock." . The 7th of February was the day on which the opponents of the Stamp Act resolved to try their strength. General Conway having called the attention of the House of Commons to the calamitous condition of America, Mr. Grenville moved an address to the King to enforce the laws. After a stormy debate, Grenville’s * Endorsed "February, 1766. Lord Albemarle relating to the Opposition." 1766.] LORD ROCKINGHAM TO THE KING. 299 motion was rejected by 274 to 134; the minority comprising Lord Bute’s friends, all the Scotch, all the Tories, and nearly a dozen of the King’s household. “ The Ministers,” says Walpole, “ however triumph ant, were, with reason, disgusted at the notorious treachery of the Court, and remonstrated to the King on the behaviour of his servants.”* Lord Rockingham's letter to the King was as follows:— “Sir, “ I humbly presume to trouble your Majesty on the event of last night in the Commons. “ The appearances there fully justify what I have presumed to mention to your Majesty in some late conversations, and make it necessary for me, both as a faithful and in truth most affectionate servant, to hope that your Majesty will be graciously pleased to allow me to attend your Majesty at any time in the course of this day, that I may open to your Majesty the sentiments and opinions of a heart, which I will assert has no motive but its affection and duty to your Majesty, and its anxiety for the welfare of this country in the present critical situation.” For the result of this interview we must again look to Walpole : “ Evasions and professions were all the replies; but no alteration in consequence*! • Walpole’s George the Third, ii. 288. t Ibid. 300 CORRESPONDENCE ON [HM. On the 10th of February, “ Lord Strange, one of the placemen who opposed the repeal of the Stamp Act, having occasion to go iu to the King, on some affair of his office, the Duchy of Lancaster, the King said he heard it was reported in the world that he (the King) was for the repeal of that Act. Lord Strange replied, that idea did not only prevail, but that his Majesty’s Ministers did all that lay in their power to encourage that belief; and that their great majority had been entirely owing to their having made nse of his Majesty’s name. Lord Strange no sooner left the closet than he made full use of the authority he had received, and trumpeted all over the town the conversation he had had with the King.”* JOHN OFFLEY,! ESQ., TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. M Mt LORD, “Tuesday, February 11th, 1766. “ I beg your pardon for troubling you with this note. I did design to have waited upon you this morning, to have told you of the report that was spread last night as a certain truth, and gave great uneasiness to all the well-wishers of the present Administration. It was, that Lord Strange had yesterday morning an audience of the King, who assured him he did not wish for the repeal of the Stamp Act, only wished that it might * Walpole’* George the Third, it 288-9,—*ee alto Belsham’s History of Great Britain, ▼. 177. Both writers have given different version* of thi* occurrence, but neither of them i* quite correct in all the details. f Member for Oxford. 1760.] THE REPEAL OF THE STAMP ACT. 301 be altered. My reason for giving you this trouble is that, if it is not true, it may be contradicted, as it gives great uneasiness to your friends and great spirits to your enemies.* Among Lord Rockingham’s papers are the three following distinct disavowals, in the Royal handwriting, of the language attributed. It may, I think, be inferred, that they were obtained at three several audiences. That marked No. III. is on a small piece of paper, apparently part of the cover of a letter, and would seem as if the Minister had determined not to quit the Royal presence until he had secured “ the word of a King." THREE PAPERS IN THE KING'S HANDWRITING. L “That Lord Rockingham was, on Friday, allowed by his Majesty to say, that his Majesty was for the repeal. The conversation having only been for that or enforcing.” IL “ Lord Rockingham's question was, whether he was for enforcing the Stamp Act, or for the repeal The King was clear, that repeal was preferable to enforcing, and permitted Lord Rockingham to declare that as his opinion.” 802 CORRESPONDENCE ON [1766. 111. “ Lord Rockingham, “ I desire you would tell Lord Strange, that I am now, and have been heretofore, for modification; but that when many were for enforcing, I was then for a repeal of the Stamp Act.” THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “Claremont, February 11th, 1766. “ I AM very much obliged to you for your kind letter. Nothing could be properer than what yon represented to the King, and I hope it will have its effect. This day and to-morrow, at the levee, will be the trial. “ From what your Lordship says, as well as from some circumstances I learnt yesterday, I am convinced that the pressing the repeal ought to be the sole object at present, and for that purpose I hope nothing will be neglected. I firmly believe the House of Commons will go on well, but we must not discourage them by losing any more questions in the House of Lords, and, therefore, we must pick up all we can get* I think the first division of sixty to sixty-three, is the rule we should go by, though your Lordship made very good use of the last with the King.” Lord Rockingham appears to have been so thoroughly disgusted with the treacherous conduct of the Court, as to contemplate an immediate resignation. • The Stamp Repeal Bill was read for the fint time on the follow- ing day. 1766.] THE REPEAL ON THE STAMP ACT. 303 THE EARL OF DARTMOUTH * TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. & / '. " Sunday Evening (Feb. IS, 1766). “ I have thought of nothing but what you told me last night, since I saw you, and am fully persuaded that you ought, by all means, to stand it out to the last moment, and, for the sake of your country, to cling (to office) with the same tenacity that others would use for the sake of themselves. The case is not yet desperate, and while there is the least shadow of hope of doing good, I would on no account give up the game to those who will, undoubtedly, do mischief. The Act once repealed, I shall heartily congratulate your Lordship upon a release from your fatigues. Tour successors may then be left to enjoy the sweets of an honourable coalition, and hug themselves in the possession of employment, which nothing but concern for the public good could make it worth your while to hold. It will be some time before they can contrive to get us into such another scrape; when they do, it will be time enough to call upon Yourself and Co. to deliver us from it.” In addition to the numerous obstacles that lay in the path of Ministers, in their endeavours to restore tranquillity to America, was the turbulent spirit of the American Colonists themselves. The following paper on this subject, entitled ** Considerations on the Repeal • See ante page 237. 304 PAPER ON STAMP ACT. [noa. of the Stamp, and recommending a suitable behaviour to the Americans on that occasion,” was drawn up by Sir George Savile. “The constant argument against the Repeal has been that, in case it should take place, the vote of Right will be waste paper; we shall ‘strut in mock majesty/ and the Colonies will understand very well that what is pretended to be adopted, on mere commercial principles of expedience, is really yielded through fear, and amounts to a tacit but effectual surrender of our right, or, at least, a tacit compact that we will never use it “ It has struck me long since, that this would be the line of argument, and every debate and every question from opposition, as to this point, confirms me in this opinion, and in a persuasion how very material it is, that the event should not support, or even seem to support, their arguments. “ The event will justify those arguments in the strongest manner, if the Colonies should triumph on the Repeal, and affect to seize the yielding of Parliament as a point gained over parliamentary authority. The Opposition would immediately throw in your teeth: — ‘See your work; it is as we said; it is but too well proved what use the Colonies make of your weak and timid measures* “ On the contrary, if duty, submission, and gratitnde be the return made by the Colonies, then, * We are in the right,* we may say. ‘ Is it not as we said f See 1766.] PAPER ON STAMP ACT. 305 the Colonies regained to this country by our moderation ; regained with their loyalty, their affection, and their trade.’ “ I need not say how extremely preferable the latter supposition is to the first How much more desirable for this country and for the Colonies! Might they not be reasoned with thus:— “ You must be sensible what friends you have had in the present Ministry, and what pains they have taken to serve you. It is justice likewise to them to inform you what difficulties they have encountered in your cause, and from whence those difficulties have mainly arisen. You should know, that the great obstacle in this way has been unhappily thrown in by yourselves. I mean the intemperate proceedings of various ranks of people on your side the water, and that the difficulties of the repeal would have been nothing, if you had not by your violence in word and action awakened the honour of Parliament, and thereby involved every friend of the repeal in the imputation of betraying the dignity of Parliament. This is so true, that the Act would certainly not have been repealed if men's minds had not been in some measure satisfied with the Declaration of Kight. If, therefore, you would make the proper return to your country, if you have a mind to do credit to your friends, and strengthen the hands of your advocates, hasten to express your filial duty and gratitude to your parent country. Then will those who have been (and while they have the power will be) your friends have reason to plume themselves on the VOL. I. x 306 CHARACTER OF JEREMIAH DYSON. [1700. restoration of peace to the colonies, union, trade, and reciprocal advantages to them and to us. “ But continue your violent measures, triumph in the point you have gained; talk of it as a victory ; say the Parliament have yielded up the right, if you have a mind to give your enemies here a complete triumph. If you have a mind your friends should lose the power to serve you, and if you have a mind your two masters should be restored, you have your choice. “ This is the idea which I think might be instilled and cultivated in the colonies by merchants to their correspondents; and I think, in onr present situation, a very great deal depends on its being done universally and immediately.” Among the most active opponents of the repeal of the Stamp Act was Mr. Jeremiah Dyson, member for Great Yarmouth, and one of the Lords of Trade. He was one of those parasitical persons who serve governments a little, and disgrace them much. He was by birth a tailor, by education a Dissenter, and, from interest or vanity, in his earlier years a Republican. But he was not a person whose conscience at any time stood in the way of his preferment, and his republicanism speedily yielded to more profitable investments in politics. He was a quick, shrewd man, with a cool head and a prompt tongue, and an atrabilious temperament, that made him impatient of repose and obscurity. He entered Parliament with a character for holding 1700.] CDARACTER OF JEREMIAD DYSON. 307 anti-monarchical opinions, although he was at the time “ secretly sold to Lord Bute.” For some time he was supposed to be a staunch supporter of George Grenville, but when the Grenvillian horizon became overcast, Jeremiah tacked to windward. Shortly after this desertion, having assumed a bag instead of a lye-wig, Lord Gower aptly remarked, “ It was because no tie would hold him.” Whatever party he espoused, Dyson’s habits of business, skill in parliamentary forms, specious demeanour and general courtesy, rendered him a serviceable adjunct; nor, though he possessed neither fancy nor eloquence, was he by any means contemptible as a speaker and pamphleteer. But the best of his good gifts was his accommodating conscience. He was a ready-made ** King’s friend,” even before he attracted the royal notice. George the Third was not a King John, nor was Dyson a Hubert. But he was not the less an apt instrument in the hands of a Sovereign who sought to govern a kingdom as an attorney manages an election, by the influence of partisans and the division of opponents. He had risen rapidly in the favour of Lord Bute. For several years he was principal clerk in the House of Commons. He became afterwards joint Secretary of the Treasury, and eventually Cofferer of the Household. • In 1766 Lord Bute's royal pupil became political sponsor for Jeremiah’s good behaviour as a member of the Rockingham Ministry. Reluctantly did the Pro- x 2 308 CHARACTER OF JEREMIAH DYSON. [17M. mier accept his services; much he laboured to cashier him. But the King knew his worth too well. His Majesty preferred getting rid of Lord Rockingham to dismissing Jeremiah. Such accomplishments could not fail to attract notice both from friends and enemies, and while the former rewarded, the latter satirized the compliances of Dyson. In the farce of the “Padlock” Don Lorenzo asks his black servant, Mungo, whether “he can be honest?" Mungo rejoins, “What you give me, massa?” This bustling and unscrupulous actor of all work on the political stage of this period was nicknamed Mungo by Colonel Ban£ The appellation stuck to him ; and many of the pamphlets which were called forth by the question of Wilkes's claim to sit in Parliament bore such titles as the following: “Mungo on the Use of Quotations;” “Mungo’s Case Considered,” &c. It is scarcely necessary to add that in this controversy Dyson advocated with his pen the views of the Court. “ Who," said Flood, in the Irish House of Commons in November 1771, “does not know Jeremiah Dyson, Esq.? We know little of him, indeed, otherwise than by his name on the Pension List. There are others who know him by his actions. This is he who is endued with those happy talents that he has served every administration, and served every one with equal success—a civil, pliable, good-natured gentleman who will do what you will, and say what you please—for payment.” The letter which follows has reference to the second of seven resolutions which General Conway laid before 1766.] MIL COOPER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 309 the House of Commons on the 24th of February, relative to the Bill to repeal the Stamp Act. MR. GRET COOPER * TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. “Mt Lord, « 6 o’dock. “ Upon the second resolution being moved by Mr. Secretary Conway, Mr. Dyson made a motion for amendment of it, by adding the words, whereby the execution of the Stamp Act has been defeated. Mr. Pitt getting up to oppose this amendment he said, he was for the general words moved by the Right Hon. Gentleman (Conway) because he thought them wise, judicious, temperate, and firm; and he wished the prudence which dictated the resolution might find the approbation it deserved from the nation, and that it might find the way into the heart of the King. He could not be more explicit in his goodwill to administration, and his resolution to support them through this great measure. Mr. Grenville has been obliged to advise Mr. Dyson to withdraw his motion just as I was upon my legs to oppose it; but we cannot be upon better ground. Mr. Burke has spoke very well * Mr., afterwards Sir Grey, Cooper, was Secretary of the Treasury. In 1796, he was made a Privy Councillor. Cooper was a dull but useful speaker. He was also the author of several pamphlets. Lloyd, a private Secretary of Mr. Grenville, having, in 1765, written a small tract, entitled “ An Honest Man’s Reasons for declining to take any part in the New Administration,” Cooper wrote in answer, “A Pair of Spectacles for Short-sighted Politicians,” also, “ The Merita of the New Administration fairly stated ” In this last, he argues the per* manency of the Rockingham Ministry, which did not live a year but he continued in office till 1782. 310 LORD HARDWICKE TO HON. C. YORKE. [1760. in answer to Mr. Grenville. I never was in better spirits. If this night be well managed everything yet may be more solid than it was before the mine of yesterday was sprung.* Mr. Pitt has taken the alarm, both he and Colonel Barr< have declared their most unreserved concurrence with your Lordship and your friends. “ I am, with the utmost respect, “ Your Lordship’s most devoted servant, “ Grey Cooper.” THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE BOX. CHARLES YORKE. “ Dear Brother, • February 24th, 1766. “I send you a very sensible letter of Sir Joseph’s; you will see the opinion which foreigners entertain of the Great Commoner, and of our conduct at home, not that it alters my opinion about the repeal of the Stamp Act, as affairs are circumstanced here, the pressure of which foreigners cannot feel. I have writ Sir Joseph an account of the strange way in which the last Ministry had conducted their own scheme by leaving it to shift for itself with all the notices they had of the ill-humour rising in North America. It is neither to be answered, nor vindicated. Pray consider, if the repeal of this ill-fated Bill should not be attended with addresses from Parliament to the Crown to require of the assemblies to raise the money for paying the troops kept there for their security. I am sure it ought to be done, whenever * I know not what ribp mine was sprung on the 23rd of February. 1708.] OVERTURES TO PITT. 311 we have the good fortune to have a settled Administration, else I would recall the troops, which yet I think a very unwise measure in other respects. After all that passed in the summer, the intercourse with you, the offer to me, I think it strange the King has never wished to know at least your opinion, when he has had that of half the blockheads in and out of his service. Surely it is the low craft of Leicester House to keep all who have sense and integrity from the purlieus of the Palace.” The fall of the Ministry was now daily expected. It was said of them—“ They were dead, and only lying in state; and that Charles Townshend (who never spoke for them) was one of the mutes.” As the repeal of the Stamp Act, although it had passed the Commons, had yet to run the gauntlet in the Lords, Lord Rockingham, regardless of all personal considerations, made one more attempt to gain the support of Mr. Pitt, and accordingly he wrote as follows towards the end of February to that statesman’s legal adviser and personal friend, Mr. Thomas Nuthall: * “ By taking the liberty to trouble you, I may have ventured beyond prudence, but not beyond the dictates * On the formation of his Government, Lord Rockingham, with * view of conciliating Mr. Pitt, made Mr. Nuthall Solicitor to the Treasury. In announcing the appointment to Mr. Pitt, Nuthall declares himself very sensible that the friendship with which the Great Commoner had honoured him, procured to him the promotion, and adds, “ therefore I look up to you as I have always done, and always 312 OVERTURES TO PITT. [1706. of my own mind, whose only object ought to be, and I will say is, the most effectual means of obtaining such solidity in government as may lead to the advantage of my country, and the happiness of the King. “ The time is critical. Might I wish to know whether Mr. Pitt sees the possibility of his coming and putting himself at the head of the present Administration? I can say with very sufficient grounds that Mr. Pitt has only to signify his idea.” On the 28th of February, Mr. Nuthall writes in reply — “ Mr. Pitt is under an impossibility of conferring upon the matter of administration without his Majesty's commands.” It would seem, from Mr. Pitt’s letter to Lord Shelburne, as if there was already some understanding between him and the King. “ There is one man who will very shortly set out for Bath after the American affair is over. “ In one word, my dear Lord, I shall never set my will do, as my great benefactor and patron.” In March, 1775, Mr. Nuthall, on returning from Bath, was attacked on Hounslow Heath by a highwayman, who, on his demands not being complied with, fired into the carriage. Mr. Nuthall returned the highwayman’s fire and, it was supposed, wounded him severely. When the carriage arrived at the inn at Hounslow, Nuthall wrote a description of the man to Sir John Fielding, but he had scarcely closed his letter when he expired. This was not his first encounter with robbers; some years before, he wounded some one who attacked him, so severely that the fellow died of his wounds before he could be brought to triaL An amusing account, by Nuthall, of Mr. Pitt’s reception in the City, in 1761, will be found in the Chatham Correspondence, u. 166. 1700.] LORD HARDWICKE TO HON. C. YORKE. 31 foot in the closet, but in the hope of rendering ti King’s personal situation not unhappy, as well as h business not unprosperous.” * The bill for the repeal of the Stamp Act was carrit up to the Lords, on the 4th of March, by a large bod of the House of Commons, and met, says George Onsloi “ with not quite so civil a reception as such a bill, i carried in our House, and so conveyed as it was, by hundred and fifty members to the other House, did, i my opinion, deserve.” Scanty as is the allusion in the following letter to tl debate which ensued upon the introduction of the Bepe Bill in the Upper House, it contains all that is i present known of the proceedings of that day. THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHARLES YORK “ Dear Brother, “ St. James’a Square, March 8, 1766. “ I presume you have had an account of what passe yesterday at the House of Lords. Shall we amend < not amend? Tour neigh bourf spoke very well; Loi Camden rather better than before, and pleased tl lovers of American liberty. Tom Tilbury J said nothing because, as Lord C—d§ said this morning, he could nt find out a third opinion. * Chatham Correspondence, iu. 12. t Lord Hardwicke probably meant Lord Mansfield, whose seat Kenwood is in that immediate neighbourhood of Highgate, where N Yorke resided. | The nick-name of Lord Northington. $ Probably Lord Chesterfield. 314 THE KING TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [WOfl. “We are rather exercising our wits than really serving the public. Our friend, Lord Egmont, was recondite, but beyond me. Parliament had the rigid, but if we exercised it, we deprived the Colonies of a privilege against abuse. “ P.S.—Have you seen the New York Gazette Extraordinary? Lord Mansfield says it is Justice Livingston’s. It is very strong for independency.” The Bill encountered two divisions in its progress through the Lords. On the first, 105 voted for the repeal and 71 against it; on the second, the numbers were, 275 to 167; 33 Lords entering their protest against it on the last of these occasions. The King writes to the Ministers the following letter. “Lord Rockingham, “ I am glad the American affair has ended this day without any great altercation. If the Opposition have made a protest, I desire I may directly receive a copy of it” On the 18th of March, the Repeal of the Stamp Act, the subject of warm and acrimonious debates, both in the Lords and Commons, “ received the royal assent;, an event,” says Burke, “ that caused more universal joy throughout the British dominions than perhaps any other that can be remembered.” Umm 1766.1 HUME AND ROUSSEAU. 315 CHAPTER IX. HUMS AND ROUSSEAU.—THE MILITIA BILL.—CHARACTER OF MB. TB» COTHICK.—DINNER IN CELEBRATION OF STAMP ACT REPEAL.---MISTRUST OF GOVERNMENT IN CONTINENTAL STATED—RESOLUTIONS ON GENERAL WARRANTS. — RESIGNATION OF DUKE OF GRAFTON.---EXTRACTS FROM LORD HARDWICKE*8 " MEMORIAL!*” — CHARACTER* OF DUKE OF RICHMOND, AND OF LORDS NORTH AND EGMONT.------MIU of Richmond’s journal.—lord bute’s suspected interference IN PUBLIC AFFAIRS.—PITT APPOINTED MINISTER.—DISMISSAL OF THE ROCKINGHAM MINIBTRT. After three years’ residence in Paris, David Hume, the historian, arrived in England. He went to France a plain, unaffected Scotchman. He came hack with the airs and feelings of a Frenchman. The incense he re* ceived had been too much for his philosophy. Passing his time in courts and coteries, he mistook adulation for affection, and on his return home used to launch out in encomiums on <(the gallant nation so famous for its loyalty,” contrasting their peaceable demeanour with the turbulence of his own countrymen. This Gallo-mania induced him to bring with him Jean Jacques Rousseau. They arrived in England in January 1766. Perhaps the characters of no two persons ever formed so strong a contrast as Rousseau and Hume. They were the Jean qui pleure and the Jean qvi rit. The Frenchman being the crying, the Englishman, 316 HUME AND ROUSSEAU. [1760. the laughing philosopher. The one violent, extravagant, melancholy, unsociable—the other calm, moderate, cheerful, and fond of society. The motive of importing this very troublesome guest was doubtless a natural kindness of disposition, moved perhaps with a little national vanity. In the month of March, Rousseau was, by the exertions of Hume, settled at Wooton, in Derbyshire, the seat of Mr. Davenport of Davenport. The historian was unremitting in his attentions to “ the great professor and founder of the philosophy of vanity in England,” as Burke calls him.* “ I and my friends,” said Hume, “gave way to all his caprices, excused all his singularities, and indulged him in all his humours.” While Rousseau was thus the recipient of so much real kindness, his ill-regulated mind made him believe that Hume had only enticed him to England to injure his reputation, and to degrade him by his favours: but the historian’s exertions did not stop there. Through the medium of General Conway and General Graeme, the Queen’s Treasurer, he procured him a pension of a hundred pounds a-year. The following letter, the original of which is in Lord Fitzwilliam’s possession, refers to this transaction. • April 5 (1766). “ Mr. Hume presents his respects to General Conway. He cannot forbear thanking him, in the name of all that is ingenious in Europe, for the favours he has conferred on Monsieur Rousseau. He will keep it a secret, * See Burke On the French Revolution. 1706.] HUME AND ROUSSEAU. 317 though one of the most laudable actions of the world. He has informed Monsieur Rousseau, who, as he has the greatest sensibility imaginable, must feel the proper gratitude for the obliging manner in which he is treated. “ Mr. Hume desires to know how that pension is to be paid; whether it is to pass through the Treasury, or is to be paid secretly from the Privy Purse. If the former is the case, he apprehends that M. Rousseau must write to the Secretary of the Treasury, desiring him to pay the money to some banker whom he shall appoint. If the latter, he must choose some friend into whose hands it must be secretly paid. “ 5th of ApriL” Unfortunately at this very moment appeared Walpole’s famous letter, which, purporting to be from the King of Prussia, quizzed most unmercifully Rousseau's mania of fancying himself persecuted by the whole world. “ If,” the philosopher King is made to say, M If you persist in perplexing your brains to find out new misfortunes, choose such as you like best; I am a King and can make you as miserable as you can wish; at the same time, I will engage to do what your enemies never will, I will cease to persecute you, when you are no longer vain of persecution.”* The subject of the letter believing his host to be the * Walpole’s letter was an imitation of an anonymous epistle te Rousseau, in which the foibles of the Genevese were handled with caustic pleasantry. Neither the object of the satire, nor any one else, could doubt that its author was Voltaire. 318 LORD ROCKINGHAM TO HON. C. YORKE. [1760. author, a violent quarrel ensued, and the Englishman and Frenchman became henceforth bitter enemies. Walpole, writing of the events of the month April, says, “Mr. Pitt was grown impatient for power; and having discouraged Lord Rockingham from seeking his aid or protection, began to wonder that he was not courted to domineer; and he betrayed his ambition so far as to complain that the Administration had had his support and now neglected him.” When the subject of the Militia came before Parliament Mr. Onslow proposed some trifling saving. Lord Strange opposed; and the Government not caring to risk a division, gave way: whereupon Pitt declared, “ that he would go to the farthest corner of the island to overturn any Ministers that were enemies to the Militia.” “ This,” adds Walpole, “ was all grimace ; he did not care a jot about the Militia.” This proceeding of Ministers, which was agreed to at a meeting of their supporters, does not appear to have been agreeable to Mr. Charles Yorke, to whom Lord Rockingham wrote as follows:— “Dear Sir, “Aprilis, 176®. “ I have just had an account from the meeting at Sir George Savile’s, where I find that the general sentiments amongst them were for adhering to that mode which I showed you, and which had been settled and agreed on amongst them for some days. As I understand, very little was said upon it, but, having once agreed, they did not care to alter. Your name was not 1706.] CHARACTER OF MR. TRECOTHICK. used to inforce the alteration, which was what I { cularly desired might be avoided. I am not ph (neither do I think you will), as indeed for r reasons I was anxious that it should have been ducted in the manner which you most approved wish Thursday * well over, and am sure nothing procure a good end to this matter, but from j making use, not only of your abilities but also of j temper. “ Grosvenor Square, Tuesday night* Among the most efficient agents in carrying out repeal of the Stamp Act was Barlow Trecothick, men for London, and one of the aidermen of the City, was a merchant in the American trade. On the b of a copy of a “ General letter sent to the out-ports manufacturing towns on the 6th of December 17( Burke has written in pencil, “ N.B. This letter < certed between the Marquis of R. and Mr. Trecoth the principal instrument in the happy repeal of Stamp Act, which, without giving up the British thority, quieted the Empire.” He was an attached friend of Lord Rockinghai good, speaker in Parliament, and the most sensibl the City patriots. Burke says, in one of his lett “ Trecothick is certainly a man of strong principle good natural sense, but his experience of the wort * By the Journal of the House of Commons, it appears thi Thursday, the 17th of April, the House ordered that it would, o Monday following, resolve itself into a committee on the expen the Militia. 320 DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [ 1700. but moderate.” He died in 1775, and his homely epitaph records, that “ he was much esteemed by the merchants for his integrity and knowledge of commerce, truly beloved by his fellow-citizens, who chose him as their representative in Parliament, and sincerely lamented by his friends and relations, who looked up to and admired his virtues.’’ On the 23rd of April a grand dinner was given at Drapers* Hall in celebration of the repeal of the Stamp Act. It was among the most brilliant ever seen in the City, and the chronicles duly record that nine dukes were amongst the company. Mr. Trecothick presided. THE DUKE OF NEWCASTLE TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ April 22, 1766. “ Alderman Trecothick was here this morning, and I endeavoured to be excused dining in the City to-morrow, for indeed I am too old for such entertainments and such crowds, but he will not excuse me, and said there were endeavours used to prevent their friends from coming; and upon that, and the particular circumstance of this time, I promised him to come. The Duke of Portland * goes with me. I hope all' our friends will go, and particularly the Duke of Grafton. Trecothick said, they did not see his Grace, but he hoped he would come. As I see this may be attended • William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, third Duke of Portland, at this time Lord Chamberlain. In 1782 he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. He became, twice. Prime Minister. 1766.] ANTICIPATED CHANGE OF MINISTRY. 321 with bad consequences if our first friends do not go, I hope your Lordship will speak to as many as you meet in the course of this day. My Lord Chancellor, I conclude, was not invited, as he voted against the repeaL” The next paragraph in the Duke’s letter has a significance from the events which immediately followed. “ It was observed,” continues his Grace, “yesterday in the House of Lords, that there were very long conferences: first, my Lord Camden and the Chancellor (Northington) for half an hour; afterwards my Lord Camden and the Duke of Grafton retired into a private room, and were together a full hour. The Duke of Grafton then went to the Chancellor, and whispered him for half an hour—that your Lordship saw. What this was I know not, but something to be sure.” The Ministers had been frequently informed by the King, that those members holding places, who voted, against the repeal, were actuated by conscientious scruples, and that when once that question was settled, they would regularly vote with the Government. But the carrying of that measure produced no change in their conduct, and their opposition continued as systematic and violent as before. One of the evils arising from his Majesty’s thus “ acting in opposition to himself,” was the mistrnst of the Government that it engendered in the Continental States. Walpole mentions that the Ministers showed the King VOL. I. Y 322 THE KINO TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1760- “ an intercepted letter of the Russian Minister to his Court, in which he wished his mistress not to conclude too hastily with the present Ministers, who could not main-tun their ground; and he pointed out the damage the King brought on his own affairs by having a Ministry who did not enjoy his confidence. This the King denied, and said they had his confidence.”* This conduct was the more impolitic, because it placed in jeopardy a new treaty of commerce between England and Russia, then in preparation, which proved highly beneficial to the interests of both countries. The transaction here alluded to took place in the month of June; but we shall show, on the authority of the King himself, that the Prussian Minister had also made a similar representation to his Sovereign, and that his Majesty attributes the “coyness" of Frederick to those reports. The <( Baudouin” mentioned in the King’s letter was M. de Boduin, Secretary of Legation to the Prussian Legation. Count de Malzahn had been appointed Minister, but had not then arrived. THE KING TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “Lord Rockingham, * (April 25), 1766. “ What you mention to have been the inclination of Sir Richard Aston,f by his charge to the Jury, is very • Walpole’* George the Third, S. 3S2. ' t Richard Aston, Esq., Sergeant-at-Law, was knighted, and sworn in one of the Judges of the Court of Kinfi Bench on the 25th of April, 1765, which office he resigned in 1778, and died shortly after. I960.] THE KING TO GENERAL CONWAY. 323 material; and as Lord Mansfield (whose opinion on these subjects I would more confide in than on that of any man) does think favourably of the convict, I with pleasure direct you to send to Lieutenant-General Conway that the sentence may be changed from death to transportation.* You will laugh when yon read the decyphered letter I have just seen of Bandouin, wherein he talks of a fresh change in the Ministry; I should rather hope it is [more] from want of sense than ill intention that he writes such gross falsehoods to his Court. “George 1 “ Richmond Lodge, 2m. part 5, p.m.” THE KING TO THE RIGHT HON. HENRY SEYMOUR CONWAT.f “ Lieut.-General Conway, “ I have just received your packet, but cannot help expressing some surprise at the great coyness of the King of Prussia. I should have expected a different answer to the very friendly and, I may say, indulgent part I have on this-occasion acted towards him; but I would fain hope this is owing to the fallacious accounts he has received from Baudouin. If he expects that I am to go all the way, and that he is only to receive me * In the Lent Assize* of 1766, Sir Richard Aston went the Western Circuit. The sentences of more than one convict on that circuit were commuted from death to transportation. + It is right to state that General Conway has dated this letter, April 25, 1765; but there is evidently a mistake in the date of the year, for in April 1765, Lord Rockingham was not minister; General Conway was not leader of the House of Commons, and Sir Richard Aston had not then gone circuit as a Judge. Y 2 324 RESOLUTIONS ON GENERAL WARRANTS. (11M, if he pleases, be is much mistaken; for I think the Crown of Great Britain a more useful ally to the King of Prussia, than be ever can be in return; and I here repeat, what you heard me express to the Duke of Grafton at the opening of this afiair, that if the King of Prussia means anew to live well with me, I shall have no objection to do so with him; but if he expects that I am to express any sorrow for what has passed betwixt us, that is impossible, for I could not act otherwise than I have done, if my sole object was the interest of my country, which I should not be an honest man if I at any time neglected for other concerns. « SO m. past 1, p.m." Lord Rockingham and his friends, fully aware of the precariousness of their situation, determined to devote the remainder of their brief political existence to repair the breaches in the Constitution that had been made by their predecessors. With this view, on Tuesday the 22nd of April, they moved in the House of Commons a series of resolutions declaring the illegality of general warrants. No detailed account has yet been given of the debate on this constitutional question; but a few remarks from Walpole will render the following letter intelligible. “ The Ministers, thinking themselves bound to give the last blow to general warrants, which had now been decided in Westminster Hall to be illegal, moved a resolution of their being illegal and a breach of privilege. Grenville, hoping to squeeze out a little popularity 1766.] SIR GREY COOPER TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 325 from the same measure, moved to bring in a bill for taking them entirely away. This happening when Mr. Pitt was in his hostile mood, he seconded Grenville’s motion; but his lending himself thus to the chain* pion of these warrants, highly offended the Ministerial Whigs.”* SIR GREY COOPER TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ My Lord, “ April 26, n«. “I have the honour to inform your Lordship, that late in the night of Tuesday last, after Sir George Savile and Sir W. Meredith’s motion had been agreed to, Mr. Pitt, in order, as he said, to make the question in Par* liament co-extensive with the decision in the Courts of Law, moved that aU general warrants were illegal, mid that, being executed on the person of a Member of Parliament is a breach of privilege. After some debate and hesitation that night, it was thought proper to define a general warrant by its want of attributes, namely, not describing both the offender and the offence. The Master of the Bolls having recommended it to the House (though a friend to the proposition) not to come too hastily into a resolution of so much extent and importance, it was postponed for that time, but not till after Mr. Grenville, in a wonderful springtide of Uberty, had pledged himself to record the motion of the very honourable gentleman. “The further consideration of this matter came on * Walpole's George the Third., it 317. 326 SIR GREY COOPER [1766. yesterday. Mr. Pitt moved his resolution with apparent and, as I think, with real diffidence of carrying his point. It received a very affectionate adoption from Mr. Yorke, who defended the generality of the proposition with great talents and great firmness. Sir Fletcher shook it by his first speech to its foundations. It was again set upon its legs, and whilst it was tottering, Mr. Pitt, in what is called a very Parliamentary manner, shifted his ground, and put his question, not upon a declaration, but an assumption of law, in this manner: A general warrant to apprehend any person or person* being illegal (except in cases provided by Act of Parliament), if executed on the person of a Member of this House, is a breach of the privilege of this House. Mr. Solicitor-General opposed this proposition with great warmth, as being too large and too assuming, and upon the general ground of the impropriety and want of dignity in the House of Commons to declare that to be law, which no Court of Westminster Hall would regard as law; and that though the resolution upon a matter incident to privilege,, and brought before the House, might be excusable, it could not be so to declare a general resolution upon a special case. “ Mr. Attorney-General spoke in favour of the question with great weight, and, I think, superiority of argument. Sir Fletcher took the opposite opinion, and bore very hard both upon the Attorney and Mr. Grenville, who had half-seconded Mr. Pitt's motion upon a subtle distinction (which he loves better than any of his brothers), that he seconded the motion merely as 1766] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 327 the foundation of a Bill to be brought in, for the better securing the liberty of the subject. Sir Fletcher said Mr. Grenville's distinction had neither solidity, common law, nor common sense. He argued that the resolution moved by Sir W. Meredith, was co-extensive both with the question before the House and the determination of Westminster Hall. He Aa^-asserted that there were general warrants good and warranted by the common law, besides those provided for by Act of Parliament. Mr. Yorke took up the reply with great ability and advantage, and after much altercation on both sides, and much suppression of truth on one side, Mr. Yorke kept the field with great acclamation of the House. Sir George Savile did, as he always does, masterly and greatly. His character, his spirit, his prowess, his sagacity, and his power of expression never carried more weight or ran better. Great men were rebutted in his presence. I never heard, I never shall hear, a more truly eloquent speech (according to all the rules of the art) that [than?] Mr. Pitt's reply. No man ever rode upon a better-dressed horse, or brought him up to the object which made him snort, with more address than that rider did upon that occasion. “ After this lesson in the great political m&iage, the altercation- rose again between Mr. Attorney and Sir Fletcher, but still to the honour and victory of the Attorney. Sir Fletcher was groaned down for nisi-prius misrepresentations of what his opponent said. Lord George Sackville spoke with spirit against the question. At last, Mr. Yorke, being pressed by Mr. 328 SIR GREY COOPER [1788. Wilbraham, Mr. Forrester, Mr. Harvey, and all the other lawyers, to declare whether any respect was due to a determination of Parliament in the Court of Judication, and whether the honourable gentleman would venture to pledge himself, that in no case a general warrant was good by the common law, he got up, and, to the satisfaction and with the cry of the House, declared, that it was his firm opinion that, at this day, after the declarations in the Third of Charles the First and the Revolution, no general warrant, that is, no warrant not describing the offender and the offence, was good at the common law; and he said, with great warmth, that if he were a Judge in Westminster Hall, he would always treat a determination of either House of Parliament, upon a matter incident to and growing out of their privileges (in which matter they had judicial authority), with great respect and reverence, though he should not think himself obliged to determine the law according to such declaration; and that if any Judge should treat the declarations of Parliament with contempt or irreverence, it might be said to him with great propriety— * Rode, caper, vitero—tan>en bine cum Mabie ad aru In tua quod fundi cornua poaut, eriL’ * “ At the close of the debate, Mr. Dowdeswell got up, and, with great weight, accused the man who had defended the officers who had executed such warrant at the great expense of the public, after the legality of them had been disavowed by all the lawyers in West- * Ovid, Fast. i. 357. 1765.] TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 329 minster Hall, and whose opinions must have been communicated to the Ministers immediately after the question arose. “ Mr. Grenville got up in great wrath and vehemence, and desired to know of the honourable gentleman, whether, if he had been in the Treasury at the time of such prosecutions, he would have suffered the messengers to rot in gaol and not have defended them. Mr. Chancellor of the Exchequer got up in reply, with his own temper and firmness, and said, ‘ If I had been in that gentleman’s situation, I would have taken the best advice as soon as possible, whether these warrants were defensible, and if I had found they were not, I should have recommended an early submission.’ “ This reply was received, as all such declarations are, with great applause from the House, and great notification by the few who wish well to the man who asked the question. Mr. Serjeant Hewitt, upon motives of delicacy, and I dare say honour, declared he could not vote for the question; and to avoid it, moved the previous question. There was no division, and the question was carried as I have stated it before. “ I have the honour to be, “ With the utmost affection and gratitude, “ Your Lordship’s faithful servant, “Gret Cooper. “ In very great baste and hurry.” The reader will, doubtless, remember that the Duke of Newcastle, in his letter of the 22nd of April alludes 330 LORD HARDWICKE TO DON. C. YORKE. [1706. to certain ominous conferences between the King’s confidential friend. Lord Northington, and Mr. Pitt’s confidential friends, Lord Camden and the Duke of Grafton. . A few days afterwards, the Duke of Grafton paid a visit to Mr. Pitt at Hayes, and on his return took an early opportunity of saying in the House of Lords that the Government wanted “ authority, dignity, and extension,” but added, that * if Mr. Pitt would give his assistance he should with pleasure take up the spade and dig in the trenches.” On the 14th of May the Duke resigned the seals of Secretary of State. The vacant office was offered to Lord Hardwicke who notices his refusal of it in the following letter:— “ DEAR Brother, “St James’s Square, May 14th, 1766. “ Lord Rockingham called upon me to-day before dinner, with an offer of the Seals, which he said he now made me with the King’s knowledge and approbation, the Duke of Grafton having resigned this morning. I will not trouble you by a repetition of my disabling excuses, or of the dutiful sense which I endeavoured to express of his Majesty’s grace and goodness towards me on this occasion. The more coolly and seriously I think of undertaking this important office, the less inclined I feel myself to accept it. I am sure it would be too much for me, and, as a confinement in and about Town all the summer, extremely inconvenient too, if not prejudicial to my health. “ I repeated to Lord Rockingham what I had said before about the Cabinet Council with the communica- 1766.] LORD HARDWICKE TO HON. C. YORKE. 331 tion of the papers; and that if it was thought I could he of service in that situation, I was at his Majesty’s disposal “ Lord Rockingham seemed to think there could be no difficulty in granting me that mark of distinction, but intimated that it would he proper to make my own excuses for declining the Seals, and take that opportunity to mention the other. I said I should he ready to attend his Majesty whenever it was most convenient. Lord Rockingham promised to let me know in the course of to-morrow, and, I presume, I shall be appointed for Friday after the levee. “ There is another promotion which I am sure would be of more use to the King’s affairs, which I am sorry to see postponed, and which, if things were on a right footing, would not be delayed a week, and which was indeed promised you in a very extraordinary manner by the end of the session. Would you have me drop anything on your subject when I go into the Closet? I mean, if any handle is given and it falls naturally in my way.” THE EARL OF HARDWICKE TO THE HON. CHARLES TORU. “ DEAR Brother, “ Richmond, May 17th, 1766. “ I made my disabling speeches yesterday in the Closet, and was very favourably heard. His Majesty was pleased. to say, he knew of nobody so fit for the office; but, after what I said to him of my health, and the effect which a constant weight of business might 332 LORD HARDWICKE TO HON. C. YORKE. [1766. have upon it, he would not blame me for declining, and graciously let-me off. I plainly saw he was much embarrassed and perplexed. He said two things about yourself (which is the chief occasion of my troubling you with a letter); the first, that he had been informed (by the Duke of N., I think) that you had sometimes talked of quitting your profession; if that was agree* able to yon, he wished you would take the Seals, and that, in his opinion, the Great Seal would with equal propriety be transferred to you afterwards, whenever there was an opening. “ I told his Majesty, I believed if you had ever talked of quitting your profession, it had been in case circumstances should make it absolutely impossible for you to continue in it, and then it would be for an absolute retreat, and not to go upon another line. The King said, he only threw it out to convince me how much he wished to have one of your family in his intimate service. ■ “ The other point relating to you was, that the King desired I would let you know how he was concerned and hurt at the part which his servants took the other day in dividing from you in the House of Commons; that he had talked to them about it, and was greatly surprised at their conduct. On this head we both lamented the want of concert, faction, &c. of the times; all which chapter may well be spared, as I see no remedy to the evil. I cannot help adding, and then shall conclude, that his Majesty seemed very unwilling to make the Duke of Richmond [Secretary], and to 1766.] LORD HARDWICKE’S “ MEMORIALL." 333 entertain a very favourable opinion of Lord Holder-nesse, whose savoir faire in that department he commended, particularly his accuracy and exactness. I threw out a word of Lord Egmont, and his Majesty said shortly, and as if he did not choose to be asked any questions about it, * Oh, he will not think of it!' “ Upon the whole, I left the King much agitated, and I could not help heartily pitying his situation, and that of the public. However, I have thrown off a great burden from my own mind, and I am not conscious that it would have been in my power to have mended matters. “ I am, dear brother, yours sincerely, “H. “ P. S. The King seemed to taste the Duke of Grafton, and commended his parts; neither did he express any resentment against him for quitting so abruptly and (I think) unhandsomely.” In his “ Memorial! ” Lord Hardwicke says in rdation to these transactions,— “ Towards the close of the session in April 1766, and when most of the material business was over, the Duke of Grafton (upon whom the labouring oar had lain in the House of Lords) declared his resolution of resigning. The only reason he assigned (as far as I could learn) that, as he had declared from the beginning, and even to the Duke of Cumberland, that he would not go on without Mr. Pitt, whose accession to that 334 LORD HARDWICKE’S “MEMORIALL." [ 1700. Ministry he looked upon as a sine qua non, and, as there was no prospect of taking him in, several fruitless attempts having been made for that purpose, he must adhere to his original declaration; that, however, he would support the measures they were embarked in to the end of the session out of office; and his Grace so far made his words good, that he spoke for the new Window tax hill in the House of Lords, which was strongly opposed by the Duke of Bedford and others. “ Lord Rockingham's bottom was now much weakened; by his want of management for Lord Bute, be had lost all interest at Court Mr. Pitt, who was possessed of real abilities, and at that time of great popularity, had refused his assistance without having carte blanche, and would open himself to no ear but the Royal. The Opposition in Parliament were strong and numerous, and in the House of Lords much inferior in the weight of speakers. “ Thus circumstanced, and having resolved not to unite with any of the sets which composed the Opposition, his (Lord Rockingham’s) choice of a new Secretary was confined to a very narrow circle. The Duke of Richmond and myself were the only persons under consideration. The former had been more active in Parliament, and was of an ambitious, enterprising turn. I have been told that Lord Rockingham (but will not answer for the truth of it) was more inclined to his Grace from the beginning, but that the Duke of Newcastle’s opimon, and the King’s inclination, turned the scale in my favour. However that may be, tlie offer 1760.] LORD IIARDWICKE’S “ MEMORIAL!-” 335 of the Seals was made me in form by the Marquis of Rockingham not long before the Whitsun holidays in May 1766. There was great temptation in the offer; the dignity and figure the employment gave were selfevident; the opportunities it afforded of serving one’s friends, were considerable; the business was of a nature for which I had always had a predilection, and in which I had been conversant, so far as theory and study would carry me. I was tolerably well acquainted with the modern state of Europe, and, by the confidence which my father had for some years reposed in me, had been kept well informed of the most important anecdotes of a very long period. But, on the other side, there were strong and cogent objections to my undertaking so great a branch. I could not flatter myself that my experience in the practice of the world (having never conversed largely in it, and lived a good deal amongst my books), was sufficient to steer me through the rocks and quicksands of a Court and public life, and I thought myself rather too much on the other side of forty, and had lived too much in my own way, to begin acting a new part in it.” After mentioning the state of his health, Lord Hard-wicke continues:— “ On weighing the whole matter as well as I could, and talking it over with some of my friends (amongst whom none but the Duke of Newcastle and Lord Grantham strongly encouraged me to accept), I soon 336 LORD HARDWICKE’S “MEMORIALL.” [1766. determined to decline this great offer as I had done the former. “ When I communicated this resolution to Lord Rockingham, he received it with much candour, admitted that I was best able to judge for myself, though he could have wished my determination had been otherwise; but expressed his hopes that I would consent to be called to the Cabinet Council, where, he was pleased to say, I should be of use, and might take no greater share of the business upon me than was agreeable. It was then, if I mistake not, that he assigned the nego-ciation with Mr. Pitt, mentioned in one of the precedes pages, M the reason for this mark of confidence not having been shown me sooner. I readily consented to this last proposal, which was to me very flattering, and had as many of the agrhnent of the greater offer as I wished to enjoy, and none of the supposed difficulties; and I was in hopes that my being of the Cabinet might tend to facilitate my brother’s promotion to the Great Seal; and the confidential informations which I should receive from it, would be of service in the ttation As then filled* at the same time that his knowledge and abilities would be of use to me. “So much being settled between the Marquis and myself, it was necessary that I should take an audience of the King, to thank his Majesty for the great honour he had done me; and to give my reasons for declining. His Majesty received my apology very graciously, and was pleased to say that, however agreeable my accept* * Thai of Attorney-General. GOO.] LORD HARDWICKE'S “NEMORLALL.” 337 ance would have been to him, he could not ask it after what I bad said to him of my health and disinclination; that he hoped I should not have the same objection to the attending at his Cabinet Council; to which I replied with the duty that became me. <( There were some remarkable passages in the con* versation, in which the King talked with seeming frankness and sincerity. He appeared thoroughly sensible of the weakness of his Administration, and of the difficulty he found himself under to fill up this vacancy in it. He commended the Duke of Grafton’s parts and manner of speaking in public (which, I believe, had been much cried up by those about him). He did not seem to taste the successor who was intended (via., the Duke of Richmond), and said it was replacing a young man by one who was younger; and I thought he meant I should understand, not so proper in other respects. He asked, in this part of the conference, if my brother, Mr. G., would not come into the Secretary's office; and upon my observing that I did not pretend to know his mind on that head, but that it lay out of the line of a profession which those engaged in had always kept to, he replied readily enough, ‘ Why should his accepting those seals be in the way of his having the other f * I bowed and made no answer, but wished at the time that his Majesty bad spoken more explicitly on the point of the Great Seal. I endeavoured to sound the King's disposition towards Mr. Pitt; but he appeared not at all favourable to him at that moment; called his popularity an Ignis fatuus, and took some merit in VOL. I. 338 LORD HARDWICKE’S “MEMORIALL.” [1766. not having admitted him to state his own terms, which he knew were levelled against his present Administration. I said something of Lord Egmont’s fitness to he Secretary of State; but the King answered shortly, ‘No; he could by no means think of it, and would not own further on that topic.' Upon the whole, I was so far struck with — (I wish I may not add) was so far the dupe of his Majesty’s gracious and condescending reception of me, and thought he appeared so much distressed with his situation, that I verily believe had he pressed me to take the Seals with any earnestness before I left the Closet, I should have accepted out of pure duty and zeal—* Sic me servavit Apollo.' “After I had given the Marquis of Rockingham a short account of my audience, I went to Richmond for the Whitsun holidays, where for a week or ten days I heard no more of political arrangements, but that the Duke of Richmond was come to town, and had accepted the Seals." George the Third, to borrow the expressive phrase of Lord Hardwicke, “ did not taste the successor to the vacant seals." Among other reasons for the Royal disrelish of the appointment, Walpole assigns the following: “ Early in this reign, Lord Fitzmaurice, afterwards Earl of Shelburne, being at the time in high favour with Lord Bute, was made Equerry to the King, over the head of his superior officer, Lord George Lennox. The Duke of Richmond, irritated by this slight to his relative, carried a memorial to his Majesty, and commented 1760.] CHARACTER OF DUKE OF RICHUOND. 339 upon the appointment in a manner that was neither ‘ forgiven nor forgotten/ by a Prince equally remarkable for bis keen resentments and his retentive memory. The following pages will indeed afford more than one proof that the King for several years to come continued to regard the Duke of Richmond with no favourable eye.” Charles Lennox, second Duke of Richmond, succeeded to his title at the early age of sixteen, and soon afterwards entered the army. He was present at the battle of Minden, and his gallantry on that occasion attracted the special notice of the Commander-in-Chief. On the formation of the Rockingham Ministry, the Duke was appointed to the Court of Versailles, and performed the duties of bis embassy with great ability. He was ever a devoted adherent of Lord Rockingham, under whose second Administration, in 1782, he held the office of blaster-General of the Ordnance. On the death of that Minister, in the summer of the same year, the Whigs consulted who was to be the future head of the party. The Duke of Richmond claimed the post, but the Cavendishes and the other great families objected to his Grace, on account of his being so deeply pledged to Universal Suffirage and Annual Parliaments. He was highly offended at this, more especially as the Duke of Portland was proposed by the majority of the Whig party. Charles Fox tried to pacify the Duke of Richmond by saying that, perhaps, he himself, as leader of the House of Commons, might have as good pretensions as his Grace, but that he thought it right to waive those pretensions, as he 340 CHARACTER OF DUKE OF RICHMOND. [1706. too, although to a much less degree, was pledged to Parliamentary Reform. Moreover, as the Cavendishes and their friends were not disposed to support even the moderate views which he entertained on that subject, it was clear that neither the Duke of Richmond nor himself could succeed to Lord Rockingham’s place, without risking a fatal breach in the party. In consequence of this declaration, the Duke, on the formation of the Coalition, broke off from his former friends, and joined a combination still more heterogeneous in its elements than that which he quitted.* The Duke of Richmond was remarkable for the beauty of his person and the grace and courtesy of his manners. In every relation of private life his character was unexceptionable. He was a zealous friend, an affectionate brother, an attached relative. As a public man, he was very ambitious and somewhat violent and impracticable. As an orator, he was rather effective than agreeable. His speeches abounded in information; his language was characterized by bold, ness and warmth of expression, and he excelled in reply. On the other hand, his memory often failed him; he made frequent pauses, and his delivery was unnecessarily slow. Yet with all these defects, he was, perhaps, the most formidable antagonist that the greatest orator of that day had ever encountered. When the Indemnity of 1766 was brought up to the House of Peers, Pitt, who had just been created Earl • My authority for thia statement is the Right Hon. Sir Robert Adair, G.C.B., to whom it was made by his uncle. Lord KeppeL 1766.] DUKE OF RICHMOND TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 341 of Chatham, and appointed first minister of the Crown, wound up a fierce diatribe against the House of Peers, by declaring that he would set his face against the proudest connexion in the country. The Duke of Richmond took this up, and said, ** he hoped the nobility would not be browbeaten by so insolent a minister.” Lord Chatham is said to have been “ stunned by this rough attack,” and it was observed that from that day, during the whole remainder of his Administration, he appeared no more in the House of Lords. ■ When Chatham again took part in debate, it was as a political associate of the Duke of Richmond. The alliance lasted several years. In their next difference of opinion, Richmond uttered that speech which was considered to be Chatham’s death-blow. Walpole mentions that the Duke, in answer to the notification he received from Lord Rockingham, on the subject of his appointment, marked his being sensible how little he had been his Majesty’s choice. The letter alluded to is as follows: “ Goodwood, Monday Evening, 19th May, 1766* “ The King’s thinking of appointing me his Secretary of State for the Southern Department, must ever fill my mind with the highest sense of duty and gratitude. At the same time I feel it is an honour I had no right to expect, from any use I can possibly be of, and must proceed from the partiality with which your Lordship and General Conway have represented me to bis Majesty. This is even more pleasing to me, than to have 342 DUKE OF RICHMOND TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. [1766. been thought equal to so great an undertaking; for the esteem of my friends far outweighs my vanity. “ But, however unable I fear I am to fill so important a post in the manner I could wish, I think it my duty to the King to undertake it, since his Majesty has been pleased to name me; and the entire confidence I repose in your Lordship and the rest of his Majesty’s servants, ensures me that, though my part may fail in the execution, I can never be embarked in any measures, but such as are directly tending to his Majesty’s honour and the good of the public. If perseverance in these can make my services acceptable to the King, I shall esteem myself happy. “ As to opposition, I foresee a great deal of very troublesome work, but am no way dismayed at it, for I have no doubt but that good measures, supported by honest men and protected by his Majesty, will ever meet with the approbation of the nation in general. The discontents of interested and disappointed men need only be despised to be ineffectual. “ Lord Dartmouth’s being either Secretary of State for the Plantations, or First Lord of Trade, with fuller powers, is, I imagine, very proper, having often heard that the American affairs load the Southern Department with so much business, as to make it almost impossible to go through with it. For my part, I shall be happy to leave that branch in so much abler hands.” A few days after the Duke of Richmond was appointed Secretary of State, Lord Rockingham received 1760.] LORD NORTHINGTON TO LORD ROCKINGHAM. 343 the following characteristic letter, from the captious and grumbling Chancellor. The first paragraph appears to refer to the Bill for Quebec, which Northington made the pretext for overthrowing his colleagues. THE EARL OF NORTHINGTON TO THE MARQUIS OF ROCKINGHAM. “ Mt Lord, * Grange, May 22,1760. “ Your messenger came here last night as I was going to bed, (so) that I could not return him with this and the copy of the Bill till this morning. I have perused the Bill, according to your Lordship’s desire, and my thoughts of it are, that should it pass into a law, it would be the most oppressive to the subject that ever was enacted; and that it erects into an Inquisition every inferior magistrate; and, in a summary way, vests the supreme power of tormenting in the Court of King’s Bench. These are my private thoughts, perhaps shallow ones, for I own I cannot fathom the depth of modern politics. “ I am glad to find your Lordship hath supplied the vacant Seals, as the state it was in was not creditable to Government; and the like satisfaction I receive in the accession of Lord North. “ I am acquainted with no particulars of the state of Ireland; bad enough I suppose it must he, from the nature of that people and of our government of it; and I presume its disorder too rank to be remedied; but I shall be in London on Sunday evening to attend my duty. 344 LORD NORTH'S ANTICIPATED RISE. [1766. “ The weather is so fine, the country so pleasant, and the birds so melodious, I shall regret to leave them even for the harmony I shall meet in London. “ I wish your Lordship health and happiness, and have the honour to be, with great respect, “ My Lord, Your Lordship's most obedient * * And most humble servant, • 8 o’clock, a. M.” « NoRTHLXGTON.” “ See,” said Charles Townshend, when Chancellor of the Exchequer, “ see that great, heavy, booby-looking, seeming changeling; yon may believe me when I assure you as a fact, that if anything should happen to me, he will succeed to my place, and very shortly after come to be First Commissioner of the Treasury.” The person here alluded to was Frederick Lord North, and the prediction was exactly fulfilled, immediately on poor Charles’s death. Nor was Townshend the only person who foretold his rise. George Grenville, walking with another gentleman in the Park, met the future Minister, apparently rehearsing a speech. ((Here comes blubbery North,” said the latter to Grenville. (