Chapter VII (2)

The scheme was so feasible, and the encouragement so inviting, that in a little time about four thousand adventurers, with their families, were entered, according to the directions of the board of trade, who in the beginning of May set sail from England, under the command of Colonel Cornwallis, whom the king had appointed their governor, and towards the latter end of June arrived at the place of their destination, which was the harbour of Chebucton, on the sea-coast of the peninsula, about midway between Cape Canceau and Cape Sable. It is one of the most secure and commodious havens in the whole world, and well situated for the fishery; yet the climate is cold, the soil barren, and the whole country covered with woods of birch, fir, pine, and some oak, unfit for the purposes of timber; but at the same time extremely difficult to remove and extirpate. Governor Cornwallis no sooner arrived in this harbour than he was joined by two regiments of infantry from Cape Breton, and a company of rangers from Annapolis. Then he pitched upon a spot for the settlement, and employed his people in clearing the ground for laying the foundations of a town; but some inconveniences being discovered in this situation, he chose another to the northward, hard by the harbour, on an easy ascent, commanding a prospect of the whole peninsula, and well supplied with rivulets of fresh and wholesome water. Here he began to build a town on a regular plan, to which he gave the name of Halifax, in honour of the nobleman who had the greatest share in founding the colony; and before the approach of winter, above three hundred comfortable wooden houses were built, the whole surrounded by a strong pallisade. This colony, however, has by no means answered the sanguine expectations of the projectors; for notwithstanding the ardour with which the interests of it were promoted by its noble patron, and the repeated indulgence it has reaped from the bounty of the legislature, the inhabitants have made little or no progress in agriculture; the fishery is altogether neglected, and the settlement entirely subsists on the sums expended by the individuals of the army and navy, whose duty obliges them to reside in this part of North America.

FRENCH ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE THE ISLAND OF TOBAGO.

The establishment of such a powerful colony in Nova-Scotia, could not fail giving umbrage to the French in that neighbourhood, who, though they did not think proper to promulgate their jealousy and disgust, nevertheless employed their emissaries clandestinely in stimulating and exciting the Indians to harass the colonists with hostilities, in such a manner as should effectually hinder them from extending their plantations, and perhaps induce them to abandon the settlement. Nor was this the only part of America in which the French court countenanced such perfidious practices. More than ever convinced of the importance of a considerable navy, and an extensive plantation trade, they not only exerted uncommon industry in re-establishing their marine, which had suffered so severely during the war; but they resolved, if possible, to extend their plantations in the West Indies by settling the neutral islands, which we have already mentioned. In the beginning of the year, the governor of Barbadoes, having received intelligence that the French had begun to settle the island of Tobago, sent captain Tyrrel thither in a frigate to learn the particulars. That officer found above three hundred men already landed, secured by two batteries and two ships of war, and in daily expectation of a further reinforcement from the marquis de Caylus, governor of Martinique; who had published an ordonnance, authorizing the subjects of the French king to settle the island of Tobago, and promising to defend them from the attempts of all their enemies. This assurance was in answer to a proclamation issued by Mr. Grenville, governor of Barbadoes, and stuck up in the different parts of the island, commanding all the inhabitants to remove, in thirty days, on pain of undergoing military execution. Captain Tyrrel, with a spirit that became a commander in the British navy, gave the French officers to understand, that his most christian majesty had no right to settle the island, which was declared neutral by treaties; and that, if they would not desist, he should be obliged to employ force in driving them from their new settlement. Night coming on, and Mr. Tyrrel’s ship falling to leeward, the French captains seized that opportunity of sailing to Martinique; and next day the English commander returned to Barbadoes, having no power to commit hostilities. These tidings, with a copy of the French governor’s ordonnance, were no sooner transmitted to the ministry than they despatched a courier to the English envoy at Paris, with directions to make representations to the court of Versailles on this subject. The ministry of France, knowing they were in no condition to support the consequences of an immediate rupture, and understanding how much the merchants and people of Great Britain were alarmed and incensed at their attempts to possess these islands, thought proper to disown the proceedings of the marquis de Caylus, and to grant the satisfaction that was demanded, by sending him orders to discontinue the settlement, and evacuate the island of Tobago. At the same time, however, that the court of Versailles made this sacrifice for the satisfaction of England, the marquis de Puysieux, the French minister, observed to the English resident, that France was undoubtedly in possession of that island towards the middle of the last century. He ought in candour to have added, that although Louis XIV. made a conquest of this island from the Hollanders, during his war with that republic, it was restored to them by the treaty of Nimeguen; and since that time France could not have the least shadow of a claim to number it among her settlements. It was before this answer could be obtained from the court of Versailles that the motion, of which we have already taken notice, was made in the house of commons, relating to the subject of the neutral islands; a motion discouraged by the court, and defeated by the majority.

REJOICINGS FOR THE PEACE.

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was celebrated by fireworks, illuminations, and rejoicings, in which the English, French, and Dutch, seemed to display a spirit of emulation in point of taste and magnificence; and, in all probability, these three powers were sincerely pleased at the cessation of the war. England enjoyed a respite from intolerable supplies, exorbitant insurance, and interrupted commerce; Holland was delivered from the brink of a French invasion; and France had obtained a breathing time for re-establishing her naval power, for exerting that spirit of intrigue, by dint of which she hath often embroiled her neighbours, and for executing plans of insensible encroachment, which might prove more advantageous than the progress of open hostilities. In the affair of Tobago, the French king had manifested his inclination to avoid immediate disputes with England; and had exhibited another proof of the same disposition in his behaviour to the prince-pretender, who had excited such a dangerous rebellion in the island of Great Britain.

Among those princes and powers who excepted against different articles of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the chevalier de St. George, foreseeing that none of the plenipotentiaries would receive his protest, employed his agents to fix it up in the public places of Aix-la-Chapelle; a precaution of very little service to his cause, which all the states of Christendom seemed now to have abandoned. So little was the interest of his family considered in this negotiation, that the contracting powers agreed, without reserve, to a literal insertion of the fifth article of the quadruple alliance; by which it was stipulated, that neither the pretender nor any of his descendants should be allowed to reside within the territories belonging to any of the subscribing parties. At the same time the plenipotentiaries of France promised to those of Great Britain, that prince Charles-Edward should be immediately obliged to quit the dominions of his most christian majesty. Notice of this agreement was accordingly given by the court of Versailles to the young adventurer; and as he had declared he would never return to Italy, Mons. de Courteille, the French envoy to the cantons of Switzerland, was directed by his sovereign to demand an asylum for prince Edward in the city of Fribourg. The regency having complied in this particular with the earnest request of his most christian majesty, Mr. Bamaby, the British minister to the Helvetic body, took the alarm, and presented the magistracy of Fribourg with a remonstrance, couched in such terms as gave offence to that regency, and drew upon him a severe answer. In vain had the French king exerted his influence in procuring this retreat for the young pretender, who, being pressed with repeated messages to withdraw, persisted in refusing to quit the place, to which he had been so cordially invited by his cousin the king of France; and where he said that monarch had solemnly promised, on the word of a king, that he would never forsake him in his distress, nor abandon the interests of his family. Louis was not a little perplexed at this obstinacy of prince Edward, which was the more vexatious, as that youth appeared to be the darling of the Parisians; who not only admired him for his own accomplishments, and pitied him for his sufferings, but also revered him, as a young hero lineally descended from their renowned Henry the Fourth. At length, the two English noblemen arriving at Paris as hostages for the performance of the treaty, and seeing him appear at all the public places of diversion, complained of this circumstance as an insult to their sovereign, and an infringement of the treaty so lately concluded. The French king, after some hesitation between punctilio and convenience, resolved to employ violence upon the person of this troublesome stranger, since milder remonstrances had not been able to influence his conduct; but this resolution was not taken till the return of a courier whom he despatched to the chevalier de St. George; who, being thus informed of his son’s deportment, wrote a letter to him, laying strong injunctions upon him to yield to the necessity of the times, and acquiesce with a good grace in the stipulations which his cousin of France had found it necessary to subscribe for the interest of his realm. Edward, far from complying with this advice and injunction, signified his resolution to remain in Paris; and even declared that he would pistol any man who should presume to lay violent hands on his person. In consequence of this bold declaration, an extraordinary council was held at Versailles, when it was determined to arrest him without further delay, and the whole plan of this enterprise was finally adjusted. That same evening, the prince entering the narrow lane that leads to the opera, the barrier was immediately shut, and the sergeant of the guard called “to arms;” on which monsieur de Vaudreuil, exempt of the French guards, advancing to Edward, “Prince,” said he, “I arrest you in the king’s name, by virtue of this order.” At that instant the youth was surrounded by four grenadiers, in order to prevent any mischief he might have done with a case of pocket-pistols which he always carried about him; and a guard was placed at all the avenues and doors of the opera-house, lest any tumult should have ensued among the populace. These precautions being taken, Vaudreuil, with an escort, conducted the prisoner through the garden of the palais-royal, to a house where the duke de Biron waited with a coach and six to convey him to the castle of Vincennes, whether he was immediately accompanied by a detachment from the regiment of French guards, under the command of that nobleman. He had not remained above three days in his confinement, when he gave the French ministry to understand that he would conform himself to the king’s intentions; and was immediately enlarged, upon giving his word and honour that he would, without delay, retire from the dominions of France. Accordingly, he set out in four days from Fountainbleau, attended by three officers, who conducted him as far as Pont-Bauvosin on the frontiers, where they took their leave of him and returned to Versailles. He proceeded for some time in the road to Chamberri; but soon returned into the French dominions, and, passing through Dauphiné, repaired to Avignon, where he was received with extraordinary honours by the pope’s legate. In the meantime, his arrest excited great murmurings at Paris; the inhabitants blaming, without scruple, their king’s conduct in this instance, as a scandalous breach of hospitality, as well as a mean proof of condescension to the king of England; and many severe pasquinades, relating to this transaction, were fixed up in the most public places of that metropolis.

APPEARANCE OF A RUPTURE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

Although peace was now re-established among the principal powers of the continent, yet another storm seemed ready to burst upon the northern parts of Europe, in a fresh rupture between Russia and Sweden. Whether the czarina had actually obtained information that the French faction meditated some revolution of government at Stockholm, or she wanted a pretence of annexing Finland to her empire; certain it is, she affected to apprehend that the prince-successor of Sweden waited only for the decease of the reigning king, who was very old and infirm, to change the form of government, and resume that absolute authority which some of the monarchs, his predecessors, had enjoyed. She seemed to think that a prince thus vested with arbitrary power, and guided by the councils of France and Prussia, with which Sweden had lately engaged in close alliance, might become a very troublesome and dangerous neighbour to her in the Baltic; she therefore recruited her armies, repaired her fortifications, filled her magazines, ordered a strong body of troops to advance towards the frontiers of Finland, and declared in plain terms to the court of Stockholm, that if any step should be taken to alter the government, which she had bound herself by treaty to maintain, her troops should enter the territory of Sweden, and she would act up to the spirit of her engagements. The Swedish ministry, alarmed at these peremptory proceedings, had recourse to their allies; and in the meantime, made repeated declarations to the court of Petersburgh, that there was no design to make the least innovation in the nature of their established government; but little or no regard being paid to these representations, they began to put the kingdom in a posture of defence; and the old king gave the czarina to understand, that if, notwithstanding the satisfaction he had offered, her forces should pass the frontiers of Finland, he would consider their march as an hostile invasion, and employ the means which God had put in his power for the defence of his dominions.

INTERPOSITION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

This declaration, in all probability, did not produce such effect as the interposition of his Prussian majesty, the most enterprising prince of his time, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand of the best troops that Germany ever trained. Perhaps he was not sorry that the empress of Muscovy furnished him with a plausible pretence for maintaining such a formidable army, after the peace of Europe had been ascertained by a formal treaty, and all the surrounding states had diminished the number of their forces. He now wrote a letter to his uncle the king of Great Britain, complaining of the insults and menaces which had been offered by the czarina to Sweden; declaring, that he was bound by a defensive alliance, to which France had acceded, to defend the government at present established in Sweden; and that he would not sit still, and tamely see that kingdom attacked by any power whatsoever, without acting up to his engagements; he therefore entreated his Britannic majesty to interpose his good offices, in conjunction with France and him, to compromise the disputes which threatened to embroil the northern parts of Europe. By this time the Russian army had approached the frontiers of Finland: the Swedes had assembled their troops, replenished their magazines, and repaired their marine; and the king of Denmark, jealous of the czarina’s designs with regard to the duchy of Sleswick, which was contested with him by the prince-successor of Russia, kept his army and navy on the most respectable footing. At this critical juncture the courts of London, Versailles, and Berlin, co-operated so effectually by remonstrances and declarations at Petersburgh and Stockholm, that the empress of Russia thought proper to own herself satisfied, and all those clouds of trouble were immediately dispersed. Yet, in all probability, her real aim was disappointed; and, however she might dissemble her sentiments, she never heartily forgave the king of Prussia for the share he had in this transaction. That monarch, without relaxing in his attention to the support of a very formidable military power, exerted very extraordinary endeavours in cultivating the civil interests of his country. He reformed the laws of Brandenburgh, and rescued the administration of justice from the frauds of chicanery. He encouraged the arts of agriculture and manufacture; and even laid the foundation of naval commerce, by establishing an East-India company in the port of Embden.

Nor did the French ministry neglect any measure that might contribute to repair the damage which the kingdom had sustained in the course of the war. One half of the army was disbanded: the severe imposition of the tenth penny was suspended by the king’s edict: a scheme of economy was proposed with respect to the finances; and the utmost diligence used in procuring materials, as well as workmen, for ship-building, that the navy of France might speedily retrieve its former importance. In the midst of these truly patriotic schemes, the court of Versailles betrayed a littleness of genius, and spirit of tyranny, joined to fanaticism, in quarreling with their parliament about superstitious forms of religion. The sacraments had been denied to a certain person on his death-bed, because he refused to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus. The nephew of the defunct preferred a complaint to the parliament, whose province it was to take cognizance of the affair; a deputation of that body attended the king with the report of the resolutions; and his majesty commanded them to suspend all proceedings relating to a matter of such consequence, concerning which he would take an opportunity of signifying his royal pleasure. This interposition was the source of disputes between the crown and parliament, which had like to have filled the whole kingdom with intestine troubles.

CONDUCT OF DIFFERENT EUROPEAN POWERS.

At Vienna, the empress-queen was not more solicitous in promoting the trade and internal manufactures of her dominions, by sumptuary regulations, necessary restrictions on foreign superfluities, by opening her ports in the Adriatic, and giving proper encouragement to commerce, than she was careful and provident in reforming the economy of her finances, maintaining a respectable body of forces, and guarding, by defensive alliances, against the enterprise of his Prussian majesty, on whose military power she looked with jealousy and distrust. In Holland, all the authority and influence of the stadtholder were scarcely sufficient to allay the ferments excited among the people by the provisional taxation, which had succeeded the abolition of the patchers, and was indeed very grievous to the subject. As this was no more than a temporary expedient, the prince of Orange proposed a more equitable plan, which was approved by the states, and established with great difficulty. In Italy the system of politics seemed to change its complexion. The king of Sardinia effected a match between one of the infantas of Spain and the prince of Piedmont; and whether irritated by the conduct of the Austrians in the last war, or apprehensive of such a powerful neighbour in the Milanese, he engaged with the kings of France and Spain in a defensive alliance, comprehending the king of the Two Sicilies, the republic of Genoa, and the dukes of Modena and Parma. His most catholic majesty, sincerely disposed to cultivate the arts of peace, and encourage every measure that could contribute to the advantage of his country, was no sooner released from the embarrassments of war, than he began to execute plans of internal economy; to reduce unnecessary pensions, discharge the debts contracted in the war, replenish his arsenals, augment his navy, promote manufactures, and encourage an active commerce by sea, the benefits of which the kingdom of Spain had not known since the first discovery and conquest of the West Indies.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

INSOLENCE OF THE BARBARY CORSAIRS.

The preparations for refitting and increasing the navy of Spain were carried on with such extraordinary vigour, that other nations believed an expedition was intended against the corsairs of Algiers, who had for some time grievously infested the trade and coasts of the Mediterranean. The existence of this and other predatory republics, which entirely subsist upon piracy and rapine, petty states of barbarous ruffians, maintained as it were in the midst of powerful nations, which they insult with impunity, and of which they even exact an annual contribution, is a flagrant reproach upon Christendom; a reproach the greater, as it is founded upon a low, selfish, illiberal maxim of policy. All the powers that border on the Mediterranean, except France and Tuscany, are at perpetual war with the Moors of Barbary, and for that reason obliged to employ foreign ships for the transportation of their merchandise. This employment naturally devolves to those nations whose vessels are in no danger from the depredations of the barbarians; namely, the subjects of the maritime powers, who for this puny advantage, not only tolerate the piratical states of Barbary, but even supply them with arms and ammunition, solicit their passes, and purchase their forbearance with annual presents, which are, in effect, equivalent to a tribute; whereas, by one vigorous exertion of their power, they might destroy all their ships, lay their towns in ashes, and totally extirpate those pernicious broods of desperate banditti. Even all the condescension of those who disgrace themselves with the title of allies to these miscreants, is not always sufficient to restrain them from acts of cruelty and rapine. At this very period four cruisers from Algiers made a capture of an English packet-boat, in her voyage from Lisbon, and conveyed her to their city, where she was plundered of money and effects to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds, and afterwards dismissed. In consequence of this outrage, commodore Keppel was sent with seven ships of war to demand satisfaction, as well as to compromise certain differences which had arisen on account of arrears claimed of the English by the dey of Algiers. The Mussulman frankly owned, that the money having been divided among the captors, could not possibly be refunded. The commodore returned to Gibraltar; and, in the sequel, an Algerine ambassador arrived in London, with some presents of wild beasts for his Britannic majesty. This transaction was succeeded by another injurious affront offered by the governor or alcayde of Tetuan to Mr. Latton, an English ambassador, sent thither to redeem the British subjects who had been many years enslaved in the dominions of the king of Morocco. A revolution having lately happened in this empire, Mully Abdallah, the reigning ruffian, insisted upon the ambassador’s paying a pretended balance for the ransom of the captives, as well as depositing a considerable sum, which had already been paid to a deceased pacha; alleging, that as he, the emperor, received no part of it, the payment was illegal. Mr. Latton refusing to comply with this arbitrary demand, his house was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers, who violently dragged his secretary from his presence, and threw him into a dismal subterranean dungeon, where he continued twenty days. The English slaves, to the number of twenty-seven, were condemned to the same fate; the ambassador himself was degraded from his character, deprived of his allowance, and sequestered from all communication. All the letters directed to him were intercepted, and interpreted to the alcayde; two negro porters were intrusted with the keys of all his apartments, and a couple of soldiers posted at his chamber-door; nay, this Moorish governor threatened to load him with irons, and violently seized part of the presents designed by his Britannic majesty for the emperor. At length, finding that neither Mr. Latton nor the governor of Gibraltar, to whom he had written, would deposit the money, without fresh instructions from the court of London, the barbarian thought proper to relax in his severity: the prisoners were enlarged, the restrictions removed from the person of the ambassador, and, after all these indignities offered to the honour of the British nation, the balance was paid, and the affair quietly adjusted.

DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND.

Britain, in the meanwhile, was altogether barren of events which might deserve a place in a general history. Commerce and manufacture flourished again, to such a degree of increase as had never been known in the island; but this advantage was attended with an irresistible tide of luxury and excess, which flowed through all degrees of the people, breaking down all the mounds of civil polity, and opening a way for license and immorality. The highways were infested with rapine and assassination; the cities teemed with the brutal votaries of lewdness, intemperance, and profligacy. The whole land was overspread with a succession of tumult, riot, and insurrection, excited in different parts of the kingdom by the erection of new turnpikes, which the legislature judged necessary for the convenience of inland carriage. In order to quell these disturbances, recourse was had to the military power; several individuals were slain, and some were executed as examples.

SESSION OPENED.

In the month of November the session of parliament was opened with a speech from the throne, in which his majesty expressed a particular pleasure in meeting them at a time when the perfect re-establishment of a general peace had restored to his people the blessings of quiet and tranquillity. He said, the good effects of these already appeared in the flourishing condition of national commerce, and in the rise of public credit, which were the foundations of strength and prosperity to these kingdoms. He declared, that, during the summer, he had used every opportunity of cementing and securing the peace; that it was his firm resolution to do everything in his power for the preservation of it, and religiously adhere to the engagements into which he had entered. Finally, he took notice of the good disposition he had found in the other contracting parties to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to cherish the public tranquillity of Europe; and he earnestly recommended to the two houses the maintenance of a strong naval power, as the bulwark of national security.

When the motion was made for an address of thanks in the house of commons, the first paragraph of his majesty’s speech furnished the opposition with a handle to declaim against the late treaty. Sir John Hinde Cotton observed, that the peace could not be properly styled complete, as nothing had been stipulated with respect to the article of “No search;” alluding to the interruption our commerce had sustained from the Spaniards in the West Indies; a stipulation, without which both houses of parliament had formerly voted that there should be no peace with that kingdom.

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In the present conjuncture of affairs, such an objection savoured rather of party than of patriotism; and indeed sir John declared, that the remarks he made upon the occasion were rather in discharge of the duty he owed to his country, than in hope of seeing his sentiments espoused by the majority. Some sharp altercation was used in the debate which arose on this subject; and many severe invectives were levelled at those who negotiated, as well as at those who approved and confirmed the treaty. But Mr. Pelham, who sustained the whole weight of the debate on the side of the administration, answered every objection with equal candour and ability; and if he failed in proving that the terms of peace were as favourable as could be expected, considering the unfortunate events of the war, and the situation of the contending powers; he at least demonstrated, that it would be the interest of the kingdom to acquiesce for the present in the treaty which had been concluded, and endeavour to remedy its imperfections by subsequent conventions, amicably opened among those powers between whom any cause of dispute remained. With respect to the vote of both houses, mentioned by sir John Hinde Cotton, he declared that he had never approved of that step, when it was first taken; or if he had, times and circumstances, which could not be foreseen, would have justified his deviating from it in the re-establishment of peace. He reminded them that a parliament of Great Britain had once voted “no peace while any part of the West Indies should remain in possession of the Spanish king;” yet a train of incidents, which they could not possibly foresee, afterwards rendered it expedient to adopt a peace without insisting upon the accomplishment of that condition. In a word, we must own, that, in the majority of debates excited in the course of this session, the ministry derived their triumphs from the force of reason, as well as from the weight of influence. We shall always, however, except the efforts that were made for reducing the number of land-forces to fifteen thousand, and maintaining a greater number of seamen than the ministry proposed. On these constitutional points the earl of Egmont, and the other chiefs of the opposition, expatiated with all the energy of eloquence; which however was frustrated by the power of superior numbers. Ten thousand seamen were voted for the service of the ensuing year, notwithstanding his majesty’s injunction to maintain a considerable navy; and the number of land-forces was continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven. The sums granted for making good his majesty’s engagements with the electors of Bavaria and Mentz, and the duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle, amounted to fifty-three thousand two hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. The services done by the colonies in North America, during the war, were gratified with the sum of one hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and forty-six pounds. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova-Scotia exceeded seventy-six thousand pounds. A small sum was voted for the improvement of Georgia; and ten thousand pounds were granted towards the support of the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa.. The sum total granted in this session arose to four millions one hundred and forty-one thousand six hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillings and eleven pence halfpenny, to be raised by the land-tax, at three shillings in the pound; the malt, and other duties, the surplus of divers impositions remaining in the bank and exchequer; one million by annuities at three per cent., charged on the sinking fund, until redeemed by parliament; and nine hundred thousand pounds out of the excess or overplus of monies denominated the sinking fund.

SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

But the capital measure which distinguished this session of parliament was the reduction of the interest on the public funds; a scheme which was planned and executed by the minister, without any national disturbance or disquiet, to the astonishment of all Europe; the different nations of which could not comprehend how it would be possible for the government, at the close of a long expensive war, which had so considerably drained the country, and augmented the enormous burden of national debt, to find money for paying off such of the public creditors as might choose to receive the principal, rather than submit to a reduction of the interest. It was not very much for the honour of the opposition, that some of its leading members endeavoured to impede this great machine of civil economy, by taking opportunities of affirming in parliament, in opposition to his majesty’s speech, that the nation, far from being in a flourishing condition, was almost entirely exhausted; that commerce drooped and declined; that public credit stood tottering on the brink of ruin; and that all the treaties lately concluded among the different powers of Europe were, in effect, disadvantageous and prejudicial to the interests of Great Britain. In answer to these assertions, Mr. Pelham undertook to prove, from the register of exports and imports, that the commerce of the kingdom was more extensive at this than at any former period; and that the public credit was strong enough to admit of an experiment, which he would not presume to hazard, except upon a moral certainty of its being firmly rooted beyond the power of accident and faction to shake or overturn. He declared, that his design of reducing the interest upon the funds was the result of the love he bore his country, and an opinion that it was the duty of the servants of the crown to ease the burdens of the people. He said, he had conferred on this subject with persons of the most approved knowledge, and undoubted experience; and chose to promulgate the method proposed for alleviating the load of the national debt, that the public, in knowing the particulars of the scheme, might have time to consider them at leisure, and start such objections as should occur to their reflection, before it might be too late to adopt amendments. He observed, that nothing could more clearly demonstrate the vigour of public credit, and the augmentation of national commerce, than the price of stock, which had within three years risen to a very considerable increase; and the duties on imports, which in nine months had added one million to the sinking fund, notwithstanding a very extraordinary sum which had been paid as bounties for exported corn. He expressed great tenderness and regard for the interests of those who had advanced their money for the service of the government; declaring, that his aim was to contrive a fair, honest, and equitable method for lessening the national incumbrances, by lowering the interest, conformable to parliamentary faith, and agreeable to the rules of eternal justice. His plan was accordingly communicated, canvassed, and ap proved in the house of commons, and an act passed for reducing the interest of the funds which constitute the national debt. [321] _[See note 2 Q, at the end of this Vol.]_ In pursuance of this act for the reduction of the interest, the greater part of the creditors complied with the terms proposed, and subscribed their respective annuities before the end of February; but the three great companies at first kept aloof, and refused to subscribe any part of their capital.

About the middle of March the commons ordered the proper officers to lay before them an account of the sums which had been subscribed, and these were taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house. It was then that Mr. Pelham, as chancellor of the exchequer, observed, that besides the debts due to the three great companies in their corporate capacity, all the rest, carrying four per centum interest, had been subscribed, except about eight or nine millions, the proprietors of which had forfeited the favour designed them by parliament; but as many of these had been misled by evil counsellors, who perhaps were more intent on distressing the government, than solicitous to serve their friends; and as many were foreigners, residing beyond sea, who had not time to take proper advice, and give the necessary instruction; and as these could not possibly be distinguished from such as refused to subscribe from mere obstinacy or disaffection, it might be thought cruel to take the most rigorous advantage of the forfeiture they had incurred. With respect to the proprietors of the stock or capital belonging to the three great companies, he asserted, that many of them would willingly have subscribed their properties within the time limited, but were necessarily excluded by the majority on the ballot; and as it was equally impossible to know those who were against the question on the ballot, he thought that some tenderness was due even to the proprietors of those three companies; his opinion therefore was, that they and the uncomplying annuitants should be indulged with further time to complete their subscription; but, in order to preserve the authority of parliament, and the respect due to that august assembly, they ought not to be gratified with such advantageous terms as were allowed to the annuitants who at first cheerfully complied with the proposals offered by the legislature. For these reasons he proposed, that although the term of subscribing should be protracted till the thirtieth day of May, the encouragement of three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum should not be continued to the second subscribers longer than till the fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five. The proposal being approved, a bill was framed for this purpose, as well as for redeeming such annuities as should not be subscribed, which passed through both houses, and was enacted into a law, after having received an additional clause, empowering the East India company, in case they should subscribe all their stock bearing an interest of four per centum, to borrow, with the consent of the treasury, any sums not exceeding four millions two hundred thousand pounds, after the several rates of interest before proposed to be paid by the public, and one million more at three per centum per annum. They were also vested with a power to raise money by bonds as formerly; yet so as the whole, including the annuities, should not exceed what they were by former acts empowered to borrow. The objections to the execution of this project, which by many were deemed insurmountable, entirely vanished before the fortitude, perseverance, and caution of the minister; who had secured, among the monied men of the nation, the promise of such sums as would have been sufficient to pay off the capital belonging to those creditors who might refuse to accept the interest thus reduced. The second subscription had the desired effect. The three great companies acquiesced, and their example was followed by the other scrupulous annuitants; the national burden was comfortably lightened, and the sinking fund considerably increased, without producing the least perplexity or disturbance in the commonwealth; a circumstance that could not fail to excite the admiration and envy of all Christendom.

{1750}

NEW MUTINY BILL.

The mutiny bill for the ensuing year was mitigated with an essential alteration, relating to the oath of secrecy imposed upon the members of every court-martial, who were now released from this reserve if required to give evidence, by due course of law, in any court of judicature; and whereas, by the former mutiny bill, a general was empowered to order the revival of any sentence by a court-martial as often as he pleased, and, on that pretence, to keep in confinement a man who had been acquitted upon a fair trial; it was now enacted, that no sentence pronounced by any court-martial, and signed by the president, should be more than once liable to revisal. Colonel George Townshend, son of lord viscount Townshend, who had equally distinguished himself by his civil and military accomplishments, proposed another clause, for preventing any noncommissioned officer’s being broke or reduced into the ranks; or any soldier’s being punished, but by the sentence of a court-martial. He gave the house to understand, that certain persons attended at the door, who from the station of non-commissioned officers had been broke, and reduced into the ranks, without trial, or any cause assigned; and he expatiated not only upon the iniquity of such proceedings, but also upon the danger of leaving such arbitrary power in the hands of any individual officer. A warm debate was the consequence of this motion, which, however, was overruled by the majority.

BILL FOR ENCOURAGING the IMPORTATION OF IRON FROM AMERICA.

Among other regulations made in the course of this session for the encouragement of the British manufactures, a large duty was laid upon Irish sail-cloth, which being sold at an under price, was found to interfere with the same species of commodity fabricated in the island of Great Britain; and, for the farther benefit of this last, the bounty upon the exportation of it, which had been deducted from a defective fund, was now made payable out of the customs. This measure, however, was not of such importance to the nation, as the act which they passed for encouraging the importation of pig and bar iron from the British colonies in North America. Every well-wisher to his country reflected with concern on the nature of the British trade with Sweden, from which kingdom the subjects of his Britannic majesty imported more iron and steel than all the other countries in Europe. For this article they paid a very great balance in ready money, which the Swedes again expended in purchasing from the French, and other mercantile powers, those necessaries and superfluities with which they might have been as cheaply furnished by Great Britain. In the meantime, the English colonies in America were restricted by severe duties from making advantage of their own produce, in exchanging their iron for such commodities as they were under the necessity of procuring from their mother country. Such restrictions was not only a cruel grievance upon our own settlements, but also attended with manifest prejudice to the interest of Great Britain, annually drained of great sums in favour of an ungrateful nation, from which no part of them returned; whereas the iron imported from America must of necessity come in exchange for our own manufactures. The commons having appointed a day for taking this affair into consideration, carefully examined into the state of the British commerce carried on with Sweden, as well as into the accounts of iron imported from the plantations of America; and a committee of the whole house having resolved, that the duties on American pig and bar iron should be removed, a bill [322] _[See note 2 R, at the end of this Vol.]_ was brought in for that purpose, containing a clause, however, to prevent his majesty’s subjects from making steel, and establishing mills for slitting and rolling iron within the British colonies of America: this precaution being taken, that the colonists might not interfere with the manufactures of their mother country.

ERECTION OF THE BRITISH HERRING FISHERY.

The next commercial improvement of which we shall take notice, was the bill for the encouragement of the British white herring and cod fisheries. This was likewise the result of mature deliberation, importing, that a bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be granted, and paid out of the customs, to all new vessels from twenty to fourscore tons burden, which should be built for that purpose, and actually employed in the fishery; that a society should be incorporated, under the name of the Free British Fishery, by a charter, not exclusive, with power to raise a capital not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds; and that three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, should be granted and paid out of the customs to the proprietors for fourteen years, for so much of the capital as should be actually employed in the said fisheries. Corresponding chambers were proposed to be erected in remote parts of North Britain, for taking in subscriptions, and prosecuting the trade, under the directions of the company at London; and the nation in general seemed eager to dispute this branch of commerce with the subjects of Holland, whom they considered as ungrateful interlopers. In the house of peers, however, the bill met with a formidable opposition from the earl of Winchelsea and lord Sandys, who justly observed, that it was a crude indigested scheme, which in the execution would never answer the expectations of the people; that in contending with the Dutch, who are the patterns of unwearied industry and the most rigid economy, nothing could be more absurd than a joint-stock company, which is always clogged with extraordinary expense; and the resolution of fitting out vessels at the port of London, where all sorts of materials, labour, and seamen, are so much dearer than in any other part of the united kingdom, exclusive of the great distance and dangerous voyage between the metropolis and the sound of Brassa in Shetland, the rendezvous at which all the herring-busses were to assemble in the beginning of the fishing season. They likewise took notice of the heavy duty on salt, used in curing the fish for sale, and the beef for provisions to the mariners; a circumstance of itself sufficient to discourage adventurers from embarking in a commerce which, at best, yields but very slender profits to the trade in particular, how important soever it might prove to the community in general. These objections were answered by the duke of Argyle and the earl of Granville, who seemed to think that this branch of trade could not be fairly set on foot, without such a considerable sum of money as no single individual would care to advance; that a joint-stock company would be able to prosecute the fishery at a smaller expense than that which particular traders must necessarily incur; that the present spirit of the nation, which was eagerly bent upon trying the experiment, ought not to be balked by delay, lest it should evaporate; and that though the plan was not unexceptionable, the defects of it might in the sequel be remedied by the legislature. In a word, the bill was adopted by the majority, with a small amendment in the title, which produced some disquiets in the lower house; but this dispute was compromised, and it was enacted into a law towards the close of the session. Nothing could be more agreeable to the public than the sanction of the legislature to this favourite plan, which was ardently promoted, and patronised by men of the greatest eminence for wealth and popularity. The company chose for their governor the prince of Wales, who received this proof of their attachment and respect with particular marks of satisfaction; the president and vice-president were both aldermen of London; and the council was composed of thirty gentlemen, the majority of whom were members of parliament. Great pains were taken, and some artifice was used, to learn the Dutch method of curing the fish. People crowded with their subscriptions; a number of hands were employed in building and equipping the busses or vessels used in the fishery; and the most favourable consequences were expected from the general vigour and alacrity which animated these preparations. But the success did not gratify the sanguine hopes of the projectors and adventurers. The objections made in the house of lords soon appeared to have been well founded; these co-operating with mismanagement in the directors, the spirit of the company began to flag, the natural consequences of commercial disappointment; and now the British fishery seems to languish under the neglect of the legislature.

NEW AFRICAN COMPANY.

Touching the trade to the coast of Africa, petitions were renewed by the company and its creditors, the merchants of Bristol, Liverpool, and Lancaster; and a remonstrance was presented by the planters and merchants interested in the British sugar settlements in America; but the commons adhered to their former resolutions of laying open the trade, maintaining the forts at the public expense, and regulating the commerce by a committee of merchants, representing the chief trading towns in the kingdom, to be superintended by the board of trade and plantations. The bill was accordingly framed and presented, and having proceeded through both houses without opposition, obtained the royal assent. Over and above these wise, salutary, and patriotic measures for the improvement of commerce, they encouraged the importation of raw silk by an act, reducing the duties formerly payable on that which was the growth of China to the same that is raised on the raw silk from Italy, and allowing the same drawback upon the exportation of the one which had been usually granted on the other. A second bill was brought in for the encouragement of the growth and culture of silk in Carolina and Georgia, where it had been lately produced with extraordinary success, by freeing from all duties that which should be imported from his majesty’s dominions in America; and a third was framed, permitting raw silk of the growth or produce of Persia, purchased in Russia, to be imported into Great Britain, from any port or place belonging to the empire of Russia. Divers efforts were made, by different members in the opposition, to rectify certain abuses in the army and administration; some bills were brought in, and several petitions were left on the table; but all of them proved abortive, from the power and influence of the minister, who seemed resolved that no benefit should flow upon the nation through any channel but his own. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, for the honour of his memory, that there is no session on record so productive as this was of measures advantageous to the community.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

WESTMINSTER ELECTION.

The people, however, were not entirely satisfied with the conduct of the administration, if we may judge from the ferment and commotions raised during the progress of an election for a citizen to represent the city of Westminster in parliament. The seat which had been filled by lord Trentham, eldest son of earl Gower, having become vacant, in consequence of that nobleman’s accepting a place at the board of admiralty, he again declared himself a candidate, and met with a violent opposition. Those who styled themselves the independent electors of Westminster, being now incensed to an uncommon degree of turbulence by the interposition of ministerial influence, determined to use their utmost endeavours to baffle the designs of the court, and at the same time take vengeance on the family of earl Gower, who had entirely abandoned the opposition, of which he was formerly one of the most respected leaders. With this view they held consultations, agreed to resolutions, and set up a private gentleman, named sir George Vandeput, as the competitor of lord Trentham, declaring that they would support his pretensions at their own expense, being the more encouraged to this enterprise by the countenance and assistance of the prince of Wales and his adherents. They accordingly opened houses of entertainment for their partisans, solicited votes, circulated remonstrances, and propagated abuse; in a word, they canvassed, with surprising spirit and perseverance, against the whole interest of St. James’. Mobs were hired and processions made on both sides, and the city of Westminster was filled with tumult and uproar. The mutual animosity of the parties seemed every day to increase during the election, and a great number of unqualified votes were presented on both sides; all the powers of insinuation, obloquy, and ridicule, were employed to vilify and depreciate both candidates. At length the poll being closed, a majority of votes appeared in behalf of lord Trentham; but a scrutiny being demanded by the other side, the returning officer complied with their request. The speaker of the lower house had issued his warrant for a new writ of election about the middle of November; and towards the end of February, Mr. Fox, secretary at war, standing up and observing that no return had yet been made, thought proper to move that the clerk of the crown, the messenger-extraordinary attending the great seal, the under-sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster, should attend next morning and give an account of their issuing, delivering, and executing the writ of election. These being examined, and the high-bailiff declaring that he would proceed with all possible despatch in the scrutiny which had been demanded and was begun, Mr. Speaker explained to him some particulars of his duty, in the discharge of which, he was given to understand, he might depend upon the protection of the house, should he meet with any obstruction which he could not otherwise surmount, By the violence and caprice with which a great number of votes were contested on both sides, the scrutiny was protracted a long time, and the return attended with some extraordinary consequences, which shall be particularized among the transactions of the next year. In the meantime, the present session of parliament was closed on the twelfth day of April, with a speech from the throne, commending the commons for having seized the very first opportunity of reducing the interest of the national debt, without the least infringement upon the faith of parliament; and congratulating them on the flourishing state of the public credit, which could not fail to add strength and reputation to the government, both at home and abroad. Immediately after the rising of the parliament, his majesty appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence, and embarked for the continent in order to visit his German dominions.

EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON.