Chapter I (3)

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

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

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

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

PROPOSITION TO TAX THE AMERICAN COLONIES.

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

OPPOSITION OF THE AMERICANS.

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

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

WAR WITH THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS.

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

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

DOMESTIC OCCURRENCES.

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

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

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

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