Chapter XV: {george III. 1786–1787} (3)

While General Stuart was carrying on operations against the French at Cuddalore, Colonel Fullarton, who had arrived from England with some of the reinforcements at the end of the preceding year, was making a rapid progress in the country beyond Tanjore. Fullarton had taken the fortress of Dindigul by storm, and had captured the fortress of Daraporam, in the province of Coimbntoor, which opened one of the roads to Soringapatam, and was only about one hundred and forty miles from that city. At this point he was recalled to the aid of General Stuart at Cuddalore; but when the news of peace between France and England arrived, and when it was found Tippoo showed no signs of a desire for a cessation of arms, Lord Macartney reinforced him with 1000 sepoys, and directed him to resume his campaign. Fullarton first turned his arms against the numerous polygars of Tinevelly, who had thrown off all allegiance to the company at the commencement of Hyder’s invasion; and having reduced them to complete submission, he continued his march to Dindigul and Daraporam. He had neither money nor supplies with him; but his wants were well supplied by the Rajah of Travancore, and by other rajahs on the Malabar coast, who were all interested in the overthrow of Tippoo. On arriving in the neighbourhood of Daraporam, Fullarton halted for a short period, in order to receive intelligence from the three commissioners sent to Seringapatam. On the receipt of a letter, however, from the residency of Tellichery, informing him that Tippoo had recommenced hostilities at Mangalore, Fullarton took immediate measures to resent the insult. His first operations were against the fortress of Palagatcherry, which was considered one of the strongest in all India. This fortress was captured, and the English found therein 50,000 pagodas in money, together with a large supply of grain, ammunition, and military stores. Fullarton next directed his operations against the fort of Coimbatoor, which likewise fell into his hands. All the strongest fortresses in the country were now captured, and another ten days of march would have brought him before the walls of Seringapatam. This would have been accomplished without any difficulty, for there was no Mysorean army in the neighbourhood capable of withstanding his forces; and every rajah bordering on the territories of Mysore was favourable to his cause. It is evident, indeed, that the power of the British might have been established in the whole of Southern India, and Fullarton rejoiced in the bright prospect. Just as he was setting forwards on his inarch to Seringapatam, however, to secure the golden prize, he received orders from the government of Madras to restore his recent conquests. At Tippoo’s request, two English commissioners had been sent to his camp to treat for peace, and this unqualified restitution was enjoined by the commissioners as the preliminary of negociation with the artful nabob. Yet all the while Tippoo continued the siege of Mangalore, and while Fullarton was retracing his steps towards Tanjore and Trichinopoly, that fortress, after sustaining a siege of nine months, was captured; Colonel Campbell, who had bravely defended it, being allowed to march with his troops unmolested to Tellicherry. The continued siege of Mangalore and its capture exhibited the bad faith of Tippoo; and it was scarcely evacuated when Fullarton, who had not reached the old boundaries, received orders from Madras to renew operations, and to regain, if possible, the possession of Palagatcherry. Fullarton again advanced with the main body of his army, and was again flattering himself with the hope of being the conqueror of Seringapatam, when he received fresh orders to return. Preliminaries of a peace had been exchanged between the commissioners, and he was directed to restore the forts and countries of Carroor and Daraporam, but to keep possession of Dindigul, and station a garrison there till all the English prisoners in Mysore should be liberated from their horrible captivity. The treaty between the English and Tippoo was finally concluded on the 11th of March, upon the condition of a restitution by both parties of all that they had gained during the war. All the prisoners in Mysore, who had survived their horrible captivity, were released; and the tales told by them excited such horror and indignation, that it became evident peace would not be of long continuance. Peace, indeed, was not wholly restored in India by this treaty; for, unfortunately, no stipulation had been made in favour of the native chiefs, who had favoured the English cause, although the bloodshed and devastation which awaited them must have been foreseen On the return of Tippoo’s army, therefore, its services were employed in scourging the wretched Hindu population of Coorg, Canara, and Mysore, thousands of whom he compelled to embrace the faith of Islamism. Nor was it against the natives alone that he turned his arms; for one of the first acts by which the tyrant signalised his reign, was the deportation, and forcible conversion to Islamism of 30,000 Christians, from Portuguese settlements on the coast of Canara. Soon after his return to Seringapatam his name was changed, from Tippoo Sultaun, to that of Shah Allum, and he also assumed the regal title of Padisha, and ordered his court to observe all the forms and ceremonies which were in use at Delhi.

Although Tippoo was a gainer by this untoward treaty, yet the grand result of the war was, that our Indian empire was saved. The expenses of this war, however, had been great; and as the greater part of the money could only come from Bengal, Hastings had, during its progress, been carrying on a system of exaction, which reflects no honour on the English name. The only excuse that can be offered on his behalf, is, that he felt that the Carnatic must be rescued and India saved, be the cost what it might. It was known to Hastings that many of the neighbouring princes, who owed their political existence to the power of the English arms, and were dependent upon the government of Calcutta, possessed hidden treasures of vast amount; and as he had no other means of obtaining the requisite supplies for the maintenance of the war, he determined that they should disgorge. Cheyte Sing, the Rajah of Benares, was the first to whom he applied the pressure. Demand after demand was made and supplied; and when no more could be obtained, the rajah, who was one of the most faithful allies of the English in all India, was driven from his throne. A nephew of Cheyte Sing was selected to fill his post; but every vestige of sovereignty was taken from him and placed under the control of the company’s resident at Benares. By this revolution an addition of £200,000 was made to the revenues of the company; but as there was no more ready money in Benares, and as this was a _sine qua non_, Hastings determined to apply the screw on other chiefs. His next victim was Asoff-ul-Dowla, Nabob of Oude, and master of Rohilcund, one of the most extravagant and debauched of all the Indian princes. Asoff-ul-Dowla proved to demonstration that he had no money, and that he could not even defend himself against the Mahrattas and the Rohillas, or even against the discontents and insurrections of his own subjects, if he was not supported by the company’s servants. But if the Nabob of Oude had no money, his mother and grandmother had; for Sujah Dowla had left a considerable part of the treasures which he had in hand to these two ladies, and had bequeathed them, in addition, certain jaghires. In an interview, therefore, with Asoff-ul-Dowla, in the fortress of Chunar, Hastings consented that some of the company’s troops should remain in Oude for his defence against his enemies; but only on this condition, that he should rob his mother and grandmother. The undutiful nabob had before endeavoured to gain their treasures for himself, and had, in fact, obtained large contributions from their purses; but though he showed himself a true robber, yet when he found that the money was to go into the hands of the company, he was reluctant to rob any more. He consented, indeed, to seize the treasures for the use of the company, on condition that he should possess the ladies’ jaghires himself; but when he returned to Lucknow his heart misgave him. Hastings, however, was not to be disappointed. On discovering the nabob’s reluctance, he wrote to him and to Middleton, the British agent at that place, urging him to fulfil his agreement, and ordering Middleton to do the work himself if Asoff-ul-Dowla still delayed. To save his authority the nabob now seized the jaghires, but he still spared the treasures; and Middleton took this work into his own hands, or, at least, acted in conjunction with the nabob. The victims lived at Fyzabad; or, the “Beautiful Residence,” about eighty miles to the east of Lucknow; and the robbers, accompanied by some sepoys, repaired thither; and by throwing two old eunuchs in the palace, who had been the confidential servants of Sujah Dowla, into a dungeon, they succeeded in extorting from the ladies treasures to the amount of more than £500,000 sterling. But this was not sufficient for the support of the ruinous war in the Carnatic; and Hastings laid claim to the revenues of the jaghires which the nabob had seized as his portion of the robbery. But Hastings, in his transactions with the Nabob of Oude, did not seek money for the company alone; for, during the conferences at Chunar, he accepted a present of £100,000, which, on the part of the governor-general, was altogether illegal, and therefore subjected him to the charge of venality In the conferences of Chunar, it was agreed that the Nabob of Oude should, “when time should suit,” take possession of the territories of Fyzoola Khan, the last of the great Rohilla chiefs that remained in Rohilcund, under pretence that by his independence he caused alarm to Asoff-ul-Dowla. The chief design of Hastings, however, was to extort money from Fyzoola Khan; and when he found that there was no money in the country, he put his interdict on any hostile proceedings by the Nabob of Oude; poverty therefore was his protection.

It must not be supposed, however, that Hastings ventured to rob the palace of Fyzabad as a robber of the Robin Hood order. Up to the time of his wanting money for the Carnatic war, he had protected the mother and wife of Sujah Dowla, and had even written to Middleton, commanding him to take active measures for preventing Asoff-ul-Dowla from plundering them; asserting that they were entitled to English protection. But now, when it was determined to despoil them of their jaghires and their money, it was thought expedient to devise some means of colouring over the transaction, so as to save his honour and reputation. Doubts were now thrown out as to the validity of Sujah Dowla’s testamentary bequests; and the ladies were represented as dangerous rebels and traitors to the company. His violence to Cheyte Sing had created an insurrection at Benares, which could only be quelled by bloodshed; and this was followed by some slight disturbances in the province of Oude. Nothing, however, could be further from the truth than that these old ladies had taken any part in the tumult. They were, indeed, too fond of their money to spend it in exciting insurrection. Nevertheless, this was made the plea for robbing them; and to carry out the farce, after they had been plundered of their wealth, they were tried for the imputed offence at Lucknow, by the chief-justice, Sir Elijah Impey, an old schoolfellow and bosom-friend of the govern or-general. Impey had not the slightest authority at Oude; but it was thought that the presence of the head of the supreme court at Calcutta would impart a dignity to the proceedings, and give a fair colouring to the act. It was not difficult in India to obtain a conviction; for men who would perjure themselves by giving false witness were to be met with on every hand. A host of such were brought forward, therefore, with affidavits ready drawn in their hands, to testify against the victims. The result was certain: a partial judge and false swearing convicted the accused, and by their deaths justified the deed which stripped them of their jaghires and money. The services which Sir Elijah Impey rendered Hastings, in this and many other transactions in India, were rewarded by his appointment to the office of judge of the Sudder Dewannee Adaulut, or Court of Appeal, which Hastings separated from the supreme council at Calcutta for that purpose. This new office added £7800 a year to the £8000 which he already enjoyed, as king’s chief justice. This, in effect, made him a servant of the company; and subsequently some of his juniors received company’s places or gratifications: as Sir Robert Chambers, who was made company’s judge at Chinchura. But this was contrary to the spirit, if not to the letter of the regulating act of 1773; and in a committee of the house of commons on Indian affairs, it was declared that the power conferred upon Sir Elijah Impey in his new capacity was exorbitant, dangerous, irregular, and illegal, and a bargain between Hastings and him not to be permitted: that by selling his independence to the governor-general, he sold the administration of justice and vitiated his tribunal. This was during Lord North’s administration; and soon after, on the 20th of March, 1782, the Shelbourne and Rockingham administration was formed. Reform under this short-lived government became the order of the day; and on the 3rd of May, an address was carried in the house of Commons, by a large majority, for the recall of Sir Elijah Impey, to answer to the charge of having “accepted an office not agreeable to the true intent and meaning of the act 13 George III.” About the same time Hastings himself had a narrow chance of being recalled as a criminal, to answer for his conduct at Benares; but as the danger of India was at its height when the last news arrived, and as it was supposed that he alone was capable of protecting the British interests in that country, he was permitted at present to go unscathed.

Hastings retained his station till February, 1785, when, without any previous notice, he resolved to quit his government and return to England. The last years of his administration had been marked by judicious measures; measures by which India was restored to a state of tranquillity, which had not been known for ages. He had also made some atonement for the crime committed against the wife and mother of Sujah Dowla by ordering the jaghires—not the money, for that was all spent—which had been unjustly seized, to be restored to Asoff-ul-Dowla. His last actions seemed to have wiped out the remembrance of the deeds for which he had been loudly condemned, for on his arrival in England, the board of directors voted him thanks for his long and meritorious services, and Mr. Dundas, who had moved for his recall in 1782, and who had declared, that “he could scarcely leave the walls of Calcutta, that his steps were not followed by the deposition of some prince, the desertion of some ally, or the depopulation of some country,” now asserted in the house of commons, that had he been one of the directors, he would have concurred in their vote, and that he was glad that the resolution, which he himself had moved for his recall, had not been carried into effect. At court also Hastings was received with favour and treated with distinction, and though on his arrival, Burke had menaced him with impeachment, yet, months rolled on, in which he was left undisturbed; and he was still unmolested when the parliament reassembled in January, 1786. But this calm was only the prelude to a storm, which suddenly broke over the head of Hastings, and disturbed his peace.

{GEORGE III. 1786–1787}

This storm arose at the bidding of one of the ex-governor’s private friends. On the first day of the meeting of parliament, Major John Scott, whom Hastings had indiscreetly chosen to be his champion in parliament, and his advocate by the press, stood up in the house of commons, and demanded of Burke, whether he intended to produce his charges against the late Governor-general of India. It is probable that neither Burke nor his friends would have troubled their heads any more about the matter, but being thus braved, he could do no other than accept the challenge, and his whole party were bound to give him their support. Accordingly, on the 17th of February, Burke commenced operations, by making a call for papers and correspondence deposited in the India house. As a notion had got abroad that the king, his court, and his ministers were all devoted to Hastings, Burke opened his speech by desiring that two of the resolutions which had been moved and carried in the month of May, 1782, by Mr. Dundas, and which contained an unmitigated censure on the conduct of Hastings, should be read. This being done, Burke expressed his deep regret that the solemn and important business of the day had not been brought forward, in the plenitude and weight of efficiency, by the original mover of these resolutions. The task, he said, would better have become ministers, as the authors of those extreme resolutions against the governor-general, and that it would particularly become Dundas, who had now all the powers and resources necessary for a complete examination, as an influential member of the board of control. Burke then uttered a terrible philippic against men whose notions of right and wrong varied according to circumstances, and depended on their being out of, or in office—men who could find every thing wrong in India in 1782, when they wanted places, but who would make no attempt to punish or correct those whom they then condemned, in 1784, when they had obtained what they wanted. Acting under their sanction, however, he asserted a claim to their protection, and after giving a detailed historical account of parliamentary proceedings with regard to British India, he remarked that there were three species of inquisition which might be adopted against a state culprit; the house might order a prosecution by the attorney-general; or it might proceed by a bill of pains and penalties; or it might act upon the ancient and constitutional mode of impeachment. As the attorney-general was evidently unfriendly to the prosecution, and as he considered that to proceed by a bill of pains and penalties would be unjust towards the accused, inasmuch as it would compel him to anticipate his defence, and impose on the house the twofold character of accuser and judge, he would advise the house to proceed by impeachment, being careful at the same time to do so with all possible caution and prudence. The first-step in such a proceeding was, he said, a general review of the evidence, in order that they might determine whether the person charged, ought to be impeached or not. To this end he proposed that the house should resolve itself into a committee, and that such papers as were necessary for substantiating the guilt of Mr. Hastings, if he was guilty, should be laid before that committee. Then, he said, if the charges should appear to be what he believed them to be, charges of the blackest nature, and supported by competent evidence, the house might proceed with confidence and dignity to the bar of the lords. Burke concluded by justifying his motives, in taking on himself the duties of a public accuser, and by expressing his conviction that Hastings had been guilty of gross corruption, and that his administration had been marked by violence, oppression, and cruelty.

In reply, Dundas acknowledged that he had suggested and moved the resolutions which had been read; and that he entertained the same sentiments respecting Hastings now, as he did when he moved them in the house; but these resolutions, he said, only went to recall, and not to impeach him. Yet, though he thus virtually condemned Hastings in the opening of his speech, before he concluded he applauded his administration. The more, he said, he examined the conduct of the late governor-general, the more difficult he found it to fix any criminal intention, or to separate it from the conduct of the directors at home, who had expressly commanded or urged him on in so many particulars. Mutual recrimination between Fox and Pitt followed this speech of Dundas, in which the deadly sin of the coalition was used with great effect. The papers which Burke called for, however, were not opposed until the following day, when he asked for those relating to Oude, in the latter part of the administration, of the accused governor-general, the part which ministers maintained was without spot, and blameless. Pitt said that this would be producing new and endless matter, and that the inquiry for the present ought to be confined to the period embraced in the reports of 1781. Major Scott, however, said that the Oude papers would establish the reputation of Hastings, and that they ought to be produced; whence the motion was carried. Subsequently motions were made for papers relating to the Mahratta peace, to the negociations which Hastings had carried on at Lucknow with the son of the Great Mogul, and to the mission of Major Brown to Delhi. These papers were all refused, and Burke having got all he could, on the 3rd of April, proposed calling to the bar some of the gentlemen who had been ordered to attend as witnesses. In this he was opposed by all the crown lawyers, who represented that he ought to produce his charges first, and that no proofs ought to be admitted, except such as were applicable to the charges; a mode of proceeding adopted in the courts of law, and which, they contended, ought to regulate the proceedings of the house of commons. Burke and his friends argued, in reply, that the house had already-sanctioned a different mode of proceeding, by gran ting the power of taking evidence, by forming itself into a committee, to receive evidence, and by summoning the witnesses who were in attendance. The lawyers, however, carried their point, and Burke was compelled to bring forward specific charges against the accused. On the 4th of April, therefore, Burke rose to charge Warren Hastings, Esq., late Governor-general of Bengal, with high crimes and misdemeanors in the execution of his office. On this occasion he laid on the table nine distinct articles of accusation, and in the course of the following week, he added thirteen others to the list. The principal charges related to the affairs of Benares; the Rohilla war; the various transactions in Oude; the Mahratta war, and the Mahratta peace; the depriving the Mogul of Corah and Allahabad; the hard treatment of Mohammed Reza Khan; the death of Nuncomar, who had been tried and executed for forgery; the treatment of Fyzoola Khan, the Rohilla chief; disobedience of orders; extravagant expenditure; the enriching of dependents and favourites; and the acceptance of presents, or bribes, by the governor-general himself. Before the whole of these articles were laid on the table, Hastings had petitioned the house to be heard at its bar, and to be allowed a copy of the several charges. These requests were opposed by opposition, but were granted; and on the 1st of May Hastings came to the house to make his defence. He was no orator, and having been supplied with copies of the articles, he brought with him a written defence, which he was allowed to read like a dry sermon. In it, he first referred to the vote of thanks which he had received from the court of directors, his employers, expressing astonishment that any one else should venture to prefer accusations against him. After this, he took a general view of the accusations, and began to read answers, separately to each of the charges. His defence occupied two or three days in the reading, and when it was closed, Hastings requested that it should be laid on the table, and printed for the use of the members, which was ordered. The examination of witnesses now took place, which lasted three weeks; and when all had been examined, on the 1st of June, Burke brought forward the first charge, that of the Rohilla war. Burke commenced his speech by a solemn invocation to British justice, and disclaiming any personal motive or private malevolence. After this he drew a vivid, but overwrought picture of the character and condition of the Rohillas, both before and after the invasion of their territories, by the troops of the Nabob of Oude and the company. This question was debated two nights, and when a division took place, Burke’s motion, declaring that there was ground for charging Warren Hastings with high crimes and misdemeanors, on the matter of the Rohilla war was negatived by a majority of one hundred and nineteen, to sixty-seven. The friends of Hastings hailed this result on the first charge as a triumph; expecting that the next would undergo a like defeat, and that then, Burke would give up the prosecution in despair. But the prospects of the late governor-general were soon overclouded. The second charge was brought forward by Fox on the 13th of June, which charge related to the treatment of Cheyte Sing, Zemindar of Benares. On the previous occasion, Pitt had given a silent vote in favour of Hastings, and it was anticipated that he would act in the same maimer on the present. Popular opinion, however, was with Burke, and the minister seems to have had an idea that he should incur popular odium, if he persevered in crushing all his charges. After Fox, and Francis, the old enemy of Hastings, had spoken, therefore, he rose to state his views on the subject. In his speech, Burke, Fox, and Francis, all came in for a share of his reprobation; he accusing the two former of oratorical exaggeration and party misrepresentation, and the latter, with whom Hastings had fought a duel before their return to England, in which, Francis was dangerously wounded, of dishonesty and malignancy. This would seem to have indicated that Pitt would still take the side of Hastings, and the more so, because in the opening of his speech Pitt had declared that the late governor-general was justified in calling on Cheyte Sing for aid, both in money and men; that he was equally justified in fining him for his contumacy; and that his whole conduct during the insurrection at Benares called for the highest admiration and praise. So far, all was well; but he went on to say, that he thought the fines imposed were too great in amount, and that the conduct of Hastings had been too severe; and he concluded by asserting broadly, that the fine imposed on Cheyte Sing was exorbitant, unjust, and tyrannical, and that, therefore, he should agree to the motion before the house; although he did not thence consider himself pledged to a final vote of impeachment. Not one on the treasury-benches knew when Pitt commenced, how he would vote, or what sentiments he would deliver, but they had fully expected that he would put his negative upon the motion, and were prepared to follow the same course. Mur-murings and whisperings were heard in some parts of the ministerial benches, and Mr. William Grenville, his bosom friend, Arden, the attorney-general, and Lord Mulgrave, ventured openly to differ from him; stating, that they could not, as honest men, think Hastings deserving of impeachment on this charge, or concur in the vote. Other members, however, were more pliant than these, and were prepared “to follow the great bell-wether,” lead he where he might, through flowery meads, or thickets and brakes. Even the amiable Wilberforce, who had hitherto thought that the conduct of Hastings was in part justifiable, and in part excusable; and Dundas, who had recently asserted that it was highly meritorious, and deserving the thanks of the court of Directors, now voted against him; and the motion was carried by one hundred and nineteen against seventy-nine. At this point, the prosecution of Hastings was stopped by the prorogation of parliament; it being found impracticable to go through the rest of the charges during the session.

As might be expected, the motives of the accuser of Hastings were canvassed by a discerning public; some condemning them as unjust, and others applauding them as immaculate. There is every reason to believe, however, that though Burke over-coloured his picture of the guilt of the arraigned governor-general, yet his motives were honest and pure. From the stories related of him, Burke had been led to believe that Hastings was little better than an incarnate fiend; and he seemed to fancy that he had a mission from heaven to redress the wrongs, and prevent the miseries of a large, but weak and oppressed portion of his fellow-creatures. The motives of Pitt, also, in voting against Hastings, on the second charge, were brought before the bar of the public. By the friends of the late governor-general, both in and out of the house, he was accused of a jealousy and fear of him, although it does not appear what he had to fear, or of what he had to be jealous, except it was of his official prerogative: Thurlow, the advocate of Hastings, having indiscreetly stated that he might have a peerage without the minister’s interference. But it would rather seem that Pitt was influenced in his conduct by apprehensions, that, if he supported Hastings indiscriminately, he should forfeit the popular favour, the general voice being against the accused. Nor did his majesty escape public censure on this occasion. While the Rohilla charge was pending, a packet arrived from India, which brought Hastings a diamond of great size and value, as a present from the Nizam of the Decean, who had acted a neutral part during the last war in the Carnatic, but who, as the company were victorious, was now anxious for British friendship. This diamond was presented to the king at a levee on the 14th of June, which was the very day after the decision of the house on the charge relative to the imposition of the fine on Cheyte Sing. This presentation was made at an unlucky moment, for it was interpreted by the public as a bribe to check the “impending vote.” Two nights after, when Major Scott called the attention of the house to some alarming intelligence which had been reported concerning Benares, and to some suspicious preparations which the French were making in the Mauritius, the witty Sheridan said that the only extraordinary news that had come to his ears, was the arrival of an extraordinary large diamond, which diamond was said to have been presented to his majesty at an extraordinary period; and, which was also extraordinary, presented by an individual charged, by that house with high crimes and misdemeanors! The story of the diamond soon got abroad, and it formed the subject not only of public conversation, but of songs, pamphlets, epigrams, and caricatures. In one caricature, the king was represented with crown and sceptre huddled in a wheelbarrow, and Hastings wheeling him about, with a label from his mouth, saying, “What a man buys he may sell;” while in another the king was depicted on his knees, with his mouth wide open, and Hastings pitching diamonds into it. It seems to have been very generally believed at the time that there was no end to the diamonds possessed by Hastings, and that his majesty showed him favour for what he could obtain. And this belief was further strengthened by the fact that the queen, notwithstanding her known severity towards ladies whose virtue would not bear the test of examination, had yet received Mrs. Hastings—who had lived with the late governor-general before her marriage with him, and had been divorced from her former husband in consequence—at court most graciously. To account for this phenomenon, people fancied that the wife or the accused was a “congeries of diamonds and jewels:” and in truth Queen Charlotte did receive from her hands some few diamonds, and a splendid ivory bedstead, which seemed to justify their explanation of her conduct. Yet, after all, Hastings was no Sindbad: he did not roll in diamonds. On his return to England he did not bring home with him more than £130,000 sterling; a sum much less than the fortunes which had been made by other members of the council, and even by the patriotic Francis himself! Moreover, it is said, that he would not have had what he did in reality possess, had his wife not accepted presents which he refused, and saved money unknown to him, which he would have spent in the public service, or in support of his almost regal establishment.

ATTEMPT ON THE KING’S LIFE.

On the 2nd of August, an incident occurred which for a short time engrossed the attention of the public. As the king was alighting from his chariot at the garden-entrance of St. James’s palace, a decently dressed woman presented a paper to his majesty, and while he was in the act of receiving it, she struck at his breast with a knife. The king avoided the blow by drawing back, and as she was preparing to make a second thrust one of the yeomen arrested her, and wrenched the weapon from her hand. His majesty on recovering from his alarm, humanely remarked:—“I am not injured; take care of the poor woman, and do not hurt her.” On examination before the privy-council, it immediately appeared that she was insane. Being asked where she had lately resided, she answered in a frantic manner that “she had been all abroad since the matter of the crown broke out;” and when interrogated, What matter? she replied, “that the crown was hers, and that if she had not her right, England would be deluged in blood for a thousand generations.” The poor woman’s name was Margaret Nicholson, and ten days before she had presented a petition which was full of incoherent nonsense; and from which, if it had been read, the person of the petitioner would probably have been secured. The idea of prosecution was of course abandoned, and she was consigned to Bethlehem Hospital for life. But though it was evident that the woman was a maniac, her attempt led to a display of the affection which the nation entertained towards his majesty. A public thanksgiving was ordered, and addresses of congratulation flowed in from all parts of the kingdom. His majesty felt this so deeply that he distributed the honour of knighthood, on the presentation of these addresses, with such a liberal hand, as to give rise to the bye-word of a “A knight of Peg Nicholson’s order!”

{GEORGE III. 1786–1787}

TREATIES WITH FRANCE AND SPAIN.

In the month of September his majesty appointed a new committee of council, for the consideration of all matters relating to trade and plantations, of which board Mr. Charles Jenkinson, now created Lord Hawkesbury, was appointed president. Under the auspices of this commission, a treaty of commerce was signed between the courts of England and France, on the 29 th of September, on the principle of admitting the commodities of each country to be freely exported and imported at a low _ad valorem_ duty. The chief negociator of this treaty was Mr. Eden, afterwards Baron Auckland, who, under the coalition administration, had filled the office of vice-treasurer of Ireland. This was the first memorable defection from that inauspicious alliance, and it was considered the more so because Mr. Eden was considered its original projector.

About the same time a convention was signed with Spain, which terminated the long-subsisting disputes respecting the British settlements on the Mosquito shore and the Bay of Honduras. By this treaty the Mosquito settlements were formally relinquished; and, in return, the boundaries of those on the coast and Bay of Honduras were somewhat extended. In a political point of view this convention answered a valuable purpose, by removing a source of national disputes; but it is to be regretted that the claims of humanity and justice were overlooked. The Mosquito settlers, who amounted to many hundred families, and who had from time immemorial occupied their lands, under British protection, were ordered to evacuate the country in eighteen months; nothing further being stipulated in their favour, than that the king of Spain should “order his governors to grant to the said settlers all possible facilities for their removal to the settlements agreed on by the present convention.” In all measures for the public good, the rights of private individuals should be regarded, but, by this treaty, they were manifestly sacrificed.

AFFAIRS OF THE PRINCE OF WALES.

During this year the affairs of the Prince of Wales attracted much notice. At its commencement he had formed an acquaintance with a widow lady of the name of Fitzherbert: a lady several years older than himself, but still possessing many personal attractions. They resided together at Brighton, and it was first supposed, and then asserted, that they were married according to the Romish ritual, and the story gained sufficient credence as to be subsequently noticed in the house of commons. The money spent in her support, and in orgies, and gambling, rendered the income which he possessed from the civil list, and the Duchy of Cornwall revenues, &c., amounting to £64,000 per annum, wholly inadequate to meet his expenditure, and the consequence was, that he had contracted debts to the amount of more than £100,000, beside £50,000 expended on Carleton-house. The young prince had long incurred his majesty’s displeasure for the countenance which he gave to the leaders of opposition, and to the Whigs in general; and this displeasure was deepened by his connexion with Mrs. Fitzherbert, and his extravagances. His majesty, indeed, was deeply afflicted by the conduct of the heir apparent, and his orgies were more particularly distressing to him, from the circumstance that they were carried on at a period when, at the prayer of Mr. Wilberforce and other pious gentlemen, he had issued a royal proclamation against vice and immorality, and all kinds of Swearing, drunkenness, and licentiousness. It is said that both the king and queen had many conversations with him on his dissipated conduct, and that the latter exerted a mother’s influence to detach him from the Whigs, and especially from Fox, who stood the highest in his favour. All their exertions, however, were unavailing: he still drank and gambled, and still retained his connexion with Mrs. Fitzherbert and the Whigs. It is probable that had he listened to the advice and remonstrances of their majesties, that provision would have been made for the payment of his debts; but when it was found that he resolved to follow his own course, the king resolved that no assistance should be afforded him, either out of his own private purse, or by a vote in parliament. In the preceding session, when Pitt called the attention of the house to the civil list, Sheridan, who was the most constant companion of the prince, and was wont by his wit to set his table in a roar, took an opportunity of mentioning his patron’s embarrassments, and Pitt replied that he had received no commands from his majesty on the subject, and therefore could not interfere. This was of bad omen to any application that might be made to his majesty on the subject, for Pitt doubtless knew that his majesty had resolved not to recommend its attention to the members of parliament. Nevertheless, though the prince knew of his father’s estrangement from him, he afterwards sent Lord Southampton, his groom of the stole, to lay the state of his affairs before his majesty. Lord Southampton was graciously received; but the schedule of his royal highness’s debts was too long to admit of a prompt reply, and he did not obtain any definite answer to his application. A month elapsed, and then the king informed his son by letter, that he could sanction neither a motion in the commons for the increase of his income, nor a motion for a grant to discharge his debts. For some time a plan had been recommended by his friends, the Whigs, for the dismissal of the officers of his court, and the reduction of the establishment of his household to that of a private gentleman; and this the prince now resolved to carry into effect. Coach-horses, race-horses, and saddle-horses were all sold; a stop was put to the works at Carleton-house; the state-apartments were shut up; the prince dismissed his officers; and he descended so low as to live like a private gentleman. By this step his estimated savings were £40,000 per annum; and this was to be set apart, and vested in trustees, for the payment of his debts. The act was a noble one if the motive was pure; but that demands a doubt. His majesty had before been declaimed against as parsimonious and harsh; and he was now represented as an unnatural parent and a merciless miser, who was hording up millions, which he had neither the taste nor the spirit to employ; while, on the other hand, the prince was held up as a living miracle of honour, and a martyr to his high principles and delicate feelings. The advisers of the young prince, doubtless, foresaw that this would be the consequence if he was compelled to make the sacrifice; and the prince himself could scarcely be a stranger to their expectations. But though, for the honour of natural affection, he may be acquitted of the charge of wishing to bring his father into contempt, yet it seems clear he had an idea that by sinking into obscurity, and, by consequence, lowering the dignity of the high rank to which he belonged, he should obtain both an increase of income and a grant for the payment of his debts. But the event did not justify such an anticipation. All the members of his father’s court attributed his act to childish spite and spleen, or to a malicious design of injuring the popularity of his majesty and his ministers; and when he wrote to the king, explaining his motives, it was replied, that if he chose to take a rash step, he must likewise take the consequences. His conduct, indeed, seems to have increased the distance which had too long subsisted between the prince and his father; for when he hastened to Windsor, on occasion of his majesty’s escape from the attempt made upon his life by Margaret Nicholson, although he was received by the queen, the king refused to see him. But this may have arisen chiefly from his profligate connexions, which must have been exceedingly offensive to a mind of such moral and religious mould as his majesty possessed: a sacrifice made for the payment of debts could scarcely thus have acted upon honourable feelings, unless, indeed, the king looked upon it in connexion with his dissipated and gambling habits. This subject, however, in the dearth of more important, together with that of the impeachment of Hastings, formed the staple of public and private discussion; some taking part with the king, and some with the prince, as best suited their respective views or passions. It would appear that both Fox and Sheridan assured the prince that his popularity was so great, as to hold out a certain hope that a money-vote might be carried, despite his father and the chancellor of the exchequer; and that having gained his assent to the plan, great exertions were made to gain the support of the independent members of parliament, although they lacked the means of purchasing the votes of these said “independent members.” In the meantime the Duke of Orleans, Philippe Egalité, who was one of the most intimate friends of the Prince of Wales, and had betted large sums of money with him this year at Newmarket and Epsom, offered to relieve his necessities by a loan of French money. The prince appears to have been inclined to accept the offer; but his Whig friends discovered it, and convinced him of its impropriety, as it had a perilous tendency of placing the future sovereign of England in a state of dependence on the House of Bourbon. But the Whigs in thus advising the prince, had a care for their own honour as well as his future interests: had they allowed him to take the money, no matter upon what conditions, an ill savour would have been brought upon their names as a party; a savour more odious than that which attaches itself to the memory of those patriots, in the days of Charles II., who touched the gold of Louis XIV.