Chapter II: {george III. 1765–1769} (2)

The session was opened on the 11th of November, and the principal topic of the king’s speech was the scarcity of corn; and measures were recommended, if necessary, for allaying or remedying the evil. The address was opposed in both houses, and in the commons four amendments were moved, but the government in every instance had a majority. On the subject of the embargo, however, and the delay of assembling parliament when the country was in such critical circumstances, ministers had a harder battle to fight. It was thought right to pass a bill of indemnity in favour of those who had acted in obedience to the council with respect to the embargo, and when this bill was brought in by a member of the cabinet, a remark was made, that although it provided for the security of the inferior officers, who had acted under the proclamation, it passed over those who advised the measure. This gave rise to much altercation and debate, especially among the lords, where the Earl of Chatham, Lord Camden, and others, who had long been the advocates of popular rights, vindicated the present exercise of royal prerogative, not on the plea of necessity but of right: arguing that a dispensing power was inherent in the crown, which might be exerted during the recess of parliament, but which expired whenever parliament reassembled. Camden asserted that Junius Brutus would not have hesitated to entrust such a power even to a Nero, and that it was at most but “a forty day’s tyranny.” The Earl of Chatham was a more powerful advocate of the measure. He vindicated the issuing of the embargo by legal authority during the recess of parliament as an act of power justifiable on the ground of necessity, and he read a paragraph from Locke on Government, to show that his views were borne out by that great friend of liberty, that constitutional philosopher, and that liberal statesman. The sentiments of the ministers, however, were strongly opposed by Lords Temple, Lyttleton, and Mansfield, the latter of whom, though he had once been spell-bound by court influence, “rode the great horse Liberty with much applause.” The Earl of Chatham replied, but the constitutional principles which his opposers laid down could not be answered with success, for although parliament passed the act of indemnity, yet the opposition lords so enlightened the public mind upon the subject, that the cry was instantly raised that the present ministers had sold their consciences to the court, and were in a league to extend the prerogative beyond the precedent of the worst periods in English history. The ferment was greatly increased by Mr. Beckford’s declaring in the house of commons, that the crown had in all cases of necessity a power to dispense with laws: an assertion which retraction, explanation, and contradiction from the same lips, could not efface from the public mind. When the bill passed it was in an amended state: the amendment including the advisers, as well as the officers, who had acted under the orders of council in enforcing the embargo. But even this, which implied an acknowledgment of error, was not sufficient to satisfy the public mind, for the clamour still continued against the ministers. The Earl of Chatham was also embarrassed by other circumstances, and in order to strengthen his hands, he was compelled to forego his determination, and to overlook his declaration, that he would never again have any connexion with the old Duke of Newcastle. The duke had a party which would be important to so weak a cabinet, and in order to gratify him, Lord Edgecumbe was ungraciously dismissed from his office of treasurer of the household, to make room for Sir John Shelley, a near relation of his grace. But the remedy was as bad as the disease. Indignant at the treatment which their colleague had received, Lord Resborough, the Duke of Portland, the Earl of Scarborough, Lord Monson, Sir Charles Saunders, first lord of the admiralty, Admiral Keppel, and Sir William Meredith, all sent in their resignation, and they, with their adherents, ranged themselves on the side of the opposition. These numerous secessions compelled Chatham to negociate more explicitly, not only with Newcastle’s party, but with that also which was headed by the Duke of Bedford. The place of first lord of the admiralty was offered to Lord Gower, who took a journey to Woburn, for the express purpose of consulting his grace upon the subject. But negociations with the Bedford party concluded with its total alienation from the administration, nor were those who accepted office thoroughly conciliated. These were Sir Edward Hawke, who was made first lord of the admiralty, and Sir Percy Brett and Mr. Jenkinson, who filled the other seats of the board; while Lords Hillsborough and Le Despenser were appointed joint postmasters. The ministry, as thus patched up, was more anomalous than ever, and Chatham aware of this, and seeing that his popularity was daily more and more declining, became a prey to grief, disappointment, and vexation. At times he sank into the lowest state of despondency, and left his incapable colleagues, to make their own arrangements and adopt their own measures. But they could not act efficiently without him. Burke says:—“Having put so much the larger part of his enemies and opposers into power, the confusion was such that his own principles could not possibly have any effect, or influence, in the conduct of others. If ever he fell into a fit of the gout, or if any other cause withdrew him from public cares, principles directly the contrary were sure to predominate. When he had executed his plan, he had not an inch of ground to stand upon. When he had accomplished his scheme of administration, he was no longer a minister. When his face was hid but for a moment, his whole system was on a wide sea without chart or compass.” Yet Chatham, just before the recess, put a bold front upon his affairs in the house. He proclaimed a war against party cabals, and asserted that his great point was to destroy faction, and that he could face and dare the greatest and proudest connexions. But this was an Herculean task which neither Chatham nor any other minister has yet been able to accomplish. Faction is an hydraheaded monster, which no man can destroy, either by the charms of his eloquence or the terror of his countenance.

{A.D. 1767}

Chatham found that the warfare was an unequal one, and that he had not sufficient strength to withstand the power of his enemies. Hence, at the end of December, when all the appointments were made, he retired to his estate of Burton Pynset, which had been recently left him, where he took up his abode, doing nothing for the state, and yet taking the salary attached to his office. Parliament reassembled after the recess without him, his friends in the cabinet wondering at, and the king himself lamenting, his absence. Yet the ministers attempted to work without him. The chancellor of the exchequer proposed that the land-tax should be continued at four shillings in the pound, stating that the proceeds of such a tax would enable him to bring about the most brilliant operation of finance recorded in the annals of Great Britain. This was a new measure, for hitherto it had been the practice at the return of peace to take off any addition that had been made to the land-tax in time of war. Hence when Townshend proposed it in committee he was laughed at by the country members, who contended for its reduction to three, or even two, shillings in the pound. Townshend had nobody by him to second his assertions, or give him powerful support; and when Mr. Grenville moved that the land-tax should be reduced to three shillings, his motion was carried by a majority of eighteen. It was said that the country gentlemen in effecting this reduction, “had bribed themselves with a shilling in the pound of their own land-tax,” but as this was the first money-bill in which any cabinet had been successfully opposed since the Revolution, it was rightly viewed as a symptom of weakness in the administration: yet Townshend retained his office.

{GEORGE III. 1765–1769}

EAST INDIA QUESTION.

The great question discussed in parliament during this session related to the East Indies. At this period the East India Company held “the gorgeous East in fee.” The merchant princes of Leadenhall-street, who commenced their career with a strip of sea-coast on the outermost limits of Hindostan, had now acquired principalities and kingdoms, and had even made themselves masters of the vast inheritance of Aurungzebe. Fortunate as the Argonauts, they found and possessed themselves of the “golden fleece,” which had been the object of their search. Enormous fortunes were made with a rapidity hitherto unknown, and they were gathered into the laps of even the most obscure adventurers. The fables of the ring and the lamp were more than realised, and the fountain from whence these riches ran appeared to flow from an inexhaustible source. Men had only to go and stand by its brink, and if avarice could be satisfied, they might soon return home with not only sufficient wealth to maintain them in opulence and splendour, but with some to spare for the poor and needy.

Such were the views which government seems to have taken of these merchant princes. Early in November a committee was appointed for investigating the nature of their charters, treaties, and grants, and for calculating the expenses which had been incurred on their account by government. In the course of this scrutiny two questions suggested themselves to the committee; namely, whether the company had any right to territorial acquisitions, and whether it was proper for them to enjoy a monopoly of trade. Some of the members argued that the company had a right, while on the other side some maintained that, from the costly protection afforded it, government had an equitable claim to the revenues of all territory acquired by conquest. It was the opinion of the cabinet, that the state did not possess its proper share of the company’s profits, and the chancellor of the exchequer conceived that by either taking their territorial conquests into the hands of government, or making them pay largely for keeping that management in their ow a hands, the state would obtain that wealth of which it stood so much in need. Chatham’s attention was drawn to this subject, but he merely advised that Beckford should make a motion for examining into the state of the East India Company, and remained still in the west of England. This motion was made, and the house resolved itself into a committee of inquiry, and called for papers. In the meantime the company suggested an amicable arrangement, and presented a series of demands, among which were—that the administration should prolong the charter to the year 1800, or to a further term, and to confirm to the company the sole and exclusive trade of the East Indies for three years at least after the expiration of the charter granted in the last reign; that it should agree to an alteration in the inland duty upon tea, with the view of preventing smuggling; that it should allow a drawback on the exportation of tea; that it should alter the duties on calicoes and muslins; that it should consent to some proper methods of recruiting the company’s military forces, and for strengthening their cause in India; that it should prevent the commanders of the company’s ships and others from conveying any kind of warlike stores clandestinely to the East Indies; that it should use its strong interposition with the court of France to obtain large sums of money which the company had expended for the maintenance and transport of French prisoners to Europe; and that it should use its strong interposition likewise with the court of Spain with respect to the Manilla ransom, that the company might obtain indemnification for the great expenses incurred by that expedition. The company laid before the house their charters, treaties with the native sovereigns, letters and correspondence, and the state of their revenues in Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa; but the whole affair was so complicated, that the ministers could not make themselves thoroughly masters of the subject. Not one would, in fact, undertake the management of the business. They shifted the proposals from one to another, and could not come to any determination what to accept or what to reject. At every stage of the business it was attended with violent debates. Townshend was strongly in favour of an amicable arrangement with the company, laying great stress on the _quantum_ to be given for the prolongation of the term of their charter, while Company declared that the salvation of the country depended upon the proper adjustment of this nice affair. Still Chatham kept aloof from the business, and he either would not from illness, or could not from despondency, give his thoughts and directions in writing as to what steps to take and what further motion to make. In the end, therefore, after many divisions, a bill was framed, granting nearly all that was asked for by the company, and binding it to pay £400,000 per annum, in half-yearly payments, and to indemnify the exchequer, should any loss be sustained in consequence of lowering the inland duties on tea, and the allowance of the drawback on its exportation. But the term of this contract was limited to two years; commencing from the 1st of February of the current year; so that the company had a further interference with their territories and wealth in prospect: but till the expiration of that term, their territorial rights were fully admitted.

While this subject was under parliamentary discussion, the proprietors of East India stock demanded of the court, that, as the company had gained so much territory and so many new advantages, a larger dividend should be declared. In compliance with this demand the dividends were increased from ten to twelve and a half per cent., which step called for the interference of government. In order to check a proceeding which was considered calculated to renew the gambling stock and share jobbing of the memorable South Sea year, two bills were brought into the house by ministers; one for regulating the qualifications of voters in trading companies, and the other for restraining and limiting the making of dividends by the company; fixing them at ten per cent. This latter bill encountered a most violent opposition both by the company and in the house, particularly by the lords, but it was carried, and received the royal sanction.

AMERICAN TAXATION.

Soon after the reassembling of parliament Mr. Grenville, intent upon taxing America, had proposed saddling that country for the support of troops, &c., and the chancellor of the exchequer, in reply, pledged himself to the house to find a revenue in the colonies sufficient to meet the expenses. Accordingly, during the session, he introduced a bill to lay certain duties on glass, tea, paper, and painters’ colours, imported from Great Britain into America. This bill was carried through both houses with the greatest facility, and another act passed with equal facility, which placed these duties, and all other customs and duties in the American colonies, under the management of the king’s resident commissioners. These acts were followed by one more justifiable. The assembly of New York had refused to comply with the statute requiring a grant of additional rations to the troops stationed in that province; and the refractory disposition of the colonists made it manifest that their intention was to deny the jurisdiction of Great Britain altogether. It was evident that a spirit of infatuation had taken deep root in America, and it was easy to foresee that confusion and bloodshed would one day ensue. Under these circumstances, and with a view of checking the onward progress of the march of insubordination, an act was passed, prohibiting the governor, council, and assembly of New York from passing any legislative act, till satisfaction should be given as to the treatment of the commissioners and troops, and submission paid to the Mutiny Act. But no measure which the parliament of England could devise, whether coercive or conciliatory, could tame the fierce spirit which the Stamp Act had created, and the new scheme of duties on imports was calculated to confirm in hostility to Great Britain. The breach grew wider and wider, until at length it was past all remedy.

CHANGES IN THE MINISTRY.

Parliament was prorogued on the 2nd of July, with a speech from his majesty, in which he acknowledged annuities of £8000, which had been settled during this session on each of the king’s brothers; namely, the Dukes of York, Gloucester, and Cumberland. During the recess, an event occurred which threatened to overthrow the tottering cabinet. This was the death of Charles Townshend, who suddenly expired on the 4th of September. But before his death, there were signs of a dissolution of the ministry, and Townshend was actually engaged in the projection of a new administration. Lord Northington and General Conway had both expressed a wish to resign, and the Duke of Grafton showed a greater disposition for pleasure than for business, whence negociations were opened by Townshend with the Rockingham party.

His death set these aside, but several changes soon afterwards took place among the great officers of state. The Earl of Chatham, afflicted with the gout, and indisposed to business, still remained idle; and the king therefore, authorized the Duke of Grafton to make the necessary changes in the cabinet. All that could be done, however, before the meeting of parliament, was to entrust the seals of the office of chancellor of the exchequer to Lord Mansfield, chief justice of the king’s bench, and to empower him to renew negociations with the Duke of Bedford, in which the Duke of Grafton had been unsuccessful.

The ministry was in this unsettled state when the parliament met in November. The principal point recommended to its attention by his majesty was the high price of corn, with the consequent suffering of the poor. This subject was also impressed on parliament by strong petitions from all parts of the country; and an act was passed, extending the prohibition against exportation, and encouraging the importation of grain.

In the midst of these proceedings, Lord North was prevailed upon to accept the chancellorship of the exchequer; Mr. Thomas Townshend, cousin of the late Charles Townshend, succeeded him as joint paymaster of the forces; and his place, as one of the lords of the treasury, was given to Mr. Jenkinson. Soon after this, General Conway and Lord Northington insisted on resigning, and fresh overtures were made to the Duke of Bedford. That nobleman having been gained over, Earl Gower became president of the council in the place of Lord Northington, and Lord Weymouth secretary of state in lieu of Conway. At the same time the Earl of Hillsborough was appointed third secretary of state, which was a new office; and he was succeeded as joint paymaster with Lord North, by the Duke of Bedford’s ally, Lord Sandwich. General Conway was appointed lieutenant-general of the ordnance; and the ministry, thus reconstructed, took the name of the Duke of Grafton’s administration. As for the Earl of Chatham he was still a cipher, keeping aloof at Bath, or at Burton Pynsent, or at Hayes in Kent, where he would neither see nor speak to anybody. But he still retained the privy seal, and still retained the emoluments of office, and the king was afraid to deprive him of them.

{A.D. 1768}

Parliament, in this session, extended the act which restricted the East India Company’s dividends to ten per cent.; but scarcely any other business was transacted beside the voting of supplies. The king prorogued parliament on the 10th of March, and on the 12th of that month it was dissolved by proclamation, it having nearly completed its legal term of seven years.

PROCEEDINGS IN AMERICA.

The new Revenue Act, which imposed duties on various articles of merchandise, excited great resentment in America. It was looked upon by the colonists, indeed, as a deceptive measure, having a similar object to that of the Stamp Act, and it had the effect of reviving a question, which the British parliament should have endeavoured to have consigned to utter oblivion. The Americans, animated by a spirit of resistance, would now no longer acknowledge that distinction between external and internal taxation, on which they had at first grounded their claim for relief. Their presses teemed with invectives against the British legislature, and it was confidently asserted that England was resolved to reduce the colonies to a state of abject slavery. The assembly of Massachusets Bay took the lead in opposing the government, and it soon engaged the other colonies to join in resisting the mother-country. A petition was likewise sent by that house to the king, and letters, signed by their speaker, to several of the British cabinet, containing statements of their rights and grievances, and soliciting relief.

A letter was also sent to Mr. De Berdt, their agent in London, instructing him to oppose the obnoxious measure on every ground of right and policy. This letter adverted to the appropriation of the revenue intended to be thus unconstitutionally raised—stating that it was to supply a support for governors and judges, and a standing army. On both these grounds, as well as its unconstitutional nature, the house opposed it, remarking, on the subject of the standing army, in the following terms, by way of remonstrance:—“As Englishmen and British subjects, we have an aversion to a standing army, which we reckon dangerous to our civil liberties; and considering the examples of ancient times, it seems a little surprising that a mother-state should trust large bodies of mercenary troops in her colonies, at so great a distance from her; lest, in process of time, when the spirits of the people shall be depressed by the military power, another Caesar should arise and usurp the authority of his master.”

A circular letter was sent, in the name of the assembly of Massachusets Bay, to the other provincial assemblies, informing them of the measures already taken; and it was couched in such terms that it had the effect of lulling the suspicions of some whose opinions were not so violent, and of making many of them firm adherents to the cause of liberty. The conduct of this republican assembly excited strong indignation in the ministry. A letter was sent, by Lord Hillsborough, to the governor, expressing great displeasure against those who had endeavoured to revive the dissensions which had been so injurious to both countries, and directing him to dissolve the assembly if it should decline to rescind the vote which gave rise to the circular. This letter was laid before the house; but instead of rescinding the vote, it justified the spirit and language of the circular, and declared that, as it had been answered by several of the assemblies, the vote had been already executed, and could not therefore be rescinded. The conclusion of this uncompromising reply was as follows:—“We take this opportunity faithfully to represent to your excellency, that the new revenue acts and measures are not only disagreeable, but in every view are deemed an insupportable burden and grievance, with very few exceptions, by all the freeholders and other inhabitants of this jurisdiction: and we beg leave, once for all, to assure your excellency, that those of this opinion are no ‘party or expiring faction;’—they have at all times been ready to devote their time and fortune to his majesty’s service. Of loyalty, this majority could as reasonably boast as any who may happen to enjoy your excellency’s smiles: their reputation, rank, and fortune, are at least equal to those who may have sometimes been considered as the only friends in good government; while some of the best blood in the colony, even in the two houses of assembly, lawfully convened and duly acting, have been openly charged with the unpardonable crime of oppugnation against the royal authority. We have now only to inform your excellency, that this house has voted not to rescind, as required, its resolution; and that, in a division on the question, there were ninety-two nays, and seventeen yeas. In all this we have been actuated by a conscientious, and finally, by a clear and determined sense of duty to God, to our king, our country, and our latest posterity; and we most ardently wish and humbly pray, that in your future conduct, your excellency may be influenced by the same privileges.”

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

DOMESTIC TROUBLES AND COMMOTIONS.

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

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

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

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

THE RETURN OF WILKES, ETC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

RESIGNATION OF LORD CHATHAM.

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

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

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

THE AFFAIRS OF WILKES.

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

{GEORGE III. 1765–1769}

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

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

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

DEBATE ON WILKES.

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

{A.D. 1769}