Chapter XXX: {george III. 1814–1818} (2)

From an abstract of the net produce of the revenue in the years ending the 5th of January, 1815, and the 5th of January, 1816, the amount appeared to be £66,443,802, showing an excess of £1,013,821 over that of the preceding year. But notwithstanding this excess the chancellor of the exchequer announced his intention of proposing an income-tax of five per cent., there being no mode, he observed, less oppressive, or so economical. With a view of gaining over the great mass of the people, he declared himself ready to exempt all incomes under £150 per annum, and farms paying less than that sum in rent. But the people were not thus to be bribed. Such a storm of opposition was raised against it by the nation at large that when a motion for the continuance of the income-tax was made, it was negatived by two hundred and thirty-eight against two hundred and thirty one. Thus defeated, the chancellor of the exchequer had recourse to a loan; and this loan was increased by £2,000,000, by the voluntary relinquishment of the war-tax on malt, which tax was relinquished in order to afford some relief to the agriculturists, who were at this time labouring under great distress. In bringing forward the budget on the 27th of May, the chancellor of the exchequer announced that the surplus of the preceding year’s grants in hand amounted to £5,663,755. The supplies for the year were estimated at £39,400,000, and the ways and means to meet them as deficient about £2,500,000; which deficiency was made up by a loan of £3,000,000, obtained from the directors of the Bank of England, at three per cent. The amount of the army estimates provoked a long and vehement discussion; but ministers were successful in their favourite object of maintaining a large standing army, their principal argument being that the situation of the continent rendered such a measure necessary. The number voted was 176,615 men, including 30,000 stationed in France; and a vote of 33,000 men for the navy was also agreed to, after a violent debate. Out of the large military force voted 25,000 men were to be stationed in Ireland, in order to keep that country in awe. The necessity of such a force naturally excited some surprise, and led to some animadversions on the measures of the existing cabinet. But no cabinet: which has ever existed can fairly be charged with all the evils and the abuses which have plagued that country. Generally speaking, these evils and abuses have arisen from the Irish people themselves, their factious spirit having elicited the severe laws enacted to preserve peace. Mr. Peel, who had lately commenced his political career, justly ascribed the disturbances in Ireland to a systematic violation of all laws, which loudly called for the introduction of a military force. The general routine of motions for inquiry into the state of Ireland, and the repeal of Catholic disabilities were followed by their usual results; but a measure of some importance—the consolidation of the British and Irish exchequers—was effected in the course of this session. A bill was also passed for a new silver coinage.

ROYAL MARRIAGES.

A message from the prince regent to both houses on the 14th of March, announced the marriage contract of his daughter, the Princess Charlotte Augusta, with his serene highness, Prince Leopold of Saxe Cobourg. An annual sum of £60,000 was voted to them during their joint lives, the whole to be continued, should the prince die first, and £50,000 to him should he be the survivor; £60,000 were also granted by way of outfit. The nuptials were celebrated on the 2nd of May; the nation partaking in the joy, not only from the lively interest which the people took in the personal character of the princess, but from the circumstance that she united herself with the object of her own choice. Two months after the marriage of the Princess Charlotte, another marriage took place, between the Princess Mary, fourth daughter of his majesty, and the Duke of Gloucester, her cousin. Their establishments were formed on a scale which rendered a further application to the public purse unnecessary.

VARIOUS MOTIONS.

During this session, Mr. Tierney moved the abolition of the office of secretary of state for the department of war and the colonies, which was lost by a great majority. A proposition that the expenditure of the civil list should not exceed the revenue, &c., was also rejected. A bill relative to the registry and regulation of slaves, which had been introduced by Mr. Wilberforce towards the close of the last session, became the subject of warm debates, in consequence of an insurrection which had taken place at Barbadoes. A petition from the merchants of Bristol deprecated the measure, as disclosing a spirit of interference with the local legislation of the colonies; and on the suggestion of Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Wilberforce postponed his motion, and moved for papers on the subject. Mr. Palmer, who argued that the insurrection arose from expectations among the slaves of entire emancipation, fostered by the proposed registry-bill, moved an amendment to the effect that the colonial authorities should be recommended to promote the moral and religious improvement, as well as the comfort and happiness of the negroes: this amendment was carried.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 2nd of July. The speech of the prince regent expressed regret at the distresses suffered by many classes of his majesty’s subjects; but which it was hoped would be found to have arisen from causes of a temporary nature.

RIOTS, ETC.

The general distress felt at this period arose from the expensive war in which England had been so long-engaged. As the year, advanced, the calamities of an inclement season and a deficient harvest were added to a general stagnation of trade and commerce. The consequence of all this was a sudden rise in the price of the necessaries of life, which was combined with a reduction of wages and want of employment among the poor. Distress engendered discontent; and, unfortunately, there were mischievous characters abroad, who availed themselves of the irritated feelings of the people to stir them up to sedition. Serious tumults took place in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridge, and various other parts of the kingdom; and in the Isle of Ely an organized insurrection broke out which was not suppressed without great difficulty. Some of the rioters were taken, and twenty-four were found guilty, of whom five suffered the extremity of the law. The metropolis had continued tranquil until nearly the close of the year, but at length the distress felt goaded the multitude on to seditious acts. Two meetings were convened in Spa-fields by some of the mob-orators, to petition the regent for a reform of abuses; and a vast concourse of rabble attended which on the second occasion led to a serious riot. Mr. Henry Hunt figured as the principal demagogue; but though his language was seditious and inflammatory, he had the prudence to withdraw before the consequences of his harangue were manifested. Like Gash-ford, however, he had stirred up mischief, though he retired before it was committed. A band of his more desperate associates, who had attended him with a tri-coloured flag, and other symbols of a revolutionary nature, endeavoured to lead the mob into the city. Some few followed their standard; and on their march they broke into the shop of a gunsmith, on Snowhill to obtain arms, and a young man, named Watson, there shot a gentleman who offered some resistance. Seizing all the arms they could find in that and other shops, they proceeded to the Royal Exchange, when the lord mayor and aldermen, after vainly exhorting them to disperse, boldly secured some of the most forward, and shut the gates against the remainder. The mob fired, but without effect, over the gates on the magistrates; but a strong body of troops having been quickly marched into the city, the rioters were finally overpowered, and compelled to disperse. Some examples were made of the ringleaders; but the greatest criminal, Watson, effected his escape to America. The vigilance of government was by these events excited; and, after experience of this danger, every popular meeting in the vicinity of the metropolis was watched by large bodies of the military and special constables.

EXPEDITION TO ALGIERS.

The piratical state of Barbary had for ages infested the commerce of the Mediterranean, and subjected Christians to the most dreadful slavery. No check had been given them in their career, although during the late war the fears of the barbarians had induced them to respect the British flag. The renewed freedom of commerce, however, after the peace, tempted the three principal states of Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers to augment the number of their corsairs; and the ferocious system of depredation which they carried on against the vessels of nations in alliance or under the protection of Great Britain, rendered it imperative on the mistress of the ocean to vindicate her honour. For this purpose Lord Exmouth, at this time commanding in the Mediterranean, was instructed to demand security from these piratical states for the commerce of the Ionian Islands; to negociate a peace for Naples and Sardinia; and, if possible, to obtain a general abolition of Christian slavery. His lordship proceeded first to Algiers, where he obtained the release of all Ionian captives, and the ratification of a pacific treaty for Naples and Sicily: the former nation paying a ransom of five hundred dollars, and the latter three hundred dollars per head for their redeemed slaves. His lordship then proceeded to Tunis and Tripoli, the deys of which places appeared disposed to accede to any terms. Lord Exmouth proposed a treaty, for ever prohibiting the making of Christian slaves, and that such prisoners as might be taken in war should be treated according to the practice of civilized Europe. These stipulations were agreed to and the treaties signed. In the meantime he had received instructions to claim from Algiers the privilege of selling and refitting privateers in its port. On his return to that place upon this mission, he took the opportunity of pressing on that state the abolition of Christian slavery; but his request was haughtily refused, and when his lordship was returning to the fleet he was insulted by the crowd, and narrowly escaped assassination. As Lord Exmouth had not received definite instructions from the admiralty, he did not think himself justified in proceeding to extremities; and he therefore agreed that the dey should appoint an ambassador, who might proceed first to Constantinople, for the purpose of gaining the sanction of the Ottoman Porte, and thence to London, to treat on his proposal. His lordship then returned to England; but before he reached its shores, accounts arrived, which determined government at once to exact satisfaction for the past and security for the future. On the 21st of May the dey had ordered the British consul, Mr. Macdonald, to be confined, and all the English vessels in Oran to be seized. The Algerines likewise murdered the crews of several Italian vessels under the British flag, that were engaged in the coral-fishery at Bona. Thus braved, ministers resolved to punish the Algerines, and to enforce obedience on the common enemies of the civilized world. Lord Exmouth received instructions to complete his work; and he sailed on the 28th of July, in the “Queen Charlotte” of 110 guns, with four other ships of the line, five frigates, with sloops, bomb-vessels, &c., for that purpose. With this fleet he arrived at Gibraltar on the 9th of August, where he met with a Dutch squadron of five frigates and a corvette, commanded by Vice-admiral Von Capellem, who, on learning the object of the expedition, solicited and obtained leave to assist in the enterprise. The Algerines expected this attack, and had been preparing for it by the removal of every article of value, and by strengthening their already formidable fortifications. The city of Algiers is built on the declivity of a hill, in a triangular shape; the base being the sea-front, which rises directly from the water, and is about a mile in length. It was strongly defended by batteries rising one above another, and along a tongue of land, which defends the entrance into the inner part of the harbour, and also the approach to it, was a range of strong batteries, which our ships were obliged to pass, to take their station near the town, for the purpose of bombarding it. In the whole, the city was defended by about one thousand pieces of ordnance. During a conversation with Captain Brisbane, Lord Nelson had named twenty-five ships of the line as the force requisite to attack Algiers, but Lord Exmouth was satisfied he could accomplish the enterprise with the small fleet above described. He arrived off Algiers on the 27th of August; and all proposals for conciliation, and all demands for the relief of the British consul being ineffectual, the fleet passed the batteries and commenced their appointed work. The “Queen Charlotte” led the attack, and she answered to the guns of the batteries with a broadside which swept off’ about five hundred men from the crowded mole, soldiers and spectators. Before the battle became general, the “Queen Charlotte” had demolished the fortifications on the mole; then drawing her broadside more to the northward, she soon brought down the tower of the light-house. Gun after gun fell from the batteries, and the last of them was dismounted just as the artillerymen were in the act of discharging it. The battle had not long commenced when the enemy’s flotilla of gim-boats advanced with daring courage to board the “Queen Charlotte,” which by this time was seconded by the “Leander;” but as soon as they were discovered in the midst of the smoke, a few guns from both these ships sent thirty-three of the Algerine gun-boats to the bottom. The cannonade, which was of the most awful description, had continued for an hour without producing any signs of submission, and then Lord Exmouth determined to destroy the enemy’s ships. This was effected by throwing laboratory torches and carcass-shells on board of the nearest frigates, which, taking fire, communicated the flames to the rest, until they were burnt to the water’s edge. The bombardment continued, with little intermission, till nearly eleven: the Algerines fighting all the time with the utmost fury and desperation. About ten it was deemed advisable to take a large offing during the night. It was extremely dark: but the darkness was illuminated by a violent storm of lightning accompanied with thunder, and by the incessant fire of the batteries. The firing ceased about half-past eleven, and Lord Exmouth collected in his cabin all the wounded that could safely be moved to join with him and his officers in thanksgiving to the Almighty for their victory and preservation. The work was indeed effected: at the dawn of the returning day the city and harbour of Algiers exhibited a shattered heap of ruins. In the conflict, the loss of the Algerines amounted to about 7,000: the British had 128 killed, and 690 wounded, and the Dutch, who nobly aided in this enterprise, thirteen killed and fifty-two wounded. The dey was now humbled. Lord Exmouth now repeated with effect the proposals which had been before rejected, and the result of the victory was, that the dey agreed to abolish Christian slavery; to deliver up all the slaves in his dominion, of whatever nation they might be; to return all the money received for the redemption of slaves since the commencement of the present year; and to make reparation, and a public apology to the British consul for the wrongs and indignities to which he had been subjected. Before Lord Exmouth quitted the bay of Algiers every Christian prisoner was set at liberty, and the dey had refunded 382,500 dollars to the governments of Naples and Sardinia. The squadron quitted the bay on the 3rd of September, with the conscious satisfaction of having rescued the British character from the imputation of tamely permitting the atrocities which these piratical states had so long exercised against the weaker powers, and with the proud consciousness that every man had done his duty. Lord Exmouth, who was twice slightly wounded in the action, was raised from the dignity of baron to that of Viscount, and a considerable promotion likewise took place among the officers who had so nobly participated in the chastisement of the barbarian foe of the Christian world.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.

{A.D. 1817}

Parliament was opened by the prince regent in person. The chief topics of his speech were the continued assurances of amity received from foreign powers; the recent victory at Algiers; and the still existing deficiency in the revenue. He concluded thus:—“In considering our internal situation, you will, I doubt not, feel a just indignation at the attempts which have been made to take advantage of the distress of the country for the purpose of exciting a spirit of sedition and violence. I am too well convinced of the loyalty and good sense of the great body of his majesty’s subjects, to believe them capable of being perverted by the arts which are employed to seduce them; but I am determined to omit no precautions for preserving the public peace, and for counteracting the designs of the disaffected. I rely with the utmost confidence, also, on your cordial support, and co-operation, in upholding a system of law and government from which we have derived inestimable advantages; which has enabled us to conclude, with unexampled glory, a contest whereon depended the best interests of mankind, and which has been hitherto felt by ourselves, as it is acknowledged by other nations, to be the most perfect that had fallen to the lot of any people.”

The prince regent had good reason to complain of the turbulent spirit displayed by the factions: for on his way to the house he had been assailed with tumultuous expressions of disapprobation; and on his return from it, he was assailed by missiles of every description, and the glass of his carriage was broken by what was supposed to be two balls from an air-gun, aimed at his person. This outrage was communicated to the lords by Lord Sidmouth; and a conference was held with the house of commons, at which a joint address, congratulating his royal highness on his escape, was agreed upon. The consideration of the usual address in answer to the speech was postponed till the following day, when Earl Grey moved in the lords an amendment, chiefly for the purpose of expressing an opinion that the prince regent was under a delusion respecting the degree and probable duration of the pressure on the resources of the country. He declared this to be much more extensive in its operations, more severe in its effects, more deep and general in its causes, and more difficult to be removed, than that which had prevailed at the termination of former wars. Added to this declaration in the amendment, was a profession of regret that the prince regent should not have been sooner advised to adopt measures of rigid economy and retrenchment, especially with respect to our military establishments; and a resolution that the house should go immediately into a committee on the state of the nation. This amendment, however, was negatived without a division; and a similar one moved in the commons was rejected by two hundred and sixty-four against one hundred and twelve.

{GEORGE III. 1814–1818}

MEASURES OF ECONOMY.

On the 7th of February a communication was made by Lord Castlereagh from the prince regent, stating that out of sympathy to a suffering people he had determined upon a cession of £50,000 per annum of that part of his income which related to his personal expenses, during the continuance of the existing distress. At the same time his lordship communicated the intention of ministers to dispense with one-tenth of their official incomes, while the necessities of the state should require such a sacrifice. Lord Camden, also, one of the tellers of the exchequer, relinquished, _pro tempore_, the whole of his large profits with the exception of £2,500, the regulated income of the other tellers. On the reduced scale the expenditure of the year was estimated at £6,500,000 less than that of the preceding year, and a further saving of upwards of £1,000,000 was calculated upon for the year 1818. On the same day that Lord Castlereagh made the above communication to the house, he moved for the appointment of a committee of inquiry respecting the income and expenditure of the state. The first report of this committee was made on the 5th of May, when Mr. Davies Gilbert stated that, in recommending the suppression of certain offices, it was at the same time necessary that his majesty should be enabled to reward meritorious persons, by the power of granting pensions according to merit and length of service. A bill, entitled “the Civil Services Compensation Bill,” was accordingly introduced, with another for abolishing the offices of wardens and justices in Eyre, both of which passed the houses with very little opposition. About the time this bill passed Mr. Abbott resigned the speakership, and was created Lord Colchester, with a pension of £4000 to himself and his immediate successor. He was succeeded by Mr. Charles Manners Sutton, eldest son of the Archbishop of Canterbury.

RESTRICTIONS ON PUBLIC LIBERTY.

On the 3rd of February a message was communicated to both houses, announcing that the prince-regent had ordered the production of papers which contained an account of certain meetings and combinations held in various parts of the country, tending to disturb public tranquillity, to alienate the affection of the people from his majesty’s person and government, and to overthrow the whole frame of the laws and constitution. His royal highness recommended these papers to the immediate consideration of parliament; and they were accordingly referred by each house to a secret committee. It was expected that coercive measures would be adopted; but in the face of this a mob, headed by Henry Hunt and others, met in Spa-fields on the 10th of February, under the pretext of petitioning for parliamentary reform. The reports of the secret committees were presented on the 18th of February; and, on their recommendation, stringent acts were passed to correct the evil. The first consequence of these reports was the apprehension of the elder Watson, Preston, Hooper, and Keene, who were committed to the Tower on a charge of high-treason; a reward of five hundred pounds was also offered for the apprehension of a man named Thistlewood; and he was also taken and lodged with his associates. The measures adopted by parliament for the security of the public peace, were the suspension of the _Habeas Corpus_ Act until the 1st of July next; an extension of the act of 1795, for the security of the king’s person, to that of the regent; the revival of an act of 1795 against corresponding societies; and a reenactment of that regarding the seduction of soldiers and sailors from their allegiance. Petitions were presented against these restrictions on public liberty, and they were opposed in every stage by the opposition; but they were carried in both houses by large majorities. Although these acts appeared to infringe on the public liberty, yet they were effectual in saving the country from violence and bloodshed, if not from the horrors of anarchy. Powerful measures are required for the restraint of hydraheaded faction. The suspension of the Habeas Corpus struck an unexpected blow against the hopes and plans of the apostles of reform; and Mr. William Cobbett, who at this period figured as one of the most ardent reformers, deemed it prudent to retire to America, promising, however, to return as soon as England should be again under the protection of her constitution, and in the meantime to transmit his weekly register from the land of his voluntary exile.

On the assembling of the peers after the Easter recess, it was ordered, on the motion of Lord Grey, that a copy of the circular-letter recently addressed by the secretary of state for the home department to the lord-lieutenants of counties, relative to seditious or blasphemous publications, be laid before the house. In this document Lord Sidmouth had stated, as it was of the greatest importance to prevent, if possible, the circulation of the blasphemous and seditious pamphlets and writings then distributed in great numbers through the country, he had thought it his duty to consult the law-officers of the crown, whether a person found selling, or in any other way publishing such writings, might be brought immediately before a justice of peace by warrant to answer for his conduct; and the law-officers had given their opinion to the effect, that a justice of the peace might issue his warrant for the apprehension of a person charged before him, on oath, with the publication of such libels, and compel him to give bail to answer such charge. Under these circumstances the attention of the lord-lieutenants was earnestly called to the subject; and they were requested to notify such opinion to the chairman of the quarter-sessions, in order that magistrates might be led to act upon it. When this circular was produced Lord Grey addressed their lordships in a speech, in which he contended against the principle that a justice of the peace might be called on by any common informer to decide what was, or what was not a libel, and to commit or hold to bail, on his sole judgment, the accused party. His lordship argued that such a specific intimation to magistrates regarding the mode in which they were to construe the law, even supposing the law itself to be clear and undisputed, was a high offence against the constitution. He moved for the production of a case that had been submitted to the law-officers; but it was negatived on a division by a majority of seventy-five against nineteen. A similar motion was made in the commons by Sir Samuel Romilly, and a similar decision given. As towards the close of the session the spirit of disaffection throughout the country was not subdued, a further suspension of the _Habeas Corpus_ Act to the 1st of March, 1818, was carried by a large majority.

COMMITTEE ON THE POOR-LAWS, ETC.

During this session a committee on the poor-laws, with Mr. Sturges Bourne for its chairman, was appointed. This committee made its report in July; but not much new light was thrown upon the subject, as the object of the members seemed to be that of neutralizing every topic as much as possible; probably from ministerial instructions, as the cabinet were averse to making experiments. On the 9th of July Mr. Wilberforce moved for an address to the prince regent, submitting in dutiful, but urgent terms, the expression of our continued solicitude for the universal and final abolition of the slave-trade amongst the European powers, which was agreed to _nem. con_. On the same evening a discussion of considerable interest took place upon a series of resolutions on finance, which had been brought forward by Mr. Tierney; and after a debate of great length the previous question was carried upon each of these resolutions, and counter resolutions, moved by Mr. Grant, adopted in their stead. The last important debate of the session took place in the commons on a motion made by Mr. Brougham, for an inquiry into the state of the nation; a motion introduced chiefly for the purpose of enabling the mover, as the organ of opposition in the lower house to enter a protest, in detail, against the whole of the acts and proceedings of ministers. In exposing the false system on which parliament had long legislated on the subject of commerce, Mr. Brougham remarked:—“The period is now arrived when, the war being closed and prodigious changes having taken place throughout the world, it becomes absolutely necessary to enter on a careful but fearless revision of our whole commercial system, that we may be enabled safely, yet promptly, to eradicate those faults which the lapse of time has occasioned or displayed; to retrace our steps where we shall find that they have deviated from the line of true policy; to adjust and accommodate our laws to the alteration of circumstances; to abandon many prejudices, alike antiquated and senseless, unsuited to the advanced age in which we live, and unworthy of that sound judgment which distinguishes this nation.” The motion was negatived without a division.

PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.

Parliament was prorogued on the 12th of July. In his speech the prince regent expressed regret at the king’s continued indisposition; glanced at the subjects which had been considered during the session; and noticed the prospect of an abundant harvest, not only in this country, but on the continent, from which he anticipated an improvement in the commercial relations of this and other countries.

RIOTS AT MANCHESTER, ETC.

In the last report of the secret committee of the house of commons, mention was made of disturbances which had been experienced at Manchester. These disturbances appear to have been of an extraordinary description. A large body of men, calling themselves friends of parliamentary reform, and urged by the resolution of despair, determined to proceed to London to explain their distress to the regent in person. Each individual provided himself with a blanket and a small stock of provisions. On the day of their departure they met near St. Peter’s church; and such crowds assembled around them that the magistrates thought it expedient to call out the military. The principal instigators of the mob were arrested; but, nevertheless, a considerable number set out on their mission to London. More than five hundred proceeded as far as Macclesfield, where a troop of yeomanry was stationed to provide against contingencies. All, however, remained quiet; and this “Blanketeering Expedition” penetrated into Staffordshire, where it ended; the poor creatures who composed it being obliged to give it up from exhaustion and the want of sustenance. But these riots had at least one effect, it filled the prisons throughout the country with objects of suspicion or of crime. Many of these were as arbitrarily released by the authorities as they had been committed; but the more prominent leaders were either detained in custody, or sent, for greater security, to the metropolis. The trial of the prisoners in the Tower was commenced in the month of June; but Watson, the first tried, being acquitted by the jury, the other cases were abandoned. The prisoners captured in the riots which took place in the northern and midland counties were tried at Derby by a special commission, and twenty-three received sentence of death; three of them only, however, suffered the extreme penalty of the law. The last prosecution was that of a man named Hone, for some political parodies on the Litany and other parts of our church-service. He was tried for a blasphemous libel; but he was acquitted, chiefly on the ground that his parodies were political, and hence not blasphemous; and the public sympathized with the demagogue by raising a subscription, in order to reimburse him for his expenses, and to reward him for the trouble and fatigue which he had undergone in the prosecution. Hone seems to have profited by the lesson he had received; for he withdrew from the disgraceful career which he had commenced, and engaged in literary pursuits more worthy of a rational and thinking being, and of a good citizen of the world.

DEATH OF THE PRINCESS CHARLOTTE.

The close of this year was marked by an event that filled the nation with mourning; this was the death of the idolized hope of a free nation, the Princess Charlotte: she whose looks of health and gladdening smiles had been long hailed by the nation with heartfelt satisfaction by her future subjects, expired on the 6th of November, after giving birth to a still-born child. The indications of sorrow on this event becoming known were unusually general and sincere. The civic procession and entertainment on the Lord Mayor’s Day was abandoned; public entertainments were suspended; and on the 19th, the day of her interment, every shop was closed, and funeral sermons were preached in churches and chapels to large and attentive congregations. The day of her funeral was one of voluntary humiliation, and of sorrowful meditation on the instability of human happiness. Brief as were the days of this good princess, she had not lived in vain; her life was a bright illustration of piety and virtue. “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to the earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.”