their ancient enmity had lately burst out afresh. He therefore ́stirred up Henry Pelham, brother of his patron the Duke of Newcastle, to claim the office, although this quiet judicious man, with characteristic timidity, shrunk from the dangerous eminence. He farther prevailed upon the fallen minister, who, in his retreat at Houghton, still had much influence over the royal mind, to back the application. On Wilmington's death, the King, who was abroad, sent a despatch announcing his decision in favour of Pelham. Lord Hardwicke was of course asked to continue Chancellor. The Duke of Newcastle then wrote to him, giving a hint, in a very amusing manner, about his over-caution: "My brother has alĺ the prudence, knowledge, experience, and good intention that I can wish or hope in man; but it will or may be difficult for us to stem alone that which, with your great weight, authority, and character, would not be twice mentioned. Besides, my brother and I may differ in opinion, in which case am sure yours would determine both. There has been for many years a unity of thought and action between you and me; and if I have ever regretted any thing, it has been (forgive me for saying it) too much caution in the execution, which I have sometimes observed has rather produced than avoided the mischief apprehended." For many years afterwards Lord Hardwicke held the Great Seal as securely as his fee-simple estate at Wimple. All divisions in the Cabinet were obviated by the dismissal of Carteret, become Earl of Granville, the most accomplished, but the most fantastical, politician of that age. The opposition was soon after weakened by the death of Lord Hervey and the Duke of Argyle, and by Lord Chesterfield's acceptance of the vice-royalty of Ireland. Horace Walpole considers that from this time the Chancellor was Prime Minister, saying, "When Yorke had left none but his friends in the Ministry, he was easily the most eminent for abilities."* Yet great difficulty was sometimes experienced in managing the King, who long remained sulky for the loss of Carteret, and was not at all reconciled to the English notion of "parliamentary government." Lord Hardwicke, in his Diary, has left us a very amusing account of a royal audience which he had demanded (January 5th, 1744-5):— Chancellor." Sir, I have forborne for some time to intrude upon your Majesty, because I know that of late your time has been extremely taken up; but as the Parliament is to meet again in a few days, I was desirous of an opportunity of waiting on your Majesty, to know if you had any commands for me. [Pause for above a minute; the King stands silent.] Sir, from some appearances which I have observed of late, I have been under very uneasy apprehensions that I may have incurred your Majesty's displeasure; and though I am not conscious to myself of having deserved it, yet nothing ever did, or ever can, give me so great concern and so sensible a mortification in my whole life, [Another pause of above a minute; the King still quite silent.] I beg your Majesty will have the goodness and condescension to hear from * "Ten last Years of George II.,” p. 139. me a few words upon the motives of my own conduct, the nature of your present situation, and the manner in which I think it may be improved for your service." [A long discourse follows, which was listened to without interruption, till a remark was made about measures taken for the defence of Hanover.] King."I can call home my troops for the defence of my own dominions." Chancellor." I mention it as part of the general system of carrying on the war, and as an instance of the readiness of your ministers to get over their old prejudices. But, sir, there still remains something very material behind." King." I have done all you asked of me. I have put all power into your hands, and I suppose you will make the most of it." Chancellor." This disposition of places is not enough if your Majesty takes pains to show to the world. that you disapprove of your own work." King." My work! I was forced; I was threatened." Chancellor.-"I am sorry to hear your Majesty use these expressions. I know of no force; I know of no threats. No means were used but what have been used in all timesthe humble advice of your servants, supported by such reasons as convinced them that the measure was necessary for your service." King.-"The changes might have been made by bringing in proper persons, and not those who had most notoriously distinguished themselves by a constant opposition to my government." Chancellor." If changes were to be made in order to gain strength, such persons must be brought in as could bring that strength along with them. On that account it was necessary to take in the leaders; and, if your Majesty looks round the House of Commons, you will find no man of business, or even of weight, capable of heading or conducting an opposition. [Pause. King silent.] Sir, permit me to say, the advantage of such a situation is a real advantage gained to the Crown. Your ministers, sir, are only your instruments of government." King [smiles]." Ministers are the King in this country." Chancellor." Sir, I ask your Majesty's pardon for troubling you so long, but I thought it my duty to lay my poor thoughts before you." According to this representation, it must be admitted that the Sovereign does not appear to so much advantage as the Keeper of his Conscience. 815326 CHAPTER CXXXIV. CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF LORD HARDWICKE TILL THE DEATH OF FREDERICK PRINCE OF WALES. WE now approach the rebellion of 1745, with respect to which we shall find Lord Hardwicke acting an important part in the measures to suppress it,-in the trial of the rebel Lords,-and in the new laws framed to introduce order and subordination into the country in which it originated. On the 15th of February, 1744, he brought down a message from the King, stating that "his Majesty had received undoubted intelligence that the eldest son of the Pretender, having arrived in France, was making active preparations to invade the kingdom, in concert with disaffected persons here." Both Houses joined in an address of thanks and assurance of support. This had been drawn by the Lord Chancellor, and concluded in the following eloquent and touching terms: (6 Loyalty, duty, and affection to your Majesty; concern for ourselves and our posterity; every interest and every motive that can warm or engage the hearts of Britons and Protestants, call upon us on this important occasion to exert our utmost endeavors, that, by the blessing of God, your enemies may be put to confusion; and we do all sincerely and earnestly assure your Majesty, that we will with zeal and unanimity take the most effectual measures to enable your Majesty to frustate so despe rate and insolent an attempt, and to secure and preserve your royal person and government, and the religion, laws, and liberties of these kingdoms." However, a general supineness prevailed, and in about ten days afterwards a rebuke was administered to the Chancellor and his colleagues by the Earl of Orford, who had never before opened his mouth in the House of Lords. By command of his Majesty, they had laid some papers before the House containing information on oath of the arrival of Prince Charles Edward at Dunkirk, and of the equipment of a fleet, and the assembling of an army there, for the invasion of England. No motion being made, except "that the papers should lie on the table," the ex-Premier said :— "I little expected that any thing would happen to make it necessary for me to offer my sentiments in this assembly, but I feel that I cannot continue silent without a crime. Little did I expect that the common forms of decency would have been violated by this august assembly. It is with the greatest surprise and emotion that I see such a neglect of duty. When his Majesty has communicated to you intelligence of the highest importance, is he to receive no answer from the House? As such treatment, my Lords, has never been deserved by his Majesty, so it has never before been practised. And sure, my Lords, if his hereditary council should select for such an instance of disrespect a time of distrac tion and confusion, a time when the greatest power in Europe is setting up a Pretender to his throne, and when only the winds have hindered an attempt to invade his dominions,-it may give our enemies occasion to imagine and report that we have lost all veneration for the person of our Sovereign. It cannot be thought consistent with the wisdom of your Lordships to be employed in determining rights of private property, when so weighty a case as the title to the Crown ought to engross all your attention.* [Here he looked hard at the Chancellor.] At this instant the enemy may have set foot upon our coasts,-may be ravaging the country with fire and sword, and may be openly threatening us with extirpation or servitude. If this attempt succeed, we shall be ruled over by a viceroy of the French King, and your Lordships, who sit in this House with a dignity envied by every class of nobility in the world, will be no better than the slaves of a slave to an ambitious and arbitrary tyrant. Permit me to rouse you from this lethargy. Let the noble and learned Lord on the woolsack submit to the sacrifice of postponing for a little while the calling in of counsel to argue about costs, while we show so much regard for the great, the universal, the national interest, as to concert a proper form of address to his Majesty, that he may not appear laboring for our safety, while we neglect what is due to our Sovereign and to ourselves."+ An apology being offered, on the ground that, after what had lately passed, no further declaration of their Lordships' sentiments upon the present state of affairs was deemed necessary, the Chancellor moved an address "to give his Majesty the strongest assurances that this House will, at the hazard of their lives and fortunes, stand by and support his Majesty against France, and any other power whatsoever, that shall presume to assist or countenance the Pretender, or any of his descendants or adherents, or to invade or commit any hostilities against his Majesty's kingdoms," which was unanimously agreed to. The government, so little prepared for defence as not to have in all England an army of more than 7000 men, and only a few invalids in Scotland, escaped present * On reference to the Journals it appears that one of the only three decrees of Lord Hardwicke ever appealed against was this day heard and affirmed. Countess of Warwick v. Earl of Cholmondeley. † As this is probably the last time I shall have to mention Walpole, whom I have had occasion to introduce from time to time ever since the impeachment of Lord Somers, I may be allowed to observe, that, after much unjust abuse heaped upon him, there seems now to be a great disposition to bestow upon him unqualified praise. He was probably the most dexterous party-leader we have ever had,-equally skilled to win royal favour, to govern the House of Commons, and to influence or be influenced by public opinion. He likewise well understood the material interests of the country, and, as far as was consistent with his own retention of power, he was desirous of pursuing them. But, that he might run no personal risk, he would make no attempt to improve our institutions; he was regardless of distant dangers; he plunged into a war which he admitted to be unjust and impolitic-and, by his utter neglect of literature and literary men, in spite of the example set him by his immediate predecessors, Whig and Tory, he gave to official life in England that aristocratic feeling, and vulgar business-like tone, which it has ever since retained. danger by the dreadful storm which dispersed the French squadron, and wrecked of their transports. many (6 AFFLAVIT DEUS ET DISSIPANTUR." But it was ascertained that while there was in the country a powerful, zealous, and active party for the Pretender, great indifference was manifested by almost all other classes. "I apprehend," said old Horace Walpole, "that the people may perhaps look on and cry, Fight, dog! fight, bear! if they do no worse. Lord Hardwicke, much alarmed by the aspect of affairs, had recourse to an expedient which I cannot think a very wise one; he resolved to render more stringent the laws against high treason-instead of trying, by reforms, to make the government more popular. Accordingly he caused a bill to be introduced to the House of Commons to attaint the sons of the Pretender, if they should land, or attempt to land, in Great Britain or Ireland; and when the Bill came up to the Lords, he added clauses to make it high treason to correspond with the sons of the Pretender, and to postpone till their death the mitigation of the English law of treason, agreed to on the Union with Scotland, by which, after the death of the Pretender, corruption of blood in all cases of treason was to be done away with, so that innocent children might not be punished for the crime of their parents. These clauses were most strenuously opposed, particularly by John Duke of Bedford, who made a very fine speech against them, in which he alluded, with much pathos, to the fate of his grandfather, Lord Russell; and observed, that if it had not been for the circumstance of his great-grandfather still surviving at that time, all the property of his family would have been confiscated, and his name would have been extinct. Lord Hardwicke, in answer, delivered an elaborate speech, which, however, was a mere repetition of a very ingenious pamphlet lately written by his son, the Honorable Charles Yorke, entitled "Considerations on the Law of Treason."* His most difficult point was to reconcile the postponement of the stipulated mitigation to the compact entered into with Scotland, whereby the English law of treason was admitted into that country, on an express condition which was to be now violated, and he was obliged to resort to such quibbles as, that "it was not then foreseen that the Pretender would have sons;" that " as he was in a green old age, and likely to live as long as them, the postponement was inconsiderable;" and that, "if they had sons, a further postponement would be unnecessary, as, in a few years, the title of the reigning family would be universally recognized." The Chancellor had large * I have myself known several instances of a pamphlet being converted into a speech. One of the most remarkable of these was in a debate on the Catholic question, when, there appearing a great coincidence of sentiment and language between a speech delivered by Sir John Copely and a pamphlet recently published by the present Bishop of Exeter, the old song was very happily quoted: "Good Sirs, this brown jug that now foams with mild ale, Was once TOBY PHILPOTTS." 13 Parl. Hist. 704-854. |