THE ACCESSION OF GEORGE I (1714)
Lady Mary shows an increasing interest in politics--She tries to incite
her husband to be ambitious--Montagu not returned to the new
Parliament--His lack of energy--Correspondence--The Council of
Regency--The King commands Lord Townshend to form a Government--The
Cabinet--Lord Halifax, First Lord of the Treasury--Montagu appointed a
Lord Commissioner of the Treasury--Correspondence--The unsatisfactory
relations between Lady Mary and Montagu.
At the time of the death of Queen Anne Lady Mary began to show an
increased interest in polities, at least in so far as the career of
Montagu was bound up with it. She began to try to persuade her husband
to be, to some extent at least, ambitious. It may be that she was not
happy at the thought of being married to a man who was regarded as a
nonentity. She was always urging him to put his best foot forward.
Sometimes she wrote to him as to a naughty child. "I am very much
surprised that you do not tell me in your last letter that you have
spoke to my Father," she said in August, 1714. "I hope after staying in
the town on purpose, you do not intend to omit it. I beg you would not
leave any sort of business unfinished, remembering those two necessary
maxims, Whatever you intend to do as long as you live do as soon as you
can; and to leave nothing to be done by another that 'tis possible to do
yourself." What sort of a man must Montagu have been at the age of
thirty-six that his wife should deem it necessary to give him such
first-aid advice?
Montagu was evidently of a procrastinating turn of mind. He had, as has
been said, sat for Huntingdon in the House of Commons from 1705 until
1713. In the latter year Parliament was dissolved on August 8, but
Montagu had made no definite plans as regards his future political
career--for some reason or other his father reserved for himself the
seat for Huntingdon. Montagu found no other constituency, and
consequently did not sit in the new Parliament that assembled on the
following November 11.
"I suppose you may now come in at Aldburgh, and I heartily wish you was
in Parliament," Lady Mary wrote to him. "I saw the Archbishop [of
York]'s list of the Lords Regents appointed, and perceive Lord Wharton
is not one of them; by which I guess the new scheme is not to make use
of any man grossly infamous in either party; consequently, those who
have been honest in regard to both, will stand fairest for preferment.
You understand these things much better than me; but I hope you will be
persuaded by me and your other friends (who I don't doubt will be of
opinion) that 'tis necessary for the common good for an honest man to
endeavour to be powerful, when he can be the one without losing the
first more valuable title; and remember that money is the source of
power. I hear that Parliament sits but six months; you know best whether
'tis worth any expense or bustle to be in for so short a time."
Lady Mary's letters now contain many references to political affairs,
anyhow in so far as they directly concern Montagu.
"I hope you are convinced I was not mistaken in my judgment of Lord
Pelham; he is very silly but very good-natured. I don't see how it can
be improper for you to get it represented to him that he is obliged in
honour to get you chose at Aldburgh, and may more easily get Mr. Jessop
chose at another place. I can't believe but you may manage it in such a
manner, Mr. Jessop himself would not be against it, nor would he have so
much reason to take it ill, if he should not be chose, as you have after
so much money fruitlessly spent. I dare say you may order it so that it
may be so, if you talk to Lord Townshend about it, &c. I mention this,
because I cannot think you can stand at York, or anywhere else, without
a great expense. Lord Morpeth is just now of age, but I know not whether
he'll think it worth while to return from travel upon that occasion.
Lord Carlisle is in town, you may if you think fit make him a visit, and
enquire concerning it. After all, I look upon Aldburgh to be the surest
thing. Lord Pelham is easily persuaded to any thing, and I am sure he
may be told by Lord Townshend that he has used you ill; and I know he'll
be desirous to do all things in his power to make it up. In my opinion,
if yon resolve upon an extraordinary expense to be in Parliament, you
should resolve to have it turn to some account. Your father is very
surprizing if he persists in standing at Huntingdon; but there is
nothing surprizing in such a world as this."
Later in August Lady Mary wrote again on the same subject, and this
letter shows that she had been at pains to acquire some practical
knowledge of borough-mongering.
"You seem not to have received my letters, or not to have understood
them; you had been chose undoubtedly at York, if you had declared in
time; but there is not any gentleman or tradesman disengaged at this
time; they are treating every night. Lord Carlisle and the Thompsons
have given their interest to Mr. Jenkins. I agree with you of the
necessity of your standing this Parliament, which, perhaps, may be more
considerable than any that are to follow it; but, as you proceed, 'tis
my opinion, you will spend your money and not be chose. I believe there
is hardly a borough unengaged. I expect every letter should tell me you
are sure of some place; and, as far as I can perceive you are sure of
none. As it has been managed, perhaps it will be the best way to deposit
a certain sum in some friend's hands, and buy some little Cornish
borough: it would, undoubtedly, look better to be chose for a
considerable town; but I take it to be now too late. If you have any
thoughts of Newark, it will be absolutely necessary for you to enquire
after Lord Lexington's interest; and your best way to apply yourself to
Lord Holdernesse, who is both a Whig and an honest man. He is now in
town, and you may enquire of him if Brigadier Sutton stands there; and
if not, try to engage him for you. Lord Lexington is so ill at the Bath,
that it is a doubt if he will live 'till the election; and if he dies,
one of his heiresses, and the whole interest of his estate, will
probably fall on Lord Holdernesse.
"'Tis a surprise to me that you cannot make sure of some borough, when
so many of your friends bring in several Parliament-men without trouble
or expense. 'Tis too late to mention it now, but you might have applied
to Lady Winchester, as Sir Joseph Jekyl did last year, and by her
interest the Duke of Bolton brought him in for nothing; I am sure she
would be more zealous to serve me than Lady Jekyl. You should understand
these things better than me. I heard, by a letter last post, that Lady
M. Montagu and Lady Hinchinbrooke are to be Bedchamber Ladies to the
Princess, and Lady Townshend Groom of the Stole. She must be a strange
Princess if she can pick a favourite out of them; and as she will be one
day Queen, and they say has an influence over her husband, I wonder they
don't think fit to place women about her with a little common sense."
Again, in the middle of September Lady Mary returned to the subject of
Montagu finding a seat in the House:
"I cannot be very sorry for your declining at Newark, being very
uncertain of your success; but I am surprized you do not mention where
you intend to stand. Dispatch, in things of this nature, if not a
security, at least delay is a sure way to lose, as you have done, being
easily chose at York, for not resolving in time, and Aldburgh, for not
applying soon enough to Lord Pelham. Here are people here had rather
choose Fairfax than Jenkins, and others that prefer Jenkins to Fairfax;
but both parties, separately, have wished to me you would have stood,
with assurances of having preferred you to either of them. At Newark,
Lord Lexington has a very considerable interest. If you have any
thoughts of standing, you must endeavour to know how he stands affected;
though I am afraid he will assist Brigadier Sutton, or some other Tory.
Sir Matthew Jenison has the best interest of any Whig; but he stood last
year himself, and will, perhaps, do so again. Newdigate will certainly
be chose there for one. Upon the whole, 'tis the most expensive and
uncertain place you can stand at. Tis surprizing to me, that you are all
this while in the midst of your friends without being sure of a place,
when so many insignificant creatures come in without any opposition.
They say Mr. Strickland is sure at Carlisle, where he never stood
before. I believe most places are engaged by this time. I am very sorry,
for your sake, that you spent so much money in vain last year, and will
not come in this, when you might make a more considerable figure than
you could have done then. I wish Lord Pelham would compliment Mr. Jessop
with his Newark interest, and let you come in at Aldburgh."
On the death of the Queen, the Council, which had assembled at
Kensington Palace, adjourned to St. James's. By the Regency Bill the
administration of the government (in the event of the King being absent
from the realm at the time of his accession to the throne) devolved upon
the holders for the time being of the Great Officers of State: the
Archbishop of Canterbury (Dr. Thomas Tenison), the Lord Chancellor
(Simon, Lord Harcourt), the Lord President (John, Duke of
Buckinghamshire), the Lord High Treasurer (Charles, Duke of Shrewsbury),
the Lord Privy Seal (William, Earl of Dartmouth), the First Lord of the
Admiralty (Thomas, Earl of Strafford), and the Lord Chief Justice of the
King's Bench (Sir Thomas Parker, afterwards Earl of Macclesfield). Under
another clause of the Regency Act the Sovereign was entitled to nominate
a number of Lords Justices. Baron von Bothmer, the Hanovarian Envoy
Extraordinary to the Court of St. James's, opened the sealed packet
containing the Commission of Regency, drawn up by George after the death
of his mother. The King's nominees were the Archbishop of York, the
Dukes of Shrewsbury,[1] Somerset, Bolton, Devonshire, Kent, Argyll,
Montrose, and Roxborough; the Earls of Pembroke, Anglesea, Carlisle,
Nottingham, Abingdon, Scarborough, and Oxford; Viscount Townshend; and
Barons Halifax and Cowper. Marlborough was not in the Commission, but he
was appointed Captain-General of the Forces.
[Footnote 1: The Commission was, of course, made out before the Duke of
Shrewsbury was given the White Staff, the possession of which made him a
Lord Justice in virtue of his office.]
From The Hague, where he arrived on September 5, 1714, George I sent
authority to Charles, Viscount Townshend, to form a Cabinet, with power
to nominate his colleagues. Townshend took the office of Secretary of
State for the Northern Department, and appointed James Stanhope
Secretary of State for the Southern Department. Lord Halifax became
First Lord of the Treasury; Lord Cowper, Lord Chancellor; the Earl of
Nottingham, Lord President; the Marquis of Wharton, Lord Privy Seal; the
Earl of Oxford, First Lord of the Admiralty; the Earl of Sunderland,
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland; Robert Walpole, Paymaster-General of the
Forces. As Captain-General Marlborough was in the Cabinet.
Lord Halifax, when making out the Commission of the Treasury, invited
his cousin Montagu to be one of the Commissioners, although the latter
had not secured a seat in Parliament. "It will be surprizing to add,"
says Lady Mary, "that he hesitated to accept it at a time when his
father was alive and his present income very small; but he had certainly
refused it if he had not been persuaded to it by a rich old uncle of
mine, Lord Pierrepont, whose fondness for me gave him expectations of a
large legacy." Lady Mary, though glad enough that her husband had been
given a place, was not over and above delighted that it was one so
modest.
_Lady Mary Wortley Montagu to her Husband_
[Enclosed, September 24, 1714.]
"Though I am very impatient to see you, I would not have you, by
hastening to come down, lose any part of your interest. I am surprized
you say nothing of where you stand. I had a letter from Mrs. Hewet last
post, who said she heard you stood at Newark, and would be chose without
opposition; but I fear her intelligence is not at all to be depended on.
I am glad you think of serving your friends; I hope it will put you in
mind of serving yourself. I need not enlarge upon the advantages of
money; every thing we see, and every thing we hear, puts us in
remembrance of it. If it was possible to restore liberty to your
country, or limit the encroachments of the prerogative, by reducing
yourself to a garret, I should be pleased to share so glorious a poverty
with you; but as the world is, and will be, 'tis a sort of duty to be
rich, that it may be in one's power to do good; riches being another
word for power, towards the obtaining of which the first necessary
qualification is impudence, and (as Demosthenes said of pronunciation in
oratory) the second is impudence, and the third, still, impudence. No
modest man ever did or ever will make his fortune. Your friend Lord
H[alifa]x, R. W[alpo]le, and all other remarkable instances of quick
advancement, have been remarkably impudent. The Ministry is like a play
at Court; there's a little door to get in, and a great crowd without,
shoving and thrusting who shall be foremost: people who knock others
with their elbows, disregard a little kick of the shins, and still
thrust heartily forwards, are sure of a good place. Your modest man
stands behind in the crowd, is shoved about by every body, his cloaths
tore, almost squeezed to death, and sees a thousand get in before him,
that don't make so good a figure as himself.
"I don't say it is impossible for an impudent man not to rise in the
world; but a moderate merit, with a large share of impudence, is more
probable to be advanced, than the greatest qualifications without it.
"If this letter is impertinent, it is founded upon an opinion of your
merit, which, it if is a mistake, I would not be undeceived in: it is my
interest to believe (as I do) that you deserve every thing, and are
capable of every thing; but nobody else will believe you if they see you
get nothing."
[Postmark, October 6, 1714.]
"I cannot imagine why you should desire that I should not be glad,
though from a mistake, since, at least, it is an agreeable one. I
confess I shall ever be of opinion, if you are in the Treasury, it will
be an addition to your figure and facilitate your election, though it is
no otherwise advantageous; and that, if you have nothing when all your
acquaintance are preferred, the world generally will not be persuaded
that you neglect your fortune, but that you are neglected."
[Endorsed, October 9, 1714.]
"You do me wrong in imagining (as I perceive you do) that my reason for
being solicitous for your having that place, was in view of spending
more money than we do. You have no cause of fancying me capable of such
a thought. I don't doubt but Lord H[alifa]x will very soon have the
Staff, and it is my belief you will not be at all the richer: but I
think it looks well, and may facilitate your election; and that is all
the advantage I hope from it. When all your intimate acquaintance are
preferred, I think you would have an ill air in having nothing; upon
that account only, I am sorry so many considerable places are disposed
on [_sic_]. I suppose, now, you will certainly be chose somewhere or
other; and I cannot see why you should not pretend to be Speaker. I
believe all the Whigs would be for you, and I fancy you have a
considerable interest amongst the Tories, and for that reason would be
very likely to carry it. 'Tis impossible for me to judge of this so well
as you can do; but the reputation of being thoroughly of no party, is (I
think) of use in this affair, and I believe people generally esteem you
impartial; and being chose by your country is more honourable than
holding _any_ place from _any_ king."
The relations between Lady Mary and her husband did not improve. Not
only did he neglect to write to her when he left her in the country, but
he does not at any time appear to have had any desire to have her with
him in town. Lady Mary showed extreme, in fact overmuch, forbearance,
but towards the end of November her patience gave out: "I cannot forbear
any longer telling you, I think you use me very unkindly."
"I don't say so much of your absence, as I should do if you was in the
country and I in London; because I would not have you believe I am
impatient to be in town, when I say I am impatient to be with you; but I
am very sensible I parted with you in July and 'tis now the middle of
November," she went on to say. "As if this was not hardship enough, you
do not tell me you are sorry for it. You write seldom, and with so much
indifference as shews you hardly think of me at all. I complain of ill
health, and you only say you hope 'tis not so bad as I make it. You
never enquire after your child. I would fain flatter myself you have
more kindness for me and him than you express; but I reflect with grief
a man that is ashamed of passions that are natural and reasonable, is
generally proud of those that [are] shameful and silly."
Lady Mary, once having given vent to her feeling of injustice, was not
concerned to mince her words: "You seem perfectly pleased with our
separation, and indifferent how long it continues.... When I reflect on
your behaviour, I am ashamed of my own: I think I am playing the part of
my Lady Winchester. At least be as generous as My Lord; and as he made
early confession of his aversion, own to me your inconstancy, and upon
my word I will give you no more trouble about it.... For my part, as
'tis my first, this is my last complaint, and your next of the kind
shall go back enclosed to you in blank paper."