{GEORGE III. 1818—1820}
Meeting of Parliament..... Motion for Secret Committees
preparatory to a Bill of Indemnity..... Extension of
the Bank Restriction..... Treaty with Spain..... Royal
Marriages..... The Supplies..... The Alien Act, &c.
Prorogation of Parliament..... State of the Manufacturers of
Lancashire, &c. Death of Queen Charlotte..... Meeting of
Parliament..... Duke of. York appointed Guardian to His
Majesty..... Committee on the Criminal Code..... Measures
for Resumption of Cash-Payments..... Financial
Statement..... Catholic Claims..... Foreign Enlistment
Act..... Slave-Trade, &c. Prorogation of
Parliament..... Seditious Assemblages..... Meeting of
Parliament..... Motion for Inquiry into the State of tha
Nation..... Parliamentary Reform..... Cession of Parga to
the Turks..... Death of George III.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
{A.D. 1818}
Parliament was opened on the 27th of January by commission. The
principal topics of the speech were the continued indisposition of
his majesty; the death of the Princess Charlotte; an assurance of the
continued friendly disposition of foreign powers; the improved state of
industry and public credit; the restored tranquillity of the
country; the treaties with Spain and Portugal on the abolition of the
slave-trade; and a recommendation that additional churches should be
built, “to meet the increased population of the country, and to promote
the religious and moral habits of the people.” In the lords the address
was voted _nem. con_.; in the commons it met with animadversion from
Lord Althorp and Sir Samuel Romilly, who deprecated the demoralizing
system of _espionnage_, as well as the arbitrary imprisonment and
tyrannical persecutions which had lately been carried on by government;
but the address passed without a division.
MOTION FOR SECRET COMMITTEES PREPARATORY TO A BILL OF INDEMNITY.
On the 4th of February Lord Castlereagh brought down a bag of papers
respecting the internal state of the country, for the examination of
which he proposed a secret committee. As this was understood to be a
preliminary step to a general bill of indemnity for all acts performed
under the suspension of the _Habeas Corpus_ Act, by which the persons
then imprisoned, and since liberated without trial, would be deprived of
all legal remedy for such imprisonment, the appointment of a committee
was strenuously resisted by opposition, who contended that a different
sort of inquiry was called for by the conduct of the administration. The
green bag and its contents formed the subject of much sarcasm; but the
appointment of a secret committee was agreed to, and a similar committee
was also appointed in the upper house. The report of the committee in
the house of lords was presented on the 23rd of February. It related
chiefly to recent disturbances in the counties of Nottingham, Derby,
and York; to the progress and the check which it had received by various
arrests and trials; and to the necessity which existed for continued
vigilance against a spirit of conspiracy still active, particularly
in the metropolis. The report stated that forty-four persons had been
arrested, and discharged without trial; but that such arrests were
justified by circumstances, and that no warrant of detention appeared
to have been issued, except in consequence of information on oath; the
persons detained and not prosecuted had been discharged at different
times; and the committee were of opinion that government had exercised
the powers vested in them with discretion and moderation. A bill
of indemnity, founded on this report, was brought in by the Duke
of Montrose on the 25th; and on its second reading the Marquess of
Lansdowne proposed, as an amendment, that it should be postponed for
a fortnight, to give time for all the petitions recently received
from persons who had been imprisoned to be brought up. This amendment,
however, was negatived, as was another on the third reading of the bill,
the object of which was to do away with it altogether. When introduced
in the commons on the 10th of March, it was strongly opposed by Sir
Samuel Romilly, who contended that it was improperly called a bill
of indemnity. The object of indemnity, he said, was only to protect
individuals against public prosecution, without interfering with the
rights of private men; but the object of the bill was to annihilate all
such rights, to take away all legal remedies from those who had suffered
an illegal and arbitrary exercise of authority, and to punish those who
presumed to have recourse to such remedies by subjecting them to the
payment of double costs. Mr. Lambton moved an amendment that it be read
again that day six months, but this was lost by one hundred and ninety
to sixty-four. The bill was read a second time on the next day, but the
chief discussion took place on the order for committing it, when several
petitions, complaining of grievous oppression, were presented to the
house: the bill, however, passed on the 13th, and four days after
received the royal assent.
EXTENSION OF THE BANK RESTRICTION.
At an early period of the session, Mr. Grenfell inquired of the
chancellor of the exchequer whether any event had occurred, or was
likely to occur, which would prevent the resumption of cash-payments by
the Bank in July. He observed that the public stood in the situation
of debtor to the bank for £3,000,000 advanced without interest, and for
£6,000,000 at an interest of four per cent; but as the Bank had secured
possession of public money deposited in their hands, which for the last
twelve years had amounted on an average to £11,000,000 for the
repayment of these sums, he asked whether any arrangement was made
for discharging, or placing them on a better footing. In reply, the
chancellor of the exchequer stated, that the Bank had made ample
preparation for resuming cash-payments at the time fixed by parliament,
but that pecuniary transactions were going on with foreign powers which
might probably require an extension of the restriction: as regards the
loan of £6,000,000, he said, he should shortly submit a proposal for its
repayment, allowing the country still to enjoy the benefit of that on
which no interest was paid. Later in the session, in submitting some
propositions to a committee of the house, he observed that in January,
1817, the Bank had given notice of its readiness to pay in specie
outstanding notes of a particular description, for which cash to
the amount of about £1,000,000 might have been demanded, but a very
considerable sum was called for. At that time, gold bullion was £3. 18s,
6d., and silver 4s. 10d. the ounce: in October notice was given that
the Bank was ready to pay in cash all the notes dated prior to January,
1817; but the result was very different, for upwards of £2,500,000 were
drawn out, of which scarcely any portion remained in circulation. This
arose from the large remittances to foreign countries, consequent on the
importation of corn; the residence of Englishmen on the continent; and
the negociation of a loan in this country by France. It now therefore
became inexpedient for the Bank to resume cash-payments, and the
restriction was continued till the 5th of July, 1839.
TREATY WITH SPAIN.
During this session a treaty with Spain, by virtue of which, in
consideration of a subsidy of £400,000, that country consented to
abolish the slave-trade on all the north coasts of the line, received
the sanction of parliament. But this was only a half measure: Spain
still continued the privilege of retaining the traffic south of
that limit. A right of search was stipulated for each nation, but no
detention of vessels was to take place, unless when slaves were found on
board.
ROYAL MARRIAGES.
During this year marriages were contracted between the Duke of Clarence
and the princess of Saxe Meningen; the Duke of Kent and the Princess
Leiningen; and the Duke of Cambridge with the Princess of Hesse.
At the recommendation of the prince regent to parliament, suitable
provisions were made for the royal personages, though not on an
extravagant scale. During the discussions on the provision to be made
for them, Mr. Wilberforce inveighed in strong terms against the royal
marriage act: an act which prevented the several branches of the family
on our throne from entertaining the best feelings, and from forming
connexions which might at once promote their happiness, and guarantee
their virtue.
THE SUPPLIES.
The supplies of this year were estimated at £20,952,400. To meet this,
in addition to the ways and means, a three-and-a-half per cent, stock
was created to the amount of £14,000,000, so that no new taxes were
levied, nor any additions made to those existing.
THE ALIEN ACT, ETC.
During this session it was resolved that the alien act should be
continued for two years longer; it being necessary to keep out as well
as send out of Great Britain persons who might take advantage of the
vicinity of France, to excite a spirit hostile to the security of this
and other European governments. Sir Samuel Romilly introduced a bill to
do away with the capital part of the act respecting private stealing
in shops, &c., setting forth in his preamble, that extreme severity of
punishment tends to procure indemnity for crime; but the house was not
yet prepared to legislate in a merciful spirit: the bill was rejected.
Before the close of the session Mr. Brougham succeeded in his motion for
a committee of inquiry respecting the education of the poorer classes;
the first step towards that system of popular instruction in which he
has effected so much. Fourteen commissioners were to be appointed by
the crown, six of whom were to have no salaries. This bill, however,
underwent many alterations in the upper-house, chiefly through the
exertions of Lord Eldon, who used all his influence against it. The
commissioners to be appointed were limited to the investigation
of charities connected with education; they were precluded from
investigating the state of education among the poor generally; and they
were directed to traverse the country and to call witnesses before
them, without possessing any authority for enforcing attendance, or for
demanding the production of documents. As Mr. Brougham observed, the
bill as it came from the lords left everything to the good will of those
who had an interest at variance with the inquiry. Yet much good, he
anticipated, might result from the exercise of the powers possessed
by the house. The means to be used were, that the commissioners should
proceed and call witnesses; that they should report to the house, and
make returns of the names of all those who refused to give information
or produce documents without alleging any just cause of refusal; and the
committee, which would be re-appointed next session, might be empowered
to call those persons before them.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued on the 10th of June by the regent in person. In
his speech his royal highness stated his intention of giving direction
for a new parliament, after which he observed:—“I cannot refrain from
adverting to the important change which has occurred in the situation of
this country, and of all Europe, since I first met you in this place.
At that period, the dominion of the common enemy had been so widely
extended over the continent, that resistance to his power was, by many,
deemed to be hopeless; and in the extremities of Europe alone was such
resistance effectually maintained. By the unexampled exertions which
you enabled me to make, in aid of countries nobly contending for
independence, and by the spirit which was kindled in so many nations,
the continent was at length delivered from the most galling and
oppressive tyranny, under which it had laboured; and I had the
happiness, by the blessing of Providence, to terminate, in conjunction
with his majesty’s allies, the most eventful and sanguinary contest in
which Europe had for centuries been engaged, with unparalleled success
and glory. The prosecution of such a contest for so many years, and
more particularly the efforts which marked the close of it, have been
followed within our own country, as well as throughout the rest of
Europe, by considerable internal difficulties and distress. But,
deeply as I felt for the immediate pressure upon his majesty’s people,
nevertheless I looked forward without dismay, having always the fullest
confidence in the solidity of the resources of the British empire, and
in the relief which might be expected from a continuance of peace,
and from the patience, public spirit, and energy of the nation. These
expectations have not been disappointed. The improvement in the internal
circumstances of the country is happily manifest, and promises to be
steadily progressive; and I feel perfect assurance that the continued
loyalty and exertions of all his majesty’s subjects will confirm these
growing indications of national prosperity, by promoting obedience
to the laws, and attachment to the constitution from which all our
blessings are derived.”
STATE OF THE MANUFACTURERS OF LANCASHIRE, ETC.
Distress, though mitigated, as stated in the regent’s speech, still
prevailed in the country. The cotton-spinners as well as other classes
of manufacturers of Lancashire remained in a state of organized
opposition to their masters on the subject of wages. From this cause
disturbances took place at Burnley, Stockport, and other places,
which could only be quelled by the prompt exertions of the Manchester
yeomanry. A diversion from these troubles was created by the general
election which took place during the summer. Men were too busily
employed in securing the election of their favourites to think of the
troubles by which they were surrounded.
DEATH OF QUEEN CHARLOTTE.
During the last session of parliament, in consequence of the Queen’s
declining health, two amendments had been made in the regency bill; the
first empowering her majesty to add six new members, resident in Windsor
to her council, in the event of her absence from that residence; and
the second repealed the clause which rendered necessary the immediate
assembling of a new parliament in the event of the queen’s death. These
amendments were opportunely made, for her majesty, after a lingering
illness of six months, expired at Kew Palace, on the 17th of November,
in the 75th year of her age. Her remains were interred at Windsor on the
2nd of December, and the day was observed with every suitable mark of
respect. Queen Charlotte possessed those accomplishments which add grace
and dignity to an exalted station. As a wife and a mother she was a
pattern to her sex; performing all the tender and maternal offices of a
nurse to her offspring, which is so seldom performed by persons even in
less exalted stations than that which she occupied. Her morality was,
also, unquestionably of the highest order: during the period in
which she presided over the British court, she preserved it from the
contamination of vice, notwithstanding the dangers proceeding from the
licentious examples of other European dynasties, as well as from that
moral relaxation which our own prosperity was so well calculated to
produce. During the reign of Geo-ge III., indeed, England presented from
the throne the example of those virtues that form the great and binding
link of the social chain. To this may be in part ascribed our happiness
in having withstood the storm which visited the rest of Europe with all
the horrors of invasion or anarchy. “The wicked are overthrown, and are
not; but the house of the righteous shall stand.”
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
{A.D. 1819}
The new parliament met on the 14th of January when Mr. Manners Sutton
was re-elected speaker, and Chief Baron Richards took his seat on
the woolsack _pro tempore_, in consequence of the lord chancellor’s
indisposition. Both houses were occupied till the 21st in swearing
in their respective members, on which day the session was opened by
commission. The chief topics of the royal speech were the king’s health:
the demise of the queen; the evacuation of France by the allied troops;
the favourable state of the revenue; the improved aspect of trade,
manufactures, and commerce; the favourable result of the war in India;
and the extension of the commercial treaty now existing between this
nation and the United States of America to a further term of eight
years. In both houses the addresses were carried without a division,
though ministers were severely censured by Lord Lansdowne in the
lords, and Mr. Macdonald in the commons, for the want of truth in
their statements concerning the state of the nation, and for their many
political blunders.
THE DUKE OF YORK APPOINTED GUARDIAN TO HIS MAJESTY.
As the death of the queen rendered it necessary that a guardian of his
majesty’s person should be appointed, Lord Liverpool named the Duke
of York, and his nomination met with general approval. The duke was
appointed guardian with a salary of £10,000 per annum out of the public
purse for the performance of this filial duty. The grant met with severe
opposition, and was only carried by a small majority; and subsequently
several debates took place respecting the establishment at Windsor, the
expenses of which excited much freedom of remark. It was represented
as a mockery of the national distress, no less than of the melancholy
visitation of the aged monarch, kept up for the purpose of ministering
to the prodigality of the regent, and the rapacity of his courtiers.
These sentiments were shared by the people at large.
COMMITTEE ON THE CRIMINAL CODE.
Early this session the attention of parliament was called to the state
of the criminal code: a subject deeply interesting to the best friends
of humanity. Philanthropists had long deplored the state of our
statute-book, more than two hundred crimes being defined by it as
worthy of death. This state of things had been denounced as a national
disgrace, and Sir Samuel Romilly had frequently brought it under the
notice of parliament, and in some instances had been the means of
softening down the rigour of our laws. That great man was now dead; but
in this session the subject was taken up by Sir James Mackintosh,
who proved to be a worthy successor to the deceased philanthropist. A
petition from the corporation of London, complaining of the increase
of crime, and pointing out the commutation of capital punishment, was
referred to a committee for the examination of the discipline and police
of the different prisons throughout the country. The appointment of this
committee was moved by Lord Castlereagh; but it was thought by some that
a distinct committee should be appointed, for the purpose of taking the
whole subject into consideration. A motion to this effect was made by
Sir James Mackintosh on the 2nd of March; and though Lord Castlereagh
opposed it, as unnecessary, it was carried by one hundred and
forty-seven against one hundred and twenty-eight. In his speech on this
occasion, Sir James Mackintosh, after setting forth a great variety of
facts and observations, illustrating the system of subterfuge which
the extreme severity of the law in many cases had produced among
prosecutors, witnesses, and jurors, with the consequent impunity and
increase of crime, proceeded to explain his views of melioration,
observing that it was neither his wish nor intention to form a new
criminal code. He did not, he said, even propose to abolish capital
punishment; but, on the contrary, he regarded it as a part of that
right with which societies are endowed. He held it to be, like all
other punishments, an evil when unnecessary; but capable, like them, of
producing, when sparingly and judiciously inflicted, a preponderance of
good. He aimed not at the establishment of any universal principle;
his object was, that the execution of the law should constitute the
majority, and its remission the minority of cases. Subsequently Sir
James divided the cases connected with capital punishment into three
classes: those in which it was always, those in which it was frequently,
and those in which it was never put in force. The first and second of
these cases he proposed to leave untouched; the third, which comprised
more than one hundred and fifty crimes, he contended should be expunged
from the statute-book, as a monument of barbarous times, disgraceful to
the character of a free and enlightened nation.
MEASURES FOR RESUMPTION OF CASH-PAYMENTS.
On the 2nd of February Mr. Tierney moved for a committee to inquire into
the effects of the Bank restriction act. This was met by an amendment
from the chancellor of the exchequer, directing an investigation of the
state of the Bank of England, with reference to the expediency of its
resumption of cash-payments at the appointed period; such information to
be reported by the committee as might be disclosed without injury to the
public interests. The first report, which was brought up by Mr. Peel on
the 5th of April, represented that the Bank, having been induced to pay
in specie all notes issued previous to 1817, had been drained of cash
to the amount of more than £5,000,000, most of which had gone to the
continent, and had been there recoined; and that, to prevent this drain
continuing, and to enable the Bank to accumulate a larger store of
bullion, with a view to the final resumption of cash-payments, it was
expedient to restrain the further payment of notes alluded to in specie.
A bill was brought in to this effect, and, the standing orders of the
house having been suspended, it was passed through its different
stages in the same evening. In the upper house Lord Harrowby moved
the suspension of the standing orders, that the bill might pass at one
sitting; but Earl Grey and others opposed it at considerable length,
contending that, if necessary, it would have been better for ministers
to issue an order of council for suspending Bank payments on their
own responsibility. The bill, however, was read a third time on the
following day and passed; and a similar measure was also carried in both
houses for the protection of Ireland. The second report was presented
on the 5th of May, when two bills were passed, founded on a plan
recommended by the committee for a gradual return to cash-payments. The
principal provisions of these bills were, that a definite period should
be fixed for the termination of the restriction, while preparatory
measures should be taken, with a view to facilitate and ensure, on the
arrival of that period, payment of the promissory notes of the Bank of
England in legal coin of the realm; that provision ought to be made
for the repayment of £10,000,000, being part of the sum due to the Bank
on account of advances for the public services; that from the 14th of
February, 1820, the Bank shall be liable to deliver on-demand, gold
of standard fineness, having been assayed and stamped at the mint, a
quantity of not less than sixty ounces being required in exchange for
notes at the rate of £4. 1s. per ounce; that from the 1st of October,
1820, the Bank shall be liable to deliver gold at the rate £3. 19s. 6d.
per ounce: and from the 1st of May 1821, £3. 17s. 10d.; that the Bank
may at any period between the 1st of February and the 1st of October,
1820, undertake to deliver gold as before mentioned, at any rate between
tha sums of £4. Is. and £3. 19s. 6d. per ounce, and at any rate between
the 1st of October, 1820, and the 1st of May, 1821, at any rate between
the sums of £3. 19s. 6d. and £3. 17s. 10 ½ per ounce, but that such
intermediate rate having been once fixed by the Bank, that rate shall
not subsequently be increased; that from the 1st of May, 1823, the Bank
shall pay its notes, on demand, in the legal coin of the realm; and
that it is expedient to repeal the laws prohibiting the melting and the
exportation of the coin.
Another select committee was appointed this session, on the motion of
Lord Castlereagh, to inquire into the income and expenditure of the
country. The receipts for the year ending the 5th of January, 1818, were
£51,665,458, while those for the following year were £54,620,000. There
were, however, certain arrears of war-duties on malt and property, which
reduced the income of 1818 to £49,334,927, while the arrears due to
January, 1819, amounted only to £566,639: the expenditure was also less
by about £650,000 than was expected, so that the result was a total
surplus of £3,518,000, applicable to the reduction of the national debt.
If one million were allowed for the interest on the loan, observed Lord
Castlereagh, there remained two millions and a half of surplus
revenue. Mr. Tierney remarked, that an old debt on the sinking-fund,
of £8,300,000, which must be liquidated before the surplus in question
could be made available for the expenses of the current year, had
been altogether concealed. The various taxes, taken together, exceeded
£7,000,000; but this was the extreme of the amount applicable to the
army, navy, ordnance, and miscellaneous services; how then, he asked,
could it be possible that, with an income of only £7,000,000, and an
expenditure of £20,000,000, both ends should be made to meet, and
a surplus be left? Would it not be a gross delusion to speak of the
sinking-fund as applicable to the public service, while government were
obliged to borrow £13,000,000 a year to support it? The chancellor
of the exchequer answered, that this statement included certain
particulars, which could not be admitted in making a fair comparison. By
taking the whole charge of the consolidated-fund and the sinking-fund,
it had been shown that our expenditure exceeded our receipts. This must
necessarily be the case, since a great portion of the war-taxes had been
abolished. Parliament had relieved the country of £15,000,000 of taxes;
and thus they prevented the effect which would have been produced in
the redemption of the debt by such an annual sum. With respect to any
financial plans for the present year, the chancellor stated he should
reserve to himself the power of adopting that which the situation of
public affairs rendered most expedient.
{GEORGE III. 1818—1820}
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
A series of financial resolutions was moved by Mr. Vansittart on the 3rd
of June. These resolutions stated, that by the removal of certain
taxes, the revenue of Great Britain was reduced by £18,000,000; that the
interest and charge of the funded and unfunded debt of Ireland exceeded
the whole revenue of the country by £1,800,000; that it was necessary to
provide, by a loan or other means, for the service of the present
year, the sum of £13,000,000, which, deducted from the sinking-fund
of £15,000,000, reduced it to £2,000,000; and that for the purpose of
raising this sinking-fund to £5,000,000, it was necessary to impose
annually the amount of £3,000,000. This sum parliament agreed to
raise by a large duty on foreign wools, and by smaller duties on other
articles, such as tobacco, tea, coffee, and cocoa-nuts. Two loans of
£12,000,000 each were also raised; one of them supplied by monied men,
the other derived from the sinking-fund. Out of these sums there was to
be a surplus, of which £5,000,000 were to go towards the repayment of
the debt due to the Bank, as recommended by parliament previous to the
resumption of cash-payments; and £5,597,000 to the reduction of the
unfunded debt. “In adopting this course,” the speaker observed to the
prince regent at the close of the session, “his majesty’s faithful
commons did not conceal from themselves that they were calling upon the
nation for a great exertion; but well knowing that honour, character,
and independence have at all times been the first and dearest objects of
the hearts of Englishmen, we feel assured that there was no difficulty
that the country would not encounter, no pressure to which she would not
cheerfully submit, in order to maintain pure and unimpaired that which
has never yet been shaken or sullied—her public credit and good faith.”
CATHOLIC CLAIMS.
On the 3rd of May, after numerous petitions had been presented both
for and against the claims of Roman Catholics, this great question of
internal policy was again brought before the commons by the eloquent
Grattan. The causes of disqualification, he observed, were of three
kinds—the combination of the Catholics, the clanger of a pretender,
and the power of the pope. Grattan asserted, that not only had all these
causes ceased, but that the consequences annexed to them were no more;
and he concluded by moving for a committee of the whole house to take
into consideration the laws by which oaths or declarations are required
to be taken or made as qualifications for the enjoyment of office, or
the exercise of civil functions so far as the Roman Catholics were
affected by them. This motion was lost by a majority of only two in a
full house; but a corresponding proposition made in the lords by Earl
Donoughmore was lost by a majority of one hundred and forty-seven
against one hundred and six. Subsequently another effort was made in the
lords by Earl Grey; but, as before, without effect. The bill Earl Grey
introduced was for abrogating so much of the acts of the 25th and
30th of Charles the Second, as prescribed to all officers, civil and
military, and to all members of both houses of parliament, a declaration
against the doctrines of transubstantiation, and the invocation of
saints. His motion was rejected by a majority of one hundred and
forty-two against eighty-two.
FOREIGN ENLISTMENT ACT.
On the 13th of May, in consequence of complaints made by the Spanish
ambassador that English officers were aiding the cause of independence
in South America, the attorney-general brought in a bill for prohibiting
the enlistment of British subjects into foreign service, and the
equipment of vessels of war without licence. The first of these objects,
he observed, had been in some measure provided for by the statutes of
George the Second, by which it was an offence, amounting to felony,
to enter the service of any foreign state. If neutrality were to be
observed, however, it was important that the penalty should be extended
to the act of serving unacknowledged as well as acknowledged powers;
and part of his intention therefore was to amend those statutes, by
introducing after the words, “king, prince, state, potentate,”
the words, “colony or district, which do assume the powers of a
government.” It was his wish, he said, to give to this country the
right of preventing its subjects from breaking the neutrality towards
acknowledged states, and those assuming the power of states; and upon
a similar principle, he wished to prevent the fitting out of armed
vessels, and also the fitting out or supplying other vessels with
warlike stores in any of his majesty’s ports, These propositions met
with stem opposition. Sir James Mackintosh warned the house, that,
in whatever manner the motion might be worded and its real object
concealed, the bill ought to be entitled,—“A bill for preventing
British subjects from lending their assistance to the South American
cause, or enlisting in the South American service.” The statutes of
George the Second, he said, were not to have been laws of a general
nature, applying to all times and circumstances; but, on the contrary,
“intended merely for the temporary purpose of preventing the formation
of Jacobite armies, organized in France and Spain against the peace and
tranquillity of England.” He concluded by reprobating the measure as
one which was virtually an enactment to repress the liberty of the South
Americans, and to enable Spain to re-impose that yoke of tyranny which
they were unable to bear, which they had nobly shaken off, and from
which, he trusted in God, they would finally and for ever be enabled
to extricate themselves. In reply, Lord Castlereagh argued that the
proposed bill was necessary to prevent our giving offence to Spain, whom
that house was too just and generous to oppress because she was weak,
and her fortunes had declined. In the subsequent stages of the bill,
ministers avowed that the measure had been suggested by the stipulations
of a treaty with Spain in 1814, and by the representations which the
ministers of Ferdinand VII. had considered themselves entitled by
such stipulations to address to the British government. This admission
excited severe remarks on Ferdinand’s character; but the bill was
carried—in the commons by one hundred and ninety against one hundred
and twenty-nine, and in the lords by one hundred against forty-nine. But
though this bill was rigorous in its propositions, it was by no means
rigorously enforced.
SLAVE-TRADE, ETC.
During this session Mr. Wilberforce complained in parliament of
the reluctance displayed by the two great powers to enter into the
arrangements necessary for carrying into effect the total abolition of
the slave-trade. It grieved him, he said, to cast this reproach on a
high-minded people like the French; and he was still more grieved to
find that America was not free from blame; but he still trusted that all
nations would unite in their endeavours to civilize the inhabitants of
Africa. He concluded by moving an address to the prince regent, to renew
his exertions for the attainment of this noble object, which was agreed
to unanimously, as was a similar one in the lords, on the motion of Lord
Lansdowne.
An act of grace for reversing the attainder of Lord Edward Fitzgerald,
also passed this session without opposition. The preamble of the bill
stated that his lordship had never been brought to trial; that the act
of attainder did not pass the Irish parliament till some months after
his decease; and that these were sufficient reasons for mitigating the
severity of a measure decreed in unhappy and unfortunate times. The
attainder itself, as passed by the Irish parliament, was an instance of
contemptible servility to the ruling powers by that corrupt assembly. A
bill was introduced in the commons on the 11th of May, for enabling the
public to accept the Marquis Camden’s liberal sacrifice of the surplus
profits accruing from his unreduced tellership of the exchequer, as
mentioned in a previous page. It was necessary to carry a bill to
authorize contributions by his majesty’s ministers and other public
officers, lest his donation of £69,000 per annum might be considered an
illegal benevolence.
The only other business of importance this session was the granting of
£50,000, for the purpose of enabling government to divert the current of
emigration from the United States to the Cape of Good Hope, the colony
to which, it was considered, that it might be most advantageously
directed. This money was to be spent in defraying the expenses, &c., of
those who emigrated to that colony.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued on the 13th of July. The prince regent in his
speech expressed a confident expectation that the measures adopted
for the resumption of cash-payments would be productive of beneficial
consequences; regretted the necessity of additional taxation;
anticipated important advantages from the efforts made to meet our
financial difficulties; and avowed a determination to employ the powers
provided by law for the suppression of sedition, which still existed in
the manufacturing districts.
SEDITIOUS ASSEMBLAGES.
Many causes operated after the war in producing general distress among
the poor, both in the agricultural and manufacturing districts. The
agricultural population being more thinly scattered, and more passive by
habit and education, bore their sufferings with exemplary patience; but
the manufacturing labourers in the midland and northern districts, as
well as in some parts of Scotland, exhibited a contrary spirit. Secret
combinations and seditious assemblages became the order of the day in
these parts; nor could all the efforts of parliament put down their
factions. At this time a party, which had denominated themselves
“Radical Reformers,” obtained much notice by their active exertions,
and acquired much influence from the sedulity which they propagated the
notion that such a reform of parliament, as would make its members true
representatives of the people, would be the surest means of putting an
end to present and future sufferings. One of the most notorious of the
demagogues was Henry Hunt, a man whose only merit consisted in bold
daring and mob oratory. The first step of this association was to apply
to the Manchester magistrates to convoke a meeting for the alleged
purpose of petitioning against the corn bill. This request was refused;
and in consequence the meeting was held without authority. Hunt was the
hero of the day; and it was not his fault that the assemblage dispersed
without tumult. The example thus set by Manchester was followed by the
reformers of Glasgow, Leeds, Stockport, and other places; and many were
the dangerous doctrines broached by the orators. The strong measures of
precaution, however, taken by the local authorities, in most instances,
had the effect of preserving order and tranquillity; but it was feared
that if these meetings were allowed still to be held, the inflammatory
harangues of their orators would one day stir up the multitude to acts
of mischief. Government, indeed, resolved to interfere. At a meeting
held at Birmingham the reformers hazarded a bolder experiment than any
before displayed. This was the election of a member to represent that
great and populous town in the house of commons. Sir Charles Wolseley
was put in nomination, and instantly chosen by show of hands. Soon after
this Sir Charles attended a meeting at Stockport; and he was taken
into custody on account of seditious expressions used at that meeting.
Subsequently a meeting took place at Smithfield, when a man named
Harrison was arrested for the same offence; and both were tried next
year at the assizes, convicted, and sentenced to imprisonment. The
officer by whom they were apprehended narrowly escaped assassination at
Stockport; and government immediately adopted vigorous measures for
the discovery of the offenders, and to put a stop to these seditious
meetings. A proclamation was issued against them; but still the
reformers were resolved to agitate. Those of Manchester being informed
that a meeting they had given notice of, to be held for the purpose of
proceeding to the election of a representative as at Birmingham, was
illegal, relinquished it; but they held another for the avowedly legal
object of petitioning for a reform in parliament. The estimated numbers
present were 60,000; and among them were two bands of female reformers,
under white silk banners. Hunt was again the lion of the day; but no
sooner had he commenced speaking, than the commanding officer of a body
of yeomanry, who advanced with drawn swords to the stage, took him into
custody. Several other persons were also apprehended, and the yeomanry
then aimed at the destruction of their banners. A scene of dreadful
confusion arose; many persons were trampled under the feet of the
horses, and some were cut down by sabres. A few were killed, while there
were between three and four hundred wounded. In a short time the ground
was cleared of the mob, and military patroles were stationed in the
streets to preserve tranquillity. Hunt and his associates were, after
a short examination, conducted to solitary cells, on a charge of
high-treason. The next day notices were issued by the magistrates,
declaring the practice of military training, alleged to have been
carried on secretly for treasonable purposes, to be illegal; and
government applauded all that had been done. But the public did not look
upon the proceedings at Manchester with the same favourable eye as the
cabinet. A meeting was held at the Crown and Anchor in London, at which
a series of resolutions was adopted, strongly censuring the conduct
of the magistrates and military, and returning thanks to Hunt and his
colleagues. Meetings in a similar spirit were held at Smithfield and
in the precincts of the palace-yard, Westminster; and at the latter an
address to the prince regent, founded on resolutions conspicuous for
their violence, was unanimously agreed to. Subscriptions were entered
into, likewise, at all these meetings, and throughout the country,
for the purpose of defraying the expenses of defending the prisoners.
Government contemplated the trial of Hunt and his associates for
high-treason; but the circumstances of the case were not sufficiently
treasonable to warrant such a course; and the prisoners were told that
they would be prosecuted for a conspiracy only. This was a bailable
offence; but Hunt refused to give bail, resolved to be a martyr in the
true sense of the word. Some of his friends, however, liberated him;
and his return from Lancaster to Manchester had the appearance of a
triumphal procession. He was the mob’s idol; and he was attended by
thousands on horseback and on foot, who hailed him with loud shouts as
the assertor of British freedom. His trial took place in the next year,
at York, when he was sentenced to two years and a half’s imprisonment at
Ilchester jail, and then to find security for good behaviour during
five years. Three of his associates were also condemned to one year’s
imprisonment in Lincoln Castle, and were likewise ordered to find
sureties. Still faction prevailed. It requires an iron foot to put down
a democratical spirit. Meetings were still held at Leeds, Glasgow, and
other places; and the orators had the horrible details of the events at
Manchester, Birmingham, and other places, wherewith to entertain their
auditory. The sufferers at those places were compared to the Russells,
Hampdens, and Sidneys of ancient times, and ensigns of mourning were
established. The corporation of London even ventured to present an
address to the regent, censuring the authorities; but the regent
administered to them a forcible rebuke, as prejudging the matter without
having had any opportunity of understanding it. In order to counteract
the effects of these meetings, and the exertions of the regular
opposition, or whig party, loyal addresses and offers to raise yeomanry
corps were promoted by the friends of the administration. At the close
of this year, indeed, parties became bitterly exasperated against each
other; and as persons of property generally adhered to the ministerial
side of the question, the lower orders began to entertain a deep-seated
indignation against their superiors. But all this exhibition of feeling
ended finally in happy results; it contributed greatly to the reform of
our institutions. When the minds of men became sobered, the general
wish was, as it ever will be in the breasts of true born Englishmen, to
promote the general welfare. It cannot be denied that the artisans of
our manufacturing districts had their grievances; but there is no state,
however well ordered it may be, in which one class of persons are not
called upon to suffer more than the others. But if one member suffers,
it should always be remembered that every member suffers with it.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament met on the 23rd of November. In allusion to these
disturbances the prince regent remarked in his speech:—“I regret to
have been under the necessity of calling you together at this period of
the year; but the seditious practices so long prevalent in some of
the manufacturing districts of the country have been continued with
increased activity since you last assembled in Parliament. They have led
to proceedings incompatible with the public tranquillity, and with
the peaceful habits of the industrious classes of the community; and a
spirit is now fully manifested, utterly hostile to the constitution
of this kingdom, and aiming at not only the change of those political
institutions which have hitherto constituted the pride and security of
this country, but at the subversion of the rights of property and of all
order in society. I have given directions that the necessary information
on this subject shall be laid before you; and I feel it to be
my indispensable duty to press on your immediate attention the
consideration of such measures as may be requisite for the counteraction
and suppression of a system, which, if not effectually checked, must
bring confusion and ruin on the nation.” The regent promised to lay
before parliament all the information requisite to direct them in their
deliberations, and pressed on the attention of lords and commons, the
enactment of such regulations as might tend to suppress the evil. An
amendment to the address was moved in the upper house by Earl Grey;
in which, whilst the necessity of checking practices dangerous to
the constitution was admitted, a strong opinion was expressed of the
expediency of conciliation, and of inquiry into the transactions of
Manchester, to allay the feelings to which they had given birth,
and satisfy the people that their lives could not be sacrificed with
impunity. Lord Sidmouth, in reply, stated that there had been
more exaggeration, misrepresentation, and falsehood applied to the
transactions at Manchester, &c., than to any other public transaction in
his knowledge. His lordship defended both the magistrates and yeomanry,
denying that they had done anything beyond their duty. The greatest
authorities maintained, he said, that the magistrates were justified
in the orders they had given, and that the meetings at which the
disturbances took place were illegal. The original address was carried
by one hundred and thirty-nine against thirty-four, and in the commons,
ministers were equally triumphant. A similar address to Earl Grey’s, was
moved by Mr. Tierney, and was rejected by a large majority. The mover
of this address drew a melancholy picture of the state of the country,
affirming that ministers had brought it to the verge of ruin, Lord
Castlereagh declined following him in his remarks on the state of the
country, because the only definite proposition offered, was one for
inquiry into the transactions at Manchester, respecting which he should
lay a mass of information before the house on the next day and explain
the measures contemplated by government. On the next day the promised
documents were produced; consisting partly in the correspondence of
official persons with the home secretary, and partly in communications
made by parties whose names were not made known. The letters from the
Manchester magistrates set forth that apprehensions were entertained of
a formidable insurrection being in contemplation. At the same time they
bore testimony to the alarming distress of the manufacturing classes,
and assigned hunger as a natural inducement with the poor to adopt
pernicious doctrines, as projects for the amelioration of their
sufferings. Other depositions stated that the practice of secret
training prevailed to a great extent among the reformers, but merely
with a view of enabling themselves to march in the semblance of
military array to their meetings, sticks being their only weapons.
Lord Fitzwilliam stated in a communication that in the West Riding of
Yorkshire the rage for seditious assemblies might be safely left to die
away of itself, as the good sense of the people already began to feel
they were in error. Sir John Byng, military commander of the district,
stated, that simultaneous meetings were to be held in various towns,
but that the plan had been frustrated by the disunion existing among the
leaders. Other communications represented that pistols, pikes, and
other weapons were being manufactured in the factious districts, both in
England and Scotland. Finally, the grand jury of Cheshire expressed
the alarm which was felt in that county for life and property by his
majesty’s subjects. This body of evidence having been submitted to the
two houses, ministers proceeded to open their measures of defence. As a
preliminary step, the lord chancellor introduced a bill for the purpose
of taking away from such as should be tried for seditious practices the
right of traversing; allowing the court, however, to postpone the trial,
on his showing reason for delay. Against this measure as well as others
in preparation, Earl Grey entered his protest; they being calculated, he
said, to bring misery, if not ruin on the country. On the second reading
of the bill it was opposed by Lords Erskine and Liverpool: and Lord
Holland urged on ministers the necessity of legislating on both sides of
the question, so as to prevent the delays which occurred in prosecutions
on _ex-officio_ informations, as well as in those of indictment. In
compliance with this suggestion, the lord chancellor, on the third
reading, proposed an additional clause, compelling the attorney-general
to bring a defendant to trial within a year, or to enter into a
_noli-prosequi_, and the bill thus amended passed without further
opposition. The additional measures introduced in the upper house
by Lord Sidmouth, and in the commons by Lord Castlereagh were to the
following effect:—“An act to render the publication of a blasphemous or
seditious libel punishable, on a second conviction, at the discretion of
the court, by fine, imprisonment, banishment, or transportation; and to
give power, in cases of a second conviction, to seize the copies of the
libel in possession of the publisher: a stamp duty, equal to that
paid by newspapers, on all publications of less than a given number of
sheets, with an obligation on all publishers of such pieces to enter
into recognizances for the payment of such penalties as might be in
future inflicted on them.” The press being thus restrained, seditious
meetings were to be controlled by the following provisions:—“That a
requisition for holding of any meeting other than those regularly called
by a sheriff, boroughreeve, or other magistrate, should be signed by
seven householders: and that it should be illegal for any persons not
inhabitants of the place in which such meeting was held to attend it:
also, that magistrates should be empowered, within certain limitations,
to appoint the time and place of meeting.” To repel danger from the
muster of an illegal force, it was proposed to prohibit military
training, except under the authority of a magistrate or lieutenant of
the county; and in the disturbed districts, to give to magistrates a
power of seizing arms believed to be collected for unlawful purposes,
and also to apprehend and detain persons so carrying arms. All these
bills met with stern opposition, except that for the prevention of
secret military training. A clause in the act concerning blasphemous and
seditious libels, which decreed the punishment of transportation on
a second conviction was withdrawn in the commons, but the penalty of
banishment, hitherto unknown in England, was enacted in its stead. The
seditious meeting bill was also subjected to a modification, by
which all meetings held in a room or building were exempted from its
operations. Several alterations, moreover, were admitted into that which
subjected small publications to the newspaper stamp duty.
MOTION FOR INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF THE NATION.
After passing the celebrated “six acts,” the Marquess of Lansdowne moved
for a select committee to inquire into the state of the nation, and
especially in those districts where distress and radicalism prevailed.
His lordship said that the principle called radicalism existed in
exactly the same proportion as that of distress in the respective
districts; and that he had a right to infer this from the agricultural
part of the country being yet untainted, and from the spirit of the
principle having reached its height in the manufacturing districts both
of England and Scotland. The distress, he thought, arose from the long
war, which gave us the carrying trade of the world, and which created
a fixed capital, which still existed, and filled the markets, while
no vent could be found for their produce. It was also increased,
he thought, by the poor laws, the paper currency, and the spirit of
speculation. Two propositions were enforced by his lordship on the house
for the alleviation of the distress: namely, to rescind the duties on
articles which had decreased in various districts, as tea &c.; and the
establishment of favourable commercial treaties, which government had
not yet succeeded in accomplishing. The Marquess Wellesley deprecated
all such inquiries, as did other noble lords, and the motion was
negatived by a large majority.
{GEORGE III. 1818—1820}
PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.
Although the time appeared very unfavourable for a discussion on
reform, yet Lord John Russell called the attention of the commons to
the unrepresented towns, many of which had risen into great commercial
wealth and importance, while certain boroughs which sent representatives
to parliament, had fallen into decay. His lordship adduced examples
from history, to show that the principle of change had been often
acknowledged, and the suffrage withdrawn and conferred on various
occasions. He proposed several resolutions in accordance with them,
the last being for the disfranchisement of Grampound, the corruption of
which borough was notorious. At the suggestion of Lord Castlereagh, who
appeared willing to concur in the motion to a certain extent, Lord
John withdrew his motion; but he subsequently brought in a bill for the
disfranchisement of Grampound, and the transfer of its privileges to
some populous town, the second reading of which was deferred until after
the Christmas recess.
CESSION OF PARGA TO THE TURKS.
During this year a convention was concluded between Great Britain and
Turkey by which the fortress of Parga, which remained after the war
in British protection, was ceded nominally to the latter power, but in
reality to its bitter foe, Ali Pasha. Considerable animadversion was
excited in the political circles by the fulfilment of this convention.
The Parghiotes were the last of the Christians in Epirus who had
successfully resisted the tyranny of Ali Pasha. In 1807, after the
treaty of Tilsit had given the Ionian Isles to Napoleon, they had
solicited and obtained a French garrison from Corfu; and in 1814 they
had placed themselves under British protection. During the command of
General Campbell they enjoyed security; but his successor, Sir T.
Maitland, after much intriguing with Ali Pasha, ordered them either to
submit to the Albanian despot or to quit their country. Finding their
fate inevitable, and knowing the vindictive nature of Ali Pasha, they
chose the latter alternative. An estimate was made of their buildings,
lands, and plantations, amounting to nearly £500,000; but the
compensation ultimately obtained for them was less than a third of that
sum. When this circumstance, and the harshness of all the decrees
against this brave but unfortunate people are considered, it is no
wonder that the whole continent rang with exclamations against the
British government, and that they were reiterated even in our own
country.
DEATH OF GEORGE III.
{A.D. 1820}
The protracted existence of the venerable monarch who had so long swayed
the British sceptre was drawing to a close. Virtually his long reign
terminated in 1810, with the establishment of the regency; but he was
still alive, and was still dear to the hearts of his people. In November
of the preceding year, however, his health underwent a considerable
change, and a general decay of the constitution ensued, which betokened
dissolution. Yet the strong was taken away before the weak. On the 21st
of January the Duke of Kent, after a short illness, died, leaving behind
him an estimable character, a devoted wife, and a princess who now fills
the throne. Eight days after this his royal father expired without a
struggle, in the 82nd year of his age, and, counting the ten years of
the regency, in the 60th year of his reign. Over the last nine years of
his reign a dark and mysterious veil had been drawn. In the periods of
the deepest national solicitude his mind had felt no interest; and in
the hour of the most acute domestic feeling his eye had not been wet
with the tears of affection. All was dark within and without, for both
reason and sight had departed from him. It does not appear, indeed, that
any temporary return of reason allowed him to comprehend and rejoice at
the issue of the momentous struggle in which he left his country when
his malady drove him into retirement.
“Why,” said a London mechanic, with tears in his eyes, as he viewed the
festivities and rejoicings in Hyde Park for the peace of Paris,—“Why
is not our good old king well and here to see this sight?” This question
displays the general feeling of the nation for the “good old king.”
Although the latter part of his life had been a blank, his people had
never lost sight of him: their interest had not been wearied by his long
seclusion, nor had their love expired in the flood of victories that
distinguished the regency. The least information concerning him was
read with avidity, while the tear of pity and affection rolled down the
cheeks of the reader. When he died, the nation went into mourning; and
the writer of this section of the history well recollects the intense
anxiety displayed by his subjects to catch a sight of his coffin and the
crown that he once wore, when he lay in state. Day after day thousands
upon thousands waited at the gate of royalty to gain admittance; and
many were the tears shed, and many were the sighs heaved from the full
heart, as they paced through the chamber of death. All felt that
they had lost a father. The influence of his virtuous character, in
preserving the nation from the contagion of French principles; the
steady progress which civil and religious liberty had made during his
reign: the desire which he had ever evinced to improve the moral and
intellectual condition of his people, still lived in their memory, and
taught them to feel when he descended into his grave that they had lost
a benefactor. He was mourned over as “the dear old king,” and “the
good old king,” and he will be venerated as such as long as the roll of
British history remains in existence.
CONTINUATION
OF
THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND,
By E. H. Nolan
GEORGE IV.
[Illustration: 374.jpg PORTRAIT OF GEORGE IV.]