1767,
the noble-minded and generous Duke of York was married to a descendant
of the Stuarts, an amiable and conciliating lady, not only willing, but
anxious, to live without the splendour of royal parade, and desirous
also of evading the flatteries and falsehoods of a court.
In August, the duke lived very retired in a chateau near Monaco, in
Italy, blessed and happy in the society of his wife. She was then
advancing in pregnancy, and his solicitude for her was sufficient to
have deeply interested a heart less susceptible than her own. Their
marriage was kept from public declaration, but we shall refer to the
proofs hereafter. In the ensuing month, it was announced that (17th
September) the duke "died of a malignant fever," in the twenty-ninth
year of his age, and the news was immediately communicated to the King
of England. The body was said to be embalmed, (?) and then put on board
his majesty's ship Montreal, to be brought to England. His royal
highness was interred on the evening of November 3rd, in the royal vault
of King Henry the Seventh's Chapel.
The fate of the duke's unfortunate and inconsolable widow, and that of
the infant, to whom she soon after gave birth, must be reserved for its
appropriate place in this history.
The high price of provisions this year occasioned much distress and
discontent, and excited tumults in various parts of the kingdom.
Notwithstanding this, ministers attempted to retain every tax that had
been imposed during the late war, and appeared perfectly callous to the
sufferings of the productive classes. Even the land-tax, of four
shillings in the pound, was attempted to be continued, though contrary
to all former custom; but the country gentlemen became impatient of this
innovation, and contrived to get a bill introduced into the House of
Commons, to reduce it to three shillings in the pound. This was carried
by a great majority, in spite of all the efforts of the ministry to the
contrary! The defeat of the ministers caused a great sensation at the
time, as it was the first money-bill in which any ministry had been
disappointed since the revolution of 1688! But what can any ministers do
against the wishes of a determined people? If the horse knew his own
strength, would he submit to the dictation of his rider?
On account of the above bill being thrown out, ministers had
considerable difficulty in raising the necessary supplies for the year,
which were estimated at _eight millions and a half_, including, we
suppose, secret-service money, which was now in great demand.
The king experienced a fluctuating state of health, sometimes improving,
again retrograding, up to the year
1768.
In his speech, in the November of this year, his majesty announced, that
much disturbance had been exhibited in some of the colonies, and a
disposition manifested to throw aside their dependence upon Great
Britain. Owing to this circumstance, a new office was created, under the
name of "Secretary of State for the Colonies," and to which the Earl of
Hillsborough was appointed.
The Earl of Chatham having resigned, parliament was dissolved. Party
spirit running high, the electioneering contests were unusually violent,
and serious disorders occurred. Mr. Wilkes was returned for Middlesex;
but, being committed to the King's Bench for libels on the government,
the mob rescued Wilkes from the soldiers, who were conducting him
thither. The military were ordered to fire on the people, and one man,
who was singled out and pursued by the soldiers, was shot dead. A
coroner's inquest brought this in _wilful murder_, though the higher
authorities not only acquitted the magistrates and soldiers, but
actually returned _public thanks_ to them!
At this period, the heart sickens at the relations given of the
punishments inflicted on many private soldiers in the guards. They were
each allowed only four-pence per day. If they deserted and were
re-taken, the poor delinquents suffered the dreadful infliction of five
hundred lashes. The victims thus flagellated very seldom escaped with
life! In the navy, also, the slightest offence or neglect was punished
with inexpressible tortures. This infamous treatment of brave men can
only be accounted for by the fact, that officers in the army and navy
either bought their situations, or received them as a _compensation_ for
some SECRET SERVICE performed for, or by the request of, the queen and
her servile ministry. Had officers been promoted from the ranks, for
performing _real_ services to their country, they would have then
possessed more commiseration for their brothers in arms.
We must here do justice to the character of George the Third from all
intentional tyranny. Many a time has this monarch advocated the cause of
the productive classes, and as frequently have his ministers, urged on
by the _queen_, defeated his most sanguine wishes, until he found
himself a mere cipher in the affairs of state. The king's simplicity of
style and unaffected respect for the people would have induced him to
despise the gorgeous pageantry of state; he had been happy, indeed, to
have been "the real father of his subjects." His majesty well knew that
the public good ought to be the sole aim of all governments, and that
for this purpose a prince is invested with the regal crown. A king is
not to employ his authority, patronage, and riches, merely to gratify
his own lusts and ambition; but, if need require it, he ought even to
sacrifice his own ease and pleasure for the benefit of his country. We
give George the Third credit for holding these sentiments, which,
however, only increased his regrets, as he really had _no power to
act_,--that power being in the possession of his queen, and other crafty
and designing persons, to whose opinions and determinations he had
become a perfect slave! It is to be regretted that he had not sufficient
nerve to eject such characters from his councils; for assuredly the
nation would have been, to a man, willing to protect him from their
vile machinations; but once subdued, he was subdued for ever.
From the birth, a prince is the subject of flattery, and is even
caressed for his vicious propensities; nay, his minions never appear
before him without a mask, while every artifice that cunning can suggest
is practised to deceive him. He is not allowed to mix in general
society, and therefore is ignorant of the wants and wishes of the people
over whom he is destined to reign. When he becomes a king, his
counsellors obtain his signature whenever they desire it; and, as his
extravagance increases, so must sums of money, in some way or other, be
extorted from his suffering and oppressed subjects. Should his ministers
prove ambitious, war is the natural result, and the money of the poor is
again in request to furnish means for their own destruction! Whereas,
had the prince been associated with the intelligent and respectable
classes of society, he might have warded off the evil, and, instead of
desolating war, peace might have shed her gentle influence over the
land. Another barbarous custom is, the injunction imposed upon royal
succession, that they shall not marry only with their equals in birth.
But is not this a violation of the most vital interests and solemn
engagements to which humanity have subscribed? What unhappiness has not
such an unnatural doctrine produced? Quality of blood ought only to be
recognized by corresponding nobility of sentiments, principles, and
actions. He that is debarred from possessing the object of his virtuous
regard is to be pitied, whether he be a king or a peasant; and we can
hardly wonder at his sinking into the abyss of carelessness, imbecility,
and even madness.
In February,
1769,
the first of those deficiencies in the civil list, which had occurred
from time to time, was made known to parliament, by a message in the
_name_ of the unhappy king, but who only did as he was ordered by his
ministerial cabal. This debt amounted to five hundred thousand pounds,
and his majesty was tutored to say, that he relied on the _zeal_ and
_affection_ of his faithful Commons to enable him to discharge it! The
principal part of this money was expended upon wretches, of the most
abandoned description, for services performed _against_ the welfare of
England.