CHAPTER III.

_The Russians take Oczakow..... Death of Gaston de Medeis,

Duke of Tuscany..... Death of Caroline, Queen Consort of

England..... Dispute in Parliament about the Standing

Army..... Spanish Depredations..... Motives of the Minister

for avoiding a War..... Address to the King on the Subject

of the Depredations..... Bill for Securing the Trade, of

his Majesty’s Subjects in America..... Debates in the House

of Lords..... Birth of Prince George..... Admiral Haddock

sails with a Squadron to the Mediterranean..... Progress of

the War against the Turks..... Dispute and Rupture between

Hanover and Denmark..... Sir Robert Walpole extols the

Convention in the House of Commons---Motion for an Address,

that the Representations, Letters, &c, relating to the

Spanish Depredations, should be laid before the House.....

Petitions against the Convention..... Substance of that

Agreement..... Debate in the House of Commons on the

Convention..... Secession of the chief Members in the

Opposition..... Debate in the House of Lords upon an Address

to his Majesty touching the Convention..... Message from the

Throne touching a Subsidy to Denmark, and a Power to augment

the Forces of the Kingdom..... Parliament prorogued..... The

King of Spain publishes a Manifesto..... The Emperor and

Czarina conclude a Peace with the Turks..... Preparations

for War in England..... Apology in the House of Commons for

the seceding Members..... Pension Bill revived, and

lost..... Porto Bello taken by Admiral Vernon..... Hard

Frost..... Marriage of the Princess Mary to the Prince of

Hesse..... Strong Armament sent to the West Indies.....

Death of the Emperor and Czarina..... Proceedings in

Parliament..... Seamen’s Bill..... Discontents against the

Ministry..... Motion for removing Sir Robert Walpole from

his Majesty’s Councils and Presence for ever..... Debate on

the Mutiny Bill..... Proceedings in the House of Lords.....

Close of the last Session of this Parliament_

THE RUSSIANS TAKE OCZAKOW.

A congress had been opened at Niemerow in Poland, to compromise the

differences between the czarina and the grand seignor; but this proving

ineffectual, the emperor declared war against the Turks, and demanded

assistance from the diet of the empire. He concerted the operations

of the campaign with the empress of Muscovy. It was agreed that the

Imperialists, under count Seckendorf, should attack Widdin in Servia;

while the Russians, commanded by count de Munich, should penetrate to

the Ukraine, and besiege Oczakow, on the Roristhenes. They accordingly

advanced against this place, which was garrisoned by twenty thousand

men, and on the side of the Roristhenes defended by eighteen galleys.

The Muscovites carried on their approaches with such impetuosity and

perseverance, that the Turks were terrified at their valour, and in a

few days capitulated. Among those who signalized themselves by uncommon

marks of prowess in these attacks, was general Keith, now field-marshal

in the Prussian service, who was dangerously wounded on this occasion.

Meanwhile count Seckendorf, finding it impossible to reduce Widdin

without a squadron of ships on the Danube, turned his arms against

Nissa, which was surrendered to him on the eight-and-twentieth day of

July; but this was the farthest verge of his good fortune. The Turks

attacked the post which the Imperialists occupied along the Danube.

They took the fort of Padudil, burned the town of Has in Wallachia, and

plundered the neighbouring villages. The prince of Saxe-Hilburghausen,

who had invested Bagnalack in Bosnia, was defeated, and obliged to

repass the Saave. Count Seckendorf was recalled to Vienna; and the

command of the army devolved upon count Philippe. Count Kevenhuller was

obliged to retreat from Servia; and Nissa was retaken by the

Mussulmen. The conferences at Niemerow were broken off; and the Turkish

plenipotentiaries returned to Constantinople.

The kingdom of Poland now enjoyed the most perfect repose under the

dominion of Augustus. Ferdinand, the old duke of Courland, dying without

issue, the succession was disputed by the Teutonic order and the

kingdom of Poland, while the states of Courland claimed a right of

election, and sent deputies to Petersburgh, imploring the protection of

the czarina. A body of Russian troops immediately entered that country;

and the states elected the count de Biron, high chamberlain to the

empress of Muscovy. The elector of Cologn, as grand-master of the

Teutonic order, protested against this election; but the king of

Poland agreed to it, on certain conditions settled at Dantzic with the

commissiaries of the new duke and those of the czarina. In the month of

July, John Gaston de Medicis, great duke of Tuscany, died at Florence;

and the prince de Craon took possession of his territories in the name

of the duke of Lorraine, to whom the emperor had already granted the

eventual investiture of that duchy.

DEATH OF CAROLINE, QUEEN CONSORT.

In England the attention of the public was attracted by an open breach

in the royal family. The princess of Wales had advanced to the very last

month of her pregnancy before the king and queen were informed of her

being with child. She was twice conveyed from Hampton-Court to the

palace of St. James’, when her labour-pains were supposed to be

approaching; and at length was delivered of a princess in about two

hours after her arrival. The king being apprised of this event, sent a

message by the earl of Essex to the prince, expressing his displeasure

at the conduct of his royal highness, as an indignity offered to himself

and the queen. The prince deprecated his majesty’s anger in several

submissive letters, and implored the queen’s mediation. The princess

joined her entreaties to those of his royal highness; but all their

humility and supplication proved ineffectual. The king, in another

message sent by the duke of Grafton, observed, that the prince had

removed the princess twice in the week immediately preceding the day of

her delivery, from the place of his majesty’s residence, in expectation

of her labour; and both times, on his return, industriously concealed

from the knowledge of the king and queen every circumstance relating to

this important affair; that at last, without giving any notice to their

majesties, he had precipitately hurried the princess from Hampton-Court

in a condition not to be named; that the whole tenor of his conduct, for

a considerable time, had been so entirely void of all real duty to the

king, that his majesty had reason to be highly offended with him. He

gave him to understand, that until he should withdraw his regard and

confidence from those by whose instigation and advice he was directed

and encouraged in his unwarrantable behaviour to his majesty and the

queen, and return to his duty, he should not reside in the palace; he

therefore signified his pleasure that he should leave St. James’, with

all his family, when it could be done without prejudice or inconvenience

to the princess. In obedience to this order the prince retired to Kew,

and made other efforts to be readmitted into his majesty’s favour,

which, however, he could not retrieve. Whatever might have been his

design in concealing so long from the king and queen the pregnancy of

the princess, and afterwards hurrying her from place to place in such a

condition, to the manifest hazard of her life, his majesty had certainly

cause to be offended at this part of his conduct; though the punishment

seems to have been severe, if not rigorous; for he was not even admitted

into the presence of the queen his mother, to express his duty to her

in her last moments, to implore her forgiveness, and receive her last

blessing. She died of a mortification in her bowels, on the twentieth

day of November, in the fifty-fifth year of her age, regretted as a

princess of uncommon sagacity, and as a pattern of conjugal virtue.

DISPUTE IN PARLIAMENT.

The king opened the session of parliament on the twenty-fourth day of

January, with a short speech recommending the despatch of the public

business with prudence and unanimity. Each house presented a warm

address of condolence on the queen’s death, with which he seemed to be

extremely affected. Though the house of commons unanimously sympathised

with the king in his affliction, the minister still met with

contradiction in some of his favourite measures. One would imagine that

all the arguments for and against a standing army in time of peace had

been already exhausted; but, when it was moved that the same number

of land forces which they had voted in the preceding year should be

continued in pay for the ensuing year, the dispute was renewed with

surprising vivacity, and produced some reasons which had not been

suggested before. The adherents of the minister fairly owned, that

if the army should be disbanded, or even considerably reduced, they

believed the tory interest would prevail; that the present number of

forces was absolutely necessary to maintain the peace of the kingdom,

which was filled with clamour and discontent, as well as to support the

whig interest; and that they would vote for keeping up four times the

number, should it be found expedient for that purpose. The members in

the opposition replied, that this declaration was a severe satire on the

ministry, whose conduct had given birth to such a spirit of discontent.

They said it was in effect a tacit acknowledgment, that what they called

the whig interest was no more than an inconsiderable party, which had

engrossed the administration by indirect methods; which acted contrary

to the sense of the nation; and depended for support upon a military

power, by which the people in general were overawed, and consequently

enslaved. They affirmed, that the discontent of which the ministry

complained, was in a great measure owing to that very standing army,

which perpetuated their taxes, and hung over their heads as the

instruments of arbitrary power and oppression. Lord Polworth explained

the nature of whig principles, and demonstrated that the party which

distinguished itself by this appellation, no longer retained the maxims

by which the whigs were originally characterised. Sir John Hinde

Cotton, who spoke with the courage and freedom of an old English baron,

declared, he never knew a member of that house who acted on true whig

principles, vote for a standing army in time of peace. “I have heard

of whigs,” said he, “who opposed all unlimited votes of credit; I have

heard of whigs who looked upon corruption as the greatest curse that

could befall any nation; I have heard of whigs who esteemed the liberty

of the press to be the most valuable privilege of a free people, and

triennial parliaments as the greatest bulwark of their liberties; and I

have heard of a whig administration which has resented injuries done

to the trade of the nation, and revenged insults offered to the British

flag.” The ministry triumphed as usual, and the same number of forces

was continued.

SPANISH DEPREDATIONS.

Ever since the treaty of Seville, the Spaniards in America had almost

incessantly insulted and distressed the commerce of Great Britain.

They disputed the right of English traders to cut logwood in the bay of

Campeachy, and gather salt in the island of Tortugas; though that right

was acknowledged by implication in all the treaties which had been

lately concluded between the two nations. The captains of their armed

vessels, known by the name of guarda-costas, had made a practice of

boarding and plundering British ships, on pretence of searching for

contraband commodities, on which occasions they had behaved with the

utmost insolence, cruelty, and rapine. Some of their ships of war had

actually attacked a fleet of English merchant ships at the island of

Tortugas, as if they had been at open enmity with England. They had

seized and detained a great number of British vessels, imprisoned their

crews, and confiscated their cargoes, in violation of treaties, in

defiance of common justice and humanity. Repeated memorials were

presented to the court of Spain, by the British ambassador at Madrid. He

was amused with evasive answers, vague promises of inquiry, and cedulas

of instructions sent to the Spanish governors in America, to which

they paid no sort of regard. Not but that the Spaniards had reason

to complain in their turn, of the illicit commerce which the English

traders from Jamaica and other islands, carried on with their subjects

on the continent of South America; though this could not justify the

depredations and cruelties which the commanders of the guarda-costas had

committed, without provocation or pretence.

MOTIVES FOR AVOIDING A WAR.

The merchants of England loudly complained of these outrages; the nation

was fired with resentment, and cried for vengeance; but the minister

appeared cold, phlegmatic, and timorous. He knew that a war would

involve him in such difficulties as must of necessity endanger his

administration. The treasure which he now employed for domestic

purposes, must in that case be expended in military armaments; the

wheels of that machine on which he had raised his influence would no

longer move; the opposition would of consequence gain ground, and the

imposition of fresh taxes, necessary for the maintenance of the war,

would fill up the measure of popular resentment against his person and

ministry. Moved by these considerations, he industriously endeavoured

to avoid a rupture, and to obtain some sort of satisfaction by dint of

memorials and negotiations, in which he betrayed his own fears to such a

degree, as animated the Spaniards to persist in their depredations, and

encouraged the court of Madrid to disregard the remonstrances of the

British ambassador. But this apprehension of war did not proceed from

Spain only; the two branches of the house of Bourbon were now united by

politics, as well as by consanguinity; and he did not doubt that in

case of a rupture with Spain, they would join their forces against

Great Britain. Petitions were delivered to the house by merchants from

different parts of the kingdom, explaining the repeated violences to

which they had been exposed, and imploring relief of the parliament.

These were referred to a committee of the whole house; and an order was

made to admit the petitioners, if they should think fit, to be heard by

themselves or by counsel. Sir John Barnard moved for an address to

the king, that all the memorials and papers relating to the Spanish

depredations should be laid before the house; and this, with some

alteration proposed by sir Robert Walpole, was actually presented.

In compliance with the request, an enormous multitude of letters and

memorials was produced.

The house, in a grand committee, proceeded to hear counsel for the

merchants, and examine evidence; by which it appeared that amazing acts

of wanton cruelty and injustice had been perpetrated by Spaniards on

the subjects of Great Britain. Mr. Pulteney expatiated upon these

circumstances of barbarity. He demonstrated, from treaties, the right

of the British traders to the logwood of Campeachy, and to the salt of

Tortugas; he exposed the pusillanimity of the minister, and the futility

of his negotiations; he moved for such resolutions as would evince the

resentment of an injured nation, and the vigour of a British parliament.

These were warmly combated by sir Robert Walpole, who affirmed, that

they would cramp the ministers in their endeavours to compromise these

differences; that they would frustrate their negotiations, intrench upon

the king’s prerogative, and precipitate the nation into an unnecessary

and expensive war. Answers produced replies, and a general debate

ensued. A resolution was reported; but the question being put for

recommitting it, was carried in the negative. The house, however, agreed

to an address, beseeching his majesty to use his endeavours to obtain

effectual relief for his injured subjects, to convince the court of

Spain that his majesty could no longer suffer such constant and repeated

insults and injuries to be carried on, to the dishonour of his crown,

and to the ruin of his trading subjects; and assuring him, that in case

his royal and friendly instances with the catholic king should miscarry,

the house would effectually support his majesty in taking such measures

as honour and justice should make it necessary for him to pursue. To

this address the king made a favourable answer.

{1738}

BILL FOR SECURING THE TRADE IN AMERICA.

The next important subject on which both sides exercised their talents,

was a bill prepared and brought in by Mr. Pulteney, for the more

effectual securing the trade of his majesty’s subjects in America. This

was no other than the revival of part of two acts passed in the reign of

queen Anne, by which the property of all prizes taken from the enemy

was vested in the captors; while the sovereign was empowered to grant

commissions or charters to any persons or societies, for taking any

ships, goods, harbours, lands, or fortifications of the nation’s enemies

in America, and for holding and enjoying the same as their own property

and estate for ever. The ministry endeavoured to evade the discussion of

this bill, by amusing the house with other business, until an end should

be put to the session. A mean artifice was practised with this view;

and some severe altercation passed between sir Robert Walpole and Mr.

Pulteney. At length the bill was read, and gave rise to a very long

and warm contest, in which the greatest orators of both sides found

opportunities to display their eloquence and satire. Mr. Pulteney

defended the bill with all the ardour of paternal affection; but,

notwithstanding his warmest endeavours, it was rejected upon a division.

When the mutiny bill was sent up to the house of lords, a long debate

arose upon the number of troops voted for the ensuing year. Lord

Carteret explained the situation of affairs, in almost every nation

of Europe, with great conciseness and precision. He demonstrated the

improbability of a rupture between Great Britain and any power against

which a land army could be of any service. He examined the domestic

circumstances of the nation; and proved that whatever discontents there

might be in the kingdom, there was little or no disaffection, and no

seeming design to overturn or disturb the government. In answer to

an argument, that such a number of regular forces were necessary for

preventing or quelling tumults, and for enabling the civil magistrate

to execute the laws of his country, he expressed his hope that he should

never see the nation reduced to such unfortunate circumstances: he said,

a law which the civil power was unable to execute, must either be in

itself oppressive, or such a one as afforded a handle for oppression.

In arguing for a reduction of the forces, he took notice of the

great increase of the national expense. He observed, that before the

revolution, the people of England did not raise above two millions for

the whole of the public charges; but now what was called the current

expense, for which the parliament annually provided, exceeded that sum;

besides the civil list, the interest due to the public creditors,

and the sinking fund, which, added together, composed a burden of

six millions yearly. The earl of Chesterfield, on the same subject,

affirmed, that slavery and arbitrary power were the certain consequences

of keeping up a standing army for any number of years. It is the machine

by which the chains of slavery are rivetted upon a free people. They

may be secretly prepared by corruption; but, unless a standing army

protected those that forged them, the people would break them asunder,

and chop off the polluted hands by which they were prepared. By degrees

a free people must be accustomed to be governed by an army; by degrees

that army must be made strong enough to hold them in subjection.

England had for many years been accustomed to a standing army, under

the pretence of its being necessary to assist the civil power; and

by degrees the number and strength of it have been increasing. At the

accession of the late king it did not exceed six thousand; it soon

amounted to double that number, which has been since augmented under

various pretences. He therefore concluded, that slavery, under the

disguise of an army for protecting the liberties of the people, was

creeping in upon them by degrees; if no reduction should be made, he

declared he should expect in a few years to hear some minister, or

favourite of a minister, terrifying the house with imaginary plots and

invasions, and making the tour of Europe in search of possible dangers,

to show the necessity of keeping up a mercenary standing army, three

times as numerous as the present. In spite of those suggestions, the

standing army maintained its ground. The same noblemen, assisted by

lord Bathurst, distinguished themselves in a debate upon the Spanish

depredations, which comprehended the same arguments that were used

in the house of commons. They met with the same success in both.

Resolutions equivalent to those of the lower house were taken; an

address was presented; and his majesty assured them he would repeat, in

the most pressing manner, his instances at the court of Spain, in order

to obtain satisfaction and security for his subjects trading to America.

This assurance was renewed in his speech at the close of the session, on

the twentieth of May, when the parliament was prorogued.

BIRTH OF PRINCE GEORGE.

At this period the princess of Wales was delivered of a son, who was

baptised by the name of George, now king of Great Britain. His birth was

celebrated with uncommon rejoicings: addresses of congratulation were

presented to the king by the two universities, and by almost all the

cities and communities of the kingdom. But the prince of Wales still

laboured under the displeasure of his majesty, who had ordered the

lord-chamberlain to signify in the gazette, that no person who visited

the prince should be admitted to the court of St. James’. His royal

highness was divested of all the external marks of royalty, and lived

like a private gentleman, cultivating the virtues of a social life, and

enjoying the best fruits of conjugal felicity. In the latter end of

this month, rear-admiral Haddock set sail with a strong squadron for the

Mediterranean, which it was hoped would give weight to the negotiation

of the British minister at the court of Madrid. The act to discourage

the retail of spirituous liquors had incensed the populace to such a

degree, as occasioned numberless tumults in the cities of London

and Westminster. They were so addicted to the use of that pernicious

compound, known by the appellation of gin or geneva, that they ran all

risks rather than forego it entirely; and so little regard was paid to

the law by which it was prohibited, that in less than two years twelve

thousand persons within the bills of mortality were convicted of having

sold it illegally. Nearly one half of that number were cast in the

penalty of one hundred pounds; and three thousand persons paid ten

pounds each, for an exemption from the disgrace of being committed to

the house of correction.

PROGRESS of the WAR AGAINST the TURKS.

The war maintained by the emperor and the czarina against the Ottoman

Porte, had not yet produced any decisive event. Count Seckendorf

was disgraced and confined on account of his ill success in the last

campaign. General Doxat was tried by a council of war at Belgrade, and

condemned to death, for having surrendered to the enemy the town of

Nissa, in which he commanded. The diet of the empire granted a subsidy

of fifty Roman months to the emperor, who began to make vigorous

preparations for the ensuing campaign; but, in the meantime, Ragotski,

vaivode of Transylvania, revolted against the house of Austria, and

brought a considerable army into the field, under the protection of the

grand seignor. He was immediately proclaimed a rebel, and a price set

upon his head by the court of Vienna. The Turks taking the field early,

reduced the forts of Usitza and Meadia, and undertook the siege of

Orsova; which however they abandoned at the approach of the Imperial

army, commanded by the grand duke of Tuscany, assisted by count

Konigsegg. The Turks, being reinforced, marched back and attacked the

Imperialists, by whom they were repulsed after an obstinate engagement.

The Germans, notwithstanding this advantage, repassed the Danube; and

then the infidels made themselves masters of Orsova, where they found

a fine train of artillery, designed for the siege of Widdin. By the

conquest of this place, the Turks laid the Danube open to their galleys

and vessels; and the Germans retired under the cannon of Belgrade. In

the Ukraine, the Russians, under general count Munich, obtained the

advantage over the Turks in two engagements; and general Lasci routed

the Tartars of the Crimea; but they returned in greater numbers,

and harassed the Muscovites in such a manner, by intercepting their

provisions, and destroying the country, that they were obliged to

abandon the lines of Precops.

DISPUTE BETWEEN HANOVER AND DENMARK.

In the month of October, an affair of very small importance produced

a rupture between the king of Denmark and the elector of Hanover. A

detachment of Hanoverians took by assault the castle of Steinhurst,

belonging to the privy-counsellor Wederkop, and defended by thirty

Danish dragoons, who had received orders to repel force by force.

Several men were killed on both sides before the Hanoverians could

enter the place, when the garrison was disarmed, and conducted to the

frontiers. This petty dispute about a small territory, which did not

yield the value of one thousand pounds a-year, had well nigh involved

Hanover in a war, which, in all probability, Great Britain must have

maintained; but this dispute was compromised by a convention between the

king of England and Denmark.

The session of parliament was opened on the first day of February, when

the king in his speech to both houses, gave them to understand that a

convention was concluded and ratified between him and the king of Spain,

who had obliged himself to make reparation to the British subjects for

their losses, by certain stipulated payments; the plenipotentiaries were

named and appointed for regulating, within a limited time, all those

grievances and abuses which had hitherto interrupted the commerce of

Great Britain in the American seas; and for settling all matters in

dispute, in such a manner as might for the future prevent and remove

all new causes and pretences of complaint. The motion for an address

of approbation was disputed as usual. Though the convention was not vet

laid before the house, the nature of it was well known to the leaders of

the opposition. I Sir William Wyndham observed, that if the ministry

had made the resolutions taken by the parliament in the last session

the foundation of their demands; if they had discovered a resolution to

break off all treating, rather than depart from the sense of parliament,

either a defensive treaty might have been obtained, or by this time the

worst would have been known; but, by what appeared from his majesty’s

speech, the convention was no other than a preliminary; and, in all

probability, a very bad preliminary. He supposed the minister had

ventured to clothe some of his creatures with full powers to give up

the rights of the nation; for they might do it if they durst. Sir Robert

Walpole, in answer to these suggestions, affirmed, that the ministry had

on this occasion obtained more than ever on like occasions was known to

be obtained; that they had reconciled the peace of their country with

her true interest; that this peace was attended with all the advantages

that the most successful arms could have procured; that future ages

would consider this as the most glorious period of our history, and

do justice to the councils that produced the happy event, which every

gentleman divested of passion and prejudice was ready to do; and which,

he believed, the present age, when rightly informed, would not refuse.

In a word, he extolled his own convention with the most extravagant

encomiums.

The house resolved to address the king, that copies of all the

memorials, representations, letters, and papers, presented to his

majesty, or his secretary of state, relating to depredations, should

be submitted to the peru sal of the house; but some members in the

opposition were not contented with this resolution. Then Mr. Sandys, who

may be termed the “motion-maker,” moved for an address, desiring that

the house might inspect all letters written, and instructions given by

the secretaries of state, or commissioners of the admiralty, to any of

the British governors in America, or any commander-in-chief, or captains

of his majesty’s ships of war, or his majesty’s minister at the court

of Spain, or any of his majesty’s consuls in Europe, since the treaty of

Seville, relating to losses which the British subjects had sustained by

means of depredations committed by the subjects of Spain in Europe and

America. This was an unreasonable proposal, suggested by the spirit of

animosity and faction. Mr. H. Walpole justly observed, that a compliance

with such an address might lay open the most private transactions of the

cabinet, and discover secrets that ought, for the good of the kingdom,

to be concealed. It would discover to the court of Spain the _ultimatum_

of the king’s demands and concessions, and the nation would thereby be

deprived of many advantages which it might reap, were no such discovery

made. He said, that as soon as the differences betwixt the two courts

should arrive at such a crisis, and not before, the consuls were

instructed to give notice to the merchants that they might retire

in time with their effects; but should such instruction come to the

knowledge of the Spaniards, it would be a kind of watch-word to put them

on their guard, and unavoidably occasion the ruin of many thousands

of British subjects. Certain it is, no government could act either

in external or domestic affairs with proper influence, dignity, and

despatch, if every letter and instruction relating to an unfinished

negotiation should be exposed to the view of such a numerous assembly,

composed of individuals actuated by motives in themselves diametrically

opposite. The motion being rejected by the majority, the same gentleman

moved again for an address, that his majesty would give directions for

laying before the house copies of such memorials or representations as

had been made, either to the king of Spain or to his ministers, since

the treaty of Seville, relating to the depredations committed in Europe

or America. A debate ensued; and, upon a division, the question passed

in the negative.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

PETITIONS AGAINST THE CONVENTION.

The house, in a committee of supply, voted twelve thousand seamen for

the service of the ensuing year, and the standing army was continued

without reduction, though powerfully attacked by the whole strength of

the opposition. The commons likewise ordered an address to his majesty,

for the copies of several memorials since the treaty of Seville,

touching the rights of Great Britain, or any infraction of treaties

which had not been laid before them. These were accordingly submitted to

the inspection of the house. By this time the convention itself was not

only presented to the commons, but also published for the information of

the people. Divers merchants, planters, and others trading to America,

the cities of London and Bristol, the merchants of Liverpool, and

owners of sundry ships which had been seized by the Spaniards, offered

petitions against the convention, by which the subjects of Spain were

so far from giving up their groundless and unjustifiable practice of

visiting and searching British ships sailing to and from the British

plantations, that they appeared to have claimed the power of doing it

as a right; for they insisted that the differences which had arisen

concerning it should be referred to plenipotentiaries, to be discussed

by them without even agreeing to abstain from such visitation and search

during the time that the discussion of this affair might last. They

therefore prayed that they might have an opportunity of being heard, and

allowed to represent the great importance of the British trade to and

from the plantations in America; the clear and un disputable right which

they had to enjoy it, without being stopped, visited, or searched by

the Spaniards, on any pretence whatsoever; and the certain inevitable

destruction of all the riches and strength derived to Great Britain from

that trade, if a search of British ships sailing to and from their

own plantations should be tolerated upon any pretext, or under any

restrictions, or even if the freedom of this navigation should continue

much longer in a state of uncertainty. These petitions were referred

to the committee appointed to consider of the convention. Another

remonstrance was likewise presented by the trustees for establishing

the colony of Georgia, setting forth that the king of Spain claimed

that colony as part of his territories; and that by the convention, the

regulation of the limits of Carolina and Florida was referred to the

determination of plenipotentiaries; so that the colony of Georgia, which

undoubtedly belonged to the crown of Great Britain, was left in dispute,

while the settlers remained in the most precarious and dangerous

situation. It was moved that the merchants should be heard by their

counsel; but the proposal was strenuously opposed by the ministry, and

rejected upon a division.

This famous convention, concluded at the Pardo on the fourteenth day of

January, imported, that within six weeks to be reckoned from the day on

which the ratifications were exchanged, two ministers plenipotentiaries

should meet at Madrid, to confer, and finally regulate the respective

pretentions of the two crowns, with relation to the trade and navigation

in America and Europe, and to the limits of Florida and Carolina, as

well as concerning other points which remained likewise to be adjusted,

according to the former treaties subsisting between the two nations:

that the plenipotentiaries should finish their conferences within the

space of eight months: that in the meantime no progress should be made

in the fortifications of Florida and Carolina: that his catholic majesty

should pay to the king of Great Britain, the sum of ninety-five thousand

pounds, for a balance due to the crown and subjects of Great Britain,

after deduction made of the demands of the crown and subjects of Spain:

that this sum should be employed for the satisfaction, discharge, and

payment of the demands of the British subjects upon the crown of Spain:

that this reciprocal discharge, however, should not extend or relate

to the accounts and differences which subsisted and were to be settled

between the crown of Spain and the assiento company, nor to any

particular or private contracts that might subsist between either of

the two crowns, or their ministers, with the subjects of the other;

or between the subjects of each nation respectively: that his catholic

majesty should cause the sum of ninety-five thousand pounds to be paid

at London within four mouths, to be reckoned from the day on which the

ratifications were exchanged. Such was the substance of that convention,

which alarmed and provoked the merchants and traders of Great Britain,

excited the indignation of all those who retained any regard for the

honour of their country, and raised a general cry against the minister

who stood at the helm of administration.

DEBATE ON THE CONTENTION.

The eyes of the whole kingdom were now turned upon the house of

commons. The two contending parties summoned their whole force for

the approaching dispute; on the day appointed for considering the

convention, four hundred members had taken their seats by eight in the

morning. In a committee of the whole house, certain West India merchants

and planters were heard against the convention; so that this and

the following day were employed in reading papers, and obtaining

information. On the eighth day of March, Mr. H. Walpole having launched

out in the praise of that agreement, moved for an address of approbation

to his majesty. He was seconded by Mr. Campbell of Pembrokeshire; and

the debate began with extraordinary ardour. He who first distinguished

himself in the lists was sir Thomas Sanderson, at that time treasurer

to the prince of Wales, afterwards earl of Scarborough. All the officers

and adherents of his royal highness had joined the opposition; and he

himself on this occasion sat in the gallery, to hear the debate on

such an important transaction. Sir Thomas Sanderson observed, that

the Spaniards by the convention, instead of giving us reparation, had

obliged us to give them a general release. They had not allowed the word

satisfaction to be so much as once mentioned in the treaty. Even the

Spanish pirate who had cut off the ear of captain Jenkins, [260]

_[See note 2 L at the end of this Vol.]_ and used the most insulting

expression towards the person of the king--an expression which no

British subject could decently repeat--an expression which no man that

had a regard for his sovereign could ever forgive--even this fellow

lived to enjoy the fruits of his rapine, and remained a living testimony

of the cowardly tameness and mean submission of Great Britain; of the

triumphant haughtiness and stubborn pride of Spain. Lord Gage, one of

the most keen spirited and sarcastic orators in the house, stated in

this manner the account of the satisfaction obtained from the court

of Spain by the convention; the losses sustained by the Spanish

depredations amounted to three hundred and forty thousand pounds; the

commissary by a stroke of his pen reduced his demand to two hundred

thousand pounds; then forty-five thousand were struck off for prompt

payment; he next allotted sixty thousand pounds as the remaining part of

a debt pretended to be due to Spain, for the destruction of her fleet

by sir George Byng, though it appeared by the instructions on the

table, that Spain had been already amply satisfied on that head; these

deductions reduced the balance to ninety-five thousand pounds; but the

king of Spain insisted upon the South-Sea company’s paying immediately

the sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds, as a debt due to him on one head

of accounts, though in other articles his catholic majesty was indebted

to the company a million over and above the demand; the remainder to

be paid by Spain did not exceed seven-and-twenty thousand pounds, from

which she insisted upon deducting whatever she might have already given

in satisfaction for any of the British ships that had been taken; and

on being allowed the value of the St. Theresa, a Spanish ship which

had been seized in the port of Dublin. Mr. W. Pitt, with an energy

of argument and diction peculiar to himself, declaimed against the

convention, as insecure, unsatisfactory, and dishonourable to Great

Britain. He said the great national objection, the searching of British

ships, was not admitted, indeed, in the preamble; but stood there as the

reproach of the whole, as the strongest evidence of the fatal submission

that followed; on the part of Spain, an usurpation, an inhuman tyranny

claimed and exercised over the American seas: on the part of England,

an undoubted right by treaties, and from God and nature, declared and

asserted in the resolutions of parliament, were now referred to the

discussion of plenipotentiaries, upon one and the same equal footing.

This undoubted right was to be discussed and regulated; and if to

regulate be to prescribe rules, as in all construction it is, that

right was, by the express words of the convention, to be given up and

sacrificed; for it must cease to be any thing from the moment it is

submitted to limitation. Mr. Lyttelton, with equal force and fluency,

answered the speech of Mr. H. Walpole. “After he had used many arguments

to persuade us to peace,” said he, “to any peace, good or bad, by

pointing out the dangers of a war, dangers I by no means allow to be

such as he represents them, he crowned all those terrors with the name

of the pretender. It would be the cause of the pretender. The pretender

would come. Is the honourable gentleman sensible what this language

imports? The people of England complain of the greatest wrongs and

indignities; they complain of the interruption, the destruction of their

trade; they think the peace has left them in a worse condition than

before; and in answer to all these complaints, what are they told? Why,

that their continuing to suffer all this, is the price they must pay to

keep the king and his family on the throne of these realms. If this

were true, it ought not to be owned; but it is far from truth; the

very reverse is true. Nothing can weaken the family; nothing shake the

establishment, but such measures as these, and such language as this.”

He affirmed, that if the ministers had proceeded conformably to the

intentions of parliament, they would either have acted with vigour, or

have obtained a real security in an express acknowledgment of our right

not to be searched as a preliminary, _sine qua non_, to our treating at

all. Instead of this, they had referred it to plenipotentiaries. “Would

you, sir,” said he, “submit to a reference, whether you may travel

unmolested from your house in town to your house in the country? Your

right is clear and undeniable, why would you have it discussed? but much

less would you refer it, if two of your judges belonged to a gang

which has often stopped and robbed you in your way thither before.”

The ministers, in vindication of the convention, asserted, that the

satisfaction granted by Spain was adequate to the injury received; that

it was only the preliminary of a treaty which would remove all causes

of complaint; that war was always expensive and detrimental to a trading

nation, as well as uncertain in its events; that France and Spain would

certainly join their forces in case of a rupture with Great Britain;

that there was not one power in Europe upon which the English could

depend for effectual assistance; and that war would favour the cause and

designs of a popish pretender. The house, upon a division, agreed to the

address; but when a motion was made for its being recommitted, the two

parties renewed the engagement with redoubled eagerness and impetuosity.

Sir William Wyndham and Mr. Pulteney poured all the thunder of their

eloquence against the insolence of Spain, and the concessions of the

British ministry. Sir Robert Walpole exerted all his fortitude and

dexterity in defence of himself and his measures, and the question being

put, the resolutions for the address were carried by a small majority.

SECESSION OF THE CHIEF MEMBERS IN THE OPPOSITION.

Then sir William Wyndham, standing up, made a pathetic remonstrance

upon this determination. “This address,” said he, “is intended

to convince mankind, that the treaty under our consideration is a

reasonable and an honourable treaty. But if a majority of twenty-eight

in such a full house should fail of that success; if the people should

not implicitly resign their reason to a vote of this house, what will be

the consequence? Will not the parliament lose its authority? Will it not

be thought, that even in the parliament we are governed by a faction?

and what the consequence of this may be, I leave to those gentlemen to

consider, who are now to give their vote for this address: for my own

part, I will trouble you no more, but, with these my last words, I

sincerely pray to Almighty God, who has so often wonderfully protected

these kingdoms, that he will graciously continue his protection over

them, by preserving us from that impending danger which threatens the

nation from without, and likewise from that impending danger which

threatens our constitution from within.” The minister was on this

occasion deserted by his usual temper, and even provoked into personal

abuse. He declared, that the gentleman who was now the mouth of his

opponents, had been looked upon as the head of those traitors, who,

twenty-five years before, conspired the destruction of their country and

of the royal family, in order to set a popish pretender upon the throne;

that he was seized by the vigilance of the then government, and pardoned

by its clemency; but all the use he had ungratefully made of that

clemency, was to qualify himself according to law, that he and his party

might sometime or other have an opportunity to overthrow all law.

He branded them all as traitors, and expressed his hope, that their

behaviour would unite all the true friends of the present happy

establishment. To such a degree of mutual animosity were both sides

inflamed, that the most eminent members of the minority actually retired

from parliament; and were by the nation in general revered as martyrs to

the liberty of the people.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS DEBATE UPON AN ADDRESS TO HIS MAJESTY.

The dispute occasioned by the convention in the house of lords, was

maintained with equal warmth, and perhaps with more abilities. After

this famous treaty had been considered, lord Carteret suggested, that

possibly one of the contracting powers had presented a protest or

declaration, importing that she acceded to such or such a measure, only

upon condition that the terms of that protest or declaration should be

made good. He said, that until his mind should be free from the most

distant suspicion that such a paper might exist in the present case,

he could not form a just opinion of the transaction himself, nor

communicate to their lordships any light which might be necessary for

that purpose. The adherents to the ministry endeavoured to evade his

curiosity in this particular, by general assertions; but he insisted

on his suspicion with such perseverance, that at length the ministry

produced the copy of a declaration made by the king of Spain before he

ratified the convention, signifying that his catholic majesty reserved

to himself, in its full force, the right of being able to suspend the

assiento of negroes, in case the company should not pay within a short

time the sum of sixty-eight thousand pounds sterling, owing to Spain on

the duty of negroes, or on the profit of the ship Caroline; that

under the validity and force of this protest, the signing of the said

convention might be proceeded on, and in no other manner. In the debate

that ensued, lord Carteret displayed a surprising extent of political

knowledge, recommended by all the graces of elocution, chaste, pure,

dignified, and delicate. Lord Bathurst argued against the articles

of convention with his usual spirit, integrity, and good sense,

particularly animated by an honest indignation which the wrongs of his

country had inspired. The earl of Chesterfield attacked this inglorious

measure with all the weight of argument, and all the poignancy of

satire. The duke of Argyle, no longer a partisan of the ministry,

inveighed against it as infamous, treacherous, and destructive, with all

the fire, impetuosity, and enthusiasm of declamation. It was defended

with unequal arms by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley,

lord Hervey, the lord chancellor, the bishop of Salisbury, and in

particular by the earl of Hay, a nobleman of extensive capacity and

uncommon erudition; remarkable for his knowledge of the civil law,

and seemingly formed by nature for a politician; cool, discerning,

plausible, artful, and enterprising, staunch to the minister, and

invariably true to his own interest. The dispute was learned, long,

and obstinate; but ended as usual in the discomfiture of those who had

stigmatized the treaty. The house agreed to an address, in which they

thanked his majesty for his gracious condescension in laying before them

the convention. They acknowledged his great prudence in bringing the

demands of his subjects for their past losses, which had been so long

depending, to a final adjustment; in procuring an express stipulation

for a speedy payment; and in laying a foundation for accomplishing the

great and desirable ends of obtaining future security, and preserving

the peace between the two nations. They declared their confidence in

his royal wisdom, that in the treaty to be concluded in pursuance of

the convention, proper provisions would be made for the redress of the

grievances of which the nation had so justly complained; they assured

his majesty, that in case his just expectations should not be answered,

the house would heartily and zealously concur in all such measures as

should be necessary to vindicate his majesty’s honour, and to preserve

to his subjects the full enjoyment of all those rights to which they

were entitled by treaty and the law of nations. This was a hard won

victory. At the head of those who voted against the address we find the

prince of Wales. His example was followed by six dukes, two-and-twenty

earls, four viscounts, eighteen barons, four bishops, and their party

was reinforced by sixteen proxies. A spirited protest was entered and

subscribed by nine-and-thirty peers, comprehending all the noblemen

of the kingdom who were most eminent for their talents, integrity, and

virtue.

{1739}

A message having been delivered to the house from his majesty,

importing, that he had settled nine-and-thirty thousand pounds per

annum on the younger children of the royal family; and desiring their

lordships would bring in a bill to enable his majesty to make that

provision good out of the hereditary revenues of the crown, some lords

in the opposition observed that the next heir to the crown might look

upon this settlement as a mortgage of his revenue, which a parliament

had no power to make; that formerly no daughter of the royal family was

ever provided for by parliament, except the eldest, and that never was

by way of annuity, but an express provision of a determinate sum of

money paid by way of dowry. These objections were overruled; and the

house complied with his majesty’s request. Then the duke of Newcastle

produced a subsidy-treaty, by which his majesty obliged himself to pay

to the king of Denmark seventy thousand pounds per annum, on condition

of the Dane’s furnishing to his Britannic majesty a body of six thousand

men, when demanded. At the same time his grace delivered a message from

the king, desiring the house would enable him to fulfil this engagement;

and also to raise what money and troops the exigency of affairs, during

the approaching recess, might require. Another vehement dispute arose

from this proposal. With respect to the treaty, lord Carteret observed,

that no use could be made of the Danish troops in any expedition

undertaken against Spain, because it was stipulated in the treaty that

they should not be used either in Italy, or on board of the fleet, or

be transported in whole or in part beyond sea, after they should have

marched out of the territories of Denmark, except for the defence of the

kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland; nay, should France join against

the English, the Danes could not act against that power or Spain, except

as part of an army formed in Germany or Flanders. This body of Danes

may be said, therefore, to have been retained for the defence and

protection of Hanover; or, if the interest of Britain was at all

consulted in the treaty, it must have been in preventing the Danes from

joining their fleets to those of France or Spain. Then he argued against

the second part of the message with great vivacity. He said nothing

could be more dangerous to the constitution than a general and unlimited

vote of credit. Such a demand our ancestors would have heard with

amazement, and rejected with scorn. He affirmed that the practice was

of modern date in England; that it was never heard of before the

revolution; and never became frequent until the nation was blessed with

the present wise administration. He said, if ever a general vote of

credit and confidence should become a customary compliment from the

parliament to the crown at the end of every session, or as often as the

minister might think fit to desire it, parliaments would grow despicable

in the eyes of the people; then a proclamation might be easily

substituted in its stead, and happy would it be for the nation if that

should be sufficient; for when a parliament ceases to be a check upon

ministers, it becomes a useless and unnecessary burden on the people.

The representatives must always be paid some way or other; if their

wages are not paid openly and surely by their respective constituents,

as they were formerly, a majority of them may in future times be always

ready to accept of wages from the administration, and these must come

out of the pockets of the people. The duke of Argyle and the earl of

Chesterfield enlarged upon the same topics. Nevertheless, the house

complied with the message; and presented an address, in which they

not only approved of the treaty with Denmark, but likewise assured

his majesty they would concur with his measures, and support him

in fulfilling his engagements, as well as in making such further

augmentation of his forces by sea and land, as he should think necessary

for the honour, interest, and safety of these kingdoms.

PARLIAMENT PROROGUED.

The same message being communicated to the commons, they voted seventy

thousand five hundred and eighty-three pounds for the subsidy to

Denmark, and five hundred thousand pounds for augmenting the forces on

any emergency. As Great Britain stood engaged by the convention to pay

to the crown of Spain the sum of sixty thousand pounds in consideration

of the ships taken and destroyed by sir George Byng, which sum was to be

applied to the relief of the British merchants who had suffered by the

Spanish depredations, the commons inserted in a bill a clause providing

for this sum to be paid by the parliament. When the bill was read in the

house of lords, a motion was made by lord Bathurst for an address, to

know, whether Spain had paid the money stipulated by the convention,

as the time limited for the payment of it was now expired. The duke of

Newcastle, by his majesty’s permission, acquainted the house that it was

not paid, and that Spain had as yet given no reason for the non-payment.

Then a day was appointed to consider the state of the nation, when

lord Carteret moved for a resolution, that the failure of Spain in

this particular was a breach of the convention, a high indignity to his

majesty, and an injustice to the nation; but, after a warm debate, this

motion was overruled by the majority. The minister, in order to atone

in some measure for the unpopular step he had taken in the convention,

allowed a salutary law to pass for the encouragement of the woollen

manufacture, and two bills in behalf of the sugar colonies; one

permitting them, for a limited time, to export their produce directly

to foreign parts, under proper restrictions; and the other making more

effectual provisions for securing the duties laid upon the importation

of foreign sugars, rum, and molasses, into Great Britain, and his

majesty’s plantations in America. The supplies being voted, the funds

established, and the crown gratified in every particular, the king

closed the session with a speech on the fourteenth day of June, when the

chancellor in his majesty’s name prorogued the parliament. [262] _[See

note 2 M, at the end of this Vol.]_

THE KING OF SPAIN PUBLISHES A MANIFESTO.

Letters of marque and reprisal were granted against the Spaniards; a

promotion was made of general officers; the troops were augmented;

a great fleet was assembled at Spithead; a reinforcement sent out

to admiral Haddock; and an embargo laid on all merchant ships

outward-bound. Notwithstanding these preparations of war, Mr. Keen, the

British minister at Madrid, declared to the court of Spain, that his

master, although he had permitted his subjects to make reprisals, would

not be understood to have broken the peace; and that this permission

would be recalled as soon as his catholic majesty should be disposed to

make the satisfaction which had been so justly demanded. He was given to

understand, that the king of Spain looked upon those reprisals as acts

of hostility; and that he hoped, with the assistance of heaven and

his allies, he should be able to support a good cause against his

adversaries. He published a manifesto in justification of his own

conduct, complaining that admiral Haddock had received orders to cruise

with his squadron between the capes St. Vincent and St. Mary, in

order to surprise the Assogue ships; that letters of reprisal had

been published at London in an indecent style, and even carried into

execution in different parts of the world. He excused his non-payment

of the ninety-five thousand pounds stipulated in the convention, by

affirming that the British court had first contravened the articles of

that treaty, by the orders sent to Haddock; by continuing to fortify

Georgia; by reinforcing the squadron at Jamaica; and by eluding the

payment of the sixty-eight thousand pounds due to Spain from the

South-Sea company, on the assiento for negroes. The French ambassador at

the Hague declared that the king his master was obliged by treaties

to assist his catholic majesty by sea and land, in case he should be

attacked; he dissuaded the states-general from espousing the quarrel

of Great Britain; and they assured him they would observe a strict

neutrality, though they could not avoid furnishing his Britannic

majesty with such succours as he could demand, by virtue of the treaties

subsisting between the two powers. The people of England were inspired

with uncommon alacrity at the near prospect of war, for which they had

so long clamoured; and the ministry seeing it unavoidable, began to be

earnest and effectual in their preparations.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

THE EMPEROR AND CZARINA CONCLUDE A PEACE WITH THE TURKS.

The events of war were still unfavourable to the emperor. He had

bestowed the command of his army upon velt-mareschal count Wallis, who

assembled his forces in the neighbourhood of Belgrade; and advanced

towards Crotska, where he was attacked by the Turks with such

impetuosity and perseverance, that he was obliged to give ground, after

a long and obstinate engagement, in which he lost above six thousand

men. The earl of Crawford, who served as a volunteer in the Imperial

army, signalised his courage in an extraordinary manner on this

occasion, and received a dangerous wound of which he never perfectly

recovered. The Turks were afterwards worsted at Jabouka; nevertheless,

their grand army invested Belgrade on the side of Servia, and carried

on the operations of the siege with extraordinary vigour. The emperor,

dreading the loss of this place, seeing his finances exhausted, and

his army considerably diminished, consented to a negotiation for peace,

which was transacted under the mediation of the French ambassador at the

Ottoman Porte. The count de Neuperg, as Imperial plenipotentiary, signed

the preliminaries on the first day of September. They were ratified by

the emperor, though he pretended to be dissatisfied with the articles;

and declared that his minister had exceeded his powers. By this treaty

the house of Austria ceded to the grand seignor, Belgrade, Sabatz,

Servia, Austrian Wallachia, the isle and fortress of Orsova, with the

fort of St. Elizabeth; and the contracting powers agreed that the Danube

and the Saave should serve as boundaries to the two empires. The emperor

published a circular letter, addressed to his ministers at all the

courts of Europe, blaming count Wallis for the bad success of the last

campaign, and disowning the negotiations of count Neuperg; nay, these

two officers were actually disgraced, and confined in different castles.

This, however, was no other than a sacrifice to the resentment of the

czarina, who loudly complained that the emperor had concluded a separate

peace, contrary to his engagements with the Russian empire. Her general,

count Munich, had obtained a victory over the Turks at Choczim in

Moldavia, and made himself master of that place, in which he found two

hundred pieces of artillery; but the country was so ruined by the

incursions of the Tartars, that the Muscovites could not subsist in it

during the winter. The czarina finding herself abandoned by the emperor,

and unable to cope with the whole power of the Ottoman empire, took the

first opportunity of putting an end to the war upon honourable terms.

After a short negotiation, the conferences ended in a treaty, by which

she was left in possession of Azoph, on condition that its

fortifications should be demolished; and the ancient limits were

re-established between the two empires.

PREPARATIONS FOR WAR IN ENGLAND.

A rupture between Great Britain and Spain was now become inevitable. The

English squadron in the Mediterranean had already made prize of two

rich Caracca ships. The king had issued orders for augmenting his land

forces, and raising a body of marines; and a great number of ships of

war were put in commission. Admiral Vernon had been sent to the West

Indies, to assume the command of the squadron in those seas, and to

annoy the trade and settlements of the Spaniards. This gentleman

had rendered himself considerable in the house of commons, by loudly

condemning all the measures of the ministry, and bluntly speaking

his sentiments, whatever they were, without respect of persons, and

sometimes without any regard to decorum. He was counted a good officer,

and this boisterous manner seemed to enhance his character. As he had

once commanded a squadron in Jamaica, he was perfectly well acquainted

with those seas; and in a debate upon the Spanish depredations, he

chanced to affirm, that Porto Bello on the Spanish main might be easily

taken; nay, he even undertook to reduce it with six ships only. This

officer was echoed from the mouths of all the members in the opposition.

Vernon was extolled as a another Drake or Raleigh; he became the idol of

a party, and his praise resounded from all corners of the kingdom.

The minister, in order to appease the clamours of the people on this

subject, sent him as commander-in-chief to the West Indies. He was

pleased with an opportunity to remove such a troublesome censor from

the house of commons; and, perhaps, he was not without hope, that Vernon

would disgrace himself and his party, by failing in the exploit he had

undertaken. His catholic majesty having ordered all the British ships in

his harbours to be seized and detained, the king of England would

keep measures with him no longer, but denounced war against him on

the twenty-third day of October. Many English merchants began to equip

privateers, and arm their trading vessels to protect their own commerce,

as well as to distress that of the enemy. The session of parliament

was opened in November, when the king, in his speech to both houses,

declared, that he had augmented his forces by sea and land, pursuant to

the power vested in him by parliament for the security of his dominions,

the protection of trade, and the annoyance of the enemy; and he

expressed his apprehension, that the heats and animosities which had

been industriously fomented throughout the kingdom, encouraged Spain to

act in such a manner as rendered it necessary for him to have recourse

to arms. In answer to this speech, affectionate addresses were presented

by both houses, without any considerable opposition.

The seceding members had again resumed their seats in the house of

commons; and Mr. Pulteney thought proper to vindicate the extraordinary

step which they had taken. He said, they thought that step was

necessary, as affairs then stood, for clearing their characters to

posterity from the imputation of sitting in an assembly, where a

determined majority gave a sanction to measures evidently to the

disgrace of his majesty and the nation. He observed, that their conduct

was so fully justified by the declaration of war against Spain, that any

further vindication would be superfluous; for every assertion contained

in it had been almost in the same words insisted upon by those who

opposed the convention: “every sentence in it,” added he, “is an echo

of what was said in our reasonings against that treaty; every positive

truth which the declaration lays down, was denied with the utmost

confidence by those who spoke for the convention; and, since that

time, there has not one event happened which was not then foreseen

and foretold.” He proposed, that in maintaining the war, the Spanish

settlements in the West Indies should be attacked; and that the ministry

should not have the power to give up the conquests that might be made.

He said he heartily wished, for his majesty’s honour and service, that

no mention had been made of heats and animosities, in the king’s speech;

and gave it as his opinion, that they should take no notice of that

clause in their address. He was answered by sir Robert Walpole, who

took occasion to say, he was in no great concern lest the service of his

majesty or the nation should suffer by the absence of those members who

had quitted the house; he affirmed, the nation was generally sensible,

that the many useful and popular acts which passed towards the end

of the last session, were greatly forwarded and facilitated by the

secession of those gentlemen; and, if they were returned only to oppose

and perplex, he should not be at all sorry to see them secede again.

PENSION-BILL REVIVED AND LOST.

Mr. Pulteney revived the bill which he had formerly prepared for the

encouragement of seamen. After a long dispute, and eager opposition by

the ministry, it passed both houses, and obtained the royal assent. Mr.

Sandys having observed, that there could be no immediate use for a great

number of forces in the kingdom; and explained how little service could

be expected from raw and undisciplined men; proposed an address to the

king, desiring that the body of marines should be composed of drafts

from the old regiments; that as few officers should be appointed as the

nature of the case would permit; and he expressed his hope, that the

house would recommend this method to his majesty, in tender compassion

to his people, already burdened with many heavy and grievous taxes. This

scheme was repugnant to the intention of the ministry, whose aim was to

increase the number of their dependents, and extend their parliamentary

interest, by granting a great number of commissions. The proposal was,

therefore, after a long debate, rejected by the majority. Motions

wore made for an inquiry into the conduct of those who concluded the

convention; but they were overruled. The pension-bill was revived, and

so powerfully supported by the eloquence of sir William Wyndham, Mr.

Pulteney, and Mr. Lyttelton, that it made its way through the commons to

the upper house, where it was again lost, upon a division, after a very

long debate. As the seamen of the kingdom expressed uncommon aversion to

the service of the government, and the fleet could not be manned without

great difficulty, the ministry prepared a bill, which was brought in by

sir Charles Wager, for registering all seamen, watermen, fishermen, and

lightermen, throughout his majesty’s dominions. Had this bill passed

into a law, a British sailor would have been reduced to the most abject

degree of slavery; had he removed from a certain district allotted for

the place of his residence, he would have been deemed a deserter,

and punished accordingly; he must have appeared when summoned, at all

hazards, whatever might have been the circumstances of his family, or

the state of his private affairs; had he been encumbered with debt,

he must have either incurred the penalties of this law, or lain at the

mercy of his creditors; had he acquired by industry, or received by

inheritance, an ample fortune, he would have been liable to be torn from

his possessions, and subjected to hardships which no man would endure

but from the sense of fear or indigence. The bill was so vigorously

opposed by sir John Barnard and others, as a flagrant encroachment upon

the liberties of the people, that the house rejected it on the second

reading.

PORTO BELLO TAKEN by ADMIRAL VERNON.

The king having by message communicated to the house his intention of

disposing of the princess Mary in marriage to prince Frederick of Hesse;

and expressing his hope that the commons would enable him to give a

suitable portion to his daughter, they unanimously resolved to grant

forty thousand pounds for that purpose; and presented an address of

thanks to his majesty for having communicated to the house this intended

marriage. On the thirteenth day of March a ship arrived from the West

Indies, despatched by admiral Vernon, with an account of his having

taken Porto Bello, on the isthmus of Darien, with six ships only, and

demolished all the fortifications of the place. The Spaniards acted with

such pusillanimity on this occasion, that their forts were taken almost

without bloodshed. The two houses of parliament joined in an address of

congratulation upon the success of his majesty’s arms; and the nation

in general was wonderfully elated by an exploit which was magnified

much above its merit. The commons granted every thing the crown

thought proper to demand. They provided for eight-and-twenty thousand

land-forces, besides six thousand marines. They enabled his majesty

to equip a very powerful navy; they voted the subsidy to the king

of Denmark; and they empowered their sovereign to defray certain

extraordinary expenses not specified in the estimates. To answer these

uncommon grants, they imposed a land-tax of four shillings in the pound;

and enabled his majesty to deduct twelve hundred thousand pounds from

the sinking fund; in a word, the expense of the war, during the course

of the ensuing year, amounted to about four millions. The session was

closed on the twenty-ninth day of April, when the king thanked the

commons for the supplies they had so liberally granted, and recommended

union and moderation to both houses.

{1740}

During the greatest part of this winter, the poor had been grievously

afflicted in consequence of a severe frost, which began at Christmas,

and continued till the latter end of February. The river Thames was

covered with such a crust of ice, that a multitude of people dwelt

upon it in tents, and a great number of booths were erected for the

entertainment of the populace. The navigation was entirely stopped;

the watermen and fishermen were disabled from earning a livelihood; the

fruits of the earth were destroyed by the cold, which was so extreme,

that many persons were chilled to death; and this calamity was the more

deeply felt, as the poor could not afford to supply themselves with

coals and fuel, which were advanced in proportion to the severity and

continuance of the frost. The lower class of labourers, who worked in

the open air, were now deprived of all means of subsistence; many kinds

of manufacture were laid aside, because it was found impracticable to

carry them on. The price of all sorts of provisions rose almost to a

dearth; even water was sold in the streets of London. In this season of

distress, many wretched families must have perished by cold and hunger,

had not those of opulent fortunes been inspired with a remarkable spirit

of compassion and humanity. Nothing can more redound to the honour

of the English nation, than did those instances of benevolence and

well-conducted charity which were then exhibited. The liberal hand was

not only opened to the professed beggar, and the poor that owned their

distress, but uncommon pains were taken to find out and relieve those

more unhappy objects, who, from motives of false pride or ingenuous

shame, endeavoured to conceal their misery.

These were assisted almost in their own despite. The solitary

habitations of the widow, the fatherless, and the unfortunate,

were visited by the beneficent, who felt for the woes of their

fellow-creatures; and to such as refused to receive a portion of the

public charity, the necessaries of life were privately conveyed, in such

a manner as could least shock the delicacy of their dispositions.

MARRIAGE OF THE PRINCESS MARY TO THE PRINCE OF HESSE.

In the beginning of May, the king of Great Britain set out for Hanover,

after having appointed a regency, and concerted vigorous measures for

distressing the enemy. In a few days after his departure, the spousals

of the princess Mary were celebrated by proxy, the duke of Cumberland

representing the prince of Hesse, and in June the princess embarked

for the continent. About the same time, a sloop arrived in England with

despatches from admiral Vernon, who, since his adventure at Porto Bello,

had bombarded Carthagena, and taken the fort of San Lorenzo, on the

river of Chagre, in the neighbourhood of his former conquest. This month

was likewise marked by the death of his Prussian majesty, a prince by no

means remarkable for great or amiable qualities. He was succeeded on the

throne by Frederick his eldest son, the late king of that realm, who

has so eminently distinguished himself as a warrior and legislator. In

August, the king of Great Britain concluded a treaty with the landgrave

of Hesse, who engaged to furnish him with a body of six thousand men

for four years, in consideration of an annual subsidy of two hundred and

fifty thousand crowns.

STRONG ARMAMENT SENT TO THE WEST INDIES.

Meanwhile, preparations of war were vigorously carried on by the

ministry in England. They had wisely resolved to annoy the Spaniards in

their American possessions. Three ships of war, cruising in the bay of

Biscay, fell in with a large Spanish ship of the line, strongly manned,

and took her after a very obstinate engagement; but the Assogue ships

arrived with the treasure in Spain, notwithstanding the vigilance of

the English commanders, who were stationed in a certain latitude to

intercept that flota. One camp was formed on Hounslow-heath; and six

thousand marines lately levied were encamped on the Isle of Wight, in

order to be embarked for the West Indies. Intelligence being received

that a strong squadron of Spanish ships of war waited at Ferrol for

orders to sail to their American settlements, sir John Norris sailed

with a powerful fleet from Spithead to dispute their voyage; and the

duke of Cumberland served in person as a volunteer in this expedition;

but, after divers fruitless efforts, he was, by contrary winds, obliged

to lie inactive for the greatest part of the summer in Torbay; and,

upon advice that the French and Spanish squadrons had sailed to the West

Indies in conjunction, the design against Ferrol was wholly laid aside.

In September, a small squadron of ships, commanded by commodore Anson,

set sail for the South-Sea, in order to act against the enemy on the

coast of Chili and Peru, and co-operate occasionally with admiral Vernon

across the isthmus of Darien. The scheme was well laid, but ruined by

unnecessary delays and unforeseen accidents. But the hopes of the nation

centered chiefly in a formidable armament designed for the northern

coast of now Spain, and his catholic majesty’s other settlements on that

side of the Atlantic. Commissions had been issued for raising a regiment

of four battalions in the English colonies of North America, that they

might be transported to Jamaica, and join the forces from England.

These, consisting of the marines and detachments from some old

regiments, were embarked in October at the Isle of Wight, under the

command of lord Cathcart, a nobleman of approved honour, and great

experience in the art of war; and they sailed under convoy of sir

Chaloner Ogle, with a fleet of seven-and-twenty ships of the line,

besides frigates, fire-ships, bomb-ketches, and tenders. They were

likewise furnished with hospital ships and store ships, laden with

provisions, ammunition, all sorts of warlike implements, and every kind

of convenience. Never was an armament more completely equipped, and

never had the nation more reason to hope for extraordinary success.

DEATH OF THE EMPEROR AND CZARINA.

On the twentieth day of October, Charles VI., emperor of Germany, the

last prince of the house of Austria, died at Vienna, and was succeeded

in his hereditary dominions by his eldest daughter’, the archduchess

Maria Theresa, married to the grand duke of Tuscany. Though this

princess succeeded as queen of Hungary, by virtue of the pragmatic

sanction guaranteed by all the powers in Europe, her succession produced

such contests as kindled a cruel war in the empire. The young king of

Prussia was no sooner informed of the emperor’s death, than he entered

Silesia at the head of twenty thousand men; seized certain fiefs to

which his family laid claim; and published a manifesto, declaring that

he had no intention to contravene the pragmatic sanction. The elector of

Bavaria refused to acknowledge the archduchess as queen of Hungary and

Bohemia; alleging, that he himself had pretensions to those countries,

as the descendant of the emperor Ferdinand I., who was head of the

German branch of the house of Austria. Charles VI. was survived but

a few days by his ally, the czarina Anne Iwanowna, who died in the

forty-fifth year of her age, after having bequeathed her crown to Iwan,

or John, the infant son of her niece, the princess Anne of

Mecklenburgh, who had been married to Anthony Ulrick, duke of Brunswick

Lunenberg-Bevern. She appointed the duke of Courland regent of the

empire, and even guardian of the young czar, though his own parents were

alive; but this disposition was not long maintained.

PROCEEDINGS IN PARLIAMENT.

The king of Great Britain having returned to England from his German

dominions, the session of parliament was opened in November. His majesty

assured them, on this occasion, that he was determined to prosecute the

war vigorously, even though France should espouse the cause of Spain,

as her late conduct seemed to favour this supposition. He took notice of

the emperor’s death, as an event which in all likelihood would open

a new scene of affairs in Europe; he therefore recommended to their

consideration the necessary supplies for putting the nation in such a

posture that it should have nothing to fear from any emergency. Finally,

he desired them to consider of some proper regulations for preventing

the exportation of corn, and for more effectual methods to man the

fleet at this conjuncture. The commons, after having voted an address

of thanks, brought in a bill for prohibiting the exportation of corn and

provisions, for a limited time, out of Great Britain, Ireland, and the

American plantations. This was a measure calculated to distress the

enemy, who were supposed to be in want of these necessaries. The French

had contracted for a very large quantity of beef and pork in Ireland,

for the use of their own and the Spanish navy; and an embargo had

been laid upon the ships of that kingdom. The bill met with a vigorous

opposition; yet the house unanimously resolved that his majesty should

be addressed to lay an immediate embargo upon all ships laden with corn,

grain, starch, rice, beef, pork, and other provisions, to be exported

to foreign parts. They likewise resolved that the thanks of the house

should be given to vice-admiral Vernon, for the services he had, done to

his king and country in the West Indies. One William Cooley was examined

at the bar of the house, and committed to prison, after having owned

himself author of a paper, intituled, “Considerations upon the Embargo

on Provision of Victual.” The performance contained many shrewd and

severe animadversions upon the government, for having taken a step

which, without answering the purpose of distressing the enemy, would

prove a grievous discouragement to trade, and ruin all the graziers of

Ireland. Notwithstanding the arguments used in this remonstrance, and

several petitions that were presented against the corn-hill, it passed

by mere dint of ministerial influence. The other party endeavoured, by

various motions, to set on foot an inquiry into the orders, letters, and

instructions, which had been sent to admiral Vernon and admiral Haddock;

but all such investigations were carefully avoided.

A very hot contest arose from a bill which the ministry brought in,

under the specious title of, A bill for the encouragement and increase

of seamen, and for the better and speedier manning his majesty’s fleet.

This was a revival of the oppressive scheme which had been rejected in

the former session; a scheme by which the justices of the peace were

empowered to issue warrants to constables and head-boroughs, to search

by day or night for such seafaring men as should conceal themselves

within their respective jurisdictions. These searchers were vested with

authority to force open doors in case of resistance; and encouraged to

this violence by a reward for every seaman they should discover; while

the unhappy wretches so discovered were dragged into the service,

and their names entered in a register to be kept at the navy or the

admiralty-office. Such a plan of tyranny did not pass uncensured. Every

exceptionable clause produced a warm debate, in which sir John Barnard,

Mr. Pulteney, Mr. Sandys, lord Gage, Mr. Pitt, and Mr. Lyttelton,

signalized themselves nobly in defending the liberties of their

fellow-subjects. Mr. Pitt having expressed a laudable indignation at

such a large stride towards despotic power, in justification of which

nothing could be urged but the plea of necessity, Mr. Horatio Walpole

thought proper to attack him with some personal sarcasms. He reflected

upon his youth: and observed that the discovery of truth was very little

promoted by pompous diction and theatrical emotion. These insinuations

exposed him to a severe reply. Mr. Pitt standing up again, said, “He

would not undertake to determine whether youth could be justly imputed

to any man as a reproach; but he affirmed that the wretch, who, after

having seen the consequences of repeated errors, continues still to

blunder, and whose age has only added obstinacy to stupidity, is surely

the object of either abhorrence or contempt, and deserves not that

his grey head should secure him from insults; much more is he to be

abhorred, who, as he has advanced in age, has receded from virtue, and

becomes more wicked with less temptation; who prostitutes himself for

money which he cannot enjoy; and spends the remains of his life in the

ruin of his country.”--Petitions were presented from the city of London

and county of Gloucester against the bill, as detrimental to the trade

and navigation of the kingdom, by discouraging rather than encouraging

sailors, and destructive to the liberties of the subject; but they

were both rejected as insults upon the house of commons. After very long

debates, maintained on both sides with extraordinary ardour and emotion,

the severe clauses were dropped, and the bill passed with amendments.

DISCONTENTS AGAINST THE MINISTRY.

But the most remarkable incident of this session was an open and

personal attack upon the minister, who was become extremely unpopular

all over the kingdom. The people were now, more than ever, sensible of

the grievous taxes under which they groaned; and saw their burdens daily

increasing. No effectual attempts had as yet been made to annoy the

enemy. Expensive squadrons had been equipped; had made excursions, and

returned without striking a blow. The Spanish fleet had sailed first

from Cadiz, and then from Ferrol, without any interruption from admiral

Haddock, who commanded the British squadron in the Mediterranean, and

who was supposed to be restricted by the instructions he had received

from the ministry, though in fact his want of success was owing to

accident. Admiral Vernon had written from the West Indies to his private

friends, that he was neglected, and in danger of being sacrificed.

Notwithstanding the numerous navy which the nation maintained, the

Spanish privateers made prize of the British merchant ships with

impunity. In violation of treaties, and in contempt of that intimate

connexion which had been so long cultivated between the French and

English ministry, the king of France had ordered the harbour and

fortifications of Dunkirk to be repaired; his fleet had sailed to the

West Indies in conjunction with that of Spain; and the merchants of

England began to tremble for Jamaica; finally, commerce was in a manner

suspended, by the practice of pressing sailors into the service, and

by the embargo which had been laid upon ships in all the ports of Great

Britain and Ireland. These causes of popular discontent, added to

other complaints which had been so long repeated against the minister,

exaggerated and inculcated by his enemies with unwearied industry, at

length rendered him so universally odious, that his name was seldom or

never mentioned with decency, except by his own dependents.

MOTION FOR REMOVING SIR R. WALPOLE FROM HIS MAJESTY’S COUNCILS.

The country party in parliament seized this opportunity of vengeance.

Mr. Sandys went up to sir Robert Walpole in the house, and told him,

that on Friday next he should bring a charge against him in public.

The minister seemed to be surprised at this unexpected intimation; but,

after a short pause, thanked him politely for this previous notice, and

said he desired no favour, but fair play.*

* Upon this occasion he misquoted Horace. “As I am not

conscious of any crime,” said he, “I do not doubt of being

able to make a proper defence, _Nil conscire sibi nulli

pallescere culpæ_.” He was corrected by Mr. Pulteney; but

insisted on his being in the right, and actually laid a

wager on the justness of the quotation.

Mr. Sandys, at the time which he had appointed for this accusation,

stood up, and in a studied speech entered into a long deduction of the

minister’s misconduct. He insisted upon the discontents of the nation,

in consequence of the measures which had been for many years pursued at

home and abroad. He professed his belief that there was not a

gentleman in the house who did not know that one single person in the

administration was the chief, if not the sole adviser and promoter of

all those measures. “This,” added he, “is known without doors, as well

as within; therefore, the discontents, the reproaches, and even the

curses of the people, are all directed against that single person. They

complain of present measures; they have suffered by past measures; they

expect no redress; they expect no alteration or amendment, whilst he has

a share in directing or advising our future administration. These,

sir, are the sentiments of the people in regard to that minister; these

sentiments we are in honour and duty bound to represent to his

majesty; and the proper method for doing this, as established by

our constitution, is to address his majesty to remove him from

his councils.” He then proceeded to explain the particulars of the

minister’s misconduct in the whole series of his negotiations abroad. He

charged him with having endeavoured to support his own interest, and to

erect a kind of despotic government, by the practice of corruption; with

having betrayed the interest and honour of Great Britain in the late

convention; with having neglected to prosecute the war against Spain;

and he concluded with a motion for an address to the king, that he would

be pleased to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councils

for ever. He was answered by Mr. Pelham, who undertook to defend or

excuse all the measures which the other had condemned; and acquitted

himself as a warm friend and unshaken adherent. Against this champion

sir John Barnard entered the lists, and was sustained by Mr. Pulteney,

who, with equal spirit and precision, pointed out and exposed all the

material errors and malpractices of the administration. Sir Robert

Walpole spoke with great temper and deliberation in behalf of himself.

With respect to the article of bribery and corruption, he said if any

one instance had been mentioned; if it had been shown that he ever

offered a reward to any member of either house, or ever threatened to

deprive any member of his office or employment, in order to influence

his voting in parliament, there might have been some ground for this

charge; but when it was so generally laid, he did not know what he could

say to it, unless to deny it as generally and as positively as it had

been asserted.--Such a declaration as this, in the hearing of so many

persons, who not only knew, but subsisted by his wages of corruption,

was a strong proof of the minister’s being dead to all sense of shame,

and all regard to veracity. The debate was protracted by the court

members till three o’clock in the morning, when about sixty of the

opposite party having retired, the motion was rejected by a considerable

majority.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}

DEBATE ON THE MUTINY BILL.

A bill was brought in for prohibiting the practice of insuring ships

belonging to the enemies of the nation; but it was vigorously opposed

by sir John Barnard and Mr. Willimot, who demonstrated that this kind

of traffic was advantageous to the kingdom; and the scheme was dropped.

Another warm contest arose upon a clause of the mutiny bill, relating to

the quartering of soldiers upon innkeepers and publicans, who complained

of their being distressed in furnishing those guests with provisions

and necessaries at the rates prescribed by law or custom. There were not

wanting advocates to expatiate upon the nature of this grievance, which,

however, was not redressed. A new trade was at this time opened with

Persia, through the dominions of the czar, and vested with an exclusive

privilege in the Russian company, by an act of parliament. The commons

voted forty thousand seamen for the service of the ensuing year, and

about thirty thousand men for the establishment of land-forces. They

provided for the subsidies granted to the king of Denmark and the

landgrave of Hesse-Cassel; and took every step which was suggested for

the ease and the convenience of the government.

PROCEEDINGS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

The parties in the house of lords were influenced by the same motives

which actuated the commons. The duke of Argyle, who had by this time

resigned all his places, declared open war against the ministry. In the

beginning of the session, the king’s speech was no sooner reported by

the chancellor, than this nobleman stood up and moved that a general

address of thanks should be presented to his majesty, instead of a

recapitulation of every paragraph of the king’s speech, re-echoed from

the parliament to the throne, with expressions of blind approbation,

implying a general concurrence with all the measures of the minister.

He spoke on this subject with an astonishing impetuosity of eloquence,

that rolled like a river which had overflowed its banks and deluged the

whole adjacent country. The motion was supported by lord Bathurst, lord

Carteret, the earl of Chesterfield, and lord Gower, who, though they

displayed all the talents of oratory, were outvoted by the opposite

party, headed by the duke of Newcastle, the earl of Cholmondeley,

lord Hervey, and the lord-chancellor. The motion was rejected, and the

address composed in the usual strain. The same motions for an inquiry

into orders and instructions which had miscarried in the lower house,

were here repeated with the same bad success; in the debates which

ensued, the young earls of Halifax and Sandwich acquired a considerable

share of reputation, for the strength of argument and elocution with

which they contended against the adherents of the ministry. When the

house took into consideration the state of the army, the duke of Argyle

having harangued with equal skill and energy on military affairs,

proposed that the forces should be augmented by adding new levies to

the old companies, without increasing the number of officers; as such

an augmentation served only to debase the dignity of the service, by

raising the lowest of mankind to the rank of gentlemen; and to extend

the influence of the minister, by multiplying his dependents. He

therefore moved for a resolution, that the augmenting the army by

raising regiments, as it is the most unnecessary and most expensive

method of augmentation, was also the most dangerous to the liberties of

the nation. This proposal was likewise overruled, after a short though

warm contention. This was the fate of all the other motions made by the

lords in the opposition, though the victory of the courtiers was always

clogged with a nervous and spirited protest. Two days were expended in

the debate produced by lord Carteret’s motion for an address, beseeching

his majesty to remove sir Robert Walpole from his presence and councils

for ever. The speech that ushered in this memorable motion would not

have disgraced a Cicero. It contained a retrospect of all the public

measures which had been pursued since the revolution. It explained the

nature of every treaty, whether right or wrong, which had been concluded

under the present administration. It described the political connexions

subsisting between the different powers in Europe. It exposed the

weakness, the misconduct, and the iniquity of the minister, both in

his foreign and domestic transactions. It was embellished with all

the ornaments of rhetoric, and warmed with a noble spirit of patriotic

indignation. The duke of Argyle, lord Bathurst, and his other

colleagues, seemed to be animated with uncommon fervour, and even

inspired by the subject.

{1741}

A man of imagination, in reading their speeches, will think himself

transported into the Roman senate, before the ruin of that republic.

Nevertheless, the minister still triumphed by dint of numbers; though

his victory was dearly purchased. Thirty peers entered a vigorous

protest, and Walpole’s character sustained such a rude shock from this

opposition, that his authority seemed to be drawing near a period.

Immediately after this contest was decided, the duke of Marlborough

moved for a resolution, that any attempt to inflict any kind of

punishment on any person, without allowing him an opportunity to make

his defence, or without any proof of any crime or misdemeanor committed

by him, is contrary to natural justice, the fundamental laws of the

realm, and the ancient established usage of parliament; and is a high

infringement of the liberties of the subject. It was seconded by the

duke of Devonshire and lord Lovel; and opposed by lord Gower, as an

intended censure on the proceedings of the day. This sentiment was so

warmly espoused by lord Talbot, who had distinguished himself in the

former debate, that he seemed to be transported beyond the bounds of

moderation. He was interrupted by the earl of Cholmondeley, who charged

him with having violated the order and decorum which ought to be

preserved in such an assembly. His passion was inflamed by this rebuke;

he declared himself an independent lord; a character which he would not

forfeit for the smiles of a court, the profit of an employment, or the

reward of a pension; he said, when he was engaged on the side of truth,

he would trample on the insolence that should command him to suppress

his sentiments.--On a division, however, the motion was carried.

In the beginning of April, the king repairing to the house of peers,

passed some acts that were ready for the royal assent. Then, in his

speech to both houses, he gave them to understand, that the queen of

Hungary had made a requisition of the twelve thousand men stipulated

by treaty; and that he had ordered the subsidy troops of Denmark and

Hesse-Cassel to be in readiness to march to her assistance. He observed,

that in this complicated and uncertain state of affairs, many incidents

might arise, and render it necessary for him to incur extraordinary

expenses for maintaining the pragmatic sanction, at a time when he

could not possibly have recourse to the advice and assistance of his

parliament. He therefore demanded of the commons such a supply as might

be requisite for these ends; and promised to manage it with all possible

frugality. The lower house, in their address, approved of all his

measures; declared they would effectually support him against all

insults and attacks that might be made upon any of his territories,

though not belonging to the crown of Great Britain; and that they would

enable him to contribute, in the most effectual manner, to the support

of the queen of Hungary. Sir Robert Walpole moved, that an aid of two

hundred thousand pounds should be granted to that princess. Mr. Shippen

protested against any interposition in the affairs of Germany. He

expressed his dislike of the promise which had been made to defend his

majesty’s foreign dominions; a promise, in his opinion, inconsistent

with that important and inviolable law, the act of settlement; a

promise which, could it have been foreknown, would perhaps have for

ever precluded from the succession that illustrious family to which

the nation owed such numberless blessings, such continued felicity. The

motion however passed, though not without further opposition; and the

house resolved, that three hundred thousand pounds should be granted to

his majesty, to enable him effectually to support the queen of Hungary.

Towards the expense of this year, a million was deducted from the

sinking fund; and the land-tax continued at four shillings in the

pound. The preparations for this war had already cost five millions. The

session was closed on the twenty-fifth day of April, when the king took

his leave of this parliament with warm expressions of tenderness and

satisfaction. Henry Bromley, Stephen Fox, and John Howe, three members

of the lower house who had signalized themselves in defence of the

minister, were now ennobled, and created barons of Montford, Ilchester,

and Chedworth. A camp was formed near Colchester; and the king having

appointed a regency, set out in May for his German dominions.*

* Sir William Wyndham died the preceding year, deeply

regretted as an orator, a patriot, and a man, the constant

assertor of British liberty, and one of the chief ornaments

of the English nation.--In the course of the same year,

general Oglethorpe, governor of Georgia, had, with some

succours obtained from the colony of Carolina, and a small

squadron of king’s ships, made an attempt upon Fort Angus-

tine, the capital of Spanish Florida; and actually reduced

some small forts in the neighbourhood of the place; but the

Carolinians withdrawing in disgust, dissensions prevailing

among the sea officers, the hurricane months approaching,

and the enemy having received a supply and reinforcement, he

abandoned the enterprise, and returned to Georgia.