plans; but George III. was a man of the most obstinate and determined
character, and he by no means intended as yet to give up the fight. The
Opposition which had formed the alliance to drive North from office
consisted of two sections. First, the old or Revolution Whigs, as they
liked to call themselves, who, true to their aristocratic principle, had
chosen for their leader the wealthiest but by no means the ablest man
among them, Lord Rockingham, an agriculturist, a sporting man, of
respectable talents and much honesty, though without any of the gifts of
oratory which are necessary for the management of a public body; and
secondly, those Whigs who had owned the leadership of Chatham, and who
now followed the Earl of Shelburne; a party less tied by aristocratic
connections, and representing, as far as could then be represented, the
real liberal interests of the country. To avoid the necessity of
putting himself into the hands of his particular enemies, the Whig
families, it was to this section that the King at once applied. But, as
Chatham had always found, it was of itself far too weak a party in
Parliament to form a satisfactory ministry. Moreover, the eagerness with
which Burke and Dunning had of late years demanded financial reform, and
the share they had taken in driving North from office, made it
impossible for their claims to be ignored. Shelburne therefore refused
the King's request. The King's discomfiture seemed quite complete when
Rockingham accepted office. The ministry consisted of equal numbers of
the two sections of the Liberals. Rockingham, Keppel, Lord John
Cavendish, the Duke of Richmond, and Mr. Fox, of the one party; Lord
Shelburne, Camden, General Conway, Lord Ashburton (Dunning), and the
Duke of Grafton of the other. Strangely enough, the balance between them
was held by the Tory Lord Thurlow, the King's personal friend, who
remained in the position of Lord Chancellor. Pitt haughtily refused to
accept any subordinate office.
[Sidenote: The three questions which met it.]
Three great questions at once presented themselves to the new
administration,--to pacify the clamours of Ireland, to complete the
economical reforms to which they were pledged, and by means of which
they hoped to regain some of the power of which the successful policy of
the King had robbed them, and to bring to conclusion as honourably as
possible the American War.
[Sidenote: The agitation in Ireland.]
In Ireland the agitation had been constantly on the increase since the
conciliatory measures of Lord North in 1780. Free trade had been
granted, but this step towards independence had opened the way to still
further demands; if they had followed the Americans thus far, why not
follow them a step further and demand legislative independence also? The
legislative superiority of England rested mainly upon two Statutes,
Poynings' Law, or the Statute of Drogheda of the reign of Henry VII., by
which all Bills brought forward in the Irish Parliament, except such as
regarded money, were subject to revision or suppression by the English
Privy Council, and the Statute 6 George I., which asserted the right of
the English Parliament to legislate for Ireland. No sooner had Grattan
succeeded in his first agitation, than he proceeded, in spite even of
the wishes of his friends Lord Charlemont and Burke, to set to work the
same machinery for the purpose of obtaining the reversal of these
statutes. As early as April 1780 he had produced, though
unsuccessfully, a motion in the Irish Parliament declaratory of Irish
independence. Since that time his position had become stronger, disputes
in Parliament had excited the national feeling, the volunteers had
completed their organization, and appointed Lord Charlemont their
commander-in-chief. A great meeting of deputies from the volunteers had
been held at Dungannon, which had accepted to the full Grattan's
propositions. With this great armed power behind him, and reinforced by
the influence of the Roman Catholics, whose interests he had lately
espoused, Grattan was enabled on the 16th of April to bring forward a
final and successful address declaring the perfect legislative
independence of Ireland. It was carried unanimously through both Houses.
In face of this pressure, though not blind to the almost inevitable
evils of a dual Government, Fox and Shelburne yielded the point, and the
Statute of George I. was repealed in express terms.
[Sidenote: Economical reforms.]
The ministry had entered upon office supported by a vast agitation
throughout the country, by county meetings, societies and corresponding
associations, and these allies outside the walls of Parliament were
eager for very sweeping measures of reform in all directions, especially
financial reform, limitation of the influence of the Crown, the purity
of the House, and reform of the representation. All these measures had a
political as well as an economical side. They all formed portions of the
avowed politics of the Whigs for breaking the power of the Crown. Both
revenue officers and contractors assisted to uphold Government
influence; the votes of the revenue officers were said to command no
less than seventy boroughs, and contracts, given not because
advantageous to the public, but for political purposes, were but so many
indirect bribes. But the voice of the statesman is apt to be singularly
tempered by his accession to office, and the Government Bills which
Burke introduced in June proved but a weak reflection of his former
measure. Certain obvious abuses were removed, secret service money was
diminished, and a smaller share of it allowed to the Treasury; the
Pension List was cut down, and £300 fixed as the outside limit for a
single pension; the whole Board of Trade, which had proved useless, was
swept away; but the expenses of the Principality of Wales and the
Duchies of Lancaster and Cornwall, together with many useless offices of
the Household, and public offices, were untouched, and the whole saving
effected was only about £72,000 a year. Burke in thus limiting his
propositions was doubtless acting under pressure from his colleagues.
His own sincerity was proved by the limitation which he set to the
inordinate emolument which as Paymaster he derived from his own office.
But the honesty of the ministry as a whole was somewhat compromised when
they forestalled the action of their own Bill, and hurriedly granted
large pensions, varying from £2600 to £3200, to Lord Grantham, to the
Chancellor, and to Colonel Barré. Still further proof that a limitation
of the royal power and not real reform was the object in view, was given
by the reception accorded to a measure for parliamentary reform
introduced by William Pitt. Chatham had always seen and asserted that
some measure of parliamentary reform was necessary if influence was to
give way to any true national representation. But though constantly
inveighing against Government influence when in the hands of their
opponents, the Whig oligarchs, to whom parliamentary influence was as
necessary as it was to the King himself, had no idea of lessening their
own power, and Pitt's measure for transferring it to the counties, at
that time the chief homes of independence, though ably supported, was
defeated by a majority of twenty, swelled by the open opposition of some
of the ministry and the lukewarmness of others. Fox and the Duke of
Richmond however supported him. Divisions in the Cabinet upon so
important a question, scandals such as the Barré pension and the
unsatisfactory carrying out of promises of economical reform, tended to
lessen the popularity of the ministry. But it was the management of the
great question of all, the completion, namely, of an honourable peace,
which displayed chiefly the weakness of the administration.
[Sidenote: Conclusion of the American War.]
As far as America itself was concerned the fall of Yorktown had
virtually put an end to hostilities, and the declared policy of England
reached no further than the retention of certain posts and harbours. It
may be a question whether this was wise, for it is certain that the
condition of the Americans was very deplorable. Bankrupt and
impoverished, the Congress was in no condition to support the army in a
state of efficiency, and from its factions and intrigues had so lost
public confidence, that Washington was earnestly intreated to make
himself dictator, and take the management of the country into his own
hands. But it was impossible for the Whigs, after the language they had
used in Parliament, where they had not scrupled to rejoice at American
successes, and to speak of the American armies as _our_ armies, to think
of anything but peace at once and on any terms. But though the war with
America thus died out, that with the allied powers of Europe was by no
means ended. Spain and France had joined the Americans with the cry of
independence, absurd enough from such monarchies, but with the real
object of destroying the power of England, and reversing the humiliating
terms forced upon them by the Treaty of 1763. The Dutch had joined the
coalition for commercial objects of its own; they were desirous of
destroying the English Navigation Act and of restoring the freedom of
the sea. The moment seemed to have arrived when all these wishes could
be gratified, and negotiations for a general peace were therefore of a
twofold character and by no means easy to complete, as America was
pledged not to conclude a treaty without her allies. A further
complication arose from the peculiar arrangements of the English
ministry, by which American affairs fell to the lot of Shelburne as Home
Secretary, while Fox, his rival in the ministry, in his capacity of
Foreign Minister had the duty of negotiating with the European powers.
As Dr. Franklin, the most important American diplomatist, was at this
time in Paris, that city became the centre of negotiations, and thither
both ministers sent agents. Mr. Oswald, on the part of Lord Shelburne,
began to open the business with Franklin, while Mr. Thomas Granville was
accredited as plenipotentiary from Fox to arrange matters with M.
Vergennes, the French minister. With singular ingratitude, the
Americans, though bound not to _conclude_ a treaty without their allies,
thought it right to complete all the arrangements except the actual
conclusion secretly and separately with the English, although they had
not thought it beneath them to let their allies undertake all the more
arduous parts of the war. Although there was some difference of opinion
as to the exact manner of granting the independence of America, all
parties in England were agreed that it should be granted, and as this
was the sole point at issue between the countries, there was little to
be done but the arrangement of boundaries and some minor details.
[Sidenote: Exorbitant demands of France.]
Very different was the case with the French; when the basis of the
Treaty of 1763 was proposed it was absolutely refused. It was plainly
asserted that the very object of the war had been to annihilate that
treaty, and hints were thrown out that England would be expected to
surrender even a large part of her East Indian dominions. "Your arms are
too long," said M. de Vergennes, "why not be satisfied with Bengal?"
Before the year was over events happened which caused the French to
lower their tone. The fall of Yorktown and the subsequent failure of the
arms of England had made them believe that her power was gone, and they
confidently looked forward to the success of two great enterprises then
on foot to complete her discomfiture. De Grasse, with a large fleet,
was to join the Spanish fleet in the West Indies, take troops on board,
and seize Jamaica. The fall of Minorca had set De Crillon free to
complete the fall of Gibraltar, with a vast armament which he had been
engaged in organizing. To Rodney was intrusted the duty of protecting
Jamaica; he determined to prevent the junction of the enemy's fleets. A
line of frigates within signal distance extended from St. Lucia to the
French position at Martinique, and the enemy had not been two hours at
sea before he was in pursuit. After some ineffectual efforts he
succeeded in getting to the windward of the enemy, and on the 10th of
April brought the French fleet to action. The number of the fleets was
exactly equal. The superiority in number of men and weight of metal was
in favour of the French. The battle is famous for the introduction into
naval tactics of the manœuvre called breaking the line. Before this
time it was usual to meet the enemy in line, to close up ship to ship,
and win the battle chiefly by hard fighting. The new manœuvre
consisted in advancing in column against the enemy's line, passing
through it, thus breaking it in half, and enveloping one of the halves
with the whole fleet. On the present occasion its use resulted in a
complete victory. The English took or destroyed eight ships; the loss of
the French was very great, being much increased by the crowded state of
their vessels, which had on board the soldiers intended for the Jamaica
expedition.
[Sidenote: Siege of Gibraltar. Sept. 13.]
In spite of this great success, the ministry continued its efforts at
peace, but so long as there was any hope of securing better terms by the
capture of Gibraltar the French would not come to the point. Nor did the
change of ministry caused by the death of Rockingham change the aspect
of affairs. Gibraltar had now been three years besieged. British fleets
had twice forced the blockade and relieved the garrison. General
Elliot's defence was vigorous, and inspired his troops with confidence.
In the last November a great sally had destroyed the greater part of the
enemy's works, but now a final effort of the united house of Bourbon was
to be made. De Crillon, fresh from his success at Minorca, took the
command, and neglecting the attack from the land side, set his hopes on
a terrific bombardment to be conducted from the sea. He constructed ten
huge floating batteries, with walls of wood and iron seven feet thick,
shot proof and bomb proof; a fleet of more than forty first-rates was in
the harbour, and a fire from 400 pieces of artillery, in answer to which
the English could produce but 100, was to annihilate the fortress.
Elliot was not disheartened; trusting to the natural strength of the
place in other directions, he concentrated the whole of his fire upon
the terrible batteries. For a long while they seemed absolutely
impenetrable, but at length the constant stream of red hot shot took
effect, and at mid-day their fire slackened. Before midnight the largest
of them burst into flames, and eight out of the ten were on fire during
the night. The siege was over, and the fleet, which still waited in the
hope of meeting Lord Howe on his arrival with a relieving squadron, was
driven from the harbour by the weather before he came, so that he was
able to enter and relieve the garrison unmolested.
[Sidenote: Changed tone of French demands.]
[Sidenote: Terms of peace. Jan 20, 1783.]
This great success, following so close upon the West Indian victory,
made it plain to the allies that England was by no means so prostrate as
they had imagined, and there was no longer much difficulty in settling
the preliminaries of a peace. France accepted readily the offers which
had been rejected in the earlier part of the year. The English ceded the
little islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon in the St. Lawrence, and the
African establishments of Senegal and Goree. In the West Indies
everything was restored to the same condition as before the war, with
the exception of Tobago, which was given to France. In the East Indies
the French were permitted to retain their commercial establishments, but
without military occupation. The treaty for the destruction of Dunkirk
was formally given up. With these slight concessions France had to be
satisfied. Spain kept Minorca; and the Floridas were given up to
her--better terms than she had a right to expect. England received in
exchange the Bahamas, which she had already reconquered, and the right
of cutting logwood in Honduras. Holland, with whom the English
Government had in vain attempted a separate treaty, gained nothing by
her rejection of those overtures, but was obliged to agree to a mutual
restoration of conquests, with the exception of the seaport town of
Negapatam, which remained to the English. A provisional treaty had
already been made with America, by which the independence of the States
was formally declared, boundaries settled, and commercial relations
re-established. The only difficulty was the claim for compensation for
loss of property raised by the American loyalists. This however was
waived.
[Sidenote: Death of Rockingham. Division of the Whigs.]
[Sidenote: The Shelburne ministry. July 1782.]
The duty of concluding these treaties had not fallen to the same
ministry as had begun them. The composition of the Rockingham ministry
had not been such as to secure its stability; it consisted, as has been
said, of two distinct and equally balanced parties. A rivalry between
the leaders of these parties was inevitable, especially when one of
them was a man so self-asserting and so conscious of his claims as Fox.
United for a moment under the nominal leadership of Rockingham, a man of
great influence though of slender ability, their union was at once
dissolved at the death of that nobleman. Fox refused to serve under
Shelburne, to whom the King at once offered the Premiership, and though
several of the old ministers retained their places, the greater part
followed their leader, and a split, which proved to be final, arose
between the two sections of the Whigs. The new ministry included, as
Chancellor of the Exchequer, William Pitt, as yet but twenty-three years
of age. Already his oratorical power and his aspiring genius had made
him one of the first men of the House, and he was regarded as a worthy
successor of Chatham. Till this period he and Fox had been on friendly
terms, and usually on the same side on political questions, but he had
his father's hatred of faction, or the introduction of personal motives
into politics, and bitterly reproached Fox for his conduct in leaving
the Government. Henceforward they were avowed opponents. Fox's own
explanation of his conduct was as follows. He said that he had written
by the King's orders to Mr. Grenville, then at Paris, to authorize him
to offer to the American agents "to recognize the independence of the
United States in the first instance, and not to reserve it as a
condition of peace." At the same time an official letter, for the same
purpose, was sent by the Earl of Shelburne to Sir Guy Carleton in
America. Mr. Fox, suspecting that this measure though consented to in
the Cabinet, had not the entire approbation of some of his colleagues,
had, in order to prevent any misconception, purposely chosen the most
forcible expressions that the English language could supply; and he
confessed that his joy was so great on finding that the Earl of
Shelburne, in the letter to Sir Guy Carleton, had repeated his very
words, that he carried it immediately to the Marquis of Rockingham, and
told him that their distrust and suspicions of that noble lord's
intentions had been groundless, and were now done away. "Judge then,"
said he, "of my grief and astonishment when, during the illness of my
noble friend, another language was heard in the Cabinet, and the noble
Earl and his friends began to consider the above letter as containing
offers only of a conditional nature, to be recalled if not accepted as
the price of peace. Finding myself thus ensnared and betrayed, and all
confidence destroyed, I quitted a situation in which I found I could not
remain either with honour or safety."
[Sidenote: The coalition ministry under Portland. April 1783.]
The Whig love of office had not been satiated by an eight months' tenure
of it, nor had Lord North's party taken kindly to their loss of power,
and in their greedy desire for personal aggrandizement, the leaders, who
a few months before were speaking of each other as the most corrupt of
the human species, found it consistent with their dignity to combine to
eject Lord Shelburne's Government. They chose as their test question the
terms of the peace. Lord North, probably, conscientiously believed that
they might have been more favourable. Fox had himself offered much
larger concessions to Holland, and had not disapproved either of the
American or French terms, nor did he now offer the smallest suggestion
as to what better terms might have been procured. In parliamentary
influence, however, the coalition was quite irresistible, and at the
opening of the session in the spring Lord Shelburne found himself in a
minority upon resolutions which had been moved condemnatory of the
peace. He at once resigned. After a few ineffectual struggles the King
had to accept the coalition ministry. Nothing could have been more
distasteful to him; he found himself suddenly robbed of the whole
advantage of twenty years of political scheming; he had triumphed on the
fall of the Chatham administration, and for years had been served, as he
would wish to be served, by a very able, popular, upright, but
obsequious minister, only now to be thrown back, apparently bound hand
and foot, into the hands of the hated Whig oligarchy. His policy had
produced a disastrous war, an enormous augmentation of the National
Debt, and an all but universal cry for a better system of economical
government and national representation; while the Whigs, taking
advantage of the opportunity which the ill success of royal Government
gave them, had succeeded in regaining, as it appeared, an unassailable
superiority. In parliamentary influence they were overwhelming; they
numbered among their party Fox and North, the two ablest debaters in the
House, and Burke, the greatest orator. They had also the long official
experience of Lord North's party. Against them were the few remaining
members of the old Chatham party, with no influence on which to rely,
and upheld almost solely by the brilliant promise of young Pitt. The
nominal head of the new Government was the Duke of Portland, for, as
usual with coalitions, a man of no great ability was elected as the
nominal chief. Fox and North were equal Secretaries of State, Lord John
Cavendish was Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Cabinet was completed by
Lord Keppel, Carlisle, and Stormont. The great strength of the new
ministry was speedily shown; a second Bill for parliamentary reform was
rejected by the large majority of 144.
This ministry, which seemed so irresistible, was doomed to be of short
duration, and the factious movement, which seemed to have thwarted for
ever the policy of the King, proved in the sequel the means of
establishing his policy for the rest of the reign. The cause of this
sudden change of fortune was the necessity for some legislation with
regard to the affairs of India, but before relating the final struggle
it will be necessary to give a brief sketch of the course of events in
that country.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: Sketch of the history of India.]
For this purpose the history can be broken conveniently into two
periods. There are two classes of difficulties which the English have
had to overcome. First, the rivalry with other European nations, and
secondly, the opposition to their gradual encroachment offered by the
native chiefs and native tribes. The first of these periods may be held
to close at the Peace of 1763, and includes the formation and
establishment by the English of the three Presidencies of Bombay,
Madras, and Bengal, and the practical destruction of all other European
influence.
[Sidenote: Foundation of the India Company. 1600.]
The India Company sprang into existence in the first year of the
seventeenth century. In December 1600, the Indian Adventurers were
formed into a chartered company, their monopoly being at first granted
for fifteen years, and subsequently in 1609 rendered perpetual, but
revocable at three years' notice from the Government. It was the
intention of the Company to dispute the trade of the East with two
nations who had already made good their position there. The discovery of
the Cape of Good Hope in 1497 by the Portuguese under Vasco da Gama, had
been followed by nearly a century during which Portugal showed extreme
energy both in arms, in literature, and in mercantile pursuits. The
western coast of India, from Goa northwards to Ormuz in the Persian
Gulf, was more or less completely conquered by the Portuguese from the
native rajahs. In 1580, Portugal was conquered by the Spaniards; its
greatness was at an end. The Dutch had already established important
factories both in India itself and in the Spice Islands, and had with
success contested with the Portuguese their monopoly of the Indian
trade. It was in emulation of the Dutch, and taking advantage of the
depression of Portugal, and in pursuance also of their systematic
opposition to Spain, that the English Company was formed.
[Sidenote: Foundation of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta.]
[Sidenote: Decline of Portuguese and Dutch competition.]