THE PEACE OF PARIS.
By the beginning of 1761 France was anxious for peace, and in concert
with her allies, Austria, Russia, Sweden, and Poland, invited Great
Britain and Prussia to negotiate, and suggested that a congress should
meet at Augsburg. England and Prussia assented, and plenipotentiaries
were appointed. In England the prospect of a peace was hailed with
satisfaction, and the funds rose 4 per cent. The congress never met, but
the plan was not abandoned for some months; and Choiseul, the minister
of Louis XV., sent a memorial to England proposing that, as difficulties
would arise at the congress if the questions in dispute between England
and France were debated along with the affairs of their respective
allies, the two courts should enter on a separate negotiation. He
offered to treat on the basis of _uti possidetis_, that is, that the
possessions of both countries should be acknowledged as regards the
conquests made by the one from the other, and that certain dates in the
current year should be fixed upon as those on which the conquests should
be ascertained. The offer was large; for at that time England had
conquered from France Cape Breton, Canada, Guadeloupe, Mariegalante,
Goree, and Senegal, and had also gained great advantages in India,
though the fall of Pondicherry was not yet known; while France had only
conquered Minorca from England. She had also, it will be remembered,
gained insecure possession of Hesse, Hanau, and Gottingen. England
agreed to a separate negotiation on the basis of _uti possidetis_, but
Pitt would not commit himself as to the dates, for he was preparing the
expedition against Belle Ile, and intended that England should not lose
the advantage which would accrue from its success. He also declared that
his court would not desert the King of Prussia. Choiseul replied that
neither would France desert her allies, and that the negotiation only
concerned the interests of the two powers. On this understanding the two
courts sent representatives the one to the other; the English
representative chosen by Pitt was Hans Stanley, and M. de Bussy was sent
to London by Choiseul.
Soon after they arrived at their destinations Belle Ile was conquered.
Pitt knew how deeply the national spirit of France would be wounded by
this blow; he promised to restore the island if adequate compensation
were made, and Choiseul professed himself willing to make important
concessions. On July 15, however, he made proposals of a less favourable
kind than might have been expected. They were, briefly, that France
should cede Canada on certain conditions, one of which was that she
should have liberty to fish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and dry cod on
the Newfoundland shore, and should have Cape Breton in sovereignty for a
shelter for her ships, though she should not erect fortifications. She
would restore Minorca, and should receive back Guadeloupe and
Mariegalante; two of the neutral islands, Dominica and St. Vincent,
should be under her protection, and of the other two she should keep St.
Lucia and England should have Tobago. The rival claims in India were to
be settled on the basis of a treaty of 1755, before the late English
victories. England should restore either Senegal or Goree, for unless
France had one of them, her West India possessions would be useless, as
she would have no port for the shipment of negroes. Belle Ile was to be
restored, and France would evacuate Hesse and Hanau. After preliminaries
were signed England was not to help Prussia, nor France Austria, but
France would not surrender the territories conquered from the King of
Prussia, for they were conquered and held in the name of the
Empress-queen. This stipulation was made in favour of Austria which had
assented to the separate negotiation on condition that her interests
were guarded. The proposals were of a kind to suggest doubts as to
Choiseul's sincerity. As a matter of fact he was secretly arranging a
strict alliance with Spain as a means of forcing England to make
favourable terms.
[Sidenote: _SPANISH AND FRENCH MEMORIALS._]
Spain had three grievances against Great Britain. She complained that
her ships had wrongfully been made prizes, that she was shut out from
the Newfoundland fishery, and that British settlements had been made on
the bay of Honduras. Charles III, of Spain had a strong leaning towards
a French alliance; he was much influenced by the family tie between
himself and the other Bourbon powers, and he considered that the
destruction of the French navy by Great Britain deprived Spain of a
guarantee for the safety of her possessions in the western hemisphere.
He believed that by identifying the interests of Spain with those of
France, he would gain a satisfactory settlement of his own claims and
also better terms for France than she could otherwise obtain. As early
as September, 1760, the Count de Fuentes, the Spanish minister in
London, presented to Pitt a memorial on the Newfoundland fishery, in
which it was stated that a copy had been communicated to the court of
France. Indignant at the implied threat, Pitt replied that he was at a
loss to understand the meaning of such a communication, and that France
had nothing to do with the question.[35] A month later Dutens, secretary
to the British embassy at Turin, sent him information which proved that
the King of Spain would not long remain a passive spectator of the
war.[36] Pitt was thus fully aware of the necessity for watchfulness as
to the relations between France and Spain; the correspondence between
Fuentes and the Marquis Grimaldi, the Spanish minister at Paris, was
regularly intercepted and its contents communicated by Pitt to his
colleagues. The two ambassadors were endeavouring to bring about an
alliance between their king and Louis, and, on March 10, 1761, Fuentes
wrote that "if this is done, at the end of the year we shall have a
peace to our liking and France's," and that England would be compelled
by "force and fear" to do justice to Spain. Pitt soon showed him and
Choiseul how unsafe it was to reckon on English fear.
Along with the French proposals of July 15, Bussy presented Pitt with a
memorial on the grievances of Spain, proposing that England should
terminate her differences with that court, and declaring that the French
king "cannot disguise the danger he apprehends, and of which he must
necessarily partake if these objects which seem nearly to concern his
Catholic majesty shall be the occasion of a war". Pitt was furious at
this insult to his country and at once addressed Bussy in terms
different from the ordinary language of diplomacy. He declared in plain
words that the king would not allow the dispute with Spain to be
blended in any manner whatever in the negotiation, and that any further
attempt to blend them would be considered an affront. He returned the
memorial as "wholly inadmissible".[37] In answer to the French articles
he replied that Canada must be ceded unconditionally, and refused to
surrender Cape Breton or to allow France any part in the fisheries. Both
Pitt and Choiseul held the fisheries question to be of prime importance.
If France were shut out from them, she would, Pitt believed, permanently
be crippled as a maritime power, for apart from the value of the fish
both for victualling ships and in commerce the fisheries were a nursery
for a race of hardy seamen, and Pitt wished to prevent France from ever
restoring either her merchant marine or her naval strength. The second
crucial question in the negotiation concerned our allies. Pitt insisted
that Frederick should receive back the territories conquered from him by
France, and that both England and France should be free to help their
allies. Determined to give France no commercial advantage, he refused to
cede either Senegal or Goree. England must have Minorca, but would agree
to an equal partition of the neutral islands, and would restore Belle
Ile, Guadeloupe, and Mariegalante. He further rejected the date proposed
as a basis for a peace in India.
[Sidenote: _PITT'S ULTIMATUM._]
Pitt kept the negotiation with Bussy in his own hands, and met
opposition in the cabinet with haughty determination. Newcastle and his
party were eager for peace, and, equally with Bussy, complained that the
tone of his despatches was too peremptory. Bute resented what he
described as Pitt's insolence.[38] Nevertheless the king and he
considered the French proposals unsatisfactory and were annoyed by the
memorial concerning the Spanish grievances, but Bute believed that
patient negotiation would induce France to yield all that was in
dispute. Accordingly, to Newcastle's consternation, he supported Pitt's
demands. Pitt's strongest opponent was the Duke of Bedford, who was
urgently summoned to the council by Bute and Newcastle when they wanted
a champion against him. Upright and fairly able, Bedford owed his
political prominence mainly to his rank and vast wealth; he was much
addicted to sport and other pleasures, and allowed himself to be guided
by a gang of greedy adherents of whom Rigby, a coarse and shameless
place-hunter, was the chief. Pitt laid his ultimatum to France before
the council on August 15. He had so far yielded to pressure as to offer
France a limited right of fishing, and the island of St. Pierre as a
shelter and port, provided it was kept unfortified. On the other crucial
question his demand was unchanged; the Westphalian lands were to be
restored to Frederick, and both parties were to remain free to help
their allies. His despatch was considered needlessly irritating, but he
would not allow a word to be altered. Bute would give no help against
him. Bedford, who had a violent temper, was so angry at being overborne,
that he declared that he would attend no more councils, and Newcastle
was reduced to whining despair. By the 18th, however, Bute came to an
agreement with the Newcastle faction and promised to help them against
Pitt.[39]
Lord Bristol, our ambassador at Madrid, was instructed to remonstrate
energetically with General Wall, the Spanish minister, on the subject of
Bussy's memorial. He was to say that as regards the prizes there were
courts whose business it was to decide such matters, that England would
not allow Spain any share in the fishery, but was willing to receive
representations as to the Honduras settlements, provided they were not
sent through France, and that any union of counsels with France would
hinder an amicable arrangement. He was, further, to demand an
explanation of the naval preparations which Spain was making. He could
obtain no satisfaction, and on August 31 sent Pitt a paper in which Wall
declared that his master concurred in Bussy's memorial, and, while he
protested that no offence was intended, maintained that Spain and France
had a right to mix in the affairs each of the other "for mutual
assistance". A declaration of war from Spain was, Bristol thought, not
far off.[40] On September 2 Stanley sent Pitt a copy of what he believed
to be an article of a secret treaty between France and Spain, and wrote
that he was assured in Paris that Spain would immediately declare war,
and that a treaty between the two powers only needed signature.[41]
Intercepted letters between Fuentes and Grimaldi proved that a treaty
had been signed between them on August 15. This was the famous family
compact, the purport of which was not yet known in England. A fresh set
of proposals was made by Choiseul, and Stanley was led to believe one
day that peace was unlikely, and another that France would agree to
terms and that "the affair of Spain would be dropped".[42] It became
evident that Choiseul was trifling with England, and on September 15 the
cabinet decided to recall Stanley forthwith.
Choiseul was anxious to avoid an immediate breach between England and
Spain, both because Spain was expecting the arrival of her
treasure-ships from America,[43] and also because her naval preparations
were incomplete. Pitt, who was convinced that Spain was intending to
declare war, was anxious to strike while so grand an opportunity lasted.
A cabinet council was held on the 19th. He was not present, but sent in
a paper signed by himself and Temple, urging that, in view of Wall's
avowal of "a total union of counsels and interests" between the two
Bourbon monarchies, Bristol should be ordered to return to England
without taking leave, in fact, that war with Spain should at once be
declared.[44] Unfortunately we had no _casus belli_ against Spain, and
could not found one on secret information. The council made a point of
this, and voted that a declaration of war would neither be just nor
expedient, but that Bristol should demand further and distinct
assurances of the intentions of Spain. They knew that their decision
would probably lead to Pitt's resignation, and held anxious discussion,
for they were in great perplexity. Bute had hoped that peace would be
made, and then Pitt might be got rid of. Things were turning out
awkwardly. "If," he said, "we had any view of peace, he should be less
solicitous what part Mr. Pitt took, but that, as the continuance of the
war seemed unavoidable, he thought that we should do what we could to
hinder Mr. Pitt from going out, and thereby leaving the
impracticability of his own war upon us."[45] He and the rest of the
council knew that Pitt could conduct the war, and that they could not.
They agreed that peace with France might still be hoped for.
[Sidenote: _PITT AND HIS COLLEAGUES._]
That belief was strongly held by the king, and he was delighted by a
letter from Stanley holding out hope of peace.[46] George believed
Choiseul's assurances, and was angry with Pitt for treating them as mere
amusements. At a council on the 21st, Pitt, in an eloquent speech,
pointed out "the almost certainty" of success against the united forces
of the Bourbon monarchies, but, said he, "there is not an hour to lose".
He regretted the concessions which he had been persuaded to make to
France, and "was determined _now_ to abide by his own opinion". The
council adhered to its decision of the 19th. It was plain that Pitt and
Temple would retire, and their colleagues discussed who should succeed
Pitt.[47] George's spirits were dashed by another letter from Stanley
expressing his belief that Spain was contemplating an attack on our ally
the King of Portugal.[48] He could not conceal his ill-temper, and let
it be known that he wished to get rid of Pitt "in all events".[49] He
was soon gratified. Another cabinet meeting was held on October 2 to
decide what orders should be sent to Bristol. Pitt took the same ground
as before, and declared that his opinion had been strengthened by one of
Grimaldi's intercepted letters. Granville, the president of the council,
said that he was convinced that a declaration of war with Spain would
neither be just nor expedient. Newcastle, Devonshire, and Hardwicke
concurred. Bute said that such a war would be dangerous, and in any case
should be put off as long as possible. Anson thought that our ships were
not in a condition for it.[50] Mansfield feared that if England
declared war against Spain the other maritime powers would think that
she was set on destroying them all. Ligonier believed that Spain could
put 70,000 men in the field; she had made "a great figure" in Queen
Anne's reign, and might do so again, and she would be joined by Naples
with an army of 20,000. Temple spoke on Pitt's side, and then appears to
have left the council-room in anger.
Pitt spoke again. He had, he said, "been called by the sovereign, and in
some degree by the voice of the people, to assist the state when others
had abdicated". He had succeeded in spite of opposition, for hardly an
expedition he had proposed, "though most probable and attended with the
greatest success, had not beforehand been treated as chimerical and
ridiculous". He knew the little interest he had either in council or
parliament, but, said he, "the papers which I have in my bag" (meaning a
letter from Bristol, and the paper which he sent from Wall) "fix an
eternal stain on the crown of England, if proper measures are not taken
upon them"; and he would not acquiesce in sending no answer to Spain. He
was responsible, and he "would not continue without having the
direction". No one could be surprised at his going on no longer, for he
would be responsible for nothing but what he directed. Granville spoke
some words of compliment to him, but protested against his claim to
direct; when the king referred a matter to the council "the opinion of
the majority must decide". The council rejected Pitt's proposal.[51]
[Sidenote: _PITT RESIGNS OFFICE._]
It must not be supposed that Pitt had information as to the relations
between France and Spain which he did not lay before his colleagues;
indeed it is fairly certain that this was not the case. They knew that a
treaty was made, and that Spain had entered into it with hostile
intentions. Pitt, with the insight of a statesman, was sure that war
with Spain was certain, and desired to strike before she was ready. His
colleagues, anxious for peace and fretting under his predominance,
allowed themselves to be blinded by their hopes. They believed that
France might yet shake off her engagement to Spain, and be willing to
make peace on terms to which Great Britain could agree; and they
determined in any case to put off a declaration of war against Spain as
long as possible. Pitt resigned the seals on the 5th. So ended the
ministry of that great man who alone, at a critical time, had justly
rated the strength and spirit of England, and had dared to rely upon
them, who had taught his fellow-countrymen how great things they might
do, had sent them forth, confident in that knowledge, to victory after
victory, and had laid broad and deep the foundations of Britain's
colonial empire.
The king's petulant wish was fulfilled, but though he and Bute approved
of the decision of the council, Bute thought that Pitt's resignation was
"not favourable in the present minute to the king's affairs". He would
have been well pleased if George could have found in Pitt a minister
subservient to his royal will; he could not endure that he should give
strength to a whig cabinet. Pitt took a line which the king disliked,
yet Bute knew that he could ill be spared so long as the war lasted, and
was annoyed that his intrigues against him had been successful at an
inopportune time. The leaders of the whig oligarchy, and specially
Newcastle, Devonshire, and Bedford, sometimes inspired by Bute, and
sometimes urging him on, had succeeded in driving Pitt out of office.
What was to be their reward? They were to fall back into disunion, and
were consequently to find themselves unable to resist the growth of the
royal power. As for Pitt himself, his resignation dissolved the
unnatural alliance between him and them. His position was tolerable only
so long as he was their master, for in feeling he was not one of them.
As heartily as George himself he hated government by connexion, and like
him desired to break up all parties. He despised the corrupt practices
by which the whigs strengthened themselves, and he had a deep reverence
for the crown. Yet his aims were totally different from those of the
king. He would have broken party ties in order to form a strong
administration; he would have destroyed corruption and looked to the
king and nation for the support of government, and relying on their
support would have crushed the enemies of England. George, on the other
hand, wanted ministers who would carry out his will; he was led to
imitate and, indeed, to surpass the whigs in corrupt practices; he
desired that England should be at peace, and should take no part in
continental politics. Pitt at last stood alone and unconnected. Which
would gain his support, the king or the whigs? The question runs through
the history of the party politics of England during the next eight
years.
When Pitt went to the king to give up the seals of his office, George
spoke graciously to him. Always intoxicated by a peep into the royal
closet, Pitt burst into tears and replied in words of absurd
self-abasement. The tidings of his resignation were received with
general indignation. For a moment his popularity was overclouded. He
accepted a pension of L3,000 a year for three lives, and the dignity of
Baroness of Chatham for his wife. With mean and studied[52] adroitness
it was contrived that the _Gazette_ announcing his resignation should
publish with it a notification of these grants, and a letter from
Stanley again holding out hope of a peace with France. For the grants it
is, as Burke wrote, "a shame that any defence should be necessary".[53]
Pitt addressed a dignified letter to alderman Beckford, his chief
follower in the city, on the cause of his resignation and the
"unsolicited" marks of royal favour which he had received. His
popularity rose as high as ever. The city was specially strong for him,
for its merchants and traders owed him a deep debt of gratitude. At the
lord mayor's feast on November 9, which was attended by the king, he had
the bad taste to draw off the cheers in the street to himself; he was
loudly applauded, and the king coldly received. Bute's coach was
escorted by hired bruisers; it was attacked amid cries of "Damn all
Scotch rogues!" "No Bute!" "No Newcastle salmon!" and Bute was rescued
from the mob by constables. In parliament Pitt adopted a noble line; he
justified his own conduct without blaming his late colleagues,
disregarded attacks upon himself, and urged the ministers to act firmly,
and the house to give them its united support.
[Sidenote: _WAR DECLARED AGAINST SPAIN._]
He was succeeded as secretary of state by Lord Egremont, a man of small
ability; the leadership of the commons was committed to Grenville, and
Bedford took Temple's place as privy seal. Events soon vindicated the
wisdom of Pitt's demand for instant war with Spain. Bristol in vain
demanded satisfactory assurances from that court. At first Wall's
answers were conciliatory, but naval preparations still went on. By
November 2 all the treasure-ships had arrived safely. Their arrival
caused a marked change in Wall's tone; he no longer disguised the
hostile feeling of his court. At Christmas the Family Compact was
published. It was of the same character as the compacts of 1733 and
1743, and arranged a strict alliance between the sovereigns of the house
of Bourbon. It was formed between the Kings of France and Spain, the
King of Spain also engaging for the King of the Two Sicilies, and it
guaranteed the dominions of the three kings and of the Duke of Parma.
Each sovereign was to send specified assistance to any of the others who
might require it, but wars undertaken by France in consequence of
engagements to German or northern states were not to be cases in which
Spain should be bound to send help, "unless some maritime power should
take part in them". These words pointed directly to Great Britain. On
January 2, 1762, war was declared against Spain. France and Spain forced
our ally, the King of Portugal, to declare war, and in the spring Spain
invaded his kingdom.
This new war afforded Bedford an opportunity for moving in parliament
for the recall of the British troops from Germany. Bute, though equally
desirous for their recall, opposed the motion as inopportune;
circumstances, he said, had arisen which promised to enable us to lessen
expenses and reduce the war. The motion was lost. The declaration of
disagreement between two cabinet ministers on so serious a question
illustrates the difference between the cabinet system of the time and
that of to-day. The circumstances to which Bute referred were the death
of Frederick's enemy, Elizabeth of Russia, on January 5, and the
accession of Peter III., who was his ardent admirer. Peter restored East
Prussia to Frederick, ordered Tchernitchev and his 20,000 men to
withdraw from Glatz, and entered into negotiations for an alliance with
Prussia, which was concluded later. Frederick's position was totally
changed. Bute hoped that he would use this change of fortune to make
peace; it naturally caused him to be more eager to prosecute the war for
Silesia. When he applied for the renewal of the English subsidy of
L670,000, Bute informed him that it would only be granted on condition
that he gave assurances that he was ready to make peace. This Frederick
would not do. Other difficulties arose between the two courts. Bute
complained that Frederick was secretly negotiating with Russia for a
separate treaty which would hinder a general peace, and thwart our
policy in the north by encouraging Russia to enforce the surrender of
Schleswig. Frederick also had his complaints. Early in the year Bute
made certain efforts for a general peace, and Frederick asserted that
Bute had suggested that Russia should force him to surrender Silesia to
Austria. Bute was deceived as regards the tsar's intentions, and his
words were spoken in the interest of Prussia. Nevertheless, Frederick
would not be pacified, and he further accused Bute of trying to dissuade
Peter from making an alliance with him. This charge was flatly denied by
Bute. It rests solely on the assertion of Prince Galitzin, the Russian
ambassador in London, and there is no reason for doubting Bute's
word.[54] As Frederick refused to give any pledge as to the terms on
which he would make peace, the British government refused the subsidy.
Pitt having been driven from office, the king and Bute turned upon
Newcastle. Bute and Grenville treated him with discourtesy; he found
himself deprived of the power of dispensing patronage; the king did not
even consult him as to the new peerages granted in the spring. As an old
whig he set a high value on the continental connexion formed by the
alliance with Frederick, and cared more for the war in Europe than for
naval expeditions. He was deeply annoyed by the desire of Bute,
Grenville, and Bedford to withdraw our troops from Germany and by the
refusal of the subsidy. He would not, he declared, "be Grenville's tool
and load the nation with four or five millions to carry on a ridiculous,
destructive maritime war".[55] Nevertheless he clung to office.
Devonshire and Hardwicke agreed with him, and attached themselves to a
section of the whigs who acknowledged the Duke of Cumberland as their
head. Newcastle proposed that a vote of L2,000,000 should be asked for,
L1,000,000 as usual for the German war and L1,000,000 for the war in
Portugal. Bute and Grenville maintained that only L1,000,000 was wanted.
That, he said, implied the abandonment of the German war. The question
was decided against him in a cabinet meeting on May 4. Bitterly as he
felt this defeat on a matter concerning his own office, the treasury, he
would not do more than threaten to resign, and found an excuse for
retaining office for the present. George and Bute were determined that
he should go; George was ungracious, Bute uncivil. His friends urged him
to resign. At last he brought himself to the point and resigned on the
25th.[56]
[Sidenote: _BUTE'S ADMINISTRATION._]
On his resignation the king spoke kindly to the old man, as indeed he
well might, for the duke had spent a long life and a vast fortune in the
service of his house; he had, it is said, reduced his income from
L25,000 to L6,000 a year in securing support for government by means
which, whatever we may esteem them now, were then considered becoming to
a man of his wealth and station. George pressed him to accept a pension.
He refused, declaring that the gracious sense which the king expressed
of the sacrifices he had made for his royal house was all the recompense
he desired.[57] If Pitt's acceptance of rewards needs no defence,
Newcastle's refusal of them demands admiration. Bute succeeded him as
first lord of the treasury. Several other changes were made in the
administration. George Grenville became secretary of state in Bute's
place, and Sir Francis Dashwood chancellor of the exchequer in
succession to Barrington, who took Grenville's office as treasurer of
the navy. Dashwood was utterly ignorant of the rudiments of finance, and
was scandalously immoral; his house, Medmenham abbey, was the
meeting-place of the Hell-fire club, of which he was the founder, and he
took a foremost part in the childish mummery, the debauchery, and
blasphemy of the "Franciscans," as his companions called themselves.
Lord Halifax, a man of popular manners, loose morals, and small ability,
succeeded Anson at the admiralty; Henley remained lord chancellor,
Bedford privy seal, and Fox paymaster. Devonshire had ceased to attend
meetings of the cabinet but was still lord chamberlain. The king and
Bute had won a signal success; the whig administration was broken up and
Bute was virtually master of the government.
The Russian alliance more than made up to Frederick for the loss of the
English subsidy; Tchernitchev and his army were at his disposal.
Suddenly his hopes were clouded over. On July 10 Peter was deposed and
soon afterwards was murdered. He was succeeded by his wife Catherine,
who did not share his admiration for the Prussian king. Frederick was
facing the Austrians in Silesia when orders came to Tchernitchev to lead
his army home. Tchernitchev delayed his departure, remaining merely as
an onlooker, to give the Prussians the support of his presence. On the
21st Frederick won the decisive battle of Burkersdorf, and a few weeks
later was master of Silesia. In western Germany, where the war more
immediately concerned England, Prince Ferdinand showed consummate skill
in forcing the French to act on the defensive. On June 24 the allies
defeated them at Wilhelmsthal. The victory was decided by Granby, who,
after a fierce engagement, destroyed the pick of the French army under
Stainville. A series of successes followed; Gottingen was evacuated, the
larger part of Hesse reconquered, and Cassel and some other places which
remained to the French were blockaded. The French army of reserve under
Conde marched from the Lower Rhine to help Soubise; a junction was
effected to the north of Frankfort, and the French attempted to open up
communications with Cassel. After much manoeuvring about the Lahn, no
way seemed possible for them save by crossing the Ohm. The passage at
Bruckenmuhle, near Amoneburg, was held by the allies. The French
attacked on September 21. During the last four hours of the conflict,
which lasted the whole day, the defence was taken up by Granby, and was
maintained with splendid determination until at last the French retired.
Cassel surrendered on November 1, and the war ended.
[Sidenote: _BRITISH SUCCESSES._]
Success attended the arms of Great Britain in other quarters. Pitt's
spirit still animated her efforts. How far the government adopted his
plans and arrangements cannot, perhaps, be decided with certainty. He
had large ideas, which probably included not merely the conquest of
Martinique and Havana, but also an attack on Louisiana. The enemies of
the government attributed to him the victories which followed his
resignation.[58] The ministers naturally claimed the credit of them and
certainly made arrangements for them,[59] probably following lines
already marked out by Pitt. Rodney, who was in command on the Leeward
islands station, acting in co-operation with General Monckton, reduced
Martinique in February. The fall of that island, the seat of the
government of France in the West Indies, the centre of her privateering
expeditions, and her chief mart in those parts, was followed by the
surrender of Grenada, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent, and England became
mistress of all the Windward islands. Against these losses France could
set only a momentary possession of St. John's, Newfoundland, which was
speedily retaken. Spain had to pay heavily for her rashness in espousing
the French cause. Her troops, indeed, entered Portugal, overran
Traz-os-Montes, and threatened Oporto, while south of the Douro they
advanced as far as Almeida and took it. But the aspect of affairs
changed when 8,000 British soldiers landed at Lisbon and the Count of
Lippe-Buckeburg took the command. He was ably seconded by General
Burgoyne, and the Spaniards were forced to retreat within their own
frontier.
So far as England was concerned the war in Portugal was a small matter.
It was through her power on the sea that she was able to reap a rich
harvest from her war with Spain. In March a fleet under Pocock, carrying
10,000 men under the command of the Earl of Albemarle, sailed for
Havana. Off Cape St. Nicholas, Pocock was joined by a reinforcement sent
by Rodney. There was no time to lose, for the hurricane season was near;
and he therefore took his ships through the shoals of the Bahama channel
instead of to the south of Cuba, and brought them out safely on June 5,
a notable piece of seamanship, for the channel was little known. The
troops laid siege to Fort Moro, which commanded Havana. The Spaniards
made a vigorous defence, and the British suffered terribly from disease;
at one time 5,000 soldiers and 3,000 seamen were incapacitated by
sickness. Much-needed reinforcements arrived from New York, and, on July
30, the fort was taken by storm after a siege of forty-five days. The
town capitulated on August 12. The reduction of the island deprived
Spain of a rich colony, an important centre of trade, and, more, of a
port which commanded the route of her treasure-ships from the Gulf of
Mexico. An immense booty was secured, L3,000,000 in money besides
merchandise.
About the same time England dealt Spain a heavy blow on the other side
of the world. An expedition under General Draper sailed from Madras in a
fleet commanded by Admiral Cornish, and on September 25 landed at
Manila. The Spaniards, though unprepared, refused to surrender, and the
place was taken by storm. Large government stores were seized by the
victors, but the British commanders allowed the inhabitants to ransom
their property for 4,000,000 dollars. Half this sum was paid in bills on
the Spanish treasury which were rejected at Madrid, and the money was
never paid. With Manila the whole of the Philippines passed to Great
Britain. Though a privateering expedition undertaken with the Portuguese
against Buenos Ayres was beaten off with heavy loss, Spain was unable to
defend the sources of her wealth against the British navy. In May the
capture of the _Hermione_, from Lima, brought over L500,000 to the
captains and crews of the frigate and sloop engaged in the business. A
glorious procession passed through London, carrying the treasure to the
Tower, on August 12, when people were rejoicing at an event scarcely to
be remembered with equal satisfaction, the birth of the future king,
George IV. Two of the ships belonging to the Manila expedition also made
a prize of an Acapulco ship with a cargo worth 3,000,000 dollars.
During the summer Bute treated with France through the Count de Viri.
Bedford urged concessions upon him, and his fear lest the negotiations
should be broken off made him willing to agree to Choiseul's demands. He
would, indeed, have yielded more than he did, if Grenville had not
checked him in the cabinet. In September Bedford was sent to Paris to
settle the preliminaries. Peace was by no means desired by the English
people; they were proud of their victories and were disgusted that Bute
should have the management of affairs. Bedford was hooted in the streets
of London as he set out for Paris. Both Bute and his enemies prepared
for a struggle. Bute, as usual, employed the press to fight for him, and
engaged the services of a number of pamphleteers and newspaper-writers.
His character as a patron of men of letters rests chiefly on the money
which he spent in this way, though it must be set to his credit that he
procured a pension for Samuel Johnson without stipulating for any
return. Among his hired scribes was Smollett, who edited a paper for him
called _The Briton_. The other side, too, was active. In obedience to
Frederick's instructions the Prussian ambassadors took part in exciting
popular discontent with the government; and were justly reproved by
Grenville for their preposterous conduct. Bute was vigorously assailed
in print. The publication of _The Briton_ called forth the ironically
named _North Briton_, of which the first number appeared in June. It was
brought out by John Wilkes, member for Aylesbury, a clever and
dissipated man of fashion, with literary tastes, great courage, an
excellent wit, too often employed in obscenity, and a remarkably ugly
face. He was incorrupt and his political professions were probably
sincere. Behind him stood Temple, ever ready to instigate others to stab
the objects of his hate. The court party was strengthened by grants of
peerages, preferments, and other good things, and "the king's friends,"
as they began to call themselves, became a recognised body. Yet Bute
feared that parliament would be hostile, and made overtures to Newcastle
and Hardwicke, hoping to secure the duke's influence; but they would not
be cajoled.
[Sidenote: _SECURING A MAJORITY._]
A majority for the peace had to be insured before the preliminaries came
before parliament. Grenville was dissatisfied with some of the articles,
and would in any case have been too scrupulous for the work which had to
be done. Bute was driven to apply to Henry Fox, whom both the king and
he cordially disliked. Fox, who had previously sold his support to Bute
at the price of a peerage for his wife, was offered Grenville's place as
secretary of state and a peerage for himself, if he would take the
management of the commons. "We must," George said, "call in bad men to
govern bad men." Fox at once broke with the whigs and accepted the
leadership, but he refused the seals, for he preferred to continue in
the more lucrative office of paymaster of the forces, which he had used
during the last six years as a means of amassing a great fortune. As
paymaster he had large sums of public money in his hands to meet calls
at fixed periods. Holders of the office were wont to employ such sums
for their own benefit. Pitt would not do so, and left the office a poor
man. Fox had no such scruples. During the war the government often
obtained ready money by issuing bills at 20 per cent discount. Fox
bought these bills with the public money which lay in his hands. He
also used the public money in operating in government stock and gained
immense profits from the fluctuations of the funds, for as a minister he
of course knew more about the chances of peace than the public.[60]
Grenville was forced to resign the leadership to him, and the office of
secretary to Halifax, and take the admiralty in exchange. Fox set about
the business of securing a majority in the commons by bribing members.
In one day L25,000 was paid out of the treasury, and it is said even so
small a sum as L200 was not refused.
Encouraged by Fox's success, George gave the whigs a lesson on the
fruits of opposition. The king, so the court party said, would be king;
the prerogative was to shine out. Devonshire, the "prince of the whigs,"
was forced to resign the chamberlain's staff; the king treated him
uncivilly and with his own hand struck his name from the list of privy
councillors. The whigs were enraged at this high-handed proceeding. The
Marquis of Rockingham resigned the bed-chamber, and George received his
resignation with indifference. Worse was yet to come. Overtures were
made to Pitt by the whigs who gathered round Cumberland, but he would
not connect himself with them. They had defeated his policy, and though
he desired Bute's removal, he would not help to turn him out in order to
put Newcastle back in power.
[Sidenote: _THE TERMS OF PEACE._]
The preliminaries of peace were signed on November 3, and laid before
parliament on the 29th. France agreed to restore Minorca and to evacuate
the territories of Hanover, Hesse, Brunswick, and Prussia. Both parties
were to withdraw their troops from Germany. Dunkirk was to be
dismantled. France resigned Canada, Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton,
together with some territory hitherto claimed as part of Louisiana.
Spain ceded Florida and received back Havana and Manila. Portugal was
restored to its position as before the war. Great Britain restored to
France Belle Ile, Guadeloupe, Mariegalante, Martinique, and St. Lucia,
and retained Grenada, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago. France was
allowed a right of fishery in the gulf of St. Lawrence and on the
Newfoundland coast, and received the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon
as shelters, covenanting not to fortify them. Spain gave up its claim
to the Newfoundland fishery, agreed that the dispute concerning prizes
should be settled by the courts, and acknowledged the right to cut
logwood on the Bay of Honduras. In Africa England restored Goree to
France and kept Senegal. In India France abandoned her pretensions to
conquests since 1749, and received back the factories which she had at
that date. As a compensation to Spain for the loss of Florida, France
ceded to her Louisiana; a Spanish governor arrived there in 1766, but
though Spain had posts and settlements in the province, she can scarcely
be said to have ever had any effective hold upon it.
It was a glorious peace for Great Britain; it marks a signal epoch in
her imperial history. But it was not so advantageous as she had a right
to expect. Financially peace was desirable, for the national debt of
Great Britain and Ireland, which before the war stood, as has already
been stated, at L72,505,572, had risen to L132,716,049, but her
resources were by no means exhausted; she could have continued the war
without distress. It is fairly certain that better terms might have been
obtained if the government had carried on the negotiations in a
different spirit. Martinique, specially valuable to a maritime power,
was surrendered without compensation; Manila was simply thrown away
through careless haste; Goree, on which the French slave trade depended,
might easily have been retained. Grenville protested against the
surrender of Guadeloupe, and it was decided on when he was too ill to
attend the council. Florida was a poor exchange for Havana, the richest
of our conquests. Whether Pitt's policy of obtaining commercial
monopolies by force of arms was economically sound, and whether the
restoration of the French navy would have been impeded so materially by
exclusion from the fishery as he believed, are questions on which we
need not dwell here. The treaty must be judged according to the beliefs
of the time. As it ceded valuable conquests without adequate
compensation, and encouraged France again to enter on a naval and
commercial policy by restoring to her Goree, colonies in the West
Indies, and her factories in India, and by granting her a share in the
fisheries, it was justly condemned as unsatisfactory. As regards the
continental war, the change in Frederick's position was sufficient
reason for our withdrawal from a quarrel which did not concern us. Yet
he had some cause of complaint, for though the treaty provided that the
French should evacuate his territories, it did not provide that the
territories should be handed over to him. He gained possession of them
without difficulty, but for that he owed no thanks to England. He
believed that he had been betrayed and deserted, and adopted an
unfriendly attitude, which was a hindrance to England's foreign policy
in later years.
At home the peace was widely condemned. When parliament met on November
25, Bute's coach was attacked and he was in some danger. In the lords
the address approving the preliminaries was passed without a division.
In the commons the debate had begun when Pitt entered the house. He was
suffering from gout, and was carried by his servants within the bar.
Dressed in black velvet, and leaning on a crutch, he advanced slowly to
his seat, his limbs swathed in wrappings, and his face pale with
suffering. Yet he spoke for three hours and forty minutes. After
declaring that he was unconnected with any party, he criticised the
various articles of the treaty, pointing out that they surrendered
maritime and commercial advantages which would have been doubly valuable
because our gain would have been the loss of France. The treatment of
Frederick he denounced as base and treacherous. The address was carried
by 319 to 65. The definitive treaty was signed at Paris on February 10,
1763, and on the 15th Prussia and Austria made peace at Hubertsburg. The
majority was largely obtained by corruption. Many members, however, no
doubt welcomed the peace, even though they were not fully satisfied with
its terms. The rout of the whigs was completed by their disunion; some
who would have voted against the address were discouraged by Pitt's
attitude of solitary independence.[61] The king had succeeded in
breaking up the whig party, and there was no organised opposition. The
court was triumphant. On hearing the result of the division, the
princess-dowager is said to have exclaimed, "Now my son is King of
England!" The victory was followed up by a general proscription of the
whigs; Newcastle, Grafton, and Rockingham were dismissed from their
lord-lieutenancies. Nor was vengeance confined to the great. All whigs
who held places were deprived of them, and even poor clerks and
excisemen lost the employments bestowed on them by whig ministers. Fox
urged on the execution of this shameful business. Every effort was made
to obtain congratulatory addresses on the peace from municipal bodies,
and money was offered for them. London and several other places refused
to be won over by any means.
[Sidenote: _THE CIDER TAX._]
The unpopularity of the administration was heightened by its finance.
Dashwood's scheme for the supplies included a loan of L3,000,000, which
was negotiated on such extravagant terms that the scrip soon rose to a
premium of 11 per cent. The loan was not open to public competition, it
was distributed among the chief supporters of the government; nine of
them, it is said, cleared each L20,000, Fox L10,000, and so on, while
the nation lost L385,000 by the transaction. It was a new form of
corruption, specially dangerous because indirect.[62] More general
indignation was excited by the proposal of a tax of four shillings a
hogshead on cider, to be paid by the maker and collected as an excise.
The tax was excessive in amount, onerous in its conditions, and unfair
in its incidence, for it fell equally on the poorest and the most
valuable cider, and pressed solely on particular districts. It was,
however, as an extension of the excise laws that it was specially
offensive to public feeling. That was a matter on which Englishmen were
extremely jealous. Thirty years before a proposal for an extended excise
nearly wrecked the power of Sir Robert Walpole, who wisely yielded to
the storm. By Dashwood's scheme farmers were liable to have the privacy
of their homes invaded by the visits of excisemen. Disturbances broke
out in the cider counties, and troops were moved into them. The
excitement was general. London petitioned against the tax, and its
example was followed by many other corporations and counties. Bute was
violently assailed in print, by Wilkes in prose and by his friend
Churchill in verse. A parliamentary opposition was organised; it was
joined by Pitt and Temple, and had its headquarters at Wildman's tavern
in Albemarle Street. Pitt spoke strongly against the tax in the commons.
It was defended by Grenville, who in the course of his speech constantly
demanded where another tax could be laid. Mimicking his querulous tone,
Pitt repeated aloud the words of an old ditty, "Gentle shepherd, tell me
where". The nickname, Gentle shepherd, stuck by Grenville. The bill
passed the commons and was sent up to the lords. For the first time
since the revolution the lords divided on a money-bill, and voted 49
against, to 83 for its committal.
A few days later, on April 7, Bute announced that ill-health compelled
him to retire from office. The announcement caused general surprise, but
he had for some weeks determined to retire, and had arranged with the
king that Grenville should succeed him. That he should have taken office
was, Pitt wrote, more astonishing than his departing from it.[63] He
took office with the intention of carrying out the king's policy of
breaking up the whig phalanx and bringing about a peace. Both objects
were accomplished. Though still strong in votes in the commons, he had
few allies of any weight, for Bedford was offended with him. The newly
formed opposition caused him uneasiness, specially as it included Pitt
and Temple; it was strong in the lords, and he feared its influence in
their chamber.[64] Though his health was not materially affected, he was
doubtless weary of a task which he must have learned was too great for
his abilities. He knew that he was generally hated by the people, and
feared that if he remained longer in office, his unpopularity would
become injurious to the king. Before his resignation he provided
handsomely for his relations and friends at the expense of the nation;
reversions of L52,000 a year were distributed among them. Fox was
rewarded by his creation as Baron Holland, and managed to keep the pay
office for two years longer.
FOOTNOTES:
[35] _Chatham Correspondence_, ii., 69 _n._
[36] Dutens, _Memoires d'un voyageur_, i., 178-79.
[37] _Parliamentary Hist._, xv., 1044-47.
[38] Newcastle to Bedford, July 2, 1761; _Bedford Correspondence_, iii.,
19.
[39] Newcastle to Hardwicke, Aug. 17, 1761, Add. MS. 32,927, f. 68;
_Bedford Correspondence_, iii., 36-42.
[40] Bristol to Pitt, Aug. 31, 1761, Add. MS. 32,927, ff. 285-87.
[41] Stanley to Pitt, Sept. 2, 1761, Add. MS. 32,928, f. 14.
[42] Stanley to Pitt, Sept. 6, 1761, _ibid._, ff. 1, 148, 179.
[43] Stanley to Pitt, Sept. 8, 1761, _ibid._, f. 40.
[44] _Ibid._, f. 225, printed in _The Grenville Papers_, i., 386-87.
[45] Newcastle to Hardwicke, Sept. 20, 1761, Add. MS. 32,928, f. 260.
[46] Stanley to Pitt, dated Sept. 14, 1761, received the 21st, _ibid._,
f. 148.
[47] Newcastle to Hardwicke, Sept. 21, 1761, _ibid._, ff. 303-6.
[48] Stanley to Pitt, dated Sept. 19, 1761, received the 25th, _ibid._,
f. 245.
[49] Newcastle to Hardwicke, Sept. 26, 1761, _ibid._, f. 362.
[50] The disposition of the naval force fit for service on Sept. 15,
1761, was: At home and within call, 54 ships of the line and 58
frigates; with Saunders, 11 of the line and 12 frigates; East Indies, 14
of the line; Jamaica, 6; Leeward islands, 8; North America, 6; other
plantations, 2; convoys and cruisers, 4; total, 105 of the line. Men
wanting to complete ships at home, 15,490 (Add. MS. 32,928, f. 185).
France could not have had more than 42 ships of the line (Mahan,
_Influence of Sea Power_, p. 312). Spain had 49 of the line fit for
service, but insufficiently manned (Coxe, _Bourbon Kings of Spain_,
iii., 245, ed. 1813).
[51] Minutes of Council, Oct. 2, 1761, Add. MS. 32,929, ff. 18-28.
[52] Newcastle to Hardwicke, Nov. 9, 1761, Add. MS. 32,929, f. 143.
[53] _Annual Register_, iv. (1761), 48.
[54] Bisset, _Memoirs of Sir A. Mitchell_, ii., 283, 286, 294 _sq._;
_Buckinghamshire Correspondence_, i., 47-52; Adolphus, _Hist. of the
Reign of George III._, i., App. 5, 79-83.
[55] Newcastle to Devonshire, April 10, 1762, Add. MS. 32,937, ff. 11,
87.
[56] Add. MS. 32,938, ff. 18, 50, 105 _sq._, 239, 262, 304, 425.
[57] Newcastle to Cumberland, May 26, 1762, Add. MS. 32,939 f. 5.
[58] Newcastle to Pitt, 1762, MS. Pitt Papers, 25, R.O.; Temple to Pitt,
Oct. 3, 1762, _ibid._, 61.
[59] As regards Manila, see _Hist. MSS. Comm. Rep._, vii., 316 _sq._
[60] Fox's Memoir in _Life and Letters of Lady Sarah Lennox_, i., 72-73.
[61] A. von Ruville, _William Pitt und Graf Bute_, pp. 55-56.
[62] _Parl. Hist._, xv., 1305; _History of the Late Minority_, p. 96;
May, _Constitutional History_, i., 382-83.
[63] Pitt to Newcastle, April 9, 1763, Add. MS. 32,948, f. 84. Bute
resigned on the 11th.
[64] Newcastle to Lord Kinnoul, June 3, 1763, Add. MS. 32,949, f. 15.