[Footnote 1: This advertisement was written by the editor, Dr. Charles Lucas of Dublin. This Lucas was the patriot who created such a stir in Irish politics between the years 1743 and 1750. Lord Townshend, in a letter to the Marquis of Granby, called him "the Wilkes of Ireland." As an author he seems to have been very prolific, though of no polish in his writings. Lucas's disclaimers of sympathy with the opinions contained in the work he edited are somewhat over-stated, and his criticisms are petty. A full account of this hot-headed physician may be found in the Dictionary of National Biography. It was Dr. Johnson, in his life of Swift, who first published the information that Lucas edited this "History." [T.S.]]
Thus, the long wished for History of the Four Last Years of the Queen's Reign is at length brought to light, in spite of all attempts to suppress it!
As this publication is not made under the sanction of the name, or names, which the author and the world had a right to expect; it is fit some account of the works appearing in this manner should be here given.
Long before the Dean's apparent decline, some of his intimate friends, with concern, foresaw the impending fate of his fortune and his works. To this it is owing, that these sheets, which the world now despaired of ever seeing, are rescued from obscurity, perhaps from destruction.
For this, the public is indebted to a gentleman, now in Ireland, of the greatest probity and worth, with whom the Dean long lived in perfect intimacy. To this gentleman's hands the Dean entrusted a copy of his History, desiring him to peruse and give his judgment of it, with the last corrections and amendments the author had given it, in his own hand.
His friend read, admired, and approved. And from a dread of so valuable and so interesting a work's being by any accident lost or effaced, as was probable by its not being intended to be published in the author's lifetime; he resolved to keep this copy, till the author should press him for it; but with a determined purpose, it should never see the light, while there was any hopes of the author's own copy being published, or even preserved.
This resolution he inviolably kept, till he and the world had full assurance, that the Dean's executors, or those into whose hands the original copy fell, were so far from intending to publish it, that it was actually suppressed, perhaps destroyed.
Then, he thought himself not only at liberty, but judged it his duty to his departed friend, and to the public, to let this copy, which he had now kept many years most secretly, see the light.
Thus it has at length fallen into the hands of a person, who publishes it for the satisfaction of the public, abstracted from all private regards; which are never to be permitted to come in competition with the common good.
Every judicious eye will see, that the author of these sheets wrote with strong passions, but with stronger prepossessions and prejudices in favour of a party. These, it may be imagined, the editor, in some measure, may have adopted, and published this work as a kind of support of that party, or some surviving remnant thereof.
It is but just to undeceive the reader, and inform him from what kind of hand he has received this work. A man may regard a good piece of painting, while he despises the subject; if the subject be ever so despicable, the masterly strokes of the painter may demand our admiration, while he, in other respects, is entitled to no portion of our regard.
In poetry, we carry our admiration still farther; and like the poet, while we actually contemn the man. Historians share the like fate; hence some, who have no regard to propriety or truth, are yet admired for diction, style, manner, and the like.
The editor considers this work in another light. He long knew the author, and was no stranger to his politics, connections, tendencies, passions, and the whole economy of his life. He has long been hardily singular in condemning this great man's conduct amid the admiring multitude, nor ever could have thought of making an interest in a man, whose principles and manners he could by no rule of reason or honour approve, however he might have admired his parts and wit.
Such was judged the disposition of the man, whose history of the most interesting period of time in the annals of Britain are now, herein, offered to the reader. He may well ask from what motives? The answer is easily, simply given.
The causes assigned for delaying the publication of this history were principally these:[2] That the manuscript fell into the hands of men, who, whatever they might have been by the generality deemed, were by the Dean believed to be of his party, though they did not, after his death, judge it prudent to avow his principles, more than to deny them in his lifetime. These men, having got their beavers, tobacco-boxes, and other trifling remembrances of former friendship, by the Dean's will, did not choose publicly to avow principles, that had marred their friend's promotion, and might probably put a stop to theirs. Therefore, they gave the inquisitive world to understand, that there was something too strong against many great men, as well as the succeeding system of public affairs in general, in the Dean's History of the Four Last Years of the Queen's Reign, to admit of a publication, in our times; and, with this poor insinuation, excused themselves, and satisfied the weakly well-affected, in suppressing the manifestation of displeasing truths, of however great importance to society.
[Footnote 2: The causes for the delay in the publication of the "History" are given at length by the present editor in the Introduction. [T.S.]]
This manuscript has now fallen into the hands of a man, who never could associate with, or even approve, any of the parties or factions, that have differently distracted, it might be said disgraced, these kingdoms; because he has as yet known none, whose motives or rules of action were truth and the public good alone; of one, who judges, that perjured magistrates of all denominations, and their most exalted minions, may be exposed, deprived, or cut off, by the fundamental laws of his country; and who, upon these principles, from his heart approves and glories in the virtues of his predecessors, who revived the true spirit of the British polity, in laying aside a priest-ridden, an hen-pecked, tyrannical tool, who had overturned the political constitution of his country, and in reinstituting the dissolved body politic, by a revolution supported by the laws of nature and the realm, as the only means of preserving the natural and legal, the civil and religious liberties of the members of the commonwealth.
Truth, in this man's estimation, can hurt no good cause. And falsehood and fraud, in religion and politics, are ever to be detected, to be exploded.
Insinuations, that this History contained something injurious to the present establishment, and therefore necessary to be suppressed, serve better the purposes of mistaken or insidious malcontents than the real publication can. And, if any thing were by this, or any other, History to be shown essentially erroneous in our politics, who, that calls himself a Briton, can be deemed such an impious slave, as to conceal the destructive evil? The editor of this work disdains and abhors the servile thought, and wishes to live no longer than he dares to think, speak, write, and, in all things, to act worthy of a Briton.
From this regard to truth and to his country, the editor of this History was glad of an opportunity of rescuing such a writing from those who meant to suppress it. The common cause, in his estimation, required and demanded it should be done; and the sooner it is published, he judged, the better: for, if the conduct of the Queen and her ministers does not deserve the obloquy that has been long industriously cast upon it, what is more just than to vindicate it? What more reasonable than that this should be done, while living witnesses may yet be called, to prove or disprove the several allegations and assertions; since, in a few years more, such witnesses may be as much wanting as to prevent a canonization, which is therefore prudently procrastinated for above an age? Let us then coolly hear what is to be said on this side the question, and judge like Britons.
The editor would not be thought to justify the author of this History, in all points, or even to attempt to acquit him of unbecoming prejudices and partiality. Without being deeply versed in history or politics, he can see his author, in many instances, blinded with passions that disgrace the historian; and blending, with phrases worthy of a Caesar or a Cicero, expressions not to be justified by truth, reason, or common sense, yet think him a most powerful orator, and a great historian.
No unprejudiced person will blame the Dean for doing all that is consistent with truth and decency to vindicate the government of the Queen, and to exculpate the conduct of her ministers and her last general; all good men would rejoice at such a vindication. But, if he meant no more than this, his work would ill deserve the title of an History. That he generally tells truths, and founds his most material assertions upon fact, will, I think be found very evident. But there is room to suspect, that, while he tells no more than the truth, he does not tell the whole truth. However, he makes it very clear, that the Queen's allies, especially our worthy friends the Dutch, were much to blame for the now generally condemned conduct of the Queen, with regard to the prosecution of the war and the bringing about the peace.
The authors drawings of characters are confessedly partial: for he tells us openly, he means not to give characters entire, but such parts of each man's particular passions, acquirements, and habits, as he was most likely to transfer into his political schemes. What writing, what sentence, what character, can stand this torture?—What extreme perversion may not, let me say, does not, this produce? Yet thus does he choose to treat all men, that were not favourers of the latest measures of the Queen, when the best that has been said for her, shows no more than that she was blindfolded and held in leading-strings by her ministers.
He does not spare a man, confessed by all the world to have discharged the duties of his function like a soldier, like an hero. But charges Prince Eugene with raising and keeping up a most horrible mob, with intent to assassinate Harley. For all which odious charges he offers not one individual point of proof.
He is not content with laying open again the many faults already publicly proved upon the late Duke of Marlborough, but insinuates a new crime, by seeming to attempt to acquit him of aspiring at the throne. But this is done in a manner peculiar to this author.
On the other hand, he extols the ministers, and minions of the Queen, in the highest terms; and while he robs their antagonists of every good quality, generally gives those wisdom and every virtue that can adorn human nature.
He is not ashamed to attempt to justify, what all thinking good men must condemn, the Queen's making twelve peers at once, to serve a particular turn.
All these may be ascribed to the strength of his passions, and to the prejudices, early imbibed, in favour of his indulgent royal mistress and her favourites and servants.[3] The judicious will look through the elegant clothing, and dispassionately consider these as mere human errors, to which no well-informed mind can assent. The editor thinks himself bound to protest against them.
[Footnote 3: That Swift should have a strong partiality to Harley and St. John, by whom he was respected and trusted to a most uncommon degree, is natural and obvious; but upon what ground Queen Anne, who disliked his person, and obstructed his preferment, is here termed his indulgent mistress, the author of this preface ought to have condescended to explain. [S.]]
He makes a few lapses on the other side, without being as clear as an impartial historian would choose to appear. He more than hints at the Queen's displeasure at its being moved in Parliament, that the Prince Elector should be invited to reside in England, to whose crown he was by law declared presumptive heir, but is always open upon the Queen's insisting on the Pretender's being sent out of France.—It is easy to see how incompatible these things appear. Nothing could tend more to secure the Hanover succession, and to enlarge its benefits to Britain, than the bringing over the successor, who should, in every country, be well instructed in the language, customs, manners, religion, and laws of his future subjects, before he comes to hold the reins of government. And our author does not take the proper care to inform us how far the French thought fit to comply with banishing the Pretender their dominions, since many still live in doubt, that if he was sent out of France, he was sent into England.
But there is one expression of our author too perverse, too grossly abused, to admit of any apology, of any palliation. It is not to be supposed, that he was ignorant of any word in the English language. And least of all can he be supposed ignorant of the meaning of a word, which, had it been ever so doubtful before, had a certain meaning impressed upon it by the authority of Parliament, of which no sensible subject can be ignorant.
Notwithstanding this, where our author speaks of the late King James, he calls him the abdicated King, and gives the same epithet even to his family. Though this weak, ill-advised, and ill-fated prince, in every sense of the word, with Romans and English, and to all intents and purposes, abdicated, yet can he, in no sense, be called abdicated; unless the people's asserting their rights, and defending themselves against a king, who broke his compact with his subjects, and overturned their government, can be called abdication in them; which no man in his senses can be hardy enough to support upon any principle of reason or the laws of England. Let the reader judge which this is most likely to be, error or design.
These exceptions the editor thought himself bound to make to some parts of this work, to keep clear of the disagreeable imputations of being of a party, of whatsoever denomination, in opposition to truth and the rights and liberties of the subject.
These laid aside, the work will be found to have many beauties, many excellencies. Some have of late affected to depreciate this History, from an insinuation, made only since the author's death, to wit, that he was never admitted into the secrets of the administration, but made to believe he was a confident, only to engage him in the list of the ministerial writers of that reign.
The falsehood of this will readily appear upon perusal of the work. This shows he knew the most secret springs of every movement in the whole complicated machine. That he states facts, too well known to be contested, in elegant simplicity, and reasons upon them with the talents of the greatest historian. And thus makes an History, composed rather of negotiations than actions, most entertaining, affecting, and interesting, instead of being, as might be expected, heavy, dull, and disagreeable.
It is now fit to apologize for some errors, which the judicious must discover upon a perusal of this work. It is for this, among other reasons, much to be lamented, that this History was not published under the author's own inspection. It is next to impossible to copy or print any work without faults, and most so where the author's eye is wanting.
It is not to be imagined, that even our author, however accurate, however great, was yet strictly and perfectly correct in his writings. Yet, where some seeming inaccuracies in style or expression have been discovered, the deference due to the author made any alteration too presumptuous a task for the editor. These are, therefore, left to the amending hand of every sensible and polite reader; while the editor hopes it will suffice, that he should point out some of those errors, which are to be ascribed either to transcribers or the press, and which may be rectified in the manner following, in reading the work.[4]
[Footnote 4: Here follows list of errata. (These errors have been corrected in the present edition.)]
And thus; with these and perhaps some few such like corrections, it is hoped this work will be found completely correct.
[Footnote 1: The time when it was written does not appear; but it was probably many years after the Queen's death. [N.] First published in 1765. [W.S.J.]]
Having written the following History at Windsor, in the happy reign of Her Majesty Queen Anne, of ever glorious, blessed, and immortal memory; I resolved to publish it, for the satisfaction of my fellow-subjects, in the year 1713; but, being under a necessity of going to Ireland, to take possession of the deanery of St. Patrick's, Dublin, I left the original with the ministers; and having stayed in that kingdom not above a fortnight, I found, at my return, that my Lord Treasurer Oxford, and the secretary my Lord Bolingbroke, who were then unhappily upon very ill terms with each other, could not agree upon publishing it, without some alterations which I would not submit to. Whereupon I kept it by me until Her Majesty's death, which happened about a year after.
I have ever since preserved the original very safely; too well knowing what a turn the world would take upon the German family's succeeding to the crown; which indeed was their undoubted right, having been established solemnly by the act of an undisputed Parliament, brought into the House of Commons by Mr. Harley, who was then Speaker.
But, as I have said in another discourse,[2] it was very well understood, some years before Her Majesty's death, how the new King would act, immediately upon his entrance, in the choice of those (and those alone) whom he resolved to trust; and consequently what reports would industriously be raised, as well as spread, to expose the proceedings of Her Majesty herself, as well as of her servants; who have been ever since blasted as enemies to the present establishment, by the most ignorant and malicious among mankind.
[Footnote 2: "Memoirs relating to the Change in the Queen's Ministry." See vol. v. of present edition. [T.S.]]
Therefore, as it was my lot to have been daily conversant with the persons then in power; never absent in times of business or conversation, until a few weeks before Her Majesty's death; and a witness of almost every step they made in the course of their administration; I must have been very unfortunate not to be better informed than those miserable pamphleteers, or their patrons, could pretend to. At the same time, I freely confess, it appeared necessary, as well as natural, upon such a mighty change as the death of a sovereign, that those who were to be in power upon the succession, and resolved to act in every part by a direct contrary system of politics, should load their predecessors with as much infamy as the most inveterate malice and envy could suggest, or the most stupid ignorance and credulity in their underlings could swallow.
Therefore, as I pretend to write with the utmost impartiality, the following History of the Four Last Years of her Majesty's Reign, in order to undeceive prejudiced persons at present, as well as posterity; I am persuaded in my own mind, as likewise by the advice of my oldest and wisest friends, that I am doing my duty to God and man, by endeavouring to set future ages right in their judgment of that happy reign; and, as a faithful historian, I cannot suffer falsehoods to run on any longer, not only against all appearance of truth as well as probability, but even against those happy events, which owe their success to the very measures then fixed in the general peace.
The materials for this History, besides what I have already mentioned, I mean the confidence reposed in me for those four years, by the chief persons in power, were extracted out of many hundred letters written by our ambassadors abroad, and from the answers as well as instructions sent them by our secretaries of state, or by the first minister the Earl of Oxford. The former were all originals, and the latter copies entered into books in the secretaries' office, out of both which I collected all that I thought convenient; not to mention several Memorials given me by the ministers at home. Further, I was a constant witness and observer of all that passed; and entered every particular of any consequence upon paper.
I was so far from having any obligation to the crown, that, on the contrary, Her Majesty issued a proclamation, offering three hundred pounds to any person who would discover the author of a certain short treatise,[3] which the Queen well knew to have been written by me. I never received one shilling from the minister, or any other present, except that of a few books; nor did I want their assistance to support me. I very often dined indeed with the treasurer and secretary; but, in those days, that was not reckoned a bribe, whatever it may have been at any time since. I absolutely refused to be chaplain to the Lord Treasurer; because I thought it would ill become me to be in a state of dependence.
[Footnote 3: "The Public Spirit of the Whigs." [D.S.]]
I say this, to shew that I had no other bias than my own opinion of persons and affairs. I preserved several of the opposite party in their employments, who were persons of wit and learning, particularly Mr. Addison and Mr. Congreve, neither of whom were ever in any danger from the treasurer, who much esteemed them both; and, by his lordship's commands, I brought the latter to dine with him. Mr. Steele might have been safe enough, if his continually repeated indiscretions, and a zeal mingled with scurrilities, had not forfeited all title to lenity.[4]
[Footnote 4: A full account of the severance of the friendly relations between Swift and Steele is given in the fifth volume of the present edition (see pp. 276-282). [T.S.]]
I know very well the numberless prejudices of weak and deceived people, as well as the malice of those, who, to serve their own interest or ambition, have cast off all religion, morality, justice, and common decency. However, although perhaps I may not be believed in the present age, yet I hope to be so in the next, by all who will bear any regard for the honour and liberty of England, if either of these shall then subsist or not.
I have no interest or inclination to palliate the mistakes, or omissions, or want of steadiness, or unhappy misunderstandings, among a few of those who then presided in affairs.
Nothing is more common than the virulence of superficial and ill informed writers, against the conduct of those who are now called prime ministers: And, since factions appear at present to be at a greater height than in any former times, although perhaps not so equally poised; it may probably concern those who are now in their height, if they have any regard for their own memories in future ages, to be less warm against others, who humbly differ from them in some state opinions. Old persons remember, at least by tradition, the horrible prejudices that prevailed against the first Earl of Clarendon, whose character, as it now stands, might be a pattern for all ministers; although even Bishop Burnet of Sarum, whose principles, veracity, and manner of writing, are so little esteemed upon many accounts, hath been at the pains to vindicate him.
Upon that irreparable breach between the treasurer and secretary Bolingbroke, after my utmost endeavours, for above two years, to reconcile them, I retired to a friend in Berkshire, where I stayed until Her Majesty's death;[5] and then immediately returned to my station in Dublin, where I continued about twelve years without once seeing England. I there often reviewed the following Memoirs; neither changing nor adding, further than by correcting the style: And, if I have been guilty of any mistakes, they must be of small moment; for it was hardly possible I could be wrong informed, with all the advantages I have already mentioned.
[Footnote 5: See vol. v. of the present edition—the notes on pp. 390, 393-394, 420, 421, and 426. [T.S.]]
I shall not be very uneasy under the obloquy that may, perhaps, be cast upon me by the violent leaders and followers of the present prevailing party. And yet I cannot find the least inconsistence with conscience or honour, upon the death of so excellent a princess as her late Majesty, for a wise and good man to submit, with a true and loyal heart, to her lawful Protestant successor; whose hereditary title was confirmed by the Queen and both Houses of Parliament, with the greatest unanimity, after it had been made an article in the treaty, that every prince in our alliance should be a guarantee of that succession. Nay, I will venture to go one step farther; that, if the negotiators of that peace had been chosen out of the most professed zealots for the interests of the Hanover family, they could not have bound up the French king, or the Hollanders, more strictly than the Queen's plenipotentiaries did, in confirming the present succession; which was in them so much a greater mark of virtue and loyalty, because they perfectly well knew, that they should never receive the least mark of favour, when the succession had taken place.
I propose give the public an account of the most important affairs at home, during the last session of Parliament, as well as of our negotiations of peace abroad, not only during that period, but some time before and since. I shall relate the chief matters transacted by both Houses in that session, and discover the designs carried on by the heads of a discontented party,[1] not only against the ministry, but, in some manner, against the crown itself. I likewise shall state the debts of the nation, show by what mismanagement, and to serve what purposes, they were at first contracted, by what negligence or corruption they have so prodigiously grown, and what methods have since been taken to provide not only for their payment, but to prevent the like mischief for the time to come. Although, in an age like ours, I can expect very few impartial readers, yet I shall strictly follow truth, or what reasonably appeared to me to be such, after the most impartial inquiries I could make, and the best opportunities of being informed, by those who were the principal actors or advisers.[2]
[Footnote 1: P. Fitzgerald says "faction." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 2: Swift's informants were, of course, Harley and Bolingbroke, though the latter stated that Swift was given only such information as served the ministry's purpose in the work they had given him for "The Examiner" and the party pamphlets written in their defence. It is, however, quite interesting in this connection, to see how closely Swift's narrative follows the published political correspondence of Bolingbroke. [T.S.]]
Neither shall I mingle panegyric or satire with an history intended to inform posterity, as well as to instruct those of the present age, who may be ignorant or misled; since facts, truly related, are the best applauses, or most lasting reproaches.
Discourses upon subjects relating to the public usually seem to be calculated for London only, and some few miles about it; while the authors suppose their readers to be informed of several particulars, to which those that live remote are, for the generality, utter strangers. Most people, who frequent this town, acquire a sort of smattering (such as it is), which qualifies them for reading a pamphlet, and finding out what is meant by innuendoes, or hints at facts or persons, and initial letters of names, wherein gentlemen at a distance, although perhaps of much better understandings, are wholly in the dark. Wherefore, that these Memoirs may be rendered more generally intelligible and useful, it will be convenient to give the reader a short view of the state and disposition of affairs, when the last session of Parliament began. And because the party-leaders, who had lost their power and places, were, upon that juncture, employing all their engines, in an attempt to re-establish themselves, I shall venture one step further, and represent so much of their characters as may be supposed to have influenced their politics.
On the seventh day of December, one thousand seven hundred and eleven, began the second session of Parliament. It was now above a year since the Queen had thought fit to put the great offices of state, and of her own household, into other hands; however, three of the discontented lords were still in possession of their places, for the Duke of Marlborough continued general, the Duke of Somerset master of the horse, and the Earl of Cholmondeley treasurer of Her Majesty's household;[3] likewise great numbers of the same party[4] still kept employments of value and importance, which had not been usual of late years upon any changes of ministry. The Queen, who judged the temper of her people by this House of Commons, which a landed interest had freely chosen, found them very desirous of a secure and honourable peace, and disposed[5] to leave the management of it to her own wisdom, and that of her own council. She had, therefore, several months before the session began, sent to inform the States General of some overtures which had been made her by the enemy; and, during that summer, Her Majesty took several farther steps in that great affair, until at length, after many difficulties, a congress at Utrecht, for a general peace, was agreed upon, the whole proceedings of which previous negotiations, between our court and that of France, I shall, in its proper place, very particularly relate.
[Footnote 3: See note on p. 385 of vol. v. of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 4: P. Fitzgerald says "the ejected party." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 5: P. Fitzgerald adds "(as it was their duty)." [W.S.J.]]
The nation was already upon a better foot, with respect to its debts; for the Earl of Oxford, lord treasurer, had, in the preceeding session, proposed and effected ways and means, in the House of Commons (where he was then a member), for providing a parliamentary fund, to clear the heavy arrear of ten millions (whereof the greatest part lay upon the navy), without any new burthen (at least after a very few years) to the kingdom; and, at the same time, he took care to prevent farther incumbrances upon that article, by finding ready money for naval provisions, which has saved the public somewhat more than cent. per cent. in that mighty branch of our expenses.
The clergy were altogether in the interests and the measures of the present ministry, which had appeared so boldly in their defence, during a prosecution against one of their members,[6] where the whole sacred order was understood to be concerned. The zeal shown for that most religious bill, to settle a fund for building fifty new churches in and about the city of London,[7] was a fresh obligation; and they were farther highly gratified, by Her Majesty's choosing one of their body to be a great officer of state.[8]
[Footnote 6: Dr. Sacheverell. [N.]]
[Footnote 7: A suggestion originally made by Swift himself. See vol. iii., p. 45, of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 8: Dr. Robinson, Lord Bishop of Bristol, to be Lord Privy Seal. [ORIGINAL NOTE.] Dr. Robinson, who was appointed Bishop of London in 1713, died in 1723. [W.S.J.]]
By this time likewise, all disputes about these principles, which used originally to divide Whig and Tory, were wholly dropped; and those fantastical words ought in justice to have been so too, provided we could have found out more convenient names, whereby to distinguish lovers of peace from lovers of war;[9] or those who would leave Her Majesty some degree of freedom in the choice of her ministers, from others, who could not be satisfied with her choosing any, except such as she was most averse from. But, where a nation is once divided, interest and animosity will keep open the breach, without being supported by any other principles; or, at worst, a body of discontented people can change, and take up what principles they please.
[Footnote 9: Swift had already, in his "Some Free Thoughts upon the Present State of Affairs," attempted to re-define the distinctions of Whig and Tory. The latter, he urged, was of that party which pronounced for the principles of loyalty to the Church and the preservation of the Protestant succession in the House of Hanover. Swift felt that the majority of the people at large were strong for these principles, and the party that would openly accept them as its "platform" would, he argued, be the party that would obtain the people's support. Had Bollngbroke not delayed the publication of this tract, it might have had great influence in keeping the Tories in power. See vol. v. of present edition, pp. 380, 393. [T.S.]]
As to the disposition of the opposite party, we all remember, that the removal of the last ministry was brought about by several degrees; through which means it happened, that they and their friends were hardly recovered out of one astonishment, before they fell into another. This scene lasted for some months, and was followed by a period of rage and despair, natural to those who reflect that they have lost a secure game, by their own rashness, folly, and want of common management, when, at the same time, they knew by experience, that a watchful and dexterous adversary lay ready to take the advantage. However, some time before the session, the heads of that party began to recollect themselves, and rally their forces, like an enemy who hath been beaten out of the field, but finds he is not pursued; for although the chiefs of this faction were thought to have but little esteem or friendship for each other, yet they perfectly agreed in one general end, of distressing, by all possible methods, the new administration, wherein if they could succeed so far as to put the Queen under any great necessity, another Parliament must be called, and perhaps the power[10] devolve again into their own hands.
[Footnote 10: P. Fitzgerald says "and the power naturally." [W.S.J.]]
The issue and event of that grand confederacy appearing in both Houses, although under a different form, upon the very first day the Parliament met, I cannot better begin the relation of affairs, commencing from that period, than by a thorough detection of the whole intrigue, carried on with the greatest privacy and application, which must be acknowledged to have for several days disconcerted some of the ministry, as well as dispirited their friends; and the consequences thereof, which have in reality been so very pernicious to the kingdom.
But because the principal leaders in this design are the same persons to whom, since the loss of their power, all the opposition has been owing which the court received, either in treaties abroad, or the administration at home; it may not be improper to describe those qualities in each of them, which few of their admirers will deny, and which appear chiefly to have influenced them in acting their several parts upon the public stage. For I do not intend to draw their characters entire, which would be tedious, and little to the purpose, but shall only single out those passions, acquirements, and habits, which the owners were most likely to transfer into their political schemes, and which were most subservient to the designs they seemed to have in view.
The Lord Somers[11] may very deservedly be reputed the head and oracle of that party; he hath raised himself, by the concurrence of many circumstances, to the greatest employments of the state, without the least support from birth or fortune; he hath constantly, and with great steadiness, cultivated those principles under which he grew. That accident which first produced him into the world, of pleading for the bishops whom King James had sent to the Tower, might have proved a piece of merit, as honourable as it was fortunate, but the old republican spirit, which the Revolution had restored, began to teach other lessons—That since we had accepted a new King, from a Calvinistical commonwealth, we must also admit new maxims in religion and government. But, since the nobility and gentry would probably adhere to the established Church, and to the rights of monarchy, as delivered down from their ancestors, it was the practice of those politicians to introduce such men as were perfectly indifferent to any or no religion, and who were not likely to inherit much loyalty from those to whom they owed their birth. Of this number was the person I am now describing. I have hardly known any man, with talents more proper to acquire and preserve the favour of a prince; never offending in word or gesture; in the highest degree courteous and complaisant; wherein he set an excellent example to his colleagues, which they did not think fit to follow. But this extreme civility is universal and undistinguished, and in private conversation, where he observeth it as inviolably as if he were in the greatest assembly, it is sometimes censured as formal. Two reasons are assigned for this behaviour: first, from the consciousness of his humble original,[12] he keepeth all familiarity at the utmost distance, which otherwise might be apt to intrude; the second, that being sensible how subject he is to violent passions, he avoideth all incitements to them, by teaching those he converses with, from his own example, to keep a great way within the bounds of decency and respect. And it is indeed true, that no man is more apt to take fire, upon the least appearance of provocation; which temper he strives to subdue, with the utmost violence upon himself: so that his breast has been seen to heave, and his eyes to sparkle with rage, in those very moments when his words, and the cadence of his voice, were in the humblest and softest manner: perhaps that force upon his nature may cause that insatiable love of revenge, which his detractors lay to his charge, who consequently reckon dissimulation among his chief perfections. Avarice he hath none; and his ambition is gratified, by being the uncontested head of his party. With an excellent understanding, adorned by all the polite parts of learning, he hath very little taste for conversation, to which he prefers the pleasure of reading and thinking; and in the intervals of his time amuseth himself with an illiterate chaplain, an humble companion, or a favourite servant.
[Footnote 11: See note on p. 29 of vol. i. of present edition. Swift's "Dedication" of "A Tale of a Tub" to Somers strikes a somewhat different note from that of this "character." [T.S.]]
[Footnote 12: His father, John Somers, was an attorney at law in the town of Worcester. [S.]]
These are some few distinguishing marks in the character of that person, who now presideth over the discontented party, although he be not answerable for all their mistakes; and if his precepts had been more strictly followed, perhaps their power would not have been so easily shaken. I have been assured, and heard him profess, that he was against engaging in that foolish prosecution of Dr. Sacheverell, as what he foresaw was likely to end in their ruin; that he blamed the rough demeanour of some persons to the Queen, as a great failure in prudence; and that, when it appeared Her Majesty was firmly resolved upon a treaty of peace, he advised his friends not to oppose it in its progress, but find fault with it after it was made; which would be a copy of the like usage themselves had met with, after the treaty of Ryswick;[13] and the safest, as well as the most probable, way of disgracing the promoters and advisers. I have been the larger in representing to the reader some idea of this extraordinary genius, because, whatever attempt hath hitherto been made, with any appearance of conduct, or probability of success, to restore the dominion of that party,[14] was infallibly contrived by him; and I prophesy the same for the future, as long as his age and infirmities will leave him capable of business.
[Footnote 13: See note in vol. v., p. 67, of present edition, [T.S.]]
[Footnote 14: P. Fitzgerald says "faction." [W.S.J.]]
The Duke of Marlborough's character[15] hath been so variously drawn, and is indeed of so mixed a nature in itself, that it is hard to pronounce on either side, without the suspicion of flattery or detraction. I shall say nothing of his military accomplishments, which the opposite reports, of his friends and enemies among the soldiers, have rendered[26] problematical: but if he be among those who delight in war, it is agreed to be not for the reasons common with other generals. Those maligners who deny him personal valour, seem not to consider that this accusation is charged at a venture; since the person of a wise general is too seldom exposed, to form any judgment in the matter: and that fear, which is said to have sometimes[17] disconcerted him before an action, might probably be more for his army than for himself.[18] He was bred in the height of what is called the Tory principle; and continued with a strong bias that way, till the other party had bid higher for him than his friends could afford to give. His want of literature is in some sort supplied by a good understanding, a degree of natural elocution, and that knowledge of the world which is learned in armies and courts. We are not to take the height of his ambition from his soliciting to be general for life:[19] I am persuaded his chief motive was the pay and perquisites, by continuing the war; and that he had then no intentions of settling the crown in his family, his only son having been dead some years before.[20] He is noted to be master of great temper, able to govern or very well to disguise his passions, which are all melted down, or extinguished, in his love of wealth. That liberality which nature has denied him, with respect of money, he makes up by a great profusion of promises: but this perfection, so necessary in courts, is not very successful in camps among soldiers, who are not refined enough to understand or to relish it.[21]
[Footnote 15: For further remarks on Marlborough, see Swift's "Conduct of the Allies," "The Learned Comment on Dr. Hare's Sermon," and "The Examiner." [T.S.]]
[Footnote 16: P. Fitzgerald adds "altogether." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 17: P. Fitzgerald says "usually." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 18: This reflection on Marlborough's personal courage was one of the points noted by Erasmus Lewis in his letter to Swift of April 8th, 1738. The friends who had met to read and pass opinion on this "History" decided that in any printed form of this work it would be advisable not to call in question the courage of Marlborough. See Sir W. Scott's edition, vol. xix., pp. 133-136. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 19: See "Memoirs Relating to that Change," etc., in vol. v., pp. 372-373 of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 20: See "The Conduct of the Allies," vol. v., p. 103, and also "A Learned Comment," etc., p. 179 of same volume of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 21: See the Letter to Marcus Crassus in "The Examiner," No. 28 in vol. ix. of present edition. [T.S.]]
His wife, the Duchess, may justly challenge her place in this list. It is to her the Duke is chiefly indebted for his greatness and his fall; for above twenty years she possessed, without a rival, the favours of the most indulgent mistress in the world, nor ever missed one single opportunity that fell in her way of improving it to her own advantage.[22] She hath preserved a tolerable court reputation, with respect to love and gallantry;[23] but three Furies reigned in her breast, the most mortal enemies of all softer passions, which were sordid Avarice, disdainful Pride, and ungovernable Rage; by the last of these often breaking out in sallies of the most unpardonable sort, she had long alienated her sovereign's mind, before it appeared to the world.[24] This lady is not without some degree of wit, and hath in her time affected the character of it, by the usual method of arguing against religion, and proving the doctrines of Christianity to be impossible and absurd. Imagine what such a spirit, irritated by the loss of power, favour, and employment, is capable of acting or attempting; and then I have said enough.
[Footnote 22: See the "Account of the Conduct of the Duchess of Marlborough, in a Letter from Herself, to Lord ——," 8vo, 1742, passim. [N.] See also "Memoirs Relating to that Change," etc., in vol. v. of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 23: P. Fitzgerald adds "(to which, however, she hath been thought not entirely a stranger)." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 24: See note in vol. v., p. 368, of present edition. [T.S.]]
The next in order to be mentioned is the Earl of Godolphin.[25] It is said, he was originally intended for a trade, before his friends preferred him to be a page at court; which some have very unjustly objected as a reproach. He hath risen gradually in four reigns, and was much more constant to his second master King James than some others, who had received much greater obligations; for he attended the abdicated King to the sea-side, and kept constant correspondence with him till the day of his death. He always professed a sort of passion for the Queen at St. Germain's; and his letters were to her in the style of what the French call double entendre. In a mixture of love and respect, he used frequently to send her from hence little presents of those things which are agreeable to ladies, for which he always asked King William's leave, as if without her privity; because, if she had known that circumstance, it was to be supposed she would not accept them. Physiognomists would hardly discover, by consulting the aspect of this lord, that his predominant passions were love and play; that he could sometimes scratch out a song in praise of his mistress, with a pencil and card; or that he hath tears at command, like a woman, to be used either in an intrigue of gallantry or politics. His alliance with the Marlborough family, and his passion for the Duchess, were the cords which dragged him into a party, whose principles he naturally disliked, and whose leaders he personally hated, as they did him. He became a thorough convert by a perfect trifle; taking fire at a nickname[26] delivered by Dr. Sacheverell, with great indiscretion, from the pulpit, which he applied to himself: and this is one among many instances given by his enemies, that magnanimity is none of his virtues.
[Footnote 25: See note in vol. v., p. 68, of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 26: Volpone. [ORIGINAL NOTE.]]
The Earl of Sunderland[27] is another of that alliance. It seems to have been this gentleman's fortune, to have learned his divinity from his uncle,[28] and his politics from his tutor.[29] It may be thought a blemish in his character, that he hath much fallen from the height of those republican[30] principles with which he began; for in his father's lifetime, while he was a Member of the House of Commons, he would often, among his familiar friends, refuse the title of Lord (as he hath done to myself), swear he would never be called otherwise than Charles Spencer, and hoped to see the day when there should not be a peer in England. His understanding, at the best, is of the middling size; neither hath he much improved it, either in reality, or, which is very unfortunate, even in the opinion of the world, by an overgrown library.[31] It is hard to decide, whether he learned that rough way of treating his sovereign from the lady he is allied to,[32] or whether it be the result of his own nature. The sense of the injuries he hath done, renders him (as it is very natural) implacable towards those to whom he hath given greatest cause to complain; for which reason he will never forgive either the Queen or the present treasurer.
[Footnote 27: See note in vol. v., pp. 377-378 of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 28: John Digby, third earl of Bristol. [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 29: Dr. Trimnel, since Bishop of Winton. [ORIGINAL NOTE.] He was Bishop of Norwich, 1708-1721, and of Winchester from 1721 till his death in 1723. [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 30: P. Fitzgerald says "Whiggish." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 31: The library that made such a sensation in the bibliographical world when it was sold at auction in the latter part of the last century. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 32: His lordship married the Duchess of Marlborough's second daughter. "Account, etc.," p. 286. [N.]]
The Earl of Wharton[33] hath filled the province allotted him by his colleagues, with sufficiency equal to the ablest of them all. He hath imbibed his father's[34] principles in government; but dropped his religion, and took up no other in its stead: excepting that circumstance, he is a firm Presbyterian. He is perfectly skilled in all the arts of managing at elections, as well as in large baits of pleasure for making converts of young men of quality, upon their first appearance; in which public service he contracted such large debts, that his brethren were forced, out of mere justice, to leave Ireland at his mercy, where he had only time to set himself right. Although the graver heads of his party think him too profligate and abandoned, yet they dare not be ashamed of him; for, beside his talents above mentioned, he is very useful in Parliament, being a ready speaker, and content to employ his gift upon such occasions, where those who conceive they have any remainder of reputation or modesty are ashamed to appear. In short, he is an uncontestable instance to discover the true nature of faction; since, being overrun with every quality which produceth contempt and hatred, in all other commerce of the world, he hath, notwithstanding, been able to make so considerable a figure.
[Footnote 33: See also "A Short Character," etc. in vol. v. and "The Examiner," Nos. 18 and 23, in vol. ix. of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 34: The Earl, his father, was a rigid Presbyterian. [ORIGINAL NOTE.]]
The Lord Cowper,[35] although his merits are later than the rest, deserveth a rank in this great council. He was considerable in the station of a practising lawyer; but, as he was raised to be a chancellor, and a peer, without passing through any of the intermediate steps, which in late times hath been the constant practice, and little skilled[36] in the nature of government, or the true interests of princes, further than the municipal or common law of England; his abilities, as to foreign affairs, did not equally appear in the council. Some former passages of his life were thought to disqualify him for that office, by which he was to be the guardian of the Queen's conscience;[37] but these difficulties were easily overruled by the authors of his promotion, who wanted a person that would be subservient to all their designs; wherein they were not disappointed. As to his other accomplishments, he was what we usually call a piece of a scholar, and a good logical reasoner; if this were not too often allayed, by a fallacious way of managing an argument, which made him apt to deceive the unwary, and sometimes to deceive himself.
[Footnote 35: See vol. v., p. 372 of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 36: P. Fitzgerald says "altogether unskilled." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 37: See "The Examiner," Nos. 18 and 23, in vol. ix. of this edition. [W.S.J.]]
The last to be spoken of in this list is the Earl of Nottingham,[38] a convert and acquisition to that party since their fall, to which he contributed his assistance; I mean his words, and probably his wishes; for he had always lived under the constant visible profession of principles, directly opposite to those of his new friends. His vehement and frequent speeches against admitting the Prince of Orange to the throne are yet to be seen; and although a numerous family gave a specious pretence to his love of power and money, for taking an employment under that monarch, yet he was allowed to have always kept a reserve of allegiance to his exiled master; of which his friends produce several instances, and some while he was secretary of state to King William. His outward regularity of life, his appearance of religion, and seeming zeal for the Church, as they are an effect, so they are the excuse for that stiffness and formality with which his nature[39] is fraught. His adust complexion disposeth him to rigour[40] and severity, which his admirers palliate with the name of zeal. No man had ever a sincerer countenance, or more truly representing his mind and manners. He hath some knowledge in the law, very amply sufficient to defend his property at least.[41] A facility of utterance, descended to him from his father,[42] and improved by a few sprinklings of literature, hath brought himself, and some few admirers, into an opinion of his eloquence. He is every way inferior to his brother Guernsey,[43] but chiefly in those talents which he most values and pretends to; over whom, nevertheless, he preserveth an ascendant.[44] His great ambition was to be the head of those who were called the Church party; and, indeed, his grave solemn deportment and countenance, seconded by abundance of professions for their service, had given many of them an opinion of his veracity,[45] which he interpreted as their sense of his judgment and wisdom;[46] and this mistake lasted till the time of his defection, of which it was partly the cause; but then it plainly appeared, that he had not credit to bring over one single proselyte, to keep himself in countenance.
[Footnote 38: See notes in vol. v., pp. 246-248 of present edition. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 39: P. Fitzgerald says "that stiffness, pride, and formality with which his intractable nature." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 40: P. Fitzgerald says "to cruelty." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote: 41 P. Fitzgerald says "some smattering in the law, which makes it not very safe or easy to deal with him, where property is concerned." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 42: P. Fitzgerald adds "grafted upon a wrong understanding." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 43: Heneage Finch was created Lord Guernsey in 1703, and Earl of Aylesford in 1714. He died in 1719. [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 44: P. Fitzgerald adds "I suppose by the right of primogeniture." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 45: P. Fitzgerald says "of his honesty." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 46: He acquired, from his solemnity of deportment, the nickname of Diego and from his gravity, that of Dismal. [S.]]
These lineaments, however imperfectly drawn, may help the reader's imagination to conceive what sort of persons those were, who had the boldness to encounter the Queen and ministry, at the head of a great majority of the landed interest; and this upon a point where the quiet of Her Majesty's reign, the security, or at least the freedom, of her person, the lives of her most faithful friends, and the settling of the nation by a peace, were, in the consequences, deeply concerned.[47]
[Footnote 47: It was these "lineaments, imperfectly drawn," that Erasmus Lewis specially emphasized for omission, in his letter to Swift already referred to. "Now I have mentioned characters," wrote Lewis, "I must tell you that they [the friends who had met to read the 'History' in manuscript] were clearly of opinion, that if those you have drawn should be published as they now stand, nothing could save the author's printer and publishers from some grievous punishment. As we have no traces of liberty now left but the freedom of the press, it is the most earnest desire of your friends that you would strike out all that you have said on that subject" (Sir W. Scott's edit., vol. xix., pp. 133-136). [T.S.]]
During the dominion of the late men in power, addresses had been procured from both Houses to the Queen, representing their opinion, that no peace could be secure for Britain, while Spain or the West Indies remained in the possession of the Bourbon family. But Her Majesty having, for reasons which have been often told to the world, and which will not soon be forgotten, called a new Parliament, and chose a new set of servants, began to view things and persons in another light. She considered the necessities of her people, the distant prospect of a peace upon such an improbable condition, which was never mentioned or understood in the grand alliance; the unequal burthen she bore in the war, by the practices of the allies upon the corruption of some whom she most trusted, or perhaps by the practices of these upon the allies; and, lastly, by the changes which death had brought about in the Austrian and Bourbon families. Upon all which motives she was prevailed upon to receive some overtures from France, in behalf of herself and the whole confederacy. The several steps of this negotiation, from its first rise to the time I am now writing, shall be related in another part of this History. Let it suffice for the present to say, that such proposals were received from France as were thought sufficient by our court whereupon to appoint time and place for a general treaty; and soon after the opening of the session, the Bishop[48] of Bristol, lord privy seal, was dispatched to Utrecht, where he and the Earl of Strafford were appointed plenipotentiaries for the Queen of Great Britain.
[Footnote 48: Dr. Robinson, afterwards Bishop of London. [ORIGINAL NOTE.]]
The managers of the discontented party, who, during the whole summer, had observed the motions of the court running fast towards a peace, began to gather up all their forces, in order to oppose Her Majesty's designs, when the Parliament should meet. Their only strength was in the House of Lords, where the Queen had a very crazy majority, made up by those whose hearts were in the other interest; but whose fears, expectations, or immediate dependence, had hitherto kept them within bounds. There were two lords upon whose abilities and influence, of a very different nature, the managers built their strongest hopes. The first was the Duke of Somerset, master of the horse. This duke, as well as his duchess, was in a good degree of favour with the Queen, upon the score of some civilities and respects Her Majesty had received from them, while she was princess.[49] For some years after the Revolution, he never appeared at court, but was looked upon as a favourer of the abdicated family; and it was the late Earl of Rochester who first presented him to King William. However, since the time he came into employment, which was towards the close of the last reign, he hath been a constant zealous member of the other party; but never failed in either attendance or respect towards the Queen's person, or, at most, only threatened sometimes, that he would serve no longer, while such or such men were employed; which, as things went then, was not reckoned any offence at all against duty or good behaviour. He had been much caressed and flattered by the Lords of the Junto,[50] who sometimes went so far as to give him hopes of the crown, in reversion to his family, upon failure of the house of Hanover. All this worked so far upon his imagination, that he affected to appear the head of their party, to which his talents were no way proportioned; for they soon grew weary of his indigested schemes, and his imperious manner of obtruding them: they began to drop him at their meetings, or contradicted him, with little ceremony, when he happened to be there, which his haughty nature[51] was not able to brook. Thus a mortal quarrel was kindled between him and the whole assembly of party leaders; so that, upon the Queen's first intentions of changing her ministry, soon after the trial of Dr. Sacheverell, he appointed several meetings with Mr. Harley alone, in the most private manner, in places and at times least liable to suspicion. He employed all his credit with the Queen to drive on the removal of my Lord Godolphin, and the rest; and, in the council, treated the small remainder, who continued some time longer in their places, with all possible marks of hatred or disdain. But when the question came for dissolving the Parliament, he stopped short: he had already satiated his resentments, which were not against things, but persons: he furiously opposed that counsel, and promised to undertake for the Parliament himself. When the Queen had declared her pleasure for the dissolution, he flew off in greater rage than ever; opposed the court in all elections, where he had influence or power; and made very humble[52] advances to reconcile himself with the discarded lords, especially the Earl of Godolphin, who is reported to have treated him at Newmarket in a most contemptuous manner. But the sincerity of his repentance, which appeared manifestly in the first session of the new Parliament, and the use he might be of by his own remaining credit, or rather that of his duchess, with the Queen, at length begat a reconcilement. He still kept his employment, and place in the cabinet council; but had never appeared there, from an avowed dislike of all persons and proceedings. It happened about the end of summer, one thousand seven hundred and eleven, at Windsor, when the cabinet council was summoned, this duke, whether by directions from his teachers, or the instability of his nature, took a fancy to resume his place, and a chair was brought accordingly; upon which Mr. Secretary St. John refused to assist, and gave his reasons, that he would never sit in council with a man who had so often betrayed them, and was openly engaged with a faction which endeavoured to obstruct all Her Majesty's measures. Thus the council was put off to next day, and the duke made no farther attempts to be there.[53] But, upon this incident, he declared open war against the ministry; and, from that time to the session, employed himself in spiriting up several depending lords to adhere to their friends, when an occasion should offer. The arguments he made use of, were, that those in power designed to make an ignominious and insecure peace, without consulting the allies; that this could be no otherwise prevented than by an address from the Lords, to signify their opinion, that no peace could be honourable or secure, while Spain or the West Indies remained in any of the Bourbon family:[54] upon which several farther resolutions and inquiries would naturally follow; that the differences between the two Houses, upon this point, must either be made up by the Commons agreeing with the Lords, or must end in a dissolution, which would be followed by a return of the old ministry, who, by the force of money and management, could easily get another Parliament to their wishes. He farther assured them boldly, that the Queen herself was at the bottom of this design, and had empowered him to desire their votes against the peace, as a point that would be for her service; and therefore they need not be in pain upon account of their pensions, or any farther marks of favour they expected. Thus, by reviving the old art of using Her Majesty's authority against her person, he prevailed over some, who were not otherwise in a station of life to oppose the crown; and his proselytes may pretend to some share of pity, since he offered for an argument his own example, who kept his place and favour, after all he had done to deserve the loss of both.
[Footnote 49: In 1692, on a difference which the princess had with King William and his Queen, occasioned by her warm attachment to the Duchess of Marlborough, she quitted The Cockpit, and accepted the Duke of Somerset's offer of Sion House for a temporary residence. [N.]]
[Footnote 50: A cant name given to five lords of that party. [ORIGINAL NOTE.]]
[Footnote 51: P. Fitzgerald says "the pride of his nature." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 52: P. Fitzgerald says "the meanest." [W.S.J.]]
[Footnote 53: "I had almost forgot to tell you," writes Lewis to Swift in the same letter, "you have mistaken the case of the D—— of S——, which, in truth, was this, that his grace appearing at court, in the chamber next to the council chamber, it was apprehended he would come into the cabinet council, and therefore the intended meeting was put off; whereas one would judge, by your manner of stating it, that the council had met, and adjourned abruptly upon his taking his place there." Sir W. Scott's edit. vol. xix., pp. 133-136. [T.S.]]
[Footnote 54: It was Nottingham who moved this argument in the form of an amendment to the address on 7th December, 1711. See infra, and also vol. v., p. 444 of present edition. [T.S.]]
The other lord, in whom the discontented managers placed much of their hopes, was the Earl of Nottingham, already mentioned; than whom no man ever appeared to hate them more, or to be more pleased at their fall, partly from his avowed principles, but chiefly from the hopes he had of sharing in their spoils. But it fell out, that he was no way acceptable to the Queen or her new servants: these apprehended no little trouble and impediment to the public business, from his restless, talkative, overweening manner, if once he was suffered to have any part in affairs; and he stood very ill with the court, having made a motion in the House of Lords, and in Her Majesty's presence, that the Electoral Prince of Hanover might be invited to reside in England, although he had before declared to the Queen how much he was against that proposal, when it was first offered by the other party. However, some very considerable employments had been given to his nearest relations, and he had one or two offers for himself, which he thought fit to refuse, as not equal to his merits and character. Upon the Earl of Rochester's decease, he conceived that the crown would hardly overlook him for president of the council, and deeply resented that disappointment. But the Duke of Newcastle, lord privy seal, dying some time after, he found that office was first designed for the Earl of Jersey, and, upon this lord's sudden death, was actually disposed of to the Bishop of Bristol by which he plainly saw, that the Queen was determined against giving him any opportunity of directing in affairs, or displaying his eloquence in the cabinet council. He had now shaken off all remains of patience or temper, and, from the contemplation of his own disappointments, fell, as it is natural, to find fault with the public management, and to assure his neighbours in the country, that the nation was in imminent danger of being ruined. The discontented[55] lords were soon apprised of this great change, and the Duke of Roxburgh,[56] the earl's son-in-law, was dispatched to Burleigh on the Hill, to cultivate his present dispositions, and offer him whatever terms he pleased to insist on. The Earl immediately agreed to fall in with any measures for distressing or destroying the ministry but, in order to preserve his reputation with the Church party, and perhaps bring them over to his interests, he proposed, that a bill should be brought into the House of Lords for preventing occasional conformity, and be unanimously agreed to by all the peers of the low-church[57] principle, which would convince the world of their good intentions to the established religion,[58] and that their oppositions to the court wholly proceeded from their care of the nation, and concern for its honour and safety.[59]