Among other regulations made in the course of this session for the encouragement of the British manufactures, a large duty was laid upon Irish sail-cloth, which being sold at an under price, was found to interfere with the same species of commodity fabricated in the island of Great Britain; and, for the farther benefit of this last, the bounty upon the exportation of it, which had been deducted from a defective fund, was now made payable out of the customs. This measure, however, was not of such importance to the nation, as the act which they passed for encouraging the importation of pig and bar iron from the British colonies in North America. Every well-wisher to his country reflected with concern on the nature of the British trade with Sweden, from which kingdom the subjects of his Britannic majesty imported more iron and steel than all the other countries in Europe. For this article they paid a very great balance in ready money, which the Swedes again expended in purchasing from the French, and other mercantile powers, those necessaries and superfluities with which they might have been as cheaply furnished by Great Britain. In the meantime, the English colonies in America were restricted by severe duties from making advantage of their own produce, in exchanging their iron for such commodities as they were under the necessity of procuring from their mother country. Such restrictions was not only a cruel grievance upon our own settlements, but also attended with manifest prejudice to the interest of Great Britain, annually drained of great sums in favour of an ungrateful nation, from which no part of them returned; whereas the iron imported from America must of necessity come in exchange for our own manufactures. The commons having appointed a day for taking this affair into consideration, carefully examined into the state of the British commerce carried on with Sweden, as well as into the accounts of iron imported from the plantations of America; and a committee of the whole house having resolved, that the duties on American pig and bar iron should be removed, a bill 322 [See note 2 R, at the end of this Vol.] was brought in for that purpose, containing a clause, however, to prevent his majesty’s subjects from making steel, and establishing mills for slitting and rolling iron within the British colonies of America: this precaution being taken, that the colonists might not interfere with the manufactures of their mother country.
The next commercial improvement of which we shall take notice, was the bill for the encouragement of the British white herring and cod fisheries. This was likewise the result of mature deliberation, importing, that a bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be granted, and paid out of the customs, to all new vessels from twenty to fourscore tons burden, which should be built for that purpose, and actually employed in the fishery; that a society should be incorporated, under the name of the Free British Fishery, by a charter, not exclusive, with power to raise a capital not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds; and that three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, should be granted and paid out of the customs to the proprietors for fourteen years, for so much of the capital as should be actually employed in the said fisheries. Corresponding chambers were proposed to be erected in remote parts of North Britain, for taking in subscriptions, and prosecuting the trade, under the directions of the company at London; and the nation in general seemed eager to dispute this branch of commerce with the subjects of Holland, whom they considered as ungrateful interlopers. In the house of peers, however, the bill met with a formidable opposition from the earl of Winchelsea and lord Sandys, who justly observed, that it was a crude indigested scheme, which in the execution would never answer the expectations of the people; that in contending with the Dutch, who are the patterns of unwearied industry and the most rigid economy, nothing could be more absurd than a joint-stock company, which is always clogged with extraordinary expense; and the resolution of fitting out vessels at the port of London, where all sorts of materials, labour, and seamen, are so much dearer than in any other part of the united kingdom, exclusive of the great distance and dangerous voyage between the metropolis and the sound of Brassa in Shetland, the rendezvous at which all the herring-busses were to assemble in the beginning of the fishing season. They likewise took notice of the heavy duty on salt, used in curing the fish for sale, and the beef for provisions to the mariners; a circumstance of itself sufficient to discourage adventurers from embarking in a commerce which, at best, yields but very slender profits to the trade in particular, how important soever it might prove to the community in general. These objections were answered by the duke of Argyle and the earl of Granville, who seemed to think that this branch of trade could not be fairly set on foot, without such a considerable sum of money as no single individual would care to advance; that a joint-stock company would be able to prosecute the fishery at a smaller expense than that which particular traders must necessarily incur; that the present spirit of the nation, which was eagerly bent upon trying the experiment, ought not to be balked by delay, lest it should evaporate; and that though the plan was not unexceptionable, the defects of it might in the sequel be remedied by the legislature. In a word, the bill was adopted by the majority, with a small amendment in the title, which produced some disquiets in the lower house; but this dispute was compromised, and it was enacted into a law towards the close of the session. Nothing could be more agreeable to the public than the sanction of the legislature to this favourite plan, which was ardently promoted, and patronised by men of the greatest eminence for wealth and popularity. The company chose for their governor the prince of Wales, who received this proof of their attachment and respect with particular marks of satisfaction; the president and vice-president were both aldermen of London; and the council was composed of thirty gentlemen, the majority of whom were members of parliament. Great pains were taken, and some artifice was used, to learn the Dutch method of curing the fish. People crowded with their subscriptions; a number of hands were employed in building and equipping the busses or vessels used in the fishery; and the most favourable consequences were expected from the general vigour and alacrity which animated these preparations. But the success did not gratify the sanguine hopes of the projectors and adventurers. The objections made in the house of lords soon appeared to have been well founded; these co-operating with mismanagement in the directors, the spirit of the company began to flag, the natural consequences of commercial disappointment; and now the British fishery seems to languish under the neglect of the legislature.
Touching the trade to the coast of Africa, petitions were renewed by the company and its creditors, the merchants of Bristol, Liverpool, and Lancaster; and a remonstrance was presented by the planters and merchants interested in the British sugar settlements in America; but the commons adhered to their former resolutions of laying open the trade, maintaining the forts at the public expense, and regulating the commerce by a committee of merchants, representing the chief trading towns in the kingdom, to be superintended by the board of trade and plantations. The bill was accordingly framed and presented, and having proceeded through both houses without opposition, obtained the royal assent. Over and above these wise, salutary, and patriotic measures for the improvement of commerce, they encouraged the importation of raw silk by an act, reducing the duties formerly payable on that which was the growth of China to the same that is raised on the raw silk from Italy, and allowing the same drawback upon the exportation of the one which had been usually granted on the other. A second bill was brought in for the encouragement of the growth and culture of silk in Carolina and Georgia, where it had been lately produced with extraordinary success, by freeing from all duties that which should be imported from his majesty’s dominions in America; and a third was framed, permitting raw silk of the growth or produce of Persia, purchased in Russia, to be imported into Great Britain, from any port or place belonging to the empire of Russia. Divers efforts were made, by different members in the opposition, to rectify certain abuses in the army and administration; some bills were brought in, and several petitions were left on the table; but all of them proved abortive, from the power and influence of the minister, who seemed resolved that no benefit should flow upon the nation through any channel but his own. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, for the honour of his memory, that there is no session on record so productive as this was of measures advantageous to the community.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
The people, however, were not entirely satisfied with the conduct of the administration, if we may judge from the ferment and commotions raised during the progress of an election for a citizen to represent the city of Westminster in parliament. The seat which had been filled by lord Trentham, eldest son of earl Gower, having become vacant, in consequence of that nobleman’s accepting a place at the board of admiralty, he again declared himself a candidate, and met with a violent opposition. Those who styled themselves the independent electors of Westminster, being now incensed to an uncommon degree of turbulence by the interposition of ministerial influence, determined to use their utmost endeavours to baffle the designs of the court, and at the same time take vengeance on the family of earl Gower, who had entirely abandoned the opposition, of which he was formerly one of the most respected leaders. With this view they held consultations, agreed to resolutions, and set up a private gentleman, named sir George Vandeput, as the competitor of lord Trentham, declaring that they would support his pretensions at their own expense, being the more encouraged to this enterprise by the countenance and assistance of the prince of Wales and his adherents. They accordingly opened houses of entertainment for their partisans, solicited votes, circulated remonstrances, and propagated abuse; in a word, they canvassed, with surprising spirit and perseverance, against the whole interest of St. James’. Mobs were hired and processions made on both sides, and the city of Westminster was filled with tumult and uproar. The mutual animosity of the parties seemed every day to increase during the election, and a great number of unqualified votes were presented on both sides; all the powers of insinuation, obloquy, and ridicule, were employed to vilify and depreciate both candidates. At length the poll being closed, a majority of votes appeared in behalf of lord Trentham; but a scrutiny being demanded by the other side, the returning officer complied with their request. The speaker of the lower house had issued his warrant for a new writ of election about the middle of November; and towards the end of February, Mr. Fox, secretary at war, standing up and observing that no return had yet been made, thought proper to move that the clerk of the crown, the messenger-extraordinary attending the great seal, the under-sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster, should attend next morning and give an account of their issuing, delivering, and executing the writ of election. These being examined, and the high-bailiff declaring that he would proceed with all possible despatch in the scrutiny which had been demanded and was begun, Mr. Speaker explained to him some particulars of his duty, in the discharge of which, he was given to understand, he might depend upon the protection of the house, should he meet with any obstruction which he could not otherwise surmount, By the violence and caprice with which a great number of votes were contested on both sides, the scrutiny was protracted a long time, and the return attended with some extraordinary consequences, which shall be particularized among the transactions of the next year. In the meantime, the present session of parliament was closed on the twelfth day of April, with a speech from the throne, commending the commons for having seized the very first opportunity of reducing the interest of the national debt, without the least infringement upon the faith of parliament; and congratulating them on the flourishing state of the public credit, which could not fail to add strength and reputation to the government, both at home and abroad. Immediately after the rising of the parliament, his majesty appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence, and embarked for the continent in order to visit his German dominions.
The month of January and the beginning of February were distinguished, the first day by a very remarkable Aurora Borealis appearing at night to the north-east, of a deep and dusky red colour, like the reflection of some great fire, for which it was by many people mistaken; and the coruscations, unlike those that are generally observed, did not meet in the zenith, but in a point some degrees to the southward. February was ushered in by terrible peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and such a tempest of wind, hail, and rain, as overwhelmed with fear and consternation the inhabitants of Bristol, where it chiefly raged. On the eighth day of the same month, between twelve and one in the afternoon, the people of London were still more dreadfully alarmed by the shock of an earthquake, which shook all the houses with such violence, that the furniture rocked on the floors, the pewter and porcelain rattled on the shelves, the chamber-bells rang, and the whole of this commotion was attended by a clap of noise resembling that produced by the fall of some heavy piece of furniture. The shock extended through the cities of London and Westminster, and was felt on both sides of the river Thames, from Greenwich to the westward of London; but not perceptible at a considerable distance. On the very same day of the next month, between five and six o’clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the metropolis were again affrighted by a second shock, more violent than the first, and abundantly more alarming, as it waked the greater part of the people from their repose. It was preceded by a succession of thick low flashes of lightning, and a rumbling noise, like that of a heavy carriage rolling over a hollow pavement. The shock itself consisted of repeated vibrations, which lasted some seconds, and violently shook every house from top to bottom. Again the chairs rocked, the shelves clattered, the small bells rang, and in some places public clocks were heard to strike. Many persons, roused by this terrible visitation, started naked from their beds, and ran to their doors and windows in distraction; yet no life was lost, and no house overthrown by this concussion, though it was so dreadful as to threaten an immediate dissolution of the globe. The circumstance, however, did not fail to make a deep impression upon ignorant, weak, and superstitious minds, which were the more affected by the consideration that the two shocks were periodical; that the second, which happened exactly one month after the first, had been the more violent; and that the next, increasing in proportion, might be attended with the most dismal consequences. This general notion was confirmed, and indeed propagated, among all ranks of people, by the admonitions of a fanatic soldier, who publicly preached up repentance, and boldly prophesied that the next shock would happen on the same day of April, and totally destroy the cities of London and Westminster. Considering the infectious nature of fear and superstition, and the emphatic manner in which the imagination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was no wonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast should have contributed, in a great measure, to augment the general terror. The churches were crowded with penitent sinners; the sons of riot and profligacy were overawed into sobriety and decorum. The streets no longer resounded with execrations, or the noise of brutal licentiousness; and the iand of charity was liberally opened. Those whom fortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city, fled to the country with hurry and precipitation, insomuch that the highways were encumbered with horses and carriages. Many who had in the beginning combated these groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule, began insensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their hearts fail in proportion as the hour of probation approached; even science and philosophy were not proof against the unaccountable effects of this communication. In after ages it will hardly be believed, that on the evening of the eighth day of April, the open fields that skirt the metropolis were filled with an incredible number of people assembled in chairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on foot, who waited in the most fearful suspense until morning, and the return of day disproved the truth of the dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished; they returned to their respective habitations in a transport of joy; and were soon reconciled to their abandoned vices, which they seemed to resume with redoubled affection, and once more bade defiance to the vengeance of heaven.
By this time all the gaols in England were filled with the refuse of the army and navy, which having been dismissed at the peace, and either averse to labour or excluded from employment, had naturally preyed upon the commonwealth. Great numbers of those wretches who, by proper regulations, might have been rendered serviceable to the community, were executed as examples; and the rest perished miserably, amidst the stench and horrors of noisome dungeons. Even the prison of Newgate was rendered so infectious by the uncommon crowds of confined felons stowed together in close apartments, that the very air they breathed acquired a pestilential degree of putrefaction. It was this putrefied air, which, adhering to the clothes of the malefactors brought to trial at the bar of the Old Bailey, in May, produced among the audience a pestilential fever, which infected and proved fatal to the lord mayor of London, to one alderman, two of the judges, divers lawyers who attended the session, the greatest part of the jury, and a considerable number of the spectators. In order to prevent such disasters for the future, the gaols were cleansed, and accommodated with ventilators, which exhaust the foul and supply a circulation of fresh air; and other humane precautions were taken for the benefit of the prisoners.
The affairs of the continent underwent no remarkable alteration. An ambassador-extraordinary being sent to Petersburgh from the court of London, declared to the czarina’s minister, that, in case of a rupture between Russia and Sweden, occasioned by the hostilities committed by the former power, his Britannic majesty would consider Russia as the aggressor, and the czarina could not expect that he would supply her with the succours which he was engaged by treaty to furnish for her defence, in case she should be attacked. A declaration of the same nature was made by the ambassador of her Imperial majesty the queen of Hungary, while the ministers of France and Prussia, who were in strict alliance with Sweden, gave her to understand that they would punctually fulfil their engagements with the court of Stockholm, should she actually invade the Swedish territories of Finland. The spirit with which the king of Prussia exerted himself on this occasion, gave infinite umbrage to the czarina, who, indeed, expressed her resentment, by treating the minister of Brandenburgh with contemptuous neglect, and even refused to favour him with an audience till he should be vested with the character of ambassador. Thus were sewn the seeds of misunderstanding between those two powers, which, in the sequel, grew up to the most bitter animosity, and served to inflame those dissensions which have desolated the fairest provinces of Germany. The remonstrance of his Prussian majesty, with respect to the troubles of the North, was couched in such terms as gave dissatisfaction to the court of Petersburgh. The Russian minister retired from Berlin without the ceremony of taking leave, and the Prussian ambassador Warendorf was recalled from the court of the czarina.
The attention of his Britannic majesty was not wholly engrossed by the disputes between Russia and Sweden. He had another object in view, which more nearly concerned the interests of his German dominions; and had set on foot two negotiations of the utmost importance to the commerce and advantage of Great Britain. His first and principal aim was, in conjunction with the court of Vienna, to take such measures as would secure the succession of the Imperial dignity to the archduke Joseph, eldest son and heir to the reigning emperor. As the previous step to that elevation, it was proposed to elect this young prince king of the Romans; and for this purpose it was necessary to procure a majority not only of the electors, but also in the diet of the empire, through which the proposal must have passed. No stone was left unturned to reconcile this expedient to the German princes. Subsidies were offered by the maritime powers of England and the states-general to the electors of Mentz and Cologn; and a treaty of the same nature was concluded with the elector of Bavaria, who, in consideration of an annual subsidy, amounting to forty thousand pounds sterling, two-thirds to be paid by Britain, and the rest by the states-general, engaged to keep in readiness a body of six thousand infantry, as auxiliaries to the maritime powers, though not to act against the emperor or empire; and to join the interest of his Britannic majesty in the diet, as well as in the electoral college. In order to render the king of Poland, elector of Saxony, propitious to this design, he was accommodated with the loan of a very considerable sum, upon the mortgage of certain bailiwicks and lordships belonging to the Saxon dominions. Thus a majority of the electors was secured, and such foundations were laid for the success of this project, that it was generally believed it would be accomplished in his Britannic majesty’s next visit to his German dominions. Hopes, it was said, were given to the king of Sweden, that his concurrence would be gratified by erecting the house of Hesse-Cassel, of which he was head, into a tenth electorate. Arguments of an interesting nature were used with the king of Prussia, and the elector-palatine, that if possible, the diet might unanimously approve of this measure, so necessary for establishing the peace of the empire, and preventing such troubles as arose from a disputed succession at the death of Charles the Sixth. These endeavours, however, did not succeed in their full extent. The king of Prussia, as elector of Brandenburgh, opposed the election as unnecessary and improper, on account of the health and vigour of the reigning emperor, and the tender years of the archduke. This monarch had set himself up as a balance to the power of the house of Austria, which had long aspired to absolute dominion over its co-estates, and endeavoured to establish an hereditary right of succession to the empire; he therefore employed all his influence to frustrate the measure proposed, either actuated by a spirit of pure patriotism, or inspired with designs which he had not yet thought proper to declare. The opposition was joined by the elector-palatine, and countenanced by the French king; who protested, that, for the sake of peace, he would not oppose this election, though contrary to the Golden Bull, provided it should be confirmed by the unanimous consent of the electoral college; but should any one member signify his dissent, and he or any state of the empire claim the protection and assistance of his most christian majesty, he could not dispense with granting both, in consequence of his being guarantee of the treaty of Westphalia; an engagement by which he was obliged to succour those princes and states of the empire who might have recourse to him, in case of any grievance they suffered contrary to what was stipulated in that constitution. This declaration co-operating with the known character of his Prussian majesty, whose great army over-awed Hanover and Bohemia, in all probability damped that vigour with which the courts of Vienna and Herenhausen had hitherto prosecuted this important negotiation.
The second object that employed the attention of the British ministry, was the establishment of the precise limits of Acadia, or Nova Scotia, where the new colony had suffered great mischief and interruption from the incursions of the Indians, excited to these outrages by the subjects and emissaries of France. Commissaries had been appointed, by both crowns, to meet at Paris and compromise these disputes: but the conferences were rendered abortive by every art of cavilling, chicanery, and procrastination, which the French commissioners opposed to the justice and perspicuity of the English claims. They not only misinterpreted treaties, though expressed with the utmost precision, and perplexed the conferences with difficulties and matter foreign to the subject, but they carried the finesse of perfidy so far as to produce false charts and maps of the country, in which the rivers and boundaries were misplaced and misrepresented. At this time also the insincerity of the French court appeared in affected delays and artful objections, with respect to the evacuation of the neutral islands in the West Indies; and the governors of the British plantations, in different parts of North America, transmitted intelligence that the French had begun to make encroachments on the back of the English colonies.
Perhaps the precarious footing on which the peace stood between Great Britain and France at this juncture, and the critical situation of affairs in Germany, determined the ministry of England to compromise all differences with Spain, upon such terms as at any other time they would hardly have embraced. In order to discuss those points between the two nations, which had not been settled by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, conferences were also begun at Madrid, and carried on by Mr. Keene, plenipotentiary to his Britannic majesty, and don Joseph de Carvajal and Lancastro, the Spanish king’s minister. At length a treaty was concluded on these conditions—the king of Spain engaged to pay, in three months, to the South-sea company of England, one hundred thousand pounds sterling, as an indemnification for all claims upon his crown, by virtue of the assiento. In other respects, the trade and navigation of the English to the ports of Spain were regulated by former treaties. It was stipulated, that they should pay no other duties than those that were exacted of them in the reign of Charles II. of Spain; that they should be treated on the footing of the most favoured nations; and continue to enjoy the privilege of taking salt at the island of Tortuga. But there was no article restricting the Spanish guarda costas from searching the British vessels on the high seas; although, as we have already observed, this insolent prerogative, assumed without right, and exercised without humanity, was in effect the original and sole cause of the late rupture, which had been attended with such enormous expense to the nation. It must be owned, however, that his catholic majesty was at this period extremely well disposed to live upon good terms with Great Britain. He was resolved to indulge his people with the blessings of peace, to propagate a spirit of industry throughout his dominions, and in particular to encourage commerce, which he foresaw would prove a much more certain and inexhaustible source of wealth, power, and influence, than all the treasures he could drain from the mines of Mexico and Peru. His resolutions on this interesting subject were chiefly directed by don Ricardo Wall, who now acted as his minister at London; a gentleman of Irish extract, who had distinguished himself in the field as well as in the cabinet, and possessed the joint qualifications of a general and a statesman. He had, by virtue of a passport, come over privately to England before the peace, in order to pave the way for the treaty, by a secret negotiation with the English ministers; but immediately after the peace was proclaimed, he appeared in the character of ambassador. He was possessed of the most insinuating address, shrewd, penetrating, and inquisitive. While he resided in London, he spared no pains in learning the nature of those manufactures, and that commerce, by which Great Britain had been so remarkably aggrandized; and on his return to Spain, where in a little time he was placed at the helm of affairs, he turned the knowledge he had thus acquired to the advantage of his country. He not only promoted the useful arts, within the kingdom of Spain, but demonstrated the infinite advantage that would accrue from an active trade, which the Spaniards had for many-ages neglected; and in a few years their ships were seen to swarm in all the commercial ports of Europe. Of other foreign events which distinguished this summer, the most remarkable was the death of John, king of Portugal, who perfectly understood, and steadily pursued, the true interests of his country, and in whom many princely qualities were debased by a cruel spirit of bigotry and superstition. He was succeeded by his eldest son Joseph, who, if he has fallen short of his father in some respects, cannot be justly charged with having inherited this paternal weakness.
The king of Great Britain having returned to England, opened the session of parliament in January with a speech, importing, that he had concluded a treaty with the king of Spain, and amicably adjusted such differences as could not be so properly compromised in a general treaty; that the commerce of this nation with that country was re-established upon the most advantageous and sure foundations; and that there was the greatest reason to hope the ancient friendship between Great Britain and Spain would, from mutual inclination as well as interest, be now effectually restored. He told them, that in conjunction with the empress-queen and the states-general, he had concluded a treaty with the elector of Bavaria; and was employed in taking such further measures as might best tend to strengthen and secure the tranquillity of the empire, support its system, and timely anticipate such events as had been found by experience to endanger the common cause, involve Europe in the calamities of war, and occasion the loss of much blood and treasure to these kingdoms. He promised that both these treaties should be subjected to their perusal; he gave them to understand that he had received from all the other contracting powers in the definitive treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the most full and clear declarations of their resolution to preserve the general peace; and that he had taken care to consolidate the ties of union and friendship between him and his allies, the better to secure their mutual interests, maintain the peace already subsisting, and prevent the occasion of any future rupture. Finally, he recommended unanimity, the improvement of commerce, and the effectual suppression of such outrages and violences as are inconsistent with good order and government, and endanger the lives and properties of the subject, whose happiness and flourishing condition he had entirely at heart.
When the motion was made for an address of thanks, couched in terms that savoured of the most implicit complaisance, approbation, and acquiescence in the measures which the crown had taken, the earl of Egmont, and some other anti-courtiers, affirmed, that such an address would be equally servile and absurd. They observed, that nothing could be more preposterous than a blind approbation of measures which they did not know; that nothing could be more ridiculous than their congratulations on the present happy tranquillity, when almost every day’s newspapers informed them of some British ships being seized by the Spaniards, or some new attack made by the French on our infant colony of Nova Scotia. With respect to the continent of Europe, they affirmed, that the tranquillity of Germany would have been upon a much more solid foundation, had England never interposed in the affairs of the empire: in that case the princes would of themselves have supported the constitution of their own country; that the election of an infant for the king of the Romans was much more likely to disturb than establish the tranquillity of Europe; because it would help to overturn the constitution of the empire, by rendering the imperial dignity hereditary in one house, instead of being the result of a free election. They took notice that the constitution had provided vicars to govern the empire during the vacancy of the imperial throne; but had made no provision of regents, protectors, or guardians, for a minor emperor, because it was never supposed that a minor would be chosen. They inveighed against the late treaty with Spain; in which, they said, the ministry, for the paltry sum of one hundred thousand pounds, had given up the claims of the South-Sea company, and other British merchants, who had suffered from depredations to the amount of one million three hundred thousand pounds; and bartered away the freedom of our trade and navigation, by leaving untouched that prerogative which the Spaniards had assumed, of searching the British ships in the open seas, and confiscating them should they find on board the least particle of what they called contraband merchandise. They produced an instance of an English ship, lately driven by stress of weather into one of the ports of the Spanish West Indies, where she was searched, seized and condemned, under this pretence. They recapitulated the conduct of the French, who, in the midst of their declarations of peace and moderation, were still employed in fortifying their settlements on the neutral islands, as well as in harassing and encroaching upon our plantations in North America. They exclaimed against the treaty of subsidy with the elector of Bavaria, or any other prince in time of peace; observing, that for some years the nation had paid such pensions to the Danes and the Hessians; but, in the course of the late war, the former abandoned our interests, and the latter actually took arms against Great Britain. They affirmed that the subsidy was greater than the nation could spare; for, unless the land-tax should be continued at four shillings in the pound, they could not afford a shilling to any prince in Germany, without encroaching upon the sinking fund. “At such a juncture,” said a certain member, “will any gentleman presume to propose the continuation of such an imposition on the land-holder, for the sake of bribing the princes of Germany to do what?—to preserve the freedom and independency of their native country. I say, princes of Germany, because this subsidy to Bavaria will signify nothing unless we take half a score more of them into our pay; and when we have thus indulged them for seven years of peace, they may give us the slip, as others have done, whenever another war should be declared.” Against these objections the motion was supported by Mr. William Pitt, at this time an advocate for the ministry. He observed, that the address was no more than the usual compliment to the throne, which did not imply an obligation on the parliament to approve of measures which they might find cause to censure upon further inquiry. He said, the trivial disputes still subsisting between this nation and the Spaniards, or French, would soon be terminated amicably, and could never affect the general tranquillity of Europe, which was to be established upon a firm alliance between his majesty and such a confederacy upon the continent, as would be an over-match for the house of Bourbon. He expatiated upon his majesty’s wisdom in taking off from the French interest such a powerful prince as the elector of Bavaria, and concerting other salutary measures for preserving the balance of power on the continent. He defended the articles of the late treaty with Spain; observing, that what remained of the assiento contract was a matter of very little consequence to the South-Sea company; that the demands of this company, and other British merchants, were all cancelled by the rupture with Spain, and more than recompensed to the nation by a great balance of captures during the war, as well as by the great traffic carried on with the Spanish settlements in the West Indies, after it had been laid open by the demolition of their fortresses. He asserted, that by this treaty the court of Spain had made many important concessions; they had condescended to pay a great sum to the South-Sea company; they had consented to the re-establishment of the British trade in Spain, upon a very advantageous and solid footing, by agreeing that the subjects of Great Britain should pay no other duties on merchandize than those exacted of his catholic majesty’s own subjects, and to abolish all innovations that had been introduced into the commerce. He affirmed, that the article of No Search was a stipulation which it would have been ridiculous to insist upon; and thought proper to obviate a reproach which he foresaw the opposition would throw upon him, from the circumstance of his having, upon a former occasion, heartily concurred in a motion for an address, that no treaty of peace with Spain should be admitted, unless such a stipulation should be first obtained as a preliminary. He owned he had strenuously contended for such a motion, because at that time, being very young and sanguine, he thought it right and reasonable; but he was now ten years older, had considered matters more coolly, and was convinced that the privilege of No Search, with respect to British vessels sailing near the American shore, would never be obtained, unless Spain should be brought so low as to acquiesce in any terms we as victors might propose. He likewise signified his conviction, that all addresses from the house of commons, during the course of a war, for prescribing terms of peace, were in themselves ridiculous; and that every such address was an encroachment on the king’s prerogative, which had always been attended with unlucky consequences. How far these arguments are satisfactory, conclusive, and consistent, we shall leave to the reader’s determination. Certain it is, they were adopted by the majority, and the address was presented without further opposition.
The two grand committees appointed to discuss the supplies for the ensuing year, and the funds upon which they were to be raised, proceeded, as usual, under the direction of the ministry; yet not without some vehement opposition, in which certain servants of the crown expressed the most hearty concurrence. When a motion was made for reducing the number of seamen to eight thousand, Mr. W. Pitt, Mr. Lyttelton, and Mr. G. Grenville, opposed it with all their might of argument and elocution; but they were overruled. Annual debates were also revived, with the same success, upon the number of troops constituting the standing army; but the other resolutions of the grand committees met with little or no opposition. The number of seamen for the ensuing year was limited to eight thousand; and that of the standing forces continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven effective men, including one thousand eight hundred and fifteen invalids. The commons granted a considerable sum of money for paying off the principal of such redeemable stocks as had not been subscribed, in pursuance of two acts passed in the last session for reducing the interest of annuities. Thirty thousand pounds were given for fulfilling the king’s engagement with the elector of Bavaria; large grants were made for supplying deficiencies, and replacing sums borrowed from the sinking fund. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova Scotia, not provided for by parliament, exceeded fifty-seven thousand pounds; and the maintenance of it for the ensuing year was fixed at fifty-three thousand nine hundred and twenty-seven pounds, fourteen shillings and fourpence. An enormous charge! if we consider to how little purpose all this bounty was bestowed. A fund was established under the sanction of parliament, for the relief and maintenance of the widows of sea officers, by allowing, upon the books of every ship of war in sea pay, the wages and victuals of one man for every hundred of which the compliment shall consist, for such time only as the number of men employed in the service of the royal navy shall not exceed twenty thousand. This was an additional indulgence, over and above the allowance of one man granted by a former act of parliament. On the whole, the provisions of this year amounted to five millions one hundred and twenty-five thousand and twenty-three pounds, eleven shillings and sevenpence, to be raised by the usual duties; the sum of one million twenty-six thousand four hundred and seventy-six pounds, four shillings and sixpence, advanced by the bank of England to pay off their own unsubscribed annuities, for which they accepted exchequer bills at three per cent, interest; by the land-tax at three shillings in the pound; a lottery and annuities, at the rate of three per cent, per annum, to be charged on the sinking-fund redeemable by parliament. The annual measure called the mutiny bill, was not passed without dispute and altercation; some alterations were proposed, but not adopted; and the sentences of court-martials still subjected to one revision.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
In the midst of these deliberations, the kingdom was alarmed with an event which overwhelmed the people with grief and consternation. His royal highness the prince of Wales, in consequence of a cold caught in his garden at Kew, was seized with a pleuritic disorder; and, after a short illness, expired on the twentieth day of March, to the unspeakable affliction of his royal consort, and the unfeigned sorrow of all who wished well to their country. This excellent prince, who now died in the forty-fifth year of his age, was possessed of every amiable quality which could engage the affection of the people; a tender and obliging husband, a fond parent, a kind master; liberal, generous, candid, and humane; a munificent patron of the arts, an unwearied friend to merit; well disposed to assert the rights of mankind in general, and warmly attached to the interest of Great Britain. The nation could not but be afflicted at seeing a prince of such expectations ravished from their hopes; and their grief was the better founded, as the king had already attained to an advanced age, and the heir-apparent, George, now prince of Wales, was a minor.
His majesty, foreseeing all the inconveniencies which might arise from a minority, deliberated with his council on this subject, and resolved to obtain a parliamentary sanction for the measures judged necessary to secure the succession. With this view he sent a message to both houses on the twenty-sixth day of April, importing, that nothing could conduce so much to the preservation of the protestant succession in his royal family, as proper provisions for the tuition of the person of his successor, and for the regular administration of the government, in case the successor should be of tender years; his majesty therefore earnestly recommended this weighty affair to the deliberation of parliament; and proposed, that when the imperial crown of these realms should descend to any of the late prince’s sons, being under the age of eighteen years, his mother, the princess dowager of Wales, should be guardian of his person, and regent of these kingdoms, until he should attain the age of majority, with such powers and limitations as should appear necessary and expedient for these purposes. This message produced a very affectionate address, promising to take the affair into their serious consideration; and in the beginning of May the duke of Newcastle presented to the house of peers a bill to provide for the administration of government, in case the crown should descend to a minor. The bill was read a second time, and committed, when a second message arrived from his majesty, recommending to their consideration the settlement of such a council of regency as the bill proposed, consisting of his royal highness the duke of Cumberland, who at that time commanded the army, the archbishop of Canterbury, the lord chancellor, the lord high treasurer, or first lord commissioner of the treasury, the president of the council, the lord privy-seal, the lord high-admiral of Great Britain, or first commissioner of the admiralty, the two principal secretaries of state, and the lord chief justice of the king’s-bench; all these great officers, except his royal highness the duke, for the time being. This bill did not pass through the lower house without violent debate and bitter sarcasms. The council of regency, though espoused by all the ministry, including the paymaster-general, met with fierce opposition, as an unnecessary and fatal restriction that would impede the machine of government, and, as the council was constituted, might be productive of the most pernicious consequence. Some of the members ventured even to insinuate the danger of leaving at the head of a large standing army, a prince of the blood vested with a share of the regency, possessed of great personal influence, the darling of the soldiery, brave, popular, and enterprising; supposed not devoid of ambition, and not at all remarkable for any symptoms of extraordinary affection towards the person of the heir-apparent. The history of England was ransacked for invidious instances of royal uncles and regents who had injured the sovereigns, and distressed the government, by their pride, cruelty, and ambition. The characters of John Lackland, and John of Gaunt, Humphrey and Richard dukes of Gloucester, were called in review, canvassed, compared, and quoted, with some odious applications; but the majority being convinced of the loyalty, virtue, integrity, and great abilities of his royal highness, to whom the nation owed obligations of the most important nature, passed the bill with a few amendments, in which the lords acquiesced; and in a little time it received the royal sanction.