As this war may be termed a native of America, and the principal scenes of it were acted on that continent, we shall, for the information of the reader, sketch out the situation of the then British colonies as they bordered on each other, and extended along the sea coast, from the gulf of St. Lawrence as far south as the country of Florida. We shall enumerate the Indian nations that lie scattered about their confines, and delineate the manner in which the French hemmed them in by a surprising line of fortifications. Should we comprehend Hudson’s Bay, with the adjacent countries, and the banks of Newfoundland, in this geographical detail, we might affirm that Great Britain at that time possessed a territory along the sea-coast, extending seventeen hundred miles in a direct line, from the sixtieth to the thirty-first degree of northern latitude; but as these two countries were not concerned in this dispute, we shall advance from the northward to the southern side of the gulf of St. Lawrence; and beginning with Acadia or Nova Scotia, describe our settlements as they lie in a southerly direction, as far as the gulf of Florida. This great tract of country, stretching fifteen degrees of latitude, is washed on the east by the Atlantic Ocean; the southern boundary is Spanish Florida; but to the westward the limits are uncertain, some affirming that the jurisdiction of the colonies penetrates through the whole continent, as far as the South Sea; while others, with more moderation, think they are naturally bounded by the river Illinois that runs into the Mississippi, and in a manner connects that river with the chain of lakes known by the names of Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, the three first communicating with each other, and the last discharging itself into the river St. Lawrence, which, running by Montreal and Quebec, issues into the bay of the same denomination, forming the northern boundary of Nova Scotia. The French, who had no legal claim to any lands on the south side of this river, nevertheless, with an insolence of ambition peculiar to themselves, not only extended their forts from the source of the St. Lawrence, through an immense tract of that country, as far as the Mississippi, which disembogues itself into the gulf of Florida; but also, by a series of unparalleled encroachments, endeavoured to contract the English colonies within such narrow limits as would have cut off almost one half of their possessions. As we have already given a geographical description of Nova Scotia, and mentioned the particulars of the new settlement of Halifax, we shall now only observe, that it is surrounded on three sides by the sea, the gulf, and river of St. Lawrence; that its original boundary to the west was the river Pentagoet; but it is now contracted within the river St. Croix, because the crown of Great Britain did, in the year one thousand six hundred and sixty-three, grant to the duke of York the territory of Sagadahack, stretching from St. Croix to the river of this name; which was in the sequel, by an express charter from the crown, annexed to the province of Massachusett’s Bay, one of the four governments of New England. This country, situated next to Nova Scotia, lies between the forty-first and forty-fifth degrees of north latitude, extending near three hundred miles in length, and about two hundred in breadth, if we bound it by those tracts which the French possessed: no part of the settlements of this country, however, stretches above sixty miles from the sea. The summer is here intensely hot, and the winter proportionably severe; nevertheless, the climate is healthy, and the sky generally serene. The soil is not favourable to any of the European kinds of grain; but produces great plenty of maize, which the people bake into bread, and brew into beer, though their favourite drink is made of molasses hopped, and impregnated with the tops of the spruce-fir, which is a native of this country. The ground raises good flax and tolerable hemp. Here are great herds of black cattle, some of them very large in size, a vast number of excellent hogs, a breed of small horses, graceful, swift, and hardy; and large flocks of sheep, whose wool, though not so fine as that of England, is manufactured with great success.
New England is composed of the four provinces known by the names of New Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bounded on the south by New York, extending northerly on both sides of the river Hudson, about two hundred miles into the country possessed by the Indians of the Five Nations, whom the French distinguish by the name of the Irroquois; but in breadth this province does not exceed fifty miles, though it comprehends Long Island, lying to the southward of Connecticut. The capital, which derives from the province the name of New York, is situated on an excellent harbour in the island of Manahatton, extending fourteen miles in length, and five in breadth, at the mouth of the noble river Hudson, which is navigable for above two hundred miles. At the distance of one hundred and fifty miles from New York, stands the town of Albany, upon the same river. In this place all the treaties and other transactions were negotiated between the English and the Irroquois, a confederacy of five Indian nations, who, by their union, courage, and military skill, had reduced a great number of other Indian tribes, and subdued a territory more extensive than the whole kingdom of France. They were about fourscore years ago able to bring ten thousand warriors into the field; but now their number is so greatly diminished by wars, epidemical diseases, and the use of spirituous liquors, that they cannot raise above fifteen hundred men, even though they have admitted into their confederacy the nation of the Tuscaroras, whom the English drove from the confines of Carolina. The Mohawk Indians inhabit the country advanced from Albany. The northern extremities of New Hampshire and New York are divided by the lakes Champlain and Sacrament, between which the French had raised the fort of Crown Point.
Contiguous to New York, and lying along the coast, in a southerly direction, is the small province of New Jersey, bounded on the west by the river Delaware, which divides it from Pennsylvania, extending about one hundred and fifty miles in length, but in breadth not more than one third of that extent. The climate, soil, and produce of these two provinces, as well as of Pennsylvania, are similar. They yield great quantities of grain, sheep, horses, hogs, and horned cattle; all kinds of poultry and game in great abundance; vegetables of every sort in perfection, and excellent fruit, particularly peaches and melons. Their vast forests abound with oak, ash, beech, chesnut, cedar, walnut-tree, cypress, hickory, sassafras, and pine; but the timber is not counted so fit for shipping as that of New England and Nova Scotia. These provinces produce great quantities of flax and hemp. New York affords mines of iron, and very rich copper ore is found in New Jersey.
Pennsylvania, lying to the southward of New York and New Jersey, is bounded on the other side by Maryland, stretching two hundred and fifty miles in length, two hundred in breadth, and having no communication with the sea, except by the mouth of the river Delaware. This province was originally settled by Quakers, under the auspices of the celebrated William Penn, whose descendants are still proprietaries of the country. Philadelphia, the capital, stands on a tongue of land at the confluence of the two navigable rivers, the Delaware and Sculkel, disposed in the form of a regular oblong, and designed by the original plan to extend from the one to the other. The streets, which are broad, spacious, and uniform, cross each other at right angles, leaving proper spaces for churches, markets, and other public edifices. The houses are neatly built of brick, the quays spacious and magnificent, the warehouses large and numerous, and the docks commodious and well contrived for ship building. Pennsylvania is understood to extend as far northerly as the banks of the lake Erie, where the French erected a fort. They also raised another at some distance to the southward of the Riviere-au-Beuf, and made other encroachments on this colony.
Adjoining to part of Pennsylvania, on the sea-coast, lies the province of Maryland, a tract of land situated along the bay of Chesapeak, in length about one hundred and forty miles, and nearly of the same breadth, bounded on the north by Pennsylvania, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, and by the river Potowmack on the south. This country was first planted with Roman catholics by lord Baltimore, to whom Charles II. granted it by patent. In the sequel, however, people of all religions were admitted into this settlement, and indulged with liberty of conscience, and at present the reigning religion is that of the English church. The climate is very sultry in summer, and not very salubrious. The soil is fruitful, and produces a great quantity of tobacca, which the people cultivate as their staple commodity. The seat of government is established at Annapolis, a small town beautifully situated on the river Patuxent.
Tracing the sea-coast still southerly, the next settlement is Virginia, watered on the north by the river Potowmack, which is the boundary between this and the colony last described, having the bay of Chesapeak to the east, bounded on the south by Carolina, and extending westward without any prescribed limits, though the plantations have reached no farther than the great Allegany mountains; so that the province, as now possessed, stretches in length above two hundred and forty miles, and in breadth not above two hundred, lying between the fifty-fifth and fortieth degrees of latitude. In sailing to Virginia, navigators steer through a strait formed by two points, called the Capes, into the bay of Chesapeak, a large inlet that runs three hundred miles into the country from south to north, covered from the Atlantic Ocean by the eastern side of Maryland, and a small portion of Virginia on the same peninsula. This noble bay is about eighteen miles broad for a considerable space, and seven at its narrowest part, yielding generally nine fathoms depth of water; on both sides it receives many navigable rivers, those on the Virginia side being known by the names of James River, York River, the Rappahannock, and Potowmack. This country, especially towards the sea, lies very low and swampy, and the soil is extremely fertile. The air and weather are variable, the heats of summer excessive, the frosts of winter sudden, and intensely cold; so that, upon the whole, the climate is neither very agreeable nor healthy, the people being particularly subject to agues and pleuritic disorders. The province abounds with vast forests of timber; the plains are covered with a surprising luxuriancy of vegetables, flowers, and flowering shrubs, diffusing the most delicious fragrance. The ground yields plenty of corn, and every sort of fruit in great abundance and perfection. Horned cattle and hogs have here multiplied to admiration, since they were first imported from Europe. The animals, natives of this and the neighbouring countries, are deer, panthers or tigers, bears, wolves, foxes, squirrels, racoons, and creatures called opossums, with an infinite variety of beautiful birds, and a diversity of serpents, among which the rattlesnake is the most remarkable.
Virginia is bounded to the south by the two Carolinas, situated between the forty-sixth and thirty-first degrees of latitude; the length amounting to upwards of four hundred miles, and the breadth extending near three hundred, as far as the Indian nations called the Catawbas, the Creeks, and Cherokees. The country of Carolina is divided into two governments, of which the most northern is the most inconsiderable. The climate in both is the same, as well as the soil: the first is warm, though not unhealthy; the last extremely fertile, yielding every thing in plenty which is produced in Virginia, besides abundance of excellent oranges, and some commodities which are not found to the northward. North Carolina, though not so opulent, is more populous than the southern part. The colonists of North Carolina carry on a considerable traffic in tar, pitch, turpentine, staves, shingles, lumber, corn, peas, pork, and beef; tobacco, deer skins, indigo, wheat, rice, bee’s-wax, tallow, bacon, and hog’s-lard, cotton, and squared timber; live cattle, with the skins of beaver, racoon, fox, minx, wild-cat, and otter. South Carolina is much better cultivated; the people are more civilized, and the commerce more important. The capital of this province, called Charles Town, is finely situated at the confluence of two navigable rivers, having the advantage of a commodious harbour. Their trade, exclusive of the articles we have already mentioned as common to this government and that of North Carolina, consists of two chief staple commodities, rice and indigo, which they cultivate with great success; and they have likewise made some progress in the culture of silk.
The most southern of all our settlements on this coast is Georgia, extending about sixty miles from north to South, along the sea-shore; but widening in the inland parts to above one hundred and fifty, and stretching almost three hundred from the sea to the Apalachian mountains. This country differs very little from that of South Carolina, with which it borders; yet the summer is here more hot, and the soil not so fertile. Savannah, the capital, stands commodiously for trade, about ten miles from the sea, on a river of the same name, navigable with large boats two hundred miles farther up to the second town called Augusta, a place that flourishes by the Indian trade of skins, which the inhabitants carry on with their neighbours the Creeks, the Chickesaws, and the Cherokees, who are the most numerous and powerful tribes in America. Georgia is bounded on the south by the river Attamaha, at no great distance from the Spanish fort of St. Augustine.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
Having thus exhibited a succinct view of the British colonies in North America, for the information of the reader, we shall now resume the thread of our history, and particularize the transactions by which the present year was distinguished on this extensive continent. The government of England having received nothing but evasive answers from the court of France, touching the complaints that were made of the encroachments in America, despatched orders to all the governors of that country to repel force by force, and drive the French from their settlements on the river Ohio. Accordingly, the provinces of Virginia and Pennsylvania took this important affair into their consideration; but while they deliberated, the French vigorously prosecuted their designs on the other side of the mountains. They surprised Log’s Town, which the Virginians had built upon the Ohio; made themselves masters of the Block-house and Truck-house, where they found skins and other commodities to the amount of twenty thousand pounds, and destroyed all the British traders, except two who found means to escape. At the same time, M. de Contrecour, with a thousand men and eighteen pieces of cannon, arrived in three hundred canoes from Venango, a fort they had raised on the banks of the Ohio, and reduced by surprise a British fort which the Virginians had built on the forks of the Monangahela, that runs into the same river.
These hostilities were followed by divers skirmishes between the people of the two nations, which were fought with various success. At length the governors of the English settlements received orders from England to form a political confederacy for their mutual defence; and the governor of New York was directed to confer with the chiefs of the Six Nations, with a view to detach them from the French interest by dint of promises and presents of value, sent over for that purpose. A congress was accordingly appointed at Albany, to which place the governor of New York repaired, accompanied by commissioners from all the other British settlements; but a very small number of Indians arrived, and even these seemed to be indifferent to the advances and exhortations that were made by the English orator. The truth is, the French had artfully weaned them from their attachment to the subjects of Great Britain. Nevertheless, they accepted the presents, renewed their treaties with the king of England, and even demanded his assistance in driving the French from the posts and possessions they had usurped within the Indian territories. It was in consequence of the measures here taken, that colonel Washington was detached from Virginia with four hundred men, and occupied a post on the banks of the river Ohio, where he threw up some works, and erected a kind of occasional fort, in hopes of being able to defend himself in that situation, until he should be joined by a reinforcement from New York, which, how ever, did not arrive.
While he remained in this situation, de Viller, a French commander, at the head of nine hundred men, being on his march to dislodge Washington, detached one Jamonville, an inferior officer, with a small party, and a formal summons to colonel Washington, requiring him to quit the fort, which he pretended was built on ground belonging to the French, or their allies. So little regard was paid to this intimation, that the English fell upon this party, and, as the French affirm, without the least provocation, either slew or took the whole detachment. De Viller, incensed at these unprovoked hostilities, marched up to the attack, which Washington for some time sustained under manifold disadvantages. At length, however, he surrendered the fort upon capitulation, for the performance of which he left two officers as hostages in the hands of the French; and in his retreat was terribly harassed by the Indians, who plundered his baggage, and massacred his people. This event was no sooner known in England, than the British ambassador at Paris received directions to complain of it to the French ministry, as an open violation of the peace; but this representation had no effect.
Both nations by this time foresaw that a rupture would be inevitable, and each resolved to make suitable preparations. France continued to send reinforcements of men, and supplies of ammunition to Quebec, for the prosecution of her ambitious projects; and the ministry of Great Britain transmitted salutary cautions to the governors of the provinces in North America, exhorting them to join their endeavours for repelling the incursions of the enemy. Such an union as seemed necessary for their common preservation was not easily effected. The different colonies were divided by different views and interests, both religious and political; besides, every settlement was distracted into factions, formed by the governor and the demagogues of the assembly; in other words, an opposition like that in parliament, and a continual struggle between the liberties of the people and the prerogative of the proprietor, whether sovereign or subject. Mr. Dinwiddie, governor of Virginia, having demanded a certain perquisite or fee for every patent he should pass for land, the assembly voted his demand illegal, arbitrary, and oppressive. They declared that every man who paid it should be deemed an enemy to his country, and sent over an agent to London to solicit the suppression of this imposition. The representatives of the people in Pennsylvania wasted the time in vain deliberations and violent disputes with their proprietors, while the enemy infested their frontiers. The colony of New York was filled with discontent and animosity. Sir Danvers Osborn, who had been appointed governor of this province, died immediately after his arrival at New York, and the instructions he had received were exposed to public censure. The preamble inveighed severely against the want of duty, allegiance, loyalty, and unanimity, which had lately appeared so notorious in the assembly of that province, who had violated the royal commission and instructions, by assuming to themselves the power to dispose of public money in the laws which they had occasionally passed. This gentleman was, therefore, directed to insist upon the reformation of all those public abuses, and upon the establishment of a certain supply for the service of the government, as well as upon the settlement of a salary for himself. Moreover, his majesty, in these instructions, signified his will and pleasure, that all money raised for the supply and support of government, or upon any emergency for immediate service, should be disposed of and applied properly to the use for which it might be granted, by warrant from the governor, by and with the advice and consent of the council of the province, and no otherwise; that, nevertheless, the assembly should be permitted, from time to time, to view and examine the accounts of money disposed of, by virtue of laws which they had enacted; that if any member of the council, or officer holding place of trust or profit within the government, should, in any manner whatever, give his assent to, or in anywise advise or concur with the assembly in passing any act or vote, whereby the royal prerogative might be lessened or impaired, or any money be raised or disposed of for the public service, contrary to, or inconsistent with, the method prescribed by these instructions, the governor should forthwith remove or suspend such counsellor or officer so offending, and give an immediate account of his proceedings to the commissioners of trade and plantations. These were peremptory injunctions, which plainly proved that the ministry was determined to support the prerogative with a high hand; but it must be owned, at the same time, that abundance of provocation had been given by the insolent opposition of some turbulent individuals, who had exerted all their influence in disturbing and distressing the views and designs of the government. While the British colonies in America were, by these divisions, in a great measure disabled from making vigorous efforts against the common enemy, the administration at home began to exert itself for their defence.. Officers were appointed for two regiments, consisting of two battalions each, to be raised in America, and commanded by sir William Pepperel and governor Shirley, who had enjoyed the same command in the last war, and a body of troops was destined for the same service.
The most remarkable incident that marked this year on the continent of Europe, was the conversion of the hereditary prince of Hesse-Cassel, who had espoused the princess Mary of England. He now declared himself a Roman-catholic, and was supposed to have been cajoled to this profession by the promises of certain powers, who flattered his ambition, in order to weaken the protestant interest in Germany. His father, though deeply affected by his son’s apostacy, did not fail to take immediate measures for preventing the evil consequences which might otherwise have flowed from his defection. He forthwith, assembled the states of the landgraviate, in order to take such measures as might appear necessary to maintain the religion, laws, and constitution of the country; and the prince was laid under certain restrictions, which he did not find it an easy task to set aside. It was enacted, that when the regency should devolve to him by succession, he should not have it in his power to alter the established laws, or grant any church to persons of the Roman communion, for the public exercise of their religion; and that he should be excluded from all share in the education of his sons, the eldest of whom should be put in possession of the country of Hanau upon his father’s accession to the regency of the landgraviate. These resolutions were guaranteed by the kings of Prussia and Denmark, by the maritime powers, and the evangelic body of the empire.
The exile of the parliament of Paris, far from having intimidated the other tribunals from performing what they apprehended to be their duty, served only to inflame the discontents of the people, and to animate all the courts of justice to a full exertion of their authority. The chatelot continued to prosecute those priests, who refused the sacrament to persons whose consciences would not allow them to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus, even after three of their members were sent to the Bastile. The same prosecutions were carried on, and bold remonstrances published by, the parliaments of Aix and Rouen. In a word, the whole kingdom was filled with such confusion as threatened a total suppression of justice, in a general spirit of disaffection and universal anarchy. The prelates, meanwhile, seemed to triumph in the combustion they had raised. They entered into associations to support each other; they intrigued at court, and harassed the king with insolent declarations, till he grew tired of their proceedings, and opened his eyes to the fatal consequences of their pride and obstinacy. He even took an opportunity of exhorting the archbishop of Paris to act more suitably to the character of a clergyman. He recalled the parliament from exile, and they returned in triumph, amidst the acclamations of the people, who celebrated their arrival at Paris with the most extravagant demonstrations of joy; and the archbishop, notwithstanding the king’s express declaration to the contrary, still persisting in countenancing the recusant priests, was banished to Conflans-sous-Charenton.
In Spain, the interest of Great Britain was so warmly espoused, and so powerfully supported by Mr. Wall, who had been resident in England, that the French party, though countenanced by the queen-mother, and sustained with all the influence of the marquis de la Ensenada, the prime minister, was totally defeated. The king being convinced that it would be for the interest of his subjects to live on good terms with England, and well apprized of Ensenada’s intrigues, ordered that minister to be arrested and confined, and bestowed upon Mr. Wall the best part of his employments. Nevertheless, the Spaniards in the West Indies continued to oppress the subjects of Great Britain, employed in cutting logwood in the bay of Honduras; and representations on this head being made to the court of Madrid, the dispute was amicably adjusted between Mr. Wall and sir Benjamin Keene, the British ambassador. While the interest of Britain thus triumphed in Spain, it seemed to lose ground at the court of Lisbon. His Portuguese majesty had formed vast projects of an active commerce, and even established an East India company; in the meantime he could not help manifesting his chagrin at the great quantities of gold which were yearly exported from his dominions, as the balance due from his subjects on English commodities. In his endeavours to check this traffic, which he deemed so detrimental to his subjects, he inflicted hardships on the British merchants settled at Lisbon: some were imprisoned on frivolous pretences; others deprived of their property, and obliged to quit the kingdom. He insisted upon laying an imposition of two per cent, on all the Portuguese gold that should be exported; but the profits of the trade would not bear such an exaction. Meanwhile, there being a scarcity of corn in Portugal, the kingdom was supplied from England; and the people having nothing but gold to purchase this necessary supply, the king saw the necessity of conniving at the exportation of his coin, and the trade reverted into its former channel.
On the fourteenth day of November, the king of Great Britain opened the session of parliament with an harangue, which intimated nothing of an approaching rupture. He said, that the general state of affairs in Europe had undergone very little alteration since their last meeting; that he had lately received the strongest assurances from his good brother the king of Spain, of friendship and confidence, which he would cultivate with harmony and good faith. He declared his principal view should be to strengthen the foundation, and secure the duration of a general peace; to improve the present advantages of it for promoting the trade of his good subjects, and protecting those possessions which constituted one great source of their wealth and commerce. Finally, he exhorted them to complete their plan for appropriating the forfeited estates in the highlands to the service of the public. He probably avoided mentioning the encroachments of France, that he might supply no handle for debates on the address, which was carried in both houses almost without opposition. The government seemed determined to humble the insolence of the French councils; and this disposition was so agreeable to the people in general, that they grudged no expense, and heartily concurred with the demands of the ministry.
The commons granted for the service of the ensuing year, four millions seventy-three thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine pounds; one million of that sum expressly given to enable his majesty to augment his forces by land and sea. Thirty-two thousand pounds were allotted as a subsidy to the king of Poland, and twenty thousand to the elector of Bavaria. These gratifications met with little or no opposition in the committee of supply; because it was taken for granted, that, in case of a rupture, France would endeavour to avail herself of her superiority by land, by invading his Britannic majesty’s German dominions; and therefore it might be necessary to secure the assistance of such allies on the continent. That they prognosticated aright, with respect to the designs of that ambitious power, will soon appear in the course of this history; which will also demonstrate how little dependence is to be placed upon the professed attachment of subsidiary princes. The supplies were raised by the standing branches of the revenue, the land-tax and malt-tax, and a lottery for one million; one hundred thousand pounds of it to be deducted for the service of the public, and the remaining nine hundred thousand to be charged on the produce of the sinking-fund, at the rate of three per cent, per annum, to commence from the fifth day of January, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-six. The civil transactions of this session were confined to a few objects. Divers new regulations were made for encouraging and improving the whale and white herring fishery, as well as for finishing and putting in a proper state of defence a new fort, lately built at Anamabo on the coast of Africa.
Mr. Pitt, the paymaster-general of the forces, brought in a bill, which will ever remain a standing monument of his humanity. The poor disabled veterans who enjoyed the pension of Chelsea hospital, were so iniquitously oppressed by a set of miscreants, who supplied them with money per advance, at the most exorbitant rates of usury, that many of them, with their families, were in danger of starving; and the intention of government in granting such a comfortable subsistence, was in a great measure defeated. Mr. Pitt, perceiving that this evil originally flowed from the delay of the first payment, which the pensioner could not touch till the expiration of a whole year after he had been put upon the list, removed this necessity of borrowing, by providing in the bill, that half a year’s pension should be advanced half a year before it is due; and the practice of usury was effectually prevented by a clause, enacting, that all contracts should be void by which any pension might be mortgaged. This humane regulation was unanimously approved, and having passed through both houses with uncommon expedition, received the royal assent.
Notwithstanding the unanimity manifested by the commons, in every thing relating to the measures for acting vigorously against the common enemy of the nation, they were remarkably disturbed and divided by a contested election of members for Oxfordshire. In the course of this dispute, the strength and influence of what they called the old and new interest, or, to speak more intelligibly, of the tories and whigs in that county, were fully displayed. The candidates sustained on the shoulders of the old interest, were lord viscount Wenman and sir James Dashwood: their competitors, whom the new interest supported, and of consequence the ministry countenanced, were lord Parker and sir Edward Turner. Never was any contention of this kind maintained with more spirit and animosity, or carried on at a greater expense. One would have imagined that each side considered it as a dispute which must have determined whether the nation should enjoy its ancient liberty, or tamely submit to the fetters of corruption. Noblemen and gentlemen, clergymen and ladies, employed all their talents and industry in canvassing for either side, throughout every township and village in the county. Scandal emptied her whole quiver of insinuation, calumny, and lampoon; corruption was not remiss in promises and presents: houses of entertainment were opened; and nothing was for some time to be seen but scenes of tumult, riot, and intoxication. The revenue of many an independent prince on the continent, would not have been sufficient to afford such sums of money as were expended in the course of this dispute. At length they proceeded to election, and the sheriff made a double return of all the four candidates, so that not one of them could sit, and the county remained without a representative until this ambiguous affair could be decided in the house of commons. About the middle of November, petitions being presented by the four candidates, as well as by the gentlemen, clergy, and other freeholders of the county, complaining of an undue election, and double return, the matter of these petitions was heard at the bar of the house on the third day of December. The counsel for lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood alleged that they had the majority of votes upon the poll, and this circumstance was admitted by the counsel on the other side; then they proceeded to prove by evidence, that, after closing the poll, the sheriff declared the majority of votes to be in favour of these two candidates, and adjourned the court from the twenty-third day of April to the eighth of May; so that the scrutiny demanded and granted on the behalf of lord Parker and sir Edward Turner could not be discussed before the last day of the month, when the writ was returnable; that the scrutiny did not begin till the ninth day of May, when the time was protracted by disputes about the manner in which it should be carried on; that lord Parker and sir Edward Turner were allowed to object, through the whole poll, to the votes on the other side, on pretence that their competitors should be permitted to answer these objections, and, in their turn, object through the whole poll to the voters for lord Parker and sir Edward Turner, who should, in the last place, have leave to answer: that lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood had disapproved of this method, because they apprehended it might induce their competitors to make such a number of frivolous objections, that they should not have time to answer one half of them, much less to make objections of their own before the writ should be returned: that they foresaw such a number of frivolous objections were made, as engrossed the attention of the court till the twenty-seventh day of May; so that they could not begin to answer any of these objections till the twenty-eighth; and on the thirtieth, the sheriff, having closed the scrutiny, made the double return. The proof being exhibited, the counsel insisted, that as they had established a majority on the poll, and demonstrated that this majority neither was nor could be overthrown by such an unfinished scrutiny, it was incumbent on the other side to proceed upon the merits of the election, by endeavouring to overthrow that majority of which their clients were in possession. A question in the house being carried to the same purpose, lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood objected to five hundred and thirty voters on the other side, whom they proposed to disqualify. Their counsel examined several witnesses, to prove the partiality of the sheriff in favour of lord Parker and sir Edward Turner, and to detect these candidates in the practice of bribery; for which purpose they produced a letter in their own handwriting.
1755
They afterwards proceeded to disqualify particular voters, and summed up their evidence on the twenty-first day of January. Then the counsel for the other side began to refute the charge of partiality and corruption; and to answer the objections that had been made to particular voters. They produced evidence to prove, that customary freeholds, or customary holdings, had voted in elections in the counties at Glamorgan, Monmouth, Gloucester, Wells, and Hereford; and that the customary tenants of the manor of Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, had been reputed capable of voting, and even voted at elections for that county. In a word, they continued to examine evidences, argue and refute, prove and disprove, until the twenty-third day of April, when, after some warm debates and divisions in the house, lord Parker and sir Edward Turner were declared duly elected; and the clerk of the crown was ordered to amend the return, by erasing the names of lord Wenman and sir James Dashwood. Many, who presumed to think for themselves, without recollecting the power and influence of the administration, were astonished at the issue of this dispute, which, however, might have easily been foreseen; inasmuch, as, during the course of the proceedings, most if not all of the many questions debated in the house, were determined by a great majority in favour of the new interest. A great number of copyholders had been admitted to vote at this election, and the sheriff incurred no censure for allowing them to take the oath appointed by law to be taken by freeholders: nevertheless, the commons carefully avoided determining the question, whether copyholders possessed of the yearly value of forty shillings, clear of all deductions, have not a right to vote for knights to represent the shire within which their copyhold estates are situated? This point being left doubtful by the legislature, puts it often in the power of the sheriff to return which of the candidates he pleases to support; for if the majority of the voting copyholders adheres to the interest of his favourite, he will admit their votes both on the poll and the scrutiny; whereas, should they be otherwise disposed, he will reject them as unqualified What effect this practice may have upon the independency of parliament, every person must perceive who reflects, that, in almost all the counties of England, the high sheriffs are annually appointed by the minister for the time being.
GEORGE II. 1727-1760
The attention of the legislature was chiefly turned upon the conduct of France, which preserved no medium, but seemed intent upon striking some important blow, that might serve as a declaration of war. At Brest, and other ports in that kingdom, the French were employed in equipping a powerful armament, and made no scruple to own it was intended for North America. Towards the latter end of March, sir Thomas Eobinson, secretary of state, brought a message from the king to the parliament, intimating, that his majesty having at the beginning of the session declared his principal object was to preserve the public tranquillity, and at the same time to protect those possessions which constitute one great source of the commerce and wealth of his kingdoms, he now found it necessary to acquaint the house of commons, that the present situation of affairs made it requisite to augment his forces by sea and land, and to take such other measures as might best tend to preserve the general peace of Europe, and secure the just rights and possessions of his crown in America, as well as to repel any attempts whatsoever that might be made to support or countenance any designs which should be formed against his majesty and his kingdoms; and his majesty doubted not but his faithful commons, on whose affection and zeal he entirely relied, would enable him to make such augmentations, and to take such measures for supporting the honour of his crown, and the true interest of his people, and for the security of his dominions in the present critical conjuncture, as the exigency of affairs might require; in doing which his majesty would have as much regard to the ease of his good subjects as should be consistent with their safety and welfare. In answer to this message, a very warm and affectionate address was presented to his majesty; and it was on this occasion that the million was granted for augmenting his forces by sea and land. 357 [See note 2 X at the end of this Vol.] The court of Versailles, notwithstanding the assiduity and despatch which they were exerting in equipping armaments, and embarking troops, for the support of their ambitious schemes in America, still continued to amuse the British ministry with general declarations, that no hostility was intended, nor the least infringement of the treaty.
The earl of Albemarle, the English ambassador at Paris, having lately died in that city, these assurances were communicated to the court of London by the marquis de Mirepoix, who resided in England with the same character which he had supported since his first arrival, with equal honour and politeness. On this occasion he himself was so far imposed upon by the instructions he had received, that he believed the professions of his court were sincere, and seriously endeavoured to prevent a rupture between the two nations. At length, however, their preparations were so notorious that he began to suspect the consequence; and the English ministry produced such proofs of their insincerity and double dealing, that he seemed to be struck with astonishment and chagrin. He repaired to France, and upbraided the ministry of Versailles for having made him the tool of their dissimulation. They referred him to the king, who ordered him to return to London, with fresh assurances of his pacific intentions; but his practice agreed so ill with his professions, that the ambassador had scarce obtained an audience to communicate them, when undoubted intelligence arrived, that a powerful armament was ready to sail from Brest and Rochfort. The government of Great Britain, roused by this information, immediately took the most expeditious methods for equipping a squadron; and towards the latter end of April, admiral Boscawen sailed with eleven ships of the line and one frigate, having on board a considerable number of land forces, to attend the motions of the enemy; but more certain and particular intelligence arriving soon after touching the strength of the French fleet, which consisted of twenty-five ships of the line, besides frigates and transports, with a great quantity of warlike stores, and four thousand regular troops, commanded by the baron Dieskau, admiral Holbourne was detached with six ships of the line, and one frigate, to reinforce Mr. Boscawen; and a great number of capital ships were put in commission. In the beginning of May the French fleet, commanded by Mr. Macnamara, an officer of Irish extraction, sailed from Brest, directing his course to North America; but, after having proceeded beyond the chops of the English channel, he returned with nine of the capital ships, while the rest of the armament continued their course, under the direction of M. Bois de la Mothe.
On the twenty-fifth day of April the king went to the house of lords, where, after giving the royal assent to the bills then depending; for granting a certain sum out of the sinking fund for the relief of insolvent debtors, for the better regulation of marine forces on shore, for the better raising of marines and seamen, and to several other public and private bills; his majesty put an end to the session of parliament by a speech, in which he acquainted the two houses, that the zeal they had shown for supporting the honour, rights, and possessions of his crown, had afforded him the greatest satisfaction; that his desire to preserve the public tranquillity had been sincere and uniform; that he had religiously adhered to the stipulations of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, and made it his care not to injure or offend any power whatsoever; but that he never could entertain a thought of purchasing the name of peace at the expense of suffering encroachments upon, or of yielding up, what justly belonged to Great Britain, either by ancient possession or by solemn treaties; that the vigour and firmness of his parliament, on this important occasion, had enabled him to be prepared for such contingencies as might happen; that if reasonable and honourable terms of accommodation could be agreed upon, he would be satisfied, and, at all events, rely on the justice of his cause, the effectual support of his people, and the protection of Divine Providence. The parliament was then prorogued to the twenty-seventh of May.
Preparations for War..... Earl Paulet’s Motion against the King’s going to Hanover..... Regency appointed during his Majesty’s Absence..... Boscawen’s Expedition..... Alcide and Lys taken..... French Ambassador recalled..... Their Trade greatly distressed..... Affairs of the English in America..... Col. Monckton takes Beau-Sejour..... General Braddock’s unfortunate Expedition..... He falls into an Ambuscade; is defeated, and killed..... Disagreement between the Governor and Assembly of Pennsylvania..... Expedition against Crown Point and Niagara resolved on..... Gen. Johnson encamps at lake George..... where he is attacked by the French, who are entirely defeated..... Bravery of Captain M’Ginnes..... Gen. Johnson created a Baronet..... Description of Fort Oswego and Lake Ontario..... Neglect of the English in not fortifying it..... Expedition against Niagara..... Gen. Shirley returns to Albany..... End of the Campaign in America......Fruitless Intrigues of the French in Spain and Germany..... Treaty of the King of Great Britain with the Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel..... News of the Capture of the Alcide and Lys reaches England..... The King returns from Hanover, and concludes a Treaty with Russia..... Declaration of the French Ministry at the Court of Vienna..... Spirited Declaration of the King of Prussia..... The French make another unsuccessful Attempt upon the Court of Spain..... The Imperial Court refuses Auxiliaries to England..... The French take the Blandford Man of War, but return it..... State of the English and French Navies..... Session opened..... Remarkable Addresses of the Lords and Commons..... His Majesty’s Answer..... Alterations in the Ministry..... Mr. Fox made Secretary of State..... Supplies voted..... Earthquake at Lisbon..... Relief voted by Parliament to the Portuguese..... Troops, &c, voted..... Mutiny Bill, Marine, and Mariners’ Acts continued..... Act for raising a Regiment of Foot in North America..... Maritime Laws of England extended to America..... Quiet of Ireland restored..... Treaty concluded with Prussia..... New Militia Bill passed by the Commons, but rejected by the Lords..... Session closed