YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

Gift of

Lawrence H. Ott

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MEMOIRES

OF THE

LAST TEN YEARS

REIGN OF GEORGE THE SECOND.

HORACE WALPOLE, EARL OF ORFORD.

FROM THE ORIGINAL MSS.

IN TWO VOLUMES.
VOL. II.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET.

MDCCCXXII.

CON TENTS

TO

VOLUME II.

1756.
Parliament, 1.
Negotiations with France, ib.
Accommodation with the King of Prussiaj
2.
Parliament, 3.
Affair of Admiral Knowles, ib.
Supplies, ib.
Grants to North America, ib.
Parliament and parties, 5.
Hessians sent for, ib.
Mischiefs produced by marriage act, 6.
Prevot's regimeht, ib.
Debate on Prevot's regiment, 7 — 12.
Author's speech on Swiss regiments, 12 —
17.
Debate on Swiss regiments continued, 18-
—20.
Affair of Fox and Charles Townshend, 20,
21.
Divisions, ib.
Swiss Regiment Bill opposed in all its
stages, 22.
Swiss Regiment Bill passes the Commons
and Lords, 23.
VOL. II.

Anecdote of Madame Pompadour, 23.
Debates on budget and taxes, 24.
New taxes, 25.
Tax on plate, 25—28.
Tranquillity restored in Ireland, 28, 29.
Hessians and Hanoverians sent for, 30, 31.
Private bill for new road, and dissensions
thereupon, 32.
Hessians, 33.
Hanoverians, ib.
Debate on Hanoverians, 34, 35.
French attack Minorca, 35, 36.
Militia Bill, 36.
Vote of credit, 36— 41.
Debates on the Prussian treaty, 41 — 44.
War declared, 44.
Militia Bill in Lords, 44, 45.
Parliament prorogued, 46.
Troops raised by individuals, ib.
The Prince of Wales of age, 47.
History of Lord Bute's favour, 49.
Scheme of ta king the Prince from his mo
ther, 49—51.
Minorca, 51.
Character of Richelieu and Blakeney, 52,
53. b

VI

CONTENTS.

Siege of Minorca, 54.
Incapacity of administration, 55.
Reinforcements from Gibraltar refused, 56.
French reports from Minorca, ib.
Public indignation, 57.
Admiral Byng's dispatch, 58.
Remarks on the character of government,
59.
The Empress-queen joins with France, 60.
Conclusion of the law-suit about New Park,
61.
Continuation of the proceedings with the
Prince of Wales, 62, 63.
Death of the Chief Justice Rider, and de
signation of Murray, 64.
Loss of Minorca, 65, 66.
Proceedings on loss of Minorca, 67, 68.
General Fowke tried, 69.
Addresses on the loss of Minorca, ib.
Revolution in Sweden, 70.
Deduction of the causes of the war in Ger
many, 71, 72.
German ministers, 73.
Bruhl, ib.
Kaunitz, ib.
Views and conduct of the courts of Dresden
and Vienna, 74.
Character of the Czarina, 75.
League of Prussia, Austria, and Saxony,
76.
King of Prussia apprized of the league
against him, 77.
King of Prussia endeavours to secure peace,
78.
Invasion of Saxony by the King of Prussia,
79.
Dresden conquered, and the archives
searched by the Prussians, 80.

Campaign in Saxony, 81 .
Affairs at home, 82.
Mr. Byng publishes a defence, 83.
Effect of Byng's pamphlet, 84.
Loss of Oswego, ib.
Affair of the Hanoverian soldier at Maid
stone, 85.
The King admits Lord Bute into the
Prince's family, 86.
Fox discontented with Newcastle, and in
sists on resigning, 87.
Precarious state of the ministry, 88.
Lord Granville takes Fox's resignation to
the King, 89.
Fox, irresolute, applies to the author, 90.
Author's motives in declining to interfere,
91.
Fox has an audience, 92.
Pitt's objections and demands, 93.
Prince of Wales's new household, ib.
Pitt visits Lady Yarmouth, 94.
State of parties, 95, 96.
Duke of Newcastle determines to resign, 97.
Pitt declines acting with Fox, ib.
Negotiations for the formation of a new
ministry, 98 — 101.
Fox labours to obstruct the formation of a
ministry, 102.
The designs of Fox defeated, 103.
Duke of Devonshire accepts the treasury,
ib.
New ministry, 104.
Duke of Newcastle resigns, 105.
The Chancellor resigns, 106.
The changes settled, 107, 108.
Pitt minister, 108, 109.
Parliament meets, 109.

CONTENTS.

vn

1757.
Character of the times, 111.
Contest between the parliament and clergy
in France, 112.
France, 113.
King of France stabbed, 113, 114.
Torture and execution of Damiens, 115.
The King compliments Lewis on his escape,
116.
Trial of Admiral Byng, 116—118.
Admiral Byng's sentence, and the be
haviour of the court-martial, 119.
Author's impressions, 120.
Sentence of court-martial on Byng, 121 —
123.
Representation of court-martial, 123, 124.
Remarks on Byng's case, 125 — 1 29.
Two Highland regiments raised, 130.
Ordnance estimates, 131.
Guinea lottery, 132.
Militia Bill, ib.
Ordnance, 133.
Baker's contract, ib.
Parliamentary inquiries limited to Minorca,
134.
Byng's sentence produces various impres
sions, 135.
The sentence of the court-martial referred
to the judges, 136.
Conduct of the judges on the case referred
to them, 137.
Conduct of Fox, 138.
The Admiralty sign the sentence, 139.
The sentence notified to the House of
Commons, 140.
Mr. Pitt demands money for Hanover,
140, 141 .

Lord G. Sackville declares for Pitt, 142.
Motives of Lord G. Sackville, 143.
Approaching execution of Byng, 144.
House of Commons, 145.
Sir Francis Dashwood animadverts on
Byng's sentence, ib.
Debate on Byng's sentence, 146 — 152.
Some applications to the King for mercy,
152.
Members of court-martial desirous to be
absolved from their oaths, 153.
Author urges Keppel to apply to House
of Commons, ib.
Author promotes an application to House
of Commons, 154.
Sir Francis Dashwood applies for Mr.
Keppel, ib.
Keppel's application to House of Com
mon's, 155.
Debate on Keppel's application, 156.
Keppel's application considered in cabinet,
157.
The King's message on respiting Byng, ib.
Breach of privilege in the King's message,
158—160.
Debate on the King's message, 161 — 164.
Bill to release court-martial from oath, 165.
Sensations excited by proceedings in House
of Commons, 166.
Holmes and Geary disavow Keppel, 167.
Further debate on Court-martial Bill, 168
—173.
Court-martial Bill passes House of Com
mons, 174.
Debate in Lords, ib.
Debate in Lords on proposal to examine
the members of court-martial, 177 —
179.
b2

Vlll

CONTENTS.

Court-martial ordered to attend House of
Lords, 180.
Examination of court-martial in House of
Lords, 181—186.
Bill debated and dropped in House of
Lords, 187.
Result of proceedings in parliament, 188.
Petition for mercy from city intended and
dropped, 189.
Death of Admiral Byng, 189, 190.
Reflections on Admiral Byng's behaviour,
191.
Rochester election, 192.
Death of Archbishop Herring, 193.
Abolition of the office of wine licences,
194.
Intrigues to dismiss Mr. Pitt, and form
new ministry, 195, 196.
The Duke goes to Hanover to command
the army, 197.
Change in ministry, 198.
Dismissal and resignation of ministers, 199.
Efforts to form a new administration, 200.
Parliamentary inquiries into the loss of
Minorca, 201.
Mr. Pitt's power and popularity, 202.
Duke of Newcastle and Mr. Fox, 203, 204.
The inquiries into the loss of Minorca,
204—206.
No ministry formed, 207.
The Militia Bill passes, 208.
Great success of the King of Prussia, 209.
Various plans for forming an administra
tion, 210, 211.
Vote of a million, 212—214.
Bill regulating payment of seamen's wages,
215.
Duke of Newcastle's irresolution, 216.

Rupture of negotiation between Pitt and
Newcastle, 217.
Duke of Newcastle's projects and diffi
culties, 218.
Prince of Wales interferes to facilitate
arrangements, 219-
Lord Waldegrave appointed first lord of
the treasury, 220.
Resignation of Newcastle's friends, 221.
Author's advice to Fox, 222.
Lord Waldegrave's projected ministry
abandoned — The King's reluctant ac
quiescence, 223.
The new ministry settled, 224, 225.
Charge on the public, 226.
Lord Waldegrave has the garter, 227.
King of Prussia defeated by Daun, 228.
Battle of Hastenbecke, 229.
King overwhelmed with the misfortunes of
Hanover, 230.
Leicester-house, 231.
Disturbances on the Militia Bill, 232, 233.
France, 234.
Expedition to Rochfort, 235—238.
Officers employed on expedition to Roch
fort, 239.
Isle of Aix, 240.
Council of war, 241, 242.
Conway proposes an attack on Fouras,
243.
Attack on Fouras fails, 244, 245.
Affairs in the East Indies, 245.
Victory of the Prussians over the Russians,
246.
Convention of Closter Seven, 247.
King disavows the Convention of Closter
Seven, 248.
The Duke's return, 249.

CONTENTS.

IX

Duke's reception at court, and conduct
thereupon, 250, 251.
The Duke resigns, 252.
Affairs of Ireland, 253—258.
State of parties in Ireland, 258 — 260.
Inquiry into miscarriages at Rochfort, 260
—264.
Court-martial, 264, 265.
Lord Mansfield of cabinet, 266.
Victories of the King of Prussia, ib.
Sir John Ligonier made viscount and
marshal, 267.
Death of Princess Caroline, 268.

1758,

Mr. Pitt, 271.
Five great men, 272.
Lord Granville, ib.
Sir Robert Walpole, 273,
Lord Mansfield, ib.
Duke of Cumberland, ib.
Mr. Pitt, ib.
Five great men compared, 274.
Parliament, ib.
Speech of Mr. Pitt, 275, 276.
King of Prussia takes Breslau, 276.
General Clive's victory, 277.
Military appointments, ib.
Affairs of Ireland, 278—281.
Picture of some of the manners of the
age, 282—284.
King's munificence, 285.
Affair of the Habeas Corpus, 285, 286.
Mr. Pratt brings in a bill, 287, 288,
Anecdotes on the Navy Bill, 289.
Death of Archbishop Hutton, 290,

Affair of Lord Tyrawley, 291, 292.
New treaty with Prussia, 293.
Sequel of the Habeas Corpus, 294 — 297.
Habeas Corpus Bill in Lords, 298, 299-
Judges' opinions on Habeas Corpus Bill,
300.
Habeas Corpus Bill dropped, 302.
Leicester-house, ib.
Operations of the King of Prussia, 303,
304.
Expedition to St. Maloes, 304—307.
Passage of the Rhine by Prince Ferdinand,
and his victory at Crevelt, 307.
Defeats of Prince Ysenberg and Monsieur
Chevert, 308.
History of Dr. Hensey, 309.
Election of a pope, 309, 310.
Rezzonico elected pope, 311.
Taking of Cherbourg, ib.
Cape Breton taken, 312.
Other events in America, ib.
Affair at St. Cas, 313, 314.
Battle of Custrin, and relief of Dresden,
316.
Disputes with Holland, 316, 317.
Assassination of the King of Portugal, 318,
319.
Portugal, 320—322.
English army in Germany, 323.
Defeat at Hochkirchen, 324.
Sieges of Neiss, Cosel, and Dresden raised,
325.
Parliament meets, ib.
Addresses of thanks, 326.
Army voted, 327.
Affair of Dr. Shebbear, 328, 329.
Pitt's behaviour to Conway, 330.
Pitt's conduct in ministry, 331.
Lord Arran, 332.

CONTENTS.

Disgrace of the Cardinal de Bernis, ib.
Conclusion, 333.
Author's own character, 334 — 337.

1759.

Author's motives in continuing the work,
339.
A memorable sera, 340.
Election of chancellor of Oxford, 341.
Exchange of prisoners, 342.
Death of Princess of Orange, 343.
Capture of Goree, ib.
Expeditions to West Indies, 344.
Mr. Pitt's character and ministry, 346—
349.
Estimates of the year, 349.
Duty upon dry goods, 350.
Mr. Pitt's speech on taxes, 351 .
Mr. Pitt's sensibility to censure, 352.
Mr. Pitt's complaisance to Lord Hard-
wicke, ib.
Jealousies in ministry, 353—355.
Message on militia, 356.
Threats of invasion from France, 357.
Havre de Grace bombarded, 358.
Campaign in Germany, 359.
Battle of Minden, 360.
Reports of battle of Minden, 361.
Lord Granby and Lord G. Sackville, 362.
Reflections on Lord G. Sackville, 363 —
366.
Lord G. Sackville returns to England, 367.
Correspondence of French generals, 368.
King of Prussia's campaign, 369.
Battle of Cunnersdorf, 370.
Prussians defeated, 371.

King of Prussia saves Berlin, and retrieves
his affairs, 372.
Spain and Naples, 373.
Charles III. of Spain sets aside his eldest
son, 374.
Reasons for setting aside Duke of Calabria
examined, 375.
King of Spain, 376, 377.
Death of Lady Elizabeth, 378.
Boscawen defeats the French fleet, ib.
Conquests in America, ib.
Lord G. Sackville, 379—381.
Marshal D'Estrees, 382.
French worsted in East Indies, ib.
Wolfe's embarrassments, 383, 384.
Conquest of Quebec, and death of Wolfe,
384—387.
Perfidy and cruelty of French government,
387.
Bankruptcy of France, 388.
Thurot sails, 389.
Parliament, ib.
Mr. Pitt's speech, 390.
Lord Temple resigns the privy seal, 391 •
Lord Temple resumes the privy seal, 392.
Monument to Wolfe, and thanks to of
ficers, 393.
Admiral Saunders, 394.
Hawke attacks and destroys Conflans' fleet.
395.
Debates on extraordinary commissions, 396
Army estimates, 397.
Proposals for peace ineffectual, 398.
Heir-apparent's court, 399.
Victorious officers rewarded, 400.
Warburton made bishop, 401.
Ireland ib.
Tumults in Dublin, 402—405.
Irish parliament, 406.

CONTENTS.

XI

1760.
War in Germany, 409.
Prince Ferdinand's detachment to King of
Prussia, 410.
Value of contemporary Memoires, 411.
Lord Bath's letter, ib.
Macklyn's Love a la Mode, 412.
Lord G. Sackville demands a court mar
tial, 413—417.
Earl Ferrers murders his steward, 418.
Smollet punished for a libel, 419, 420.
Thurot's expedition to Ireland, 421 — 423.
Thurot's death, 424.
Debate on trial of member of House of
Commons, 425.
Court-martial on Lord G. Sackville, 425
—430.
Sentence of court martial, 431.
Trial of Earl Ferrers, 433, 434.
Execution of Earl Ferrers, 435.
Qualification Bill, 435, 436.
Militia Bills, 437, 438.
General Murray beaten at Quebec, 438.

French retreat from Quebec, 439.
General Amherst takes Montreal, 440 —
442.
Successes in East Indies, 442.
Campaign in Germany, 443.
Prussians defeated, and General Fouquet
taken, 444.
King of Prussia before Dresden, 445.
Is obliged to raise the siege, ib.
King of Prussia defeats Laudohn, 447-
Daun compelled to raise the siege of
Schweidnitz, and retreats, ib.
Allies take Berlin, 448.
Abandon it, ib.
King of Prussia beats Daun at Torgau,
449.
Campaign in Germany, 450, 451.
Duke of Cumberland, 452.
Earl of Clanrickard, ib.
George the Second dies, 454.
His character, and will, 454 — 458.
Anecdote of George the First's will, 458,
459.
Appendix, 463.

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MEMOIRES

OF

THE YEAR 1756.

Laissant toujours avilir sa dignite, pour en jouir.
Volt. Hist. Univ. vol. i. p. 140.

A HE parliament, which had adjourned during the holydays, 1756.

met again Jan. 13. The opposition was enriched with Sir January.
Harry Erskine, who having listed under Mr. Pitt, was dis
missed from his, post in the army. Mr. Pelham had formerly
pressed the King to break him, but in vain. His Majesty
now recollected that advice, and took upon himself to order
this act of authority — had it been intended to turn the new
patriots into ridicule, it could not have answered the purpose
better. France began to unfold the mystery of her moderation ; Negotiations
& J J ' W1th France.
yet with much caution. Monsieur Rouille sent a memorial
to Bonac, their resident at the Hague, which he delivered to
Colonel Yorke, but making him give a receipt for it. It de
void II. B

2 MEMOIRES OF
1756. manded, now the King was returned from Hanover, that he
January, would punish those brigands, who had taken so many French
ships, whose complaints, though often repeated, had still been
disregarded. It demanded restitution. That granted, the
court of Versailles would be ready to treat with us. In
answer to this memorial, France was charged as the aggressor,
by her encroachments in America. Restitution of territory
on their part was demanded, before any reparation would
be offerred on our side.
We had begun the war with flippancy, the Duke of New
castle's general exordium, which he was not wont to prosecute
with firmness: an unexpected event broke out, which ac
counted for his continuing to act with resolution. The Rus
sians had been listed in our quarrel to awe the King of
Prussia, and then our ministers dreaded the awe they had
given. The opposition too, it was probable, intended to in
flame his resentments on the Russian treaty : to obviate which,
Accommoda- Mechell, the Prussian minister, had been assured, that nothing
tion with the °
King of hostile was meant against his master ; that if any word of that
Prussia. J
cast had slipped in, it was hoped he would excuse it : that we
had no thought of giving him the first provocation. This had
been taken well. We followed it with proposing to that prince
a treaty of guarantee for the Empire. He changed the latter
word for Germany, because formerly the Low Countries had
been reckoned into the Empire, and he would not be involved
in a war for them. He desired that the treaty so modified
might be returned to him directly, that he might show it to
the Due de Nivernois, whom France was sending to engage

GEORGE THE SECOND.
him in their quarrel. This guarantee for Germany, this thorn 1756.

drawn out of the side of Hanover, dispelled at once the King's January.
aversion to his nephew. The terms were joyfully accepted,
and the treaty was signed Jan. 17th.
21st. — The committee of the whole house, preparatory to 'Parliament.'
a new bill, which George Townshend (to please him), was
ordered to bring in, voted all the old acts of parliament,
relating to the militia, useless.
23d. — Beckford complained to the house of Admiral Affair of Ad
miral
Knowles's tyrannic government of Jamaica, whom he abused Knowies.
immeasurably, and of which he quoted many instances, and
moved for several papers necessary to a prosecution. Fox
said that Knowies was already recalled ; and indirectly seemed
to defend him. Pitt took it up with great warmth and
solemnity, cast reflections on Fox for endeavouring to screen
the guilty, and paid great court to Beckford, who, till now,
had appeared to prefer Mr. Fox. The papers were granted.
Of the affair I shall say no more ; it drew out to great length ;
Fox openly espoused Knowies, who was cleared triumphantly,
Beckford having charged him with much more than he had
proofs or power to make out.
The same day Sir George Lyttelton, the new chancellor of ' Supplies.'
the exchequer, opened the ways and means for the supplies of
the year. The matter he unfolded well, but was strangely
awkward and absent in reading the figures and distinguishing
the sums. Pitt ridiculed and hurt him ; yet he made a good
reply, and told Pitt that truth was a better answer than elo
quence; and having called him his friend, and correcting
b 2

MEMOIRES OF
1756. himself to say the gentleman, and the house laughing, Sir

January. George said, " If he is not my friend, it is not my fault." Pitt
was sore in his turn ; and the dialogue continued, with great
professions of esteem from Lyttelton, of contempt from Pitt ;
who at last grew into good-humour ; but with regard to the
imputation of eloquence, said, he found there were certain
ways of answering certain men.
A day was spent without any issue on the vice-treasurer-
ship of Ireland, which had been lately split into three, to make
a disposition for Ellis : the other two were lords. George
Grenville questioned whether a third sharer could sit in par
liament, consistently with the act which forbids subdivisions
of places. The debate, after some hours, was put off till
inquiry could be made in Ireland, whether this partition was
novel or not.
'Grants to 28th. — The government proposed to parliament to bestow
America.' 120,000/. as a reward on such persons and colonies of North
America, as had distinguished their zeal and activity on the
new commotions. Five thousand pounds was particularly
destined to Sir William Johnson, the avenger of Braddock.
Charles Townshend, with great warmth, opposed the gross sum,
unless it was to be accounted for. Pitt pursued the attack,
and said, we had a disjointed ministry, who united only in
corrupt and arbitrary measures. Fox replied with great spirit,
thanking Pitt for the great service he did him by his attacks,
and assuring him that he knew of no disunion ; that he be
lieved Pitt himself did not, or he would join with one part of
the administration against the other, as he had done formerly.

GEORGE THE SECOND.
But his complaints being general, proved a general harmony, 1756.

except with one family ; and their clamours would never pass January.
for the voice of the nation : George Grenville flamed at these ^ pj^es!'
words, but the Speaker and Lord Strange interposed, and the
debate was adjourned to give way to a bill on linnens. After
the debate, Pitt and Fox talking it over, the latter told the
other, that so far from any disagreement between himself and
Newcastle, there were men, (meaning the two Townshends),
who had offerred that duke to abandon Pitt, if his grace pre
viously would give up Fox — and the latter would have named
them ; but Pitt could guess too well, not to wave such ah
explanation. It must not be supposed that Charles Town
shend bore any inveteracy to Fox ; he left all bitterness to his
brother; and was content with promoting confusion. The
money was granted in the next committee without a division,
but not without many reflections from the new opponents.
Beckford alone would have given a larger sum ; and Legge,
who aimed at governing and drawing Lord Halifax into their
system, approved what, he said, he was sure under that lord's
management would be liable to no abuse.
France beginning to retaliate on our vessels, and threaten- « Hessians
ing some attempt on our coast, the new Hessian mercenaries s
were sent for, and assistance according to treaty demanded
from Holland. Lord Ravensworth, whether to reconcile him
self to the King, or to distress the administration, for both his
views and manner of disclosing them were very unintelligible,
proposed to send rather for Hanoverians ; but without support
or success.

6 MEMOIRES OF
1756. A little event happened that demonstrated the mischiefs
January, produced by the marriage act : one Grierson, a minister, was
producefby convicted of solemnizing matrimony contrary to that law. No
marnage fewer tnan i^qq marriages were said to be dissolved on his
conviction, in which number 900 women were actually preg
nant. The chancellor triumphed in punishing so many who
had dared to contravene his statute : a more humane man
would have sighed to have made such numbers suffer even by
a necessary law.
On the next affair, though of very little importance, seven
tedious days were wasted in the House of Commons, besides a
debate in the Lords. Like other fuel for opposition, the sub
ject, when it had once passed into a bill, was never remem
bered more. Every topic is treated in parliament as if the
liberty and fate of the country depended upon it : and even
this solemnity, often vented on trifles, has its use. The cer
tainty of discussion keeps administration in awe, and preserves
awake the attention of the representatives of the people.
Ministers are, and should be, suspected as public enemies :
the injustice arising to them, or the prejudice to the country
by such jealousy, can hardly ever be adequate to the mischief
they may do in a moment, if too much is left to their power,
if too much trust is reposed in their integrity. But to the
'Prevots point in question. One Prevot, a refugee adventurer, recom-
r6°"iincnt *
mended by the Princess of Orange, had ingratiated himself
with the Duke, and was countenanced by him in a proposal of
raising four Swiss battalions to be blended with new levies
in our colonies, and employed in North America : the com-

GEORGE THE SECOND.
mander to be English ; Prevot, second in command. The 1756.

officers to have co-equal benefits with the natives there, but to January.
acquire here no rank or advantage. In consequence of this
plan, February 9th, an estimate of the charge was presented February.
to the house by the secretary at war, who introduced it with plot's °n
a description of the advantages which the Americans, sensible reSimen •
of their want of discipline, would derive from being led by
experienced officers. Pitt, instead of censuring the scheme,
dwelt on the tardiness of it, painted the negligence of the
administration since the peace of Aix, from the very date of
which they had had reason to suspect the designs of France ;
lamented Lord Loudun, who was placed at the head of a scroll
of paper; compared two miserable battalions of 1000 men
sent from hence, with 3000 dispatched thither by the French ;
and asked, if it was but at that day that the administration
began to defend America? Did they not know that this
could not be a force before August ? — yet he would take this
beeause no better [was] to be had. The foreign officers would
undergo another consideration: he should not be for them.
Lord Barrington replied, that 8900 men were already voted
for the service of America. Charles Townshend, a perfect
master of our West Indian affairs and history, gave a detail of
many enterprises that had failed by a mixture of Europeans
and Americans ; wherever the latter only [were] employed,
the swiftness of recruiting had been incredible ; when blended,
in three years 2000 men had not been levied. As he knew
our neglects in that quarter of the world better than Pitt, he
was not less gentle in lashing them. Pitt, as if left behind in

MEMOIRES OF

1756. the race, again resumed it : asked Lord Barrington if he would

' Debate on
Prevot's regiment.'

February, presume to say that there were actually 3000 men in arms in
America ? would he add paper to paper ? He himself should
pity Lord Loudun, if stated as a commander of sufficient
force ! He professed being hostile to no man, was friendly to
his King and country ; but the inadvertence of his Majesty's
ministers had brought his age to the brink of destruction — yet
it was no comfort to look back and blame ; it was a pleasure
to try to be of service. There had been a long series of
ignorance, and incapacity, and collusion, since the treaty of
Aix; our ministers had gone on, hardly complaining, quite
acquiescing! Lord George Sackville spoke very sensibly on
the situation of affairs, with some reproof on ministers, but
charging more on the defects of the constitution of our
colonies, which ought to have one power established there, as
the French government in their settlements is one. On the
Pensylvanian Quakers he was more sharp, and with great
reason ; they had defeated every plan of defence, were careless
against the French, acrimonious out of season against their
governor, and had passed a militia law, which they meant
should be ineffectual. The estimate, amounting to 81,000/.,
was voted without a division.
The next day, Lord Barrington moved for leave to bring in
the bill, and explained the restrictions it was to contain. Pitt
thanked the ministry for having departed from their first plan,
which had been calculated to consist entirely of foreigners :
yet he ascribed the honour of this mitigation to the op
position made, and said, that ever since they had heard the

GEORGE THE SECOND. 9
first objections, the ministers had been trying to play with 1756.
poison and dilute it, yet still it was poison. If others would February.
take it for a remedy, let the bill be brought in ; though he p^vot? °n
had thought it wrong from the first concoction. He charged re&iment
the plan as a violation of the act of settlement, on which sup
position this and all the following debates rolled. He said,
he heard that we wanted Dutch engineers for sieges — what
sieges had the Dutch made ? English officers had behaved
every where with lustre, the Dutch no where. Were Dutch
engineers of such value, that we should pro tanto repeal the
act of settlement ? — but wanted ! were officers wanted ? was
it a symptom of scarcity of officers, when you have just broken
a brave * officer, distinguished with marks of two wounds, and
by the applause of the Duke ; and who was cashiered for
nothing but his vote in parliament ! Fox called to order, and
asked the Speaker, if that assertion was not a violation of it —
I ask the house their opinion, cried Pitt ; and though the
house should forbid me at the bar, as long as my mind re
proaches the author of it, I will say it is my opinion that he
was broken for his vote. He has changed his phrase, replied
Fox ; he asserted — he now believes. He cannot prove it, and
it was kind to stop him. If the house commands me, said the
Speaker, I will speak: who asserts, I suppose, is ready to
prove. He may say he believes. They who advise a measure
are responsible. Pitt, fortified with this declaration (and with
out it he would not have retracted), persisted ; bidding Fox,
* Sir H. Erskine.
VOL. II. C

10 MEMOIRES OF
175& armed with arbitrary power, and with that majority of which
February, he had heard so much, bring him to the bar: and he told him,
Prevot? °" Jt was the characteristic of the present administration to break
regiment.' the act 0f settlement for pretended utility; and in this case
the utility was so small, that it was stabbing that act with a
bodkin. Fox answered, that he should be ashamed to think
this scheme had been altered for Pitt's objections ; and asked
how it was possible to debate, without urging the expedience
of what was contended for ? that Pitt had asked what pledge
of fidelity these foreigners were to give — in three centuries
what Swiss had ever betrayed any country ? With regard to
the dismission of Sir Harry Erskine, no apology was necessary.
Twenty years ago, when Lord Westmorland, Lord Cobham,
and Mr. Pitt himself, had been dismissed, the opposition would
have brought in a bill to prevent such removals ; but it would
have been making officers independent both of the crown and
of parliament, and was rejected. Pitt allowed, that he thought
officers might be broken, even without recourse to a court-
martial : and Sir Harry Erskine himself affected to say that
he did not complain of his dismission : a civil or a military life
was indifferent to him : yet he could wish, if there were any
other cause than his vote, that Mr. Fox would declare it.
James Grenville, in a formal obscure speech, produced a clause
of the act of settlement, by which he would have proved that
this bill could not be received, unless another were first passed,
by which any foreigners to be naturalized must renounce
employments ; and he instanced in bills of that purport passed

GEORGE THE SECOND. 11
for the marriages of King Wilham and the Prince of Orange. 1756.
The debate took entirely this turn, the opposition asserting February.
that this would be a bill of naturalization, and if so, not re- prevot'se °n
ceivable : the administration, that it gave them something ^S111"511 •
more than naturahzation. Pitt declared himself struck with
Grenville's remark, which had not been communicated to him ;
and urged the ministry with giving to these foreigners per
saltum the very excepted parts ; and with bestowing on officers
in the dregs of the republic of Holland what had been with
held from the Prince of Orange. Murray would have evaded
this by asking if any thing in the bill tended to naturahzation ?
The Speaker declared there was such an appearance. George
Grenville said, by this evasion the ministry will have only to
omit the word naturalization, and it may grant what advan
tages it pleases to foreigners. " But," said Lord Strange, " in
Arabia none but a native can purchase a mare : suppose the
prince of the country gave me permission to buy a mare, would
he naturalize me ?" It passed by 165 to 57 that the bill should
be brought in.
The bill was read for the first time on the 12th. Pitt and
Charles Townshend ridiculed the various forms into which the
scheme had shifted. The former asked how the blanks were
to be filled up, and if it was for ever to be a floating mark
never to be hit ? From Lord Barrington he did not expect
much information, to whom, with Hotspur, he would say, that
which thou dost not know, that thou canst not tell : and he
said, the ministers had got something in their hands which
c 2

12

MEMOIRES OF

1756.
February.
' Debate on
Prevot'sregiment.'

' Author's
speech on
Swiss regi
ments.'

they neither knew how to hold or drop. The other went
farther, and insinuated expectations of seeing more foreigners
brought over by side-winds. Lord Barrington replied, that
no government presumed to fill up blanks in an act of parlia
ment. Proposals were made for taking the opinion of the
colonies on this plan. The bill was ordered to be printed, and
the debate adjourned by agreement to the second reading.
The 18th, Charles Townshend presented a petition from
the agent for the settlement at Massachusets-bay against the
proposed Swiss battalions. Pitt moved to have laid before the
house two petitions from Pensylvania, representing the dis
tressed situation of their province. Fox, for seven more, in
which they implore assistance. Sir Richard Lyttelton, for the
list of officers on half-pay, insinuating how little occasion there
was to employ foreigners. Lord Barrington then moved
to have the bill committed, which Sir H. Erskine opposed.
Horace Walpole the younger discussed the question, whether
this regulation would be an infringement of the act of settle
ment, of which, he said, nobody could be more tender, as he
had lately shown by opposing the treaties, which he had
thought clashed with that act. A litteral infringement he
allowed it would be, but merely litteral, and the benefits to be
reaped by departing from the letter, he was of opinion would
come within the very spirit of the act, were undoubtedly con
sonant to the intention of the legislators who framed it, and
tended to secure the blessings of that very establishment to a
considerable number of our fellow subjects. That the legis-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 13
lators may be, and generally are, the greatest men of their age, 1756.
yet their notions and ideas must flow, and are taken up from February.
the views of their own age ; and though they build for pos- speech on
terity, yet they build with materials of their own time : that ments.'
they attempt to prevent as far as they foresee : that any con
stitution, however wisely framed, if once declared unalterable,
must become a grievance : wise and happy as our own is, did
it not grow so by degrees ? should we presume to pronounce
that it received the last perfecting hand in the reign of King
Wilham? subsequent alterations showed it had not. That
the great purpose of the patriots of that reign, when by the
misrule of their native kings they were reduced to place a
foreign family on the throne, had been to guard against the
predilection of their new sovereigns in favour of ancient sub
jects, and to secure their posterity from being enslaved by
those who were introduced to protect liberty. This country
had experienced how little even English kings could resist
practicing against English liberty ; a race of German princes,
accustomed to arbitrary government, was still more likely to
grasp at arbitrary power. That these apprehensions had dic
tated that clause in the act of settlement which prohibits any
foreigner born from being so far naturalized as to be capable of
any employment civil or military — and there the words did
clash with the scheme in question. The Swiss and Germans
settled in Pensylvania were excluded by the act of settlement
from the glorious privilege of defending the country they had
preferred to their own; were debarred from fighting in an

14 MEMOIRES OF
1756. English quarrel, which at the same time was become their
February, own. He was aware, he said, that the act only specified that
sr?eech°on ^7 should be incapable of commissions ; but a raw undisci-
menfcJegl" plined multitude, not only not commanded by officers of their
own, but not understanding the commands of those under
whom they were to serve, would introduce confusion instead
of utility ; and unless they might have proper officers, it would
be rashness to employ the men. The framers of the act of
settlement did not foresee that a time would come when from
the too christian spirit of the Quakers, and the too unchristian
ambition of France, our most valuable colonies would be in
immediate danger. They did not foresee that this danger
would meet with a providential resource on the very spot : that
an hundred thousand Germans and Swiss, animated by the
most amiable principles, zeal for religion, passion for liberty,
and a spirit of industry, would be actually settled in the heart
of the province most exposed — if they had, would they have
been patriots, if they had still narrowed the act of settlement
to the rigour it now wore ? No, Sir, said he ; nor when they
formed a great act on the plan of their fears, did they appre
hend that England would ever be enslaved by an army of
Germans that should take America in their way. But putting
the most extravagant of all suppositions, that there could
hereafter be an intention of employing these almost constitu
tional troops against the constitution, whether would it be
most likely, that Swiss republicans, and Germans fled from
monarchy, would fight for a king attempting to make himself

GEORGE THE SECOND. 15
arbitrary, or in defence of Uberty which they had travelled 1756.
even to America to seek ? What should induce a Saltzburgher, February.
for instance, who had abjured his own ecclesiastic tyrant, to L^™,,8
serve an Enghsh king in a still more unconsecrated cause? n^ts;*^1"
Nobody, he believed, was so visionary as to impute any such
scheme to the royal person on the throne ; nor would he dwell
on the experience which the nation had had for near thirty
years of how incapable his Majesty was of attempting to
violate the most minute part of the constitution. In his
long and happy reign he could recollect but one instance,
which, in the most strained construction, could make the
most jealous suspect that his Majesty meditated even to sur
prize us into subjection ; and that was, by governing Hanover
with so parental a hand, as if he meaned to insinuate to En
glishmen that they might be the happiest subjects in the world,
though under an arbitrary prince. He was persuaded, he said,
that no gentleman could disapprove the deviation in question
from the act of settlement, but from apprehensions of its being
drawn into a precedent — he would state the case : could the
most designing minister come to parliament (for before they
get rid of parliament, they must make use of it against itself),
and say, in the year 1756 you consented to allow commissions
to about forty foreign officers to regiment and discipline a pro
portion of Swiss and Germans, none of them Hanoverians, in
Pensylvania, to defend that province against the encroach
ments of the French, when the quaker natives would not, and
you could not, raise troops to defend them : and therefore we

16 1756.
February.
' Author's
speech on
Swiss regi
ments.'

MEMOIRES OF
hope you will have no scruple to violate it again now, perhaps
in the year 1800, but will let us import into England some
regiments of Hanoverians already raised and disciplined? — no ;
they could not say this ; and when a precedent does not tally,
it is in no danger of becoming a precedent. King William's
patriots could not mean that any part of the West Indies
should be sacrificed to France, rather than suffer it to be
defended by a providential supply of foreigners whom tyranny
had driven, not invited, thither. Who was there, at this day,
who did not commiserate the blind bigotry of the Jews *, who
thought God capable of giving them so absurd a precept, as a
prohibition of defending their country on a Sunday ?
This is the light, Sir, said he, in which I protest I see it : I
think I execute the will of those great men better by departing
from, than by adhering to the letter of that valuable testament
th,ey left us. Could it be possible for them to have been
narrow-minded enough to have intended such rigid minute
ness, common sense would teach me to reject so prejudicial a
bequest — and yet, Sir, though I have declared my opinion so
strongly, if even this clause in the act of settlement should
still occasion difficulty, as I hope it will not be efficient to
obstruct the scheme, I should not be sorry to see it. Even a
litteral violation of such an act is too material to be passed
over lightly : we ought to show that we do not supersede a
single sentence of it without weighty consideration. I never
wish to see unanimity on such a measure: unanimity is a
* Yet the Jews were but a seventh part so great fools as the Quakers.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 17
symptom of monarchy; jealousy is constitutional; and not 1756.
only constitutional, but the principle of our existence. If our February.
ancestors had intended only an assembly of dehberation, the gpeechon
privy-council, or that more compact body of wisdom, the m^nts/esi
cabinet^council, might have sufficed to deliberate. We were
calculated to suspect, to doubt, to check — I think, Sir, added
he, we have already shown that we do not proceed wantonly
or inconsiderately. One honourable gentleman (Pitt) with
whom I must ever lament to differ, by standing up for the
very letter of the act, has given all the weight that can be
given to it — his dissent is sufficient deliberation — and I flatter
myself that my agreeing with those who think that in the point
before us the letter and the spirit jar, and who, I know, feel as
Warmly for the constitution, and who have taken all imaginable
precaution to preserve the integrity of the act without losing
so necessary a service, will not be interpreted as any want of
attachment to so essential a bulwark of our liberties.
I am sensible how much too large a space this speech
occupies in these Memoires, and how indecently such weak
arguments are displayed at length, while the opinions of many
great men are sedulously contracted. Yet the author had
some reasons which he hopes will excuse this seeming arro
gance. He wished to give an instance that he acted freely,
spoke freely : and as he seldom has had, or sought, occasion to
mention himself, he trusts that this one excess will be over
looked, especially as it produced a memorable saying of the
King, to whom the author is willing to do honour where he
VOL. II. d

18 MEMOIRES OF
1756. can, as he always has done justice on him when he deserved
February, the contrary. Horace Walpole hved in friendship with Fox,
in harmony with Pitt, and rather thought better of the con
duct of the latter. Having declared openly against the treaties,
he would not turn with Fox to a defence of them, and had
surprized, by deserting, him. He had now been desirous of
showing that that separation had been only temporary, and
yet he could not resist paying greater compliments to Pitt in
the very speech intended for support of Fox — but Walpole
always leaned most to a man in opposition. Why he flattered
the King in this speech is not so comprehensible ; nor could
he give any reason for it himself: it was unnecessary, it was
out of character and without any view, for he never even went
to court. Fox repeated the compliment to the King: he
was pleased; but said, he did not expect Walpole would
have spoken on that side ; adding, " You may blame me
here, Fox, but I will tell you the truth ; I try to make my
people at Hanover as happy as I can, and they deserve it of
me."
' Debate on Young Hamilton pursued the argument on the act of
Swiss regi
ments con- settlement with great ability, and urged, that not to deviate
from it would be to defeat it ; the chief end of it had been to
prevent men unconversant with our country and laws from
having the administration of them ; but now it was alledged
to hinder the service of another country, America. Foreigners
there had only become soldiers, because they no longer could
be planters ; yet gentlemen seemed to turn their eyes from
existing dangers to imaginary. The debate lasted till ten at

tinued.'

GEORGE THE SECOND. 19
night, but neither with remarkable events nor speeches, and it 1756.
passed by 215 to 63 to commit the bill. Charles Townshend February.
again pressed to hear BoUan and the agents and General swissregi-
Waldo on Monday.
On the 20th the committee sat. Pitt ridiculed with much
humour this scheme which the ministry so greatly applauded,
and yet with which the nation would not have been blessed, if
by a fortuitous concurrence of circumstances Prevot had not
been taken prisoner in August, and carried into Brest, if he
had not been going an adventurer to America, and had not
found his way from Brest hither*; and if, after all, he had not
taken it into his head to have a regiment. He wished this
Ulysses-like wanderer might be as wise ! wished the ministers
would wait but till Monday, to hear the colonies ! He had
been told indeed that the immutable laws of the Medes were
absurd — were the resolutions of ministers to be more un
changeable than those of the King of Persia — of Xerxes with
his multitude at his heels? He did not comprehend this
modelling, rejecting, resuming, shaping, altering ; he believed
all this beautifull mechanism had been employed about it, but
you that are to buy it, will they not let you examine and weigh
it, and know the intrinsic value ? Fox said, Lord Baltimore
and Pen were not limited by any act of settlement, but could
commission foreigners. The Massachusets can naturalize and
then commission them. He had never wished any ministers
* He had been met by Governor Lyttelton, who was taken in the Blandford
by the French.
D 2

20 MEMOIRES OF
1756. should be immutable ; God forbid they should be so in any
February, sense ! if common sense on their side, they would be in the
Swiss'regT wrong to be immutable. But would you hear Mr. Bollan on
the act of settlement ? his whole petition was against the regi
ment ; tended to reject the bill, not to alter it. Pen, continued
he, authorizes me, Lord Baltimore authorizes me, to approve
this bill, though they did not think it decent to petition for it.
I have been told that from Bollan we should hear of injustice,
oppression, ingratitude — I cannot believe it, for I remember
what passed in a certain assembly some time ago between two
persons, * one not present now, the other, I believe, is, (looking
about indirectly towards Charles Townshend.) The person
now here bad the other take the poor American by the hand
and point out his grievances : he defied him ; if that would not
do, he beseeched him to point out a single grievance ; for his
part, he did not know of one. When that day shall come, added
Fox, I hope that gentleman, who speaks as well as the honor
able person himself over against me, will attend and confute
both Mr. Bollan and his introductor.
Afrfchf T°X Charles Townshend at the first shock was thunderstruck f;
Townshend. tney had been his own words to Lord Egmont, had been faith
fully treasured in Fox's accurate memory, and were brought
out with all the art and severity imaginable — but in a moment
Townshend recovered himself, struck his hand on his forehead
as feeling the impulse of conception, and starting up, replied
with inimitable spirit and quickness, " That every one saw
* Lord Egmont. f See page 365, of the year 1754, vol. i.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 21
whither those prepared observations pointed ; he took them 1756.
to himself — and what had been the case ? Lord Egmont had February.
complained of the civil government of the colonies, and of the C)£?\™
instructions to Sir Danvers Osborn, which I, I advised, and m,
which, cried he, I am ready to fight over. I never complained
of civil oppression — I am ready to meet Fox and his aid de camp
Lord Egmont — the oppression I mean is in the military. The
soldiers have been promised rewards — they have been kept in
garrison contrary to promise — have I made out the distinction?
— -if I have, then I say this is an unmanly attack on a young
man." — Fox's friends called out, Order ! order ! — Townshend
rejoined, " Order ! order ! unmanly ! is that disorderly ? — upon
my word, these are the nicest feelings in Xerxes's troops that
ever I knew." This flash of wit put a whole majority out of
countenance. A grain less of parts, or a scruple more of
modesty, had silenced Townshend for ever. " Fox," continued
he, " cries, ' What ! hear Bollan on the act of settlement !' he
chose to enter on no other part of my argument — and then
he talked of mutability— there was forage and joking for the
troops !"
Fox with great art observed what satisfaction it gave him
to hear that there was no oppression in the civil government ;
and thus pinned down Charles Townshend from producing a
detail of grievances that he had prepared on American affairs.
The rest of the debate was most indifferent, or could not avoid
appearing so: 213 against 82 voted against hearing Bollan. Div
The opposition then tried by four divisions to prevent the

isions.

22 MEMOIRES OF
1756. prosecution of the bill in the committee ; but the ministry
February, persisting in making no farther answers, at past eleven at
g?mt!t Bui nig*11 pitt and nis followers walked out, and the only blank in
affltesfajes.' the bill was filled up, as Lord George Sackville proposed, with
the words fifty officers and twenty engineers.
Two days afterwards the bill was reported and again op
posed, as it was on the last reading, when the ministry, tired
with debating, and making no reply, Charles Townshend, in a
fine animated and provoking speech, tried to make them break
silence, taunting the majority with following leaders who
would not vouchsafe to give them reasons, reproaching the
ministers with the insult of their silence, and calling on the
new placemen to give some proofs of being fit for their posts,
the arrangement of which, and the various reasons of fear or
convenience which had contributed to the late settlement, he
described with much humour and wit. Fox, smiling, told
him, he called so agreeably, that he should never call in vain ;
and yet, plainly as Mr. Townshend had spoken, he did not
know under what part of the description to suppose himself
included: he could not be the insolent minister; it requires
more parts than I have, said Fox, to support insolence. But
why am I silent ? — have I been so on this bill ? Have I not
been reproached with talking too often on it ? I ask pardon,
and have nothing new to say on it, but this, that I objected to
hearing Bollan, because Mr. Townshend can speak as readily
and knows as much. I rest my credit on what I have said
before; only observing, that the majority which Mr. Town-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 23
shend calls mean, I believe he does not think a mean one. 1756.

Pitt spoke again for an hour and half, but without fire or February.
force ; and old Horace Walpole terminated this tedious affair
with the lowest buffbonry, telling a long story of an old man
and his wife j that the husband said to her, « Goody Bar
rington, for that was her name — I must not falsify my story :—
if it had been Onslow, I must have said it," continued he, ad
dressing himself to the Speaker ; who replied, very properly,
" Sir, one old woman may make as free as she pleases with • Swiss Re-
another." The bill passed by 198 to 69. parses the
In the House of Lords it was attacked by Lord Temple,
and defended by Lord Halifax. Lord Dacre, a worthy con
scientious man, unpracticed in speaking, asked with great
modesty and diffidence, if it was true that there were orders
given for listing in Germany : if it was, he should alter his
vote and oppose the bill. It occasioned confusion : at last
Lord Halifax owned, he believed it was true. The Duke
had given such orders without participation of the Duke of
Newcastle. The bill passed without a division; yet Lord and Lords.'
Temple and Lord Talbot protested in words drawn by Charles
Townshend. In France the prosecution of the war was by no means an Anecdote of
unanimous measure. D'Argenson, the promoter of it, was on Pompadour.
ill terms with Madame Pompadour, whose interest was to lull
the king and nation in pleasures and inactivity, not to foment
events that might shake her power. It received a blow from
another quarter. The Cardinal de la Rochfoucault, and Sassy,

24

MEMOIRES OF

Debates on
budget and
taxes.

1756. the king's confessor, played off the earthquake on his super-
February! stition: he promised to receive the sacrament at Easter, and
relinquish his mistress. She, who held more by habit than
passion, saw no reason why a woman might not work the
machine of religion as well as a priest, — and instantly gave
into all his majesty's scruples; offerred up her rouge to the
daemon of earthquakes, and to sanctify her conversion and
reconcile it to a court-life, procured herself to be declared
Dame du palais to the queen.
Feb. 25th. — Sir George Lyttelton, as chancellor of the
exchequer, opened the plan of supplies and taxes for the
current year. The first, a duty on wrought plate, was cal
culated to bring in 30,000/. a year. Another, on bricks and
tiles, and a double duty on cards and dice; the actual duty
produced 10,000/. a year ; but as doubling the tax would not
double the produce, the addition was estimated at only 7000/.
a year. This, said Sir George, some will think a tax on ne
cessaries : the legislature calls gaming a vice ; but the legis
lators, who can best expound their own laws, seem, by their
practice, to think otherwise. Legge objected to either tax on
plate or bricks; and showed with singular art how much
greater a master he was of the nature of the revenue and
commerce than his successor. Sir George seemed to repeat
an oration on trade that he had learned by rote ; Legge talked
on it like a merchant. He urged that plate was not a pre
judicial commodity, .but a dead treasure, to be resorted to on
an emergency : if sold, it would go abroad ; if coined here, did

GEORGE THE SECOND. 25
not increase the national stock. He showed that bricks would 1756.
be a partial tax, as many parts of the kingdom employ only February.
stone. But within the volume of our duties there was ac- ew axes
tually a fund of taxes that might be drawn out without
any new impositions, the old were so fraudulently levied, or so
injudiciously distributed. He instanced in the duty on tea,
which being regulated by Sir John Barnard, produced near
double, and demolished smuggling. By reduction of the duty
on raw silk, it rose from 800/. per ann. to 15,000/. That on
hemp, if reduced, would produce much more. George Town
shend proposed taxes on the number of servants, and on ex
portation of horses, because no French officer had fewer than
two English horses. Murray asked if many of our taxes were
not partial ; on cyder, on malt, on coals ? Lord Strange ob
jected strongly to the brick-tax, because the houses that ought
to pay most, those of the rich, are built of stone. Vyner ob
served, that a tax on plate was teaching servants to turn in
formers. The plate-tax passed. That on bricks was postponed,
and at last dropped, on finding how prejudicial it would be
and unpopular. It was changed for one on ale-houses.
March 3d. — On the report from the committee for the tax March.
on plate, it was a day of total ignorance : Fox, Hume Camp- piJ^011
bell, and Pitt, all showed how little they understood the
subject. The shrewdness of the first, the assertions of the
second, the diction of the latter, were ridiculously employed
on a topic that required only common sense, and a little know
ledge of business. Legge alone shone : he entered, beyond
VOL. II. E

26 MEMOIRES OF
1756. his usual brevity, into a detail of the nature of coin, exchange,
March. gold, silver, premiums, and the mistaken or real advantages of
' Tiix on those manufactures. He observed, that plate was not luxury,
plate.' but a national way of hoarding; that this tax was to cease
where luxury began, for the greatest lords were not to pay
beyond 2000 ounces. That it would all go abroad, unless the
proportions of gold and silver were regulated. That Mr.
Locke's first treatise on that subject had been written to serve
a purpose: he had afterwards understood the matter better.
That while we overvalued gold in proportion to silver, the
French were taking the contrary extreme in order to draw
silver into their country, and to encourage the manufacture of
plate, which proved a beneficial article of their trade, and of
which we were discharging ourselves. Of all dead stock, plate
was the most valuable. Louis the Fourteenth and Charles
the First had made great use of the resource of plate. When
employed, it comes out with its whole value about it. The
reputation of a stock of it has its weight. Would you in the
outset of a war produce your last stake ? Would you, while
increasing your paper-substance by borrowing on the sinking
fund, diminish your real treasure ? Many other taxes would
produce above 30,000/.
On the second reading of the bill, Legge argued against it
with more warmth : if gathered loosely, it would produce a
trifle ; if strictly, three times as much as granted for. France
would think us bankrupt ; no nation had done this but in
sieges and civil wars. He condemned it as a register of so

GEORGE THE SECOND. ' 27
much personal estate ; and as this knowledge would assist the 1756.
housebreaker in his campaign ; and as it would go to the de- March.
struction of one of the most flourishing manufactures in Europe, l]^*011
producing clear for the labour alone 32,000/. a year. Our sil
versmiths would now go to France, and the plate would meet
them there to be worked. Sir George Lyttelton remarked
that Legge's arguments went against all inland duties in ge
neral ; and that as little wealth ought to lie dead as possible.
That on laying the coach-tax, the coach-makers came to the
treasury and complained they should be ruined; yet their
trade had increased since. If we took a galeon, would it be
adviseable to lay up the treasure against a day of calamity ?
He defended the method of collecting this duty by excisemen ;
did not find that excise was now so terrible : Sir Francis Dash
wood had proposed an excise on meat, and he had not per
ceived that it had much shocked the house — in fact, no powers,
he said, were more gently exercised than those of excise. No
complaint had been made on the coach-tax : this was to be
under the same regulation. Our trade would not bear more
customs ; nor could we support the war, but by a despotic
mortgage of the whole sinking-fund. His chief partiality to
the plate-tax arose from the poor being exempt from it. George
Grenville spoke well, chiefly censuring this as a tax to be paid
on honour — had the coach-tax been honorably paid? The
land-tax at the Revolution was laid on honour ; did honour
tax itself fairly? Here only middling persons were to be
rated ; the poor and the rich were equally exempted. This
e 2

28 , MEMOIRES OF
1756. would be a sort of don gratuit, or benevolence ; the worst sort
March, of tax. The parliament of Paris was copying our best times
plate!'0*1 — fr°m wnat were we copying? Murray pleaded that, by
leaving the most magnificent sort of plate, which is only
where there is above 2000 ounces, untaxed, no discourage
ment would be given to the manufacture. Dr. Hay saying
that this tax was unlike that on coaches, for they, if not used,
did not pay ; Doddington replied, that he hoped Dr. Hay
would not wish the taxes postponed, till such could be found
as all men would approve. He did profess himself unequal to
speak to what many did know they were unequal to hear ;
but could not comprehend how men, who had so long gone on
losing so much interest by a stock of plate, should now declare
they would eat on trenchers, because it was to be taxed at an
halfpenny an ounce. He observed how contradictory the ob
jections were : in the same breath complaints were made that
this tax subjected us to excise, and was a tax upon honour.
The only unanswerable objection he had heard, was, that we
were over-taxed already. He wished we had been as scru
pulous in former wars, yet this was the only war he remem
bered, purely English.
The new duty was carried by 245 to 142. Yet if Fox
would have yielded to it, the Duke of Newcastle would have
• given up the tax. It produced at last but 18,000/.
Tranquillity Let us turn our eyes for a moment to Ireland, where
restored in
Ireland. tranquillity was at last restored by the prudence of Mr. Con
way, and by the venality of the patriots. Mr. Conway was

GEORGE THE SECOND. 29
armed with all the powers and all the quahties that could 1756.
compose the animosities of a factious people, inflamed by mer- March.
cenary chiefs; for he had authority to satisfy their demands,
his virtue gave no hold to abuse, his temper kept him impartial,
and his good sense kept the Duke of Devonshire so. The
patriots dismissed the woes of their country, for which they had
no longer occasion ; Mr. Boyle was first restored to the chan
cellorship of the exchequer ; Carter was made secretary of
state ; and Malone, King's council : pensions, with arrears,
were restored to the sufferers, and sprinkled on others ; and,
at the conclusion of the session, Mr. Boyle, for an earldom
and a pension, resigned the chair to Mr. Ponsonby, brother-
in-law of the lord lieutenant ; Malone consented to accept a
lucrative employment; and Sir Arthur Gore a peerage; but
the late Speaker being burnt in effigy by the mob, and Ma
lone being insulted at his own door, the latter was terrified,
and declined from fear what he could not resist from virtue :
Sir Arthur Gore, too, waved his peerage for the present. On
the departure of the Duke of Devonshire, the chancellor, Lord
Kildare, and Lord Besborough, were appointed lords justices.
The primate, enraged at this arrangement, quarrelled with his
friend the new Speaker, who was so far qualified to succeed
Mr. Boyle, that he made as little scruple to sacrifice his con
nections, to promote himself. The primate had tried to make
him Speaker ; Lord Kildare had opposed it : the primate was
now dropped ; and Lord Kildare and Mr. Ponsonby's father
divided the government between them ; for the chancellor

30 MEMOIRES OF
1756. was in a languishing state, came over to England, and died
March, soon after *.
England began to be alarmed with an invasion from
France ; the ministry had already made a requisition of the
troops which Holland ought by treaty to furnish us. Fox,
Lord Granville, and Lord Anson, had foretold that they
would be refused ; Newcastle and the chancellor insisted they
Hessians and would be sent ; demanded them, and were refused. On this,
Hanoverians sent for. a message was delivered to both houses, to notify his Ma
jesty's having sent for the Hessians in his pay: it was re
ceived with some murmurs, but not opposed. Lord George
Sackville, either to throw difficulties on the Duke of New
castle, with whom he was angry on Irish accounts, or to pay
court to the throne, hinted a preference to Hanoverians,
whose behaviour, as soldiers, he much commended. This
thought was embraced — if it had not been concerted; and on
APriL the 29th of April, he proposed, in form, to address the King
to send for his electoral troops, after stating the weakness of
the country, the vast extent of unguarded coast, and the
opinion of officers in favour of the utility and good service of
those foreigners. The Tories owned they preferred Hano
verians to Hessians ; but Pitt, who came down ill, and affirming
that nothing but the importance of the question should have
drawn him out of his bed, spoke long against the measure ;
* The new Speaker soon came over too, and went to Newmarket : George
Selwyn seeing him very busy at the hazard-table, said, " With what expedition
the Speaker passes the money-bills !"

GEORGE THE SECOND. 31
pleaded his respect for the King as the cause of his opposition, 1756.
as he feared we should advise his Majesty's involving another April.
country of his in equal or worse peril than our own. That and^Hano-
this would be offerring him our advice in his electoral capacity: v
that in no period of his fife he had spoken against the Hano
verians as bad troops : that against what force the French
could land we had certainly sufficient defence : that in 1690,
when France had beaten our fleet at Beachy-head, and had
an army in Ireland, yet we had surmounted all that danger.
That, in the Dutch war, even with a suspected king, we had
coped with Holland and France. De Witte, the greatest
man since Plutarch, had proposed an invasion to D'Estrades,
but he treated it as a chimeric attempt. Burnet says, the
Wirtemberghers were cruel friends : he should be for sending
these Hanoverians to Ireland : he would vote for raising any
number of new troops : the last unfortunate war had formed
many great officers ; he would not interpose these foreigners
to the promotion of those gallant men ; nor would force a vote
upon the King, when he might send for his troops without.
Lord George replied with great spirit and sense ; and the
motion was agreed to by 259 to 92. The next day this
resolution was communicated at a conference to the lords,
who agreed to it, after a severe speech from Lord Winchelsea
against the new patriots *.
* A bon mot, much repeated at this time, was not more favorable to the King,
who, making the nation pay him for this defence of himself, Doddington said,
" His Majesty would not for the world lend himself a farthing."

32 MEMOIRES OF
1756. The consideration of this danger, and of the measure of
April. bringing over foreigners, always obnoxious, at least as a pre-
fo^nlwroad! cedent, was often interrupted by one of those trifling affairs,
ttons^here- with which the wisdom of this grave nation is so apt to be
upon' occupied. A new road towards the eastern counties, by
which the disagreeable passage through the city would be
avoided, had been proposed to be made on the back of Lon
don. The Duke of Grafton had estates there, which, by
future buildings likely to accompany such an improvement,
would be greatly increased. Part of this road was to pass
over grounds of the Duke of Bedford, but in so small propor
tion as he thought would not indemnify him for the desertion
of other buildings which he had to a great amount in worse
parts of the town. He consequently took this up with great
heat. The Duke of Grafton, old and indolent, was indifferent
about it. The Duke of Argyle, who did not love * the Duke
of Bedford, and others who now wished to thwart him and his
faction, privately spurred up the Duke of Grafton to make a
point of this. Fox embraced the occasion as a trial for power
with Newcastle : Rigby, who had endeavoured to soften the
Duke of Bedford, now to humour Fox, adopted his master's
warmth, and added all his own violence, treating the name of
the Duke of Grafton (who was much respected) with the
greatest licentiousness in the House of Commons. The Duke
of Newcastle was frightened, and wished to avoid the decision;
but the Duke of Bedford, who had received all manner of
* Vide the debates on the sheriffs-depute In the preceding volume.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 33
encouragement from the chancellor and his friends, pushed on 1756.
the determination, was betrayed, was beaten, was enraged — in April.
less than a year he proposed to the Duke of Grafton's friends
to extend the plan of the road.
April 30th. — The estimate of the charge of the Hessian ' Hessians.'
troops being laid before the house, Pitt made a bitter speech
on the ministers, as bubbling the nation, or being bubbled in
this extravagant bargain, which would cost 400,000/. more
than a like number of British troops. But we were going to
be undone ; he should be undone with a clear conscience and
untainted honour. Those who supported such measures would
bear the marks on their foreheads. We could not carry on the
American war, from our extravagance. God could not bless
a country with resources enough to resist such profusion. He
admired the finesse of the Hessians, who from the hungry
allowance of Germany had raised their pay to British.
A few days afterwards the Hanoverian estimate being 'Hano-
brought, and Lord Barrington commending it preferably to
the Hessian (which had been voted, and was past danger),
Pitt with great dexterity of irony commended it too, and
lashed Lord Barrington for the extravagance of the former ;
asking whether he or that secretary at war had been more
severe on the Hessian account, on that subsidiary juggle — for
the Hanoverian, no man could find a fault with it — one was
the bargain of the ministers ; the other, the simple measure of
his Majesty : there one saw the distinction ! nothing but good
flowed from the King; nothing but ruin from his servants.
VOL. II. F

venans.

' Debate on
Hano
verians.'

34 MEMOIRES OF
1756. I chuse, said he, that they should fall by a friendly hand ; and
April. that the condemnation of his patrons and friends should come
from the noble lord. But must we engage mercenaries because
France does ! She has not blood enough in her own veins for
the purposes of universal monarchy. This waste on Hessians
would have conquered America, or saved Minorca, which he
despaired of. Why did not the house inquire why we had
been so neglected? if so weak, why staid till now? whence
else Minorca likely to be lost? what poor conduct! They
waited till some private man (Lord G. S.) dared to ask for
foreign troops. Had we been secured here, the fleet might
have gone safely to Minorca. The neglect looked wilfull, and
as if they hoped that trade would call out for peace, and that
Minorca to be regained would be a screen for compounding for
America-r-but, continued he, I don't call this an administration,
it is so unsteady. One is at the head of the treasury ; one,
chancellor ; one, head of the navy ; one great person, of the
army — yet is that an administration ? They shift and shuffle
the charge from one to another : says one, I am not general ;
the treasury says, I am not admiral ; the admiralty says, I am
not minister. From such an unaccording assemblage of
seperate and distinct powers with no system, a nullity results.
One, two, three, four, five lords meet — if they cannot agree, —
oh ! we will meet again on Saturday— oh ! but says one of
them, I am to go out of town — alas ! said he, when no parties
remain, what aggravation of the crimes of the ministry, that no
good comes from such unanimity !

GEORGE THE SECOND. 35
Fox answered seriously, that nobody could be glad of or 1756.
receive advantage from the loss of Minorca ; and he asked, if April.
Mr. Pitt wished to see a sole minister. Hano*

venans.

Pitt replied, that he did not wish to see a single minister,
but a system and decision : that the loss of Minorca must be
caused by infatuation or design, for that miners for the defence
of Fort St. Philip were only raising then. Indeed, were Mr.
Fox sole minister, there would be decision enough.
Lord George Sackville said he had moved for Hanoverians
from the consideration of our unprovided state, and as a tem
porary militia ; and because the fleet sent into the Mediterranean
was not superior to the French, and might be beaten ; the
French might follow their blow and come hither. He was
glad it had been mentioned, because every body was struck at
Minorca being left as in time of profound peace — it would
become ministers to prove that neglect, necessity.
It was known now, that after great preparations at Tou- French at-
tnck IVli-
Ion*, of which we had long been advertised, Marshal Richelieu norca.
was sailed with considerable force to attack Minorca, where
we had but four regiments in Fort St. Philip, under General
Blakeney, the deputy-governor, a stout soldier, but too old.
Lord Tyrawley, the governor, was in England ; so were his
chief officers ; members of parliament. Admiral Byng was
sent, but too late, and with only ten ships, and those in ill
condition, and worse manned. The only hope was in Fort
St. Philip. — for in an island of that importance all was left to
* The threatened invasion had been a blind to disguise the design on Minorca.
f 2

36

MEMOIRES OF

1756.
April.
Minorca.'

' Militia
Bill.*

May.

' Vote of
credit.'

a hope. The late Duke of Argyle had begun a fort on the
other side of the harbour, which would have been impregnable ;
but Lord Cadogan, out of hatred to him, destroyed it, and
built this, less secure, at an enormous expence. On the 5th
came notice of the French being landed on the island.
In the mean time passed through the commons that distant
and forlorn succedaneum, the militia bill. A few persons had
sat till near six in the morning fabricating and fashioning it :
Mr. Pitt recommended it in another fine dissertation, and it
was voted without a division.
May 11th. — Mr. Fox delivered a message from the crown,
desiring to be enabled against any emergency, and to make
good the new treaty with Prussia. The next day Sir George
Lyttelton moved a vote of credit for a million. It was much
censured : Northey said he did not oppose it, nor meaned to
disturb an unanimity which had been constant for two years in
granting supplies. Now was not the time, but a day would
come for inquiring how they had been misapplied. This vote
of credit, he supposed, like that of last year, would be per
verted to German treaties. We were told last year that the
King had entered into engagements, and that we must not
make him break his word. Beckford said, six millions three
hundred thousand pounds were already given — what had been
done for such a sum ? who could trust ministers any farther ?
We were all united; we wanted nothing but an able head.
The person at the head of the treasury is always so of the
administration — if he is not an able man, how can we go on ?

GEORGE THE SECOND.
The city said, Minorca was betrayed — I tell them, said he,
they don't know the disabihty of the administration. When
we seized the ships of France, did we imagine they would not credit °
revenge themselves ? Are we more secure in America for this
neglect of the Mediterranean ? No. In the month of May
you have prepared but two regiments, and they are not gone.
The French have sent two thousand five hundred men to the
West Indies — twelve sail would have saved Minorca.
To all these objections Sir George Lyttelton replied, that
this money would be restricted and subject to account. Was
government not to be supported on the first misfortune that
happened? When one happens, would you not prevent
another ? if while we guarded Minorca, our own coasts had
been neglected, the ministry would indeed be blameable.
Nothing had raised the supplies but the security of our coasts.
When the foreign troops should arrive, our fleets would be
more at liberty. Our spirit and activity had been admired
by all Europe ; and it was more difficult to defend our spirit
than our neglect. This answer was not particular enough to
satisfy Nugent ; he added his usual panegyric on the honesty
of the Duke of Newcastle.
Pitt made a fine lamentation on the calamitous situation of
affairs, and on the incapacity of the ministers ; begging them,
if they knew, to disclose the purposes for which this vote of
credit was intended. Was it to raise more men? we had
40,000 national, and 14,000 foreign troops. Was it to make
marine treaties? he would joyfully assent. If Sir George

' Vote of
credit.'

38 MEMOIRES OF
1756. could not say for what it was designed, would he at least
May. peremptorily say for what it was not designed ? Still he was
of so compounding a temper, he would assent, though votes of
credit had been so much abused. The ministers bragged of
unanimity, of activity, of spirit — what had all this harmony of
councils and talents operated ? safety ? are we safe ? damage
to the enemy ? let them show when and where. With this
universal aye, all our outlying parts were exposed. But he,
alas ! had no particular joy on being so strong on this question :
he did not want to load unhappy men who had undone their
country ; men most unhappy, if they did not feel it. We were
told that there was no option but between this country and
America and the Mediterranean — so this great country could
neither provide for defence nor offence ! yet our activity was
admired ! Philosophers indeed had a term, vis inertia, the in
activity of action — was it by that we were to be saved ? His
charge, he said, was, that we had provoked before we could de
fend, and neglected after provocation ; that we were left inferior
to France in every quarter; that the vote of credit had been mis
applied to secure the Electorate; and that we had bought a
treaty with Prussia by sacrificing our rights. He would not
have signed it for the five great places of those who had signed
it. They had left us unprovided, as a gap for German troops ;
and so German troops at last became an Enghsh measure!
The deceased gentleman (Mr. Pelham) had meant ceconomy,
and was dragged into foreign measures by one who had now
got the treasury. Could he every day arraign, and yet con-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 39
tinue to trust ? and while new foreign measures were in embrio? 1756.
— yet if this treaty was restrained to the defence of the king's May.
dominions, he should not know how to oppose it. He had no cr^e»of
resentment ; nobody had injured him : of their measures and
incapacity indeed he thought ill. If he saw a child (Duke of
Newcastle) driving a go-cart on a precipice, with that precious
freight of an old king and his family, sure he was bound to take
the reins out of such hands. He prayed to God that his Ma
jesty might not have Minorca, like Calais, written on his heart !
He concluded with proposing to take the very words of the
last vote of credit.
Sir George Lyttelton answered with great modesty, that
the administration had not sufferred by Mr. Pelham's death,
except by his advancement. Let it be considered who was at
the head of the treasury, of the admiralty, of the chancery, &c.
Could it be said that we had done nothing, when we had taken
8000 French seamen ? here he would rest the whole ; no one
calamity had happened yet.
George Grenville observed, that in December last the fleet
consisted of 150 sail, of which 78 were of the fine ; of 42,700
seamen, of which 36,000 had been mustered : the marines had
been voted since — was this inability to send fourteens ships to
the Mediterranean ? In January there were sixty-two ships
at home capable of being employed. Fourteen ships had suf
ficed to keep the Brest and Rochfort squadrons in their har
bours. He commended Lord Anson, and said, he had heard
of representations being made from the admiralty for sending

40 MEMOIRES OF
1756. force to the Mediterranean. In the last war he remembered
May. that the admiralty was restrained from meddhng with the
cr2ite'°f Mediterranean service, which was reserved to the secretary of
state (Duke of Newcastle) ; if that restriction continued, the
admiralty was not to blame. In America, Braddock had been
defeated in July ; not a man was sent thither till within the
last fortnight. Fox replied, that he knew of no representation
from the admiralty. The fleet could not have been prepared
so soon as Mr. Grenville alledged : it is no neglect if things are
preparing. Dates, he knew, might save from punishment, but
events only would save from blame. Some merit he thought
there was in the Prussian treaty, of which the contrary, a
breach, had been so much foretold. The question before the
house was not so diffuse as that of last year, because- the
augmentation was made, and consequently not necessary now.
He wished the incapacity was in the administration, not in
the country itself.
Pitt took little notice of Fox, only rising again to lash Sir
George Lyttelton, who had called it an opposal of epithets,
very little proper to come from him, said he, whose character
is a composition of epithets. But what ! did we meet as an
academy of compliments ? but Lyttelton had mistaken the day,
for himself, he said, had used no epithets that day. If Lyttel
ton would say, we had no more resources, he would tell him
he was incapable, and when he disclaimed having had any
hand in drawing the words of the question, he saw Sir George
was not at liberty to change them.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 41
Lyttelton, much hurt, but firm, cried, he says I am a thing 1756.
made up of epithets — was not this the language of BiUings- May.
gate ? The world complained that the house was converted credit.'
into a bear-garden — he should not envy Mr. Pitt the glory of
being the Figg or Broughton of it — yet if he assumed fewer
airs of superiority, it would do him more honour.
Pitt, redoubling contempt, said with a sneer, we once hved
in a road of epithets together — hard ! that my friend, with
whom I have taken sweet council of epithets, should now
reproach me with using them ! Lyttelton, he said, was a
pretty poetical genius ; with his pen in his hand, nobody re
spected him more : — but what ! were not Billingsgate and
Broughton epithets ? He at once described Lyttelton as an
innocent, and would have fixed the use of invectives on him.
Sir George terminated the altercation and debate, by pro
testing it was not his fault if he did not still five in friendship
with Mr. Pitt.
May 14th. — The Prussian treaty was opened to the house Debates on
the Prussian
by Sir George Lyttelton. It stipulated that the King of treaty.
Prussia should pay [61,000/. due on the Silesian loan ; but
admitted that 20,000/. was due to him, which the parliament
was desired to grant. Pitt took the convention to pieces, in
terpreting it as a design in the King of Prussia of returning
indignity for indignity ; and as derogatory to the sovereignty
of England, which was now giving 20,000/. to a monarch, re
presented as intimidated, for unjust claims, examined and pro
nounced so, and now allowed by a commission of review, as
VOL. II. g

42 MEMOIRES OF
1756. unheard of as that exercised at Berlin ; and founded on ad-
May, mission of damages, by what kind of liquidation could not be
Prussian °n guessed. Had that king made a demand, or had this com
pensation been offerred to him ? But he saw, he said, that all
the powers of Europe were setting up a new jurisprudence,
and that we were no longer to enjoy the empire of the ocean.
For himself, he should affect no superiority but what was com
mon to him with twelve millions, innocence of his country's
ruin, the superiority of the undone over the undoers. If he
could but be told that even by a protest we had secured the
rights of our courts of admiralty, he would acquiesce ; and
should be glad, as it would bring the long sufferers on the
Silesian loan into their money. Yet he had rather vote them
the 60,000/. : we did not want such a sum ; the necessary thing
to us was the acknowledgment of the right. So thought the
King of Prussia, and said, I will take nothing, to show I set
my foot on your neck, and how I am intimidated. — He hoped
the committee would at least couple with the vote the assertion
of our rights.
Murray answered in a long discussion, pleading like a
lawyer for the King of Prussia, though formerly, when con
sulted as a lawyer, he had nobly confuted him, like a states
man. He said, free ships make free goods, and that a prince
whose property is taken must judge by his own courts. That
we did not allow that decision— if his friendship were bought
by allowing it, the purchase would be too dear. That the
single question was, whether the convention did or did not

GEORGE THE SECOND. 43
give up our rights. That the King of Prussia had not been 1756.
alienated by our fault, but by his own interest, and that breach May.
had been kept up by his fear. That, under the name of re- p^gg^n °n
prisals, he had paid himself, having the Silesian loan in his treaty'
power. That he had tried to list the powers of the Baltic, by
the captivating maxim of free ships make free goods. That he
did not demand one sixpence for goods of strangers taken on
board Prussian ships, and therefore could not demand satis
faction, as no injury was done to him. He had made no reply
to our memorial, nor ever negotiated with us in defence of his
principles; but retained the Silesian loan. There had been
thoughts of making war on him — but how ? if by the Queen
of Hungary, then France would have taken part, and a general
war had ensued. As we detained his ships, he might demand
to appeal — very difficult to grant that, or to refuse it. He
then enlarged on the King of Prussia's right and power of
appeal — urged the long time lapsed, the money dispersed, the
danger of a single-handed war with France ; the advantage of
reconciliation with Prussia, who by giving up the whole Silesian
debt, gave up at once his whole commission of revision. He
had only said, " Save my credit, give me something." Who
would have held off for 20,000/. ? We did make that sort of
amende to him ; we did save his credit. Just so, the French
seized the smugler Mandrin in the territory of Savoy, and
hanged him — but when we sent a fleet to America, and France
wanted allies, she asked pardon of the King of Sardinia. The
same was our case with Spain on the convention of 1739 :
g2

44 MEMOIRES OF
1756. they agreed to pay us for captures they had made, and to
May. liquidate with the South Sea Company. Nobody thought
pfussSn0" tnat Dy t^at accommodation they gave up their principles of
searching. In the whole treaty we had not allowed the King
of Prussia's principles ; nor did it appear whether his goods
had been condemned as an enemy's, or as contraband. Very
uncertain what is contraband when not expressed in any treaty.
Spain calls tobacco so, because they think it makes the Enghsh
fight better. If we did not allow the northern powers to carry
some contraband goods, they could have no trade. We had
desired from the Prussian minister a plan of a treaty : he took
a Swedish treaty for his model, in which it was expressly
stipulated that " free ships do not make free goods." To have
had it expressed now would have weakened it — a subtilty
which justifies my saying that he argued as council for Prussia.
Pitt taxing him with it, he pretended not to have said, that it
was stipulated so in the Swedish treaty, but understood so
in it.
-Warde- The committee, by a majority .of 210 to 55, voted the
clsirccl '
money; and four days afterwards war was proclaimed with
France.
'MiiitiaBiii.' The same day (18th) the Militia Bill was read in the House
of Lords for the second time. The Duke of Bedford, thinking
the Duke of Newcastle would oppose or let it be dropped for
want of time, supported it strongly. Newcastle did oppose it,
but faintly, with Lord Granville and Lord Sandys, and suf-
ferred it to be committed.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 45
Lord Halifax supported it well in the committee ; Lord 1756.
Temple dared the ministers to throw it out. Lord Granville May.
immediately attacked it; warmly, but it went through without -n j^js?11
a division. On the 24th, Lord Stanhope spoke well on its behalf.
Lord Granville again opposed it as absurd, unjust, and op
pressive. He would not amend it, he said, for he disliked it ;
he would not be for it, because it was unamended. He would
not be influenced by its having passed the Commons, or by its
being popular — yet it was not popular, for often it had not been
attended in the Commons by above fifteen persons ; conse
quently had been voted in not a legal house. Lord Granville
always strongly asserted the dignity of his own house of Par
liament against the other.
The Duke of Bedford argued for the bill, and affirmed
that the people had only submitted to foreign forces, on the
promise of a Mihtia Bill. The chancellor declared against it
on the impracticability, — and (those who love Uberty will love
him for it), on its omitting the declaration of the power of the
mihtia being in the crown, which had been asserted by Lord
Clarendon and Lord Southampton on the Restoration. Him
self, he said, had never been reckoned a prerogative lawyer,
yet he would never let the prerogative be lessened with his
consent. If I have here marked out Lord Hardwicke's memory to
the indignation of free men, he might pardon me : — there are
always numbers ready to admire the advocates of prerogative-^
Laud had his adorers ; Jefferies hardly escaped them.

dividuals.'

46 MEMOIRES OF
1756. Lord Bath spoke for the bill; the Duke of Newcastle
May. against it ; and it was rejected by 59 to 23.
i^M?* ®n the 2?th the parliament was prorogued. Old Horace
Walpole was at last declared a peer, with Mr. Villiers and Sir
Dudley Rider ; but the latter being taken ill on the very day
he was to have kissed hands, and dying the next, the peerage
was, with much hardship, withheld from his son.
' Troops j (jjd not mention in its place, because it falls in more
raised by in- L
properly here, that on an apprehension of an invasion in the
winter, the Marquis of Rockingham, Lord Northumberland,
Lord Downe, and others, had offerred to raise troops of light
horse, which had been accepted ; but Lord Gower proposing
to the King, that instead of this scheme, the great lords should
go into their counties, and raise recruits for the army, this
plan was better liked, if not suggested, by the Duke, and
carried into execution with good success. Lord Gower
raised 400 men by his personal interest in Staffordshire : Lord
Ilchester and his nephew, Lord Digby, were . as succesfull
in Somersetshire, inlisting the sons of many wealthy farmers,
upon promise that they should not serve out of England.
However, on a resolution of sending the force at Gibraltar to
Mahon, it was determined to replace them with this Somerset
shire regiment. Such a violation of public faith (for the re
cruits at least could not conceive that the brother and nephew
of a secretary of state had not authority for their assurances),
created the greatest clamour; and the men were driven by
force on board the transports. The consequence was very

GEORGE THE SECOND. 47
pernicious, as might have been foreseen, and will be showed. 1756.
I will mention another instance of the injustice and cruelty of May.
such breach of covenant. In the late rebellion, some recruits
had been raised under a positive engagement of dismission at
the end of three years. When the term was expired, they
thought themselves at liberty, and some of them quitted the
corps in which they had been regimented. The Duke ordered
them to be tried as deserters ; and not having received a legal
discharge, they were condemned. Nothing could mollify him ;
two were executed.
June 4th. — The Prince of Wales attained the age pre- June.
scribed for his majority ; by which the Regency Bill remains ^waiesof
only a dangerous precedent of power to posterity — no longer age*
so to us, for whose subjection it was artfully, though, by the
grace of God, vainly calculated ! This epoch, however, brought
to light the secrets of a court, where hitherto every thing had
been transacted with mysterious decency. The princess had
conducted herself with great respect to the King, with ap
pearance of impartiality to ministers and factions. If she was
not cordial to the Duke, or was averse to his friends, it had
been imputed less to any hatred adopted from her husband's
prejudices, than to jealousy of the government of her son : if
the world should chuse to ascribe her attention for him to
maternal affection, they were at liberty; she courted and
watched him neither more nor less for their conjectures. It
now at last appeared that paternal tenderness or ambition
were not the sole passions that engrossed their thoughts. It

48 MEMOIRES OF
1756; had already been whispered that the assiduity of Lord Bute
June. at Leicester-house, and his still more frequent attendance in
the gardens at Kew and Carleton-house, were less addressed
to the Prince of Wales than to his mother. The eagerness of
the pages of the back-stairs to let her know when ever Lord
Bute arrived [and some other symptoms] contributed to dispell
the ideas that had been conceived of the rigour of her widow
hood. On the other hand, the favoured personage, naturally
ostentatious of his person, and of haughty carriage, seemed by
no means desirous of concealing his conquest. His bows grew
more theatric, his graces contracted some meaning, and the
beauty of his leg was constantly displayed in the eyes of the
poor captivated princess. Indeed, the nice observers of the
court-thermometer, who often foresee a change of weather be
fore it actually happens, had long thought that her royal
highness was likely to choose younger ministers than that
formal piece of empty mystery, Cresset ; or the matron-like
decorum of Sir George Lee. *¦*##*
* * * #***#
******* jjer
simple husband, when he took up the character of the regent's
gallantry, had forced an air of intrigue even upon his wife.
When he affected to retire into gloomy allees with Lady Mid
dlesex, he used to bid the princess walk with Lord Bute. As
soon as the prince was dead, they walked more and more, in
honour of his memory.
The favour of Lord Bute was scarce sooner known, than

GEORGE THE SECOND. 49
the connections of Pitt and Legge with him. The mystery 1756.
of Pitt's breach with Fox was at once unravelled — and a court June.
secret of that nature was not likely long to escape the pene- Lord°Bute*s
tration of Legge, who wormed himself into every intrigue favour-
where his industry and subservience could recommend him —
yet Legge had not more application to power, than Newcastle
jealousy of it. Such an entrenchment round the successor
alarmed him. It was determined in his little council that the
moment the Prince of Wales should be of age, he should be
taken from his mother ; but the secret evaporating, intima
tions by various channels were conveyed to the Duke of New
castle and to the chancellor, how much the Prince would
resent any such advice being given to the King, and that it
would not be easy to carry it into execution. The Prince
hved shut up with his mother and Lord Bute ; and must have
thrown them under some difficulties: their connection was
not easily reconcileable to the devotion which they had in
fused into the Prince ; the princess could not wish him always
present, and yet dreaded his being out of her sight. His
brother Edward, who received a thousand mortifications, was
seldom sufferred to be with him ; and Lady Augusta, now a
woman, was, to facilitate some privacy for the princess, dis
missed from supping with her mother, and sent back to
cheese-cakes, with her little sister Elizabeth, on pretence that
meat at night would fatten her too much.
The ministers, too apt to yield when in the right, were Scheme of
now obstinate in the wrong place ; and without knowing how Princf from
his mother.
VOL. II. . H

50 MEMOIRES OF
1756. to draw the King out of the difficulty into which they were
' Scheme of pushing him, advised this extraordinary step. On May 31st,
K2 from ^rd Waldegrave, as the last act of his office of governor, was
his mother.' gent ^^ ie^ers of the same tenour to the prince and to
his mother, to acquaint them, that the Prince being now of
age, the King, who had ever shown the greatest kindness and
affection for him, had determined to give him 40,000/. a year,
would settle an estabhshment for him, of the particulars of
which he should be informed, and that his Majesty had
ordered the apartments of the late Prince at Kensington, and
of the Queen at St. James's, to be fitted up for him : that the
King would take Prince Edward too, and give him an allow
ance of 5000/. a year.
After a little consult in their small cabinet, both Prince
and Princess sent answers in writing, drawn up, as was be
lieved, by Legge, and so artfully worded, that the supposition
was probable. The Prince described himself as penetrated by
the goodness of his Majesty, and receiving with the greatest
gratitude what his Majesty in his parental affection was
pleased to settle on him ; but he entreated his Majesty not to
divide him from his mother, which would be a most sensible
affliction to both. The answer of the Princess marked, that
she had observed with the greatest satisfaction the impression
which his Majesty's consideration of the Prince had made on
him : and she expressed much sensibility of all the King's
kindness to her. On the article of the separation she said
not a word.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 51
What now was the King to do ? The Prince had accepted 1756.
the allowance as given; and had refused to leave his mother, June.
which had not been made a condition of the gift. Was the takingthe°
gift to be revoked, because the Prince had natural affection ? n;"nmeoth0e™
Was the whole message to be carried into execution, and a
young man, of age by act of parliament, to be taken by force,
and detained a prisoner in the palace? What law would
justify such violence ? Who would be the agents of such
violence ? His Majesty himself and the late Prince of Wales,
had furnished the Prince with precedents of mutinying against
. the crown with impunity. How little the ministers, who had
planned the first step, knew what to advise for the second,
was plain, from their giving no farther advice for above a
month, and from the advice which they did give then, and
from the perplexity in which they remained for two months
more, and from the ignominious result of the whole transac
tion, both to the King and to themselves at last — but we must
first proceed to other occurrencies.
During these agitations of the court, which were little 'Minorca/
known, and less talked of, the attention of the public was
directed to Minorca. Sixteen thousand French had landed
there without opposition : no part of the island indeed was
capable of defence, but Fort St. Philip. The inhabitants
received the invaders even with alacrity, though their pri
vileges had been preserved under the Enghsh government,
and though they enjoyed all the folly of their religion without
the tyranny of it. The Jews and Greeks established there
h 2

Blakeney.

52 MEMOIRES OF
1756. behaved with more gratitude: of the natives, sixteen only
June. adhered to the English. The magistrates hurried to take new
oaths, and to welcome the singular personage sent to be a
Characters of conqueror. This was the Due de Richelieu ; a man, who had
and e early surprized the fashionable world by his adventures, had
imposed on it by his affectations, had dictated to it by his wit,
and insolent agreeableness, had often tried to govern it by his
intrigues, and who would be the hero of the age, if histories
were novels, or women wrote history. His first campaign was
hiding himself at fourteen under the Duchess of Burgundy's
bed, from whence he was led to the Bastile, and whither he.
had returned four several times. A genius so enterprizing
could not fail to captivate the ladies : the Duchess of Modena,
the regent's daughter, would fain have preferred him to the
triste glory of reigning over an acre of territory with a dismal
Italian husband. Richelieu was soon after sent to, and as
soon recalled from, Vienna, for carrying a black lamb in his
state-coach at midnight to sacrifice to the moon, in order to
obtain a recruit of vigour. The very exploit gained him as
many hearts, as if the boon had been granted. Yet with an
advantageous person and adventurous disposition, he was sup
posed to want the two heroic attributes that generally com
pose a woman's Alexander. So much was his courage ques
tioned, that he was driven to fight and kill the Prince of
Lixin in the trenches at Philipsbourg. Ruling the female
world, and growing exhausted with the fatigues of his govern
ment, he at last thought of reposing himself on the lesser care

GEORGE THE SECOND. 53
of the French monarchy : and making himself necessary to the 1756.
pleasures of the mistresses, the Duchesse de Chateauroux and June.
Madame Pompadour, he attained considerable weight in a ^,cheheu
government where trifling quahties are no disrecommendation. B a eney'
Embarking with all the luxurious pomp of an Asiatic grandee,
this genteel but wrinkled Adonis sailed to besiege a rock,
and to attack a rough veteran, who was supposed to think
that he had little business left but to do his duty and die.
His name was Blakeney : he had passed through all the steps
of his profession, and had only attained the sweets of it by
. living to be past the enjoyment of them. He was remarkably
generous and disinterested, and of great bravery, which had
been but little remarked. Having the government of the
castle of Stirling in the last rebellion, he was summoned to
give it up as soon as the King's troops were defeated at Fal
kirk : but he replied, the loss of that battle made no alteration
in his orders — yet he had then provision but for three weeks.
This gallantry, which had been overlooked for his sake, was
now recollected and extolled for our own : the most sanguine
hopes were conceived — Minorca was regarded as the nation's
possession, Scotland as the King's : if the former was lost, it
passed to an enemy — Stirling would only have gone to another
friend. As every day brought out the weakness of the gar
rison of Mahon, all hope was contracted to the person of
Blakeney : yet in no neglect were the ministry more culpable,
for he proved to be superannuated.
The French covered the siege with a fleet of twelve men-

54 MEMOIRES OF
1756. of-war. Accounts were impatiently expected here of the
~jum~° arrival of Admiral Byng in those seas with his squadron, and
Mfcora? witn succours which he was ordered to take in at Gibraltar,
and which it was hoped he would be able to fling into St.
Philip's. If he could effect that service, and disperse or de
molish the French fleet, there was no doubt but the troops on
the island must remain prisoners of war, or be the victims
of their attempt; for as yet they had made little progress.
Having landed on the opposite side of the island, they found
the roads almost impracticably rocky ; and if cut off from sup
plies from the continent, they must have perished by hunger,
Minorca by no means supplying the natives with super
abundance. The heats too were now coming on, which would
be insupportable to new constitutions, to the natural impa
tience of the French, and still more to an effeminate general.
Hitherto their transports had passed and repassed in full
security. The Mediterranean, where we so long had reigned,
seemed abandoned by the Enghsh. The truth was, the cla
mours of the merchants, sometimes reasonable, always self-
interested, terrified the Duke of Newcastle; and while, to
prevent their outcries in the city of London, he minced the
navy of England into cruizers and convoys, every other service
was neglected. I say it with truth (I say it with concern,
considering who was his associate), this was the year of the
worst administration that I have seen in England ; for now
Newcastle's incapacity was left to its full play. While con
joined with Sir Robert Walpole, the attention of the latter to

GEORGE THE SECOND. 55
the security of the House of Brunswick, and to the pre- 1756.
servation of public tranquillity, prevented the mischiefs that June.
the duke's insufficience might have occasioned. If Lord '0Iadmfntty
Granville, his next coadjutor, was rash and dangerous, yet he stratl0n-
ventured with spirit, and had great ideas and purposes in
view. He provided not the means of execution, but an heroic
plan was not wanting ; and if he improperly provoked some
allies, he stuck at nothing to engross the whole co-operation of
others. Mr. Pelham was too timorous not to provide against
complaint : his life was employed in gathering up the slips of
his brother. But now Fox was called in to support a govern
ment, from a share in which it was determined he should be
excluded, and every part of which, where he had influence, it
was a measure with Newcastle to weaken, the consequences
could not but be fatal — and fatal they were ! Indeed, Fox
himself was not totally excusable. He came in, despairing of
the prosperity of his country ; and neither conversant in, nor
attentive to the province allotted to him, he thought too much
of wresting the remains of power from his competitors. He
had neither the patriotism which forms a virtuous character,
nor the love of fame which composes a shining one, and often
supplies the place of the other. His natural bent was the
love of power, with a soul generous and profuse ; but growing
a fond father, he became a provident father — and from a
provident father to a rapacious man, the transition was but
too easy !
In the midst of the anxious suspence I have mentioned,

56

MEMOIRES OF

1756.June.
' Reinforce
ments from
Gibraltar
refused.'

' French re
ports from
Minorca."

on June 3d came news that Admiral Byng, after a very tedious
passage, arriving at Gibraltar on the 2d of May, had, ac
cording to his orders, demanded of. General Fowke, the go
vernor, a battalion to be transported to Minorca, but that the
governor, instead of obeying these directions, had called a
councilof war, where, in pursuance of the opinion of engineers
whom they consulted, it was determined to be impracticable
to fling succours into St. Philip's, and that it would be
weakening the garrison of Gibraltar to part with so much force,
which accordingly was refused.
But the same post brought an account that occasioned
still more astonishment and dismay. Mazzoni, the Spanish
minister at Paris, transmitted to D'Abreu, the Spanish re
sident in England, the copy of a letter which Monsieur
Machault had received from Galissoniere, the French admiral,
and which had been assiduously communicated to foreign
ministers, relating " That on May 18th, the French admiral,
as he lay off Mahon, had perceived the English squadron, who
had approached nearer on the 19th, but seemed unwilling to
engage. That on the 20th the Enghsh had the advantage of
the wind, but still seemed unwilling to fight : that the en
gagement however had been entame, but could not be uni
versal, for the English kept trop serres : that two or three
English ships had sheered off; that night separated the fleets ;
that he (Galissoniere), had lost thirty-eight men, and had nine
officers wounded ; that he had taken no English ship, but had
prevented their flinging succours into Mahon. That he had

GEORGE THE SECOND. 57
expected to be attacked again the next day, but, to his great 1756.
surprize, found the Enghsh had disappeared." June.
It is necessary to be well acquainted with the disposition ' Public in-
^ x dignation.'
of a free, proud, fickle, and violent people, before one can
conceive the indignation occasioned by this intelligence. No
thing can paint it so strongly as what was its instant con
sequence. Sir Edward Hawke and Admiral Saunders were
immediately dispatched in the Antelope to supersede Byng
and West, to arrest and bring them prisoners to England.
This was the first movement ; the second should have been to
reflect, that there was not the least ground for this information
but what was communicated through the channel of Spanish
agents (not very friendly to Britain), from the vapouring letter
of the enemy's own admiral, interested to heighten or pal
liate his own conduct: — this should have been the second
thought, but it was long ere it was sufferred to place itself.
In the Antelope, a little cargo of courage, as it was called,
were sent at the same time Lord Tyrawley and Lord Pan-
mure, to supersede General Fowke, and take the government
of Gibraltar. Is it credible, that Lord Tyrawley, dispatched
with such vaunted expedition, was the actual governor of
Minorca, where he ought to have been from the beginning of
the war ?
The impression against Mr. Byng was no sooner taken,
than every art and incident that could inflame it were in
dustriously used and adopted. Though he had demanded
the Mediterranean service as his right, and had pressed for it
VOL. II. I

58 MEMOIRES OF
1756. as the scene of his father's * glory, his courage was now called
June. in question, and omens were recollected to have foretold this
miscarriage. A letter from him before the engagement had
mentioned nothing of Minorca ; it only said, that if he found
the French too strong, he would retire under the cannon of
Gibraltar. The King was now reported to have dashed this
letter on the ground in a passion, saying, " This man will not
fight !" — his Majesty, it seems, had great skill in the symptoms
of cowardice ! He was represented too as neither eating nor
sleeping, and as lamenting himself that this account would be
his death. As Minorca was but too hkely to follow the fate
of Calais, his ministers prepared to write Mahon on that heart,
which had never yet felt for any English possession. The
Duke, whose sensibility on this occasion can less be doubted,
took care to be quoted too : he said, " We are undone ! Sea
and land are cowards ! I am ashamed of my profession !"
« Admiral But on the arrival of the admiral's own dispatch, an abstract
Byng's dis
patch.' of which was immediately published, the rage of the people
rose to the height. The letter spoke the satisfaction of an
officer, who thought he had done his duty and done it well —
an air of triumph, that seemed little to become a man who
had left the French masters of the sea, and the garrison of St.
Philip's without hope of rehef. Their despair on the dis
appearance of the British fleet must have been extreme, and
could not fail to excite the warmest compassion here. The
admiral was burned in effigie in all the great towns ; his seat
* Lord Torrington.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 59
and park in Hertfordshire were assaulted by the mob, and 1756.
with difficulty saved. The streets and shops swarmed with June.
injurious ballads, libels, and prints, in some of which was
mingled a httle justice on the ministers. Charles Townshend
undertook a weekly paper, called the Test, of which only one
number was pubhshed: he had too much mercury and too
little ill-nature to continue a periodical war. We shall see in
the following winter that some of the persons attacked were
rather more settled in their passions, when they revived the
title of this paper, and turned it on its patrons.
As I shaU soon be obliged to open a blacker scene than 'Remarks on
the character
what has hitherto employed my pen, I will take leave of the of govern-
* ment.
preceding period with these few remarks. Considering how
seldom the world is blessed with a government really good,
and that the best are generally but negatively good, I am in
clined to pronounce the times of which I have been writing
happy. Every art and system that brings advantage to the
country was permitted : commerce was in no shape checked :
liberty, not being wanton, nay, being complaisant, was not re
strained : the church was moderate, and, when the ministry
required it, yielding. If the chancellor was ravenous, and
arbitrary, and ambitious, he moved too dehberately and too
gravely, to bring on any eminent mischief. If the Duke of
Newcastle was fond of power, and capricious, and fickle, and
false, they were the whims of a child : he circumscribed the
exertion of his pomp to laying perhaps the first stone of a
building at Cambridge, for a benefaction to which he was forced
i2

60 MEMOIRES OF
1756. to borrow an hundred pounds. His jealousy was not of the
June. privileges of parliament, but lest some second among liis fa
vorites should pay more court to Iris first favorite than to him ;
and if he shifted his confidence, and raised but to depress,
and was communicative but to betray, he moved in a narrow
circle, and the only victims of his whims were men who had
shifted and betrayed as often, and who deserved no better
fortune. If the Duke was haughty and rigorous, he was
satisfied with acting within the sphere of the army, and was
content to govern it, not to govern by it. If the King was
too partial to Hanover, and was unnecessarily profuse of sub
sidies to Germany, perhaps it was the only onerous grievance ;
and the King, who did no more harm, and the ministers, who,
by vailing to this passion, purchased the power of doing no
more harm, certainly constituted no very bad government : —
the occasions of war called forth another complexion — but we
must proceed with a little regularity.
The Em- The reconciliation of the King and his nephew of Prussia
press-queen
joins with had given great umbrage to the Empress-queen. England had
France. heaped as great obhgations on the House of Austria as can be
conferred by one nation on another ; great enough almost to
touch the obdurate heart of policy, and infuse real amity and
gratitude. But the princess in question had imbibed passions
still more human. Offended pride and plundered dignity had
left no soft sensation in her heart. She was a woman, a queen,
a bigot, an Austrian. A heretic her friend embracing a heretic
her enemy, left no shades in the colour of their heresy. France

GEORGE THE SECOND. 61
bid high for her friendship, and purchased it, by bidding up 1756.
to her revenge. They made a treaty of neutrahty, called June.
only defensive during this war ; as if princes could not leap
from peace to war but through a necessary medium. This
news was received with indignation : England considered this
desertion as almost rebellion in a people whom she had long
kept in her pay with regret. Memorable were the wise and
moderate words of Lord Granville to Coloredo, the Austrian
minister, who, in a visit, endeavoured to palliate this league.
The earl said, " We understand it as only a treaty of neu
trahty, and can but be glad of it — the people in general look
on it otherwise ; and I fear, a time will come, when it may be
right for us, and may be our inchnation to assist your mistress
again ; but the prepossession against her will be too strong —
nobody then will dare to be a Lord Granville."
The lawsuit with Princess Emily for free passage into Conclusion
Richmond Park, which 1 have formerly mentioned, continued, suit about
Wary TilT'IC
By advice of the attorney-general she now allowed ladders
over the wall, without standing a trial *. I will here finish all
I have to say on this head. This concession did not satisfy ;
the people sued for gates for foot-passengers ; and in the year
1758 obtained them ; on which the Princess in a passion en
tirely abandoned the park. Her mother, Queen Caroline, had
* In one of the hearings on this cause, Lord Mansfield, the chief justice, pro
duced in court a libel published against Princess Emily, and insisted that the jury
should take an oath that they had no hand in it— and yet, when they had taken the
oath, he put off the cause !

62 MEMOIRES OF
1756. formerly wished to shut up St. James's Park, and asked Sir
July. Robert Walpole what it would cost her to do it : — he replied,
" Only a crown, madam."
continuation July 7th. — The attack on Leicester-house was renewed.
ceedings A cabinet-council was held to consider a message which New-
Princeof castle and the chancellor proposed should be sent in his
Wales. Majesty's name to the Prince, to know if he adhered to living
with his mother, and to the demand of having Lord Bute for
his groom of the stole. Mr. Fox asked if the Prince had ever
made such a demand ? " Oh ! yes," said Newcastle. "By whom?"
asked Fox. Newcastle, " Oh ! by Munchausen and others."
The fact was, the Prince had most privately by Munchausen
requested it as a particular favour ; and it was extraordinary
that Newcastle had not seized with alacrity an opportunity of
ingratiating himself with the successor, without the knowledge
of his master. The truth was, he was over-ruled by the
chancellor, who having been slighted and frowned on by the
Princess in the winter, was determined to be revenged ; and
the gentle method he took was to embroil the royal family,
and blast the reputation of the mother of the heir-apparent.
Accordingly this second message was sent by Lord Waldegrave.
The Prince answered in writing, " That since the King did
him the honour to ask him the question, he did hope to have
leave to continue with his mother, as her happiness so much
depended on it— for the other point, he had never directly
asked it— yet, since encouraged, he would explain himself;
and from the long knowledge and good opinion he had of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 63
Lord Bute, he did desire to have him about his person." As 1756.
if this letter confirmed, instead of contradicting their assertions, July.
the two ministers produced it at the same council. Lord w^the mgS
Granville opened the dehberation, and began to favour Lord waks.'°
Bute ; but finding how unwelcome such advice was, he turned
short,, and said, it was best to proceed no further ; as there
must be a quarrel in the royal family, it was best the King
should do nothing. The Duke of Devonshire said, with great
decency, he hoped that was not the case ; he hoped they were
met to prevent such a rupture. " Oh ! yes," replied Lord
Granville, " it must happen ; the Prince has declared he will
use ill all that shall be placed about him ; and though young
lords will ambition the situation, they will not endure to be
treated like footmen : the King will treat Lord Bute like a
footman ; and then he will make the Prince use the others in
the same manner. This family always has and will quarrel
from generation to generation." Mr. Fox then observed, that
as it would fall to his province in the House of Commons to
defend the King's refusal, if his royal highness should petition
there for a larger allowance, he must know on what ground to
defend it, for the opposition would produce his Majesty's
former message, as evidence that the King had thought it
right the Prince of Wales should have 40,000/. a year. " You
must explain," said the chancellor, " that in the first message
something was meaned which was known to both parties" —
and then went into a formal pleading against the Prince, at
the conclusion of which, Newcastle prevailed to have the

64 MEMOIRES OF
1756. determination put off for the present ; though, on being pressed
July. by Fox, he agreed that it should be considered again. After
sacrificing the Princess in this cruel manner, they persuaded
the King that -Fox was making his court to her.
Ch^f J°f v* "^ *^S conjuncture, the great office of chief justice being
Rider and vacant by the death of Sir Dudley Rider, Murray demanded
designation J J J
of Murray, j^ without a competitor, because above competition; and
agreably to his constant asseverations, that he meaned to rise
by his profession, not by the House of Commons ; though the
jealousy of his aspiring in the latter had signally contributed
to throw Pitt into his then opposition. As Murray was equally
the buckler of Newcastle against his ally, Fox, and his anta
gonist, Pitt, one may conceive how a nature so apt to despond
from conscious insufficience was alarmed at this event. No
words can paint the distress it occasioned more strongly than
what Charles Townshend said to Murray himself on the report
of his intended promotion. " I wish you joy," said he, " or
rather myself, for you will ruin the Duke of Newcastle by
quitting the House of Commons, and the chancellor by going
into the House of Lords." The apostrophe was frank, con
sidering Newcastle was his uncle * ; but tenderness for his
family seldom checked the burst of Townshend's vivacity. It
was at the same period he said, when the struggle about Lord
Bute was depending, " Silly fellow for silly fellow, I think it is
* Elizabeth, half-sister of the Duke of Newcastle, was first wife of Charles
Lord Viscount Townshend, knight of the garter, grandfather of Mr. Charles
Townshend.

norca.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 65
as well to be governed by my uncle with a blue ribband, as by 1756.
my cousin * with a green one." ju]y.
What contributed to make the want of Murray more em- Loss of Mi-
barrassing was the confusion that followed the loss of Minorca,
of which the account came on July 14th. The French, who
had kept us alarmed with the fears of an invasion, while they
made immense preparations at Toulon, had sailed on the 7th
of April, and landed with 16,000 men at Ciudadella on the
18th. Byng had sailed but on the same day. The garrison
of Mahon, which had retired into St. Philip's, consisted of
2800 men. Galissoniere had blocked up the port from whence
Captain Edgcumbe with his httle squadron of three men of
war and five frigates had escaped, and were gone to meet Mr.
Byng. As the roads had been broken up, and the works of
the assailants were to be practiced on firm rock, the trenches
were not opened till the 8th of May ; and from that time to
the 20th they had made no impression. The engagement
in sight of the fort, and the disappearance and despair of all
succour which followed, had as httle effect on the resolution
of the garrison. They continued to fire obstinately on the
besiegers till June 6th; and Marshal Richelieu gained so
little immediate advantage from the retreat of the English
squadron, that he was obliged to demand additional force from
France. Having received it, on the 6th he opened a grand
scene of batteries, which by the 14th had effectuated several
* Mr. Charles Townshend had married the Countess Dowager of Dalkeith,
first cousin of the Earl of Bute.
VOL. II. K

66 MEMOIRES OF
1756. breaches. Yet those brave men still held out, and in pro-
juiy. portion as no account came of their surrender, the fame of
Mmorcv Blakeney rose. At last it was determined in the French
council of war to storm the place on the 27th at night, which
was performed accordingly, and three forts were taken. At
the Queen's Fort (the last of the three), the fate of Minorca,
and the truth of its defence were decided. Lieutenant-Colonel
Jefferies, the soul of the garrison, unwilling to trust so im
portant a commission to another, too rashly flew with one
hundred men to defend the last redoubt — he found it taken—
attempted to retire, and was made prisoner. This happened
about midnight : by five next morning a suspension of arms
was agreed on to bury the dead, and at two in the afternoon
the garrison capitulated. They obtained honorable conditions.
If it is asked what part the hero Blakeney took in the event,
it must be answered, that, during the whole siege, he had been
in bed with the gout, and executed all his glory by deputy.
But not only a commander was wanting: when the general
assault was made, many of the British soldiers had done unre
mitted duty for three days ; and they had so few officers, that
scarce a mine was fired, and some were attempted so late, that the
French carried off the matches before they could take effect *.
If the clamours of the people rose on the confirmation of
* A Captain Cunningham, who had been ill-used in our service, and was
retired to Leghorn, said, " They will want engineers"— and immediately sold all
he had, bought provisions and ammunition, and flung himself into St. Philip's.
This gallant man died in the island of Guadaloupe, at the taking of which he
served, in 1759.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 67
this misfortune, so did the terrors of the administration. The 1756.

very first effects of their fear showed, that, if they had neglected July.
Minorca, they were at least prepared to transfer the guilt to ^oTs^f"^
others. They descended even to advertize in the Gazette, Minorca-
that orders were sent to every port to arrest Admiral Byng, in
case he should not have been met by Sir Edward Hawke.
All the little attorneys on the circuit contributed to blow up
the flame against the admiral, at the same time directing its
light from the original criminals. New offers were made to
Murray, if he would decline for eight months the post of chief
justice and the peerage that was to accompany it*. The
very distress that made Newcastle catch so eagerly at his
assistance, was sufficient warning to make him refuse. He
knew it was safer to expound laws than to be exposed to
them : and he said peremptorily at last, that if he was not
to be chief justice, neither would he any longer be attorney-
general. July 26th. — The prisoners arrived at Portsmouth: Mr.
Byng was immediately committed to close confinement. His
younger brother, who went to meet him, was so struck with
* They offerred him the dutchy of Lancaster for life, with a pension of 2000/.
a year ; permission to remain attorney-general (which produced 7000/. a year), and
the reversion of the first teller of the exchequer for his nephew, Lord Stormont.
At the beginning of October they bid up to 6000/. a year in pension. They
pressed him to stay but a month, nay, only to defend them on the first day. Was
innocence ever so extravagant, or so alarmed ? — " Good God l1' said Murray him
self, " what merit have I, that you should load this country, for which so little is
done with spirit, with the additional burthen of 6000/. a year ?"
K 2

68 MEMOIRES OF
1756. the abuse he found wherever he passed, that he fell ill on the
July. first sight of the admiral, and died next day in convulsions.
InToTof^8 Byn§ himself expressed no emotions but of surprize at the
Minorca.' rjg0ur 0f j^g treatment, persisting in declarations of having
beaten the French. West, whose behaviour had been most
gaUant, was soon distinguished from his chief, and was carried
to court by Lord Anson. The King said to West, " I am
glad to hear you have done your duty so well : I wish every
body else had !" Anson himself did not escape so honorably :
his incapacity grew the general topic of ridicule ; and he was
joined in all the satiric prints with his father-in-law, New
castle, and Fox. A new species of this manufacture now first
appeared, invented by George Townshend: they were cari-
caturas on cards. The original one, which had amazing vent,
was of Newcastle and Fox, looking at each other, and crying,
with Peachum in the Beggar's Opera, " Brother, brother, we
are both in the wrong" On the Royal Exchange a paper was
affixed, advertizing, " Three kingdoms to be let; inquire of
Andrew Stone, broker, in Lincoln's-Inn-fields."
From Portsmouth, Byng, strictly guarded, at once to secure
him from the mob and inflame their resentment, was trans
ferred to Greenwich. His behaviour continued so chearfully
firm and unconcerned, that those who thought most mode
rately of his conduct, thought full as moderately of his under
standing. Yet, if he could be allowed a judge, Lord Anson
had, in the year 1755, given the strongest testimonial in
Byng's favour, recommending him particularly for an essential

GEORGE THE SECOND. 69
service, as one whose head and heart would always answer. As 1756.
a forerunner to the doom of the admiral, so much demanded July.
from, and so much intended by the ministry, General Fowke Fo^tried:
was brought to his trial for disobedience of orders in refusing
the regiment for Minorca. He pleaded the latitude and dis
cretion allowed to him by his orders, and the imminent danger
of his important government. Though the danger of that
was increased by the probability that France would either
offer Minorca to purchase the alliance of Spain, or assistance
to recover Gibraltar, yet Fowke found neither efficient to save
him ; no, nor the diversity of opinions in his judges : yet it
was plain from their sentence, that they by no means thought
he came under the rigour of the law, condemning him only to
be suspended for a year for having mistaken his orders. When
a man is tried for an absolute breach of orders, and appears
only to have mistaken them, in equity one should think that
punishment ought to fall on those who gave the orders.
However, as the mob was to be satiated with victims, that the
real guilty might escape, Fowke was broken by the King, and
his regiment given to Jefferies.
The next svmptom of discontent was an address to the Addresses on
J r the loss of
King from Dorsetshire, demanding an inquiry into the loss of Minorca.
Minorca, and justice on the culpable. This flame spread : the
counties of Huntingdon, Buckingham, Bedford, Suffolk, Shrop
shire, Surrey, Somerset, and Lancashire, with the great towns,
as Bristol, Chester, Leominster, and others, followed the ex
ample, and directed their members to promote the inquiry.

70 MEMOIRES OF
1756. But the strongest and most dictatorial was that presented
July. from the city of London : to which the trembhng ministers
persuaded the King to pledge his royal word that he would
save no delinquent from justice. A promise that, being dic
tated by men secure of the parliament, plainly indicated on
what class of criminals punishment was not designed to be
inflicted. The Duke of Newcastle, indeed, could with more
propriety than the rest engage the King in a promise, seem
ingly indefinite, he, who with a volubility of timorous folly,
when a deputation of the city had made representations to
him against the admiral, blurted out, " Oh ! indeed he shall be
tried immediately, he shall be hanged directly."
Revolution While England was thus taken up with the contemplation
in Sweden. of her own losses and misconduct, a vaster war, more ample
revolutions, and a novel hero, were on the point of occupying
, the theatre of Europe — before I lay open this scene, a word
must be said on the situation of Sweden. France had long
dictated in that indigent senate. That influence, however,
was too precarious and liable to too many changes, to satisfy
the view of commanding a steady ally. Though senators are
far from being incorruptible, the liberty of their country and its
glory will often operate, and make them feel the weight of the
richest chains. A court, at once arbitrary and necessitous,
France thought could never be tempted to slip out of their
hands. Accordingly, they laid a plan for making the king
absolute ; and the conjuncture seemed well chosen : he was
much devoted to his queen, sister of Prussia, a woman

GEORGE THE SECOND. 71
artfull and ambitious — yet the king had too much gra- 1756.
titude and virtue to yield to the temptation — he neither July.
desired to be arbitrary nor French. — It remained for the
members of a free senate to act the ignominious part, which
had been more excusable, as more natural in a king. France
then threw all her weight into the faction opposite to the
court. A conspiracy was pretended to be discovered of a
design in the king to make himself arbitrary. Every affront
that he would have deserved, had the aspersion been true,
were offerred to him and the queen : their power was an
nihilated; their friends proscribed. The king added to the
merit of refusing despotism, the virtue of not endeavour
ing to recover his legal authority — nor let the weakness of
his means be urged: no king is so impotent as not to be
able to sacrifice some of his subjects to the most chimeric
pretensions. The greater scene we must trace farther back. The King Deduction of
the causes of
of Prussia was the point of hatred in which the passions of the war in
Germany.
several courts met. The Empress-queen could never digest
the loss of Silesia; the Czarina had long suspected him of
tampering to set the young Czar, John, on the throne, the
nephew of the Queen of Prussia. The court of Saxony
dreaded so powerfull a neighbour ; and, while it trembled for
its manufacture of porcelaine, could scarce forgive the con
tempt, with which the King of Prussia had left it untouched,
when he formerly made himself master of Dresden. Yet per
haps the two latter princes, the one in the arms of her grena
diers, the other in his china palace, or among his bears, had

many.

72 MEMOIRES OF
1756. sufferred their apprehensions and indignation to cool, if their
July. ministers had had as httle activity. For the Empress-queen,
warkTGeJ- her ministers might serve her passions, they could not out
run them. The war that approached must be traced to its
source, ere we can fix on the original aggressor. The house
of Austria had long meditated the recovery of that pre
dominant power, which so many circumstances and intrigues
had concurred to unite in the person of Charles the Fifth.
Ferdinand the Second had acted with most open violence ;
but almost all the race had usurped, whenever they saw a
proper moment. Silesia had been wrested from the house of
Brandenburg. At the very period that the empire vanished
from the house of Austria, the crown of Prussia fell on the
head of a man, who thought much of aggrandizing himself,
more of distinguishing himself, not at all of the justice or
injustice of the means of attaining either. On the contrary,
he seemed to admire the subtlety of policy as much for its
beauty as for its use. He at once imposed on the Queen of
Hungary, and invaded her. The provocation was vehement ;
the usurpations and arts of her house were taken from her,
and turned against her ; and, after a bloody war, she had no
resource but in swearing to new treaties, with intention of
violating them on the first opportunity: — that opportunity
was so eagerly sought, that she could not wait till it arrived ;
and many busy emissaries conspired to hasten the crisis. Of
these, the chief was Count Bruhl, the favorite of the King
of Poland. „ This man, whom no merit, or no merit that is
known, had recommended to Augustus the Third, governed

GEORGE THE SECOND. 73
absolutely, I may say, reigned in Saxony, for the prince, who 1756.
hated pomp, and divided his time between his priests and his July.
forests, chose that Bruhl should be his proxy to display that ministers.'
grandeur, which Germans take for empire — and he could not
have made a properer choice. As elector, Bruhl * was mag- ' BruhL'
rrificent, expensive, tawdry, vain — as minister, weak and false.
He had two or three suits of cloaths for every day in the year :
— strangers were even carried to see his magazine of shoes !
This man, who had mortgaged the revenues of Saxony to
support his profusion, and who had prepared nothing but
bawbles against a prince that lived in a camp with the frugahty
of a common soldier, — this daring trifler aspired to form a league
with two mighty empires, to overturn the throne of Prussia,
and pretended to a share in the spoils. At the same time the
councils of Vienna were directed by Count Kaunitz, a man 'Kaunitz.'
lately returned from an embassy to Paris, where he had pushed
all the luxurious effeminacy of dress and affectation to an
excess common to imitators, and of all imitators most com
mon to Germans. I will mention but one instance: it was
fashionable to wear little powder: every morning when he
dressed, he had the whole air of a room put in agitation with
powder, and when announced to be properly impregnated, he
just presented himself in it, and received the atoms in equal
dispersion over his hair. These were the politicians that took
upon them to annihilate the House of Brandenburg at the
very period that it was headed by Frederic the Third. I
* Vide Appendix.
VOL. II. L

74 MEMOIRES OF
1756. mention them only to show what pismires roused that Hon.
July. Yet Kaunitz had parts— Bruhl had no more than just served
to govern his master's none. The tools associated to their
plot were such as recommended themselves by activity, cun
ning, or inveteracy: yet one they had, sensible enough to
negotiate a conspiracy, and cool enough to conduct it: his
name Count Fleming, a haughty and sullen Saxon, who had
been employed in England, and was now at Vienna.
< views and jn the year 1745, Bruhl had made a partition-treaty with
conduct of
the courts of the Empress-queen, by which part of the King of Prussia's
Vienna; dominions were to be allotted to Saxony. That treaty had
produced nothing but the seizure of Dresden by Frederic. He
palliated the violent possession he had taken of Silesia, to
which he thought he had a right, by the moderation with
which he restored Saxony, to which he had no title but pro
vocation. Yet Augustus had scarce sworn to the articles of a
peace by which he recovered his dominions, before he was
tempted to a violation of them by the court of Vienna. As
eager as Bruhl was to close with perfidy, yet he could not
forget the invasion of Dresden : he suggested that a previous
treaty between the courts of Vienna and Petersburg would
expedite and secure their common wishes. To facilitate this
union, the Saxon ministers in every northern court received
secret instructions to spread suggestions and alarms of great
machinations at Berlin against the Czarina. As Bruhl was
not penurious of lies, he took the pains to dictate these slan
ders himself in the blackest terms. In his intercepted dis
patches one sees how succesfully he administered his calumnies,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 75
till the Czarina believed herself aimed at even by assassination 1756.
— and this project of terrifying her into an attack upon the July,
King of Prussia, Bruhl had the modesty to call a somewhat
artfull, though good intention.
The Czarina was an amiable woman, of no great capacity. Character of
the Czarina.
She had been deprived of a throne to which she had pre
tensions, and had passed her youth in the terror which must
accompany such a claim in a despotic empire, where, if ci
vilized manners were stealing in, humanity to a competitor
was one of the last arts of which they were likely to find or
adopt a pattern. Yet she had been treated with great lenity,
and which perhaps was still more extraordinary, as the ad
dition of gratitude, another virtue, made the imitation still
more difficult, returned it. Her first transport on her rapid
elevation was devout mercy ; she made a vow never to put any
person to death, and adhered to it : Siberia and the prisons,
during her reign, were crouded with criminals, tortured, but
never executed. She not only spared the little dethroned
Czar, John, and had him educated with great care, but was as
indulgent as she could be with safety to her rival the Princess
Anne, his mother. With so much tenderness of heart, it was not
wonderfull that her heart was entirely tender — and how slight
was that abuse of unbounded power, which only tended to gratify
an unbounded inclination ! Let us compare the daughters of
two ferocious men, and see which was sovereign of a civilized
nation, which of a barbarous one. Both were Elizabeths.
The daughter of Peter was absolute, yet spared a competitor
l 2

76 MEMOIRES OF
1756. and a rival ; and thought the person of an Empress had suf-
Juiy. ficient allurements for as many of her subjects as she chose to
honour with the communication. Elizabeth, of England, could
neither forgive the claim of Mary Stuart nor her charms, but
ungenerously imprisoned her when imploring protection, and
without the sanction of either despotism or law, sacrificed
Mary to her great and little jealousy. Yet this Elizabeth
piqued herself on chastity ; and while she practiced every
ridiculous art of coquetry to be admired at an unseemly age,
kept off lovers whom she encouraged, and neither gratified her
own desires nor their ambition : — who can help preferring the
honest, open-hearted, barbarian Empress ?
' League of Besides an attempt on her person, the Czarina was made
Prussia, A ¦"¦
Austria, and to believe that Frederic had designs on Courland, on Polish
Saxony. °
Prussia, and Dantzick ; and that France, Prussia, and Sweden
had fixed the successor if a vacancy should happen in Poland.
She signed the league with the Empress-queen, and resolved
to attack the King of Prussia. Saxony was summoned to
accede, on its own terms of having two dutchies and three
circles dismembered, on the conquest of Prussia. Bruhl en
gaged his master to sign, but obtained so much favour as to
have the secret articles concealed : and having obtained that
indulgence, spared no falshoods to deny the existence of any
secret articles at all : then endeavoured to draw the King of
England to accede to the same secret articles ; and persisted
all the time in the strongest professions of friendship to the
King of Prussia. But Bruhl, as the King of Prussia said, had

GEORGE THE SECOND. 77
more art in forming plots than in conceahng them ; and having 1756.
to do with a vigilant prince, whose own practice had taught July.
him not to trust to professions, every lie that was dispatched
from the secretary's office at Dresden was accompanied with a
duplicate to Berhn. Bruhl, so indefatigable and so cautious'
little thought that Frederic knew all his secrets before they
reached the places of their destination.
Had the King of Prussia wanted intelligence, the pre- 'King of
Prussia ap-
parations of his great enemies, and the folly of his httle ones, prized of the
league
would have alarmed him. The troops of the two Empresses against him.'
were in motion, yet neither so much as professed an intention
of succouring the King of England, their ally. The Empress-
queen excused herself in form, when her assistance, so dearly
purchased, was demanded. The Muscovite Empress was
raising forces against the new ally of Britain with the very
money she received to hold her troops in readiness for Eng
land : and the court of Saxony, to facilitate their junction with
the Austrian forces, cut a new road to Bohemia, which Bruhl
had the ostentatious imprudence to christen in an inscription,
the military road. The King of Prussia was the only object
against whom all these armaments could be levelled ; and they
were intended to crush him as early as the year 1755 : yet the
contracting powers had acted with so little providence, that
not one of them had magazines, arms, provisions, or money
sufficient to set their great machine in motion. The Czarina,
though mistress of such a continent, had neither sailors, nor
soldiers, nor treasure ; and having begun to march her troops,

78 MEMOIRES OF
1756. was reduced to recall them, and to accept a million of florins
July. from Vienna. The Empress-queen had affected great ceco-
nomy and regulation of her finances ; but the sums that were
squeezed from the subject, as a foundation of frugality, were
wasted on buildings, and ceremonies, and pageants. The
Emperor indeed was rich and banker to his wife : she indulged
him in this only pleasure: surrounded by the frightfullest
maids of honour that she could select, she permitted him to
hoard what she never let him have temptation or opportunity
to squander.
' King of However, towards the middle of the summer of 1756, the
Prussia en
deavours to bomb was ready to burst ; and Frederic (as he wrote to his
secure
peace.' uncle of England), saw it was more prudent prcevenire quam
prceveniri. Yet, by no means ambitious of a defensive war,
and fully apprized that the first stroke he should strike would
set his crown, his reputation, his hfe at stake, he attempted to
avert the storm ; at least, resolved to convince Europe that
he was not the aggressor. He asked of the Empress-queen the
meaning of those mighty armaments. She gave him an evasive
answer. He demanded a categoric one ; concluding his letter
with these words, " point de reponse en style d' oracle." Yet
the Pythian, though she grew more haughty, was not less
enigmatic. He had told her that he would take an ambiguous
answer as a hostile declaration : — accordingly, towards the end
of August, at a great supper, the King of Prussia whispered
Mitchell, the British resident, to come to him at three in the
morning, when he carried him to his camp, and told him, there

GEORGE THE SECOND. 79
were an hundred thousand men setting out that instant, they 1756.
knew not whither ; and bad him write to his master, that he July.
was going to defend his Majesty's dominions and his own. SaxonyTv^
He ordered two armies into Upper and Lower Silesia, assem- prufsfaf>
bled another body at Glatz, and left another in Prussia to
oppose the Russians. Yet, though Frederic knew that his
most numerous and most determined enemies were in Bo
hemia, he would not venture to leave Saxony behind him. He
marched with another army to Leipsic, and dispatched a sixth
to Dresden — yet again endeavoured peace. A third time he
sent to the Empress -queen, that if she would give a positive
assurance of not attacking him that year or the next, he would
directly withdraw his troops : — she refused that satisfaction —
and Saxony fell an instantaneous sacrifice. The King of
Poland, however, was so far prepared as to have encamped his
httle army in the only strong situation he had ; to which on
the approach of the Prussian army, he withdrew. Frederic,
with insulting pohteness, sent word to Augustus, that he had
ordered relays of post-horses to be prepared for him, if he
chose, as it was the season of holding the diet, to go to Poland.
He promised his protection to the royal family and civil
officers, " Jusqua voire ministre," said he, " qui est trop au des-
sous de moi pour le nommer." He lamented Augustus being in
the hands of a man, whom he offerred to prove guilty of the
grossest conspiracies.
Dresden was not an easier conquest than a contented one.
They were rigid Protestants, offended by a bigotted Catholic

80

MEMOIRES OF

1756.
July.
' Dresden
conqueredj
and the
archives
searched by the
Prussians.'

court, and ruined by an oppressive court. They were charmed
to see a king at church, and with pleasure remembered Fre
deric at their devotions when he conquered them before.
Augustus, and Bruhl, and 12,000 men were in the strong
camp at Pirna ; the queen and Saxon royal family remained
at Dresden. Keith was ordered to search the archives there
for the original pieces, of which Frederic had the copies in his
hands. The queen made all the resistance in her power, and
told the marshal that, as his master had promised to use no
violence, all Europe would exclaim against this outrage —
" And then," said she with spirit, " You will be the victim :
depend upon it, your king is a man to sacrifice you to his own
honour." Keith was startled, and sent for farther orders ;
and on receiving reiteration of them, possessed himself of
the papers, though the queen herself sat on the most material
trunk, and would not rise, till he convinced her that he could
not avoid proceeding to force.
Frederic, in the mean time, was employed in straitening
the camp at Pirna, and unavoidably wasted the season for
pushing into Bohemia before the Austrians were well prepared
to receive him. General Brown advanced to disengage the
Saxons, and Keith, who was ready to check his progress, wrote
to the king that he was on the point of giving battle. Fre
deric, leaving Augustus blocked up, posted away to his httle
army, and arrived just in time to command the charge. The
battle was fought at Lowoschutz on September 29th. The
Prussians were not above 25,000 men; Brown had double

GEORGE THE SECOND. 81
their number, yet Frederic thought himself, or endeavoured to 1756.
be thought, victorious. The inveteracy between the contending July.
nations was remarkable, but the bravery of the Prussians most
signalized, eight squadrons sustaining the efforts of thirty-two
of Austrians. Brown retired a httle ; but with so much order,
and he and Piccolomini remained so firmly entrenched, that
the king would not venture to renew the attack. With the ' Campaign
in Saxony.'
same vivacity of expedition with which he had left it, he re
turned to his army besieging that of Augustus. October 1 1th,
Brown, with 15,000 select men, made forced marches to arrive
on the back of the camp of Pirna. This was in private concert
with the Saxons, who, flinging a bridge over the Elbe at Ko-
nigstein, passed the river on the 12th under favour of a foggy
night. Darkness and the mist dispersing ere they had made
four leagues, to their amazement they found the King of
Prussia between them and the Austrians, and master of all the
defiles. He advised them to return to their camp — they pre
pared to follow an advice, which it was to no purpose to reject
— but, to the increase of their astonishment, found that this
universal man had battered down their bridge. They laid
down their arms. Augustus shut himself up in the castle of
Konigstein, where Frederic sent word to the queen that she
would be indulged in visiting him ; and that care was taken
to furnish her lord with provisions and diversions.
I have abridged this narrative as much as possible. From
this time the King of Prussia was too much connected with our
affairs to be passed over in silence ; but his actions have been
VOL. II. M

82 MEMOIRES OF
1756. too singular and too splendid to want illustration from a pri-
Juiy. vate annalist. Europe was the tablet on which he has written
his own memoirs with his sword, as he will probably with his
pen. Besides, I live too near the times, and too far from the
scene of action, to be able to penetrate into the exact detail of
his campaigns and measures, and to winnow the truth from
such a variety of interested, exaggerated, contested relations,
as are at once produced by eminent glory, and strive to obscure
it. I shall observe the same circumspection whenever I have
farther occasion to mention this extraordinary man.
' Affairs at Affairs at home wore the same troubled aspect. As ad-
home. r
dresses and petitions were in vogue, and the approaching
session likely to be warm, George Townshend took the op
portunity of writing a circular letter to great boroughs and
corporations, instructing them to instruct their representatives
to stickle for another Mihtia BiU. Besides its being drawn in
a wretched style, the impropriety of a private man assuming
to himself such dictatorial authority, and the indecency of a
man who had the last year so severely censured Mr. Fox's
circular letter, were notorious. Townshend's epistle met the
contempt it deserved.
Mr. Byng having notice to prepare for his trial, had de
manded his witnesses ; and now added a list of thirty more,
but they were refused. Among those he summoned was
Captain Young, who had been one of his loudest censurers.
If the step was injudicious, at least it did not indicate any
consciousness of guilt. Yet the people and the ministry con-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 83
tinued to treat him as a criminal; and the former reporting 1756.
that he had endeavoured to escape, the latter increased the
strictness of his confinement. He complained to the secretary
of the Admiralty of the rigorous treatment he received from
Admiral Townshend, the governor of Greenwich : a creature
of office was not likely to feel more tenderness than his su
periors ; Cleland returned the most insulting answers. Mr. Mr. Byng
publishes a
Byng at last thought it time to make representations as well defence.
as to adhere to his innocence. He published his case. Of
the engagement I shall say not a word, till I come to give an
account of his trial. Of the arts used to blacken him the
pamphlet gave the strongest evidence — and had very great
effect in opening the eyes of mankind. It appeared, that the
admiral's own letter, which had served as the great engine
of his condemnation, had been mangled and altered in a
manner most unworthy of honest men, of gentlemen. Some
parts were omitted, by which others were rendered nonsense :
other periods, which gave the reasons of his behaviour, as
obedient to his orders, were perverted to speak the very language
of cowardice: for instance, making the best of my way to
Gibraltar was substituted to the genuine passage, making my
way to cover Gibraltar. And thus the ministry sunk their
own positive (and, by their neglect of Minorca, grown necessary)
orders, that he might appear to have retired to save himself,
not Gibraltar. Other preceding dispatches the admiral pub
lished in the same pamphlet, in which he had represented the
bad condition of the fleet committed to him ; and with much
m 2

84

MEMOIRES OF

1756.

'Effect of
Byng's pamphlet.'

Loss of
Oswego.

reason concluded, those expostulations had been the first causes
of his ruin ; they who had been guilty of the neglect deter
mining that the first discoverer should bear the punishment.
Pity and indignation took place : Mr. Byng was every where
mentioned with moderation, the ministers with abhorrence —
but three months were to come before his trial: he was a
prisoner, his adversaries powerfull : his pamphlet was forgotten ;
new slanders replaced the old. I shall defer the prosecution
of Mr. Byng's story till the following year, for though his trial
began the end of December, no material progress could be
made in it.
But though the fate of Mr. Byng remained in suspense,
the crisis for the ministers drew to a quicker termination,
being hurried on by several circumstances that heightened
pubhc discontent, and which could not be imputed to the
unhappy admiral. Among these incidents was the loss of the
important fort of Oswego, which the French seized and demo
lished before a design upon it was suspected. Another was of
Hanoverian growth, and happening under the eye of the
people, threatened very alarming consequences. There were
at this time five camps in England : one at Chatham, under
Lord George Sackville ; another in Dorsetshire ; the artillery
at Byfleet in Surrey, commanded by the Duke of Marlborough,
master of the ordnance; the Hessians at Winchester; the
Hanoverians at Coxheath, near Maidstone. The sobriety and
devotion of the foreigners had been remarkable, and amid such
a scene of uneasiness and faction, they had even reconciled the

GEORGE THE SECOND. 85
pubhc voice to German mercenaries. The imprudence of 1756.
their superiors, up to their very chief, had like to have widened
the breach for ever. A Hanoverian soldier buying four hand- Affair of the
Hanoverian
kerchiefs at Maidstone, took by mistake the whole piece, soldier at
Maidstone.
which contained six. All parties have allowed that the fellow
did it in ignorance ; yet a robbery was sworn against him,
and he was committed to jail. Count Kilmanseg, the com
manding officer, demanded him, with threats of violence ; but
the mayor, no whit intimidated out of his duty, refused to
dehver him. Kilmanseg dispatched an express to Kensington :
the chancellor, Newcastle, and Fox were all out of the way :
Murray, the attorney-general, was so rashly complaisant as to
draw a warrant, which Lord Holderness was ordered to copy,
for the release of the man. This in few days occasioned
such a flame, being mixed, as might have been expected, even
in the tumultuous addresses of the time, that it was thought
proper to transfer the crime, according to the pohtics of the
year, to the subordinate agents. Kilmanseg was ordered to
retire without taking leave ; and the poor soldier (as a warning
to Mr. Byng), received three hundred lashes. The ignorant
secretary of state was menaced by the opposition : the real
criminal, Murray, with no ignorance to plead, found such an
outrageous violation of law no impediment to his succeeding
as chief justice.
The disturbances flowing from these blunders, neglects,
and illegalities, alarmed Newcastle. He found it was no
longer a season for wantoning with the resentment of the suc-r

86 MEMOIRES OF
1756. cessor and his mother : he determined to gratify them. The
King ad- chancellor, who was with great difficulty drawn to make a
mits Lord #
Bute into the sacrifice of his revenge, was sent to the King, to prevail on
Prince's fe*
miiy. him to yield that Lord Bute might be at the head of the
Prince's family. The old man could not but observe to the
chancellor how contradictory this advice was to the refusal
himself had suggested, pressed. " Sir," rephed the judge with
sanctimonious chicane, " your Majesty has said, that you would
not make the Earl of Bute groom of the stole, and undoubtedly
your Majesty cannot make the Earl of Bute groom of the
stole ; but your Majesty has never said that you would not make
the Earl of Bute treasurer, or place him in some other great
post." However, this sophistry was too gross ; and the King
thought it less dishonorable flatly to break his declared reso
lution, than palliate it to himself by so mean an evasion.
Newcastle, not to lag behind in the race of untruths, told
Fox that nothing more would be said in council of the Prince's
family ; he believed nothing more would be done in it. In
the mean time he regulated the whole establishment, though
it hung awhile in suspense, as they wished to extract from the
Princess a promise of giving no farther trouble.
Fox now found it was time to consult his own security :
he saw Newcastle flinging up works all round himself; and
suspected that Pitt would be invited to defend them. He
saw how httle power he had obtained by his last treaty with
that duke; he saw himself involved in the bad success of
measures on which he had not been consulted, scarce sufferred

GEORGE THE SECOND. 87
to give an opinion ; and he knew that if Newcastle and Pitt 1756.
united, he must be sacrificed as the cement of their union. ' Fox discon
tented with
Indeed, his grace, so far from keeping terms, had not observed Newcastle.'
common decency with him : a few instances, which Fox se
lected to justify to the King the step he was reduced to take,
shall suffice. Early in the summer, Newcastle complaining of
want of support, Fox told him, that if it would facilitate his
grace's measures, he would resign secretary of state to Mr.
Pitt, and take an inferior place. This, at the beginning of
October, the duke recollected, and told Lord Barrington, that
if Fox would not take it ill, he would offer his place to Pitt
the next day : — so far from not taking it ill, Fox made it matter
of complaint that his grace had dared to think he was sincere
in the offer. In the list for the Prince's family, Fox saw the
names of eight or ten members of parliament, of whom he had
not heard a word, till the Duke of Newcastle told him all was
settled with the King ; and which, though meant to soften,
was an aggravation by the manner, at the same time acquainted
him, that the King would let Lord Digby (Fox's nephew), be
a lord of the bedchamber to the Prince, preferably to the
other competitors : " But it was at my desire," said the duke ;
" for his Majesty was very averse to do any thing for you." —
Fox replied coldly, " Lord Digby is not likely to live." — " Oh !"
said Newcastle, with a brutahty which the hurry of folly
could not excuse, " then that will settle it." Fox made no < insists on
* resiffninsr*'
reply ; but the next day wrote him a letter to notify that he
Would go on no longer. Newcastle, thunderstruck with having

88 MEMOIRES OF
1756. accomphshed what he had projected, reached the letter (he
Precarious received it at the board of treasury), to Nugent, and cried,
state of
ministry: « What shall I do ?" — and then hurried to Lord GranviUe, and
told him he would resign his place to him. " I thought," said
Granville, " I had cured you of such offers last year : I will be
hanged a httle before I take your place, rather than a httle
after." Fox too went to vent his woes on Lord Granville, and
prefacing them with a declaration of his unambitious temper,
that shrewd jolly man interrupted him, and said, " Fox, I don't
love to have you say things that wiU not be believed — if you
was of my age, very well ; I have put on my night-cap ; there
is no more daylight for me — but you should be ambitious : I
want to instill a nobler ambition into you ; to make you knock
the heads of the kings of Europe together, and jumble some
thing out of it that may be of service to this country." How
ever, he had too much experience of Newcastle to think it
possible for Fox to go on with him, or to expect that New
castle would let him. In my own opinion, Fox hoped to
terrify, and to obtain an increase of sway. He went to Lady
Yarmouth, and uttered his grievances, and appealed to her
whether he had not formerly told her, that, if on the death of
Mr. Pelham the Duke of Newcastle had taken him sincerely,
he would have acted as faithfully under him as he had under
Sir Robert Walpole :— " Ah ! Monsieur Fox," cried Lady Yar
mouth, " il y avoit Men de la difference entre ces deux hommes
la!" She intreated him, for the sake of the King, for the sake
of the country, not to quit. Not prevailing, she begged that

GEORGE THE SECOND. 89
Lord Granville might carry the message instead of her. After 1756.
recapitulating his subjects of complaint, the substance of the ' Lord Gran-
i -!->• «i ville takes
message was, that concluding Mr. Pitt was to come into the Fox's re
signation to
King's service, and finding his own credit decrease daily, and the King.'
how impossible it was for him to act any longer with the Duke
of Newcastle, he was willing to serve his Majesty to the best
of his abilities in any post, not of the cabinet.
When Granville arrived with this letter at Kensington, he
said, " I suppose your Majesty knows what I am bringing ?"
" Yes," replied the King, " and I dare say you disapproved
and dissuaded it." " Yes, indeed, Sir," said he (as he repeated
the dialogue himself to Fox : " And why did you say so ?"
asked Fox. " Oh !" said he, shuffling it off with a laugh,
" you know one must, one must.") The King, whom New
castle had just left, seemed much irritated against Fox, talked
of his ingratitude and ambition, quoted the friends of Fox that
he had preferred, and particularly of his having raised so young
a peer as Lord Ilchester above so many ancient barons ; and
when he had vented his anger against Fox, he abruptly asked
Lord Granville, " Would you advise me to take Pitt ?" " Sir,"
said he, " you must take somebody." " What !" cried the King,
" would you bear Pitt over you ?" " While I am your Ma
jesty's president," replied the earl, " nobody will be over me."
The King then abused Lord Temple much ; and at last broke
forth the secret of his heart — " I am sure," said he, " Pitt will
not do my business." " You know," said Lord Granville to
Fox, " what my business meant; — Hanover." — The supposition
VOL. II. N

90

MEMOIRES OF

1756.

' Fox, irre
solute, ap
plies to
author.'

did honour to Pitt— but it seems, the King did not know him.
The conversation ended with the King's saying, he would
leave it to Fox's honour whether he would desert him now.
Fox was by no means hard-hearted on this occasion. He
began to say, that he would serve for the next session, but
would positively resign in the spring. In the mean time he
was casting about for means of union with Pitt. His resent
ment to Newcastle prescribed this ; and his friend, the Duke
of Bedford, who, from the moment he had lost his turnpike
bill, saw that this country would be ruined by the Duke of
Newcastle and the chancellor, loudly dictated it. Fox apphed
to Horace Walpole, and told him, that as soon as he should
be ready to break with Newcastle, he would desire him to
acquaint Mr. Pitt that he should be willing to unite with him.
Walpole, who by no means approved the adoption of such
Pelham politics, as acting with a man only tiU an opportunity
offerred of undermining him ; and who had for some time
withdrawn himself from all participation of measures which he
thought neither fair nor wise, replied, " That it was true, he
admired Mr. Pitt, though he had not the honour of his friend
ship ; that he earnestly wished to see them united ; but before
he carried any such message, he must be convinced it was for
Mr. Fox's honour and service." Walpole had uniformly per
sisted in detaching himself from Fox, from the moment the
latter had entered into engagements with Newcastle, with
whom the other had determined never to have the most
minute connection. Yet, I fear, passions of more mortal com-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 91
plexion had co-operated a little to his disunion (I cannot call 1756.
it breach, as he never had the least quarrel) with Fox. Rigby, < Author's
. . . , . . . •. . , motives in
who had vast obhgations to him, was, however, grown weary declining to
interfere'
of Walpole's ardour for factious intrigues, and wished a little
to realize his pohtics. He had not only abandoned his friend
for the Duke of Bedford, but thought it time to turn this new
friendship to account ; and had drawn the duke out of that
opposition to the court, in which, by Walpole's arts, as has
been shown, he had involved him. In short, Rigby, by no
means in affluence, and with too much common sense to amuse
himself any longer with pohtics that had no solid views, sacri
ficed the Duke of Bedford to Fox and fortune, when Walpole
wished to have him sacrificed to his humour. This had made
a breach between them; and Walpole, whose resentments
were impetuous, and by no means of an accomodating mold,
was little desirous of serving that league, and of breaking Fox's
fall, especially by dishonorable means. It was enough to do
wrong to gratify his own passions — he was not at all disposed
to err, only in contradiction to them. This detail would be
impertinent, if a crisis, which Fox reckoned decisive, had not
turned (as will be seen), on these secret springs ; and if the
author did not think it his duty to avow his own failings and
blemishes with the same frankness which he has used on other
characters. The only difference is, that in others he would
probably have treated the same faults with greater asperity,
which the justice of the reader will supply.
Lady Yarmouth intreated Fox to see the King as soon as
n 2

92 MEMOIRES OF
1756. possible : she wished to prevent the rupture ; for all the
October. Hanoverians had contracted strange notions of the truculence
auFd°ienhce!,an of pitt's virtue. October 18th, Fox had an audience. The
monarch was sour ; but endeavoured to keep his temper : yet
made no concessions, no request to the retiring minister to
stay. At last he let slip the true cause of his indignation :
" You," said he, " have made me make that puppy Bute groom
of the stole" — for so the junto had persuaded him, when they
were reduced to bend to Bute themselves. Fox protested
that he had never named it in council ; he had only suggested
it as a prudent measure to Newcastle. Still the King dropped
suspicions of his having connections with the Princess. " Sir,"
rephed Fox, " what I am so happy in, my attachment to your
son #, might have assured you against that." On his side, the
monarch disavowed having made any offers to Pitt. Yet so
httle condescension appeared, that Fox determined to quit
directly; and took his leave with saying, that his intention
was so much known, that now he could not avoid resigning.
The King, during the whole conversation, seemed to leave
open his dominion of saying, or unsaying, hereafter, as the
negotiations on the anvil should have a prosperous or un
fortunate issue. The chanceUor was treating with Pitt;
that is, had sent to desire to see him, and plied him on the
19th and 20th with large offers. Pitt refused all in direct
terms, alledging, that the Duke of Newcastle had engrossed
the King's whole confidence— and it was understood, that he
* Duke of Cumberland.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 93
meaned to put an exclusive negative on that duke. Yet 1756.
he deigned to name the price at which that diamond, his October.
virtue, might be purchased for the crown. Ireland he de- jec|Jons°and
manded for Lord Temple ; for Legge, the chancellorship of eman s'
the exchequer; for George Grenville, paymaster; for James
Grenville, secretary to the lord lieutenant ; for Charles Town
shend, treasurer of the chambers, or some such thing; for
himself, secretary of state; — for his country, the mihtia, and
some other rattles. He named the Duke of Devonshire to the
treasury, and without consulting, answered for him.
In the mean time the Prince's new family kissed hands. ' Prince of
Wales's new
Lord Bute as groom of the stole ; Lord Huntingdon, master household.'
of the horse ; Lord Euston, Lord Pembroke, Lord Digby, lords
of the bedchamber ; Mr. Monson and Mr. Ingram, grooms ;
Mr. Stone, secretary ; Lord Bathurst, treasurer ; Mr. Masham,
auditor ; Mr. Brudenel, master of the robes ; besides equerries
and clerks of the green-cloth. Mr. Cadogan was appointed
privy-purse to Prince Edward, who had also grooms and
equerries. The late governor, Lord Waldegrave, was offerred
a pension on Ireland, and refused it : they then gave him the
reversion of a teller's place ; and one cannot tell which was
most rejoyced at the separation, he or the Princess, who had
been suspicious enough to take for a spy, a man, who would
even have scorned to employ one. The fate of one man was
singular : the Prince of Wales himself condescended to desire
Mr. Stone to prevent Scott, his sub-preceptor, from being con
tinued in any employment about him — and it was granted.

94 MEMOIRES OF
1756. Scott has been mentioned in the civil wars of the tutorhood
October, as attached to Stone : the reason given for his exclusion was,
his having talked with contempt of the Prince's understand
ing*, and with freedom of the Princess's conduct. The truth
was, Scott was a frank man, of no courtly depth, and had
indiscreetly disputed with Lord Bute, who affected a character
of learning. The King, who loved to mark f his empire in
the loss of it, refused to give the golden key himself to Lord
Bute, as was usual, but sent it by the Duke of Grafton, who
shpped it into his pocket, and advised him to take no notice
of the manner. The earl, on being wished joy, was said
to reply, he felt none, while the Duke of Newcastle was
minister. On the 21st, in the morning, the palace — not at all the
scene of action, had its sohtude alarmed. The pages of the
back-stairs were seen hurrying about, and crying, " Mr. Pitt
wants my Lady Yarmouth." That great stranger made her
an abrupt visit — said he was come to explain himself, lest it
should be thought he had not been sufficiently explicit. He
repeated his exclusion of Newcastle — and gave some civil,
though obscure hints, as if, in losing his grace, Hanover might
not lose all its friends. The visit itself seemed to indicate
that. The mistress of the King and the friend of the minister

¦ Pitt visits
Lady Yar
mouth.'

* He once, before Lord Waldegrave, said to the Prince, who excused his
own inapplication on the foot of idleness, " Sir, yours is not idleness ; your
brother Edward is idle, but you must not call being asleep all day being idle."
¦f* See the motto to this book.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 95
was not the first person to whom one should have expected 1756.
a patriot would have addressed himself, who proscribed the October.
minister, as he had long attacked the electorate. And, indeed,
it looked as if Mr. Pitt was afraid of having been too exphcit,
not too httle so.
However, the difficulty was increased. The question < state of
parties.'
seemed at first to be, whether Caesar or Pompey should have
the honour of supporting Crassus — when neither would,
Crassus made a show of venturing to stand alone : and it
seemed almost as easy for him, as for either of the others.
For Fox could neither trust to a parhament devoted to New
castle; nor dared, in his own unpopular situation, to call a
new one. Pitt had no party at all : a new parliament would
have suited him best, for he could not have fewer adherents
than in the old one; and, considering the temper of the
nation on the late miscarriages, in which he had no hand,
might acquire some clamorous voices ; but that very dissatis
faction made the expedient too dangerous. How each was
councilled by his friends may be seen in a moment. Stone,
cold and never sanguine, advised Newcastle to give up a
desperate game : Murray threw in censures on his conduct to
Fox : the Duke of Grafton, though hating Fox, wisely sug
gested a reconciliation with him : the chancellor, sullen and
mortified, protested he would follow bis grace, but endea
voured to encourage him to stand alone, affirming they could
carry every thing by their numbers ; and having ever been
ready to torture the law to annoy his enemies, he could not

96

MEMOIRES OF

1756.
October.
' State-of
parties.'

help expecting to find the same support from it for himself
and his friends. Sir George Lyttelton concurred with him—
and if that was encouragement, offerred to accept any employ
ment. Nugent and Lord Duplin, on the contrary, dissuaded
such rash measures ; the latter said sensibly, " Fox and Pitt
shall not need but sit still and laugh, and we must walk out of
the house." Fox's court (except Doddington, who was too
shrewd not to think ill of their cause, and who accordingly
acted disgust on not having been more consulted), talked as if
triumphant, the moment they heard the reconcihation of New
castle and Pitt was desperate. The Duke of Marlborough
said, Newcastle must be sent to Sussex; Claremont was too
near. The Duke of Bedford would have permitted him to
retire thither with a pension, and eagerly drove Fox to unite
with Pitt. The party of the latter, that is, Lord Temple, was
indecently forward to come into place, and having always
hated by the scale of his ambition, he had only passions to
sacrifice, not principles, when the terms of his advancement
were to be adjusted.
Newcastle sinking, catched at feathers : his grace proposed
to Lord Egmont to be secretary of state ; but he demanded
an Enghsh peerage for his son, as the price of his own ac
ceptance of one of the first posts in England. Ministries were
become such precarious tenures, that scarce any man would
hst in them under places for hfe. The foreign ministers,
a nation not apt to joke, complained bitterly of our frequent
revolutions ; and D'Abreu, the Spanish resident, said, before

GEORGE THE SECOND. 97
they ventured to negotiate, they were obhged to ask who would 1756.
be minister next session ? October.
At last the important point was decided, and Perfidy, after Duke of
thirty years, had an intermission. The Duke of Newcastle determines
to resign.
(with all the satisfaction which must have attended the dis
covery that not one man of sense would trust him any longer)
declared his resolution of resigning.
Oct. 27. — The King sent for Fox, acquainted him that 'Pitt declines
Newcastle would retire, and asked him if Pitt would join with Fox"'S *
him ; bad him try. Fox the next day went to the prince's
levee, and taking Pitt apart at the head of the stairs, said to
him, " Are you going to Stowe ? I ask, because I beheve you
will have a message of consequence by persons of consequence."
" You surprize me," said Pitt ; " are you to be of the number ?"
Fox : " I don't know." Pitt : " One likes to say things to men
of sense, and of your great sense, rather than to others ; and
yet it is difficult even to you." Fox : " What ! you mean you
will not act with me as a minister ?" Pitt : " I do." And then,
to soften the abruptness of the declaration, left Fox with say
ing, he hoped Fox would take an active part, which his health
would not permit him to do.
The next day the Duke of Devonshire was ordered by the
King to try to compose some ministry ; and by the same
authority sent for Mr. Pitt ; at the same time endeavouring
to make him accommodate with Fox. But they had given too
much weight to Pitt by these submissions, for such a negotiator
to be able to recover the balance. Pitt, knowing both his own
vol. 11. o

98 MEMOIRES OF
1756. strength and the weakness of the mediator, behaved with
October, haughty warmth ; complained of the indignity offerred to him
tiXoTthe by sending Fox, whom he proscribed from the cabinet; softened
a°n^S°f a httle in general, yet said, he must promote the inquiries ; ex
cused himself for having named his grace to the treasury, but
as it was necessary to place some great lord there to whom the
Whigs would look up, his partiahty had made him presume to
propose his grace : professed not only duty to the King, but
obhgation for the person now commissioned to treat with him.
The duke took up spirit, and told him, if he refused, the King
would be supported without him — Pitt did not mean to drive
them to that extremity. The negotiations took up many days,
all parties raising difficulties, none bringing facihties. Pitt,
who wanted friends for places, more than places for his friends,
seemed to think that he must figure by the greatness, since he
could not by the number of his demands. Yet of his small
squadron, he seemed solhcitous to provide only for his allies
the Grenvilles, as if what filled his own little administration
would suffice for the nation's. He even affected to have forgot
Charles Townshend, and, as if recollecting himself, cried, " Oh!
there is one that will not hke to be at the bottom of the list."
The mediator-duke took care this neglect should not be a
secret. On one point Pitt affected decency : being asked whom
he wished to have secretary at war, he replied, he did not pre
tend to meddle there. He relaxed on the article of sending
away the Hanoverians; softened towards a war on the con
tinent ; owned the King of Prussia was a great object, but

GEORGE THE SECOND. 99
would not determine on foreign affairs till he had received 1756.
more lights from the King's servants. With regard to the October.
inquiries, he said at last, he would neither hinder nor move tiunefforathe
them ; he was not vindictive. Addresses all the while were °r™* J^" °
repeated with violence. The city of London, always governed n
by the absurdest heads in it, demanded to have the supplies
stopped, till grievances should be redressed. Indeed it was
much easier to delay than to raise them : and yet nothing but
the wickedness of the intention could justify the folly of the
injunction. If Mr. Pitt had no occasion to dismiss many, Newcastle
and Fox were not careless of saving all they could ; in which
they found great facility, as Mr. Pitt had not cousins enough
to fill the whole administration. Neither of the former gave
up their views on the power they quitted. Fox particularly
laboured to throw every difficulty in Pitt's way; and with some
cause : at once excluded from government, and menaced with
a censure, it behoved him not to make over too much strength
to his antagonist : and if he did not succeed in recovering his
own fall, at least he left so narrow a seat to Mr. Pitt, that it
required another convulsion, before the latter could fix himself
with any firmness. Fox hoped first to divide Pitt and Legge :
the Duke of Devonshire, who thought he had influence on the
latter, tried it, but in vain. Fox too had fruitlesly endeavoured
to gain Legge ; and on his first thought of breaking with New
castle, had writ a confidential letter to Legge, begging him to
come to town, and concert measures with him on the deplorable
o 2

100 MEMOIRES OF
1756. situation of affairs. Legge made no answer. Fox in wrath
October, sent for his letter back : Legge returned it at once without a
tiOTTfor^he wortl; and depending on his favour with Lord Bute, now
a°n™wtmT-0f thought himself so considerable a part of the new accession,
that he hoped to engross the treasury himself; and actually
proposed Lord Hertford for first lord. Fox laboured to engage
the Duke of Devonshire to accept the treasury, and the Duke
of Bedford to go to Ireland, at once to fix another ally in the
cabinet, and to disappoint both Legge and Temple. Bedford
was refractory ; but luckily the throne of Ireland was heaven
itself in the eyes of the duchess ; and the vast emoluments of
secretary were full as vehement temptations to their secretary
Mr. Rigby. Fox in the mean time endeavoured to buoy up
the spirits of the King, telling him he neither wanted ex
pedients nor courage ; intreated him to have patience ; that
Pitt would rise in his demands ; that at last and at worst he
would take the treasury himself and go to the Tower, rather
than they should shave his Majesty's head — " Ah !" cried the
King sensibly, " if you go to the Tower, I shall not be long
behind you !" The Duke of Bedford was as courageous as
Fox, and proposed warm opposition, or to support Fox in the
administration. And thus far Fox had judged right ; Pitt's
demands no longer abated. He required the dismission of
Lord Holderness on the affair of the Hanoverian soldier ; and
proposed to take Sir Thomas Robinson for coadjutor, only
exchanging provinces ; himself would take the northern ; that
was, the Hanoverian — and it is worthy remark, that formerly

GEORGE THE SECOND. 101
in a dialogue with Fox, when the Duke of Newcastle had 1756.
pretended to govern the House of Commons by Sir Thomas - Negotia-
_ , tions for the
Robinson, Pitt? with utter contempt, had said, " He may as formation of
a new mi-
well send his jack-boot to govern us." Lord Holderness wrote nistry.'
to Mr. Pitt, that he was willing to resign as the other great
persons were to do ; but if it was to be inflicted as a punish
ment, he would insist on having his crime proved, nor till
then would resign. This comforted the King; he abhorred
the thought of seeing Pitt, and complained of the hardship of
being forced to tell the only secrets he had to a man whom he
never would let into his closet. His expostulations on these
occasions were always pathetic and sensible : " What a strange
country," said he to Fox, " is this ! I have never known but
two or three men in it who understood foreign affairs : you do
not study them — and yet here comes one man (Pitt), and says
he has not so much as read Wicquefort, has all to learn, and
demands to be secretary of state ! Indeed, he has proposed Sir
Thomas Robinson too, who does understand foreign affairs,
but then Mr. Pitt insists on taking the province which Sir
Thomas understands." In the same conversation the King
said, " The Duke of Newcastle is an honest man and loves the
Duke of Devonshire, but he will be jealous of him to-morrow,
if the latter takes the treasury."
In this situation, with no ministry, no plan for supplies,
no communication for the foreign ministers, all government at
a stand ; it was necessary to defer the meeting of the parlia
ment. Pitt at last condescended to acquaint the Duke of

102 MEMOIRES OF
1756. Devonshire that Lord Temple would be content to take the
' Fox labours business of the navy on him. Yet the more they acquiesced,
th/forma- the more Fox laboured to defeat all accommodation by which
ministry.' ne was to be excluded. His last effort, and a rash one it was,
concluded to have the great Lords and Commoners summoned
to a meeting at Lord Granville's, where the indignities offerred
to the King, and the exorbitances of Mr. Pitt's demands, were
to be laid before them. They were to be intreated to stand
by the King in lopping Mr. Pitt's list ; and, with their ap
probation, a message was to be sent to him in the name of the
council, that his Majesty would not endure the readmission of
Mr. Legge; that Mr. Pitt should in other things be con
tented, except that Mr. Fox must be chancellor of the ex
chequer. On this foot, and on no other, the Duke of Devon
shire consented to take the treasury. Fox wished him to
retain Ireland, that so, if they could weather the approaching
session, the duke might be ready to resign the treasury into
his hands, which seemed to be the drift of his intrigues :  if
Devonshire could not keep Ireland, then Bedford was de
signed to it. The secret was kept till the very day it was to
be disclosed; when the Duke of Grafton, having learnt it
either from the King or Devonshire, was amazed at the wild-
ness of mischief with which it was big, and went, to lament
with his son-in-law, Lord Hertford. It happened that Mr.
Conway and Horace Walpole were at dinner with the earl,
and to them, as soon as the duke was gone, he communicated
what he had heard. They were no less astonished than the others

GEORGE THE SECOND. 103
had been, and saw plainly that Fox was precipitating the King 1756.
and the chief persons in England upon a measure, from which • The de-
it would be impossible for them to recede, to which it was defeated.'0^
impossible Pitt should submit, and that in consequence of
such a rupture at such a crisis, heated as the passions of men
were, even a civil war might ensue. To crush such a plan
in its embrio was, in reality, serving Fox, and certainly the
nation : — these were sufficient inducements ; and yet, as I
have said, Walpole had the additional satisfaction of disap
pointing the views of that cabal, when he persuaded Mr.
Conway to go directly to the Duke of Devonshire, and alarm
him with the true picture of the measure in which he had
been drawn to concur. His timid nature easily caught the
panic: he made the intended meeting be laid aside, the
message put off; and the next day, without acquainting Fox
with his determination of accepting without conditions, went
to Kensington, and consented to take the treasury. Fox and *Puke of
° Devonshire
the Duke of Bedford, who were waiting in the outward room, accePts the
0 treasury.
were thunderstruck — the latter expostulated warmly with
Devonshire — the other, who had found Mr. Conway at De
vonshire-house the night before, did not want to be told who
shot the arrow ; still less, when Devonshire officiously assured
him it was not Mr. Conway. Fox has said to the real author
of his miscarriage, that from that hour he dated all the events
in the subsequent revolutions. This happened on the 2d and
3d of November.
The Duke of Devonshire having yielded, the new system

nistry.

104 MEMOIRES OF
1756. began to range itself. Legge professed acquiescence — art-
New mi- fully ; if Pitt acceded, he must of course : if Pitt did not,
Legge would have all the merit of his own moderation. But
that conqueror grew still more tractable : he first yielded to
take the southern province; next, even to bear with Lord
Holderness, if his Majesty insisted on it ; yet hoped it would
be waved, as he [otherwise] might set out with doing something
disagreeable to his Majesty, [he] having engaged his honour, if
a question should be moved on that lord, not to oppose it.
Some parting rays of popular virtue were still made to glim
mer : the party even ordered one Evans, a lawyer, to draw up
articles of impeachment against Lord Anson ; and transports
were ordered for the Hanoverians, as the country magistrates
urged that they were not obliged by law to billet them. The
nation all the while expected great services from Pitt — but
even the Duke of Newcastle had talked reformation, and once
had gone so far as to cashier the pensions of three old widows.
Pitt's was a nobler style ; and, as Addison said of Virgil, if he
did contaminate himself, he at least tossed about his dirt with an
air of majesty.
With more sincerity the httle band of patriots disposed
themselves to fill the conquered provinces : yet so few of them
were in parliament, and so many had difficulties of being re-
chosen, that it almost promised to be an administration out of
parhament. Fox even skirmished his borough from Dr. Hay,
one of the new admiralty ; and had others been as desperate,
would have opposed most of them on their re-elections. Pitt

GEORGE THE SECOND. 105
himself was distressed ; and he, who had lately so warmly at- 1756.
tacked the Duke of Newcastle from the seat which he ~~"~
held by one of that duke's boroughs, could not propose
to his grace to re-elect him, when rising on his ruins. But a
little parliamentary craft of shifting boroughs, adjusted this :
though Newcastle vaunted that he would show both Pitt and
Fox that the parliament was his.
The Duke of Bedford for some time impeded the entire
arrangement, by warmly refusing to take Ireland. Yet he
too at last was mollified, after having, as was his way, declared
himself with violence enough, to show, that if he changed after
wards, it was by the influence of others. Fox had gone to
Woburn to persuade him ; in vain : yet, returning, and indeed,
knowing what advocates he left behind, ventured (lest that
kingdom should be given up before Bedford was brought to a
proper temper), to assure the Duke of Devonshire that Bedford
would accept the lord-lieutenancy.
When all was adjusted, the Duke of Newcastle resigned, Duke of
. Newcastle
Nov. 11th. As he retired without terrors and with parade, it resigns.
was easy to penetrate his hopes of returning to court. It was
assiduously propagated in all the pubhc papers, that he de
parted without place or pension ; and his enormous estate,
which he had sunk from thirty to thirteen thousand pounds a
year by every ostentatious vanity, and on every womanish
panic, between cooks, mobs, and apothecaries, was now re
presented by his tools as wasted in the cause of the govern
ment. To show how unrewarded he chose to relinquish the
vol. 11. p

106 MEMOIRES OF
1756. administration, this was the catalogue of his disinterestedness.
His dukedom was entailed on his nephew, Lord Lincoln ; the
only one * conferred by George the Second. Another nephew,
Mr. Shelley, had the reversion of the pipe-office. His cousin,
young T. Pelham, already of the board of trade, got another
reversion in the custom-house. His creature, Sir George Lyt
telton, was indemnified with a peerage. His secretary, Mr.
West, was rewarded with a reversion for himself and son.
Jones, a favourite clerk, and nephew of the chanceUor, had
another reversion. An Irish earldom was given to Mr.
O'Brien. All this being granted, his grace retired to Claremont,
where, for about a fortnight, he played at being a country
gentleman. Guns and green frocks were bought, and at past
sixty, he affected to turn sportsman ; but getting wet in his feet,
' he hurried back to London in a fright, and his country was
once more blessed with his assistance.
The chancel- Newcastle's resignation was on the 19th followed by that
lor resigns. J
of the chancellor. Great endeavours had been used to retain
him, or to engage Murray to succeed him : but what terrified
or disgusted the former could have no temptation to the
latter, who was equally a friend to Newcastle, was by no means
equally ambitious, was more timorous, and still less disposed
to serve with Pitt alone. Fatigue determined the scale with
* On the removal of Sir Robert Walpole, the King had consented to make the
Earls of Northampton and Ailesbury dukes, but neither having a son, they
declined that honour. ,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 107
Lord Hardwicke, which power and profit would have kept 1756.
suspended. The great seal was given in commission to Lord The changes
settled.
Chief Justice Willes, Judge Wilmot, and Baron Smyth.
Wilmot was much attached to Legge, and a man of great
vivacity of parts. He loved hunting and wine, and not his
profession. He had been an admired pleader before the
House of Commons, but being reprimanded on the contested
election for Wareham with great haughtiness by Pitt, who
told him he had brought thither the pertness of his profession,
and being prohibited by the Speaker from making a reply, he
flung down his brief in a passion, and never would return to
plead there any more. Fox procured the place of attorney-
general for Henley ; the comptroller's staff for Mr. Edgcumbe ;
the band of pensioners and treasurership of the household for
Lord Berkeley of Stratton, and Lord Bateman ; an Enghsh
barony for Lord Hilsborough ; and asked another for his own
wife and son — too ambitious a declaration of the figure he
still intended to make in the House of Commons. But this
was with great indignation refused ; and the King, who knew
how little he should displease by it, abused him in very un
dignified terms to the Duke of Grafton, saying, " He now
wants to set his dirty shoe on my neck."
Lord Sandys was again shuffled to the top of the wheel, as
Doddington was again to the bottom ; the former being raised
to Speaker of the House of Lords, the latter dismissed, with
Lord Darlington, and a few others. Pitt's list was confined
to this small number : himself, Legge, and Lord Temple have
p 2

108 MEMOIRES OF
1756. been mentioned: George Grenville succeeded Doddington as
'Thechanges treasurer of the navy; James Grenville, a lord of the trea-
settied.' gury . potter, a joint-paymaster of Ireland ; Sir Richard Lyt
telton had the jewel-office ; Martin, secretary of the treasury-;
the Admirals West and Forbes, with Dr. Hay, Elliot, and
Hunter, were put into the admiralty ; John Pitt was made
surveyor of the roads, and Charles Townshend, treasurer of
the chambers. At the same time garters were given to the
Duke of Devonshire, Lord Carhsle, Lord Northumberland,
and Lord Hertford. A red ribband and an Irish peerage to old
Blakeney, who went to Kensington in a hackney-coach with a
foot-soldier behind it. As Blakeney had not only lost his
government, but was bed-rid while it was losing, these honours
were a little ridiculed ; but the new ministers and admiralty
inclining to treat Mr. Byng with less rigour, this step was
taken by the old court to refresh the resentment of the po
pulace. Excepting Lord Temple and Pitt himself, the cabinet
was still engrossed by the adherents of Newcastle and Fox ;
and httle harmony was to be expected, or was designed from
a jumble of three such discordant interests. The invention
was Fox's, who, first of all men, projected to leave his friends
in place, to distress his hostile successors. Formerly the de
pendents of a minister resigned with affected dignity, or were
abruptly dismissed — pensions and reversions now broke the
fall of the few who were disgraced.
Pitt minister. Pitt now appeared as first minister; yet between his
haughtiness on one hand, and the httle share he assumed,,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 109
except in foreign affairs, on the other ; with the affected court 1756.
paid by Fox's party to the Duke of Devonshire, and with the December.
King's disposition to communicate himself only to his old nig^™1"
servants, all apphcation was made to that duke, whom the
roses of power soon charmed to a forgetfullness of the thorns.
Yet the irresolution of his temper, and desire of preventing
farther dissentions, made him yield so much to Pitt, that Fox
finding himself no more minister by his proxy than he was in
person, left the town in discontent ; but was soon recalled by
his friends, who assured him that Pitt could not long maintain
his post, both from his ill health and the weakness of his party.
From the first hour of his power he was confined with the
gout, and remained so during greatest part of the winter;
and for accession of strength he had nothing but the par
tiality * of the Tories, who, taking all opportunities of de
claring for him, gave great offence ; and both his gout and his
new friends were topics of unlimited abuse, which was poured
on him by Fox's direction and dependents. A paper-war of
the most inveterate kind was opened. Two weekly papers,
called The Test and Contest, besides occasional pamphlets, were
the vehicles of satire. Murphy, a player, wrote the former on
behalf of Fox ; and Francis, a poetic clergyman, signalized
himself on the same side. »
The parhament met Dec. 2d. Pitt had prepared a long Parliament
r meets.
* That partiality was not cordial, but founded on their hatred to Fox, and
probably from secret intimations that the Princess, who meant to adopt them,
was inclined to Pitt, and abhorred Fox for his connection with the Duke of
Cumberland.

110 MEMOIRES OF GEORGE THE SECOND.
1756. speech which the King would not read, but sent to him to
December, shorten it. The House of Commons soon adjourned for the
re-elections ; and during the few days it sat, harmony so far
took place, that there was no division, scarce a debate*: but
the seeds sown in the preceding occurrences soon developed
themselves in the ensuing year.
* A spurious speech having been vended for the King's, it was complained of,
I think by Lord Sandwich, in the House of Lords, and the authors punished ;
Lord Hardwicke still taking the lead very dictatorially, but occasionally flattering
Pitt on the composition of the true one.

///

//

23 entity Tina;. *

T£>omJon Sculp. "

//V /

'///'

MEMOIRES

OF

THE YEAR 1757-

Sine caede et sanguine Pauci. Juv.

A century had now passed since reason had begun to attain 1757.
that ascendant in the affairs of the world, to conduct which it "~~~
' Character
had been granted to man six thousand years ago. If rehgions °f the times.'
and governments were still domineered by prejudices, if creeds
that contradict logic, or tyrannies that enslave multitudes to
the caprice of one, were not yet exploded, novel absurdities at
least were not broached ; or if propagated, produced neither
persecutors nor martyrs. Methodism made fools, but they did
not arrive to be saints : and the histories of past ages describing
massacres and murders, pubhc executions of violence, and the
more private though not less horrid arts of poison and daggers,
began to be regarded almost as romances. Caesar Borgia seemed
little less fabulous than Orlando ; and whimsical tenures of

112 MEMOIRES OF
1757. manors were not more in disuse, than sanguinary methods of
preserving or acquiring empires. No prime ministers perished
on a scaffold, no heretics in the flames : a Russian * princess
spared her competitor; even in Turkey the bow-string had
been relaxed — alas ! frenzy revived in France the credibility
of assassination ; guilt renewed in England machinations of
scarce a whiter dye.
1 Contest be- The contests between the parhament and the clergy about
tween parlia
ment and the bull unieenitus were still carried on in France. The con-
clergy in
France.' duct of the former was such a happy composition of good sense
and temper, that they neither deserted their duty under op
pression, nor sought to inflame the populace to support them
against their oppressors. Even the clergy were blessed with
more moderation than is usual in such contentions ; and, what
was as lucky, had no able heads to direct them. The court of
Rome, instead of profiting of these divisions, had used its in
fluence to compose them. Benedict the Fourteenth then sat
in the apostolic chair; a man in whom were united all the
amiable quahties of a prince and a pastor : he had too much
sense to govern the church by words, too much goodness to
rule his dominions by force. Amid the pomp of popery he
laughed at form, and by the mildness of his virtue made
fanaticism, of whatever sect, odious. Yet this venerable pon
tiff, now sinking under the weight of fourscore years, was at
last surprized into, or perhaps never knew that his name was
used in, issuing a bull to enforce, under pain of damnation, the
* The Czarina Elizabeth, who only confined the Princess Anne of Mecklemberg.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 113
acceptance of the bull unigenitus. Louis the Fifteenth was 1757.
persuaded to use that most solemn act of their government, a ' France.'
bed of justice, to compel the parhament to register the papal
ordinance. The greater part of the members preferred re
signing their employments. The King had taken this step in
one of those relapses into weakness which his constitution fur
nished, rather than a want of understanding. The dauphin
was a far more uniform bigot. It is related of him, that about
a year before this period, reading the life of Nero, he said,
" Ma foi, c'etoit le plus grand scelerat du monde / il ne lui
manquoit que d'etre Janseniste." And he had even gone so far
as to tell his father, " that were he king, and the pope should
bid him lay down his crown, he would obey." The king, with
a tender shrewdness, said, " and if he should bid you take mine
from me, would you ?"
The king not being constant in such steady obedience to
the clergy, they had much aspersed him, and traduced his life
and government. The partizans of the parhament loved him
as httle ; and when he passed through Paris to hold his bed
of justice, he was received with sullen coldness. One woman
alone crying, Vive le Roi ! was thrown down and trampled to
death by the mob. In such a disposition, it was almost extra
ordinary that no fanatic was found to lift the arm of violence ;
a madman supphed the part, without inviting heaven to an
association of murder.
Jan. 5th. — Between five and six in the evening the king Kin f
was getting into his coach to go to Trianon. A man, who had ftabnbceed
VOL. II. o,

114 1757.
January.
' King of
France stabbed.'

MEMOIRES OF
lurked about the colonades for two days, pushed up to the
coach, jostled the dauphin, and stabbed the king under the
right arm with a long knife ; but the king having two thick
coats, the blade did not penetrate deep. The king was sur
prized, but thinking the man had only pushed against him,
said, " Le coquin m'a donne un furieux coup de poing " — but
putting his hand to his side and feeling blood, he said, " 77
m'a blesse ; qu'on le saississe, et qu'on ne lui fasse point de
mal." The king was carried to bed; the wound proved
neither mortal nor dangerous : but strong impressions, and not
easily to be eradicated, must have been made on a mind gloomy
and superstitious. The title of Well-beloved could but faintly
balance the ideas of Henry the Third stabbed, of Henry the
Fourth stabbed, of enraged Jesuits, and an actual wound. Yet
all the satisfaction that the most minute investigation of cir
cumstances could give, and that tortures could wrest from
the assassin, were obtained. Damiens, the criminal, appeared
clearly to be mad : he had been footman to several persons,
had fled for a robbery, had returned to Paris from a dark and
restless habit of mind ; and from some preposterous avidity of
horrid fame, and from one of those wonderfull contradictions
of the human mind, a man aspired to renown that had de
scended to theft. Yet in this dreadfull comphcation of guilt
and frenzy, there was room for compassion : the unfortunate
wretch was sensible of the predominance of his black tempera
ment ; and the very morning of the assassination, asked for a
surgeon to let him blood ; and to the last gasp of being, per-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 115
sisted that he should not have committed his crime, if he had 1757.
been blooded. What the miserable man sufferred is not to January.
be described. When first seized, and carried into the guard- ^e^on^f
chamber, the garde-des-sceaux and the Due d'Ayen ordered aimens-
the tongs to be heated, and pieces of flesh torn from his legs,
to make him declare his accomplices. The industrious art
used to preserve his life was not less than the refinement of
torture by which they meaned to take it away. The in
ventions to form the bed on which he lay (as the wounds on
his leg prevented his standing) that his health might in no
shape be affected, equalled what a refining tyrant would have
sought to indulge his own luxury. When carried to his
dungeon, Damiens was wrapped up in matrasses, lest despair
might tempt him to dash his brains out — but his madness was
no longer precipitate. He even sported, horridly sported, with
indicating variety of innocent persons as his accomphces : and
sometimes, more harmlessly, with playing the fool with his
judges. In no instance he sunk either under terror or
anguish. The very morning on which he was to endure the
question, when told of it, he said with the coolest intrepidity,
" La journee sera rude " — after it, insisted on wine with his
water, saying, " II faut ici de la force." And at the accom
plishment of his tragedy, studied and prolonged on the pre
cedent of Ravaillac's, he supported all with unrelaxed firmness ;
and even unremitted torture of four hours', which succeeded to
his being two hours and half under the question, forced from
him but some momentary yeUs — a lamentable spectacle ; and
q2

116 MEMOIRES OF
1757. perhaps a blameable one. Too severe pains cannot be used to
January, eradicate the infernal crime of holy assassination ; but what
punishments can prevent madness ? would not one rather stifle
under a feather bed, than draw out on the rack a being infected
with a frenzy of guilt and heroism ?
' King com- King George ordered Mr. Pitt to send a comphment on
pliments Lewis on his the French king's escape, which was conveyed by the Spanish
escape.' minister, and was handsomely received and answered.
The year opened in England in the same temper with
which the last had closed. Pitt was much confined ; when he
appeared at council, was haughty and visionary ; so much,
that after one of their meetings, Lord Granville said, " Pitt
used to call me madman, but I never was half so mad as he is."
Legge had httle power, and was unsatisfied. The Duke of
Devonshire preserved what he called candour; that is, he
listened with complaisance to Pitt's secrets, and to be im
partial, repeated them to Fox. The Duke of Bedford accepted
Ireland : the primate was come over to feel what would be
the future temper of that government ; and threw himself
into great court to the new lord-heutenant and his friends.
Lord George Sackville, to promote those views, seemed to
inchne to Fox, and took every opportunity of showing how
usefull or troublesome he could be.
Trial of Ad- In the mean time the trial of Admiral Byng proceeded,
yng. joying begun at the conclusion of the preceding year. At
the same time had been held a novel sort of court of justice :
the generals Legonier, Huske, and Cholmondeley, had been

GEORGE THE SECOND. 117
appointed by the King to examine the conduct of Lord Effing- 1757.
ham, and the colonels Stewart and CornwaUis, who having been January.
sent to join their regiments at Minorca, gave their opinions Admiral f
with General Fowke at Gibraltar against granting to Admiral s'
Byng the force which he had been ordered to take from thence.
This inquiry was private, and a kind of trial whether there
ought to be a trial. The inquisitors made a favourable report,
and the officers in question were admitted to court as usual.
Before the conclusion of the more solemn trial at Ports
mouth, an incident happened of an indecent kind, and served,
as perhaps was intended, to renew unfavorable sentiments of
the admiral. Among numbers whose curiosity led them to
attend the trial, were the Scotch Earl of Morton and Lord
Willoughby of Parham, both men of very fair characters ; the
latter attached to Lord Hardwicke. Both assiduously attended
the examination of the witnesses against the admiral; both
returned to London without hearing one word of his defence
— and as they forbore to speak their opinions, the mystery of
their silence, which could not be interpreted propitiously, and
the seeming candour, in men of reputation, of not being willing
to condemn, carried double condemnation. Yet as Mr. Byng
proceeded on his defence, these omens dispersed ; and before
the examination of his witnesses was finished, the tide of report
promised him an honorable acquittal. On the 20th of January
the trial was closed ; and nine days intervening between that
and the sentence, and many whispers getting wind of great
altercations in the court-martial, no doubt was entertained but

118 MEMOIRES OF
1757. that the contest lay between an entire absolution, and the
January, strugles of some, who wished to censure, when it was impos-
AdmSaif sible to condemn.
Byng" Before sentence was pronounced, an express was dispatched
to the Admiralty at London, to demand, whether the court-
martial were at liberty to mitigate an article of war on which
they had doubts. They were answered in the negative. It
was the twelfth of the articles of war on which they had
scruples. It was formerly left to the discretion of the court
to inflict death or whatever punishment they thought proper,
on neglect of duty : but about three years before this period
the articles had been new-modelled ; and to strike the greater
terror into the officers of the fleet, who had been thought too
remiss, the softer alternative had been omitted. From the
most favorable construction (for the members of the court) of
the present case, it was plain that the court-martial, who had
demanded whether the law would not authorize them to
mitigate the rigour of the article, thought the admiral by no
means deserved to be included in its utmost severity. This
they must have thought — they could not mean to inquire
whether they might mitigate what they did not desire to
mitigate. How the more moderate members of the court obtained
the acquiescence of their brethren to this demand is surprizing,
for Admiral Boscawen, who had the guard of the prisoner at
Portsmouth, and who was not one of the judges, but a lord of
the Admiralty, seems by the event to have understood to a

GEORGE THE SECOND. 119
prophetic certainty the constitution of the court. Dining at 1757.
Sir Edward Montagu's before the trial, and it being disputed January"
what the issue of it would be, Boscawen said bluntly, " Well,
say what you will, we shall have a majority, and he will be
condemned." This the Duchess of Manchester * repeated to
Mrs. Osborn f, and offerred to depose in the most solemn
manner. Accordingly, Jan. 29th, Mr. Byng was summoned to hear Admiral
his sentence. He went with that increase of animated tran- tence.and"
quilhty which a man must feel who sees a period to his viourofthe
sufferings, and the rays of truth and justice bursting in at last tiai.
upon his innocence. His judges were so aware of the grounds
he had for this presumption, that they did permit a momentary
notice to be given him, that the sentence was unfavourable : a
friend was ordered to prepare him — and felt too much of the
friend to give the hint sufficient edge; but by too tenderly
blunting the stroke, contributed to iUustrate the honour and
firmness of the admiral's mind — he started, and cried, " Why
they have not put a slur on me, have they ?" fearing they had
censured him for cowardice. The bitterness of the sentence
being explained, and being satisfied that his courage was not
stigmatized, his countenance resumed its serenity, and he di
rectly went with the utmost composure to hear the law pro
nounced. For a moment he had been alarmed with shame ;
death, exchanged for that, was the next good to an acquittal.
I have spoken of Admiral Byng, not only as of a man who
thought himself innocent, but as of one marked for sacrifice by
* Wife of Sir Edward Montagu. f Sister of Admiral Byng.

' Author's
impressions

120 MEMOIRES OF
1757. a set of ministers, who meant to divert on him the vengeance
January, of a betrayed and enraged nation. I have spoken, and shall
speak of him as of a man most unjustly and wickedly put to
death : and as this was the moment from which my opinion
sprung, however lamentably confirmed by the event, it is
necessary in my own vindication to say a few words, lest pre
judice against the persecutors, or for the persecuted, should be
suspected of having influenced my narrative. I can appeal to
God that I never spoke to Mr. Byng in my hfe, nor had the
most distant acquaintance with any one of his family. The
man I never saw but in the street, or in the House of Com
mons, and there I thought his carriage haughty and disgusting.
From report I had formed a mean opinion of his understand
ing : and from the clamours of the world, I was carried away with
the multitude in believing he had not done his duty ; and in
thinking his behaviour under his circumstances weak and ar
rogant. I never interested myself enough about him to inquire
whether this opinion was well or ill founded. When his
pamphlet appeared, I read it, and found he had been cruelly
and scandalously treated. I knew enough not to wonder at
this conduct in some of his persecutors — yet it concerned not
me ; and I thought no more about it till the sentence, and the
behaviour of his judges which accompanied it, struck me with
astonishment ! I could not conceive, how men could acquit
honorably, and condemn to death with the same breath ! How
men could feel so much, and be so insensible at the same
instant : and from the prejudice of education which had told
me that the law of England understood that its ministers of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 121
justice should always be councillor the prisoner, I could not 1757.
comprehend how the members of the court-martial' came to January.
think that a small corner of a law ought to preponderate for
rigour, against a whole body of the same law which they under
stood directed them to mercy ; and I was ?still more startled to
hear men urge that their consciences were bound by an oath,
which their consciences told them would lead them to murder.
Lest this should be thought a declamatory paraphrase, I will
insert both the sentence and the letter of the court-martial ;
and will appeal to impartial posterity, whether I have ex
aggerated, whether it was necessary for me, or whether it was
possible for me to exaggerate the horrid absurdity of this
proceeding : — supplements indeed there were made to it !
" At a court-martial, assembled on board bis Majesty's ship < sentence of
St. George, in Portsmouth harbour, upon the 28th of De- 0n ByngT '"
cember, 1756, and held every day afterwards (Sundays ex
cepted), till the 27th of January inclusive :
Present,
Thomas Smith, Esq. vice-admiral of the red, president,
Francis Holburne, Esq. rear-admiral of the red,
Harry Norris, Esq. rear-admiral of the white,
Thomas Brodrick, Esq. rear-admiral of the blue,
Captains, Charles Holmes, Francis Geary,
Wilham Boys, John Moore,
John Simcoe, James Douglas,
John Bentley, Hon. Augustus Keppel.
Peter Denis,
VOL. II. R

122 MEMOIRES OF
1757. The court, pursuant to an order from the lords commissioners
January, of the admiralty to Vice-admiral Smith, dated Dec. 14, 1756,
coSurnt-martiai proceeded to inquire into the conduct of the Hon. John Byng,
on Byng; admiral of the blue squadron of his Majesty's fleet, and to try
him upon a charge, that during the engagement between his
Majesty's fleet, under his command, and the fleet of the French
King, on the 20th of May last, he did withdraw or keep back,
and did not do his utmost to take, seize, and destroy, the ships
of the French King, which it was his duty to have engaged,
and to assist such of his Majesty's ships as were engaged
in fight with the French ships, which it was his duty to
have assisted; and for that he did not do his utmost to
relieve St Phihp's castle, in his Majesty's island of Minorca,
then besieged by the forces of the French King, but acted
contrary to, and in breach of his Majesty's command: and
having heard the evidence and the prisoner's defence, and
very maturely and thoroughly considered the same, they are
\ unanimously of opinion, that he did not do his utmost to
relieve St. Philip's castle, and also that during the engagement
between his Majesty's fleet under his command and the fleet
of the French King on the 20th of May last, he did not do his
utmost to take, seize, and destroy, the ships of the French
King, which it was his duty to have engaged, and to assist
such of his Majesty's ships as were engaged in fight with the
French ships, which it was his duty to have assisted ; and do
therefore unanimously agree that he falls under part of the
twelfth article of an act of parhament of the twenty-second

GEORGE THE SECOND. 123
year of his present Majesty, for amending, explaining, and re- 1757.
ducing into one act of parhament the laws relating to the January.
government of his Majesty's ships, vessels, and forces by sea ; court-martial
and as that article positively prescribes death, without any on yng'
alternative left to the discretion of the court, under any
variation of circumstances, the court do therefore hereby una
nimously adjudge the said Admiral John Byng to be shot to
death, at such time, and on board such ship, as the lords com
missioners of the admiralty shall direct
" But as it appears by the evidence of Lord Robert Bertie,
Lieutenant-colonel Smith, Captain Gardiner, and other officers
of the ship, who were near the person of the admiral, that they
did not perceive any backwardness in him during the action,
or any marks of fear or confusion, either from his countenance
or behaviour, but that he seemed to give his orders coolly and
distinctly, and did not seem wanting in personal courage, and
from other circumstances, the court do not beheve that his
misconduct arose either from cowardice or disaffection, and do
therefore unanimously think it their duty, most earnestly to
recommend him as a proper object of mercy."

The sentence was accompanied by the following earnest 'Representa
tion of court-
representation : martial.'

" To the right honorable the lords commissioners for exe
cuting the office of lord high admiral of Great Britain, &c.
" We, the underwritten, the president and members of the
r 2

124 MEMOIRES OF
1757. court-martial, assembled for the trial of Admiral Byng, believe
January, it unnecessary to inform your lordships, that in the whole
tiono^court- course of this long trial, we have done our utmost endeavour
to come at truth, and to do the strictest justice to our country,
and the prisoner ; but we cannot help laying the distresses of
our minds before your lordships on this occasion, in finding
ourselves under a necessity of condemning a man to death,
from the great severity of the twelfth article of war, part of
which he falls under, and which admits of no mitigation, even
if the crime should be committed by an error in judgment
only; and therefore for our own consciences sakes, as well
as in justice to the prisoner, we pray your lordships, in the
most earnest manner, to recommend him to his Majesty's
clemency. " We are, my lords, &c. &c"
Signed by the whole court.
From this sentence and this letter, it appears that Mr.
Byng was acquitted, in the fullest manner, of cowardice by
men, who (to say the best of them) were too scrupulous to
acquit of a crime of which they thought him guilty, when they
imagined it was their duty to condemn him for another crime,
of which, it seems, they did not think him guilty. For thus
unbiassed posterity will undoubtedly judge of those men. If
there was any meaning in their strange procedure, it must
have been this. They thought the admiral guilty of an error
in judgment; and as from an error of judgment he had not

GEORGE THE SECOND. i2S
performed all they supposed he might have done, they held 1757.
him to blame — and then, believing that the article of war in- January.
tended to inflict death on all kinds of blame, they considered SSTcbm?
under what chapter of blame to rank Mr. Byng's error. Dis
affection it was not, cowardice it was not — the article named
but a third species, and that being neglect, these honest men
agreed that a want of judgment was nearest related to neglect,
and for that condemned him.
This reasoning, I presume, is the best defence that could
be made for these expounders of naval law. An anecdote,
much asserted at the time, belongs to this part of the pro
ceeding. When the severer part of the court (the steady part
of Admiral Boscawen's foretold majority) found great dif
ficulty to wring from their associates acquiescence in con
demnation, they are said to have seduced the latter by pro
mising on their part, if Mr. Byng was condemned, to sign so
favourable a representation of his case, that it should be im
possible but he must be pardoned. If any thing could excuse
men for condemning a person whom they thought innocent, it
would be this, because there is nothing more uncommon, I
might almost say, more unheard of, thatf the execution of a
criminal, when his judge strongly recommends him to mercy.
If this bargain for blood was suggested by the return of the
courier who was dispatched by the court-martial for illumina
tion  but I will not make surmizes :— the late ministers had
sufficiently barricaded the gates of mercy when they engaged
the King in that promise to the city of London — and whoever

126 MEMOIRES OF
1757. will read the inhuman letters of their tool, Cleland, the se-
January. cretary of the admiralty, will be a competent judge of what
ByngTSse/ mercy Mr. Byng had to expect after condemnation.
The first flame lighted by this extraordinary sentence was
the dissatisfaction it occasioned in the navy, when they found
such a construction of the twelfth article, as made it capital for
an officer to want, what he could not command, judgment.
Admiral West threatened to resign if it was not altered. But
they who had power to enforce execution on such an inter
pretation, took care not to consent to any correction. With
what face could they put the admiral to death, if they owned
that the article, on which he was condemned, wanted amend
ment? Before I proceed to the consequences of this affair, I will
say a few words, as I promised, on the engagement itself;
though with regard to the fate of Mr. Byng, I think it ceased
from this moment to be any part of the question. If he was
guilty of any fault, his most conscientious judges thought it so
small an one, that they did not hesitate to censure the law
itself for blending it with capital crimes : and it will appear as
fully that the duration of it was as short, as the nature of it
was light; not extending beyond very few minutes. Had
he been guilty of aU that cowardice, which had at first been
charged on him, and of which he was so honorably acquitted,
it would stiU have been a notorious violation of the custom of
England (and the common law itself is scarce more than
custom), to put him to death after such earnest recomr

GEORGE THE SECOND. 127
mendation of his judges — judges under no influence of the 1757.
favorable Sort ! January.
The quintessence of the engagement, as shortly as I Bwf ras"/
can state it, I take to have been this. After the signal
for charging was made, the captain of the Intrepid bore
down in a wrong direction, by which she was exposed to be
raked by the enemy. Admiral West, who commanded that
division, followed the same direction, rather than decline the
engagement. This was brave : he was not the commander in
chief. Mr. Byng, who was, perceived the disadvantage of this
manoeuvre ; yet he too bore down, but more slowly. In his
course the Princess Louisa and the Trident lay in his way, and
he was obliged to disengage himself from them first, and then
crouded all the sail he could. As the French had engaged in
earnest, and had not sufferred, he could not have the least
suspicion that they would give over so abruptly ; but while he
was involved with his own ships, they had prepared to retreat,
and had already left him at such a distance that he thought it
in vain to follow them that night. Afterwards, on a review of
his fleet, he found so much damage done to what was before
deplorable, expected so httle to be able to raise the siege, and
what in my opinion he dreaded with most reason, and which
was equally the object of his orders, feared so much for
Gibraltar, that he determined to retire thither, and had the
concurrence of Admiral West.
I have said that one part of the admiral's defence does not
appear to be well reasoned ; I mean his behef that, though he

128 MEMOIRES OF
1757. had beaten the French, he should not have saved the island.
January. General Blakeney too deposed at the trial, that if the whole
ByngWse/ detachment ordered from Gibraltar had been landed at the
time the fleet appeared off Mahon, it would have been insignt
ficant : an opinion, in my judgment, as wrong as the admiral's.
At last the fortress fell from want of hands — what had they
sufferred ? a reinforcement would have prolonged the siege, as
the defeat of the French fleet might have starved the besiegers,
if in either case a new squadron had been sent from England.
To conclude all their efforts insufficient, both the admiral and
general must have believed that the Enghsh ministry would
have continued as remiss and culpable as they had been.
With regard to the sentence, the essence of it turns on the
very few minutes in which the admiral neglected to make all
possible sail — and for that he died ! I, however shocked at
the severity of his fate, am still impartial ; and with the truth
that becomes an historian from the most respectable down to
so trifling a writer as myself, shall fairly declare all I know and
observed : and difficult it would be for any man to have watched
with more industry of attention every the most minute circum
stance of this dark affair from the instant the sentence was
made pubhc. From that unremitted observation I formed
this opinion. Mr. Byng, by nature a vain man, by birth the
son of a hero, was full of his own glory, and apprehensive of
forfeiting any portion of what had descended on him. He
went, conscious of the bad condition of his ships and men, to
dispute that theatre with the French, on which his father had

s case.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 129
shone over the Spaniards ; and he went persuaded that he 1757.
should find a superior enemy. He dreaded forfeiting the January.
reputation of forty years of brave service ; he looked on Mi- BR„™grk
norca as lost, and thought it could not be imputed to him.
He had sagacity enough (without his strict orders) to com
prehend, that if Gibraltar followed St. Philip's, which he knew
would be the case if he was defeated, that loss would be charged
on him : and after all, to mislead him, he had the addition of
believing that he had satisfied his duty by obliging the French
to retire. This seems to have been the man. He was, if I
may be allowed the expression, a coward of his glory, not of
his life — with regard to that, poor man ! he had an opportunity
of showing he was a hero.
It is not to boast any sagacity, and yet perhaps it required
some extent of it to exceed Mr. Byng's enemies in discovering
a fault which escaped their acuteness — but I did remark an
instance that was never observed nor charged on him, in which
he was undoubtedly guilty. In the course of the inquiry into
the loss of Minorca (to be mentioned hereafter), a letter from
the admiral was read carelessly in a very thin committee, which
confirmed what the ministry did charge him with, delay ; and
fully explanatory of that vain-glory which I have described as
characteristic of the man. In that letter he told the admiralty,
that though their orders were so pressing, and the wind was
fair, he did presume to stay for final orders — shghtly he hinted,
and seemingly without connecting it with his delay, that he
thought he should have the rank of commander in chief.
VOL. II. s

130 MEMOIRES OF
1757. When this letter was produced, the admiral was dead ; new
January, objects had engaged the minds of men ; and this is not a nation
where any impressions engrave themselves deeply. If I have
mentioned it now, it was to demonstrate my own impartial
veracity : and yet, though the delay was blameable, no conse
quences flowed from it. If he had hngered, it had been but
for a day or two : he had arrived in time to fight the French,
and could but have fought them, arriving a day or two sooner.
Dispatched so late as he was, he never could have reached
Minorca early enough to disturb their landing. This reason
ing therefore is meer speculation, and not intended to absolve
or condemn the admiral, the justice of whose fate I again
declare in my opinion by no means depended on the innocence
or criminality of his behaviour : the iniquity of his suffering on
such a sentence, and after such a recommendation of his judges,
gave the tone to his catastrophe.
I must interrupt the sequel of his story to relate a few
preceding and intervening passages.
Two High- Two battahons, each composed of a thousand Highlanders,
land regi- . •
ments raised, were raised for the service of America ; the command given to
the brother of Lord Eglinton, and to the master of Lovat, the
son of the famous old chieftain, who had sufferred on Tower-
hill after the late rebellion. The young man had been forced
into the same cause by his father, had been attainted and par
doned, but was never permitted to go into the Highlands ; and
though he received a pension from the crown, he was allowed
nothing from his paternal estate. His jurisdiction too had

GEORGE THE SECOND. 131
been abohshed with the rest. This man was now selected by 1757.
the Duke of Argyle, who told the government, that under no January.
other person the clan of Frazers would inhst. Stanley, formerly
connected with Pitt, now attached to the Duke of Newcastle,
under whose ministry he was a candidate for the admiralty,
took severe notice of this measure in a very good speech, and
roundly charged it on Pitt's flattery to the Duke of Argyle.
He expressed great dissatisfaction on the admission of dis
affected Highlanders into the army, said if Frazer had any
experience, he had learned it in rebellion ; spared not the
Scotch, and yet said, his was not prejudice, nor did he contract
notions of any country by walking through the streets of it.
This glanced at Pitt's former declamation against Oxford.
Stanley was ungracious in his manner, but had sense and
knowledge, heightened with much oddness, and supported by
great personal courage. Lord George Sackville defended the
measure, and asked why rank should not be allowed to these
extemporaneous officers, as it had been to the colonels of the
new regiments in the late rebellion ? This slip was taken up
by Lord Granby, who said he was sorry to hear rebels compared
to lords who had taken up arms to crush the rebellion. Fox,
not to be outstripped in homage to Argyle, justified the
measure on the necessity of it.
January 19th. — The estimate of the ordnance was read. 'Ordnance
estimates.'
The extravagant expence of the late camp at Byfleet, where
the Duke of Marlborough had played with the image of war,
was disguised and lumped under various services. Charles
s 2

132

MEMOIRES OF

1757.
January.
Guinea lot
tery.

Militia Bill.

Townshend moved to have the articles separated, that the
truth might be known.
21st. — Mr. Legge opened part of the supplies, of which
one ingredient was a guinea lottery, the scheme of a visionary
Jew, who long pestered the public with his reveries. The
plan failed. Legge ostentatiously subscribed for a thousand
tickets, and engaged his chief, the Duke of Devonshire, to do
the same : but Legge took care privately to vend his own
number, and was no loser. Beckford proposed new kinds of
taxes on tea and salt, which were not accepted. Mr. Pitt, in
the mean time, was confined. The patience and complaisance
of the Tories was remarkable, who, notwithstanding the in
structions which they had instructed their constituents to send
them for speedy inquiries into the late mismanagement, revered
the sick bed of the gouty minister, and presumed to tap no
inquiry in his absence. What accession of dignity to him !
what reflection on the capacity or integrity of his associates,
who were not deemed qualified to scrutinize without him the
conduct of their predecessors !
26th. — The mihtia bill was again offerred to the house.
Mr- Conway opened in a very able manner another plan of
his own for raising a militia from the capital towns. Mr. Fox
supported it. Charles Townshend broke out into a vehemence
of passion, on Fox's saying that the former bill ought to be
altered to make it palatable to the lords, whom Townshend
handled very roughly. Lord George Sackville opposed him,
but took care not to show more partiahty to Mr. Conway,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 133
whose plan he disapproved. The consideration of the two 1757.
schemes was deferred till the committee. January.
Charles, at the instigation of George Townshend, continued Ordnance.
to sift the estimate of the ordnance. They found that the
Duke of Marlborough had charged his own pay at ten shillings
a day. No master of the ordnance had received so much,
except Due Schomberg, who had no regiment. The great
Duke of Marlborough, the late Duke of Argyle, the Duke of
Montagu, three men sufficiently attentive to their interest,
had touched but four shillings. The Townshends clamoured
on this, and the Duke of Marlborough refunded all that he
had received above four shillings a day.
Feb. 7. — The younger of the brothers carried the war into February.
another quarter, attacking Alderman Baker on a contract he wters con"
had obtained from the government for victualhng the troops
in North America; and falling severely on his uncle New
castle, whom he abused with more outrage than wit, in a very
florid strain of satiric irony. Fox defended Baker, Nugent
his patron : Baker on a subsequent day vindicated himself,
and cleared the fairness of his contract.
George Townshend and the Tories were displeased with
these hostihties to Newcastle, who they feared would be driven
to unite with Fox, with whom the Duke consulted for the
defence of Baker. His grace and Fox being already com
plicated in the late measures, a new accession of common
interest might renew their league. These apprehensions
operated so strongly on Fox's enemies, that great coldness

134 MEMOIRES OF
1757. was shown on the matter of inquiries ; and when George
February. Townshend could no longer in decency defer to call for papers
mentary in- previous to the examination, as he did at last February 8th,
mitecTto1 the inquisition seemed affectedly limited to the loss of Mi
norca, on which subject, Newcastle and Fox had had leisure
for months to amove from all offices whatever papers could be
supposed to affect them. AU discussion of the neglects in
America, so extensive, so numerous, and so easily to be proved,
were cautiously avoided. Indication sufficient, that the late
ministers had left no evidence against themselves, was, that in
a parhament constituted almost entirely of their friends, not a
single objection was made by any of their dependents against
the scrutiny into their conduct. The most upright ministers
had never met popular attacks with indifference — were New
castle, Anson, Fox, more bold, or more innocent than any of
their predecessors ? The farce of national justice had never
appeared in more glaring colours : Mr. Byng had been kept a
close prisoner from the instant of his arrest ; thirty witnesses
that he had demanded, had been denied to him ; every evidence
that could possibly affect him, had been produced — when the
more powerfuU criminals were to be charged, a single part of
their administration was selected, papers were demanded by
guess, and it was left to the discretion of offices full of clerks,
all creatures of the late ministers, to send, omit, secrete, mangle
what part of those papers they pleased. No committee was
appointed to conduct the inquiry, nobody empowered to pro
cure or manage evidence, or even to examine whether what

GEORGE THE SECOND. 135
was so partially demanded, was not still more partially granted. 1757.
Mr. Pitt protracted a commodious gout — George Townshend, February.
the other mock-champion of the people, was negotiating with
Lord Granby, to unite the patriot minister with the late chief
of the criminal administration.
During these clandestine treaties and jugles, the sentence ' Byng's sen
tence pro-
pronounced on the admiral grew a serious affair. The first ducesvarious
impressions.'
impression taken was, that he must be pardoned. Many
lawyers declared the sentence was illegal : at St. James's it was
received as definitive: the Sovereign, the Duke, Princess
Emily, and their train, treated the notion of mercy as ridi
culous ; and no whispers from any of their late partizans
breathed a more gentle spirit on the court. At the Admiralty,
on the contrary, a very different temper discovered itself. Ad
miral West, the friend of Pitt, and relation of Lord Temple,
loudly demanded a revision of the 12th article; and though,
he said, he would not decline immediate service to which he
was appointed, he declared his resolution of resigning, unless
the article was abrogated. Admiral Smith, natural brother of
Lord Lyttelton and Sir Richard, who had been president of
the court-martial, and was really a humane though weak man,
wrote the most earnest letters to his brothers, to interest them
selves in the safety of Mf . Byng, as the only method of quieting
his (Smith's) conscience. The peer, blindly devoted to New
castle and Hardwicke, returned an answer, that, to say no worse
of it, did not breathe more humanity into a conscience already
wounded. Sir Richard, on the contrary, interested himself
warmly for the condemned; and Lord Temple took part

136 MEMOIRES OF
1757. enough to make it a measure in the Admiralty to refuse to
February, sign the warrant for execution, unless they were better satisfied
on the legahty of the sentence — if their consciences £ould be
tranquillized by such opiates as the casuists of Westminster-
The sentence hall could administer, Lord Hardwicke had no apprehension
of the court-
martial re- but the warrant might still be signed. Accordingly, the King
ferred to the
judges. referred the sentence to the judges ; and as there was no diffi
culty but what they could solve by pronouncing an absurdity
legal, they soon declared, that a sentence, which acquitted of
two crimes, and yet condemned, without specifying a third,
was very good law. And thus, without an instance of inter
preting a new, obscure, and doubtfull statute in the most un
favorable sense, and contrary to the stream of precedents, by
which criminals recommended to mercy were constantly par
doned, the people of England (that some revengefull men
might be gratified, and some guilty men might have their
crimes atoned by the sacrifice of another man) obtained the
alarming precedent of a sentence pronounced by implication !
And this was the more alarming, as it was known that the
word * negligence had been proposed in the court-martial, and
* Indeed they could not with much consistence condemn him of neglect, after
they had previously and unanimously voted the following resolution, which was
their 25th :
" The court are of opinion, that while the Ramillies (the admiral's own ship)
was firing in going down, the Trident and ships immediately ahead of the Ramillies
proved an impediment to the Ramillies continuing to go down."
It was proved too beyond contradiction, that he could not foresee that the
French fleet would not stay for him, as they remained with their sails aback to
the mast ; and that he must have been up with them in ten or fifteen minutes, if
the impediment had not happened from the Trident and Princess Louisa.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 137
had been rejected by them. Consequently, they had thought 1757.
it their duty to condemn for no crime ; and the judges dis- February.
covered the virtue of a crime in words, which the persons who ;U(ws on* the
framed the sentence had intended should not express it. What tothem/'6
added to the criminahty of the judges was, that the young
Lord Torrington, the admiral's nephew, having petitioned the
admiralty for leave for his uncle to appeal against so unpre
cedented a sentence, they desired to see his reasons, and
having received them, laid them before the King and council,
by whom they were referred to the judges. The judges, who
had desired to see all the sentences in capital cases that had
been given by courts-martial since the revolution, excused
themselves from examining Lord Torrington's arguments,
equally referred to them by the council. One can hardly
avoid saying on such inconsistent behaviour, that the judges
knew what was the inclination of the council on the different
papers referred to their consideration ; and that they accord
ingly rejected an appeal from a novel sentence, which they
pronounced law from precedents which had all taken their rise
under the abrogated law.
There had been periods when Fox would not have suf
ferred such casuistry in the profession to pass uncensured : —
what was the part he now took ? — It was not in truth an age
to expect that a Regulus should exhort his country to pursue
measures which would advance his own destruction. Few
men would devote themselves, when other victims were marked
for sacrifice. We will suppose, that Mr. Fox, implicated in
VOL. II. t

138 MEMOIRES OF
1757. the miscarriages of the last year, might not be sorry to see the
February, busy timidity of Newcastle, or the dark councils of Hardwicke,
Fox/ l transferring his, their own, and Anson's neglects and mis
managements to Mr. Byng, and sweeping court, navy, par
hament, and law, into a combination to cut off a man whom
they had made obnoxious to the nation, because he was so to
themselves — but what more crooked pohcy was that, which,
not content with sheltering itself behind Mr. Byng, sought to
ruin Mr. Pitt too, by painting him to the multitude as the
champion of the condemned admiral ? It is irksome to me to
tell what whispers, what open speeches, what hbels, Mr. Fox
and his emissaries vented to blacken Mr. Pitt and Lord
Temple, for feehng symptoms of humanity towards a traduced,
a condemned, a friendless man ! Hardwicke moved steadily
towards his point, the death of the criminal : — Fox sported
with the hfe of that criminal, and turned mercy itself into an
engine of faction to annoy his antagonist. Had Mr. Pitt
effectually interposed, had the seal been set by his influence
to Mr. Byng's pardon (however generous morahty would scorn
the office), pohcy might have excused Mr. Fox for traducing
such humanity: — but previously to make mercy impossible,
by making it dangerous, by making it odious !  1 know not
where ambition would stop, if it could leap over such sacred
sensations !
February 16. — The day after the judges had given their
opinion on the sentence, the King in council referred that
opinion to the admiralty. The King signs no sentence him-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 139
self: where he does not interpose his prerogative of pardon, 1757.
execution follows of course. In naval affairs, the lords of the ad- February.
miralty sign the warrant. Lord Temple had dropped hints to the mirealaty "si
King in favour of Byng, but with more reserve with regard to the sentence-
the prisoner, than towards the majesty of the sovereign, to whom
at one time he said in his closet with a contemptuous sneer,
" And if he dies well, what will you say then ?" It was apphed
so ad hominem, that the King interpreted it as a reflection on
his own courage. The admiralty thus pushed, and weighing
on one hand the unpopularity of a direct refusal to sign, and
on the other the authority of the judges, which had been given
at their request, determined to comply. That very night
Lord Temple, Dr. Hay, and Elliot, signed the sentence, and
sent it to Portsmouth, ordering execution on the 28th. Ad
miral Forbes, in every part of his conduct uniformly amiable
and upright, refused peremptorily to sign it.
While Mr. Byng was thus pursued or given up by his
countrymen, our enemies acted a very different part. Voltaire
hearing of the admiral's trial, sent from Swisserland to the
court-martial a letter which he had casually received some
time before from Marshal Richelieu, in which the latter spoke
with encomiums on the behaviour of the Enghsh commander :
— but they, who had been so ready to censure Mr. Byng on
the dispatch of his antagonist La Gahssoniere, were far from
being equally forward to give any weight to Richelieu's tes
timonial in his favour.
Feb. 17th. — Mr. Hunter, of the admiralty, notified to the
t2

140 MEMOIRES OF
1757. House of Commons the sentence pronounced against one of
February, their members. The Speaker produced a long roll of pre-
notmefto"06 cedents for expelling him before execution, lest his disgrace
SmlSons^ should reflect on the house. Lord Strange objected, good-
naturedly, that this would be heaping cruelty, and seemed to
exclude mercy, while yet there was an opening to it. Sir
Francis Dashwood, a man distinguished by no milkiness of
temper, connected with no friends of the prisoner, took this
up strongly, and moved to call for the letter of the court-
martial. Fox objected, that this would look hke a censure on
that court. Sir Francis denied that he meaned it in that
hght. His view, he said, was, by considering the warmth of
their recommendation, to lead to some application for mercy.
Mr. Pitt seemed to favour that purpose, and lashed novel pro
ceedings in courts-martial ; and said he hoped that the letter,
when produced, might lead the house to do something on that
mortal twelfth article : and he mentioned with disdain ano
nymous letters that he had received, threatning him as a
favorer of Mr. Byng. Fox, to wave all humane impressions,
called for the order of the day. Sir Francis would have re
newed his motion, but the house did not seem inchned to
receive it ; and it was lost.
Mr. Pitt de- Mr. Pitt had come that very day to the House of Com
mandsmoney for mons for the first time since his illness, and as it was the first
time since he was minister of his acting there in office, it could
not fail of being remarked, that he dated his administration
with a demand of money for Hanover. He delivered a mes-

Hanover.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 141
sage from the King, desiring support for his electoral dominions 1757.
and for the King of Prussia. One cannot say which was most February.
ridiculous, the richest Prince in Europe begging alms for his demands
own country, or the great foe of that country becoming its Hanover/
mendicant almoner. The next day he opened the message,
the purport of which was to ask 200,000/. ; and he endeavoured
to torture some consistence out of his conduct, sometimes re
fining, and when that would not do, glossing it over with what
he would, have put off for confident honesty. He succeeded
better in attempting to divert reflections from himself to the
Empress-queen, who, he said, if it had not been for the blood
and treasure of Britain, would not have had it in her power to
be ungratefull now. He was seconded by Lord George Sack
ville, who affected to say he spoke only for form ; yet talked
forcibly on his now seeing a prospect of carrying on the war
with success, as great part of the money was to be given to the
King of Prussia — a better method than subsidiary treaties.
Fox acted moderation; said, he should never provoke alter
cations, nor yet would ever dechne them : it was sufficient to
him that his part had been a consistent one. He had been
told, indeed, that the German measures of last year would be
a mill-stone about the neck of the minister : — he hoped this
German measure would be an ornament about the minister's
neck ! It was in truth the greatest instance of courage and
capacity, and promised stability to Mr. Pitt's administration.
Pitt rephed, that he only rose again to show he would keep
his temper and his word ; though Mr. Fox's reflections were

142 MEMOIRES OF
1757. but an ugly presage of his kind wishes to the new administra-
February. tion. For minister — the word never belonged so little to any
body as to himself: he had neither ministerial power nor in
fluence. All he had done, was, having had an opportunity of
saying, " This I will do — that I will never do." The money
was granted nemine contradicente — even the Tories agreeing to
it — I suppose, to prove their consistence too.
' Lord G. One event in this debate requires a comment : Lord George
declares for Sackville declared himself for Mr. Pitt : he had seemed before
Pitt ' to attach himself to Fox. This was the history of his variation :
the primate had come over to offer his service to the new lord
lieutenant ; and both he and Lord George had paid court to
Mr. Fox, and still more to Mr. Rigby, the Duke of Bedford's
minister. The two former had received their assiduities cor
dially ; Bedford himself, of a shy, uncommunicative nature,
had treated the primate with obstinate coldness, and absolutely
declined on every occasion to talk to him on Irish business.
The duke's own plan was to steer impartially between the two
factions; at least for his first session. Fox, early in the
winter, had made great application to Lord George Sackville
to move for retaining the Hessians, which being agreeable to
the wishes of the Whigs, the new ministers would have been
beaten before they could bring on any of their popular ques
tions. Lord George demanded previously that the Duke of
Bedford should engage to leave the primate one of the lords
justices; which would have been granted, but the Duke of
Bedford himself hung off; for though he was willing to leave

GEORGE THE SECOND. 143
him so, he would not date his government with a promise that 1757.
he thought would be so unpopular. From that time, Fox had February.
either not fixed what should be the Duke of Bedford's plan, lSg?S °f
or had been so occupied with his own situation and animosities, Sackville-
as not sufficiently to attend to Ireland. Rigby, devoted to
Fox, and thinking himself sure of the primate whenever he
should please to want him, or concluding him totally fallen,
and that his own best art of pleasing Fox would be to fling
himself into the opposite faction, headed by Lord Kildare, who
had married the sister of Lady Caroline Fox; for these, or
some of these reasons, he had not had the precaution to model
his master to the primate's views ; who finding himself re
jected, or entertained so as to be rejected afterwards, instantly
negotiated with Pitt, and worked his friend Lord George to
list under the same colours : and other reasons concurred to
facihtate that connection. Pitt, on the commencement of his
ministry, had professed to adhere to all his old declarations ;
and keeping himself retired and secluded from all access,
affected to attract no dependents, to form no party. The
Tories, who heard his professions, and saw him condescend to
no court-arts, were charmed with a minister who seemed as
visionary as themselves, and who threw as many difficulties on
government as when he was in opposition ; — but the Tories
alone, as Lord George knew, could no more support a mi
nister, than they could demohsh one ; and deeming Mr. Pitt's
system too romantic for duration, Lord George had leaned
towards Fox, as made up of more practicable elements.

144 MEMOIRES OF
1757. Indeed, when Bedford proved as untamed as Pitt had been ;
and when Pitt condescended to make room in his virtue for
Hanover, Lord George (as the primate with wonderfull frank
ness avowed to Fox), finding that Mr. Pitt " would now pursue
human measures by human means," made no difficulty of uniting
with him. Lord George gave the same account to Fox too.
Another reason of mortal complexion had probably some sway
with Lord George — of nothing he was so jealous as of Conway.
Fox had supported the latter's plan of militia ; and the Duke
of Richmond, brother of Lady Caroline Fox, was on the point
of marrying Lady Mary Bruce, daughter-in-law of Mr. Conway.
If Lord George then looked on the connection of Fox and
Conway, as imminent and certain, no wonder he devoted him
self to the contrary faction.
\ Approach- As the day approached for the execution of the admiral,
ing execution
of Byng.* symptoms of an extraordinary nature discovered themselves.
Lord Hardwicke had forgot to make the clergy declare murder
innocent, as the lawyers had been induced to find law in what
no man else could find sense. Lord Anson himself, in mid
night fits of weakness and wine, held forth at Arthur's on his
anxiety to have Mr. Byng spared ; and even went so far as to
break forth abruptly to Lord Hahfax, the admiral's relation by
marriage, " Good God ! my lord, what shall we do to save poor
Mr. Byng ?" The earl rephed, " My lord, if you really mean
it, no man can do so much towards it as yourself." Keppel, a
friend of Anson, and one of the judges, grew restless with
remorse. Lest these achs of conscience should be contagious,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 145
the King was phed with antidotes. Papers were posted up 1757.
with paltry rhimes, saying, February.
" Hang Byng,
Or take care of your King."
Anonymous letters were sent to terrify him if he pardoned ;
and, what could not be charged too on mob-libelhsts, he was
threatened, that unless Mr. Byng was shot, the city would
refuse to raise the money for Hanover.
22d. — The Mihtia Bill was considered in the committee. ' House of
Commons.'
Mr. Conway spoke for an hour very ably, to show how im
practicable the plan of Townshend's bill was, how easy of
execution his own — and then with modesty withdrew it. The
dissenters in some places petitioned against the exercise
on Sundays, but their objections were not supported nor
regarded. On the 23d, Keppel, More, and Dennis, three of the court- 'Sir Francis
x *¦ Dashwood
martial, waited on Lord Temple, and besought him to renew animadverts
their application to the throne for mercy ; and the same day sentence-'
Sir Francis Dashwood acquainted the house that he intended
to move a consideration of the twelfth article. He said he
had felt great animosity against the unhappy sufferer from the
first representations ; but his opinion was totaUy changed by
the trial. That at most he could only impute misjudgment
to Mr. Byng. To the court-martial he must impute it more
strongly, who, he thought, had condemned the admiral un
justly. No willfull error appeared against him. His manoeuvre
had been applauded : was nothing left to his judgment ? Does
the twenty-fifth resolution of the court prove that he was
VOL. II. u

146

MEMOIRES OF

1757.
February.
' Debate on
Byng's sen
tence.'

negligent ? The French had not waited for him : when they
did not, he crouded more sail. The council of war they never
mentioned! Did not Mr. West approve the return to Gibraltar?
Then, with increase of seriousness, he said, the admiral's blood
will he at the door of those who do not explain what they
meaned by their sentence, of which no man else could give an
interpretation. And it was the more necessary they should,
as they had brought on officers an impossibility of serving
under the twelfth article. He reverted to the conduct of the
admiral, recapitulated some of the chief passages of the trial,
urged that there had been an appearance of judgment in his
conduct, which had only been defeated by the ships of the
French being cleaner and in better order. One witness had
deposed that there appeared no backwardness in the admiral
in coming to action — then, for God's sake, of what was he con
demned ? Not a murmur was heard on his return to Gibraltar.
It seems he did not hoist his top-galant sail — that was, not
doing his utmost ! What a gross, shocking mistake of the
court-martial, to think that the twelfth article reached to this
want of a top-galant sail ! The letter to the admiralty he
concluded had been laid before bis Majesty, where he hoped
the great severity of a blundering sentence would be properly
considered— for, when it came to be considered and con
strued, could any man living suppose that the court-martial
intended to express any blame but of error of judgment ?
Sure they were at liberty to explain this ! It stood in the
law that they might, but they must first be empowered
by act of parliament to disclose what had passed amongst

GEORGE THE SECOND. 147
them. He spoke to their feehng, and hoped to hear the 1757.
opinions of others on this cruel sentence. February.
Lord Barrington rose, as he said, to speak only to the B^^sen1-
motion on the twelfth article ; and should lay Mr. Byng entirely tence
out of the question, on whose Conduct, he, being a landsman,
could not form an opinion : whatever favorable circumstances
there were in his case, he hoped had been, and would be re
presented. The article he justified on the necessity that had
called for it: the last war had set out with conduct at sea,
not very honorable ; yet no court-martial would condemn the
offenders. This grew to be the universal complaint : it was
said, nobody would be hanged but for high treason. In a
former war Kirby ^nd Wade had been brought in guilty of
disaffection to their admiral, and had sufferred. If the present
court-martial misunderstood the article in question, neither
could one be framed which they would not misunderstand.
He asked if this was a time to relax or enforce discipline ? and
moved for the order of the day.
Doddington replied, that he had no interest in this question,
but as it touched Mr. Byng ; in whose cause, national justice,
pubhc and private compassion were concerned too. That it
was impossible to argue that ambiguities ought not to be
cleared up. That for fear of bringing on a question, he would
not call for the sentence ; but he should be glad to know of
what the admiral stood condemned. He did know of what he
was not condemned ; and that supported him, as it was what
stained neither the soldier nor the subject. Without doors the
u 2

148 MEMOIRES OF
1757. sentence was thought extremely cruel ; and well might people
February, think so, when the judges who pronounced it declared they
Byng^sen" thought so themselves. Perhaps it might be deemed adviseable
tence' not to carry it into execution — it certainly would be mercy to
the judges and to the distress of their consciences : nor would
clash with the King's promise, who certainly never engaged
his royal word to adopt the worst construction of a doubtfuU
law. He wished to hear something thrown out for com
passion. This humane and pathetic speech — to the shame of our
country I may call it this bold speech, considering in how
unpopular circumstances it was made, was received with an
attention and sensibihty, which showed that truth and justice
had been strangers, [who] to be approved, wanted only to be
known. Lord Strange said, he was at a loss to account for the court-
martial being so affected. He thought the article plain enough,
and to revise it would be more absurd than any thing but the
sentence. If the court-martial had done justice, how would it
be just to them to alter the article ? They had puzzled them
selves, and now the house was going to puzzle the service.
We had no pretence to retry the cause. (An odd argument,
if the court had been puzzled and had given an absurd sen
tence.) If the members of the court would apply separately
for revision, they might. For himself, he could not agree to
weaken that article : nor would it, he believed, be to any pur
pose. He had never seen a sea-sentence that a landsman could

GEORGE THE SECOND. 149
submit to. He wished the officers of the navy were to be tried 1757

by a jury. February.
Campbell, a most humane and honest man, but who had ipebate on
x Byng s sen-
never forgiven Mr. Pitt and the Grenvilles the share they had in tence-'
overturning Sir Robert Walpole ; and who had steadily adhered
to Mr. Pelham and Fox, as successors of that minister ; could
not help saying, that the law declared no execution could
follow a marine trial, till the whole proceedings had been laid
before the Admiralty. If they thought injustice had been
done to Mr. Byng, would not they make earnest apphcation
for mercy ? — if they made none, what must be the conclusion ?
Beckford scrupled not to say, that the sentence was thought
cruel : and Pitt, though owning how sensibly he felt the diffi
culty of speaking on that melancholy occasion, with true spirit
avowed himself on the favorable side. The sentence, he said,
had undergone discussion : for himself, he could never have
agreed to it; but he thought the legislature had nothing to
do to advise the King on that his peculiar prerogative, mercy.
He did wish it might be extended to the prisoner ; and owned
he thought more good would come from mercy than rigour.
That it was more hkely to flow from his Majesty, if he was left
entirely free. For the article, he did not wish, he said, to see
discipline relaxed ; but no article could be enforced, but when
it was intelligible. And this being proved so obscure, it was
not for the honour of national justice, that a sentence, issuing
from its obscurity, should be carried into execution. Were
Mr. Byng condemned of cowardice or disaffection, he himself,

tence.'

150 MEMOIRES OF
1757. though single, would petition for execution. Of all men, the
February, commissioners of the Admiralty ought the least to interpose.
Byng'fsen" But what indeed could add weight in the prisoner's favour to
the recommendation of his judges ?
Campbell, pursuing his blow, said, surely they who have
all the proofs before them are the properest to enforce the
recommendation of the judges.
Sir Francis Dashwood, perceiving an impression of tender
ness made, and unwilling to drive a majority to rigour by fur
nishing them with the triumph of carrying a question, desired
leave to withdraw his motion on the article ; when Fox, who
chose to wear, like the day, an aspect of compassion, and at
the same time to fasten difficulty and unpopularity on the
new minister and his friends, rose to say, that he could not
comprehend the dehcacy of the Admiralty in not laying their
scruples before the King. That during the nine years that
himself had been secretary at war, it had been his constant
practice on all courts-martial to acquaint the King with any
favorable circumstances that had appeared. That he had
always found his Majesty disposed to lenity, and when he said
nothing, the King would ask, " Have you nothing favorable to
tell me ?" Silence always implied that there was nothing. If
the lords of the Admiralty thought the court-martial meaned
error of judgment, they ought to tell the King so. Any one
lord of the Admiralty might ; Admiral Forbes might. That
in signing the warrant, never till now had been used the
words, " It is His Majesty's pleasure." He recommended

GEORGE THE SECOND. 151
it to them to consider the circumstances, and inform the King 1757.
of them. February.
Pitt, in reply, bad him consider all that had passed for the wsten-
last six months, and then judge if the lords of the Admiralty tence"
were the proper persons to make representations on this case.
He had no reason to expect any tenderness to himself or his
friends ; and indeed he supposed this speech of Fox was cal
culated to throw them under difficulties in another place. For
himself, he had too much awe on his mind, to make so free
with descriptions, as Fox had of personal colloquies.
Fox repeated, that this had been a very undue time to
change the words, " the King's consent," to " the King's
pleasure." In all late instances pleasure had never been used.
That in what he had said, he had intended to agree with
Mr. Pitt. On the present occasion he thought it particularly
the duty of the Admiralty to speak out. And as to throwing
them under difficulties, the more danger there would be in
their speaking out, the more it was their duty. And to Mr.
Pitt's complaint of want of credit in the closet, he said, there
never wanted a grain of ministerial influence to incline his
Majesty to pardon.
Pitt asked, how Mr. Fox knew what might have passed on
this occasion, when not an iota had transpired ? — his insinua
tions had been uncandid, nor had he egged Fox on to say what
had fallen from him. — The Speaker interposed ; said, he dis
approved these altercations, and begged they would only speak
on what concerned the pubhc. Hunter and Elliot produced

152 MEMOIRES OF
1757. precedents to show they had taken the word pleasure from the
February, minutes in the books of the Admiralty : Prince George had
Byng^se0"- particularly notified Queen Anne's pleasure on Kirby and
tence: Wade. And the latter dropped, that it was decided by poli
tical writers, that in general commanders in chief should not
be tried but for treachery. Lord Strange spoke to order, and
to have the question read, that these discussions might be
finished. The day concluded with Fox's saying with great
solemnity, that he had not said, and he thanked God had not
heard, a word to exclude mercy — An asseveration he had
better not have made — He had fastened the duty of repre
sentation on the Admiralty : if they applied for mercy, the
odium would be theirs. If they did not, the King remained
in possession of pleading, that as the Admiralty had made no
apphcation for mercy, after being publicly exhorted to it,
it was evident that they had no favorable circumstances to
represent.
'Someap- The next <jay p^ did moVe the King for mercy, but was
plications to J ° J '
the King for cuf. verv $\m^ — nor did his Maiesty remember to ask his
mercy. J J J
usual question, whether there were any favorable circumstances?
The Duke of Bedford, whose good heart broke from his con
nections, applied too, was better heard, but with no better
success. Mrs. Osborn, the admiral's sister, being advised to
solhcit the same duke to present a petition from her, he ex
cused himself, nor in all the openings to compassion that
followed did his grace take the least part; though he had
been one of the most vehement to condemn the court-martial.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 153
He was always allowed by his governors to speak as he thought 1757.
— seldom to act as he spoke. The same day seven of the February.
court-martial applied to Lord Temple to intercede for mercy :
he reported their sollicitation to the King ; but to no purpose.
25th. — Admiral Norris went to George Grenville, and told < Members of
him he had something on his conscience which he wanted to desirous to
utter, and desired Mr. Grenville to apply to the House of fr0m their
Commons to absolve them from their oath of secrecy. Gren
ville did not care to meddle in it. Norris, Keppel, and Moore,
mentioned it again to him at the Admiralty that morning ;
and he declining it, Moore said to him with warmth, " Then,
sir, the admiral's blood will not lie on us." It happened that
Horace Walpole, who had taken this affair much to heart, was
not then in parhament, having vacated his seat for Castlerising,
that he might be chosen at Lynn, by desire of the corporation,
in the room of his cousin, become a peer by the death of his
father, Lord Walpole. Coming late that day to the house,
though not a member, Horace Walpole was told of the apph
cation that had been made to Mr. Grenville, and looking for
him to try to engage him to undertake the cause, Walpole was
told that Mr. Keppel desired to be absolved from his oath as < Author
well as Norris. Walpole ran up into the gallery, and asked to apply to
Keppel if it was true ? and being true, why he did not move Commons."
the house himself? Keppel replied, that he was unused to
speak in pubhc, but would willingly authorize any body to
make the application for him. " Oh ! sir," said Walpole,
" I will soon find you somebody ;" and hurried him to Fox,
VOL. II. x

154 MEMOIRES OF
1757. who, Walpole fondly imagined, could not in decency refuse
February, such a request, and who was the more proper from his authority
mo'tes'an'ap- m the house, and as a relation of Mr. Keppel. Fox was much
HoMe°of t0 surprized, knew not what to determine, said he was uncertain
Commons.' _and ieft the house. The time pressed, the Speaker was
going to put the question for the orders of the day, after
which no new motion can be made ; it was Friday too ; the
house would sit neither on Saturday nor Sunday, and but a
possibility of two days remained to intercept the execution,
which was to be on Monday; and the whole operation of
what Keppel should have to say, its effects, the pardon if
procured, the dispatch to Portsmouth, and the reprieve, all to
be crouded into so few hours ! Walpole was in agony what
step to take — at that instant he saw Sir Francis Dashwood
going up the house ; he flew down from the gallery, called Sir
Francis, hurried the notification to him, and Sir Francis, with
the greatest quickness of tender apprehension (the Speaker
had actually read the question and put it while all this was
passing) caUed out from the floor before he had time to take
'Sir Francis his place, "Mr. Speaker" — and then informed the house of
Dashwood L •*¦
applies for ]^[r> Keppel's desire that some method might be found of
Mr. Keppel. *¦ L °
empowering him and the other members of the court-martial
to declare what had been their intention in pronouncing Mr.
Byng guilty. Sir John Philipps opposed the motion, saying,
the cause was not before the house. George Townshend
approved the question, saying, he seconded it, not pleading
so much for mercy to the prisoner, as to his judges. Pitt

GEORGE THE SECOND. 155
rose, and begged the house would consider seriously before 1757.
they proceeded on so nice a matter : he wished first to see a February.
direct apphcation to the house. For himself, he should pro- ™1?cation
bably smart for it ; he had received a menacing letter that c°on^0SnS°f
very morning. He addressed himself to Keppel, wished he
would break through his bashfullness and rise : it would be a
foundation to him to vote for the bill demanded ; and then he
should despise threats. Keppel rose. Dennis, a member of
the court-martial, and of parhament, was present, but had
refused to join with Keppel in the application. The latter
spoke with great sense and seriousness ; declared, he did desire
to be absolved from his oath ; he had something on his mind
that he wished to say. Many others of the court-martial, he
said, had been with him that morning, and exhorted him to
make the demand. Sir Richard Lyttelton said, another had
been with him to the same end ; and read a letter from the
president, Admiral Smith, entreating him to move in the same
cause. He then injudiciously went into the case of Mr. Byng,
which, he said, he should think murder, if this method was not
followed. Ellis had difficulties, he said ; it ought to be known
if the whole body desired this. It ought to be considered, that
their opinions had been given in confidence of secrecy. Sir R.
Lyttelton rephed, Admiral Smith says they are all willing to be
dispensed from their oath. Lord Strange said, he had always
been averse to meddhng with Mr. Byng's cause in parliament,
yet it was very difficult to avoid it now the judges themselves
desired it. To refuse this dispensation to them would be a
x2

156 MEMOIRES OF
1757. cruelty his blood ran cold at. Then the oath of secrecy being
February, read, Thornbagh, a foolish man, who knew to do nothing but
K?pepersa°pn- wnat ne ha(i sometimes seen done, moved for the orders of the
plication.' ^ gjr prancis Dashwood reprimanded him severely ; and
the house behaved with great decency : the Duke of New
castle's faction with total silence. Campbell, whose natural
goodness could not on a surprize prefer the wrong side to the
tender one, said, he rose for fear of being included in his
opinion of the other day. He thought the bill so necessary
now, that he wished to have it read three times directly.
George Grenville thought the members of the court-martial
might speak without the bill, as their oath only forbad them
to divulge the opinion of any single man. Lord George Sack
ville was of the same opinion, and wished what had passed
might be communicated to his Majesty without any address in
form. Keppel professed he had stiU doubts whether he could
speak without a dispensing act. Mr. Conway agreed with
Lord George, and thought that such members of the court-
martial as were in town ought to have a day to consider on it.
Pitt said, he honoured Mr. Keppel for his doubt ; wished him
to consult with his friends that night ; and told him, that in
regard to them the house would sit the next day. For him
self, he should in their case have no hesitation to speak
without the act, as they only desired to teU where it was
most proper for them to tell : he hoped they would lay their
sentiments at his Majesty's feet the next morning. Some
other opinions of no consequence foUowing, Lord George

GEORGE THE SECOND. 157
Sackville begged the debate might end, that Mr. Keppel 1757.
might go immediately and consult his friends. Sir Francis February.
Dashwood said they were not aU in town ; Mr. Keppel hoped
if the major part were, it would be sufficient. The Speaker
proposed that nothing of what had passed should be inserted
in the votes.
26th. — A cabinet-council was held to consider what was 'Keppel's
application
proper to be done on Mr. Keppel's demand. Pitt told the considered
¦*¦ x ¦*• ¦"¦ in cabinet.'
King, that the House of Commons wished to have the admiral
pardoned. He replied shrewdly and severely, " Sir, you have
taught me to look for the sense of my subjects in another
place than in the House of Commons." — However, it was de
termined that sentence should be respited for a fortnight, till
the bill could be passed, and his Majesty acquainted with what
the members of the court-martial had to say. A temporary
reprieve was accordingly dispatched to Portsmouth ; and Mr.
Pitt the same day delivered a message to the House of Com- ' Kings
i . t message on
mons, that his Majesty having been informed that a member respiting
of that house had in his place declared that he had something
of weight to say, which it was proper his Majesty should
know, his Majesty had accordingly postponed execution till
the matter could be cleared up. It had been objected in
council, that the words member in his place would give offence,
as unusual and inconsistent with the hberty of speech in par
liament, the crown being supposed to have no knowledge or
cognizance of what is said there. Pitt treated the objection
with scorn ; and, unluckily, commenced his administration

158 1757

MEMOIRES OF

' Breach of
privilege in
King's mes
sage.'

with a German subsidy and a breach of privilege. Fox had
February, immediate notice by Rigby from the Duke of Bedford of what
had passed in council, and came armed to attack Pitt on this
indiscretion. Pitt had no sooner delivered the royal message,
than Fox rose cavilling. He desired to have the message
read again : — there were words in it that struck his ear in a
very extraordinary manner ! The King having been informed
that a member in his place ! Who informed him ? Who be
trayed to the crown what was said in parliament? What
minister was so ignorant as to advise the crown to take notice
of having had such intelligence ? Did ministers dare to avow
that they made representations of the speeches of particular
men ? Indeed it had now been done for a laudable purpose ;
but by the same rule might be practiced for a bad one ; and
on no account must be sufferred to strengthen into a precedent.
He desired to be showed one instance since the reign of James
the First, where the privileges of parhament had been so
sported with.
Pitt replied with great indignation, that the time had been
too pressing to consult precedents. He had not thought the
life of a man was to be trifled with while clerks were searching
records. He had founded himself on a pecuharity of case, that
was its own precedent, and could be so to no other : a precedent
that could never be extended but by a wicked parhament. He
had been doing his duty in parliament the day before, had
heard the momentous doubts of Mr. Keppel, and had repre
sented them : — he should have been ashamed to run away basely

GEORGE THE SECOND. 159
and timidly, and hide his head, as if he had murdered somebody 1757.
under a hedge. It had been the sense of the house, that what February.
had passed should be laid before his Majesty ; and he had pnXgehi
accordingly thought it his duty to represent it. What would sa^eg.s '
Mr. Fox have done ? not have represented it ? You, sir, said
he, to the chair, may enter it with proper caution. He ap
pealed to the house, if what he had done had not been
directly imphed ; and concluded, he was ready to undergo the
correction of the house.
Fox rephed with as much temper as the occasion seemed
to call for resentment (but it is not always true that one is
most angry when one is most in the wrong), that he did not
think his observation had been indecent. That he would now
say nothing to Mr. Pitt's charge, but would prove his own
conduct good-natured. Had he said some things that Mr.
Pitt had said, he should have thought his nature base. It
had not been necessary to express a member of the house in his
place. Yet if the Speaker could think of any palliative way of
entering it in the journals, he should never think of it more.
Pitt said, the manner had been chosen to show the pubhc
that every method had been taken to ease the mind of his
Majesty: and Lord Strange bore him testimony, that the
communication had been intended by the house : and however
parhament would take it, he knew it was manly and right.
Mr. Keppel then said, that the definitions given the day
before of the oath had engaged his utmost attention : and he
had represented as well as he could to some of his brethren

160 MEMOIRES OF
1757. what latitude it had been thought they might take in dis-
Febmary. pensing with it : but they were not altered in the least, and
privilege in till an absolving act should pass, could say nothing.
sag<f'S) Do they still desire the act? said Lord Strange. Could
any body, rephed Keppel, mention what weight they had on
their minds, and not desire it still ?
The Speaker then, trimming between Pitt and Fox, de
clared himself ' extremely hurt with the words, pronounced
them wrong, and of most dangerous consequence, and what
had always been reckoned breaches of privilege: — he was
satisfied there had been no bad intention in it. He knew
Mr. Pitt would as soon lose his hand, as violate the rights of
parhament — indeed, there had been no necessity for the words
in question ; the message might have been worded differently :
but he would pawn his soul there had been no wrong design
in it. It might be entered, observing that objections had been
made to the offensive phrase ; the necessity of which might be
stated too. For Mr. Fox, he had done his duty, and himself
would do pubhc right to him. I did the same justice to Mr.
Pitt, said Fox. General Conway agreed that there had been
httle occasion to describe so particularly what had passed:
and he asked whether it was necessary to enter the whole of
the message. The house, said the Speaker, may enter what it
pleases ; but it is a message sent solemnly by the King, and I
never knew an instance of overlooking it. George Grenville
went farther, and said, he would never consent to have it
entered defectively. Beckford called the bill so unpopular a

GEORGE THE SECOND. 161
measure, that he wished to have it imputed to the House of 1757.
Commons, not to the King, who, he desired it might be re- Febmary.
ported, had yielded to it unwilhngly, and only for the sake of Kings mes-
justice : Pitt he commended. Sir Francis Dashwood, with sage"
much more sincerity, said he was glad of the bill, come how it
would. It was gracious of the King to give room for it, and
wise of his ministers. Fox asked, now the respite was granted,
whether it were not better to wait for a petition from the
court-martial before the bill was passed? better to wait at
least till Monday for some material information, which might
be hinted in the petition. Sir Francis replied, that the very
words of the message from the crown were, that a respite was
granted till the bill should pass. Would it be decent, after such
a message, to say we will postpone the bill however, till the
court-martial petitions? If six only of the thirteen should
desire the bill, would you not grant it? The house cried,
" No, no !" — as if it was justice due to the consciences of an
indefinite, and not of a determined number !
Nugent said, his constant opinion had been, that the
admiral was sentenced for error of judgment only ; and the
oath he thought only a conditional one.
Fox, after refining much on the oath, said, it was impossible
but at the desire of the whole number, to permit some to dis
close the opinions of others. Each man might tell his own
motives. At least, let the desires of the majority be taken.
He then asked, if it was proper that a set of judges should go
about for three weeks, hearing sollicitations from the friends of
VOL. II. y

162 MEMOIRES OF
1757. the prisoner, and then come and complain of their own sen-
February, tence ? For his part, his feehng sometimes operated upon his
kk^s m«- reason, and he supposed, did on that of others. See, then,
sage' whither sollicitation and bribery might go. The King desires
to have his doubts cleared up — but don't let this bill go imme
diately to pardon. Give way to the bill — what was to foUow
would be a subsequent consideration. The court had gone
no farther than to acquit the admiral of cowardice. He hoped
the parliament would ask the King for the examination, either
to rescind the sentence, or to order a new trial. He had not,
he said, run away basely the day before, but from his judg
ment : Mr. Keppel had told him what he meaned to do. He
did not think himself necessary to every council, and had fore
seen what confusion would follow. He had not voted against
the bill, and said, " Let Mr. Byng die on Monday." He had
gone away, his compassion strugling with his reason. On con
sideration, he had returned like a man to the hard part. If
the King had felt, was it not proper he should feel too ? He
begged care might be taken not to establish this measure for
a precedent ; nor could it be reasonable to frame a new article
of war, because the court-martial had not understood the
present. He should be for the bill, though he would not
(like Mr. Pitt), declare that most good would follow from
pardon. Hearing a great minister say so, he thought pardon
was determined. Yet, for himself, he should have left the
merit of it to the King's mercy— but now it was the act of the
minister. He still wished to see more grounds for the bill.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 163
He would not require any of the members of the court, he 1757.
would only enable such as thought fit, to discover what had February.
passed. Something extraordinary he would have conclude King'fmeT-
this extraordinary act. sage"
The art and abilities of this speech are evident : it will be
much more difficult to discover in it the good-nature he had
promised to display.
Nugent expressed his disapprobation of two trials. Pitt
declared he would speak very shortly and clearly ; sometimes,
he owned, he did speak too warmly. He gave much com
mendation to Mr. Fox's speech, though he did not foresee the
same consequences ; nor would he decide, whether in the pre
sent instance Fox's reason or good-nature had got the better.
He defended Mr. Keppel's behaviour, which had sprung
from former proceedings, not from solhcitation. [For] himself,
[he] did not wish the admiral saved out of compassion, but out
of justice : for how, said he, can it be for my interest to take
the part I now do ? — I look only at the sentence. Is it so
necessary that he should be executed just now ? On the other
hand, he would not give time for the court-martial to be tam
pered with. Like Fox, he had wished for better grounds;
but when Mr. Keppel rose and pronounced what he did, it
was irresistible. It became the unanimous opinion of the
house to yield to his emotions. Some even would have passed
the bill that very day. Nor had any thing ever come before
parhament that almost commanded such rapidity. Ought
not, said he, Mr. Byng, ought not his family to be put out of
y 2

164

MEMOIRES OF

1757. that cruel situation? ought not the King? ought not the

February, court-martial, some of whom were on the point of sailing to
KnTg's meT- America ? Why hang this matter up for some days, in which
sage' the fate of the nation might be decided ? There was nothing
of party in this — any number that were willing to tell, ought
to be heard : might not they want to say that they had thought
themselves bound to find error of judgment capital ? To them
he would have the article explained. He feared, if this was
pending too long, it might produce riots.
Henley, the attorney-general, endeavoured still to show
that the bill was unnecessary, and that the members might
dispense with their oath. He suggested that the bill might
be rejected in the other house ; and asked, who was to examine
the members of the court-martial.
Doddington said, he had sought compassion and relief-
had found compassion even when he called ; but relief could
only come constitutionally through justice. The court-martial
indeed did at last perceive that they might have been mis
taken. Were he in their place, he should not have waited for
a bill— he should have thought a life was to be saved at any
rate. Legge declared himself free from any bias one way or
other. Had Mr. Byng been found guilty, nobody would be
more ready to condemn him : but it appeared that he was only
a sacrifice to discipline; and we must not imagine that we
should draw down blessings on our fleets by human sa
crifices. He begged that, by adhering to the letter of this

GEORGE THE SECOND. 165
article, demonstrated to be both obscure and severe, they 1757.
would not prevent courts-martial from bringing in nobody February.
guilty. Martin proposed that the members of the court should be
asked directly, if they had meant error of judgment : and then,
if they thought error of judgment capital.
Lord George Sackville begged the debate might finish, as ' Bil1 10 re-
. . lease court-
the longer the question was agitated, the more difficulties martial from
oath.'
would be started. Potter accordingly brought in the bill, and
it was read the first time. Fox then asked Mr. Keppel, which
of his associates had empowered him to make the demand ?
He named, Holmes, Norris, Geary, and Moore. Fox said
he asked this, because it was reported that none of the mem
bers desired to be absolved from their oath. The bill was
read the second time. Fox said, the King's message pre
scribed a separate examination on oath ; he hoped that di
rection would be observed. Potter moved to proceed to the
committee on the bill. Lord Strange and Haldane objected ;
but Pitt asking if they wished to detain Holbourn, Broderick,
and Holmes at home at so critical a time ; and how they
could proceed on Monday, if the difficulties were not then
stated in the committee; it was agreed that the committee
should immediately sit ; and Fox said, that now it was agreed
to have the bill, the sooner it should pass the better. He
moved, and was seconded by Pitt, that the members of the
court-martial should be examined on oath. It was then set
tled that they were to disclose what they had to say only to
the King and council : that they should only tell the motives

166 MEMOIRES OF
1757. of their own behaviour, not those of others. George Grenville
February, added a clause, that they should not be obhged to speak, if
not willing. The bill went through the committee, and was
ordered to be reported on Monday.
It may easily be imagined what variety of passions were
' Sensations excited by this extraordinary affair. Curiosity to know what
excited by
proceedings black management had left such # scruples on the minds of
in House of i-ini •
Commons." some of the judges of the court-martial, was the common and
natural consequence : the very novelty of tools of power sink
ing under a consciousness of guilt, or under the conviction of
having unwittingly been made the tools of power, was sufficient
to raise the utmost attention. The few poor well-wishers of
the condemned saw a gleam of truth darting upon a prison
which they had scarce ventured to incur the odium of ap
proaching — and if there had been such black management
(a question scarce admitting an if, considering all that had
preceded and all that followed) the actors in so dark a
tragedy undoubtedly did not feel the most pleasing sensations
from the illustration that now seemed unavoidable. The
latter description of men appeared to be in danger of changing
unpopular situations with the admiral — they were soon the
only satisfied class, the only triumphant — for by the very next
day after the bill had been read in the House of Commons, by
Sunday evening, it was blazed over the town, that the four
sea-officers named by Mr. Keppel, disclaimed him, and denied
* I do not mean to say that none of the judges on the court-martial had really
been convinced that by the severity of the law they could not acquit the admiral,
though they thought him guilty of only a momentary error of judgment.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 167
having empowered him to apply in their names. Mr. Pitt 1757.
was thunderstruck — and well he might: he saw what con- February.
sequences Fox would draw from this disavowal. Enquiry was (j^ary1dis-nd
made into the truth of the report. Holmes and Geary persisted Keppel.*
that they had not commissioned Keppel. Sir Richard Lyttel
ton, an intimate friend of the latter, applied to him, and, as
Sir Richard himself told me within an hour after he had seen
Geary, begging him to consider the injustice and dishonor-
ableness of retracting what he had authorized Keppel to say ;
he replied in these very words, " It will hurt my preferment
to tell." Can I pass over these words cursorily ? — or rather,
do they want a comment ? What dissertation could express
more fully than they do themselves all they contained ? Who
had power to stop a sea-officer's preferment? would it hurt
his preferment to tell what affected no * powerfull man with
guilt ? Did those words imply that he had nothing to tell ? —
as thick a veil as was drawn over the particulars of this trans
action, can it be doubted but that particulars there were of a
heinous dye ? And though Mr. Keppel's scruples were treated
as idle, though it was asserted that he had nothing to tell,
though he saw Mr. Byng die, without telling ; did not that
attention of Geary to his interest supply articulation to Mr.

* I say, powerfull man, not man in power, for Lord Hardwicke, Lord Anson,
the Duke of Newcastle, &c. were not then in place — but them Geary must have
meant, for he could not fear disobliging Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple by speaking
out, when it was his silence that prejudiced them. It was plain Geary thought,
what happened so soon afterwards, that the command of the Admiralty would still
be in Lord Anson.

court
bill,

168 MEMOIRES OF
1757. Keppel's conscience ? — a fact that I shall mention presently,
February, when the father * of the man whose power Geary dreaded, asked
for a day of peculiar significance, will explain and cannot in
the nature of things be disjoined from that sagacious captain's
conception of what interests were concerned to impose silence
on the court-martial.
, Furtner de. Monday, 28th. — The bill was reported, and Potter moved
6 "martial to nave ^ reao^ tne third time ; when Fox rising, said, he heard
some information was going to be given, which ought to pre
cede any progress in the bill. Holmes, a brother of one of
the four, said, he had heard something had passed on Saturday,
which he supposed the gentleman that had occasioned it would
stand up and explain. Keppel rose, and said, he had parti
cularized the names of four, who he understood and did beheve
had commissioned him to move the house on their behalf.
That Holmes had said, " Sure you mistook me !" Another
of them said the same. He argued it with them ; they per
sisted, and said he had mistaken : Holmes adding, " I am easy
in my mind, and desire to say nothing farther." That he
believed it would be useless to call Mr. Holmes. That for
Geary, he was not absolutely off nor on, but should have no
objection to speak, if all were compelled. For the other two,
Norris and Moore, they were desirous to abide by what they
had said ; that they had even written him a letter, in which
they said, " The world says we have varied, but we desire to
* [Lord Hardwicke. Lord Anson had married his daughter. It must, how
ever, be admitted, that our author's language in this passage is as obscure as his
reasoning is unfair and inconclusive. E.]

court-martial bill.'

GEORGE THE SECOND. 169
adhere to what we told you." He read their letter, in which 1757.
were these words : " We do, authorize you to solhcit for the February.
bill." For himself, he thought his honour clear: when he 'Debateon
had first spoken, it was from the uneasiness of his mind. He
was told his oath did not bind him : he thought it did. If
the house would think fit to relieve him, he should be glad.
When he signed the sentence, he thought he did right — he
had since been startled at what he had done.
Thus, of the four named, two adhered : one (Geary) did
not prove that Keppel mistook him. Whether he mistook
Holmes must remain a doubt — it is scarce probable that
Holmes had been very positive against the measure : Keppel
would scarce have named a man, who was far from agreeing
with him. That it will remain a doubt too, whether there
had not been unwarrantable practices in, or even with the
court-martial, is the fault of those who stifled conscientious
evidence. Charity itself would grow suspicious, had it ob
served all I observed ; and yet I give but as suspicions what I
do not know was fact. That some wished for time to practise
afterwards on the court-martial ; that Geary was willing to be
practised on ; and that some were practised on before they
appeared in the House of Lords, can, I think, never be a doubt
more. Fox assured Mr. Keppel that his character was not affected
by what Holmes and Geary had said: the bill indeed was
affected by it : yet what he would have done for five, he would
do for three ; that is, if the three would petition for it. Of
VOL. II. z

' Debate on
court-mar
tial bill.'

170 MEMOIRES OF
1757. the court-martial seven, he observed, were in town. Of them,
February. Holbourn had declined to meddle ; Dennis had withdrawn
from the house ; Holmes declared himself easy in his mind ;
Geary had desired not to speak, unless the whole number did.
Thus a majority of those in town did not approve the bill.
He therefore desired that the three willing ones would sign a
petition, saying, in their opinions they had something to tell
material for the King's information. If it was not material
enough to have the sentence reversed, but only that they
might explain their own motives, he should not think the
bill necessary.
Nugent said, though not one should apply, the absurdity
of the sentence was glaring enough to call for the bill. Fox
interrupted him, speaking to order — the sentence was not
before the house. Nugent replied, every man in the house
had read the sentence — could they, who, in conscience, honour,
and justice, had signed the letter for mercy, refuse to speak if
their mouths were opened ? Fox said, the sentence and letter
ought first to be called for. The sentence was on oath, the
letter not. He affirmed he did not believe they had any
thing material to say. Would Mr. Keppel say he thought it
material ?
Velters Cornwall condemned the bill, and said, Mr. Byng
had undone one ministry, was going to undo another: the
King had been advised ignobly and unwisely.
Colonel John Fitzwilliam, who had never opened before in
parliament, came with much importance and a hst of questions

GEORGE THE SECOND. 171
to examine Mr. Keppel; but they were so absurd and in- 1757.
decent, that at every one the house expressed their disgust by February.
a groan — such were, " Had he not voted Mr. Byng to be ' Debate on
0 •> o court- mar-
shot because he thought he deserved it ? Did he not think tial bil1-'
so still ? Would his conscience be easier after he had spoken ?"
— It is sufficient to say of this man, that his character was
hatefull. In the army he was odious as a spy and creature of the
Duke. That very morning he had passed two hours with Mr.
Keppel, labouring to divert him from his purpose. Stanley se
verely censured Fitzwilliam, observing that he had put many
questions to Keppel, which he was under oath not to discover,
and from which this bill was calculated to absolve him : and he
took notice sensibly (of what seemed to have been totally over
looked), that any man who is to die, has at least a right to know
for what he is to die. Fox urged, that the words of the royal
message were, " because their discovery may show the sentence
to be improper." From Mr. Keppel's present silence, he in
ferred that there was nothing material to be discovered. He
moved to call Norris and Moore, to hear if what they had to
say would affect the sentence. But Sir Francis Dashwood
objected, that this was the very question which the house was
passing the bill in order to have answered. Mr. Keppel (who
Mr. Fox might have suspected had had other solhcitations
than from the relations of the admiral), rose, and said, he
would explain himself as fully as he could : — when he signed,
he thought he did right — he would go farther — no, he had
better not — had uneasiness, or would never have signed the
z2

' Debate on
court-mar
tial bill.'

172 MEMOIRES OF
1757. letter of intercession — the explanation of the article has in-
February. creased his inquietude — he had rather it should be thought
poor weakness, than a desire of giving trouble. He concluded
with these words : " I do think my desire of being at liberty
does imply something great, and what his Majesty should know."
The house was struck: — Fox said, I am satisfied. After
wards I shall propose means to prevent such bills for the
future. Charles Townshend, who had taken no part hitherto, and
who had followed Mr. Pitt into a system built on the ruin of
Mr. Fox, said, to the surprize of every body, that he had in
tended to second Fox, but was content too. He congratulated
the house on obtaining these grounds for their proceedings by
Mr. Fox's means. His brother, offended at this wonderfull
declaration, told him, if he had been present the first day, he
would not have wanted those grounds. Charles appealed to
the house, if first, second, or third day, they had been so fully
explained. Pitt, still more provoked, said, with the utmost
contempt, and with the most marked accent, no man of com
mon sense or common integrity could say this matter had
been opened on any other foundation— yet he wished Charles
Townshend joy that his conscience was made easy. But how
did it appear that the King was so misinformed ? May I,
added Pitt, fall when I refuse pity to such a suit as Mr.
Keppel's, justifying a man who hes in captivity and the shadow
of death ! I thank God, I feel something more than popu
larity ; I feel justice ! The message, he owned, had been

GEORGE THE SECOND. 173
disorderly, and he was under correction for it, yet it was strict 1757.
truth. For this attack, it went to the very veracity of a man : February.
but he did not, like Fox and Townshend, go upon hearsay. court^nar-n
For his part, if his country were safe that day twelvemonth, tialblU-
he should pray that Mr. Fox might be in his place, nor would
he use those miserable arts that are employed to prop a
wretched station. He congratulated the house on that act
of necessary justice. His equal wish was, that Mr. Byng
might live or die to the satisfaction of the nation.
Fox, sneering and insulting, said, he was glad Mr. Pitt had
heard commendations of him from Mr. Charles Townshend *
— indeed they had a httle ruffled Mr. Pitt's temper. By his
wishing to continue in the administration for a twelvemonth,
he seemed to .think he could save this country. For himself,
he had not been driven out ; he had had reasons for retiring.
Since, had he obstructed any pubhc measure? Had he,
totidem verbis, proposed some questions that had been opposed
last year, they would have been opposed again : he had chosen
rather to retire ; and in the distressed situation of his country,
would not oppose; unless he saw measures carried on de
structive to England, or distressfull to his Majesty. His own
consistence should be litteral, lest afterwards he should not
have parts enough to show it was substantial — indeed, he had
never understood a court.
The Speaker observed, that two-thirds of what both had
* Mr. Pitt, loud enough to be heard by half the house, cried out, " I wish you
joy of him."

174

MEMOIRES OF

1757. said, was nothing to the question. Pitt replied, that he was
February, surprized at being coupled with Mr. Fox, who had spoken
five times, he but once — yet Fox had not been suppressed.
Could I, said he, sit silent under the accusation of misinforming
the King? The Speaker vindicated himself, talked of his
unbiassed impartiality and integrity; and the bill passed,
ai°bni"mar" Cornwall dividing the house with 22 more against 153 ; and it

tial

passesHouse w&g gent ^ ^ j^^

March.
' Debate in
Lords.'

March 1st. — The Lords read the bill. Lord Mansfield
treated Keppel's behaviour as weak and inconsistent : made a
panegyric on the twelfth article, which he said had restored
disciphne : censured the House of Commons for precipitate
proceedings ; and went indecently into the question of the
admiral's behaviour ; for which he was caUed to order by Lord
Denbigh, who told him, that to evade the pressing arguments
that called for the bill, he had endeavoured cruelly to raise in
dignation against the prisoner, who might receive benefit from
the scruples of his judges ; whose scruples and request were
alone the objects before the house. The chief justice replied,
he did not intend to oppose the whole bill — but he must ask,
who they were that demanded it ? What ! a month * after
sentence ! was what they had to say within the oath of secrecy ?
Indeed, he had always been against the oath ; he never ap
proved judging in a mask. He had heard of a case where a
majority voted that a sentence should be unanimous. He

A lawyer, it seems, would establish prescription even against conscience !

GEORGE THE SECOND. 175
said, the proviso, empowering only the wilhng to speak, was 1757.
partial. If all should say they meaned error of judgment, the March.
admiral ought to be acquitted. If the sentence was iniquitous,
it ought to be annulled. But it was cruel to fix this exa
mination on the King : the Lords ought to step between the
crown and the people. The sentence, he said, could only be
annulled by parliament. A bill might be necessary, but one
totaUy different from this. He proposed to have the members
of the court-martial called to the bar of the house ; and he
concluded with no humane observation, nor more to the bill
than his former speech, that there had been times when a sea-
officer had blown up his ship, rather than be taken or retreat.
As I would by no means blend in one censure the behaviour
of the two lawyers, Mansfield and Hardwicke, I will here say a
few words on the former. He took a severe part against the
persecuted admiral — why, I pretend not to determine. As 'LordMans-
the death of Mr. Byng tended no ways to his interest, as he
had no guilt to expiate by the blood of another, and as friend
ship infuses humanity, but not cruelty, one should not suppose
that Lord Mansfield acted on personal motives, or from a
desire of screening Newcastle. I will not even suppose that
a propensity to thwarting Pitt dictated his asperity. He saw
his country undone ; might think Mr. Byng had hastened its
fate ; might feel a national resentment ; might think severity
necessary; and as it is observed that timorous natures, hke
those of women, are generally cruel, Lord Mansfield might
easily slide into rigour on this as he did on other occasions,
when he was not personally afraid.

' Debate on
court-martial bill in
Lords."

176 MEMOIRES OF
1757. Lord Temple gave much the same account that I have
March, given, of his own behaviour, as first lord of the admiralty ;
he read the letter from the court-martial, and thought that
their anxiety must have proceeded from having meant error of
judgment. Lord Halifax spoke strongly for the bill, and urged that it
was founded on justice and humanity ; condemned the sen
tence, and said, it appealed from itself That if the judges of
that court had thought the admiral reaUy guilty, they had
been most guilty to write such a letter. As that could not be
the case, could their lordships avoid wishing to have the
bottom of such a strange transaction known ? He excused
the court-martial for having staid so long between their letter
and any farther step, because they waited to see what effect,
and | concluded the effect they promised themselves would
follow from their letter. That the sentence could not be
annulled without this bill, nor explained without it, for had it
been possible for any man, Lord Mansfield would have made
sense of it.
Lord Hardwicke pleaded against the bill, upon the single
supposition that they were to tell the opinions of each other.
He desired that all of them might be ordered to attend, and
asked whether these scruples had not flowed from sollicitations,
and from being tampered with by the admiral's friends— and
he, who said he wished to inquire whether they had not been
tampered with by the admiral's friends— proposed— what ?
that they should not attend till Thursday— it was then
Tuesday.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 177
Lord Granville replied, that they would not speak even 1757
there, till their mouths were legally opened. That he had March.
always disapproved the oath of secrecy ; and now particularly, ' Debate in
when his Maiesty and the House of Commons were willing proposal to
J J ° examine the
that the oath should be set aside, who could refuse it ? members of
court-mar-
The Duke of Newcastle, as usual, echoed his oracle, and tia1-'
wished to have all the hghts that could be had in twenty-four
hours. The Duke of Bedford asked what objection there was
to hearing them the very next day? There could but two
questions be asked of them ; " Were they wilhng to speak ?"
" Had they any thing to say ?" Lord Halifax pressed for the
next day. Lord Temple defended them from private in
fluence, and proved that their present behaviour was entirely
consonant to their sentence and letter. When they found
that all the difficulties on their minds, which they had hinted
at in their letter, had no effect, could they do otherwise than
apply to the legislature to be empowered to set forth their
difficulties at large ? Lord Sandwich owned, that if he did
not think the bill necessary, he would oppose it, because he
was astonished to find that an unprecedented message to the
Commons was pleaded as a reason for the acquiescence of the
Lords. Lord Hardwicke caught up that argument, and said
the royal message ought not to be pleaded there, since it had
not been vouchsafed to that house :  1 hesitate to repeat the
latter part of his speech — will it not be thought that the part
I took in this affair influenced me to misrepresent a man, to
VOL. II. A A

178 MEMOIRES OF
1757. whose intrigues and authority I cannot help imputing in great
March, measure the admiral's catastrophe? Who, when I paint a
LOTdsTon111 shrewd old lawyer, as weakly or audaciously betraying his
examine the own dark purposes in so solemn an assembly, but will suspect
cou™-mar- tnat I forged an event which seems so strongly to prove all
that I have charged on him? In answer to these doubts, I
can only say, that this was one of the events on which I formed
my opinion ; that it is strictly true ; and that I would not
venture to report it, unless it had passed in so solemn and
public a place as the House of Lords, where all who there
were present heard, and could not but avow that I speak
truth — in short, Lord Hardwicke, as a reason for deferring to
hear till Thursday the members of the court-martial, pleaded
that there was an Irish cause depending before the house,
which was appointed for the next day (Wednesday). — If ever
the least public business that pressed, had not. made all law
suits give way, this might have been at least a precedented
reason — but what was the bill in question ? Certainly in the
then situation of affairs of as critical importance, and of as
much expectation as had ever engaged the attention of the
pubhc — and to want to postpone it to an obscure Irish cause !
— Could good-nature in person forbear to surmize, that this
demand of an intervening day was, could only be made, to
gain time to tamper with the witnesses ? Good-nature at least
would allow, that who suspects such men as Geary of being
tampered with by the poor and powerless relations of a cri-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 179
minal, might be suspected himself of a disposition to tamper, 1757.
when he had power*, and only wanted time; which too March.
he had the confidence to demand — I say confidence, for Lords on
Lord Hardwicke said authoritatively, " / adhere to Thurs- examine the
mem cour-
tial.'

he had the confidence to demand — I say confidence, for Lords on
propoi
exami
day." — Alas ! he did not know how much he could do in half COurt-mar-

the time.
Lord Denbigh asked with indignation ; does that noble
lord put in competition with the honour of his country a cause
of Irish bankruptcy ? And the Duke of Devonshire begged
that the court-martial might be heard on the morrow, because
some of them were under sailing orders. Lord Hardwicke,
unmoved, said, the bill will not be before you to-morrow : the
officers in question must be examined separately. Lord
Temple rephed, that the wind might change by Thursday,
and that some of them were going on expeditions of the
utmost consequence to this country : he begged their retard
ment might not be laid at his door. He repeated the urgency
of their saihng. The Duke of Bedford desired then to have
the orders of the house reversed, and to have the second
reading of the bill fixed for the morrow. Lord Hardwicke
(who, if I have suspected him wrongfully, was at least con
scientiously impatient to do justice on those Irish bankrupts),
persisted; and maintained that the orders could not be re-
* I say, power : Lord Hardwicke and Lord Anson were out of place — but
were they out of power ? Without hinting how soon they remounted to formal
power, let it be remembered that at that moment, they commanded the House of
Lords, and had a vast majority in the House of Commons. .
AA2

180 MEMOIRES OF
1757. versed, unless every lord present consented. — Have I dared to
March, forge all this? — The rest of the lords, who did seem to think
til^ordeTeT tnat ^vinds and that fleets saihng in their country's cause
Houseof were of more instant importance than a case of Irish bank
ruptcy, prevailed even on the late scrupulous chancellor to
postpone private justice for one day, and the court-martial
were ordered to attend the next.
March 2d. — The day opened with a complaint preferred
by Lord Sandwich against the publisher of a newspaper, who
had printed the oath of secrecy with false additions. Lord
Mansfield took on himself the management of the examination.
To combat his ability and Hardwicke's acrimony, the unhappy
admiral had no friend among the lords but the Earl of Halifax ;
honest and well-disposed, but no match for the art of the one,
or the overbearingness of the other, and on too good terms
with both to oppose them in a manner to do any service ; and
Lord Temple, circumscribed both in interest and abilities from
being thoroughly usefull. The chief justice acquainted the
house that the questions he proposed to put to the members
of the court-martial were, " Whether they knew any matter
previous to the sentence, which would show it to be unjust, or
procured by any unlawfull means ? and, whether they thought
themselves restrained by their oath from disclosing such
matter ?" Lord Temple said, Every body would be at liberty
to ask any other questions ; and Lord Halifax said, They
would not be confined to those of Lord Mansfield.
Admiral Smith, the president of the court, was then called;

GEORGE THE SECOND. 181
a grey-headed man, of comely and respectable appearance ; but 1757.
of no capacity, of no quickness to comprehend the chicanery of March.
such a partial examination. He, and the greater part of his tion ofcourt-
comrades, were awed too with the presence of the great persons HouseoT
before whom they were brought. Moore, and one or two others, Lords"
were neither awed nor hagled with their inquisitors. Lord
Morton caused the twelfth article to be read ; and would have
asked Admiral Smith, whether he then thought, or ever did
think, that article applicable to error of judgment ? The
impropriety of the question, and the intemperate warmth of
the lord who put it, when he was checked by Lord Talbot,
broke in on the solemnity of the scene and disturbed it.
Lord Temple observed, that Smith had already answered the
earl's question by stating in their letter the words, even by
error of judgment. Lord Hardwicke said, that letter was not
on oath, and hoped would be out of the question ; yet he owned
the interrogatory was most improper. Lord Temple insisted
that they were under the virtue of their oath, till the sentence
was pronounced, and they were dissolved as a court.
Lord Mansfield then asked the president, whether he knew
any matter previous to the sentence which would show it to be
unjust. He answered, Indeed I do not. Lord Mansfield : If
it was given through any undue practice ? Admiral Smith: In
deed I do not. Lord Halifax then asked him, if he desired to
have the bill? He rephed; I have no desire for myself: it
will not be disagreeable to me, if it will be a relief to the con
sciences of any of my brethren. Lord Halifax asked him farther,

182 MEMOIRES OF
1757. whether he could reveal any thing relative to the sentence,
March, that was necessary for the King to know, and to incline him to
tion oSourt- mercy ? The admiral said, Indeed I have not, farther than
Housed wnat * wrote at tnat time to IJ°ro^ Lyttelton, signifying that
Lords ' we were wiUing to attend, to give our reasons for signing that
letter. Lord Lyttelton said, he had returned that letter to
the admiral, that he might read it there. Lord Hardwicke
asked, whether he thought himself restrained by his oath from
mentioning those reasons ? He answered, the apphcation for
mercy was unanimous. I think I am at liberty to give the
reasons why I requested that mercy — Nobody chose to ask
him those reasons — The friends of Mr. Byng, one must sup
pose, lest it should interfere with the necessity of the bill.
His enemies did not desire to know themselves, or that any
body else should.
Admiral Holbourn was then called, and to the two former
questions of Lord Mansfield, and to the two of Lord Hahfax,
answered bluntly, No.
The next that appeared was Admiral Norris ; a most weak
man, who after resisting from the friends of Mr. Byng great
sollicitations to interpose in time in favour of the prisoner, to
whom he was beheved the best disposed (except Moore, the
greatest professor of tenderness to Mr. Byng's family) had at
last sunk under great inquietudes of remorse ; and had pressed
most earnestly for parliamentary rehef. If in effect he over
turned all the consequences of that compunction, he was to be
pitied more than blamed: struck with awe of the tribunal

GEORGE THE SECOND. 183
before which he appeared, he showed how little qualified he 1757.
had been for a judge, when so terrified at superior judges. He March.
lost all comprehension, understood no questions that were tio^ofcourt-
asked, nor knew how or when to apply the very answers he Housed"
came prepared to give. When Lord Mansfield put his question Lords"'
to him, whether he knew any thing previous that would show
the sentence to be unjust, he rephed, that he desired to be
excused from answering while under the oath of secrecy.
Lord Mansfield said, to what did he apprehend his oath went ?
had he any thing to tell, if released from the sanction of it?
Lord Fortescue objected, that nobody had a right to ask him
his reasons for desiring to be absolved from his oath; and
Lord Ravensworth said, an answer in the affirmative would
look like accusing himself — indeed it was difficult to know
how the court-martial could complain of what they had done
or submitted to, without accusing themselves in the heaviest
manner. Lord Hardwicke declared, if this question was not
answered, that he would vote against the bill ; and why, said
he, are these excuses made for Mr. Norris ? he does not make
them for himself. Ask him in the very words of the bill. — It
was evident that Norris thought, that in order to obtain the
bill, he must not give the least satisfaction on any question.
Accordingly, when questioned if he knew any thing that would
show the sentence to be unjust ? he rephed, No. If he knew
any thing of undue practices ? still he answered, No. Yet
when Lord Halifax asked him, whether he was desirous the
bill should pass ? he replied, Yes. Lord Halifax : If he knew

martial in
House of
Lords."

184 MEMOIRES OF
1757. any thing that was necessary for the King to know, and that
March, would incline him to mercy ? He begged leave not to answer,
tion oTcourt- and withdrew. The contradiction in this behaviour must be
left to the comment of the reader. The only observation I
would make, not only on Norris, but on his associates (I speak
not of those who evidently were influenced) is this : If, as they
all said, they knew nothing unjust, why did they solhcit to be
released from an oath of secrecy, under the lock of which they
had no secret? — is it not more probable that they were
ashamed of what they had done, and neither knew how to
bear or avow it ?
Admiral Broderick was short and steady in negatives to
all the questions. Holmes as explicit, saying he knew nothing
to incline the King to mercy but the sentence and their letter.
Lord Halifax then informed the Lords, that Norris had re
collected himself, and desired to return to the bar. Lord
Cholmondeley and Lord Stamford objected to it, but even
Lord Hardwicke could not close with such rigour, though he
declared against repeating the hke indulgence. Norris re
turning, and being asked if he knew any thing proper for his
Majesty to know, and that might incline him to mercy, replied,
At the time that I said I desired the act might pass, I thought
we should have an opportunity of explaining our reasons for
signing the sentence. These words, though obscure, and by no
means adequate to what was expected from his desire of being
reheard, seemed to imply that he had been drawn into the
harshness of the sentence from some arguments of the im-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 185
probability that it would be carried into execution. This in 1757.
the utmost candour I own ; it was what all the advocates for March.
rigour insisted was the case : though the defence in truth is tion ofcoui-t-
but a sorry one, for what can exceed the weakness of condemn- House of1
ing a man, whom one thinks innocent, upon the supposition
that he will afterwards escape ?
Geary, the accomodating Geary, the repenter of his repent
ance, came next ; answered no, to Lord Mansfield's questions,
like the rest : to Lord Halifax's, whether desirous of the bill,
rephed no, but have no objections to it, if it will be to the
satisfaction of any body ; and that he knew nothing for mercy
but the sentence and letter. Could you, said Lord Fortescue,
if the act should pass, explain the sentence better ? " My oath
of secrecy," said Geary, " will not let me say more." Captain
Boyce gave his three noes to the questions. So did Moore to
Lord Mansfield's. When asked by Lord Halifax, if desirous
of the bill ? he said, " I am very desirous of it, that I may be
absolved from my oath ; I have been under concern when I
took it — I don't mean on this point." To the other question
relative to the King and mercy, he said, " I don't think myself
at hberty to answer while bound by my oath." To Lord
Fortescue, whether if absolved, he could better explain the
sentence and letter ? he replied in these equivocal words, " I
could give better reasons for my signing." Simko, Douglas,
and Bentley, were unanimous in negatives to all the questions.
Then Keppel appeared. Being asked if he knew any thing
unjust ? — after long silence and consideration, he rephed, No.
Whether the sentence was obtained through undue practices?
VOL. II. B B

186 MEMOIRES OF
1757. No. Whether desirous of the bill ? " Yes, undoubtedly." Whe-
March. ther he knew any thing necessary for the knowledge of the
- Examina- Km~ ana conducive to mercy ? Keppel : " I cannot answer
tion of court- &'
martial in that without particularizing my vote and opinion." Lord
House of x
Lords.' Hahfax asked him whether he thought his particular reasons
had been asked now? He rephed, No. He retired. If
Keppel had had no more to tell, than that he had been drawn
into the harsher measure by the probability of the gentler pre
ponderating at last, he had in truth been much misunderstood :
his regret had worn all the appearance of remorse. How he
came to appear so calm and so indifferent at the last moment
in which either regret or remorse could hope to have any
effect, I pretend not to decide. Such as showed any com
punction of any sort I would excuse to the utmost. — Those
who determined no compunction should operate, and those
who, like Moore and Geary, abandoned their contrition to
make their court, I desire not to absolve. The former were
gratified, the latter were rewarded. Dennis was the last who
appeared, and took care to have no more tenderness before the
lords than he had exerted in the House of Commons.
Lord Temple then desired that the court-martial might
be absolved from their attendance ; and that the depositions
might be read over. When finished, he said (what indeed in
his situation he could not well help saying, considering how
few questions had been put except the captious ones of Lord
Mansfield, and how little satisfaction had been obtained, and
that even Keppel himself had not said half so much as he had
said in the House of Commons), Lord Temple, I say, after

GEORGE THE SECOND. 187
congratulating the King and nation on the temper that had 1757.
been observed, said, the discussion might produce an opinion March.
that the sentence was just : he had had doubts, but now they
were all removed : yet he would ask, whether still it were not
better to indulge the conscientious with the bill, especially as
it would clear all doubts in others ?
Lord Marchmont and Lord Hardwicke objected warmly to 'Bill debated
and dropped
that proposal, and treated the House of Commons with the in House of
Lords."
highest scorn. The former said, he had the utmost contempt
for the bill, and hoped their lordships would set their mark
on all who had traduced the court-martial, whose very coun
tenances had shown their breasts. He begged the house no
farther to load his Majesty, but to reject the bill. Lord
Halifax acknowledged that all who read the preamble, must
have concluded that they had something material to divulge :
yet not one had produced any one circumstance. For himself,
he was never ashamed to retract, when the ground had gone
from him. Yet he thought they still must have had reasons
for their extraordinary behaviour, and wished for the bill to
clear up that wonderfull sentence and letter. But Lord Hard
wicke authoritatively put an end to the debate ; said the re
cital to the preamble had been false; that they had sworn
there had been no undue practice, and that it appeared upon
what no grounds the House of Commons had proceeded:
which he hoped would tend to ease the mind of his Majesty.
He proposed, and it was ordered, that the whole examination
should be printed.
The affair having concluded in this extraordinary manner,
b b 2

188 1757.
March.
' Result of
proceed ings in par
liament.'

MEMOIRES OF
the friends of Mr. Byng could no longer expect any mercy.
If he could be brought to the verge of death after such a
sentence and such a recommendation from his judges ; if the
remorse of those judges could only interpose ; undoubtedly
their retracting all distress of conscience, and upholding their
sentence in a firmer manner than when they first pronounced
it, could neither give the King a new handle to pardon, nor
any hopes to the admiral's well-wishers. They despaired,
though they ceased not to solhcit. Of the court-martial * it
must be remembered, that Norris, who had faltered, was never
after employed — that Keppel was — that Moore had immediately
assigned to him the most profitable station during the war.
I hasten to the conclusion of the tragedy: a few intervening
incidents I shall resume afterwards.
The 14th of March was appointed for execution. — Yet
one more unexpected event seemed to promise another inter
ruption. The city of London had all along assumed that
unamiable department of a free government, inconsiderate
clamour for punishment. But as a mob is always the first
engine of severity, so it is generally the foremost, often the
sole body that melts and feels compassion when it is too late.
Their favorite spectacle is a brave sufferer. This time they
anticipated tenderness. On the 9th, at eleven at night, four
Tory aldermen went to Dickinson, the lord mayor, to desire
* As some of them said in plain terms that they were satisfied with the sen
tence, in how many contradictions were they involved ! By the very wording of
the sentence, which expressed dissatisfaction ; by the letter that accompanied it ; by
Admiral Smith's letter to Sir B,. Lyttelton, which said that they were all willing to
appear before the privy-council or the parliament to explain their reasons !

GEORGE THE SECOND. 189
he would summon a common council, intending to promote a 1757.
petition to the King to spare the admiral. The motion was March.
imputed to Mr. Pitt. The magistrate, as unfeelingly formal U^SJ^1,
as if he had been the first magistrate in the kingdom,' rephed, andd'roppecP
it was too late ; he would be at home till noon of the next
day. On the morrow they sent to him not to dismiss his
officers — but he heard no more, though they continued squab
bling among themselves till two in the morning. Thus the
last chance was lost. Had the first midnight emotion been
seized, it might have spread happily; — at least the King could
not have pleaded his promise of severity pledged to the city.
I hesitate even to mention what I will not explain, as I cannot
prove my suspicion : but I was eye-witness to a secret and par
ticular conference between Dickinson and another man, who, I
have but too much reason to think, had a black commission.
The fatal morning arrived, but was by no means met by _
& J J Death of
the admiral with reluctance. The whole tenor of his be- Admiral
haviour had been chearfull, steady, dignified, sensible. While
he felt like a victim, he acted like a hero. Indeed he was the
only man whom his enemies had had no power to bend to
their purposes. He always received with indignation any
proposal from his friends of practising an escape ; an ad
vantage he scorned to lend to clamour. Of his fate he talked
with indifference ; and neither shunned to hear the requisite
dispositions, nor affected parade in them. For the last fort
night he constantly declared that he would not suffer a hand
kerchief over his face, that it might be seen whether he
betrayed the least symptom of fear ; and when the minute

Byng.

190

MEMOIRES OF

1757.
March.
' Death of
AdmiralByng.'

arrived, adhered to his purpose. He took an easy leave of his
friends, detained the officers not a moment, went directly to
the deck, and placed himself in a chair with neither ceremony
nor lightness. Some of the more humane officers represented
to him, that his face being uncovered, might throw reluctance
into the executioners ; and besought him to suffer a hand
kerchief. He replied with the same unconcern, " If it will
frighten them, let it be done : they would not frighten me."
His eyes were bound ; they shot, and he fell at once *.
It has often been remarked, that whoever dies in pubhc,
dies well. Perhaps those, who, trembhng most, maintain a
dignity in their fate, are the bravest : resolution on reflection
is real courage. It is less condemnable, than a melancholy
vain-glory, when some men are ostentatious at their death.
But surely a man who can adjust the circumstances of his
* [The following extract from our author's private correspondence in MS. cor
roborates the account given in the text, and as it contains some further particulars,
may be acceptable to the reader. E.]
March 17, 1757. — " Admiral Byng's tragedy was compleated on Monday  a
perfect tragedy — for there were variety of incidents, villainy, muTder, and a hero.
His sufferings, persecutions, aspersions, disturbances, nay, the revolutions of his
fate, had not in the least unhinged his mind ; his whole behaviour was natural and
firm. A few days before, one of his friends standing by him, said, " Which of us
is tallest ?" He replied, " Why this ceremony ? I know what it means ; let the man
come and measure me for my coffin." He said, that being acquitted of cowardice,
and being persuaded on the coolest reflection, that he had acted for the best, and
should act so again, he was not unwilling to suffer. He desired to be shot on the
quarter-deck, not where common malefactors are : — came out at twelve — sat down
in a chair, for he would not kneel, and refused to have his face covered, that his
countenance might show whether he feared death ; but being told that it might
frighten his executioners, he submitted ; gave the signal at once ; received one
shot through the head, another through the heart, and fell."

GEORGE THE SECOND. 191
execution beforehand; who can say, "Thus I will do, and 1757.
thus ;" who can sustain the determined part, and throws in no March.
unnecessary pomp, that man does not fear — can it be probable on Admiral"
he ever did fear ? I say nothing of Mr. Byng's duels ; cowards ha^ifur/
have ventured life for reputation : I say nothing of his having
been a warm persecutor of Admiral Matthews : cowards, like
other guilty persons, are often severe against failings, which
they hope to conceal in themselves by condemning in others :
it was the uniformity of Mr. Byng's behaviour from the outset
of his persecution to his catastrophe, from whence I conclude
that he was aspersed as unjustly, as I am sure that he was
devoted maliciously, and put to death contrary to all equity
and precedent *.
I have perhaps dwelt too long on his story — let me be
excused : I could not say too much in behalf of a man, whose
* Many years after that tragedy was acted, I received a most authentic and
shocking confirmation of the justice of my suspicions. October 21, 1783, being
with her Royal Highness Princess Amelie at her villa at Gunnersbury, among
many interesting anecdotes which I have set down in another place, she told me,
that while Admiral Byng's affair was depending, the Duchess of Newcastle sent
Lady Sophia Egerton to her the Princess, to beg her to be for the execution of
Admiral Byng. They thought, added the Princess, that unless he was put to
death, Lord Anson could not be at the head of the Admiralty. Indeed, continued
the Princess, I was already for it, the officers would never have fought, if he
had not been executed. I replied, that I thought his death most unjust, and the
sentence a most absurd contradiction.
Lady Sophia Egerton was wife of a clergyman, afterwards Bishop of Durham.
What a complication of horrors ! women employed on a job for blood !
[As the author calls this accidental conversation at Gunnersbury " a most
authentic confirmation of his suspicions,1' the Editor was not at liberty to omit any
part of the story ; though the reader will probably think with him, that more im
portance is ascribed to mere gossip than it deserves. E.]

192 MEMOIRES OF
1757. sufferings, with : whatever kind intention, I unhappily pro-
March, tracted !
election;'61 The cosinhood intended to supply Byng's seat at Rochester
with Dr. Hay of their own Admiralty, whom Fox had jostled
out of parhament. The King, by suggestion from the same
quarter, told Lord Temple, " That Rochester was a borough
of the crown, not of the Admiralty ; nor did he like Hay or
any of their Admiralty ; they had endeavoured to represent
his justice as cruelty ; he would have Admiral Smith chosen
there." The subject was artfuUy selected, a relation of their
own. Lord Temple, with more calmness and decency than he
often condescended to employ in the cabinet, contested it
long : and at last said, he would not obstruct his Majesty's
service and commands — but he would be no borough-jobber,
he would have nothing to do with it, nor would he pay the
price of blood by bringing into parhament the president of
that court that had condemned Admiral Byng. As the mea
sure was taken to get rid of Mr. Pitt and his friends, it was hoped
they would resign on this obstacle, which might pass for a
private affair : but they were too wise to be the dupes. The
Duke of Devonshire was ordered to recommend Admiral Smith
to Rochester, but the poor man was shocked both at succeeding
a person he had sentenced, and at being chosen for a stum
bling-block to his friends. He said he had not sufficient
estate for a qualification ; and declined. Admiral Townshend,
the gaoler of Byng, had no scruples, and was elected.
On the 8th of this month advice was received that a French
army of one hundred and four thousand men, commanded by

GEORGE THE SECOND. 193
the Comte de Clermont and Marshal D'Etrees, were marched 1757.
to the Lower Rhine. March.
A slight event that, by displaying the Duke's moderation,
indicated his having views at that time which it was worth his
while, by curbing his natural temper, to gratify, may be fitly
mentioned. Colonel Forbes, a man of parts and spirit, had
long lain under his displeasure, being suspected of having writ
some severe pamphlets against him. They were in truth the
compositions of one Douglas. Forbes, during the preceding
summer, had ingratiated himself with the Duke of Bedford in
the camp at Blandford, where his grace had been reading
Bladen's Caesar and Bland's Military Discipline, and playing
at being a general, for he was always eager about what he was
least fit for. He immediately undertook to reconcile Forbes
to the * Duke, who would not hsten to him. RichbeU's re
giment falling vacant in Ireland, the lord-heutenant gave
himself no farther trouble to obtain the favour of the Duke
for Forbes, but carried a warrant ready drawr* to the King,
who signed it, and Forbes had the regiment. The Duke bore
it without a murmur.
On the ISth died Dr. Herring, Archbishop of Canterbury, Death of
Archbishop
a very amiable man, to whom no fault was objected ; though Herring.
perhaps the gentleness of his principles, his great merit, was
thought one. During the rebellion he had taken up arms
to defend from oppression that rehgion, which he abhorred
* [The Duke of Cumberland. E.]
VOL. II. c c

194 MEMOIRES OF
1757. making an instrument of oppression. He was succeeded by
March. Dr. Hutton, Archbishop of York, a finer gentleman, except
where money was in question. The Duke of Newcastle, to
pay court to Leicester-house, had promised York to Dr.
Thomas, of Peterborough, the Prince's preceptor : but though
he had been raised by the King himself, his Majesty (to thwart
the Princess, who had indulged the bishop in no weight with
her son, and was consequently indifferent about him), refused
to confirm the grant, and bestowed the archbishoprick on
Gilbert, of Salisbury, who had formerly shed courtly tears in a
sermon on the Queen. Gilbert was composed of that common
mixture, ignorance, meanness, and arrogance. Having once
pronounced that Dr. King ought to be expelled Oxford for
disaffection, the latter said he would consent to expulsion,
provided Gilbert would propose it in convocation — the motion
must have been in Latin. Thomas was permitted to succeed
to Sahsbury. On the news of Gilbert's promotion, they rung
the bells at York backwards in detestation of him. He opened
a great table there, and in six months they thought him the
most christian prelate that had ever sat in that see.
Abolition of 18th.— Legge opened the new taxes, and particularly pro
of wine posed to abohsh the commissioners of wine-hcences, which
licences. office he would incorporate with that of the stamps. Among
those commissioners was one Harris, a dependent and intimate
of Fox, who broke out on this occasion in the most imprudent
manner — " Was this the beginning of reformation ? why was
it not carried farther ? why not abolish one of the secretaries

GEORGE THE SECOND. 195
of the treasury ? why did Mr. Legge himself receive double 1757.
salary as lord of the treasury? He himself would have March.
been content with half the pay of secretary of state. Sir
Robert Walpole had never destroyed the offices and influence
of the crown. He taxed Hardinge with being author of this
scheme. Legge rephed, yes, it was the beginning of re
formation ; and if others would, he himself would serve for
nothing. Beckford said principiis obsta; he hked better to
begin with small things than great, because from the former
there might be hopes — but he knew, he saw, why Mr. Fox
was averse from demohshing the influence of the crown. Of
all things he should disapprove any diminution of the salaries
of great officers, in order to carry on the war, for then he was
sure there would soon be a peace. Pitt was very ill, and could
not attend.
I hinted that it was determined to dismiss Mr. Pitt and
his friends, or provoke them to resign : I shall now explain that
measure, which opens a new scene.
The French had made an irruption into Germany with a ' Intrigues
' _ to dismiss
mighty army, and threatened Hanover. The King had neither Mr. Pitt;
able generals there nor ministers on whom he could rely. The
latter were Austrians in their hearts, with the additional in
cumbrance of possessing estates in the countries of the Em
press. The Duke, since the accession of Mr. Pitt to the
administration, was become a favorite : the King readily vented
his mortifications to his son, who he knew would chearfully
be a confident of his aversion to the Princess and her faction.
By the channel of the Duke and Princess Emily, Fox had
c c 2

196 MEMOIRES OF
1757. insinuated innumerable prejudices and obstructions to the new
March, ministers. At this juncture the King cast his eyes on the
dfmisf Pit'0 Duke, as the sole resource for Hanover. His son had saved
and form ^[s crown ; he wished to owe the preservation of the dearer
try" Electorate to him. The Duke was very averse to the charge.
War with all its charms could not tempt him now. His
many defeats by the French still ached. If to be clogged
with orders from Pitt, if to be obliged to communicate
with him, and depend on him for supplies, command itself
would lose its lustre. Even if succesfull, the popularity of
Pitt would ravish half his laurels — should he miscarry, his
misfortunes would all be imputed to himself. Fox snatched
• at this dilemma : he knew the King would pay any price to
rescue Hanover, and suggested to the Duke to demand as a
previous condition the dismission of Pitt — could his Majesty
hesitate between an unwelcome servant and a favorite do
minion? The terms were granted — but were too soon per
formed. The King hurried away the Duke. His Royal
Highness would not endure even for a fortnight to be account
able to Pitt : yet there had been no time to settle a new
administration. The inquiries still hung over the heads of
the old ministers ; and though a whole parliament of his own
interposed their bucklers, Newcastle shuddered at the glimpse
of an axe in the faint hand of a wearied rabble. Fox wished
for power without the name of it ; Newcastle for both. If his
grace would have united with him, Fox would have taken the
paymastership with a peerage for his wife, and a pension of
2000/. a year on Ireland for himself. But Newcastle could

GEORGE THE SECOND. 197
be pinned down to no terms : he advanced to Fox, retreated 1757.
farther from him, would mention no conditions, nor agree to March.
any. Lord Mansfield had early gone to Claremont and en
deavoured to fix him to Fox ; but as that lord himself told
the latter, Newcastle was governed by Lord Hardwicke even
by a letter. Fox would then have assumed the government
himself, could he have conjured together the slightest vision
of a ministry. He tried Lord Granville, he courted Devon
shire, he offerred the treasury to Bedford ; but though nobody
was more sanguine in the cause than the latter, yet as it was
not easy to give Rigby an equivalent for Ireland, he took care
to regulate his patron's warmth within the pale of his own
advantage. In this strange uncertainty the day of the Duke's departure The Duke
goes to Ha-
was fixed ; and fixed it was that Pitt and Lord Temple should nover to
command
be thrust out by any means. Pitt had behaved with as much the army.
veneration as his Majesty could expect ; with as much as he
was fond himself of receiving : surely he had even shown that
German measures were not beyond the compass of his homage.
But he had introduced eloquence into the closet : the King
was a man of plain sense, and neither used ornament in dis
course nor admired it — sometimes too the drift of his royal
pleasure was too dehcate to be conveyed but in hints. He
liked to be served in essentials ; it was better not to expatiate
on them. Lord Temple was still more tiresome ; and when
his verboseness did not persuade, he quickened it with imper
tinence. On the affair of Mr. Byng he had even gone so far
as to sketch out some parallel between the Monarch himself

198 MEMOIRES OF
1757. and the admiral, in which the advantage did not he on the side
March, of the battle of Oudenarde.
' 9h.anse,in The King resenting this and other instances in the strongest
manner, Lord Temple sent him word by the Duke of Devon
shire, that he could not serve him more, though he should not
resign till a convenient opportunity ; that he would not even
have come out of his Majesty's closet as a minister, if it would
not have distressed those with whom he was connected. Pitt
himself kept in the outward room, saying, he no longer looked
upon himself as a minister ; and attributing this storm solely
to Fox, he bad Lord George Sackville, who was feeling about
for a reconciliation between him and Newcastle, tell that duke,
that he was not so averse to him as his grace had been told : let
him judge by my actions, added he, if I have been averse to him.
The idea of the approaching change no sooner spread than
it occasioned the greatest astonishment : indignation followed ;
ridicule kept up the indignation. The first jealousy was, that
British troops would attend the Duke to Germany. Fox
called on Legge in the house to disavow this, which he did ;
and the former declared, that it had never existed even in the
wish of his royal highness — (that measure indeed was reserved
for Pitt!) George Townshend, to prevent the change by
intimidating, called for more papers ; but as Fox wished for
nothing more than to dispatch the inquiries, after which he
would be at hberty to appear again on the scene ; he pressed
to have them begin ; and Townshend was forced to yield that
they should commence on the 19th of April, the first day after
the recess of Easter. Sir Francis Dashwood said, that day

GEORGE THE SECOND. 199
would interfere with the meeting at Newmarket, and proposed 1757.
a later time. Fox said there would be a second meeting, with March.
which a later day would equally clash. I blush to repeat these
circumstances — was it a greater proof of the levity of our
character, or of the little that was to be expected from the
inquiries, when a senate sat weighing horse-races against na
tional resentment and justice — Newmarket against the fate of
Minorca*! George Townshend added some sharp words on
the abuse pubhshed against Pitt. Fox said, he desired the
liberty of the press might continue ; nobody had sufferred
more from it than himself, yet he would not be for restraining
it. Did Mr. Townshend object to j- cards and pictures ?
George Grenville said, he knew when he accepted a place
what tax he was to pay for it — yet, said Fox, / have been most
abused since out of place.
April 5th. — Lord Holderness went to Lord Temple to April.
notify to him his dismission. Legge prevailed on Pitt and andresignL
the rest not to resign, but to be turned out. The Duke of „™e°sf .mi"
Devonshire had offerred Legge to remain ; but though he was
never tardy at abandoning his friends for a richer prospect,
nobody was more steady when it would hurt him to desert.
The next night Mr. Pitt was discarded: and then George
Grenville and the others resigned. Charles Townshend alone
took time to consider : the income of his place was large, and
* Indeed there was so little intended by the inquiries, that Legge himself, one
of the new tribunes of the people, said, " Both sides will be trying which shall
fling most dust in the eyes of the nation."
+ Townshend had been author of the first political caricatura card, with
portraits of Newcastle and Fox.

tion.

200 MEMOIRES OF
1757. he did not love Pitt. After an uncertainty of near three
April. weeks, he resigned ; but by a letter to the Duke of Devon
shire avoided as much as possible to have it thought that he
quitted from attachment to Pitt. Resigning with him and
not for him, Townshend thought, intituled him to be restored
with Pitt, yet would not subject him to the King's displeasure.
' Efforts to au men were curious to see the new administration. None
form a new
administra- was formed. Lord Egremont had consented to accept the
seals of secretary of state, but soon desired to be excused. He
had miscarried with Lord Granville, had not succeeded better
by assiduous court to Newcastle, and now attaching himself
to Fox, had his hopes soon blasted with this blossom of an
administration. Doddington, who had gone in and out too
often to lose any reputation by one more promotion or dis
grace, was ready to take any thing. Sir George Lee, who
could not give up the hopes of being prime minister, though
never thought of but when he could not be so, prepared to
accept the chancellorship of the exchequer ; and Lord Win-
chelsea, uniform in detesting the Grenvilles, immediately en
tered upon his old office, the admiralty, with a motley board
composed of Boscawen, (one of the last set), Rowley, (of the
foregoing), Moyston, his own nephew, Lord Carysfort, and
young Sandys. Elliot was offerred to remain, but refused;
and W. Gerard Hamilton was designed for the seventh.
Yet an admiralty did not make an administration. No
man of abilities or reputation would inlist — even Sir Thomas
Robinson refused to take the seals again. Yet the Duke em
barked with satisfaction, telling Mr. Conway, the King could

GEORGE THE SECOND. 201
not be in a worse situation than he had been — " Yes, Sir," 1757.
said Conway, " but he will, if Mr. Pitt gets the better." And April.
Fox, to gratify at least some of his views in this revolution,
procured a grant for himself and his two sons of the reversion
of Doddington's place of clerk of the pells in Ireland. The
King had forbidden the Duke, who negotiated this business,
to mention the peerage for Lady Caroline, which he would
never grant ; but he would give him Doddington's place for
his child — " Say children, Sir," replied the Duke : " With all
my heart," said the King ; " it is the same thing to me." — He
cared not how many reversions he granted from his successor.
Still it was impossible for Fox himself to accept any ministerial
post till the inquiries were at an end ; the whole tempest
would have been directed at his head. Indeed many had
such intentions : at a meeting of Pitt's friends and the Tories,
it was agreed to push the scrutiny into the military part with
great vehemence. Charles Townshend accepted the office of ' Pariia-
. mentary in-
manager; and George, on moving for more papers, made quiriesinto
severe remarks on the want of miners at Minorca ; which Fox Minorca.'
excused, saying, it was hoped that the Minorchese, who had
assisted in digging the mines, would have contributed to their
defence. To keep miners there on the establishment had
been thought too expensive. Are they more expensive to the
government, rephed Townshend, than sinecures? alluding to
Fox's new reversion. Pitt, at the meeting I have mentioned,
promised his support, but feared he should not be able to
speak five minutes for his cough — He was aware that New-
VOL. II. d n

202 MEMOIRES OF
1757. castle had left too httle power to Fox in their joint admi-
Aprii. nistration, for it to be possible with any degree of decency to
pJwer^*'8 Drand the one, and slide over the errors of the other, with
whom Pitt wished to unite. Yet the temper of the nation
left him master to take whatever resolution he pleased. The
rashness of throwing government into imminent confusion
at such a juncture, struck both the enemies and friends of
Fox. His ambition was glaring ; his interestedness, not even
specious. Pitt had acted during his short reign with a
haughty reserve, that, if it had kept off dependents and at
tachments, at least had left him all the air of patriot privacy ;
and having luckily, from the King's dislike of him, and from
the shortness of the time, been dipt but in few ungracious
businesses, he came back to the mob scarce
 shorn of his beams.
and popuia- The stocks fell ; the common council voted the freedom of
the city both to Pitt and Legge*; Sir John Barnard alone
giving a negative. Allen of Bath procured them the same
honour from thence ; and for some weeks it rained gold boxes :
Chester, Worcester, Norwich, Bedford, Salisbury, Yarmouth,
Tewksbury, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Stirling, and other populous
and chief towns following the example. Exeter, with singular
affectation, sent boxes of heart of oak. On the other hand, a
paper was affixed to the gate of St. James's with these words,
* A card was published representing Pitt and Legge, like Don Quixote and
Sancho Panga, in a triumphal car, with this motto,
— — Et sibi Consul
Ne placeat, servus curru portatur eodem. — Juv.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 203
" A secretary of state much wanted ; honesty not necessary ; 1757.
no principles will be treated with." , April.
Such venom was not likely to biass Newcastle to Mr. Fox. ' Duke of
x 1 • 'iii iii- t Newcastle
It was the King's wish that they should unite ; and many and Mr.
Fox."
messages passed; but in vain. It was pretended that the
Duke had promised his Majesty never to join Pitt, unless by
command. The King said, he would abdicate sooner than
give him such command ; and complained bitterly of his in
gratitude ; imputing to him a refusal made by Lord Duplin
to be chancellor of the exchequer ; and his leaving his Ma
jesty at the mercy of Mr. Pitt, by not uniting with Fox.
His Grace, who scrupled not to wipe out one imputation by
deserving another, wrote a penitential letter, and sent it by
Munchausen, lamenting his disgrace, after so many years of
service, and hoping, when the inquiries should be at an end,
that he might again have admission to the closet, where he
should be ready to protest and promise whatever his Majesty
expected. He had scarce written this letter, but he laboured
anew to obstruct the junction of his friends with Fox. In
general, they outran his intentions : Lord Lincoln hated Fox ;
the little tools feared him. Murray and Hume Campbell and
Arundel sincerely wished to bring them together.
The Princess, who looked on any settlement in which Fox
was concerned as an establishment of the Duke's power,
frowned on the new revolution ; and though Fox made very
humble overtures to Leicester-House, they were flatly re
jected. Pitt grew less and less austere to Newcastle; and
d d 2

204 MEMOIRES OF
1757. now, when this vain man was arrived at the period of detected
April. misgovernment with regard to his country, of ingratitude and
Newcastle.' disobedience to his master, of caprice, duplicity, and irreso
lution toward sail factions ; when under prosecution by parha
ment, and frowned on by his sovereign ; at this instant were
the hopes, the vows of all men addressed to him ! The outcast
of the ministry, the scorn of the court, the jest of the people,
was the arbiter of Britain : her King, her patriots, her factions,
waited to see into what scale he would fling his influence !
The inquiries In the meantime the inquiries began April 19th. I shall
into the loss
of Minorca, give but a summary account of them : it would be ridiculous
to enter into the detail of a pantomime, from which nothing
was intended, expected, or produced. The Townshends pre
tended to be managers against the ministers : Hume Campbell
and Lord Royston acted with spirit and sense for their friends :
Elhs was agent for Fox. The latter himself meddled a little,
pointing out where inconveniences might arrive to government
from probing intelligence too nicely. The examination began
with reading all the papers in order; intelligence, letters,
orders, &c. But no kind of check had been held over the
offices from whence the materials came. The clerks had been
left at liberty to omit, abridge, secrete, what they pleased.
No questions were asked, no proofs of authenticity demanded,
no witnesses examined ; and, for fear of discovering our
channels of intelligence, no names were inserted in the ex
tracts. And as the offices had been sufferred to curtail at
their discretion, so they had had as impartial liberty to send

GEORGE THE SECOND. 205
as much useless and perplexing lumber as they could amass. 1757.
The very dates of the letters filled three and twenty sheets of April.
paper ! All this was read over in a hurry, yet was so tiresome,
that before half a day was wasted, the house was almost
empty. Yet three or four hundred men were supposed to
extract a judgment from jso crude and slovenly a process !
Pitt, it was expected, would take advantage of illness and < Mr. Pitt's
not appear. But he refined on that old finesse ; and pre- the inquiries.'
tending to wave the care of a broken constitution, when his
country demanded his service, and as a pledge of his sincerity
in the scrutiny, he came to the discussion in all the studied
apparatus of a theatric valetudinarian. The weather was un
seasonably warm ; yet he was dressed in an old coat and
wastecoat of bever laced with gold : over that, a red surtout,
the right arm hned with fur, and appendent with many black
ribbands, to indicate his inability of drawing it over his right
arm, which hung in a crape sling, but which in the warmth of
speaking he drew out with unlucky activity, and brandished
as usual. On his legs were riding stockings. In short, no
aspiring cardinal ever coughed for the Tiara with more specious
debihty. This mummery was covered over with candour : he
acquiesced in every softening term proposed by the advocates
of the late criminals : his justice shrunk behind apprehensions
of personahty : moderation was the sole virtue of a censor.
The loss of Minorca he avowed he meant to charge on the
whole government — for the whole government could not be
punished. On the second day, indeed, he trespassed a little

206 MEMOIRES OF
1757. upon all these gentle virtues, and threatened to secede, and
April. pubhsh to the world the iniquity of the majority : but recol
lecting how much more usefull to him the majority might be
than the world, he recomposed himself, and was content that
the majority should be responsible for whatever defects the
public might find in the judgment, given by the house.
* inquiries George Townshend proposed several resolutions : the drift
into the loss
of Minorca.' of all was to show that the administration had chosen to be
lieve a threatened invasion on Great Britain, rather than a
design on Minorca. These motions were contested, modified,
balanced, by appendent questions proposed by the courtiers.
Henley, the attorney-general, scrupled not in the very outset
to propose approbation. Pitt said, he should prefer printing
the examination, and leaving the pubhc to judge for them
selves. Hume Campbell pleaded, that such procedure in the
House of Commons would be abdicating their share of govern
ment. The ministerial party endeavoured, though with osten
tatious decency, to load the late admiral ; but in general their
arguments tended to nothing but to prove, that Minorca had
been lost by the common course of office. The questions of the
opposition were corrected, till all sting was taken out of them ;
and still others were coupled to them, that made the votes of
the house seem a meer set of questions and answers, in which
the whole advantage remained to the respondent. These
things passed not without divisions, but as the majority felt
itself a majority, it was not modest ; it stated roundly in
favour of its principals. Yet on the last day of the committee,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 207
the courtiers moving a resolution, that no greater force could 1757.
have been sent to the Mediterranean under Mr. Byng, Triumph April.
itself blushed at so palpable a falshood, and the victorious
majority shrunk to 78, many retiring, and many of the more
independent sort joining the minority. By this might be seen
what Mr. Pitt had in his power, had he exerted himself. The
alarm however was so great, that a conclusive vote of acquittal,
nay, of approbation, which it had been determined should be
proposed by Lord Granby and Lord George Cavendish, was
dropped with evident marks of dismay ; and the late cabinet,
to their great disappointment, were forced to sit down con
tented, without receiving the thanks of the House of Commons
for the loss of Minorca.
The conclusion of the inquiries however, from which at 'No ministry
formed.'
least it had been supposed a new administration would arise,
facilitated nothing. No approbation given pointed out nobody
as deserving power again : nobody being stigmatized, nobody
seemed excluded. Pitt had declined triumph, consequently
had gained none. A field of negotiation was still open, till
three men, who knew, hated, and could not trust one another,
might settle some such plan of agreement, as would still leave
those who should unite, the hopes and the prospect of betray
ing or overpowering their new alhes.
In the meantime, as if to show how long a great nation can
carry on itself without any government, there were no ministers,
even in the midst of a formidable war, but those baby poli
ticians, the Duke of Devonshire and Lord Holderness : the

bill passes.

208 MEMOIRES OF
1757. former with much importance declaring, that he would retain
April. the treasury but till some new system should be compleated :
yet he was delighted with the plaything of power, and wished
his hohdays might be protracted. For the King himself, his
very office seemed annihilated. While the three factions
were caballing, he had not even an option. Whatever ad
ministration should be settled, he was to receive when pre
sented to him. Lord Mansfield held the seals of the ex
chequer pro tempore ; and the House of Commons was so
devoid of a minister, that the office of proposing the ways and
means devolved on Nugent, one of the lords of the treasury.
The militia The House of Lords were employed on the militia. Lord
Hardwicke opposed, but would not divide against it. The
Duke of Bedford and Lord Temple joined to support it ; and
it passed at last by 64 to 48.
While this ridiculous scene was acting at home, our foreign
affairs wore a more respectable aspect. Count Rantzau, the
Danish minister, mentioned to Lady Yarmouth on the part of
France a neutrahty for Hanover. She discreetly refused to
meddle in it. He then in concert with the minister of the
Empress-queen proposed it in form, but the terms * were so
* Vienna, June 4. — Marshal Daun has detached from his army a regiment of
hussars and some light troops, in order to cover the western side of Bohemia from
the incursions of the Prussians. The Empress-queen has communicated to several
of the courts with whom she is in friendship, the conditions that were proposed for
bringing about a neutrality in favour of the electorate of Hanover. According to
the overtures made on this occasion, the King of Great Britain, in quality of elector
of Hanover, would have been considered as a party not concerned in the present

GEORGE THE SECOND.
humiliating, that the King rejected them with dignity and
scorn. In truth, as Elector, his situation deserved compassion.
At this instant, the French had seized in their own name the
county of Bentheim, a purchase his Majesty had made him
self: the rest of his territories they pretended to hold for the
Empress-queen. Under this depression news came of a great
victory obtained by the King of Prussia over the Austrians.
He had planned his measures with such intelligence, that he Great sue-
CCS9 of the
previously ventured to send the King word, that he should King of
make four attacks at once on the quarters of the enemy, and
expected to find them unprepared. He confirmed his designs
by success, carried every attack, possessed himself of their
magazines, and when he dispatched the courier, was within
thirty miles of Prague, hoping to be master of Bohemia by
the 15th of the month, and to be able to detach a body of
twenty-five thousand men to support the Duke of Cumber
land. The Austrian generals disagreed; their foot behaved
war, in consequence of which neither his troops nor those of his allies were to act
against those of the Empress-queen and her allies. He would likewise have
engaged not to assist the King of Prussia either with troops or money. The
passage through that part of his electorate which lies on the left of the Aller was
to have been granted to the troops of her Imperial Majesty and her allies, they
paying for provisions, forage and waggons ; besides which, they were to be allowed
to establish magazines and hospitals in such places as should be assigned them in
the electorate. The town of Hamelen was to be given up as a security, either into
the hands of the Empress or of some of her allies, or to the guarantees of the con
vention, which were proposed to be the Empress of Russia and the King of Den
mark. Besides all this, it was to be stipulated in this convention, that the Hanoverian
troops should be quartered in such places only as should be agreed upon, and their
number not augmented. {Extract from printed journal?)
VOL. II. E E

210 1757.
April.

Various plans of an
admini
stration.

MEMOIRES OF
ill : in general their troops thought the Prussians irre
sistible. The Hero-King, who dared to prophecy, because he left so
little to chance, pursued his blow ; Marshal Brown retiring to
the other side of Prague. The King of Prussia with a strong
army on one side, Marshal Schwerin at the head of another
from behind fell on Brown at once, forced his camp, and took
it with all his tents, baggage, and 250 pieces of cannon.
Prince Charles, Brown, and Lucchesi, were wounded, and shut
up in Prague. The King of Prussia lost little in numbers,
exceedingly in one man, Marshal Schwerin, who making his
attack before his second line was formed, and seeing his first
line repulsed, seized a pair of colours, and fell with them in
his hand. The glory of the day, that thus remained indu
bitably with the King, did not recompense him for the loss of
such a servant.
The primate of Ireland, who suspected that he should have
little part in the Bedford administration, had staid in England
to negotiate between Newcastle and Pitt, hoping that if Fox
was entirely set aside here, the Duke of Bedford might in
pique resign his new empire before he took possession of it ;
at least would not be countenanced in any depression of him
(the primate.) Lord George Sackville laboured in the same
cause ; and about the second week in May an interview was
brought about between Pitt and Lord Hardwicke — as the
latter said, by chance. Pitt insisted that Newcastle should not
interfere in the House of Commons, nor with the province of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 211
secretary of state ; that is, with neither, domestic nor foreign 1757.
affairs, but should confine himself to the treasury ; yet there April.
too Pitt pretended to place George Grenville as chancellor of fo^ingf<an
the exchequer, with Potter and James Grenville. Legge, Oration.'
whom he meaned to remove, having conceived insuperable
aversion to him since harnessed with himself in the trammels of
popularity, he named for the head of the admiralty, with a
peerage. For Lord Temple he demanded the garter and
some post in the cabinet. The terms were lofty; yet con
sidering his interest in the people, and his experience of New
castle's engrossing chicanery, he was justifiable in endeavouring
to clip the wings of so volatile a constitution. The death of
the Duke of Grafton, who had so often transacted Newcastle's
variations, arrived now to facilitate his re-establishment. The
Duke of Devonshire was charmed with the baubles of the
chamberlain's office, and in three days accepted the white stick
and golden key, leaving the treasury open. Yet in a week
more the treaty between Newcastle and Pitt was broken off.
Newcastle had negotiated for support, not for a master. Lord
Hardwicke, notwithstanding his predilection for Pitt, owned
that Fox was the more practicable : and George Grenville,
finding that the coahtion was impeded by what was demanded
for him, desired to wave the exchequer. But Pitt, not apt to
bend to difficulties, rephed to this concession, that it became
Mr. Grenville to make it, but he himself should not relax.
During this parley, the King demanded support from the
two houses. Lord Waldegrave moved the address, and a
t E E 2

212 MEMOIRES OF
1757. milhon was proposed. Lord Temple would have reduced it
May. to 300,000/. Lord Holderness pleaded his Majesty's noble
refusal of a neutrahty for Hanover, and the claim he had to
assistance. Lord Temple would have restricted the money
to English purposes. The Duke of Bedford supported the
motion of the court, reflected on Pitt's aU-sufficience, and the
-Vote of a address passed without a division. In the other house it
million.' . . ,.T
occasioned a good debate, though no division. .Nugent ex
patiated on the King's merit to Britain: that he had said,
" While Europe is in danger, Hanover shall not be safe."
Pitt dropped several artfull sentences, hostile to those that
had been or might be ministers, convertible into excuses for
himself, if he should again become a minister. He said, he
should not oppose the gross sum upon any foot but on the gift
being offerred without an iota of restriction : that indeed he
had predicted his own fate when he acted on the restrictive
plan : that he would support whoever had contributed to set
this government going again : that every body was free to
speak his sentiments on this measure, for no man could tell
who would be minister, who would be trusted with this milhon :
that if it was to be confined to Great Britain and America, he
would consent to give a million: but now this might be dis
pensed to the troops of Hanover, though we had already given
them 200,000/. He had heard of his own all-sufficience ; he
knew our insufficience. This might be the plan of a few
great lords who did not mind tossing in one or two hundred
thousand pounds more : but the people had lost all confidence,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 213
seeing how surreptitiously their money was taken and given. 1757.
He would not ask a question on the victory, the news of which May.
were arrived that morning — he did not wish to relax, because million.'
the King of Prussia was succesfull : — that King, who saw all,
did all, knew all, did every thing, was every thing ! If you
would deal with such great masses, and not take httle things,
and think they would make a great one, there might still be
hopes — don't go on subsidizing httle princes here and there,
and fancy that all together they will make a King of Prussia.
That Prince had never asked a subsidy, at least while he had
had any part in the administration ; yet had raised the spirits of
every body, who hoped for a decent end of the war ; for they
were offensive operations that must bring about a peace. For
the King, he said, though his Majesty did not serve so ab
solutely for nothing as the King of Prussia did, nor were the
coffers of Hanover so exhausted but they might stop a gap till
next winter, yet their Majesties had gone hand in hand to
gether : but he dreaded the war being transferred to Flanders
— he had rather feed it in Germany. If the King's Hanoverian
ministers had been negligent in their preparations, this victory
would not repair their remissness : the Duke's authority must
fetch up their neghgence. He hoped the ministers would not
go to market this summer for German Princes, with whom we
should find ourselves hampered next winter. Had any il
lumination broken in upon that poor piddling plan, which
carried the approbation of a whole nation along with it ? The
King of Prussia with 170,000 men was worth giving one or

214 MEMOIRES OF
1757. two hundred thousand pounds to — but don't let a concilia-
May, bulum of ministers, when they happen to dine together, settle
another subsidiary plan, at once minute and extravagant.
Were he minister, he would have deprecated this measure,
nay, would have said more against it, than he would say in the
House of Commons. He added some hints on his own popu
larity, and on the independence of the country gentlemen who
favoured him. Fox took up some of Pitt's expressions : if a
conciliabulum might not decide our measures, he hoped at
least one man should not dictate them. With regard to in
dependence, he supposed every man there was independent —
but who were these particularly applauded for their inde
pendence ? Were they those, who, two years ago, lay under
the irremissible crime of being Tories ? or, who this year had
the unknown merit of being so? These and other taunts
drew on some warmth. Conway too offended Pitt by vin
dicating the Duke of Devonshire, whom Pitt had seemed to
censure as concerned in what he caUed this surreptitious vote
of credit. Lord George Sackville naturally closed with Pitt,
when Conway seemed to debate with Fox: — Charles Town-
< The million shend and Lord Egmont had another squabble; and at last
voted.' the milhon was voted. In one of the debates at this time
Pitt talked much on Ximenes, who, he afterwards owned to
Fox, was his favorite character.
Another bill, brought in by George Grenville on a good-
natured principle, called out the passions and feelings of men
at this extraordinary crisis. It was the custom in the navv

GEORGE THE SECOND.
not to pay punctually the wages of the seamen, but to keep
back some part, lest the natural profuseness of that wandering May.
people should disperse them as often as they were masters of 'guiaw
a httle sum. Grenville proposed more frequent terms of pay- seamen's °f
ment. The superiors of that class in the House of Commons, wages'
who, according to the nature of mankind, hked that others
should endure what they had endured, and who are apt to
attribute their own proficience to an education under which
they had begun with suffering, had opposed this compassionate
reformation; and indeed the profession were but too well
founded in the advantages resulting from the established hard
ships ! Fox divided against the bill, though without speaking ;
and it was carried in that house bv above 60 to 42. When it
came to the Lords, it was warmly opposed by Lord Win-
chelsea. The Duke of Bedford, too honest to be always
biassed by faction, supported it against his friends, as he had
the Mihtia Bill. Lord Denbigh, a man whose parts were
better than his character, spoke out in very plain terms : he
said, he should be for measures, not men : good measures he
would support, whoever proposed them, be his name William,
Holies, or even Harry — and observing all the bishops with
drawn but two, he supposed, he said, they were gone to dinner
— he hoped they would not return to vote ! The Dukes of
Newcastle and Devonshire, Lord Hardwicke, and many others
had retired, which gave but too fair a handle for that satire on
the bench. The bill was rejected by 23 to 18.
The inter-ministerium (if I may be permitted to use a new

' Duke of
Newcastle's
irresolution.

216 MEMOIRES OF
1757. word on a new occasion ; and truly as there never was such a
May. being as the Duke of Newcastle, one may be allowed to de
scribe him, his actions, and their consequences in a novel
language), had now lasted seven weeks. On the last rupture
of the treaty with Pitt, his grace thought he had determined
to take the sole burthen of the state upon himself. He even
sent his Majesty word that he would be at Kensington on the
24th, and would declare his final resolution — but he put the
King off; he had fixed on nothing — and while he prevented
any other man from having power, his own idea of being
minister was in a manner answered. Lord Lincoln, Lady
Catherine Pelham, and Lord Ashburnham, the private chorus,
that had not the less part in the drama for being cyphers,
earnestly dissuaded him from coming in again without an
union with Leicester-house. To advise him to be governed
by his fears, was governing him. He reverted to another in
terview with Pitt at Lord Royston's, where Lord Hardwicke
was present. Pitt, who the more he foresaw incomphance on
the Duke's part, knew how much more grace he should wear
(if forced to come to public explanation), by stipulating some
advantages to his country, asked if they meaned to send abroad
any part of the new-granted milhon, as Lord Granville and
Fox had declared for doing. Newcastle said, he was not
bound by their declarations — and you, Mr. Pitt, you are not
bound against sending any of it, are you ? Pitt rephed, he
was ; and you, my lord, though you are not bound to send any
more money abroad, are not you inclined to it ? Newcastle

GEORGE THE SECOND. 217
would not explain. Lord Hardwicke proposed to wave this 1757.
point, ad referendum ; knowing how easily they should settle May.
the nation's concerns, if they could agree upon their own. 'RuPtureof
' J or negotiation
They then passed to the article of chanceUor of the exchequer. be^en Pitt
Pitt urged, that he had had it before for one of his friends ; castle"
Newcastle, that it would mark his having no power at the
treasury. Neither would yield. Even on the first lord of
the admiralty Newcastle haggled, pretending the King would
not be brought to dismiss Lord Winchelsea. They parted
in discontent ; though the duke, in ill his messages by the
primate, Lord George Sackville, and others, had promised how
reasonable he would be. This was exactly the manner in
which he had formerly treated Fox, departing from his own
concessions before he had time to ratify them. Lord Hard
wicke behaved more uniformly ; declared he would not take
the seals again ; desired nobody should be displaced for him ;
if the presidentship of the council, or the privy seal should be
vacant, he would gladly accept either: for Lord Anson he
peremptorily insisted on the treasurership of the navy. Pitt
now found his error ; by facilitating Newcastle's escape from
the inquiries, he remained at the mercy of that duke, not the
duke at his.
May 27th. — The Duke of Newcastle did go to Kensington,
and after a long audience, promised to be sole minister, per
mitting Fox to be paymaster, but with no power. Sir Thomas
Robinson was to be secretary of state, Sir George Lee, chan
cellor of the exchequer. Hume Campbell modestly asked the
VOL. II. F F

218 MEMOIRES OF
1757. treasurership of the navy * under this ministry, in addition to
May. his office of lord register — and probably would have had it,
Newcastle's or something equivalent: Newcastle's greatest want now was
dffi^uUie^ °f men wno would take any thing to support him. Lord
Egmont was much sollicited to be of the band ; but he, the
great opposer of the Duke of Cumberland and Fox, would
have stipulated for more power to the latter, and did insist on
a peerage for himself, which would have destroyed his whole
utihty : it was not in the placid House of Lords that New
castle expected to be worried. The Duke of Dorset was to be
displaced (for Lord George Sackville had been designed for
Pitt's secretary at war), Lord Gower was to be master of the
horse, and Lord Hardwicke privy seal. The Duke of New
castle was to retire to Claremont for two or three days, and
take a final inspiration from his oracles.
June 3d. — His Grace returned to Kensington, but still
fluctuating ; and begged to defer declaring his last resolution
till the Tuesday following: this was on the Friday. Pre
posterous as this suspense of government was, it occasioned
no disturbance, scarce a murmur. The people, hating Fox,
neglected by Pitt, and despising Newcastle, waited with
patience to see which of them was to be their master.
The next day was the birthday of the Prince of Wales.
* When he found another designation of that office, he demanded that Lord
Edgcumbe should be removed, and the dutchy of Lancaster given to himself for
life — yet he had said on the inquiries, on which he pretended to date his new
merit, that it would be ungratefull in any man not to defend Newcastle ; in him it
would be infamous.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 219
His Royal Highness was told, that it would have a gracious air 1757.
with the people, if he took upon himself to facilitate measures June.
for his grandfather's ease : that he must command Pitt to give waiMfater-
up the point of George Grenville being chancellor of the ^Je ar-
exchequer. Pitt, who had heard how much he was Joaded by ransemen s
the other factions with the accusation of impracticable haugh
tiness, yielded ; and had a conference at the Prince's drawing-
room with Newcastle and Lord Bute, who acted as mediator.
Newcastle persisted that the King would retain Lord Win-
chelsea ; and to balance the authority that he saw must fall to
Pitt, said to him, " But you will not act with Fox" — Pitt
replied, " My lord, I never said so — but does your Grace say
you would ? When you have said you will, I will consult my
friends." Newcastle, not the most intelligible even when he
was exphcit, took care not to be understood sooner than he
was determined ; and the conversation ended abruptly : — how
ever, on the 7th, though not agreed with Pitt, he went to
Kensington, and declared to the King, that he could not come
in, unless Mr. Pitt's whole plan was accepted. The King re
proached him bitterly with all his shifts and evasions, and
falshoods ; and demanded his assistance for Fox, if he would
not himself undertake the service. He waved any such
promise, and the King dismissed him in wrath.
Fox now took the merit of venturing all to support his
Majesty, and declared he would accept the ministry — but it
seemed almost impossible to form one, if Pitt was not to be
of it, and Newcastle withheld his assistance. It was difficult
f f 2

220 MEMOIRES OF
1757. even to know whom they should place at the head of the
June. treasury. In this distress the King (probably by the sug-
deLradveIp-" gestion of Mr. Fox), sent for Lord Waldegrave, and com-
tord of teS- manded him to accept that high and dangerous post. The
sury-' public was not more astonished at that designation, than the
earl himself. Though no man knew the secrets of government
better, no man knew the manoeuvre of business less. He was
no speaker in parliament, had no interest there, and though
universally beloved and respected where known, was by no
means familiarized to the eyes of the nation. He declined
as long as modestly became him; engaged with spirit, the
moment he felt the abandoned state in which his master and
benefactor stood.
A trifling incident showed the ridiculous light in which
the new estabhshment appeared : it was the 8th of June when
Fox's administration was notified: the House of Commons
was very thin ; Ellis came with an air of mysterious importance,
and desired the house to adjourn to the 13th following. Lord
George Sackville and George Townshend opposed this in joke,
the latter saying that a bill of great consequence relating to
Milbourn-port was to be considered that day; yet if Ellis
would say that a ministry was to be formed during the pro
posed recess, he would consent to it. Elhs would say nothing ;
the house divided, Elhs with ten more against fifty-seven ; and
thus Fox lost a question even before he was minister.
The next day Lord Holderness went to Kensington and
resigned the seals, as a declaration of the Newcastle squadron

GEORGE THE SECOND. 221
against Fox. The King received him with the cool scorn he 1757.
deserved*. Lord Rockingham and many others f notified June.
their intention of resigning upon the same foot. Newcastle of Ne^CaSl?n
took pains to promote these resignations, and told Lord North
umberland that they caught like wildfire. The latter re
phed artfully, " I have great obligations to your Grace, but
should think I repaid them very ill by resigning, as it would
be contributing to make your Grace distress his Majesty."
Indeed, to the King and others, the Duke solemnly forswore
any knowledge of that measure ; and while he enjoined or
inculcated it to his friends, he prohibited it to Lord Lincoln
and the Duke of Leeds, his relations, that he might tell the
King that his own family had stood by his Majesty — a silly
finesse, and blown up even by himself, he bragging to Lord
Waldegrave of the display of his power in that measure, the
very instant after he had denied it with oaths.
One resignation was made on the other hand ; Sir George
Lee quitted the Princess, not brooking the influence of Pitt
with her, and finding himself a cypher at that court, since
Lord Bute had become more than minister there. Sir George
had even once determined to make such a remonstrance to her
on her conduct, as the fathers of the church had formerly
assumed the impertinent familiarity of making to princes, in
ages when insolence was reckoned a primitive virtue.
* It was but seven months since Pitt had insisted on the dismission of Lord
Holderness, who now resigned against Pitt's rival, who had been his own associate
at that time !
¦J- Fox kissing hands was to be the signal.

Fox.'

222 MEMOIRES OF
1757. Horace Walpole saw the precipice on which Fox stood,
June. and wished to save him from it. He saw, too, an opening for
ad\Uice°toS delivering the nation from that disgracefull man (Newcastle),
who had so long perplexed all its councils, and been a prin
cipal cause of its misfortunes. He sounded Lord George Sack
ville, and thinking him not ill-disposed to Fox, and by no
means amicable to Newcastle, he proposed his plan to the
former. It was, that the King should send charte blanche to
Pitt, to place the Duke of Dorset at the head of the treasury,
with Lord George for secretary at war, and, by dissolving the
parliament, dissipate at once Newcastle's influence. Fox,
who feared a popular election, disapproved the latter part, and
did not rehsh Lord George in the war office, too sharp-sighted,
and who, to the desertion of Fox, had added a refusal of
making Calcraft agent to his regiment. However, he per
mitted Walpole to propose all this to Lord George, adding,
that he would take paymaster (which seemed to be his nearest
wish), under Pitt, or would even act under him without an
employment, with the sole privilege reserved of abusing New
castle as much as he pleased. Lord George Sackville owned
he should have hked the plan, but was now too far engaged.
He confessed he had taken his part, as the contest lay between
Leicester-house and the Duke ; and the rather, as he had long
observed that the Duke loved none but men totally detached
from all other connections, and had even been less kind to
Conway since his marriage ; and, as an insurmountable objec
tion, said, that Lord Bute, who was of scrupulous honour,
would now reckon their party bound by these resignations.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 223
Thus this plan failed, though the King, whose aversion was 1757.
diverted from Pitt to Newcastle, would have consented to any June.
thing, that might make the treacheries of the latter fall on his
own head.
Fox's junto met two or three times : Lord Granville would
have infused his jovial intrepidity into them : Bedford wanted
no inspired ardour ; but Fox himself desponded, and Bedford
reproached him with it.
June 11th. — Lord Mansfield went to Kensington with the
exchequer seals, which Fox was to receive. The King asked
the former his opinion ; Lord Mansfield told him fairly it
could not^do for Fox — then, said the King, " Let them make
an administration." Fox and Lord Waldegrave both told him ' Lord Wai-
the impossibihties they found, yet would proceed if his Ma- projected
jesty insisted. He said, " No, he did not desire his friends abandoned— Kind's rc~
should suffer for him : he found he was to be prisoner for the luctant ac-
rest of his life : he hoped, whatever he might be made to do,
his friends would not impute to him, for he should not be a
free agent : he had not thought that he had so many of New
castle's footmen * about him : soon, he supposed, he should
not be able to make a page of the back-stairs. For Hanover,
he must give it up, it cost an hundred and twenty thousand
pounds a month for forage alone : he found he must lose his
* He used this expression again soon after. Making Lord Orford lord lieu
tenant of Norfolk, he told him, he was of a family that had always stood by him ;
hoped lie would too, and not behave like those footmen of the Duke of New
castle.

224 MEMOIRES OF
1757. electoral dominions for an English quarrel ; while at the same
June. time he lost all authority in England !"
Leicester-house took advantage of these difficulties : they
engaged Lord Chesterfield to negotiate between Newcastle
and Pitt. The earl, who had hved for some time retired from
business, undertook the embassy. It seemed a marvellous
office for him, who had long broken with the latter, and had
even in very cutting terms acquainted the world with his
reasons for breaking with the former. But it seems he had
still stronger prejudices to the Duke of Cumberland; he
undertook the employ* with chearfullness and success.
On the 15th, the King wrote a note to Lord Hardwicke,
desiring him, in consideration of the state of affairs both at
home and abroad, to hasten some administration that might not
be changed again in five months. He mentioned his promise
of the pay-office to Fox, and his obhgations to Lord Winchelsea.
Lord Hardwicke promised to wait on his Majesty on the 17th
with some plan ; but the next day desired a day longer.
The new At last, after an interval of above eleven weeks, the
ministry # t
settled. ministry was settled, and kissed hands on the 29th. The
Duke of Newcastle returned to the treasury, with Legge for
his chanceUor of the exchequer. Pitt and Lord Holderness
were secretaries of state. Lord Temple had the privy seal in
the room of Lord Gower, who was made master of the horse,
the Duke of Dorset being set aside, but with a pension of
3000/. a year, added to his wardenship of the cinque ports.
* [Sic in MS.] E.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 225
On Lord George Sackville the King put a flat negative. Fox 1757.
accepted the pay-office, professing great content, and that he June.
should offend neither in thought, word, nor deed. Both New- ni^[ mi"
castle and Pitt acted wisely in permitting him to enjoy this
place: he was tied up from giving them any trouble — and
while serving for interest under Pitt, how much did it exalt
the latter ! Yet the latter, too, took care to deserve his share
of reproach. Adjusting their hst with Lord Hardwicke, Pitt
said, he missed a very respectable name there, which he hoped
would be placed greatly — it was Lord Anson's — and he was
restored to the admiralty — whether with more opprobrium to
himself, who returned to that board with Pitt's set, Abandon
ing his own, who had been disgraced with him ; or to Pitt,
who restored so incapable an object to a trust so wretchedly
executed, I am in doubt to determine. Who did act with
honour and noble spirit, was Lord Winchelsea ; he refused a
pension, disdaining to accept any emolument, when his as
sociates were excluded. At that board he always acted with
capacity, every where with firmness ; and was the only man,
who in all these changes acquired credit both by his rise and
by his fall. Lord Cholmondeley got a pension to make way for
Potter : Lord Thomond had Lord Bateman's white stick, who,
the Duke of Newcastle said arrogantly enough, should not
carry his messages. Tennison was removed with a pension
from the buck-hounds, ceding them to Lord Bateman. Pitt
insisted that Pratt, a favourite lawyer at the bar of the House
of Commons, should be attorney-general. Sir Robert Henley,
VOL. II. g G

226 MEMOIRES OF
1757. who could not decently be disgraced without any reason, was
June. so lucky to find that that reason (and certainly there could be
no other) was sufficient to promote him : he was made lord
keeper. The seals had been offerred to Murray, and to the
master of the rolls, who refused them, and to Willes, who pro
posed to be bribed by a peerage to be at the head of his pro
fession ; but could not obtain it. Henley, however, who saw
it was the mode of the times to be paid by one favour for
receiving another, demanded a teUership of the exchequer for
his son, which was granted, with a pension of 1500/. a year till
it should drop ; and, as if heaping rewards on him would dis
guise his slender pretensions, Lord Hardwicke told him he
must be speaker of the House of Lords too, for Westminster-
hall would never forgive him (Lord Hardwicke) if he sufferred
those offices to be disjoined. Sandys and his son were both
laid aside. Hardwicke himself took no employment; the
seals, which it was plain from his not resuming them, he had
not resigned from meer friendship to Newcastle, were too
great a fatigue ; and no other of the great offices was vacant.
« charge on It was no small mischief flowing from these disgracefull
the public' °
revolutions, the additional charge entailed on the pubhc.
Here were new pensions, of 3000/. a year to Dorset, near as
much to Cholmondeley, 1500/. to Henley, 1200/. to Tennison ;
besides others more secret. Yet all this profusion of grants
and concessions could not satisfy every body. The Town-
shends were furious : George, at any amnesty for Fox ; Charles,
at not being promoted himself. Lord Halifax, who demanded

GEORGE THE SECOND. 227
to be secretary of state for the West Indies, a theatre on 1757.
- —
which Pitt meditated to shine himself, threw Up on being June.
refused — but, having outlived his income, was forced to re-
accept, what, unless he had persisted, he had done more wisely
to retain. The Duke of Bedford was warm against the new
system, but was soon composed. The city too was indignant
at the- re-establishment of Lord Anson — but when the chiefs
are accorded, the mob of a faction are httle regarded. Men
could not but smile observing Pitt return to court, the mo
ment he had been made free of so many cities for quitting it,
exactly as he accepted an employment there before old Marl
borough was scarce cold, who had left him 10,000/. as a reward
for his patriotism .
The King gave the garter to Lord Waldegrave, an almost <LordWaide-
unprecedented favour, as it was given alone — but he deserved garter.,aS
it — and this act of royalty, almost the only flower of the crown
unviolated, gave the King double satisfaction, for he had
before given hopes of it to Lord Holderness, who being, like
Lord Harrington, the meer creature of his Majesty's bounty,
had, like Lord Harrington, been the first to insult his master
with an offensive resignation.
I here close the scene on these court squabbles; and
perhaps have described them too minutely. Passages, in
which one has been conversant, often appear too interesting.
I can only say, that I have preferred offending in this extreme
to the contrary. Nothing is more easy than to pass over what
is too diffuse— but, as many men love these details, their
curiosity would be unsatisfied with abridgments. Probably
g g2

228 MEMOIRES OF
1757. these anecdotes will amuse for some years, till they are lost in
June. the mass of books, and when the affairs of this little spot,
which we call Britain, shall appear of no more importance
than our island itself in a geographic picture. To be read for
a few years is immortahty enough for such a writer as me !
A greater field was now opened. That formidable con
federacy of France, Austria, Russia, and Sweden, seemed de
termined to inclose and crush the King of Prussia. The
Duke of Cumberland, with the forlorn Hanoverian army, was
a shght barrier against such alarming advances. Coloredo,
the Austrian minister at London, was ordered to retire without
taking leave ; and as a farther earnest of their hostile intentions
to England, Ostend and Nieuport were resigned into the hands
of France. Count Daun, the Austrian Fabius, was sent with
King of 45,000 men to raise the siege of Prague. The King of Prussia,
JrniSSlEL Cl6*
feated by too impetuous to await their cautious approach, flew with about
30,000 men to meet them; and finding Daun strongly en
trenched on a hill, thought ardour and his name sufficient to
dislodge them. He returned seven times to the attack after
as many repulses, performed actions of extravagant bravery
himself; and when forced at last by an impregnable situation,
by superior numbers, and by equal valour, to abandon his
purpose, he crowned the splendor of the enterprize by mo
destly confessing how unadvisedly he had undertaken it. He
raised the siege of Prague, and retired to Leutmeritz. Daun
had the good sense to know that his country was not to be
saved by the rules of romance. Rashness might immortalize
a monarch whose crown and life were at stake, and were at the

Daun

GEORGE THE SECOND. 229
same time less objects than his glory: a subject would be 1757.
unpardonable, and of all subjects an Austrian had the least June.
chance of pardon, who should suffer his fame to weigh one
moment against his duty.
The French in the mean time advanced in such formidable
numbers, that the Duke of Cumberland was obhged to retire
and leave Hanover at their mercy. However, they came up
with him at Hastenbecke, and a battle ensued. The duke Battle of
Hasten-
never showed himself so able a general, and though exceed- becke.
ingly inferior in force, disputed his ground till the French,
who had great difficulty to carry up their men to the charge,
despaired of the victory. But fresh squadrons pouring in
upon him, and more approaching, his royal highness, appre
hensive of being inclosed, resigned the success, though not
the glory, of the day to D'Etrees, who was happy to find his
enemy take a step that he was deliberating whether it would
not be prudent for him to take himself. The Hanoverian
statesmen, in the wildness of their despair for the destruction
of their country and of their fortunes, not caring whom they
charged, accused that prince of timidity, whom all England
had all his life accused of rash and German appetite for fight
ing : and the French with no less injustice decried their own
victorious general, till Madame Pompadour and the courtiers
took advantage to supplant him ; and Richelieu was sent to
become those laurels which had been earned by the best officer
in their service.
The King almost sunk under this weight of misfortunes.
That country, which with so much patriotism and so httle

with the mis
fortunes of
Hanover.'

230 MEMOIRES OF
1757. prudence he had made the point in which his whole pohcy
June. centered — that country now felt all the bitterness of desola-
wheimed6'" ^on ' Hanover, which so long had tasted the fehcity of being
conjoined to England, was now ravaged in an Enghsh quarrel.
And unless we will suppose that his Majesty hoped to hire
out his electoral troops to his crown in a contest which he
flattered himself would never be agitated in Germany, one
cannot conceive why with such improvident facility he had
permitted the chancellor and Newcastle to bound into a war
with France : a war undertaken from some provocation, with
no preparation ; and discussed with no more solidity, than the
mob, whom it was made to captivate, could have employed.
The French had aimed at and proceeded to invade our settle
ments : we returned hostihties with as shght a force, as if we
had only sent a herald to denounce war. We then seized
their ships — and did nothing more— yes, we engaged some
German mercenaries, as if the Duke of Newcastle had thought
that the Rhine and the Ohio were the same river. Had we,
hke the French, waved expressions of war, till we had mustered
a mighty force in America, where our superiority is exceed
ingly great ; had we increased our navy before we seized theirs ;
had we at least imitated their arts as well as their invasions ;
we might have dictated in the new world, and lived without
hostihties in the old. No wonder the King was overwhelmed
with the explosion of such calamities and blunders— still he
had deserved compassion ; had he not shown, that, whatever
his reflection suggested, his heart had no generous feelings —
But of this anon.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 231
1757.

The court at Leicester-house was very differently employed

June.

during these serious transactions. Hanover was lost; in
° ' Leicester-
North America our affairs went ill ; England itself was in no h°use.*
flourishing condition, How did the Princess occupy the heir
of all these domains ? She was not Spartan enough to buckle
on his armour with her own hands, and send him to save or
reconquer what he was to govern. The hght of the Gospel has
emancipated mothers from such robust sensations. The Prince
was instructed to commit the care of the temporal concerns of
his subjects to Providence ; and therefore instead of sending
men, arms, ammunition, to the invaded frontiers of our colo
nies * ; with more patriarchal vigilance his Royal Highness sent
them an hundred pounds' worth of Leland's polemic writings
against the Deists. The Princess herself bestowed an annuity
of one hundred pounds on a young Scotch *f- clergyman, who
having been persecuted by the kirk for writing a tragedy
called Douglas, threw himself and his piece on the protection
of the Earl of Bute.
I have said our affairs in North America went ill ; it is
very true : about this time came letters from the Earl of
Loudun, the commander in chief there, who said, he found
the French were twenty-one thousand strong ; he had not so
many, could not attack Louisbourg, should return to Halifax.
* This sarcasm is most unmerited and absurd. The Prince had no means of
sending men, arms, and ammunition, nor was it any part of his duty to do so.
Even if it had been, a regard for religion and literature, and some liberality in re
warding genius, are surely not incompatible with a due attention to public affairs. E.
f John Home.

232 MEMOIRES OF
Admiral Holbourn, one of the sternest condemners of Byng,
wrote at the same time, that he having but seventeen ships,
and the French nineteen, he dared not attack them. These
disappointments gave great disgust. Lord Loudun had been
selected by the Duke and Fox for this command, and our
expectations had been raised high of what he would perform.
Here was another summer lost ! Pitt expressed himself with
great vehemence against the earl — and we naturally have too
lofty ideas of our naval strength to suppose that seventeen of
our ships are not a match for any nineteen others.
Disturbances ^t home there were great disturbances on the new mihtia
on the Mill- °
tia Bill. bill. Lord Hardwicke and the lords, meaning to defeat it,
had clogged it with impracticabilities, absurdities, and hard
ships; particularly, by obliging every poor man to pay ten
pounds, or find a substitute, or go for a soldier ; and yet he
would be liable to serve again at the end of three years. This
was a tax of above three pounds a year. Nor was any fund
provided for the expences of carrying the act into execution.
These objections gave sufficient handle to the disaffected to
decry the system : the Tory gentlemen in particular, appre
hending that the Whigs would acquire influence in their
counties by the articles of cloathing, &c. used their utmost
endeavours to prepossess the country against the bill. They
inculcated into the people a behef that they would be tre
panned to Gibraltar, hke the two Somersetshire regiments that
I formerly mentioned ; and that whoever should give in his
name, would to all intents and purposes become a soldier for
hfe. This misrepresentation had too fatal effect The peasants

GEORGE THE SECOND. 233
became refractory beyond measure ; riots were raised in several 1757.
counties, as Surrey, Kent, Leicester, Hertford, Bedford, Not- June.
tingham, and York shires. The hsts were forced by violence mmtia Bill:
from the magistrates ; Lord Robert Sutton was in danger of
his life at Nottingham ; the Duke of Bedford's house, near
Bedford, was threatened to be demolished, as he had been the
first to advertize for a meeting. The Blues were ordered
down to his defence ; and it was worth observation, that the
standing army was employed to impose upon the people a
constitutional force. His grace threatened to carry the act
into execution with a high hand, but on the day of the meeting
he adjourned it to December, when he knew he should be
in Ireland. The Duke of Dorset was attacked at Knowle, but
saved by a young officer, who saUied out and seized two and
twenty of the rioters. The Speaker himself was insulted at
Guilford, and menaced in his own house at Ember-court, and
could not dispense the insurrection but by promising no farther
steps should be taken till the next session of parliament. But
the greatest indecencies were committed by the family of
Townshend. George, the author of the mihtia, was on very
ill terms with his father, who was as wrong-headed as his son,
and more mad. They wrote abusive pamphlets against one
another ; and the father, attended by a parson and a few low
people, began a mob on the day the meeting for the mihtia
was to be held, and pasted up one of his own hbels on the
doors of four churches nearest to his seat.
Under these difficulties Mr. Pitt began to exert his new-
VOL. II. H H

234 MEMOIRES OF
1757. acquired power, and to give symptoms of more vigorous: go-
june. vernment. France, notwithstanding her imposing airs, and
• France. our fee^e an(j spiritless conduct, had carried no great point
against us. Her finances were in disorder, her marine not
respectable, the flower of her armies transported to Germany.
Their king threw a damp on all operations : melancholic, ap
prehensive of assassination, desirous of resigning his crown,
averse to the war from principles of humanity, perplexed by
factions, and still resigned to the influence of his mistress,
every measure was confirmed by him with reluctance or ob
tained by intrigues ; yet they had imprinted such terrors of
invasion upon us, that Mr. Pitt, concluding their own coasts
might be ill-provided, while they menaced ours, determined
to strike a hardy stroke, that should at once invert the system
of fear, and restore our reputation by carrying the war into
the quarters of the enemy.
There was a young Scot, by name Clarke, ill-favoured in his
person, with a cast in his eyes, of intellects not very sound,
but quick, bold, adventurous. At the siege of Berg-op-zoom
being pursued into a house where the enemies fired at him
through a door, he opened it and told them he was related to
Marshal LowendahL who would reward them for saving him.
Being conducted to the marshal, with the same readiness he
avowed the deceit, urging that he had no other method of
saving his life. Lowendahl was pleased with the man, and
gave him money. Not rising in England to his expectation,
he attempted to advance himself in Ireland under the Duke

GEORGE THE SECOND. 235
of Devonshire; where miscarrying too, he imputed his dis- 17571
appointment to Mr. Conway, who equally incapable of dis- July.
serving any man, or of enduring a false imputation, took Clarke
to task, and convinced him of his error. Clarke, in the interval
of some of these adventures, had rambled into France, and
passing through Rochfort, observed a bank to which there was Expeditionto Rochfort.
no ditchi and one part of the fortification left quite open. The
adjacent country, called Little Holland, was flat, and cut with
dykes, but which he persuaded himself were easily passable.
Four years had passed since he made these remarks, and that
in a time of profound peace. He did not pretend to know
the strength of the garrison, nor what troops were stationed
on the coast since the declaration of war — and unfortunately a
plan of the place procured by the late Lord Albemarle from the
King's closet, since Clarke's survey, differed from his descrip
tion. Yet communicating these observations to Mr. Pitt, the
latter was captivated with the idea. The man and the project
struck his notions of performing some action of eclat, that
might revive our sinking affairs, and throw a lustre on the
dawn of his own administration. Rochfort lies ten miles
from the sea : of late years we had dealt exceeding scantily in
intelligence. No measures were, possibly could not in time
be, taken to obtain better information of the dispositions in
and near the place. Pitt indeed was a minister to execute
daringly ; there wanted some men of deeper cast to deliberate
wisely. He would not lose time on taking advice ; the secret
might evaporate ; and its fairest chance for success lay in the
h h 2

236 MEMOIRES OF
1757. improbabihty that the French should suspect an attempt on
July. one of the most important and strongest towns in France.
t^Rochforr ^ut ^ not tnat very improbabihty intimate, that they, so
provident about their frontier towns, could not have neglected
Rochfort, one of their principal naval magazines ? Objections
to a genius are but spurs. The cabinet council was caUed :
Pitt proposed his conception of surprizing Rochfort, and of
burning the ships that lay in the river leading to it. The
procrastinators in the cabinet had but too lately felt his fire to
oppose what they saw was a favorite plan. It was deter
mined to be executed forthwith ; and the execution offerred
to Lord George SackviUe, who, too sagacious not to feel
the impracticability, excused himself, pleading the averse-
ness of the Duke to him, and therefore that he should not be
supported. The excuse was flimzy ; the persons who offered
him the command, would have supported him the more for
his disfavour with the Duke. Lord George was still more
blameable in talking of the design to several persons after he
had refused to undertake it : and yet though a large number
were acquainted with it, the secret was kept from the pubhc
with uncommon fidelity.
Sir John Mordaunt and General Conway, then encamped
in Dorsetshire, were summoned to town, and acquainted by
the cabinet-council with the service on which they were to be
sent : they should take ten old battalions, a strong fleet should
be ready in a fortnight to convoy them ; they were to attempt
Rochfort, or any other place on the coast to which they should

GEORGE THE SECOND. 237
find an opening. The generals felt the difficulty of the com- 1757.
mission, saw the croud of impediments that must arise, and July.
the ignorance of those that foresaw none. Conway, as he told t^Rochforr
me himself, was satisfied he had given such indisputable proofs
of his courage, that it could not be imputed to fear, if he dis
covered repugnance to the service — whatever might be im
puted to him, he was determined honestly to speak his opinion.
He asked if they would venture ten of our best battalions on
so rash a hazard ? If they should perish, would it not draw
the French hither, where we had few other veteran troops ?
He asked, on being told the ramparts were to be scaled, if
their height was known ? Ligonier, who was present, replied,
No, but they never were above twenty-five feet ; and they
should have ladders high enough. Pitt said, in case they
failed, they might go to Bourdeaux. Lord Anson informed
him how far that city lay up the river — and it was information,
for he knew not. Was it probable, Conway asked, that a place
of that high importance should be neglected ? and he showed
them the contradictions in their own reasoning, for they pre
tended that it was a measure calculated to disembarrass the
Duke, by drawing off the troops of France to its own coast,
and yet all the hope of the enterprize depended on the French
being taken unprepared. Pitt was too sanguine to desist for
a httle confutation: the instructions were drawn, the trans
ports prepared. At first, Conway had been designed to com
mand alone, but the King said he was too young, and insisted
on joining Mordaunt with him. Mordaunt had been re-

238 JMEMOIRES OF
1757. markable for alertness and bravery, but was much broken both
' Expedition m spirit and constitution; and fallen into a nervous disorder,
to Rochfort. wj1icj1 jja(j ma(je him entreat last year not to be sent to
America, lest it should affect his head, and bring on disorders
too familiar to his family. But though he and Conway had
ill conceit of the service in question, they had both too much
honour to dechne it. When their representations failed, all
they could was to demand specific orders ; and not obtaining
them, they drew up queries, which if the ministry could not
answer, the generals hoped they should be justified in not per
forming what they foresaw was impracticable. But neither in
this did they receive satisfaction.
September. The measure was settled in July; but it was the 8th of
September before the fleet sailed. The French, though they
did not learn the specific spot of destination, had ample time
for preparation; and having a chain of garrisons along the
coast, and being never totally destitute of supernumerary
troops, hoped to be able to draw together a sufficient body
wherever the storm should fall. As the event occasioned
much discourse, I shall be excusable for detailing it; yet I
shall do it with brevity; and, as much proceeded from the
personal characters of the commanders, I shall describe them
shortly, and with the more satisfaction, as their faults flowed
from no want of courage — on the contrary, they possessed
amongst them most of the various shades of that qualification.
Mordaunt, as I have said, had a sort of alacrity in daring, but
from ill health was grown more indifferent to it. He affected

GEORGE THE SECOND. 239
not Mr. Pitt, and from' not loving the- projector, was more 1757.
careless than he should have been of the success of the project, September.
presuming, unfortunately for himself, that if it should appear jS"™^
impracticable, the original mover would bear the blame. Conway, Re0thfort!°
secure of his own intrepidity, and of no ostentation, could not
help foreseeing that from the superiority of his talents to those
of Mordaunt, the good conduct of the expedition would be
expected from him. The more answerable he thought him
self, the more he guarded against objections. Cold in his
deportment, and with a dignity of soul that kept him too
much above familiarity, he missed that affection from his
brother officers, which his unsullied virtues and humanity
deserved; for he wanted the extrinsic of merit. Added to
these little failings, he had a natural indecision in his temper,
weighing with too much minuteness and too much fluctuation
whatever depended on his own judgment. CornwaUis was a
man of a very different complexion : as cool as Conway, and as
brave, he was indifferent to every thing but to being in the
right. He held fame cheap, and smiled at reproach. General
Howard was one of those sort of characters who are only to be
distinguished by having no peculiarity of character. Under
these was Wolfe, a young officer who had contracted reputation
from his intelligence of discipline, and from the perfection to
which he had brought his own regiment. The world could
not expect more from him than he thought himself capable of
performing. He looked on danger as the favorable moment
that would call forth his talents. Sir Edward Hawke com-

240 MEMOIRES OF
1757. manded the fleet, a man of steady courage, of fair appearance,
September, and who even did not want a plausible kind of sense ; but he
was really weak, and childishly abandoned to the guidance of
a Scotch secretary. The next was Knowies, a vain man, of
more parade than real bravery. Howe, brother of the lord of
that name, was the third on the naval hst. He was undaunted
as a rock, and as silent ; the characteristics of his whole race.
He and Wolfe soon contracted a friendship like the union of
a cannon and gunpowder.
'isieofAix: September 20th. — The fleet appeared off the isle of Ole-
ron; but it was the 23d before they got in. Knowies, the
vice-admiral, with his division was ordered to attack the little
isle of Aix. Howe, who led this detachment, sailed up with a
steady magnanimity without firing till within pistol-shot of
the fort. Greaves followed, and Keppel pressed forward to
get in between them: Knowies kept a httle more distant.
Howe began a dreadfull fire, and in less than two hours the
garrison surrendered. Conway pressed them to proceed im
mediately on some farther enterprize, and proposed directly to
go and consult Sir Edward Hawke, who lay more out at sea.
Knowies rephed, that he was so fatigued that he could not go
till next morning ; when he reposed himself till ten. When
Conway got him to Sir Edward Hawke's ship, they found Sir
Edward had sent Broderick with their only pilot to see where
they could land — and these men did not return till noon.
Mordaunt appeared incapable of forming any opinion, and said
he was ready to take any officer's advice. In this dilemma

GEORGE THE SECOND. 241
they called a council of war. In their deliberation it appeared, 1757.
that Clarke, and Thierri, a French pilot, had not seen Roch- September.
fort in three years and half: it was longer since the latter was ' Council of
there : that the nature of the road of Basques, the country,
the state of the troops and garrison, were entirely unknown to
them : that the expedition had been projected on the sole
footing of a surprize, a view now entirely vanished, for our
troops had lain near two months in the Isle of Wight, and
many letters and neutral vessels had been intercepted, which
spoke the alarm spread along the coast : that no man of war
could he within two miles of the landing to assist that or
secure a retreat ; and that if the wind came to the west, as
was usual at that season, all communication with the fleet
would be cut off; a point recommended to them to guard
against by the express instructions of Marshal Ligonier:
that there were sand-hills on the shore equivalent to an en
trenchment, from behind which a small body of men might
prevent a descent of 2000 men, the most the boats could
contain at a time; and that even more troops than were
sufficient for that purpose had been seen by the captains who
went to sound and reconnoitre the coast : and what was even
more discouraging than all these impediments, the chief en
gineer declared that they had not brought artillery sufficient
for a regular attack. As to Rochfort, many difficulties were
foreseen from the state of the place; and considering how
long the fleet had lain off the coast, it was highly probable
that not only the approach was guarded in a manner to have
vol. 11. 1 1

242 MEMOIRES OF
1757. our troops cut to pieces, as they must have landed in small
September, divisions ; but that a strong garrison must have been thrown
' Council of mto tke place, if not provided with one before. Bonville, a
French volunteer, declared there were sluices with which they
could flow the place all round ; and he and the pilot of the
Neptune had seen the ditch full of water. The dock-men
were numerous, and five ships lay in the river, whose crews
amounted to near 3000 men; besides the mihtia of the
country. We should have been two days marching to the
place, and could have carried up to it but 7400 men. The
nights were as hght as day ; and a letter found in a priest's
house at Aix, dated from Rochfort on the 18th, spoke ex
pressly of the precautions the governor had taken.
No reasonable man could hope to surmount aU these dif
ficulties. Those, who had carried the same opinion from
home with them, were not likely to find the objections weaker
when mustered together on the spot. Both land and sea con
curred in voting the surprizal of Rochfort impracticable  and
then would have returned to England — but Conway, who the
evening before had proposed to make themselves masters of
Fouras, a httle fort on the shore, where, when once esta
blished, they might examine what farther damage could be
done to the enemy, persuaded the council that it was necessary
to do something before they retired. To that they all agreed,
except CornwaUis, who had seen no attainable object, or none
worth attaining, from the beginning to the end of the plan.
Yet, that he might not stand single in a vote for retreating,

GEORGE THE SECOND. 243
he was induced to acquiesce : — however, Sir Edward Hawke's 1757.
secretary, who took the minutes of the deliberation, inserted September.
Cornwallis's real opinion into their votes, and without reading
them to the council, sent them to the English Admiralty, by
whom they were shown to the King ; and what Cornwallis's
associates had advised him to depart from, lest it might turn
to his prejudice, was, after their return, construed into the
only sensible opinion. Conway renewed his proposal of an ' Conway
proposes an
attack on Fouras, as, when once entrenched there, they might attack on
Fouras.'
with more preparation march to Rochfort ; or at least from
thence hope to burn the five ships and the magazines on the
Charente. Nobody approved the scheme. In these dis
cussions three or four days were wasted. Conway perpetually
pressed for some action — at last Mordaunt said carelessly,
" Aye, let us go stretch our legs on the Isle of Oleron." Con
way said, a feigned diversion towards the Isle of Rhee would
be more adviseable ; it would draw the French troops, who
by this time must be alarmed, to that side ; and then some
surprize might be practicable. To this the rest would not
agree. Conway then offerred to make a real attack on the
Isle of Oleron : they disputed on it till two in the morning ;
and though the first proposal had come from the others, he
could not obtain their acquiescence. They wasted time even
in dining ; Sir Edward Hawke's table lasted till late in the
evening. Conway's * importunity at last prevailed for an
* He himself took a cutter and twenty marines and went to survey the coast.
A battery fired on them ; and one of the rowers said, " Sir, we are in great
II 2

244 MEMOIRES OF
1757. attack on Fouras ; and all the generals, to show that want of
September, spirit had not operated in their councils, resolved to be pre-
Fouras faUs.' sent- The first division embarked, but being moonhght, and
the nights clear, and the wind turning against them, Howe
himself told them it was not safe at that time ; and Wolfe
pronounced it would be bloody work. They were ordered
back from their boats. Yet Conway persisting for an attempt
on Fouras, Mordaunt offered to undertake it, if Conway
would take the advice solely on himself. Conway, eager for
the danger, was averse to being the author of it. Mordaunt
then artfully desired him to relinquish proposing it. Neither
to that would he yield. Mordaunt sollicited him with strange
earnestness, either to abandon the project, or to undertake it
as his own; Mordaunt offering to share the danger of the
execution, not of the opinion. Conway at last said, if Mor-
danger." He replied cooly, " Pho, they can't hurt us ;" and turning to young
Fitzroy * (from whom I received this relation), he said, " Now if they would not
say I was boyish, I would land with these twenty marines, to show them we can."
I have already mentioned his gallant behaviour at Fontenoy, at Laffelt, and at
Culloden, at the first of which battles he was taken prisoner ; but I cannot help
repeating an unsuspected, because disinterested testimonial in his favour. When
this miscarriage at Rochfort made so much noise, and the courage of the generals was
questioned, Lord Chesterfield said to Mr. Fox these words; "lam sure Conway
is brave ; I remember when I was praising George Stanhope (a young man of re
markable spirit, brother of Earl Stanhope), he replied, Faith, my lord, I believe I
have as much courage as other people ; indeed, I don't pretend to be like Harry
Conway, who walks up to the mouth of a cannon with as much coolness and grace,
as if he was going to dance a minuet."
* Charles, afterwards Lord Southampton.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 245
daunt would call Wolfe and any other man, and they would 1757.
advise him to advise the attack, he would ; or if they advised September.
him to desist from proposing it, he would — but either Mor
daunt dechned — in truth, it was a contest to be pitied rather
than blamed : both saw the rashness of the project, to which
they were wilhng to sacrifice themselves and their soldiers.
Mordaunt, from esteem of Conway's abilities, hoped to be
excused if he executed what the latter advised — and the latter
was too happy in not being commanding officer, to take that
charge on himself in a hopeless bravado. Conway then pro
posed to submit to the same alternative from the opinions of
CornwaUis and Howard; to which the general acquiesced;
and they, as he foresaw, concurring with him, Conway sub
mitted, but desired they would observe, he acquiesced against
his opinion — and it was determined to return, Sir Edward
Hawke having often pressed the generals to come to some
resolution, the bad season approaching so near that he could
not venture to keep the great ships much longer at sea.
Wolfe and Howe had born the dilatoriness of the chief com
manders with indignation ; yet seeing the minute lost, made October.
no objection to a retreat ; and the fleet arrived at Portsmouth fan^edltlon
October 3d — in the meantime many important events had
happened. In the East Indies, the fleet, under Admiral Watson, Affairs in the
' East Indies.
retrieved the damages inflicted on our settlements by a new
nabob, of which we had received notice in the preceding
June. That viceroy had seized Cossimbuzar and Calcutta —

246 MEMOIRES OF
1757. the cruelties exercised on the factory in the latter place, where
September. 170 persons were crammed into a dungeon, and stifled in the
most shocking torments of heat, will not bear to be described
to a good-natured reader. Watson was seconded by Captain
Clive, one of those extraordinary men, whose great soul broke
out under all the disadvantages of an ugly and contemptible
person.
victory of In the north of Germany affairs had taken a favorable
thePrussians over the turn for the King of Prussia. Lehwald, one of his generals,
Russians. defeated a mighty army of Russians, who, in the most bar
barian style, were pouring into Prussia. The Germans, what
ever they pretended, were not cheaply conquerors. But the
consequences of the battle were decisive; the Muscovites
disappeared from the campaign for the rest of the summer.
The Duke of Cumberland, after the battle of Hastenbecke,
had retired with his army towards Stade, and was followed by
the French. The dutchies of Bremen and Verden were at the
eve of falling into their hands ; and the King expected that
they would be given back to Sweden. The Hanoverian mi
nistry did not doubt but the Duke's high spirit would venture
the army being cut to pieces rather than surrender them pri
soners ; and they complained of the scanty assistance afforded
by England. Lady Yarmouth even said to Lord Hertford,
" Que peut on faire, my lord! le ministere Anglois ne nous
a voulu donner que quelque tonneaux de farine." The truth
was, the King, to avoid expence, had neglected to raise the
militia of Hanover, though they had implored it, and might

GEORGE THE SECOND. 247
have given a decisive turn to the battle in his favour. Both 1757.
the sovereign and his German council were determined at all September.
events to save the dutchies and the troops, and the most
positive orders were dispatched to the Duke in consequence
of those resolutions. Yet not trusting to what conditions his Convention
of Closter
son, however obedient, might obtain, his Majesty prevailed on Seven.
his son-in-law, the King of Denmark, to interpose his good
offices: and accordingly, on the 7th of September, Count
Lynar, governor of Oldenburgh, arrived in the Duke's camp as
mediator, and a passport being demanded for him from Mar
shal Richelieu, the latter sent it with an escort of an hundred
horse; and by the next day a convention was obtained and
signed, by which Stade and the district round it was left to
the Hanoverians, with permission to the rest of those troops
to repass the Elbe, observing a strict neutrahty. The troops
of Hesse, Brunswic, Saxe-gotha, &c. in the King's pay, were to
retire to their several countries.
When the news of this suspension of arms arrived at Ken
sington, it occasioned the greatest surprize, the greatest clamour
— for even the monarch acted surprize ! The foreign ministers
acquainted those of England that it was concluded, or cer
tainly would be. The English with great truth disavowed all
knowledge, and protested entire disbelief of it. They not
only had not been entrusted with the secret, but saw their
master affect equal indignation ; and encouraged by that dis
simulation, ventured to insist on his permitting them to write
to foreign courts that he disavowed the transaction. Even

Seven.

248 MEMOIRES OF
1757. this he granted : he went farther ; he told Dabreu, the Spanish
September, minister, that he would show him the rough draught of a
Iv^wf the letter which he had prepared to send to his son with a positive
ofcioster11 command to fight. It was true, he had written such a letter :
it is no less true that he never sent it.
As the dictator of the convention disavowed it, as the
father disclaimed the son, it was natural for those who suffered
by the act, and for those who hated the actor, to break out
against both. The King of Prussia said we had undone him,
without mending our own situation. The Princess of Wales,
Lord Hardwicke, and Legge, threw the strongest reflections
on the Duke ; the last indeed with appearance of reason,
being extremely hampered, as chancellor of the exchequer, by
this transaction. How should he be able, he said, next winter
to propose the Hessian troops, whose hands were now tied up
from assisting us ? or must he wave the subsidy to them, when
they were starving in our cause ? The others went farther ;
they called his Royal Highness's generalship in question ; he
was brave indeed, but that was all; he had wasted a good
army ; had beaten the French, and did not know it. But the
most indecent in personal invectives was Baron Munchausen,
the Hanoverian minister in England — a man, reckoned one of
their ablest heads, and who had hitherto always comported
himself with civihty and inoffensively. He went so far as to
call for a council to examine the Duke's behaviour ; and Lord
Hardwicke, to extend the insult, or to divide it amongst many,
desired the whole cabinet council, not merely the junto, might

GEORGE THE SECOND. 249
meet ; the affair was too serious. Thither Munchausen brought 1757.
copies of his own letters to the Duke, to prove that his Royal September.
Highness had acted without authority. Mr. Pitt observed,
that they proved the direct contrary : and he, who certainly
had never managed the Duke, nor stood on any good terms
with him, acted a part nobly honest : when the King told him
that he had given his son no orders for this treaty, Pitt rephed
with firmness, " But full powers, Sir, very full powers." Yet
this sincerity in a foe could infuse none into a father : two
messengers were dispatched to recall the Duke ; and, October October.
12th, he arrived at Kensington. It was in the evening, and return.
he retired to his own apartment, where Mr. Fox and his
servants were attending. He thanked Mr. Fox for being
there, and said, " You see me well both in body and mind :
I have written orders in my pocket for every thing I did."
(He afterwards said, his orders had been so strong, that he
had not expected to obtain such good conditions). He then
dismissed Fox, saying, he would send for him again. (The
shortness of this interview, he afterwards told Mr. Fox, had
proceeded from his determination of seeing nobody alone who
could be supposed to advise him, till he had taken the step he
meditated). At nine, the hour the King punctually goes to
play in the apartment of Princess Emily, the Duke went to
her. The King, who was there, and had ordered the Princess
not to leave them alone, received him with extreme coldness ;
and when his Royal Highness went afterwards into the other
room where the King was at cards, his Majesty said aloud,
VOL. II. K K

250 1757.
October.
' Duke's re
ception at
court, and
conduct
thereupon.'

MEMODtES OF
" Here is my son, who has ruined me and disgraced himself."
 And, unless this was speaking to him, spoke not a word.
At eleven, when the cafds were over, the Duke went down to
Lady Yarmouth, and told her, the king had left him but one
favour to ask, which he was come to solhcit by her inter
position, as he wished to make it as little disagreeable to the
King as possible — it was to desire leave to resign every thing,
the post of captain-general, and his regiment. The countess
was in great concern at the request, and said, " Pray, Sir, don't
determine this at once." He replied, " He begged her par
don ; he was not come for advice — he had had time to think
— and was determined." " Then, Sir," said she, " I have
nothing left, but to obey." The King received the notifica
tion with as much real agitation, as he had counterfeited
before. The next morning he ordered the cabinet council to
wait on the Duke, and pay their respects to him. Lord Hol
derness went in first, and kissed his hand, but was not spoken
to. Pitt followed ; and of him his Royal Highness took most
notice, speaking to him at different reprisals with kindness, to
mark his satisfaction with Pitt's behaviour. He said a httle
to the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Granville, and Lord Anson.
Lord Hardwicke was out of town. The Duke of Devonshire
was sent to the Duke in private to persuade him not to resign.
He was inflexible. Devonshire was sent again to ask from the
King as a favour that he would at least retain his regiment ;
he need not do the duty ; but his Majesty should not think
himself safe in any other hands — yet even this counterfeit

GEORGE THE SECOND. 251
confidence was an aggravation of the cruelty — the duke learned 1757.
that this solhcitude about the regiment proceeded solely from October.
the King's averseness to give it to Prince Edward, as would be ceptionSate
expected — and he was not softened by such duplicity. He conduct1
even determined never to be employed under his father again ; ereuPon
telling Fox, that no collusion about the treaty should be im
puted to him, by his resuming his command. To Conway he
said, he could not, did not hope that the King would do what
was necessary to justify him ; it was therefore necessary to do
all he could to justify himself. The next day the Duke visited
the Princess, and beginning to mention his resolution of resign
ing, she rung the bell, and asked him if he would not see the
children. When the King found his son's resentment inflexible, he
thought of nothing but making it as httle uncomfortable to
himself as possible : provided the interior face of the palace
was not discomposed, he cared little about justifying himself,
or making any reparation to his son ; who, he thought, might
as easily forget in the ceremonies of the drawing-room what
he liad sufferred, as his Majesty drowned all sensibility
in the parade of that narrow sphere. He insisted that the
Duke should appear as usual at court, and come to him in a
morning. The Duke acquiesced, saying, he should always
show the utmost respect to the King as his father, but never
could serve him more. When these essential forms were ad
justed, the Duke sent for Munchausen, and said, " Mr. Privy-
counsellor, I hear the King has sent for opinions of Hanoverian
k k 2

252 1757.
October.

The Duke
resigns.

MEMOIRES OF
generals on my conduct ; here are the opinions of the Hessian
generals and of the Duke of Wolfenbuttle. As the King has
ordered the former to be deposited among the archives of
Hanover, I hope he will do me the justice to let these be
registered with them. Take them and bring them back to me
to-morrow. Munchausen returned with them the next day,
and with a message from the King that his Majesty had been
better informed, and thought better of his royal highness than
he had done ; and then Munchausen falling prostrate to kiss
the lappet of his coat, the Duke with dignity and anger
checked him, and said, " Mr. Privy-councellor, confine your
self to that office ; and take care what you say, even though
the words you repeat should be my father's ; I have all possible
deference for him, but I know how to punish any body else
that presumes to speak improperly of me."
On the 15 th the Duke resigned all his commands.
I have dwelt minutely on the circumstances of this history,
having learned it from the best authorities, and being sure
that few transactions deserve more to be remembered. A
young prince, warm, greedy of military glory, yet resigning all
his passions to the interested dictates of a father's pleasure,
and then loaded with the imputation of having acted basely
without authority; hurt with unmerited disgrace, yet never
breaking out into the least unguarded expression ; preserving
dignity under oppression, and the utmost tenderness of duty
under the utmost dehcacy of honour — this is an uncommon
picture — for the sake of human nature, I hope the conduct of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 253
the father is uncommon too ! When the Duke could tear him- 1757.
self from his favorite passion, the army, one may judge how October.
sharply he must have been wounded. When afterwards the
King, perfidiously enough, broke that famous convention, man
kind were so equitable as to impute it to the same unworthy
politics, not to the disapprobation he had pretended to feel on
its being made. In a former part of this history I have said
with regard to his eldest, that the King might have been an
honest man, if he had never hated his father, or had ever loved
his son — what double force has this truth, when it is. again
apphed to him on his treachery to the best son that ever hved !
Considering with what freedom I have spoken of the Duke's
faults in other parts of this work, I may be believed in the just
praise bestowed on him here.
We must now turn our eyes to Ireland, which Mr. Conway Affairs of
had left in a state of perfect tranquillity. The imprudence of
the new governors opened the wounds afresh. The Duke of
Bedford set out for that kingdom on the 20th of September,
determined, as he thought, to observe a strict neutrality
between the factions, and rigid uprightness in the conduct of
his administration. He began with exacting strict attendance
on their posts from persons in employment, and with refusing
leave of absence to officers and chaplains of regiments; and
considering too how his new dominions had been loaded of
late years to smooth the difficulties of the Enghsh government,
his Grace commenced his reign with strong declamations
against Irish pensions. He had two difficulties to encounter

Ireland.

254 MEMOIRES OF
1757. before these fair views could be carried into execution: his
October, own court were far from being so disinterested as their master,
and his new subjects were as httle desirous of a reign of virtue.
Nor had the duke himself the art of reconciling them to it
by his manner, which was shy, untractable, ungracious, un
generous. The duchess pleased universally ; she had all her
life been practicing the part of a queen ; dignity and dissimula
tion were natural to her. The Irish were charmed with a
woman who seemed to depart from her state from mere affa
bility. But the person who influenced them both was the secre
tary Rigby. He had ingratiated himself with the duchess, and
had acquired an absolute ascendant over her husband, who,
with all his impetuosity, was governed by his favorite in a style
that approached to domineering.
Rigby had an advantageous and manly person, recom
mended by a spirited jollity that was very pleasing, though
sometimes roughened into brutality : of most insinuating good
breeding when he wished to be agreeable. His passions were
turbulent and overbearing ; his courage bold and fond of exert
ing itself. His parts strong and quick, but totally uncultivated ;
and so much had he trusted to unaffected common sense, that
he could never afterwards acquire the necessary temperament
of art in his public speaking. He had been a pupil of Win-
nington, and owed the chief errors of his hfe to that man's
maxims, perniciously witty. Winnington had unluckily hved
when all virtue had been set to notorious sale, and in ridicule
of false pretences had affected an honesty in avowing whatever

Ireland.'

GEORGE THE SECOND. 255
was dishonorable. Bigby, whose heart was naturally good, 1757.
grew to think it sensible to laugh at the shackles of morality; October.
and hating early encumbered his fortune by gaming, he found
his patron's maxims but too well adapted to retrieve his de
sperate fortunes. He placed his honour in steady addiction
to whatever faction he was united with ; and from the gaiety
of his temper having indulged himself in profuse drinking (for
in private few men were more temperate) he was often hurried
beyond the bounds of that interest which he meant should
govern all his actions, and which his generous extravagance for
ever combated. In short, he was a man, who was seldom loved
or hated with moderation ; yet he himself, though a violent
opponent, was never a bitter enemy. His amiable quahties
were all natural ; his faults acquired, or fatally hnked to him
by the chain of some other faihngs.
In a court of such a complexion as I have described, no
wonder the reign of virtue was violated in the outset. The
Queen-dowager of Prussia, the King's sister, was lately dead :
during the parsimonious barbarity of her husband, a pension
of 800/. a year on Ireland had been privately transmitted to
her ; and she retained it to her death. The Duke of Bedford
was persuaded to ask this for the duchess's sister, Lady Betty
Waldegrave, and obtained it. His impartiahty was as ill ob
served as his maxims of frugahty. Rigby, sacrificing to what
he concluded Mr. Fox's inclination, hurried the lord heutenant
into flagrant partiahty to Lord Kildare. The primate was
neglected ; but knew how to make himself of consequence.

256 MEMOIRES OF
1757. The prostitution of his opponents had raised his character,
October, and he omitted no address to conciliate popularity. Malone
Ireland, j^d at length accepted the office of chanceUor of the ex
chequer ; and being the last renegade, was the most obnoxious.
Being regarded as minister in the House of Commons, the
storm was intended to fall on him, for Rigby was not known
as a man of business ; and till Lord George Sackville affected
the active part of power, and after him Mr. Conway, the lord
lieutenant's secretary had been no character in parliament.
The factions existing were, the Primate's, Lord Kildare's, those
attached to the Speaker Ponsonby, and who in truth were a
defection from Kildare ; and a flying squadron of patriots ; the
smallest body of the four, and composed, as is usual, of the
discontented, that is, of those who had been too insignificant
to be bought off, or whose demands had been too high; and
of a few well-meaning men. Lord Kildare had still the
greatest number of dependents, though inferior to those of
the Primate and Ponsonby, if united ; a point * now eagerly
pursued by the archbishop, while at the same time he under
hand inflamed the patriots against the castle: and had suf
ficient success. The session no sooner opened, than French,
a lawyer, proposed a trifling amendment to the address, but
with indirect reflections on Malone, whom they endeavoured
to make rise, and take the minister upon him ; but he avoided
* Lord George Sackville, who was privy to this negotiation, and who hated
the Speaker on former injuries, said, " Ponsonby is a dirty fellow; we have
nothing to do but rub his nose against a Devonshire.'"

GEORGE THE SECOND. 257
it, and sufferred the amendment. The next day one Upton, 1757.
a warm and obstinate patriot, formerly a friend of Malone, October.
moved for the hst of pensions, on which Lady Betty Walde^ 'Ireland
grave's name must have appeared. Malone at last rose, and
said, the motion was premature, for the hst would be given
in with the estimates. Upton, not being content with this
answer, Malone moved to adjourn, the other threatening to
renew his motion at their next meeting. And when he did
repeat it, it was rejected but by a majority of five; an ad
vantage so slender, that the Castle did not venture to stem
a torrent of violent resolutions, which the house passed a
few days afterwards against pensions, absentees, and other
grievances, of which they demanded redress, desiring the lord
lieutenant to transmit them to his Majesty in their very words.
This heat was led by one Perry, a bold, troublesome, and cor
rupt lawyer, who had been vexatious to Mr. Conway, and
between whom and Rigby there soon passed such warm alter
cations, that they were with difficulty prevented from going
greater lengths. The duke, in answer to their resolutions,
told them, they were couched in such extraordinary terms, and
aimed so high, that he should take time to consider whether
he would transmit them to England ; and this answer Rigby
moved to have entered in the journals, but desisted on finding
great opposition. Both the duke and he acted with incredible
intemperance ; and intending to establish their authority by
the weight of power, his grace sent to England for assist
ance, and demanded to be invested with a latitude of rewards
VOL. II. L L

258 MEMOIRES OF
1757. and punishments. The absentees were sent over to strengthen
October, his party in the House of Commons ; but the Enghsh council
' Ireland; meeting upon his other demand, and not being composed of
many of his friends, Mr. Pitt wrote him a civil excuse, with
a refusal of full powers ; if his grace would name whom he
wished to displace or prefer, he should be supported : on the
whole, he* was advised to compose the heats that had arisen.
< state of The primate no doubt had early inteUigence from Lord
parties.' '
George of the little attention paid to the lord heutenant's
remonstrance ; but being disposed to govern the Castle rather
than overturn them, he retired to his country seat at Leixlip,
declaring his disapprobation of the violence of the commons ;
and the next day sent two of his creatures to the duke, to
disavow any connections with the Speaker, and to profess his
aversion to disturbing the government : in elections only
against Lord Kildare and Malone he proposed to interfere.
On the other hand, Lord Kildare protested that if the primate
was left of the regency, he would not be of it. A menace most
indifferent to the prelate, who could forgive any thing but
exclusion from power, and who on his former disgrace had
much resented the part his brother had acted in consenting
to his being laid aside ; and when it was notified to him, he
broke out, " Now will my wise brother write me four sides to
tell me it is aU for the better." The dissimulation of the
primate was soon detected : the Duke of Bedford, to oblige
him, had preferred Cunningham in rank, who however voted
against the court in the strongest questions. Yet continuing to

GEORGE THE SECOND. 259
frequent the assembhes at the Castle, the duke took him 1757.
aside, reproached him with his behaviour, and told him, the October.
bread he eat was the King's. The young man rephed honestly, '^£1 °n
he had such obhgations to the primate and Lord George, that an "
though he should be reduced to his pristine indigence, he
would act in all things as they ordered him. Some days
afterwards, the opposition calling in question the great powers
exercised by the privy council of Ireland, and Malone sitting
silent, the solhcitor-generaL a friend of the primate, said, that,
as an officer of the crown, he could not sit still and see the
prerogative attacked, without marking his disapprobation. He
was joined by all the primate's friends, and the motion for
abridging those powers was rejected by 140 to 40. This more
civil way of displaying to the Castle the primate's interest in
the house, was not calculated to inspire them with less awe of
his strength.
Lord Kildare, (who had no talents for governing, and who yet
would not unite with any body that had) dechned Mr. Fox's
advice of joining with the Speaker, by which he might have
balanced the efforts of the primate. The earl thought of repelling
the war by carrying it into the quarters of the enemy ; and the
Castle weakly concurred in this silly project. They determined
to move for an inquiry into the conduct of the commissioners of
the revenue for the last twenty years, in which the principal
retrospect would involve the partizans of the house of Dorset.
The execution of the measure was delegated to Sir Archibald
Atcheson, a man so insignificant, that, having acquainted the
LL 2

260 MEMOIRES OF
1757. house that he had a motion of consequence to propose on the
October, following Monday, he was so httle regarded, that, when the day
Ireland. cainej| fj^ house was remarkably empty. The courtiers op
posed the question, till Rigby rose and said, a motion from so
respectable a person must be of consequence ; the gentleman,
he supposed, had some mismanagement to lay open. A secret
committee was immediately proposed and elected by ballot,
when, to the great confusion of the ministers, they carried
but three out of thirty-one : the other twenty-eight were all
elected from the creatures of the primate and Speaker. The
Castle had no more success in the popularity they expected
from this inquisition, than they had in the choice of the in
quisitors. The lord lieutenant too increased the offence by
his ungracious reception of the commissioners of the revenue,
who waiting on him to disculpate themselves, as they feared
they had been misrepresented to his grace, he answered them
dryly, if any' thing was wrong, he supposed it would come out ;
if innocent, they would clear themselves.
These transactions, which reached to the end of the year,
I have chosen to throw together, as they would be little in
telligible, if broken into the precise order in which they hap
pened. I shall use the same method on the sequel of the
expedition to Rochfort.
inquiry into As soon as the fleet was returned, Sir John Mordaunt was
miscarriagesat Rochfort. ordered toi town to give an account of his conduct ; and Mr.
Pitt inserted in the gazette his letter to the general and
admiral, empowering them to stay out longer if they should

GEORGE THE SECOND. 261
find it necessary. This did not allay the ill humour in the 1757.
city, where they coupled the fruitlesness of the expedition October.
with the Hanoverian neutrahty ; and concluded that both mi"earrLge°
flowed from the same attention to the preservation of the
favorite Electorate. The ministers affected to distinguish the
naval commanders. The generals were coldly received, par
ticularly by the King, though he did speak to Conway ; who
however was so sensible of the injustice done to him, that, if
he had not been overpersuaded by his friends, who foresaw
that his resignation would be represented as a dismission, he
would have immediately quitted his post in the King's bed
chamber. His Majesty had at first been indifferent to the
plan ; then ridiculed it to all who came near him. Now,
being in a humour of heroism and criticism, he took it up in
the bitterest terms, and did the generals the honour of treat
ing them as ill as his own son, the Duke, seizing every oppor
tunity of casting reflections on the one and the others ; and
on the news of the King of Prussia's success, the monarch said,
" Yes, people may beat, if they do not always retreat — but
there are so many cowards, I am almost afraid of growing one
myself." Pitt, though really more hurt, and apt enough to
take any step to illustrate his own measures, behaved with
greater decency. He pressed no violent resolutions against
the officers ; he prevented the city from addressing against
them ; and only took the more sensible, though not less severe
style of punishing the miscarriage, by raising Wolfe at once
over the heads of a great number of officers*.
* The conduct of one of his friends was not quite so judicious; Potter, then

262 MEMOIRES OF
1757. Sir John Mordaunt finding no notice taken of him in any
October, shape, went to Mr. Pitt, and told him he had waited a week
to see what would be done on his affair : he found he was in
disgrace, but found it only by neglect and silence. He in-
treated Mr. Pitt to ask the King to permit an inquiry on it.
Pitt told him, this had been thought of; owned they did
blame the first council of war — but this was always the case
when officers went prejudiced against a measure.
November. Accordingly, November 1st, a commission of inquiry was
mfscarriag^s directed, composed of the Duke of Marlborough, Lord George
at och ort. gg^yj]]^ and General Waldegrave : a court that could not be
called unprecedented, for one of the very same nature had
been held in the foregoing year, but most unconstitutional
and dangerous; nay absurd, for they had neither power to
acquit nor condemn. As the ministers selected whom they
pleased, if the criminal was to be saved, a favorable report
from this board would exclude a legal trial; if to be con
demned, was not such a preparatory inquisition likely to in
fluence future judgment? The present board was indeed
artfully constituted. Two of the commissioners were attached
to Fox ; if their majority acquitted, the odium would fall on
Mr. Pitt's antagonist — and to them he had joined Lord
George Sackville, as much devoted to himself, and more than
a balance to the other two in abilities. But another step
ill at Bath, sent the mayor of the place an account of a private letter he had
received from Mr. Pitt, lamenting his disappointment, which had broken his heart.
This letter was left for public perusal in a bookseller's shop, till getting into the
Bath Journal, Potter thought proper to advertize that this had been done contrary
to his intention.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 263
Pitt took, still more novel, and as pernicious for the precedent. 1757
He sent Mr. Blair of the secretary's office to the Lord Mayor November.
of London, to inform the city that an inquiry was appointed, 'inquiry into
J ¦*• y A x miscarriages
What right the city of London had to such notification above at R°chfort.'
all other towns in the kingdom could not well be told. What
use they will make of such admission into the executive part
of government can easily be conceived ; and what confusion
may follow from incorporating the mob of London with the
other parts of the legislature, where they are already repre
sented, and where they have no title to be more than repre
sented. The inquiry began on the 12th. The generals, and Knowies,
and Broderick, utterly disavowing Sir Edward Hawke's mi
nutes, Lord George took them to pieces severely, and cen
sured Hay, the composer of them. The Duke of Marlborough
asked many questions, with appearance of thinking ill of the
conduct of the generals. Waldegrave took no part at all.
Sir John Mordaunt defended himself weakly ; Conway most
ably; exposed Clarke; and at last producing his own nar
rative, it silenced all farther inquiry; yet the resolutions of
the court, which were not exphcit, seemed to say, that they
thought more might have been performed; or at least that
there had not been sufficient reasons for desisting from the
attempt. The report of these opinions was made to the
King on the 21st, who, on the 30th, ordered a court-martial
on Sir John Mordaunt alone.
The Duke of Cumberland* espoused the cause of the
* The Duke was much diverted on hearing that Pitt, who had drawn the

264 MEMOIRES OF
1757. generals, wished them to make it a common cause, and to pin
November, down their whole defence to the impracticabihty of the mea-
Sarriage? sure' To this. Conway could not consent. He had too much
atfibchfort* endeavoured to explore whether it was practicable or not, to
submit to involve himself in the remissness of those for whose
sake he now sufferred. Yet the delicacy with which he
avoided whatever might set their faihngs in a strong light,
the management he used invariably for Sir John Mordaunt,
for whom he drew up every paper he could want, the ob
stinacy with which he persisted to sink material articles of
his own defence, rather than charge his colleagues, at the same
time that no worthy mind was ever so wounded with disgrace,
these and every instance of his behaviour made the solidity of
his virtue appear most amiable and interesting; and it was
still heightened by not meeting with an equal degree of ten
derness from those in whose protection it was exerted.
December. The court-martial began its session on the 14th of Decem-
tiai?,Urtmar Der» an(* finished on the 18th; though it was opened again
for one day to hear Sir Edward Hawke's evidence, who had
been at sea. Lord Tyrawley was president. Mr. Pitt ap
peared before them, as he said, to authenticate his own orders,
but took the opportunity of making an imperious speech, and
defended Clarke and Thierri the pilot ; who, he affirmed, had
supported their information, though sifted in so extraor
dinary a manner. General Cholmondeley interrupted him,
reminding him that he only came thither to authenticate.
plan for the militia, urged against the generals that there had been no force on the
coast of France, but twenty thousand of the militia !

GEORGE THE SECOND. 265
Pitt replied with haughtiness; and being asked, who had 1757.
sifted Clarke and the pilot, he said, the mihtary men ; and December.
often spoke of Mordaunt and Conway by name. There have the misLT-*0
been times when a minister, in less odour of popularity, would R^hfort.'
have been impeached for presuming to awe a legal court of
justice — but as it did Mr. Pitt no harm, neither did it pro
duce any good to the cause he favoured. The whole court
treated the expedition as rash and childish; and acquitted
the general with honour. Sir Edward Hawke reflecting on
Thierri as an ignorant Fanfaron, General Cholmondeley asked
if there were two Thierris? Surely, he said, this ignorant
Fanfaron could not be the one so applauded by Mr. Pitt !
Thus ended the chimera of taking Rochfort. The pubhc,
however, were entertained for part of the following winter
with a hterary controversy, which it produced between General
Conway and Mr. Potter. Mr. Doddington, too, flung in one or
two bitter pamphlets against Mr. Pitt.
I have dwelt so long on the singular events of this year,
that I shall hasten to the conclusion of this book, touching
briefly the other most material passages, the chief of which
relating to the victories of the King of Prussia, will be found
at large in other histories, and demand a more exalted pen
than mine, sullied with the faults and folhes of my country
men, and though suited perhaps to the trifling province of
catching ridicules, unequal to the lofty compass of history.
Lord Mansfield was called to the conciliabulum, or essence
of the council ; an honour not only uncommon and due to his
VOL. II. M M

9SQ MEMOIRES OF
1757. high abihties, but set off with his being proposed by Lord
October. Hardwicke himself, who wished, he said, to get repose for
'Lord Mans- three months in the country: Lord Mansfield would amply
field of ca- _ . . .
binet.' supply his place. It was about this time that this great chief
justice set himself to take information against hbels, and
would sift, he said, what was the real liberty of the press.
The occasions of the times had called him off from principles
that favoured an arbitrary king — he still leaned towards an
arbitrary government.
At the end of October came news, that our fleet under
Holbourn, blocking up a French squadron at Louisbourg,
had been dispersed by a great storm, in which the Nassau
was lost, the Eagle was driven home, and ten ships were
dismasted.
victories of The year concluded with a torrent of glory for the King of
Prussia. Prussia. On the 5 th of November he defeated the combined
Imperial and French armies at Rosbach; and though the
Austrians took Schweidnitz, and beat the Prince of Bevern,
the king repaired that disadvantage by a compleat victory
over their best army, commanded by Prince Charles and
Count Daun, at Lissa : a single month intervening between
this and his success at Rosbach. His uncle's efforts were
neither exerted nor crowned with equal honour. The dechne
of the arms of France in the empire encouraged the King to
break the convention of Closter Seven. The Hanoverians
were reassembled, and Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, a ge
neral of repute, appointed to command them. Some trifling

GEORGE THE SECOND. 267
infractions of the neutrahty on the part of the French were 1757.
pretexted to cover this notorious breach of faith — a monu- October.
ment to future pohticians, in how short a space of time a
treaty may be commanded, concluded, disavowed, made ad
vantage of, and violated !
During these transactions, the unfortunate Queen of Po
land died suddenly at Dresden ; a witness of calamities to
which she had not contributed, and which she had in vain
remained there to temper.
In England, Sir John Ligonier, to whom the supreme sir John Li-
gonier made
command of the British armies was entrusted, was created a viscount and
marshal.
viscount of Ireland, and a marshal, with his seniors, Sir Robert
Rich and Lord Molesworth. Lord George Sackville succeeded
as lieutenant-general of the ordnance ; and by that employ
ment escaped the unwelcome command in America, which he
could not with any grace have otherwise avoided.
Colley Cibber, that good-humoured and honest veteran, so
unworthily aspersed by Pope, and whose Memoires, with one
or two of his comedies, will secure his fame, in spite of all the
abuse of his cotemporaries, dying about this time at a very
great age, the Duke of Devonshire bestowed the laurel on
Mr. Whitehead, a man of a placid genius. His grace had first
designed it for Gray*, then for Mason, but was told that both
would dechne it. In truth, it was not Cibber's silly odes that
disgraced the employment, but an annual panegyric venally
* It appears by Mr. Gray's Letters, published with his Life by Mr. Mason in
1795, that the laurel was actually offerred to Mr. Gray, and was refused by him.
MM 2

268 MEMOIRES OF
1757. extorted for whatever king, and with or without occasion, that
December, debased the office. Gray, crowned with the noblest wreaths
of Parnassus, could not stoop to be dubbed poet by a lord
chamberlain ; and Mason, though he had not then displayed
all the powers of his genius, had too much sense and spirit to
owe his hterary fame to any thing but his own merit.
Death of On the 28th of December died the King's third daughter,
Princess Ca- ° & '
roiine. Princess Carohne. She had been the favorite of the Queen,
who preferred her understanding to those of all her other
daughters, and whose partiahty she returned with duty, grati
tude, affection, and concern. Being in ill health at the time
of her mother's death, the Queen told her she would follow her
in less than a year. The princess received the notice as a
prophecy; and though she hved many years after it had
proved a vain one, she quitted the world, and persevered in
the closest retreat, and in constant aud rehgious preparation
for the grave; a moment she so eagerly desired, that when
something was once proposed to her, to which she was averse,
she said, " I would not do it to die !" To this impression of
melancholy had contributed the loss of Lord * Hervey, for
whom she had conceived an unalterable passion, constantly
marked afterwards by all kind and generous offices to his
children. For many years she was totally an invahd, and shut
herself up in two chambers in the inner part of St. James's,
from whence she could not see a single object. In this
* Eldest son of John Earl of Bristol, and Lord Privy Seal : a great favorite
of Queen Caroline, and a principal object of Pope's satire.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 269
monastic retirement, with no company but of the King, the 1757.
Duke, Princess Emily, and a few of the most intimate of the December.
court, she led, not an unblameable hfe only, but a meritorious
one : her whole income was dispensed between generosity and
charity ; and, till her death by shutting up the current dis
covered the source, the jails of London did not suspect that
the best support of their wretched inhabitants was issued from
the palace.
From the last Sunday to the Wednesday on which she
died, she declined seeing her family ; and when the mortifica
tion began, and the pain ceased, she said, " I feared I should
not have died of this !"

Finished August 8th, 1759.

'0

y y yy

v-rr.-j

¦ ¦ :.''¦'

MEMOIRES

OF

THE YEAR 1758.

Punch. Who is that ?
Luckless. That is an orator, Master Punch.
Punch. An orator! — what's that?
Luck. Why, an orator is — egad, I can't tell what : he is a man that nobody
dares dispute with. FiELniNo's Pleasures of the Town.

Pitt was now arrived at undisturbed possession of that 1758.

influence in affairs at which his ambition had aimed, and
which his presumption had made him flatter himself he could
exert hke those men of superior genius, whose talents have
been called forth by some crisis to retrieve a sinking nation.
He had said the last year to the Duke of Devonshire, " My
lord, I am sure I can save this country, and nobody else can."
It were ingratitude to him to say that he did not give such
a reverberation to our stagnating councils, as exceedingly
altered the appearance of our fortune. He warded off the

' Mr. Pitt.'

272 MEMOIRES OF
1758. evil hour that seemed approaching; he infused vigour into
our arms ; he taught the nation to speak again as England
used to speak to foreign powers ; and so far from dreading
invasions from France, he affected to turn us into invaders.
Indeed, those efforts were so puny, so ill-concerted, so in
effectual to any essential purpose, that France looked down
with scorn on such boyish flippancies, which Pitt deemed
heroic, which Europe thought ridiculous, and which humanity
saw were only wastefull of lives, and precedents of a more
barbarous warfare than France had hitherto been authorized
to carry on. In fact, Pitt had neither all the talents he sup
posed in himself, nor which he seemed to possess from the
vacancy of great men around him. Thinly, very thinly, were
great men sown in my remembrance : I can pretend to have
' Five great seen but five ; the Duke of Cumberland, Sir Robert Walpole,
men.' . A
Lord Granville, Lord Mansfield, and Pitt. I have expatiated
on all their characters seperately ; and yet I am inchned to
say a few words more in the light of comparison. It is by
setting the same characters in different oppositions and points
of view, that nearer acquaintance with them may be struck
out.
'Lord Gran- Lord Granville was most a genius of the five: he con-
vule. °
ceived, knew, expressed, whatever he pleased. The state of
Europe and the state of hterature were equally familiar to
him. His eloquence was rapid, and flowed from a source of
wit, grandeur, and knowledge. So far from premeditated, he
allowed no reflection to chasten it. It was entertaining, it

GEORGE THE SECOND. 273
was sublime, it was hyperbole, it was ridiculous, according as 1758.
the profusion of ideas crouded from* him. He embraced
systems like a legislator, but was capable of none of the detail
of a magistrate. Sir Robert Walpole was much the reverse: 'Sir Robert
° . . Walpole.'
he knew mankind, not their writings ; he consulted their in
terests, not their systems; he intended their happiness, not
their grandeur. Whatever was beyond common sense, he dis
regarded. Lord Mansfield, without the elevation of Lord ' Lord
Mansfield.'
Granville, had great powers of eloquence. It was a most
accurate understanding, and yet capable of shining in what
ever it was applied to. He was as free from vice as Pitt,
more unaffected, and formed to convince, even where Pitt
had dazzled. The Duke of Cumberland had most expressive 'Duke of
Cumber-
sense, but with that connection between his sense and sensi- land.'
bility, that you must mortify his pride before you could call
out the radiance of his understanding. Being placed at the
head of armies without the shortest apprenticeship, no won
der he miscarried: it is cruel to have no other master than
one's own faults. Pitt's was an unfinished greatness : con- ' Mr. Pitt.*
sidering how much of it depended on his words, one may
almost call his an artificial greatness ; but his passion for fame
and the grandeur of his ideas compensated for his defects.
He aspired to redeem the honour of his country, and to place
it in a point of giving law to nations. His ambition was to
be the most illustrious man of the first country in Europe ;
and he thought that the eminence of glory could not be
sullied, by the steps to it being passed irregularly. He
VOL. II. n N

274 MEMOIRES OF
1758. wished to aggrandize Britain in general but thought- not of
' Five great obliging or benefitting individuals. Lord Granville you loved
pared.' till you knew him ; Sir Robert Walpole, the more you knew
him : you would have loved the Duke, if you had not feared
him. Pitt hked the dignity of despotism; Lord Mansfield
the reahty: yet the latter would have served the cause of
power, without sharing it: Pitt would have set the world
free, if he might not command it. Lord Granville would
have preferred doing right, if he had not thought it more
convenient to do wrong : Sir Robert Walpole meaned to serve
mankind, though he knew how httle they deserved it — and
this principle is at once the most meritorious in one's self and
to the world. — I beg pardon for this digression.
Parliament.' The parhament had opened on the first of December in
the last year; and, as if to notify honestly, .that Germany
would not be proscribed by Mr. Pitt, the King's speech talked
openly of the defence of his Majesty's dominions of Britain
and elsewhere. By that httle word elsewhere, Hanover was
incorporated into the very language of parhament. Lord
Westmorland, in the Lords, spoke with applause against re
echoing addresses, and universal submission to a minister.
In the Commons, Mr. Fox was absent on the death of his
favorite nephew, Lord Digby ; and elsewhere passed as if a
phrase of course, hke the town of Berwick upon Tweed. Yet
on the 14th, when Lord Barrington, on delivering the esti
mates of the army, had complaisantly reverberated the word
elsewhere, Mr. Pitt himself said, he did not agree with his

GEORGE THE SECOND. 275
lordship in that term; he meaned the army for our immediate 1758.
selves. He had never been against continental measures when , s h of
practicable ; but would not now send a drop of our blood to Mr'
the Elbe, to be lost in that ocean of gore. Other parts of this
speech, admired almost beyond any of his orations, were so
fine, and so bombast, that I must just mention a few, though
I do not intend to fatigue the reader with more speeches:
those I have given are sufficient to illustrate our oratory.
Sir John Philipps had spoken dully, Beckford wildly,
dropping this, expression, " He did not know in what hands
we were." Lord George Sackville had made the apology of
Lord Loudun, whose idle conduct in America was much
censured ; yet where Lord George wished to have him remain,
lest, on a change of commanders, he himself should be named.
Pitt said, " In what hands were we? — in those of a most
gracious King :" on whom he made a panegyric, and of which
the least part was not his Majesty's goodness to him since he
last took the seals. How the King had listened even to him,
though least in administration — .though least, he hoped to
continue in it with honour : and he spoke of the great concord
among the ministers. But nothing could be well tiU the army
was subjected to the civil power : they were to obey, not to
reason. Those sent on the late expedition had laughed at it
even at table — nay, so had some of the cabinet. He warmed
himself on this topic, though he knew, he said, he ought not,
as the commander was actually under trial. On Lord Loudun
he kept no measures at all, but loaded him with all the
asperity peculiar to his style— he had scarce any hopes now,
N N 2

276 MEMOIRES OF
1758. though the people paid such an army in America : not only
• Mr. Pitt's nothing was done — nothing was attempted. We had lost all
speech. ^ waters . we j^ not a koat on them now. Every door
there was open to France. Though Lord George had excused,
he could not ; he would not condemn, yet he beleived against
Lord Loudun, who might have recovered our affairs if he had
not loitered from the 9th of July to the 5th of August,
inquiring whether or no the French were superior: indeed,
for himself, our ill success had hurt his quiet and tainted his
health. He then burst out into an Eastern panegyric. There
he found Watson, Pococke, and Chve: — what astonishing
success had Watson had with only three ships, which had
been laid up for some time on fend! He did not stay to
careen this, and condemn that, but at once sailed into the
body of the Ganges. He was supported by Chve, that man, not
born for a desk ; that heaven-born general, whose magnanimity,
resolution, determination, and execution, would charm a King
of Prussia; and whose presence of mind astonished the Indies !
King of These heroes soon added new wreaths to those with which
Prussia takes
Bresiau. Mr. Pitt had crowned them. The King of Prussia took
Breslau, and made prisoners an army of generals and ten
thousand men: and the letters of the following month brought
accounts of such victories and riches acquired by Clive as
astonished Europe as much as the Indies. Discovering that
the Nabob who ruled in that quarter was encouraged by the
French to break his alliance with us, and was actually on the
march to attack our settlements, Clive bribed his first minister,
who, expediting his treachery in a more summary way than is

GEORGE THE SECOND. 277
usual in this part of the world, murdered his master; and 1758.
then Chve, at the head of only three thousand men, and General
with a bravery that deserved a better foundation than the tory.eS
assassination of an enemy, attacked and 4efeated an army of
thirty-five thousand. The new Nabob, estabhshed by Clive's
influence, made immense presents to our fleet and East India
Company. Chve's share amounted to above 200,000/. Admiral
Watson, to whom the red ribband was destined, died of a
fever two days after the engagement.
General Abercrombie was sent to command in America ; « Military
appoint-
a man who signalized himself neither before nor after his ments.'
advancement. Five new brigadier-generals and three colonels
with rank only in our colonies, were appointed to serve under
him. Amherst had a seperate command, with Wolfe for
second. These officers were all selected by Pitt, who con
tented himself with always speaking of the affair of Rochfort
as res intentata, and with keeping the commanders on that
expedition unemployed ; though Conway, in the most earnest
terms, and by every interest he could use, begged to serve in
any quality, and in any part of the world. He was refused :
and even when the English staff was carried in to the King by
Ligonier, his Majesty struck out the names of Mordaunt,
Conway, and CornwaUis. Ligonier represented Conway's
eagerness for employment, and that his case was different from
Mordaunt's — he had tried to do something. " Yes," said the
King, "apres dini la moutarde." However, he said he would
think of Conway, though not then.

278 MEMOIRES OF
1758. In Ireland affairs grew to a crisis. The opposition were
AflFairs of inflamed with resentment at the secret committee set up by the
Duke of Bedford, the management of which they had wrested
from him. As the season too approached for the departure
of the lord lieutenant, the primate had no time to lose for
recovering his place in the regency. Every reason of pohcy
and decency made it more eligible to him to obtain that
situation by gentle means than by violence. He and Pon
sonby offerred terms to the Duke of Bedford, who, though
confessing their superiority in the House of Commons, refused
to unite with them. In truth, he had involved himself so
much with Lord Kildare, and was so unwilling to disobhge
Fox by disobliging that lord, that he knew not how to
extricate himself. If Kildare would have softened towards
the primate, the accomodation would soon have been com
pleated — but he would not desert himself; and he knew his
party would desert him if once reconciled to the prelate.
More, the black-rod, was dispatched to England to consult
Mr. Fox ; the duke hoping in the mean time to be able to
govern independently of either party. The first step he took
towards this system only tended to make it more impracticable.
A judge's place falling vacant, the lord heutenant, to demon
strate his impartiahty, offerred the nomination to the chancellor,
who recommended Malone's greatest enemy, a creature of the
primate, and one formerly employed by Lord George Sackville
to write pamphlets on their side. His preferment, thus ob
tained, was no obligation to the primate : Malone resented it

GEORGE THE SECOND. 279
strongly, and soon took an opportunity of exerting his resent- 1758
ment. The secret committee got enlarged powers, intending , Affairs of
to turn them against the Duke of Bedford's treasury; and the
party in general hurried to hostilities. The lord lieutenant's
secretary was a place of great profit, if in the hands of an
intelligent and interested man. He had fees from every new
commission in the army; and his selling regiments and sub
ordinate ranks had long passed as a matter scarce to be
disavowed. If he had great power over his patron, and none
over himself, bishopricks and every other preferment in the
gift or at the recommendation of the lord lieutenant were
marketable at the secretary's apartments in the Castle. But
it was on the death of a king that the secretaryship was
largely lucrative. He touched for every renewal of commission
and patent. With some of these advantages Mr. Conway had
been a sufferer by the employment. The table and equipage
are very expensive for the year of the lord lieu tenant's
residence in Ireland. It is the second, the fallow* year, that
indemnifies both the master and the servant ; and the Duke
of Devonshire quitted before their second year. Mr. Conway
had disdained the least gratification for his interest; and as
often as the Duke of Devonshire offerred him the nomination
of regiments and commissions, he constantly recommended
neglected officers, who deserved the station, and were too
indigent to reward the service, for which Conway scorned to
* It seems by this passage, that, in George the Second's reign, the lord
lieutenants of Ireland absented themselves, as a matter of course, the second year
of their viceroyalty. E.

Ireland.'

280 MEMOIRES OF
1758. be rewarded. The great age of the King, joined to the other
• Affairs of inducements I have mentioned, had been the principal object
that had shone in Rigby's eyes when he carried the Duke of
Bedford to Ireland — but that prospect the opposition now
cut off; and while their patriotism was only sharpened by
popularity, it happily served to disburthen poor officers from
so heavy a tribute. They proposed a question, which, by the
ill-humour of Malone, was carried without a negative, that
the lord lieutenant's secretary ought to have no fees for
commissions ; that the loss ought to be made up to him in
some other way. The King, when this resolution came to
England, ordered the secretary's salary to be 2500/. a year.
The blow was heavy, and had its effect. The primate, having
demonstrated his power, showed he was not implacable. Lord
Fane, of whose integrity the Duke of Bedford had the greatest
opinion, and with some reason, for it was hke his own, founded
on a partial degree of sense, and easily misled to very contrary
purposes, was then in Ireland. To him the primate sent
Lord Hilsborough's uncle, Mr. Hill, with new offers of accom
modation. Lord Fane carried them, but at first the Duke of
Bedford was deaf. Lord Fane went again : the duchess and
Rigby were present, and, to disguise their inchnations to the
treaty, affected to receive him with the same coldness as the
duke did ; by which stale art the duke thought them of his
opinion, till they had time to make him of theirs ; and then
the negotiation was easily carried on, and the primate restored
to his usual power in the government, where, when once
reinstated, he became the sole arbiter of affairs. He avoided

GEORGE THE SECOND. 281
interfering with Rigby's traffic; he assured the duchess of JL758.
the homage of her subjects, and secured her return to them; < Affairs of
and he had too much insinuation not to charm the duke
himself, who departed to England smihng and self-satisfied,
though sold by one* man and vanquished by another ! Offers
were made to Lord Kildare of being included in this treaty,
which he refused, quitting his part of the regency, but pro
fessing to avoid future hostihties. The primate and the
Speaker were left lords justices ; the third place, Lord
Kildare's [one must have lived in England and seen the
abandoned behaviour of our patriots before one could believe
it], was filled by Lord Shannon ; that very Mr. Boyle, for
whom Lord Kildare had commenced all these disturbances,
and whose opposition to the primate had first introduced
virtue, and consequently prostitution, into Ireland. Malone
too kept his place, and Sir Richard Coxf was made a com
missioner of the revenue.
Before I quit the affairs of that country, I must mention a
* When they returned from Ireland, the Duke of Newcastle, who was leaning
from Pitt, was impatient to see Rigby. The latter went to dine at Claremont.
The duke showed him the gardens and improvements ; and in the expansion of
the folly of his heart, forgetting that it was himself and not Rigby that was in
transports of satisfaction, he said, " Well ! is not this better than going about and
abusing me?" In the following summer Newcastle carried this disposition to the
Bedfords still farther : at the Commencement at Cambridge he affected to take
extreme notice of Lord Tavistock, a modest, but plain lad, cried up his beauty
and the goodness of his coffee, and recommended him to the University for
successor to himself.
•f- See Book Second of these Memoires.
VOL. II. O O

282 MEMOIRES OF
1758. spiritual business that made some noise there. Dr. Clayton,
Bishop of Clogher, had already distinguished himself as a man
of parts and a freethinker. His Essay on Spirit, which seemed
to accord with Clarke's esoteric doctrine, had more the address
of an heresiarch than the plain-deahng simplicity of a Christian
pastor. He now published a vindication of the Testament,
which seemed calculated for doing any thing with the Testa
ment rather than supporting it. Yet the man was believed
sincere in his opinions — and so a man ought to be who thinks
it worth his while to expose himself by exploding any com
mon prejudices. He even aspired to sufferings for his zeal
in propagating counterband metaphysics among illiterate
Irish. But the bishops, his brethren, taking the alarm, and
intending a meeting with their orthodox primate, in order to
prepare an application to the crown for a royal visitation,
Clayton died suddenly of a panic, though possessed of a good
private estate, and ambitious of martyrdom !
Picture of This little flame was soon extinguished — in fact, there
some of the .
manners of were no religious combustibles m the temper of the times.
til 6 3.2TC*
Popery and Protestantism seemed at a stand. The modes of
Christianity were exhausted, and could not furnish novelty
enough to fix attention. Linzendorffe plied his Moravians
with nudities, yet made few enthusiasts : Whitfield and the
Methodists made more money than disturbances : his largest
crop of proselytes lay among servant-maids ; and his warmest
devotees went to Bedlam without going to war. Bower,
whom some thought they had detected as a Jesuit, and who

GEORGE THE SECOND. 283
at most was but detected as an impostor, had laid open the 1758.
practices of the Cathohcs, and detailed the establishments of , Manners of
the Jesuits in the very heart of London, without occasioning
either alarm or murmur against those fathers. His History
of the Popes, one of the ablest performances we have, was
decried, because, to recommend a work , of truth and utility,
he had embroidered his own story with some marvellous
legends. Yet, uninflammable as the times were, they carried
a great mixture of superstition. Masquerades had been
abohshed, because there had been an earthquake at Lisbon ;
and when the last jubilee-masquerade was exhibited at Rane-
lagh, the ale-houses and roads to Chelsea were crouded with
drunken people, who assembled to denounce the judgments of
God on persons of fashion, whose greatest sin was dressing
themselves ridiculously. A more inconvenient reformation,
and not a more sensible one, was set on foot by societies of
tradesmen, who denounced to the magistrate all bakers that
baked or sold bread on Sundays. Alum, and the variety of
spurious ingredients with which bread, and indeed all wares,
were adulterated all the week round, gave not half so much
offence as the vent of the chief necessary of hfe on the
seventh day. Indecent prints were prohibited: the Chief-
Justice Mansfield caused to be seized at an auction a well-
known tale, caUed the Woman of Pleasure, a work that
simplified novels to their original intention. Some of the
elders too of our own church, seeing what harvests were
brought into the tabernacles of Whitfield and Wesley by
o o 2

284 MEMOIRES OF
1758. famiharizing God's word to the vulgar, and by elevating vulgar
• Manners of language, had the discretion to apply the same call to their
the times.1 Qwn jogt g^g^ an(j tinkled back their old women by sounding
the brass of the Methodists. One Ashton, a quaint and
fashionable preacher of the Orthodox, talked to the people in
a phrase compounded of cant and pohtics : he reproved them
for not coming to church, where God keeps a day but sees
little company; and informed them that our ancestors loved
powder and ball, and so did our generals; but the Iqtter loved
them for their hair and hands. Yet to do justice to better
principles, the age had made some estimable improvements.
Prize-fighting, in which we had horridly resembled the most
barbarous and most pohte nations, was suppressed by the
legislature. Hogarth had undertaken the cause of humanity,
and painted satires on all species of cruelty. From France
and Italy we had adopted hospitals for foundlings ; and from
the dictates of nature, all manner of hospitals. Our stage
grew chaste ; indecency dared not to show its face in a mo
dern comedy, though it still remained in possession of the old
ones; and what is remarkable, having been tolerated when
women went to the theatre in masks, preserved its hold, now
they went without them.
About this time Lord Bute * obtained, by the means of
* The power of that Scotch favorite was so great at Leicester-House, that
the Prince of Wales went three times to Agis, a new tragedy written by John
Home, and so indifferent an one, that nobody else could bear to go to it twice.
Sir Henry Erskine wrote a patriot prologue to it. The Prince, from an affectation
of popularity, generally went to the play on Saturdays, the opera-night.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 285
Pitt, the place of commissioner of excise for Scott, the late 1758.
preceptor, to whom it had been promised. It was even
wrested from a young Pelham, to whom Newcastle had
actually given it. Lord Bute thought this service to Scott
necessary, and had insisted warmly-^-otherwise Pitt shunned
all interfering in the disposal of employments.
The King, on the death of Princess Caroline, had volun- ' Kings mu
nificence.'
tarily promised to continue her allowance to Princess Emily,
who handsomely engaged to pay the same pensions and the
same grants to the prisons that her sister Carohne had done.
She had even desired to impart a large portion of it to her
sister Mary of Hesse ; but the King, while the vapour of mu
nificence lasted, said, he should take care of Mary. In a
month's time the Duke of Newcastle was sent in form to
notify to Princess Emily, that the King retracted his promise,
and should not continue to her the aUowance of Princess
Carohne. An affair was now opened, which having once been deemed Affair of the
Habeas Cor-
the most important point to Enghsh hberty, would seem to pus.
demand large discussion. But having been so much agitated
formerly, and so well explained in our parhamentary books,
and now ending without any alteration — rather without any
improvement, of the ancient system, I would willingly be
very brief in relating what passed. That I mention it at all
with any detail, when hastening to the conclusion of my work,
is only to mark how much the modes of thinking change, and
that fundamentals themselves can make no impression, if ap-

286 MEMOIRES OF
1758. prehensions of arbitrary power are not in fashion. If a passion
for freedom is not in vogue, patriots may sound the alarm till
they are weary.
< Habeas The act of Habeas Corpus, by which prisoners may insist
Corpus.' on being brought to trial within a hmited time, is the corner
stone of our hberty. The power of pressing, and some other
cases, seemed to clash with this invaluable privilege, or that
with the utihty of pressing ; for if soldiers or mariners, im
pressed and carried to any distant quarters or ports, might
demand their habeas corpus, and claim to be brought to the
capital to have it examined whether they were properly sub
ject to the violence laid on them, sudden emergencies would
be deprived of their service, and a thousand accidents might
happen to facihtate their total escape, though ever so fit for
the intended destination of them. It was a doubt, too, whether
all the twelve judges could or were obliged to grant the writ
in time of vacation. These doubts, which many prudent men
thought it best to leave in suspence or overwhelm in silence,
others, if warmer, not worse-intentioned, held necessary to be
ascertained the moment they had come into question : and
they had come into question, and a man, too apt to decide
peremptorily when his decisions could strengthen prerogative,
had affected to pronounce against that universal immunity
from uncertain detention of their persons, which the Enghsh,
with so much reason, think their birthright. This was the
Chief Justice Mansfield. He had a bitter antagonist in the
Attorney-general Pratt, who had not only entered into em-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 287
ployment on a popular foot, but personally hated the chief 1758.
justice, and was himself steady, warm, sullen*, stained with no ,Mr Pratt>
reproach, and an uniform Whig. He declared himself with
impetuosity for the utmost latitude of the Habeas Corpus;
and it reflected no small honour on him, that the first ad
vocate of the crown should appear the firmest champion
against prerogative. Nor should we deem less highly of
him, because private motives spurred him on to the contest
— alas ! how cold would pubhc virtue be, if it never glowed
but with public heat! So seldom, too, it is that any con
siderations can biass a man to run counter to the colour of
his office and the interests of his profession, that the world
should not be too scrupulous about accepting the service as
a merit, but should honour it at least for the sake of the
precedent. Pratt prepared a bill for explaining and extending the ' Brings in a
Habeas Corpus, and ascertaining its full operation. It was
brought into the House of Commons, where Pitt and the
Speaker supported it with firmness ; and the majority chear-
fully promoted it. Yet even in that house it met with
avowed foes. The authority of Lord Mansfield had weight
with some ; the influence of Lord Hardwicke with more ; and
the lawyers, who easily overlooked the essence of a thing on
which there was enough said in their books to enchant them
with sounds and cavils, laid themselves out in such a pro-
* Why the author has chosen, in this just and spirited passage, to introduce
the word " sullen,1' I am at a loss to discover ; and believe those who had the
happiness to know the late Lord Camden will be as much so. E.

288 MEMOIRES OF
1758. fusion of jargon, that nothing but the nonsense they talked
• Mr.Pnrtfg prevented all the world from seeing how much they contra-
"uasbbui.'C°r" dieted both themselves and one another. They made the
plainest thing in the world, the right to freedom, the most
obscure; and yet while any hope of their becoming intel
ligible remained, men hstened to know through what ge
nealogy of terms this blessing had been derived to them : a
common error that I willingly censure, as if precedents brought
in support of, did not weaken, hberty. Can ages of ancestors
submitting to tyranny impeach my freedom ? Have I not a
right to be free, the moment I have the power of being so ?
If we hold our hberties but by Magna Charta, we hold them
by an extorted piece of parchment. If the crown had a right
to enslave us before, it has a right still, for then that struggle
was rebellion ; and what right can rebellion give ? Magna
Charta was but the King's confession of his usurpation ; as
taking up arms against oppression, is only doing justice on
the oppressor. I have ever found that such grave personages
as affect to authenticate our hberties by history and pre
cedent, are no better than those foppish tools the heralds,
who hoard long rolls of nobility, but are ready to forge a
pedigree for the first pretender to birth.
The bill passed easily, though tediously, through the
Commons. Before I proceed to its fate among the Lords,
I must touch upon the other events of the season.
The campaign was opened on our part with great success.
Prince Ferdinand and that gallant boy, his nephew, drove the
French out of Hanover by a plan, hke that of Turenne in

GEORGE THE SECOND. 289
Alsace, of attacking them in four different quarters at once. 1758.
The Count de Clermont, who had succeeded Richeheu, be
haved with a politeness that sufficiently indicated how much
the French we're humbled: he gave a pass to a courier to
come and acquaint the King that he was again master of his
dominions. But the virtuous humanity of the Due de Randan
must not be confounded with the humiliation of his country
men : governor of Hanover, he had treated the conquered
with amiable lenity ; and when he was obhged to quit his
post, and had full time to destroy his magazines, he nobly
abandoned them to the magistrates, and marched himself the
last out of the city, to prevent his troops from committing
any revengeful! outrage.
George Grenville took advantage of the triumphant situ- Anecdotes
° r on the Navy
ation of his connection, and renewed his Navy Bill, which had Bill.
been thrown out the last year. And here Mr. Pitt had an
opportunity of showing, that if he had submitted to unite
with the very men he had persecuted, the depression fell to
them. The Duke of Newcastle, Lord Hardwicke, and Lord
Anson, Were all obliged to vote for this very bill, which they
had rejected last year. Some pretended that this shifting
conduct was but a compromise, and that their intention of
flinging out the new Habeas Corpus was to be overlooked, in
consideration of their facihtating the Navy BiU. A bargain
about laws, not the more incredible for its being shamefull ;
and considering for what trifling acts Mr. Pitt has stickled,
while he acquiesced in the loss of such an invaluable bill, his
patriotism will lie under the suspicion of being more specious
VOL. II. p p

290 MEMOIRES OF
1758. than real. Lord Winchelsea, Lord Lyttelton, Lord March
mont, and the adherents of the Duke and Fox, still- opposed
the Navy Bill ; but it was carried on the first division by 74
to 14. At the third reading Lord Bath spoke upon it, a
speech so miscellaneous and rambling, that it resembled his
ancient orations, except that in this he much commended Sir
Robert Walpole. Lord Denbigh attacked Lord Marchmont,
and said, he remembered when that lord had been connected
with a man of very different principles. Lord Marchmont
thinking Lord Bohnbroke was the person alluded to, treated
his memory with great severity — though, by the way, Lord
Bohnbroke had died in friendship with him. Lord Denbigh,
without rising, said aloud, " He mistakes ; I meaned Sir Wil
liam Windham." Marchmont was disconcerted. The other,
after the debate, went up to Lord Hardwicke, and said, " Sir
William Windham put me under Lord Marchmont in po
htics ; and one day, in warm conversation, the latter clapped
his hand on my knee, and said, " Young man, remember I tell
you, this country will never be in a better situation, while one
of this family is on the throne." The bill passed.
Death of March 20th died Dr. Hutton, archbishop of Canterbury,
Archbishop x J
Hutton. after short possession of his see. The Duke of Newcastle had
great inchnation to give it to Dr. Hay-Drummond, bishop of
St. Asaph, a gentleman, a man of parts, and of the world ; but
Lord Hardwicke's influence carried it for Seeker, who cer
tainly did not want parts or worldliness.
Lord George Sackville was now rising to a principal figure.
His abilities in the House of Commons, and his interest with

• GEORGE THE SECOND. 291
Pitt, gave him great weight in government ; and every thing 1758.
seemed to promise him the first rank in the army, where,
since the depression of Conway, he stood without a rival.
The Duke, who hated him, was removed ; Marshal Ligonier
was very old, and was governed by him ; and by his seat in
the Ordnance, and his own address, he began to balance Fox
in the direction of the Duke of Marlborough. But his im
perious temper was not to be restrained; and at this very
period he wantonly started an enemy, under whose lash he
had reason afterwards to wish he had not fallen. A con
siderable officer was Lord Tyrawley, too old to give jealousy Affair of
to Lord George, and who having been neglected by the Duke rawiey.
of Newcastle, had treated the latter with a contempt, which,
besides his attaching himself to Fox, had assured an entire
stop to his own farther advancement. Lord Tyrawley had a
thorough knowledge of the world, though less of his own
country than of others : he had long been minister in Por
tugal, where he grew into such favour, that the late King, to
keep him there, would have appointed him his general. He
had a great deal of humour, and occasional good-breeding, but
not to the prejudice of his natural temper, which was im
periously blunt, haughty, and contemptuous, with an un
daunted portion of spirit. Accustomed to the despotism of
Portugal, Muscovy, and the army, he had little reverence for
parliaments, and always spoke of them as the French do of
the long-robe : he even affected not to know where the House
of Commons was. He was just returned from Gibraltar, where
p p 2

Lord Ty
rawley.'

292 MEMOIRES OF
1758. he had ordered great additions to the works, with no more
Affair of ceconomy than governors are apt to do, who think themselves
above being responsible. Lord George Sackville caught at
this dissipation, and privately instigated Sir John Phihpps to
censure the expence. To their great surprize Lord Tyrawley
demanded to be heard at the bar of the House in his own
defence. A day was named. Lord Tyrawley drew up a me
morial, which he proposed to read to the House ; and which
in the mean time he did read to every body else. It was
conceived in bitter terms against Lord George, and attacked
him roundly on having avoided all foreign command. This
alarmed : Lord George got the day of hearing adjourned for
near a fortnight : but Lord Tyrawley was not a man to recede
from his point ; and Lord George having underhand procured
the report of Skinner, who surveyed the works at Gibraltar,
to be brought before the House, without mentioning what it
was, Mr. Fox laid open the unhandsome darkness of this con
duct, and Lord Tyrawley himself appeared at the bar. As
the hearing was before the committee, high words were
avoided, which must have ensued had the Speaker, who was
not wont to suffer disrespect to the House, been in the chair ;
for Lord Tyrawley made good by his behaviour all that had
been taken for vapour before he appeared there. He treated
the House with great freedom, their forms with stiU greater ;
and leaning on the bar, (though he was allowed a chair) he
browbeat Skinner his censor, who stood on his left hand, with
such arrogant humour, that the very lawyers thought them-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 293
selves outdone in their own style of worrying a culprit. He 1758.
read his memorial, which was well-drawn and somewhat
softened, with great art and frankness, and assumed more
merit to himself than he had been charged with blame. Such
tough game tempted few hunters. Lord George was glad to
wave the sport; and the House dismissed the affair with
perfect satisfaction in the innocence of a man who dared to
do wrong more than they dared to censure him.
Hitherto the King of Prussia had lain quiet. Suspicions New treaty
with Prussia.
had even been entertained that he was meditating or con
cluding a seperate peace. At last a new subsidiary treaty
was concluded with him, and Colonel Yorke was dispatched
from the Hague to fix that essential man. Luckily, Knip-
hausen was on the road, with his assent to the treaty, before
Yorke arrived ; otherwise the vainglory of Lord Hardwicke
could not have imagined a more impolitic step for his country
or his son. Every attempt of our sending men of parts to
circumvent him had succeeded ill : the King of Prussia was
so far a httle genius, that he dreaded trying himself against
talents. For this reason he used Legge and Sir Charles Wil
liams in the most ungracious manner. Lord Hyndford, Mr.
Vilhers, and Mitchell, were the men that suited him — and
had he known him, he would not have feared Yorke. But
the King made Mitchell introduce him, would talk to him on
no business, and entertained him with nothing but a panegyric
on Mitchell. The treaty was laid before the Houses, and approved.

294 MEMOIRES OF
1758. Lord Denbigh commended it, and said, he was glad the Elector
of Hanover was included in it, that he might not desert the
King of England. He entered a claim against any Hano
verian neutrahty, and rejoyced that we had another general ;
censuring the Duke for the convention of Closter Seven. This
unjust bitterness was received with marks of approbation by
the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Lincoln, and Lord Temple, and
was ill retorted by Lord Sandwich. Lord Lyttelton spoke
well, distinguishing between the two parts of the admini
stration, and too ridiculously ascribing whatever had been
done well to the Duke of Newcastle. Lord Temple answered
him with vehement abuse, and applied to him a passage out
of Tully, which Lord Lyttelton had formerly inscribed on a
temple at Stowe; the gentle conclusion of it was to call him
" Hominem detestabilem, imbecillum, caducum." Lord Lyt
telton, as usual, rephed with firmness, but with too httle
asperity, considering how unrelenting towards him was the
malice of that faction.
The grant of money for the treaty was followed by the
ways and means for the year. The new taxes were laid on
houses and windows, and on places ; a poor tribute to popu
larity offerred by Legge.
Sequel of The bill for explaining and extending the act of Habeas
the Habeas
corpus. Corpus was now got into the House of Lords, where it pro
duced a new scene, and showed how the feelings of men differ
from their professions. The constitution, as settled at present,
is in a king elected by the voice of the people, without any

GEORGE THE SECOND. 295
right of succession, in opposition to an arbitrary family, and 1758.
tied down from acts of violence against the hberty of indi- , Sequel ^
viduals by that peculiar fundamental law, the act of Habeas Corpus.'63
Corpus. The House of Lords is the next branch of the legis
lature : it is composed of the ancient peerage, who have ex
pelled their ancient kings for the innovations of the latter,
and of modern peers, created under the new establishment by
the favour of the Prince, or selected from the sages of the law
for their integrity, wisdom, and knowledge of the true rights
of their country. In this house, too, sit the bishops, who
cannot be too tender of those laws, which secure the exercise
of their holy religion. In this house sit the Cavendishes and
Russels, renowned for their vigorous defence of the Habeas
Corpus ; and with them the Duke of Newcastle, the ring
leader of the mob of Whigs on the accession of the present
family. The third estate is the House of Commons. Let us,
before we pass to the discussion of the bill, anticipate the
behaviour of all these persons and bodies of men, all engaged
by common interest and common honour to support the
charter, for which they had violated other inferior ties; but
almost all swayed by private and seperate interests to abandon
the cause. The King talked openly at his levee against the
bill ; and it was understood to be offensive to him to vote for
the extension of it. He was King; he did not desire to
reduce the prerogative lower than it had been dehvered to
him. The Lords were become so much more considerable
than they had been before the Revolution, that they were in

296 MEMOIRES OF
1758. no danger from the crown; and when they do not fear it,
1 Sequel of they wu^ always be ready to uphold it. They look on them-
Corpus.,eaS selves as distinct from the rest of the nation ; and at best,
leave the people to be taken care of by their representatives,
the Commons. As jealous of, and as fond of their privileges,
as the King of his prerogative, they are attentive to maintain
them, and deem the rights of the people rather encroach
ments than a common interest. Added to this general de
scription, they were, at the time I write of, a tame, sub
servient, incapable set of men, governed entirely by the Duke
of Newcastle, and the two lawyers, Hardwicke and Mansfield.
Those lawyers were instances of the discrimination that ought
to be made between the spirit of the laws and the profession
of them. Nobody better read in them, nobody more warm to
enforce them, nobody less actuated by the essence of them.
If either of them ever took the side of liberty, or the side of
mildness, I am willing to be thought to asperse them. The
conduct of the prelates had for so many years been so uni
formly supple, that no man expected any thing from them but
complaisance for the court — and they deceived no man ! The
Hierarchy behaved so nobly in the reign of James the Second,
and has behaved so poorly ever since, that they seem to know
no medium between a mitre and a crown of martyrdom. If
the clergy are not called to the latter, they never deviate from
the pursuit of the former. One would think their motto was,
Canterbury or Smithfield. The heir of the house of Russel
was silent, and at last acquiesced in rejection of the bill. His

GEORGE THE SECOND. 297
compeer, the Duke of Devonshire, who did not love Murray, 1758.
and who had set out with approving the bill, became even an ' Habeas
Corpus Bill.'
emissary to procure votes against it. He wrote to Lord Hert
ford, to press him to come to town and oppose it ; and begged
him, if he had any scruples, to come to him for the clearing of
them. A Cavendish, solhciting against the Habeas Corpus,
was a phaenomenon ; that Cavendish, supposing himself qua
lified for a casuist, was the heigth of burlesque. For the
other Whig duke, Newcastle, he was the most pardonable of
all: there had not been an hour of his life, that laid him
under the least obligation of acting consistently. The House
of Commons maintained their character.
If this survey appears severe, let the motives be considered
and weighed. The bill rejected was of the most national
concern ; if rejected conscientiously, the grounds were those
of convenience preferred to those of immutable right — and
with what arms do tyrants begin to combat hberty, but with
those of necessity and convenience ? But in the present case
I cannot allow conscience to the House of Lords. The House
of Commons*, almost to a man, approved the bill. Five
hundred men are probably as conscientious as two hundred.
But it was evidently an affair of faction ; and was rejected in
compliment to Lord Mansfield, to mark whom it had been
designed, and to gratify the private pique and pubhc authority
of the family of Yorke, the head of which always considered
* Mr. Fox, who did not love Pratt, and paid court to Lord Mansfield, was
one of the very few who gave negatives to the passing of the bill.
VOL. II. Q Q,

298 MEMOIRES OF
1758. what was the law, never on what grounds a law had been
• Habeas made.
inToTds.1 On May 9th the bill was read by the Lords. Lord Hard
wicke, after chicaning upon it, rather than attacking it openly,
proposed to ask the opinions of the judges. Lord Temple
answered him with spirit, and reproached his peers with being
so long governed by one law-lord, now by two. He read the
strong introduction of the Earl of Devonshire to the con
ference with the Commons on the former bill, and concluded
with showing how improper it was to take the opinions of the
judges, which must be biassed, as the new bill inflicted pe
nalties on them, if they refused the writ. This drew on more
altercation between them, and much haughtiness from Lord
Hardwicke, who urged that it was an improper time to press
the bill, when civil authority wanted the utmost support : an
argument that suits the worst times and the worst ministers ;
and never advanced with less truth, for no man living could
say in what instance civil authority had wanted assistance.
Lord Granville spoke for the bill ; but discovering afterwards
how unwelcome it was at St. James's, he attended it no more.
Lord Mansfield opposed the bill, and was seconded by the
Duke of Newcastle, who, though approaching to seventy, still
appeared in the full vigour of his nonsense. Lord Chief Justice
Willes, in the name of his brethren, desired time to consider
the question till next term, as he himself was ill, and three of
the order were obliged to attend for three days at the Old
Bailey. But Lord Hardwicke, who the last year would have

GEORGE THE SECOND. 299
detained admirals under saihng orders of the utmost conse- 1758.
quence, affected to see danger in this delay, in which by the < Habeas
nature of the thing there could be no danger but in not giving in Lords.'
it sufficient dehberation, and was urgent that the judges should
have but two days to consider the point: so httle decency
did that man observe in pursuing the dictates of his passions.
But in this, as in the former case, the House, with all its
complaisance, dechned acquiescence, and allowed the judges
above a fortnight. It was not expected that Lord Hardwicke
would have taken up the point so strongly, as Lord Mansfield,
whom he did not love, was aimed at by the bill : but Charles
Yorke, his son, who resented that Pratt was preferred to him
for attorney-general, had declared against the bill, even with
out consulting his father.
The calling upon the judges for their solemn opinions was
one of those dramatic exhibitions which had twice before been
played off by the ministry with success. No man supposed
that Lord Hardwicke or Lord Mansfield wished, wanted, or
would be directed by the sentiments of the rest, the sub
ordinate part of the order : but the bill was to be thrown out,
and the world to be amused by the gravity of the oracles that
were to pronounce against it. The plan, I beheve, in this, as
in the former cases, was Lord Mansfield's. In his own and
Stone's affair the decorum of the cabinet-council had made
prodigious impression. The admirals, who were rather struck
with awe than inspired it, had served to give a sort of
colour to the fate of Mr. Byng — but in the present instance
qq2

300 MEMOIRES OF
1758. this decoration of the theatre did not terminate so advan-

< Judges' tageously. The cabinet-council had said little, but it was
opinions on
Habeas with dignity: the admirals less, but that was the very thing
Corpus Bill.' , Jo
desired. When the judges came, they were to talk, to talk
on law, and to explain that law by jargon. The field was so
spacious and so inviting, that they ran into all the subtleties,
distinctions, chicaneries, and absurdities of their profession.
They contradicted one another, and no two of them but
differred on some particular case. They exposed themselves
and their instigators, who at last could not build upon any
decision of those sages. They began with Noel, the youngest
judge, a pompous man, of httle solidity. Wilmot, whose
manner was like Lord Mansfield's, and very rapid and full
of fire, spoke warmly against the bill, though the intimate
friend of Pratt and Legge. So did Legge's brother, the
judge, and Adams, another friend of Pratt. Wilmot and
Noel differred in some points of not much moment. The
former spoke with great applause, though too diffusely.
Bathurst was strong against Wilmot; Smyth with him.
Foster could not attend, being hindered by the illness of his
wife ; but he was zealous for the bill, and pubhshed a large
pamphlet in support of it. The rest were discordant and
inconclusive ; and so httle was gained by the delivery of their
opinions, that Lord Temple now pleaded for the bill on the
disagreement of the judges ; and moved a long question, the
purport of which was, that an affidavit of confinement ought
to be a probable cause for the judges to grant the writ. Lord

GEORGE THE SECOND. 301
Lyttelton saying, that in any other place that question would 1758.
be a defamatory hbel on the judges, Lord Temple started up ' Habeas
-Corpus Bill
and said, " This is impertinence I will not bear." — This in Lords.'
occasioned much confusion. Lord Lyttelton explained him
self handsomely, saying, he had apphed words to words, not
to persons: he was sorry if he had given offence; he had
meant less offence to Lord Temple than to any body: he
revered the manes of their former friendship ; he hoped the
ashes were not extinguished past return. To all this Lord
Temple said nothing ; and when the House insisted on their
giving their words that it should proceed no farther, Lord
Temple sullenly endeavoured to avoid it by shifting the
asking of pardon on Lord Lyttelton. The latter engaged
with frankness to drop it — always the most sensible way when
words have passed in pubhc, which are sure of being prevented
from farther discussion. Lord Lyttelton was known to want
no spirit : Lord Temple had been miserably deficient.
The fate of the bill, which could not be procured by the
sanction of the judges, Lord Mansfield was forced to take on
himself. He spoke for two hours and half: his voice and
manner, composed of harmonious solemnity, were the least
graces of his speech. I am not averse to own that I never
heard so much argument, so much sense, so much oratory
united. His deviations into the abstruse minutiae of the law
served but as a foil to the luminous parts of the oration.
Perhaps it was the only speech, that, in my time at least, had
real effect ; that is, convinced many persons. Nor did I ever
know how true a votary I was to hberty, till I found that

302 MEMOIRES OF
1758. I was not one of the number staggered by that speech. I
' Habeas took as many notes of it as I possibly could ; and, prolix as
Corpus Bill.' , . •¦ i i -c -j -ii
they would be, I would give them to the reader, if it would
not be injustice to Lord Mansfield to curtail and mangle, as
I should by the want of connection, so beautifull a thread of
argumentation. Lord Temple made a feeble answer — yet the force of truth
was still so great, that, notwithstanding the visible operation
of Lord Mansfield's speech, they would not venture directly
to reject the bill. Lord Hardwicke agreed that all the judges
ought to have equal power in granting the writ, and said that
he would move to order the judges to bring in such a bill
agaiust the next session. Lord Temple's friends seemed
' Dropped.' glad to catch at this proposal ; and the bill was heard of no
more ! #
The complexion of the rest of the year was military.
Even the softest penetralia of the court were threatened with
storms. The Princess began to perceive an alteration in the
1 Leicester ardour of Lord Bute, which grew less assiduous about her
House.' and increased towards her son. The earl had attained such
an ascendant over the Prince, that he became more remiss to
the mother : and no doubt it was an easier function to lead
the understanding of a youth, than to keep up to the spirit
required by an experienced woman. The Prince even dropped
hints against women interfering in politics. These clouds,
however, did not burst; and the creatures of the Princess
* Till the year 1816, when this just and necessary measure passed with
little notice, and no reference to the judges. E.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 303
vindicated her from any breach with Lord Bute with as much 1758.
earnestness as if their union had been to her honour.
The King of Prussia opened one of his ablest campaigns. Operation
The same enemies still crouded upon him, though much of of Prussia.
their vigour was abated by the extraordinary efforts they had
made to overwhelm him : yet obhging him to make head
against so many armies, his fall at last seemed inevitable.
Sweden, involved in domestic broils, rather kept up his
attention, and divided his forces, than hurt him actively.
The unweildy numbers of Muscovites again advanced. The
Czarina, inflexible in resentments, which she did not attend
enough to the operations of government to enforce properly,
had thought herself betrayed. Apraxin was recalled; the
great Chancellor Bestucheff, inchned to England, was dis
graced, and new generals commissioned to execute her ven
geance. The Empress-queen had drained her own and her
husband's dominions to collect a decisive force — yet the
vivacity of the King of Prussia, instead of entrenching wholly
on the defensive, though he disposed various armies to keep
the Russians at bay and to cover Saxony, led him to a hardy
step : after besieging and taking Schweidnitz in thirteen days,
he instantaneously appeared in Moravia, the short road to
Vienna. Daun had thought him preparing to attack Bo
hemia, when, to his surprize, he heard the King had opened
the siege of Olmutz. On this theatre the alert monarch and
the cautious marshal displayed all the resources of their art,
and by the opposition of their characters, and the balance of

S04 MEMOIRES OF
1758. their talents, showed each other in every hght that could
1 Operations create admiration. But this is a theme beyond my flight : —
of the King . .
of Prussia.' suffice it to say, that Daun repaired his oversight by cutting
off the King's convoys, and reducing him to raise the siege ;
and the King converted this check into new matter of glory,
by suddenly starting from Daun, getting a march of two days,
and piercing into Bohemia, where he made himself master of
Konigsgratz, while Daun did not suspect that he had driven
him from a siege to a conquest. In fact, it was not Daun alone
that rescued Olmutz and saved Vienna: the Russians were
pouring upon Brandenburgh, not more formidable by their
designs than by their dreadfull manner of executing them.
Savage cruelty and devastation attended their march. They
beseiged Custrin with unspeakable fury, and reduced the
brave governor to defend a mountain of ashes and a few
ruinous walls — the next step was Berhn. But I am advanced
too far into the year, and must look back to other operations.
Expedition Mr. Pitt, no less enterprizing than Frederic, but a httle less
toSt.Maloes. informed, and a good deal less disposed to listen to information,
determined to strike some mighty stroke on his part, that might
combine his name with the glory of that king, and cement
and justify their harmony. Unfortunately, his mind was not
purged of its vision of Rochfort, and he again chose the coast
of France for the scene of his romance. A strong fleet was
equipped of eighteen ships of the line, thirteen frigates, three
sloops, four fire-ships, and two bomb-ketches, and carrying an
army of fourteen thousand landmen and six thousand marines.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 303
The Duke of Marlborough, on whom Lord George Sackville 1758.
could not avoid attending, was appointed general. Commodore ' Expedition
, . , «• -m -. toSt-Maloes.'
Howe was destined to lead the fleet : on which Sir Edward
Hawke struck his flag; but, being persuaded to resume it,
accompanied Lord Anson, who took the command himself
The mode of volunteers, which the duke had always dis
couraged, now revived : Sir James Lowther, master of 40,000/-
a year, Lord Downe, Sir John Armitage, and others, embarked
with the expedition. Lord Granby at the same time came
into the service, and was appointed colonel of the Blues ; and
George Townshend, now there was no more question of the
Duke, returned to the army, and was restored on the foot of
his former rank. The armament sailed on the first of June.
Lord Anson, with the larger ships, kept out at sea; Howe
led the transports, which for some days were kept back by
contrary winds, but anchored on the fifth in Cancalle-bay,
near St. Maloes. The troops landed without opposition ;
when the commanders (as in former expeditions) seeming
dispatched, so scanty was their inteUigence, to discover the
coast of France, rather than to master it, soon perceived that
the town was so strongly situated, and approachable only by a
narrow causeway, that, after burning a parcel * of small vessels,
they returned to their ships; and the French learned that
they were not to be conquered by every Duke of Marl
borough. The duke himself was personally brave, and was
* The King said to Lord Waldegrave, " I never had any opinion of it: we
shall brag of having burnt their ships, and they, of having driven us away."
VOL. II. R R

306 MEMOIRES OF
1758. eager to land on the first possibihty; but he had neither
'Expedition experience, nor information, nor probabihty on his side
to French
coast: adequate to such a bravado. However, it was well for him
that his miscarriage happened under the auspices of Pitt, not
of Fox. Here, it was said, his grace and his troops remarked
that Lord George Sackville was not among the first to court
danger ; and Howe, who never made a friendship but at the
mouth of a cannon, had conceived and expressed strong
aversion to him*. It is certain that both the duke and
Lord George were so sick of naval expeditions, that, after
parading before Granvelle and Cherbourg, they returned with
the fleet to St. Helen's, and set out for the army in Germany,
where the duke took the command of the Enghsh forces.
General Blighe had been fetched from Ireland on that intent,
but was obhged to cede to the superior influence of Marl
borough f ; and more cruelly was appointed to resume the
thread of our silly expeditions, from which Mr. Pitt and the
mob still expected I don't know what of glory. Blighe was
an elderly man, of no talents, brave, but in every other shape
unfit for the destined service, supposing there was such a
thing as fitness for that service. The armament sailed again,
and Prince Edward embarked with them: and that some
* They agreed so ill, that one day Lord George putting several questions to
Howe, and receiving no answer, said, " Mr. Howe, don't you hear me ? I have
asked you several questions." Howe replied, " I don't love questions."
t The King would have hindered Lord George from going to Germany;
but he preferred it to expeditions, and would go ; and did, even without kissing
the King's hand.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 307
utility might at least be pretended from this vain expence, 1758.
Prince Ferdinand, to flatter Pitt, wrote letter after letter to
declare the great benefits he reaped from our expeditions, by
which the attention and troops of France were divided: an
affirmation of so httle truth, that the Duke of Marlborough,
in the hurry of their retreat, having left his silver tea-spoons
behind him, the Due d'Aiguillon, pohtely to mark contempt,
sent them home by a cartel-ship.
But Prince Ferdinand, who thus complimented the Enghsh Passage of
the Rhine by-
ministry on the wisdom of these idle measures, showed it was Prince Fer
dinand, and
not from want of knowing how to perform reahties. Having hls victory
. atCrevelt.
pushed the French beyond the Rhine, he passed it himself at
Herven in sight of their whole army, and soon echpsed the
glory of that passage by defeating them at Crevelt, where they
lost seven thousand men, and the Due de Gisors, only son of
Marshal Belleisle, an amiable and accomphshed young man.
The King bad Knyphausen thank the King of Prussia for
giving him so able a general. The princess Gouvernante wrote
to Prince Ferdinand to complain of his passing over part of
the territories of the States. He rephed, " He was sorry ; it
had been over a very small part, and he should not have
violated even that, had he had the same Dutch guides that
led the French to Hanover in the preceding year."
The French were commanded by the Count de Clermont,
a prince of the blood, of no estimation : their discipline was so
bad, that two-and-fifty officers went to amuse themselves at
Paris without leave of the court. D'Etrees, their best general,
r r 2

308 MEMOIRES OF
1758. had been recalled by the intrigues of Madame Pompadour
and her faction, whose interest was displayed in a remarkable
instance. At a meeting of the marshals of France, D'Etrees
complained of a hbel written against him, which he produced.
Maillebois, attached to the mistress, said, " It would be right
for the honour of the corps to have it inquired into ; and the
more so, because he believed the charge was weU-grounded, as
he had been informed by his son, who wrote the pamphlet."
The declaration was frank : Maillebois was banished, and his
son chastized, but gently; and indemnification was soon pro
cured for both.
Defeats of The victory of Crevelt did not draw on the consequences
Prince Ysen.™
berg and that were expected. Contades, the fourth commander
Chevert. dispatched into Germany by the fluctuating councils at
Versailles, found employment for Prince Ferdinand without
risking another battle; and the Due de Broglio and the
Prince de Soubise attacked and cut to pieces seven thousand
Hessians under the Prince of Ysenberg ; and would, it was
feared, intercept the Enghsh troops under the Duke of
Marlborough, who landed at Embden. This became more
probable, as Monsieur Chevert formed a plan to burn one of
Prince Ferdinand's bridges and to seize his magazines, and
cut off Baron Imhoff, who was posted to secure the passage
of the Rhine. But Imhoff, who soon perceived his own
desperate situation, destroyed this well-concerted scheme,
which failed by its very approach to success; for Imhoff
would not stay to be surrounded, but with his little force

GEORGE THE SECOND.
attacked Chevert (who commanded twelve thousand men) and
dispersed them in less than half an hour, taking eleven pieces of
cannon, their baggage, and a great number of prisoners. Chevert
was one of the ablest officers in the French service ; Imhoff, a
man of so httle capacity, that the talents of his hfe seemed to
have been reserved for this sole occasion. The junction with
the Enghsh was made, and Prince Ferdinand repassed the
Rhine unmolested.
During these operations the parliament of England rose ; History of
and nothing worth notice happened but the conviction of
Dr. Hensey, a poor physician, who had been taken up in the
preceding year for a treasonable correspondence. It appeared
that he was a pensioner of France, who gave him but an
hundred a year, and thought it too much; threatening, in
answer to his repeated solhcitations of invasion, that they
would withdraw their allowance, unless he found means of
giving them more material inteUigence. The threat had
such effect, that he gave them the first notice of the design
on Rochfort. How he obtained it, I know not; but his
close connection with D'Abreu, the Spanish resident, whose
physician he was, and who visited him often in prison, and
who obtained his pardon on the very morning that he was
going to execution, made it probable that he was only a tool
of that minister, known to wish iU to England.
The election of a pope drew a momentary attention to Election of a
Rome, which did not use to be forgotten because Europe was
embroiled. Benedict XIV. was dead. Thirty-four cardinals

310 MEMOIRES OF
1758. wished to raise Cardinal Cavalchini to the tiara : but he was

Election of disagreeable to the court of France, which endeavoured to
a. pope.'
deal with the Holy Ghost, in the more decent way of intrigue,
to prevent his exaltation. Lanti, who had several benefices
in France, was admonished not to vote for him ; but Lanti
was his intimate friend, and had the promise of being secretary
of state. France apphed too to the cardinal of York, on whom
they had lately bestowed rich abbies : but his obstinacy always
found out some virtue to justify itself; and when they pressed
his father to dissuade him from voting for Cavalchini, young
Stuart rephed, " He had rather lose his head than violate his
conscience." For twenty-four hours Cavalchini's party was
inflexible. The French cardinals endeavoured to get the
nomination put off till the arrival of the German Cardinal
Roolt, who was supposed to have the secret of the court of
Vienna: but aU was in vain. The declaration was fixed;
when the Cardinal de Luynes, finding no temperate measures
would have any effect, produced a formal exclusion of Caval
chini. It occasioned great amazement and disgust. Of late
years no such step had been practiced. The friends of
Cavalchini let him for one night enjoy the dream of empire :
it was not till next morning that his friend Lanti went to his
cell, and announced the fatal veto. However he received the
stroke in private, his pubhc answer was sensible : he thanked
the court of France for saving him from the tremendous
station of being God's vicar upon earth. The ostensible reason
of his exclusion was his attachment to the King of Sardinia;

GEORGE THE SECOND. 311
the true one, his being devoted to the Jesuits. In the 1758.
critical situation of religious affairs in France it was not
thought proper to throw the weight of the court of Rome
into the scale of those fathers, and to suffer at the head of
the church a man who had written strongly in favour of the
canonization of Cardinal Bellarmine. It was said, that the
same exclusion would have been urged against Cardinal
Durini, had he appeared on the lists before Cavalchini.
Durini's crime was of a less pubhc nature, but not a more
remissible one: when nuntio in France, he had refused to
visit Madame Pompadour.
Rezzonico, a simple Venetian bigot, not at all less addicted ' Rezzonico
pope.'
to the Jesuits than Cavalchini, ascended the papal chair. The
revolution of affairs was singular ; the state of Venice had been
on the point, just when the late pope died, of incurring the
penalty of excommunication for disobedience to the Holy See.
The English fleet had again sailed from St. Helen's to Taking of
Cherbourg.
attack the French coast. Prince Edward went on board
Mr. Howe's ship, and General Bhghe led the land forces.
They soon anchored before Cherbourg, landed, and the next
day without opposition entered the town. There they
destroyed the bason formed at great expence, burned some
small vessels, and brought away the brass cannon and mortars,
which were reposed for some days in Hyde-Park, to the high
amusement of the populace, and then with equal ostentation
drawn through the city and deposited at the Tower. But
the news of a much more considerable conquest arrived at the

312 MEMOIRES OF
1758. same time : Cape Breton was again fallen under the power of
•Cape Breton England. Admiral Boscawen and General Amherst, with a
fleet of one hundred and fifty sail and fourteen thousand men,
had appeared before Louisbourg on the 2d of June, and by
the end of July made themselves masters of the place, after
destroying or taking five men of war that lay to cover it.
The bravery of the English and the want of spirit in the
French never appeared in greater opposition: the former
making their attacks on spots which the French deemed
impregnable, threw them into utter dismay; and dictated
very quick and unjustifiable submission. Bosca wen's rough
courage was fully known before ; Amherst was a cool, sensible
man, whose conduct, now first experienced in command, shone
to great advantage; and the activity of spirit in Wolfe, who
accompanied him, contributed signally to the reduction of the
place. The colours taken there were carried with great parade
to St. Paul's.
Other events The other operations in America were not equally
in America. ' -1 J
succesfull. Lord Howe was killed in a skirmish, in which
he gained the advantage, as the army was marching against
Ticonderoga; before which place Abercrombie was defeated
with the loss of two thousand men, and from whence he
made a precipitate retreat. Colonel Bradstreet, however,
took Fort Frontenac ; and General Forbes, Fort Duquesne.
The French, indeed, behaved ill every where. The ambitious
plans of their government, their perfidious breach of treaties,
and their airs of superiority, were not at all supported by

GEORGE THE SECOND. 313
genius in their ministers, conduct in their officers, or bravery 1758.
in their troops. The most remarkable advantage they ob
tained against us was in an affair, in which, though the
bravery of our officers and troops was gallant and firm beyond
expectation, yet there certainly appeared neither genius in the
ministers who directed, nor conduct in the commanders who
were entrusted with the execution — if I may use the term
execution — of an affair, in which there was neither plan nor
common sense. This was the unhappy action at St. Cas.
The fleet, after leaving Cherbourg, hovered about the Affair at st,
Cas.
coast of France; and at last the troops were landed on the
other side of St. Maloes, in the bay St. Lunaire. The new
Lord Howe contented himself with setting them on shore ;
and the weather proving very tempestuous, he left them
there, with directions to come to him at St. Cas by land.
What he left them there to do, or why General Blighe
sufferred himself to be left there, no man living could ever tell
or guess. The troops, as if landed on some new-discovered
coast of America, roved about the country for some days, even
without artiUery, tiU they heard that the Due d'Aiguillon,
with a considerable force, was within a few miles. A retreat
to the ships was immediately ordered. The French advanced,
but keeping at a distance till their prey was sure. Our
troops were to descend the rocks ; among which they were no
sooner embarassed, than the French appeared on the rising
grounds above them; and before the grenadier-guards, who
made the last stand to cover the embarkation, could get on
VOL. II. S S

314 MEMOIRES OF
1758. board, the French fell on them in a hollow way, and made a
• Affair at St. dreadfull slaughter. Yet the intrepidity of the soldiers and
of the young officers of the guards was displayed in the most
heroic manner — but in vain — many of the latter fell. General
Dury was shot, and fell into the sea. Sir John Armitage, a
young volunteer of fortune, was lost, and several officers of
quality and figure were made prisoners. The folly of this
exploit, the inhumanity of exposing gallant men to carnage for
no end imaginable but to satisfy the obstinate ostentation of
a minister, who was as much determined to do something as
he was really determined to do well, was contrasted, with
great severity, on our nation, by the tender attentions, polite
ness, and good-nature of the Due d'Aiguillon, who spared his
victims the moment he dared to spare, and comforted and
relieved the prisoners and wounded, as if he had been their
own commander. Such was the conclusion of Mr. Pitt's in
vasions of France, the idleness or fruitlesness of which took
off from the judgment of his other attempts and successes ;
though, while this country exists in independence, not even
his own ambition, which prompted his attempts, can detract
from the merit of his undertaking, retrieving, re-estabhshing,
the affairs of Britain.
General Blighe, the passive tool in this Quixotism, was the
only sufferer after their return. He was so ill received, that
he found it necessary to resign his regiment and government,
and saw himself undone by being sent, when a veteran officer
of horse, to command a naval expedition. He had been

GEORGE THE SECOND. 315
actuated, during the course of these enterprizes, by a young 1758.
Lord Fitz-morrice and the adventurer Clarke, who diverted
himself from the ships with the difficulties his comrades found
in reimbarking. But he was on the point of falling under the
punishment due to his arrogance: depending on his interest
in the general, he had broken the arrest under which he had
been put, for some misdemeanour, by Cunningham, his com
manding officer ; the same Cunningham, whose handsome be
haviour at Minorca I have mentioned: at his return from
thence he had been preferred by the Duke, who told him he
had been misinformed of his character, and was sorry he had
not sooner known his merit. At their return from St. Cas,
Cunningham insisted on bringing Clarke before a court-martial.
The Princess unwisely countenanced the latter, who had made
himself odious to the army, and who escaped ; Cunningham
being suddenly ordered on the expedition to Martinico and
Guadaloupe, at the latter of which places he unfortunately
died, when his services were in the fairest train of being
rewarded. We left the King of Prussia in apprehension of seeing his
own dominions become the theatre of war. To detail his
actions would destroy the idea of their rapidity. He had
flown from the siege of Olmutz to invade Bohemia, attacking
his enemies every where, while his generals could scarce pre
serve themselves on the defensive. Dohna was watching the
Russians rather than opposing them : Manteuffel could scarce
make a firmer stand even against the Swedes. Prince Henry
s s 2

316

MEMOIRES OF

1758.

Battle of
Custrin, and
relief of
Dresden.

Disputeswith Hol
land.

was threatened as he covered Dresden. The King, always
present where the nearest danger pressed, appeared before the
ruined walls of Custrin, gave battle to the Russians, and after
a bloody contention from nine in the morning till seven at
night, obhged that savage and undaunted people to retire.
Above twenty thousand had fallen*, yet slaughter seemed to
inspire them with fierceness rather than with dismay: when
obliged at last to avoid a butchery which they had tempted
rather than repelled, they retired in good order, and even
claimed the honour of the day. The trifling loss sufferred by
the King's troops, and the consequences of the victory, which
delivered him from those barbarians for that campaign, con
tented a Prince, who had been forced into a hero, and who
knew that many such successes were necessary, before he
could lay aside the sword. He left Dohna to adjust the con
troversy of victory, and marched to the relief of his brother.
He accomplished it by joining him, and Daun retired. The
Swedes marched back with precipitation on the defeat of the
Muscovites. About this time we were on the point of a rupture with
Holland. That country was sunk in power and reputation,
laboured with debts and factions, was influenced by no genius,
and had lost all mihtary spirit. In such a situation, no wonder
they were not desirous of again beholding the armies of their
neighbour King on the frontiers of Flanders ; the only spot
where those universal aspirers, the French, know how to shine.
* It was said, " no people ever took so much killing."

GEORGE THE SECOND. 317
Animated by no zeal of a common cause, the Dutch, who were 1758.
determined not to engage on our side, thought the second < Disputes
step of prudence was to profit of our calamities. The States ^nd-
winked commercially at supphes furnished by their merchants
to the French colonies, and, a little more than commercially,
transported*, not only their commodities, but mihtary stores.
Our privateers, as apt to infringe treaties as the wisest burgo
master, and who distinguished between friendship and enmity
by no rule but that which constituted contraband goods, made
very free with the ships of our friends employed by our
enemies. Those friends complained with as httle modesty as
if they had acted like friends : we rephed with firmness, and
advised them to avoid giving provocation. They grew more
violent, without growing more impartial. Their ships were
condemned as legal captures. Their merchants presented re
monstrance after remonstrance to the Princess Gouvernante,
pressing her to proceed to more open declarations. She, who
knew that clamour was not power but in its own country, told
them, she would not declare, unless they would augment their
forces. The Dutch endeavoured to draw Spain and Denmark,
who had sufferred in the same manner from the same causes,
though in a less degree, into an association against what they
called our piracies. The Princess was dying: it was appre
hended that her death would let loose all the interested fury
of the Dutch traders. The Duke of Newcastle ordered Mr.
* They were permitted to trade to the French colonies, a privilege denied to
them in time of peace.

318

MEMOIRES OF

1758.

Assassination of the
King of
Portugal-.

Yorke to make strong promises of satisfaction to Holland :
this was without communicating with Mr. Pitt ; who receiving
duplicates of complaints, empowered Mr. Yorke to give as
surances of much fainter complexion. Mr. Yorke answered,
that was now too late ; he had been commissioned to give,
and had accordingly given encouragement to hope for fuller
redress. Pitt, with becoming warmth, expostulated with New
castle, and bad him get out of the scrape as he could. More
of this dispute will appear hereafter.
While Europe was attending to the scenes of blood ex
hibited by most of its formidable powers, its attention was
called off by an event very foreign to those struggles. An
attempt of assassination was made on the person of the King
of Portugal. One night, as he was returning in his chaise,
with very few attendants, from an affair of gallantry, he was
attacked and shot through the arm: the assassins thought
their work compleated. The King was not wounded mortally,
and recovered in a few weeks. The court's ignorance of the
murderers, and of the cause of the blow, prompted them to
endeavour to conceal the fact. Their ministers in foreign
courts were ordered to give out that the King had had a fall
in his palace, had hurt his arm, and that during his incapacity
of signing papers, the Queen would assume the reins of go
vernment. A tale too ill-concerted, not to divulge the secret,
supposing the assassination of a King could have remained a
secret. Yet the notoriety of the fact led the public to no
light into it. Revenge was undoubtedly the groundwork :

GEORGE THE SECOND. 319
but whether the revenge of an injured husband, of a dis- 1758.
honoured house, or of more holy murderers, all the curiosity ,AsSaSS;na.
of the public could not ascertain. The lady, supposed in K°ng°of
question, was of illustrious blood— yet, jealous and vindictive
as Portuguese and Spaniards are, they seldom carry their deli
cacy of honour so high as to think the wound irreperable, if
given by their sovereign. But there was atiother order of
men, on whose ideas the generality reasoned differently : an
order not so scrupulous about receiving affronts, or of re
turning injuries, where more essential interests than their
honour is concerned. These were the Jesuits : they had long
assumed dominion over Paraguay, and had established an
oaconomy of government there, which, while it ensured their
authority by endearing them to the governed, almost made
amends, by the felicity they established among the people of
that province, for the numberless mischiefs they have brought
on other countries. In short, the Jesuits alone indemnified
the Americans of that region for the loss of their liberty, and
atoned for some of the cruelties exercised by European con
querors. But the good fathers were not content with dis
pensing blessings as proxies for others : the Paraguayans
must own their sceptre as well as their beneficence. I do not
pretend to pierce the mysterious veil thrown over the trans
actions of that country, nor to assert the tale of their actually
crowning one of their order. It is sufficient to say, that the
court of Lisbon had entertained the strongest jealousy of their
proceedings ; had determined to break the charm by which
they excluded their own sovereign from interfering in his own

320 ' MEMOIRES OF
1758. domain; and had actually engaged that upright pontif, Be
nedict XIV. to discountenance their ambitious proceedings.
The fathers even apprehended severe decrees from the Va
tican. At that crisis the life of the King of Portugal was
attempted — no wonder the Jesuits were suspected.
f Portugal.' The court of Lisbon, which in its confusion had formed so
improbable a story to account for the disappearance of the
King, did not act by any means, in its subsequent proceedings,
with equal inconsideration. The consequences of this affair
ran into the following year; but being totally unconnected
with every transaction that I propose to relate, I shall throw
the whole of this Portuguese history into this place. The
first minister was Carvalho*, a bold, pohtic man, who hated
the Jesuits. For some months the court observed a total
silence : nobody was apprehended, no suspicion discovered.
Till Carvalho had got a clue that led to the darkest recesses
of the mystery, it was affected to forget or treat the whole as
an accident of a private nature. How he wound himself into
the secret, I do not pretend to say : there were many accounts,
probably meer conjectures : it is an anecdote never likely to
be known. The first notification to the public that the con
spiracy was discovered, was made by seizing at the same in
stant, at a ball, the whole families of Tavora and Aveiro,
houses of the first rank and noblest birth in Portugal, and the
chiefs of which were possessed of the greatest posts and em
ployments about the King. To them, till assembled in the
* Marquis of Pombal.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 321
snare, the King wore a face of the most unsuspecting favour. 1758.
The Marchioness of Tavora was a woman of fierce and lofty , Portugat>.
spirit ; one of the married young ladies, the person beloved
by the King. And hence the whole dark plot was unravelled ;
and the two different conjectures of the pubhc on the cause of
the assassination appeared to have been both true, for they
were combined together. The Jesuits had worked on the
pride and jealousy of the injured husband and his house, till
those rash noblemen thought to revenge themselves, while
they only acted the revenge of the Jesuits. Enough was
confessed to establish the guilt of both the one and the other.
How far the plot was spread, and how far its views extended,
perhaps the conspirators themselves knew not : whatever they
discovered beyond their actual guilt, and the participation of
the Jesuits, was locked up in the penetraha of the palace.
The pubhc learned enough in knowing the latter; perhaps
too much in seeing the dreadfull executions of several of the
principal conspirators, and in not seeing some justice done on
the most guilty, the instigators of the crime. The old mar
chioness was beheaded, and died with as heroic spirit as if she
sufferred for her country. Her husband and son-in-law suf
ferred the most exquisite torments. A hapless youth, her
son, shared her fate, with others of his house. One of the
actual assassins, a hired bravo, or servant, was put to extreme
torture. All the Jesuits and their effects were seized, and
their persons imprisoned, while leave was demanded from
Rome to punish them in a more exemplary manner. But
VOL. II. T T

322 MEMOIRES OF
1758. there the strong sense of Benedict was no longer on the
' Portugal.* throne — and an absolute Prince, wounded by the practices of
priests, did not dare to proceed to extremities. The dress of
religion guarded men, the more guilty for violating the duties
of their profession. As the Pope's permission to inflict capital
punishments could not be obtained, the court of Lisbon took
upon itself to embark the whole order of Jesuits, and sent
them to Rome to the patron of their crimes ; reserving only a
few of the most guilty, whose fate is still a secret*.
I cannot quit this subject without taking notice of the
manifesto issued by the court on the detection of the con
spiracy. The spirit of despotic government never defined
itself with so much truth, or with less modesty, than in that
singular piece: I say nothing of the ridiculous bombast in
which it is cloathed ; but the following maxims of an arbitrary
court ought to be inscribed in our seats of legislature and of
law, by the side of the humane rules of our government, that
we might know how justly to value the one, and avoid what
ever tends to approach it to the other. " Whereas," says the
Portuguese manifesto, " all presumptions of the law are held
for so many every way unquestionable truths, and for so many
full and uncontrovertible proofs, and lay the person, who has
them against him, under the incumbency of producing other
contrary proofs of such strength and efficacy, as may con
clusively destroy them, &c." and the next paragraph adds,
* Malagrida, the chief criminal, was executed long afterwards, but under the
clumsy pretence of being condemned by the Inquisition.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 323
" Whereas, the law presumes, that he who has been once bad, 1753.
will be always bad in crimes of the same species with that he
has already committed, &c." Could one imagine that two
assertions, so repugnant to all ideas of justice, were produced
as instances of condescension and moderation ? and yet, in the
beginning of the first of these paragraphs, it is maintained,
that the presumptions of the law, which condemn the ring
leaders or heads of the said conspiracy to be punished thereby
with all the rigours of the law, would amply suffice, without
the proofs which the court had obtained. Are Lisbon and
London so distant as these notions, and our estabhshment of
juries, and the methods by which the latter are bound to
proceed ?
While our army in Germany lay on the defensive, the fatal ' English
army in
distempers incident to a camp raged there, and in particular Germany.'
carried off the Duke of Marlborough. The command of the
Enghsh devolved on Lord George Sackville, between whom
and Prince Ferdinand there was by no means any cordiality.
Both hked to govern, neither was disposed to be governed.
Prince Ferdinand had gained an ascendant over the Duke of
Marlborough, and Lord George had lost it ; sufficient ground
work for their enmity. Lord Granby, the next in rank to
Lord George, was an honest, open-hearted young man, of un
daunted spirit and no capacity ; and if he wanted any other
recommendation to Prince Ferdinand besides these ductile
quahties, he drank as profusely as a German. Lord George's
haughtiness lost this young man, as he had the Duke of Marl-
t t 2

324 MEMOIRES OF
1758. borough ; Prince Ferdinand knew better how to bend in order
to domineer. In the mean time the King of Prussia, who had performed
such shining actions in this campaign, was again reminded by
Marshal Daun, that the solid glory of generalship, if not the
brilliancy, might be disputed with him. As the King lay in
the strong camp of Bautzen, extending to Hochkirchen, co
vering, as he thought, Misnia, Lusatia, and Brandenburgh,
preserving a communication with his brother, and at hand to
Defeat at throw succours into Silesia, Daun, marching in the dead of
Hoch
kirchen. night, surprized his right wing, and the first notice of the
attack was given in the heart of the Prussian camp. There
fell Marshal Keith ; and Prince Francis of Brunswic, mounting
his horse on the first alarm, lost his head by a cannon-ball.
In this critical moment the King possessed himself, that is,
coolness and ardour : he flew to the thick of the contest, and
after leading on his troops four times to the most desperate
service, retreated in good order. He lost 7000 men, but scarce
any ground or reputation. Surprized in the night, he behaved
with as much conduct as if he had made the assault, and re
tired from the conflict as if only from a disappointment.
Twice now had he been defeated by Marshal Daun; both
times he appeared greater from his activity and resources. It
was still more extraordinary, when, after his loss at Hoch
kirchen, he acted in the style of conqueror. He prevented
Daun from penetrating into Silesia, and hastened into that
province himself, where Neiss and Cosel were besieged by the

GEORGE THE SECOND. 325
Austrian generals Harsch and DeviUe. On the King's ap- 1758.
proach both sieges were instantly raised. Daun, the check Sieges 0f
and illustrator of Frederic's glory, who, by beating the King, andDresden
had only precipitated his succour of his own dominions, had raise'
no choice left, but to attack Dresden. He led a great army
to besiege it, but Schmettau, the governor, having burned the
suburbs and retired into the city, before Daun could begin
any regular operations against the place, the King of Prussia
was returned from his successes in Silesia, and concluded the
campaign with obliging his conqueror to abandon Dresden.
After this the several armies went into winter-quarters.
Nov. 23d the parliament met. Pitt opened the basiness Parliament
• ¦ meets.
of the session with art, seeming to avoid aU ostentation of
power, while he assumed every thing to himself but the dis
position of the money. That load he left on the Treasury,
and vast, he said, it would be ; heaps of millions must be
raised — thus affecting to heighten rather than disguise the
expence and the difficulties of our situation— we could not
make the same war as the French, or as our ancestors did, for
the same money. He painted the distress of France, and
coloured high what had been done by ourselves. He called
on any who disapproved the measures taken or taking, to
speak out, to discuss them, or to propose others then; not to
he in wait in hopes of distresses, and then find fault; though
for himself he hoped he should never be judged by events.
If there were any secret Austrians in the house, instead of
dispersing pamphlets, he invited them to speak out. This

326 MEMOIRES OF
1758. was particularly levelled at Doddington, who had just pub
lished severe reflections on Pitt and the Prussian cause, in a
piece called Examination of a Letter attributed to General
Addresses of Blighe. The addresses of both Houses were couched in strong
thanks. b °
terms of panegyric. Prince Ferdinand was commended by
name ; and Sir Richard Grosvenor, a young converted Tory,
who seconded the address, called Mr. Pitt a blazing star.
Gther thanks were moved and voted to Admiral Boscawen
and General Amherst for the conquest of Cape Breton, of
which Sir, John Phihpps said, he hoped no ministry would
ever rob us. Beckford re-echoed this, and spoke on the su
periority we had now attained : all the Duke of Marlborough's
battles had given us no real superiority. Pitt rephed, it was
too early to decide on what we would or would not restore:
the Duke of Marlborough had acquired superiority ; the peace
of Utrecht gave it away. And then (whether equity or flat
tery dictated the declaration) he protested, that at the peace
he would not give up an iota of our allies for any British con
sideration. This, it was pretended, was to satisfy the Land
grave of Hesse, who was afraid of being abandoned. The
Duke of Newcastle had early presented an address from the
University of Cambridge, in which that reverend body were
by no means penurious of compliments on the Hanoverian
victory. It was even resented at court that the city of London
had been more reserved — so much were times changed ! a few
years before it was thought lucky if the city did not pass
some censure even on success, if it came from that quarter.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 327
The victory of Dettingen had been stigmatized as an escape. 1758.
The prisoners now brought from Louisbourg raised the num
bers of that nation captive here to twenty-four thousand ; and
the King of France, to increase the burthen of our expence,
withdrew his allowance to them. Admiral Osborn, too, re
ceived the thanks of the Commons for the activity with which
he had guarded the Mediterranean, and, by preventing suc
cours, contributed to the conquest of Cape Breton. He was
a man of singular modesty and bravery, and had lost an eye
by the palsy during the hardship of his service ; but being
allied to Admiral Byng, not the least notice was taken of him
by the King. An army of near 95,000 British troops, and 'Army
voted.'
near 7000 foreigners, were voted, and above twelve millions of
money raised for the service of the ensuing year : an enormous
sum to be furnished by a country no larger than and so in
debted as England, but exceeded by the great benefits to
which it contributed. I mention these things in gross, and
very cursorily ; they will be found at large in all our common
histories. Were I master of them, I should touch on them
with reluctance. The system of money, the great engine on
which all modern affairs turn, is become of so comphcated a
nature, and labours with such ungracious intricacies, that no
beauties of style, scarce any clearness of expression, can re
concile it to a reader of common indolence. How such
systems would have perplexed the elegance of Roman or
Greek historians! what eloquent periods could they have

328 MEMOIRES OF
1758. formed, encumbered with three-per-cents, discounts, premiums,
South-sea annuities, and East India bonds !
Affair of Dr. Nov. 28th, Dr. Shebbear, author of several letters to the
Shebbear. people of England, having been tried for many treasonable
expressions in the sixth of them, was sentenced by the King's
Bench to stand in the pillory, to be imprisoned for three
years, and then to find security of 1000/. for his good be
haviour for seven years following — the latter part of the
sentence importing in effect perpetual imprisonment, for both
the fortune and character of the man were at the lowest ebb.
Though he had been the most open champion of the Jacobite
cause, though his libel tended to point out the mischiefs en
tailed on this country by union with Hanover*, and though
the bitterest parts of the work were a satire on King William
and King George the First, his venom by no means flowed
from principle. He had long declared that he would write
himself into a place or the pillory ; the latter of which proved
his fate, as Mr. Pelham, the purchaser of opponents, was dead,
and as Shebbear's pen, though not without force, could not
find the way to be hired by the Duke of Newcastle. The
most remarkable part of this trial was the Chief Justice
Mansfield laying down for law, that satires even on dead
* The motto was with some humour taken from the Revelations: "And
I looked, and behold a pale horse [alluding to the white horse in the arms of
Hanover] and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed." Chap. 6,
v. 8

GEORGE THE SECOND. 329
Kings were punishable. Whatever obsolete statutes may pro- 1158.
nounce, can any thing be more foreign to the genius of Enghsh
constitution, nay, to the practice even of arbitrary countries ?
Where are tyrants sacred, when once dead ? Adieu ! veracity
and history, if the King's Bench is to appreciate your ex
pressions ! If the dead are not to be censured, it is only pro
nouncing history a libel, and the annals of Britain shall grow
as civil things as the sermons at St. James's.
It was a misfortune that Shebbear had gone such enormous ' shebbear.'
lengths, that the warmest friends to the hberty of the press
could scarce lament the handle taken to restrain its licentious
ness. On the 5th of December the man stood in the piUory,
having a footman holding an umbrella to keep off the rain.
The mob received him with three huzzas: he had had the
confidence to disperse printed bills, inviting the friends of the
liberty of the press and of old England to be at Charing Cross
by twelve o'clock of that day, to see the British champion.
Colonel Robert Brudenel, a hot-headed and foohsh young
officer, threatened the sheriff for the indulgence allowed to
Shebbear ; and the King's Bench afterwards actually punished
him. Insignificant as the man, and scandalous as his cause
was, such periods are often critical to hberty. The court
victorious, the minister popular, an arbitrary magistrate, a
worthless criminal, officers undiscerning and ready to act any
violence, when their master is affronted — how little was wanted
to roll the machine of power to any eminence !
The miscarriages at St. Maloes and St. Cas, and the slender
VOL. n. u u

330 MEMOIRES OF
1758. advantages accruing even from success at Cherbourg, had a
little opened Mr. Pitt's eyes. He could not help seeing that
the slaughter at St. Cas was not very preferable to the blood
less return from Rochfort. He recollected that Conway had
' Pitts be- offerred to be as rash as Blighe, though having at the same
haviour to ° ° °
Conway.' time thrown judgment into his plan. If Blighe was punished
for exposing his troops, and Mordaunt and Conway for bringing
back theirs in safety, the imphcation was that Mr. Pitt would
pardon nothing but victory. These or some such reflections
made him change his behaviour to Conway. Both the brothers
being in waiting at Kensington, Pitt took Lord Hertford aside,
and told him he knew the nicety of the subject on which he
was going to speak : that a new expedition being projected
to the West Indies, and Hobson appointed to the command,
he (Pitt) desired to explain to his lordship, that no opposition
from him had prevented Mr. Conway from being employed on
it, as the latter had so earnestly sollicited to be. The case
had stood thus : one day finding the Duke of Newcastle,
Marshal Ligonier, and the King's ministers, consulting who
should command the expedition, he (Pitt) had said, " Perhaps
my presence lays you under difficulties, but I object to no
body; pray consider who is most proper, and I shall be for
him." That he then retired to the other end of the room,
while a list was formed of Conway, CornwaUis, Lord Albe
marle, Hobson, and Moyston, which Lord Ligonier imme
diately carried to the King, who chose Hobson. Pitt added
to Lord Hertford, " He was sorry things had gone so far ; he

GEORGE THE SECOND. 331
now thought of Mr. Conway as he had done formerly, though 1758.
he could not give up his private opinion about Rochfort — yet
he should be concerned if Mr. Conway was not employed."
On these overtures Conway visited Pitt, neglecting nothing
that might procure him to be sent on action. He was soon
after commissioned to settle with the French a cartel for the
exchange of prisoners, put upon the staff, and the following
summer commanded in the fines at Chatham — but it went no
farther: Pitt, unapt to forget or to forgive, seemed to have
made these acknowledgments and reperations to his own
character, not to Conway's; and while Pitt would lend no
hand to restore him to service, the Duke of Newcastle, sup
posing Conway more attached to the Duke of Cumberland
than to him, was glad to keep him down, and to let the
obstructions be imputed to Pitt. It was natural they should : • puts con-
Pitt took on himself the province of war and foreign operations: nistry.'
the whole domestic he left to Newcastle, and, except from
foreign ministers, would receive neither visits nor court. He
hved in the same recluse manner as when a valetudinary
patriot, indulging his own unsociable humour, and acquiring
popularity, while he kept off friends and attachments. Yet
some symptoms now and then appeared of deeper designs.
Munchausen having presented an ample bill of extraordinaries
for forage, &c. Pitt affected to be much offended at its ex
orbitance, said the whole should be laid before the House, and
the members should be summoned to examine and consider
the estimates. On this pretence he sent circular letters to
u u 2

332 MEMOIRES OF
1758. the Tories, whom the Treasury never used to invite to any
parhamentary attendance. Nothing could be more artfull
than this step. Pitt knew himself not agreable to the Whigs,
the whole body of which were cantoned out in attachments to
the Dukes of Newcastle, Devonshire, and Bedford, and to
Fox. The Scotch were devoted to Argyle, or looked up to
Lord Bute. The Tories had no leader. This summons cap
tivated them, and at the same time tied up their civil gratitude
from exercising any rigour on the Hanoverian accounts. Nay,
whatever was demanded, was granted or allowed with such
inconsiderate facihty, that Lord Mansfield, to stigmatize Pitt's
measures and profusion, and the parliament's condescension,
called it The South-sea year.
'Lord Arran.' At the end of the year died Lord Arran, an inoffensive old
y man, the last male of the illustrious house of Ormond. He
was chancellor of Oxford, and much respected by the Jacobites,
who had scarce any partizans left in whom they might venerate
even a noble name. Sir George Lee died at the same time.
Disgrace of in France happened a sudden revolution, as soon forgotten
the Cardinal rr &
de Bernis. as it had been unforeseen. The Cardinal de Bernis was the
new prime minister. He had an easy talent for trifling poetry ;
it was his whole merit and his whole fortune. Madame Pom
padour was pleased with some of his incense offerred to her,
and first sent him to Venice, then to the Hague, where he
distinguished himself by an intriguing vivacity. These qua
lifications and his attachment to her seemed solid enough to
the mistress to fit the Abb6-Comte de Bernis for the govern-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 333
ment of France, where even these superficial talents were 1758.
not outshined, so exhausted in that country was the vein of
genius. Bernis was made a cardinal, and amassed benefices
to the amount of 14,000/. a year; but was scarce settled in
that exalted station before he received a lettre de cachet as
he was going to bed, ordering him to retire to his bishoprick
by ten the next morning. The cause of this rapid fall was
imputed to his own folly. He who had scrupled to receive
no benefits from the mistress, nay, whose flatteries had
obtained the greatest, and whose conscience had stooped to
owe to her interest the first dignity in the church, grew
at once conscientiously ungratefull, and arrogantly absurd,
refusing to wait on her in her apartment, and to communicate
in the dignity of the purple with a woman of so unsancti-
monious a character. The world laughed at his impertinent
pretences, and she punished them. Lord Granville, hearing
the swift progress of this meteor, said, " Soh ! his ministry has
been almost as short as mine ! "
At this stage I shall make a pause in my work, uncertain Conclusion.
whether ever to be resumed, though I am rather inclined to
prolong it to the conclusion of the war. I warn my readers,
however, not to expect as much intelligence and information
in any subsequent pages of these Memoires as may have
appeared in the preceding. During the former period I hved
in the center of business, was intimately connected with many
of the chief actors, was eager in politics, indefatigable in
heaping up knowledge and materials for my work. Now,

334 MEMOIRES OF
1758. detached from those busy scenes, with many political con
nections dropped or dissolved, indifferent to events, and
indolent, I shall have fewer opportunities of informing myself
or others. And here perhaps it may not be improper, or
unwelcome to the reader, if I say some words on the author
of these Memoires : the frankness of the manner will prove it
flows from no vain-glory ; yet to take off all such appearance,
and to avoid a nauseous egotism, I shall make use of the third
person.
'Authors Horace Walpole, without the least tincture of ambition,
own cha
racter.' had a propensity to faction, and looked on the mischief of
civil disturbances as a hvely amusement. Indignation at the
persecution raised against his father, and prejudices contracted
by himself, conspired with his natural impetuosity of temper
to nourish this passion. But coming into the world when
the world was growing weary of faction, and some of the
objects dying or being removed, against whom his warmth
had been principally directed, maturity of reason and sparks
of virtue extinguished this culpable ardour. Balanced for a
few years between right and wrong, happily for him virtue
preponderated early enough to leave him some merit in the
option. Arts, books, painting, architecture, antiquities, and
those amiable employments of a tranquil life, to which in the
warmest of his political hours he had been fondly addicted,
assumed an entire empire over him. The circumstances too
of the times contributed to make him withdraw from the
scene of business. With Newcastle he had determined never

GEORGE THE SECOND. , 335
to connect: Fox's behaviour on the case of Mr. Byng had 1758.
rooted out his esteem, and the coldness discovered by Fox on
Walpole's refusing to concur in all his pohtics, had in a
manner dissolved their friendship. Of Pitt he retained the
best opinion ; but the wapton exposure of so many lives at
the affair of St. Cas, and in those other visionary attempts on
the coast of France, had painted Pitt on his mind as a man
whose thirst of glory was inconsistent with humanity; and
being himself strongly tinctured with tenderness, he avoided
any farther intercourse with a minister, who was Great with
so httle reluctance.
Thus, without disgrace, disappointment, or personal dis- 'Authors
impartiality.'
gust, Walpole, at the age of forty-one *, abandoned the theatre
of affairs ; and retaining neither resentment to warp, nor
friendship to biass him, he thinks himself qualified to give
some account of transactions, which few men have known
better, and of which scarce any can speak with equal im
partiality. He has not falsified a circumstance to load any
man ; he has not denied a wrong act to excuse himself. Yet
lest even this unreserve should not be thought sufficient, lest
some secret motives should be supposed to have influenced
his opinions, at least his narrative, he wiU lay open to the
reader his nearest sentiments. Severity in some of the
characters will be the most striking objection. His dislike
to a few persons probably sharpened his eyes to their faults,
but he hopes never blinded him to their virtues — lest it
should have done, especially in so inflammeable a nature, he
* At the end of 1758.

336 MEMOIRES OF
1758. admonishes the reader of his greatest prejudices, as far as they
•Author could have risen from any provocation. From the Duke of
avows his
prejudices.- Cumberland, Mr. Pelham, and Lord Hardwicke, he had
received trifling offence. To the two last he avows he had
strong aversion. From Mr. Fox, as I have said, he had felt
coldness and ingratitude. By his uncle and the Duke of
Devonshire he had been injured — by the former basely be
trayed ; yet of none of these has he omitted to speak with
praise when he could find occasion. Of Lord Hardwicke had
he known a virtue, he would have told it : for now, when his
passions are subsided, when affection and veneration for truth
and justice preponderate above aU other considerations, would
he sacrifice the integrity of these Memoires, his favorite
labour, to a little revenge that he shaU never taste? No;
let his narration be measured by this standard, and it will be
found that the unamiableness of the characters he blames
imprinted those dislikes, as well as private distaste to some of
them. The King, the Duke of Newcastle, and others, who
do not appear in these writings with any signal advantage,
never gave him the most distant cause of dissatisfaction.
How far his own character may have concurred towards
forming his opinions may be calculated from the following
picture, impartial as far as a man can know himself.
Walpole had a warm conception, vehement attachments,
strong aversions ; with an apparent contradiction in his temper
— for he had numerous caprices, and invincible perseverance.
His principles tended to republicanism, but without any of
its austerity; his love of faction was unmixed with any

GEORGE THE SECOND. 337
aspiring. He had great sense of honour, but not great 1758.
enough, for he had too much weakness to resist doing wrong, « Authors
though too much sensibility not to feel it in others. He had racter.'
a great measure of pride, equally apt to resent neglect, and
scorning to stoop to any meanness or flattery. A boundless
friend; a bitter, but a placable enemy. His humour was
satyric, though accompanied with a most compassionate heart.
Indiscreet and abandoned to his passions, it seemed as if he
despised or could bear no constraint ; yet this want of govern
ment of himself was the more blameable, as nobody had greater
command of resolution whenever he made a point of it. This
appeared in his person : naturally very dehcate, and educated
with too fond a tenderness, by unrelaxed temperance and
braving all inclemency of weathers, he formed and enjoyed
the firmest and unabated health. One virtue he possessed in
a singular degree — disinterestedness and contempt of money
— if one may call that a virtue, which really was a passion.
In short, such was his promptness to dislike superiors, such
his humanity to inferiors, that, considering how few men are
of so firm a texture as not to be influenced by their situation,
he thinks, if he may be allowed to judge of himself, that had
either extreme of fortune been his lot, he should have made a
good prince, but not a very honest slave. Finished Oct. 27, 1759.
VOL. II. X X

/y'y

o 7yr/y/y

yy/ry/yy.

V FltlX -

T&om

r '/¦ / /'I J

M E M O I R E S

OF

THE YEAR 1759.

Verbis restituit rem.

The conclusion of the reign which furnished the preceding \-,w.
Memoires arrived so soon after the period where I quitted my Authors
narration, and was terminated by such a scene of glory, that it continuing
would be luipardonable to break off the thread in the most
interesting moment of our annals. The particular events will
be detailed by many writers, more acciu'ately perhaps, and
more circumstantially: but as I am accustomed to relate our
story with exact fidelity to the impressions it made on me, the
picture of so memorable an a?ra drawn by an eye-witness must.
with all its faults and prejudices, be more striking to future
readers, than the cold and critical detail which men less partial
may hereafter retrace and digest on a regular plan. These
volumes, however, having swelled to a bulk far beyond my

340 MEMOIRES OF
1759. first intention, I shall endeavour to restrain this sketch to as
' a memor- compact dimensions as perspicuity will admit of. Descriptions
able aera.' v .
of battles and victories I have always avoided, as not coming
within the scope of my purpose, and from my ignorance in
mihtary transactions. Even the glorious campaigns which
will be the chief subjects of the two years I am going to write
of, will be but slightly touched : their consequences alone are
my object. Intrigues of the cabinet, or of parhament, scarce
existed at that period. All men were, or seemed to be,
transported with the success of their country, and content
with an administration which outwent their warmest wishes,
or made their jealousy ashamed to show itself. Few new
characters appeared on the stage. One episode* indeed
there was, in which less heroic affections were concerned ; but
having given rise to no memorable catastrophe, nor disturbed
the shining order of events, it will not demand a long narra
tion, though it will diversify the story, and, by the inter
mixture of human passions, serve to convince posterity that
such a display of immortal actions as iUustrate the following
pages is not the exhibition of a fabulous age.
The winter of this great year was not memorable. I shall
briefly skim the events of it. The chancellorship of Oxford
was vacant by the death of Lord Arran f . The candidates
* The story of Lord George Sackville.
f The late Earl of Arran was only brother of the last Duke of Ormond, and
had been elected chancellor of Oxford, on the forfeiture of his brother, to show
the devotion of the University to that family and to the Jacobite cause.

GEORGE THE SECOND, 341
were the Earls of Westmorland * and Litchfield f, and Trevor 1759.
Bishop of Durham. The last, who had the appearance of a * Election of
chancellor of
court-candidate, was yet Tory enough not to make him Oxford.'
despair of success. Lord Litchfield's education, principles,
and connections were still more favorable to his hopes. He
lived in the neighbourhood, was unalterably good-humoured,
and if he did not make the figure that his youth had pro
mised, the Jacobites could not reproach him, as he had
drowned his parts in the jovial promotion of their cause — but
of late he had warped a little from what they thought loyalty.
Lord Westmorland was an aged man, of gravity and dignity,
married to a Cavendish, and formerly so attached to the house
of Hanover, that he commanded the very body of troops
which King George I. had been obliged to send to Oxford to
teach the University the only kind of passive obedience which
they did not approve. But having faUen into the intimacy of
Lord Chesterfield and Lord Cobham during the opposition to
Sir Robert Walpole, his regiment J was taken from him, and
his resentment, which was not so versatile as theirs, had led
him to imbibe all the nonsensical tenets of the Jacobites.
* John Fane, Earl of Westmorland, married Mary, only daughter of Lord
Henry Cavendish, a younger son of the first Duke of Devonshire.
¦f- George Henry Lee, third Earl of Litchfield, married Diana, daughter of Sir
Thomas Frankland; a very remarkable union — for she was fourth in descent
from Oliver Cromwell, as her lord was from King Charles the First. They had
no issue. \ He was not even permitted to sell his regiment, though he had paid 8000/.
for it.

342 MEMOIRES OF
1759. They wanted a representative, and he was a comely one.
The choice accordingly fell on him, after Lord Litchfield,
who divided the Tories, had flung his interest into that scale
to prevent the election of the bishop.
< Exchange The cloud which had hung over General Conway since
of prisoners.'
the disappointment at Rochfort began to disperse. He was
commissioned to meet at Sluys Monsieur de Bareil, who
commanded in French Flanders, and to settle a cartel for the
exchange of prisoners. The distresses of France had obliged
that crown to withdraw their allowance from thenv prisoners
here, who were so numerous as to make that scanty stipend
an object : it seemed none to the generosity of this country
to replace it — private and voluntary subscriptions* were
even made for their rehef. The cartel was immediately and
satisfactorily settled: yet as Mr. Pitt could not digest the
smallest deviation from his plans, the essenee of which was
rashness, and as he wisely was desirous of inspiring the most
romantic valour into our officers and troops, nothing could
prevail on him to trust another enterprize to Mr. Conway,
who panted for an opportunity of encountering the rudest
dangers that Mr. Pitt could chalk out. But Conway was
still crossed; and even Moyston, who pleaded ignorance of
his profession, to excuse himself from being employed on the
West Indian expeditions, was, by the favour of Newcastle,
* 1740?. were collected for them in London alone. The Romans dragged
princes in triumph after their cars — the English taxed themselves to support their
prisoners.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 343
whose creature he then was, preferred to Conway for service 1759.
a ;
in Germany. On the 12th of January died Anne, princess-royal of 'Death of
Princess of
England and dowager of Orange, the King's eldest daughter, Orange."
and Gouvernante of the Republic during the minority of her
son, in the fiftieth year of her age. She left no children but
the young Stadtholder*, of eleven years of age, and the Princess
Carohne. Her last offices had been employed in preventing a
rupture between Great Britain and Holland, which was ready
to break out on the many captures we had made of their
vessels carrying supplies to the French settlements.
The first conquest that opened the year was the capture ' Capture of
Goree.'
of Goree by Commodore Keppel \. That island had indeed
surrendered on the 29th of December preceding ; but the
account did not arrive till the 27th of this month. An
expedition of far higher importance was at that time on the
point of departing. The war was to be carried into the heart
and to the capital of the French empire in America; and
so weakened was the force of that monarchy on that side of
the globe, by their encroachments, in which they had drawn
upon themselves such extensive vengeance, that this was
not attempted to be made a secret expedition. Quebec was
the object, and was avowed to be so. Another fleet had
* Father of the present King of the Netherlands. — E.
f Augustus Keppel, second son of William Anne, Earl of Albemarle. This
was the same Keppel who had interested himself to save Admiral Byng, and who
was so much more known in the succeeding reign from his own trial and quarrel
with Sir Hugh Palisser.

344 MEMOIRES OF
1759. sailed in November, to attempt the reduction of Martinico
'Expeditions and Guadaloupe, under the direction of General Hopson and
to West
indies.' Commodore Moora The former was old and infirm ; brave,
but neither able nor experienced : Moore has been mentioned
before. On Martinico the attempt miscarried. Moore was
blamed by some for want of activity ; but his subservience to
the ministry on the affair of Admiral Byng had secured such
favour to him, that, in the Extraordinary Gazette published
on this disappointment, Moore was treated with great lenity,
and the blame made to bear hard on Hopson, who, however,
survived long enough to expire in the arms of victory; for, on
the failure at Martinico, the troops embarked with alacrity
for Guadaloupe, and carried that island by dint of bravery.
Basseterre, the capital, was reduced to a heap of ashes by the
artillery from the fleet ; and Hopson died in possession of the
ruins. The remainder of the island was subdued by General
Barrington*, who succeeded to the command, and Colonel
Clavering. Moyston -j-, as I have said, had been named for
this service, but professed he knew nothing of his trade : yet,
on a promotion of general officers, before which the King, as
usual, made a promotion of Hanoverians in the same line, by
which some major-generals were now put over the head of
General Waldegrave, who had commanded them in the last
campaign; Moyston, of the same rank with Waldegrave,
* John, younger brother of the Lord Viscount Barrington.
f John, younger brother of Sir Roger Moyston, and groom of the bed
chamber to the King.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 345
offerred to serve under the new Hanoverian lieutenant-generals, 1759.
if he might be sent to Germany ; which well-timed flattery
obtained his suit. On his waving Martinico, Pitt carried a
list of names to the King, who selected Hopson — a choice not
consonant to Mr. Pitt's practice, who, considering that our
ancient officers had grown old on a very small portion of
experience, which by no means compensated for the decay of
fire and vigour, chose to trust his plans to the alertness and
hopes of younger men. This appeared particularly in the
nomination of Wolfe for the enterprize on Quebec. Ambition,
activity, industry, passion for the service, were conspicuous in
Wolfe. He seemed to breathe for nothing but fame, and lost
no moments in quahfying himself to compass his object. He
had studied for his purpose, and wrote well. Presumption on
himself was necessary to such a character; and he had it.
He was formed to execute the designs of such a master as
Pitt, till risen to an eminence, whence he might chuse to
thwart his master. To Wolfe was associated George Town
shend,* whose proud, and sullen, and contemptuous temper
never sufferred him to wait for thwarting his superiors till
risen to a level with them. He saw every thing in an ill-
natured and ridiculous hght — a sure prevention of ever being
* George, eldest son of the Viscount Townshend, whom he succeeded in the
title, afterwards lord-lieutenant of Ireland. — A.
Our author, who had no objection to satirical jokes, should have been more in
dulgent to a man whose chief offence was his success in them. A love of fun may
be mischievous, but is rather a proof of levity than of sullenness, pride, or a con
temptuous temper. — E.
vol.. II. Y V

346 MEMOIRES OF
1759. seen himself in a great or favorable one. The haughtiness of
the Duke of Cumberland, the talents or blemishes of Fox, the
ardour of Wolfe, the virtue of Conway, all were alike the
objects of Townshend's spleen and contradiction — but Wolfe
was not a man to wave his pre-eminence from fear of
caricatures. He felt his superior knowledge and power, and
had spirit enough to make Townshend sensible at least of the
latter — a confidence in himself that was fortunate for his
country: but we must pass to the other events of the year
which preceded the decision of that attempt.
'Mr. Pitts Mr. Pitt, on entering upon administration, had found the
character
and mi- nation at the lowest ebb in point of power and reputation.
nistry.' # L L
His predecessors, now his coadjutors, wanted genius, spirit,
and system. The fleet had many able officers ; but the army,
which, since the resignation of the Duke of Cumberland, had
lost sight of discipline, was destitute of generals in whom
either the nation or the soldiery had any confidence. France,
who meaned to be feared, was feared heartily; and the heavy
debt of the nation, which was above fourscore millions, served
as an excuse to those who understood nothing but little
temporary expedients to preach up our impossibility of
making an effectual stand. They were wilhng to trust that
France would be so good as to ruin us by inches. Pitt had
roused us from this ignoble lethargy: he had asserted that
our resources were still prodigious — he found them so in the
intrepidity of our troops and navies — but he went farther,
and perhaps too far. He staked our revenues with as little
management as he played with the lives of the subjects ; and

GEORGE THE SECOND. 347
as if we could never have another war to wage, or as if he 1759.
meant, which was impracticable, that his administration should « Mr. pitts
decide which alone should exist as a nation, Britain or France, ^ mi_
he lavished the last treasures of this country with a prodigality n s ry'
beyond example and beyond excuse ; yet even that profusion
was not so blameable as his negligence. Ignorant of the
whole circle of finance, and consequently averse from corre
sponding with financiers, a plain set of men, who are never to
be paid with words instead of figures, he kept aloof from all
details, drew magnificent plans, and left others to find the
magnificent means. Disdaining, too, to descend into the
operations of an office which he did not fill, he affected to
throw on the Treasury the execution of measures which he
dictated, but for which he thus held himself not responsible.
The conduct was artfull, new, and grand ; and to him proved
most advantageous. Secluded from all eyes, his orders were
received as oracles; and their success, of consequence, was
imputed to his inspiration. Misfortunes and miscarriages fell
to the account of the more human agents : corruption and
waste were charged on the subordinate priests. They indeed
were charmed with this dispensation. As Mr. Pitt neither
granted suits nor received them, Newcastle revelled in a
boundless power of appointing agents, commissaries, victuallers,
and the whole train of leeches, and even paid his court to Pitt
by heaping extravagance on extravagance; for the more money
was thrown away, the greater idea Pitt conceived of his system's
grandeur. But none flattered this ostentatious prodigality
Y Y 2

348 MEMOIRES OF
1759. hke the Germans. From the King of Prussia* and Prince
'Mr. Pitt's Ferdinand to the lowest victualler in the camp, all made
minis ry. advantage of English easiness and dissipation. As the
minister was proud of such pensioners, they were not coy
in begging his alms. Fox too was not wanting to himself
during this harvest, to which his office of paymaster opened
so commodious an inlet. Depressed, annihilated as a states
man, he sat silent, indemnifying himself by every opportunity
of gain which his rival's want of ceconomy threw in his
way. The larger and more numerous are subsidies, the more '
troops are in commission, the more are on service abroad,
the ampler means has the paymaster of enriching himself.
An unfortunate campaign, or an unpopular peace, might
shake the minister's estabhshment — but till this vision of
expensive glory should be dissipated Fox was determined
to take no part. But thence, from that inattention on one
hand, and rapacity on the other, started up those prodigious
private fortunes which we have seen suddenly come forth —
and thence we remained with a debt of an hundred and forty
millions ! The admirers of Mr. Pitt extoll the reverberation
he gave to our councils, the despondence he banished, the
spirit he infused, the conquests he made, the security he
affixed to our trade and plantations, the humihation of
France, the glory of Britain carried, under his administration,
to a pitch at which it never had arrived— and all this is
* The King of Prussia melted the gold coin which we furnished for our
subsidy, and recoined it with much more alloy.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 349
exactly true. When they add, that all this could not be pur- 1759.
chased too dearly, and that there was no option between this < Mr Pitt.s
conduct and tame submission to the yoke of France — even mims ry*
this is just in a degree — but a material objection still remains,
not depreciating a grain from this bill of merits, which must
be gratefully acknowledged by whoever calls himself English
man — yet very derogatory from Mr. Pitt's character, as vir
tually trusted with the revenues, the property of his country.
A few plain words will explain my meaning, and comprehend
the force of the question. All this was done — but might have
been done for many milhons less — the next war will state this
objection more fully.
Posterity, this is an impartial picture. I am neither dazzled
by the blaze of the times in which I have hved, nor, if there
are spots in the sun, do I deny that I see them. It is a man
I am describing, and one, whose greatness will bear to have his
blemishes fairly delivered to you — not from a love of censure
in me, but of truth ; and because it is history I am writing,
not romance. I pursue my subject.
The estimates of the year will show how our expences in- ' Estimates
creased. When the ways and means were to be voted, the
disposition of Mr. Pitt, which I have mentioned, appeared;
and some other passions. He had taken umbrage at Legge
from the time the latter had been associated with him in the
testimonials of popularity which they had received together
from many counties and corporations — or he might have dis
covered some of Legge's subterraneous intrigues. The new-

350 MEMOIRES OF
1759. intended tax to answer part of the supplies granted, was
destined to fall on sugar. Pitt, who rarely condescended to
make use of any instrument for acquiring popularity, was less
reserved on this head with regard to Beckford, who was a
noisy, good-humoured flatterer, bombast as became the priest
of such an idol, and vulgar and absurd, as was requisite to
captivate any idol's devotees, the mob. On that class in the
city Beckford had much influence. He was pompous in his
expence, or rather in his expressions, but he knew his interest,
and was attentive to it. His fortune lay chiefly in Jamaica —
a tax on sugar touched his vitals. Accompanied by fifty
West-Indian merchants, he apphed to Legge to divert the
new duty ; but the measure was taken. He was obhged to
have recourse to Pitt, who professed being httle in the secret
of money-matters ; promised the affair should have farther
consideration, and that himself would be open to conviction
on what he should hear in the debate. The chiefs of the city
had already been acquainted with the tax, and approved it ;
but Pitt obliged Newcastle and Legge to depart from their
' Duty upon plan, though at so late a day, and to shift the new duty upon
dry goods.' J r
dry goods in general. Yet when the debate came on, Pitt
reproved Legge for having been so dilatory with the taxes ;
and made an extravagant panegyric on Beckford, who, he said,
had done more to support government than any minister in
England; launched out on his principles, disinterestedness,
knowledge of trade, and solidity ; and professed he thought
him another Sir Josiah Child. The House, who looked on

GEORGE THE SECOND. 351
Beckford as a wild, incoherent, superficial buffoon, of whose 1759.
rhapsodies they were weary, laughed and groaned. Pitt was . Mr. put's
offended, and repeated his encomium, as the House did their taxes.'
sense of it. He added, that he thought a tax on wine or
linnens preferable to that on dry goods (which included sugar
as part) : he wished either had been proposed sooner : now he
must sequi deteriora — yet why did he talk of his being con
sulted? Accident, jumble, and twenty circumstances, had placed
him in an odd gap qf government — but only for a time — he only
desired to be an instrument of government, and the drudge of
office. He wished for no power ; he had seen what effect it
had had on his predecessors J But the most remarkable part
of his speech on that and a following day, at least what was
much recollected a few years afterwards *, was the com
mendation he bestowed upon excise, upon Sir Robert Wal
pole's plan for itf, and upon that minister. He concluded
with declaring, that he should hke a tax on hops better than
on any commodity that had been mentioned. This, too, was
very ill received by the House. Legge, as usual, kissed the
rod with much humihty — yet many, who knew he deserved
* On the cyder-tax in the following reign.
•f- Sir Robert Walpole had brought in a bill of general excise, but so virulent
was the opposition made to it by his enemies, that, though he carried it, he had
been in danger of his life, and was persuaded by his friends, against his own
opinion, to drop it. Almost all his chief opponents lived to recant their op
position to that plan, as Mr. Pitt did on this occasion ; which was the handsomer,
as he had. lost his cornetcy of horse, and his uncle Lord Cobham his regiment, for
their opposition on that occasion.

352 1759.

'Mr. Pitt's
sensibility to
censure.'

' Complai
sance to
Lord Hard
wicke.'

MEMOIRES OF
to be crushed, did not approve the violent manner in which it
was done.
On the corn-bill, Sir John Philipps reproached Pitt with
Hanoverizing. Soame Jenyns, a humorous poet, had indi
rectly done the same in a simile to ridicule the Tories, whom
Pitt was leading towards the court, and who had already gone
so far as to agree to his most extravagant demands for Ger
many. Pitt was grievously hurt ; and it required aU the in
tercession and protection of Lord Hardwicke to save Jenyns
from being turned out of the board of trade. Pitt was no
less complaisant to Lord Hardwicke on a point of higher im
portance. Lord Denbigh* acquainted the House of Lords,
that he should move to ask the judges for their new act of
Habeas Corpus (which Lord Hardwicke had promised to pre
pare), and said he did not doubt but that lord would second
his motion. The judges were accordingly summoned — but
Lord Denbigh told them he had dropped his design. As he
professed attachment to Pitt, the inference was obvious.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, who could be obsequious
too, and who was showing great management for the Me
thodists, so far as to enter into their superstitious prosecution
of the bakers for baking on Sundays, was not rigid even on
that or still more solemn days, when he looked towards court.
On the general fast he acquainted the King by the Lord
Chamberlain, that he had provided a preacher for his majesty,
who would have all proper regard to necessary brevity — but
* Basil Fielding, Earl of Denbigh, much better known in the following reign.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 353
the man happened to preach half an hour — double the time 1759.
to which the King was accustomed; who complaining that
the archbishop had deceived him, the flattery came to hght.
The prelate was not less attentive to paying his court in a
point of greater moment. The King, persuaded that his in
dulgence to and toleration of the Catholics would secure him
from their plotting, was constantly averse to every proposition
of rigour towards them. Representations of justices of peace
against their chapels in private houses were always quashed.
Of late it had appeared in print, by concurrent testimonies
of opposite parties on the controversy with Bower*, that a
regular mission of Jesuits was established in London. They
had attempted or suggested the assassination of the King of
Portugal; they were detected and decried in France — Ca
tholic kingdoms — in London no notice was taken of them.
The primate was too much occupied on forcing Protestant
bakers to church, and in providing laconic preachers for his
master !
Newcastle had now been long enough connected with -Jealousies
in ministry.'
Pitt to grow jealous of him once more. On a fine speech in
the House of Lords, for the importation of Irish cattle, made
by the Duke of Bedford, Newcastle commended him extra
vagantly; and soon after a connection between them recom
menced by the intervention of Fox and the Duke of Bedford's
creatures. The consequences, however, did not soon appear,
* Archibald Bower, author of the History of the Popes, was much exposed in
print by Dr. Douglas, and a warm controversy was stirred up on that occasion.
VOL. II. Z Z

354 MEMOIRES OF
1759. except in mutual diffidences of Newcastle and Pitt, the former
< Jealousies °f wriom suspected the latter of designing to break on some
m ministry. p0pU]ar topic . an opportunity which therefore the new con
nection determined not to throw in his way, apprehending
the power of his popularity. The jealousy, however," fre
quently broke out : the instances, trifling as they were, I shall
sometimes briefly mention, as several of them led to higher
matters. The privy council sitting to hear the case argued of the
captures made on the Dutch ; Pitt, sensible of the clamour
that would be raised, if the prizes were restored, went of
ficiously early to the House of Commons to mark, by his not
being at council, his taking no part in the decision. New
castle went thither ; but perceiving the pohtic absence of Pitt,
his grace pretended the chamber was too hot, and retired
too. This was followed by the affair of the judges : on a pro
posal the last year to exempt them from the new tax on em
ployments, it had been agreed rather to increase their salaries.
Legge had promised a bill for that purpose ; and John Camp
bell * of Calder, a staunch revolutionist, said he would add a
motion to convert their commissions during good behaviour
into patents for life. Then followed the debate on the Ha
beas Corpus, on which, though the opinions of the judges
were divided, they certainly were not very favorable to Mr.
* This Mr. Campbell, who had estates both in Scotland and Wales, had been
one of the Lords of the Treasury during the administration of Sir Robert Wal
pole, and died very aged since the year 1770.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 355
Pitt and the friends of the extension. Now when the time 1759.

was arrived for fixing those salaries, Pitt told Newcastle that < jealousies
the increase had been made to reward the complaisance of "
the judges on the bill of Habeas Corpus, and that it was the
largest fee that ever was given. This terrified the duke so
much, that he prevailed on Campbell to drop bis intended
motion. The King, too, disapproved it; wishing, when he
could, to leave the prerogative as ample as he found it. The
Treasury, however, having advanced the salaries, were cen
sured by Lord Denbigh and Lord Temple. Yet when it
came before the House, Pitt, though he warmly opposed it in
private, did not attend ; but his friends George Grenville and
Beckford attacked the motion, and a Mr. Coventry told many
entertaining stories of the judges and their rapaciousness on
the circuit, and of casual presents that they had converted
into standing usages. Charles Yorke defended both the
judges and the measure — the latter with more success than
the former: yet as the stories were neither flagrant nor of
very recent date, the best apology for the judges was, that so
little could be objected to them. The additional salary was
voted by 169 to 39 ; which occasioned Charles Townshend to
say, that the book of Judges had been saved by the book of
Numbers. Legge, who officially made the motion, did not escape
Pitt's anger; but he was protected by Newcastle, to whom
he had newly attached himself. The first interview passed
with such privacy, that they met at Lord Dupplin's without
zz 2

356 MEMOIRES OF
1759. candles. Yet Newcastle discovered it to Pitt, and others to
Lord Bute, which compleated the ruin of Legge with both.
Lord Bute immediately showed his resentment, by excluding
Oswald, though a Scot, from the Treasury, because recom
mended by Legge ; and even to Pitt Lord Bute made use of
the name of the Prince of Wales to fortify the exclusion.
Legge, however, was indemnified by obtaining the vacant post
for his friend Lord North*.
'Message These were the most remarkable, and not very interesting,
on militia.' events of that session, which concluded with a message from
the King to desire to be enabled to march the mihtia out of
their several counties on the apprehension of an invasion from
France. Notice of such an intention had been received so
early as February last. Fifty thousand men were said to be
destined to that service, which formerly had been a plan of
Marshal Belleisle in the last war, had been communicated to
the King of Prussia, and approved of by him. Pitt made a
pompous speech on delivery of the message, and distinguished
between the various kinds of fear : this, he said, was a mag
nanimous fear. The address in return was still more lofty.
Vyner and Cooke added an address, that his majesty would
quicken such lords-lieutenants as were dilatory with their mi
litias — there were several of them ; the measure was far from
being generally popular. When they did come to march,
* Frederick, Lord North, afterwards prime minister, eldest son of Francis,
Earl of Guilford, who married to his second wife the widow of Lord Lewisham,
elder brother of Mr. Legge.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 357
several country gentlemen would have excused themselves on 1759.
the season of hay harvest. Pitt answered, that if any such
objection were made, he would move the next session to have
the bill repealed — a dreadfull threat to his Tory friends, who,
by the silent douceurs of commissions in the mihtia, were
weaned from their opposition, without a sudden transition to
ministerial employment. The invasion, though it ended in ' Threats of
invasion
smoke, was very seriously projected, and hung over us for ft-0"1 France.'
great part of the summer ; nor was it radically baffled till the
winter following. Immense preparations were made along
their coasts of flat-bottomed boats. They even notified their
design to the Dutch; but at the same time informing the
States, that they did not intend to disturb the estabhshed
succession, but to punish England for her attempts on their
coasts the last year. This notification had the least serious
air in the whole transaction, but accorded with those weak
councils, which knew not how to conduct any of their opera
tions. We were defenceless at home, and could not assemble
above twelve thousand men. Our towns were crouded with
French prisoners. They were removed up into the country,
and committed to the guard of the militia. The Earl of
Orford*, with the militia of Norfolk, was garrisoned at Ports-
* George Walpole, third Earl of Orford, grandson of Sir Robert Walpole.
Lord Orford, whose intellects were never very sound, and which were afterwards
much disordered, showed at no time a disposition to tread in the principles of his
grandfather and family. He lived almost always in the country, and was chiefly
influenced in politics, when he did take any part in them, by George Lord Town-

358 MEMOIRES OF
1759. mouth, whence they addressed the King with offers and pro
mises of service — a zeal somewhat unconstitutional, and indi
cating how far from impossible it might be to divert this
national force to the same purposes as are always reasonably
apprehended from a standing army. In the present case the
apprehension was the more pregnant, as the officers of the
mihtia were chiefly Tory gentlemen.
' Havre de Xo ward off* or dissipate the invasion, Admiral Rodney *
Grace bom
barded.' was dispatched to the French coast ; and arriving off Havre
de Grace, he with two bomb-ketches set fire to the town in
two or three places, though the fire from the forts was very
warm. He threw so prodigious a number of bombs into the
place, that he almost melted his own mortars; but the flat-
bottomed boats, which were not finished, proved to be out of
his reach ; and he returned with having done but incon
siderable damage. About the same time advice being re
ceived that Monsieur Thurot, with 1500 men under his com-
shend, who had deviated still more from the Whig principles of his grandfather ;
being poisoned by his mother, the celebrated Ethelreda, Lady Townshend. That
lady had been very affected. She had a great deal of wit, which was seldom
delicate, and had turned Jacobite on some disregard from the Duke of Cumber
land. One day that she was very severe on the royal family, Margaret Cecil,
Lady Brown, said to her, " Lady Townshend, it was very well, while you was
only affected ; but now you are disaffected, it is intolerable." A famous Ion mot
of Lady Townshend on the royal family was occasioned by seeing them often at
Ranelagh : she said, " This is the cheapest family to see, and the dearest to keep,
that ever was."
* Afterwards Sir George Bridges Rodney ; much more known in the years
1780 and 1781.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 359
mand, had escaped out of Dunkirk, another battahon was 1759.
flung into Dover castle, and two more were ordered into the
lines at Chatham — but Thurot was not then sailed.
Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick had opened the campaign ' Campaign
in Germany.'
with less success than reputation, having been obhged to
retreat after attempting to dislodge the French from Bergen.
It was this and some parallel occasions in which the French
stood their ground, that intituled Prince Ferdinand most de
servedly to the character of a consummate general. Retreats
before a victorious army, and prosperous campaigns against a
superior army, these were his titles — the incapacity of the
hostile generals, and the shamefull behaviour of their troops,
rendered his subsequent atchievments less brilliant, without
proving that he would not have succeeded against abler an
tagonists. It is a little more problematic whether he could
not have served us better, had he had no interests to serve
but ours. As we were strictly connected with the King of
Prussia, co-operating with him was serving the common cause :
the question is, whether Prince Ferdinand never lost sight of
the interests of Great Britain, when a motion, a diversion that
might shield that monarch, clashed with an obvious plan of
activity for driving the French out of the territories that
more immediately affected our cause. The advantage of em
ploying so able a German general balanced some signal incon-
veniencies attending that nomination. The sums which were
never refused to him, and for which, not being a Briton, he

360 MEMOIRES OF
1759. could not be called to account, will perhaps outweigh the
glory he procured to our arms, the benefits that resulted from
his success, or the share which he made us take in saving the
King of Prussia from destruction. Should the last-named
prince prove oftener our enemy than our ally, we must com
fort ourselves with having guarded the Protestant religion in
Germany — for the protestantism of its chief, it was too ridi
culous to be made, as it was, even a serious object by the
mob ! Atheistic odes were the psalms which that Protestant
confessor sung by the waters of Babylon !
' Battle of After the check at Bergen, Prince Ferdinand, though re-
Minden.' _ 4 & _ .
treating, disputed his ground by garrisoning the chief towns
on his march. Yet they were all taken by the French, par
ticularly Munster and Minden. Hanover seemed again on
the point of becoming their prey. Nothing was left, but to
hazard a battle; on which the Prince determined, and the
news of which arrived here, when such an event was least
expected, except by the King, who, on receiving General
Yorke's * courier, owned that he had had Prince Ferdinand's
plan in his pocket for ten days, without communicating it to
a single person. This testimony was given immediately, before
the slightest particulars were known, except that the general
result of the action was compleat success. Yet, however the
event was coincident with the design, however determined
* Joseph Yorke, third son of Philip first Earl of Hardwicke, and minister in
Holland ; afterwards, in 1788, created Lord Dover.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 361
the Prince was to provoke an engagement, it is rather clear 1759.
that he was surprized, though not by his own fault, as came
out afterwards.
Colonel Ligonier # followed General Yorke's courier, but ' Reports of
& battle of
had been dispatched so early from the field of battle, that he Minden.'
scarce knew any of the circumstances, except the great loss on
the French side, the large number of prisoners, with the cap
ture of their canon and baggage.
Three days afterwards arrived Colonel Fitzroy f , aid-de
camp to Prince Ferdinand, with confirmation of the victory ;
not so ample as in the first intelhgence, but decisive, and
attended immediately by essential advantages. Contades had
passed the river in the night, ordering the bridges to be
destroyed. Minden, with its garrison, surrendered the next
day. The loss on our side had not been inconsiderable, and
had fallen chiefly on the Enghsh, who had also the greatest
share in the honour of the day. The generals Kingsley and
Waldegrave had particularly distinguished themselves.
With Fitzroy came over the Duke of Richmond ; and they,
particularly the latter, disclosed a passage, which soon threw
the nation into a flame. Lord George SackviUe J, by his weight
with Mr. Pitt§, and in parliament, had insisted on going to
* Nephew of Marshal Lord Ligonier, whom he succeeded in the title.
•f- Charles, only brother of Augustus Henry, Duke of Grafton ; afterwards
created Baron of Southampton.
| Third son of Lionel Sackville, first Duke of Dorset.
§ He had, however, already offended Mr. Pitt The latter had offerred to
VOL. II. 8 A

362 MEMOIRES OF
1759. Germany, and had gone without the King's approbation,
' Lord and even without waiting on his majesty. Lord Granby was
Lord G.an next to Lord George in command, and so popular, that when
SickviIIg ' he set out for the army, fifty-two young officers had sollicited
to be bis aids-de-camp. Between these two lords a coolness
soon ensued, and divided the army, if it can be called division,
where almost every heart sided with Lord Granby. He was
open, honest, affable, and of such unbounded good-nature and
generosity, that it was impossible to say which principle
actuated him in the distribution of the prodigious sums that
he spent and flung away. Lord George Sackville was haughty,
reserved but to a few, and those chiefly Scotch ; and with no
preheminence over his rival, but what his rank in command
gave him, and his great talents, in which there could not be
the smaUest competition : and yet with those superior talents,
Lord George never had the art of concihating affection. He
had thwarted Prince Ferdinand, and disgusted him, in the
preceding campaign; and was now in the army against the
Prince's inchnation. The latter, with equal haughtiness, but
with far more art and address, could not fail of fomenting a
breach that tended so much to mortify Lord George, and to
promote his own views. Lord Granby was tractable, un
suspicious, and not hkely to pry into or controul the amazing
impositions of the German agents, which Lord George had
him the command of the expedition to St. Cas< Lord George replied, " he was
tired of buccaneering." It was to avoid that service that he had insisted on
going to Germany — but Pitt did not forget the sarcasm on his expeditions.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 363
too honestly, too indiscreetly, or too insultingly, let Prince 1759.
Ferdinand see had not escaped his observation, instead of
remonstrating or withstanding such dissipation, as he should
have done, at home — though it is questionable whether his
representations would have been listened to by Mr. Pitt, who
cared not what he lavished on whoever would carry on his
glorious sketches, or rather adventurous darings — a prodigality
unhappily copied in the next reign throughout the American
war, by men who imitated Mr. Pitt in nothing else, and who
had none of his genius, ambition, patriotism, activity, nor even
his lofty ideas*.
This was the state of things before the battle of Minden ;
but being httle or not at all known in England, it was with
equal surprize and indignation that the people heard Lord
George Sackville, who had always stood in high estimation ' Reflections
on Lord G.
for courage, more covertly at first, soon openly accused of Sackville.'
cowardice, and of having thrown away the moment of com-
pleating the total destruction of the French army. Prince
Ferdinand had passed this reproach on him, indirectly and
artfully indeed, but, when combined with the circumstances
of the battle, not to be misunderstood. In the orders which
he gave out the next day, he expressed concern that Lord
Granby had not had the command of the cavalry on the right
* From this passage, as well as others, it is clear that our author revised his
work many years after he wrote it. To this chapter, in a copy fairly transcribed,
he has subjoined Oct. 28th, 1763 ; but in the same copy the concluding sentence
of the paragraph in text does not occur. — E.
3a2

364 ' MEMOIRES OF
1759. wing, which, if led by him, his Highness did not doubt would
« Lord G. have given a more decisive lustre to the day. More mysterious,
conduct/ S yet still more pointed, was a paragraph in the same orders,
requiring that, for the future, his commands dehvered by his
aids-de-camp should be more exactly obeyed. Inquiry soon
led to the particular fact alluded to. During the battle, the
Prince sent Ligonier, one of his aids-de-camp, to Lord George,
with orders to bring up the cavalry; Fitzroy immediately
after, with orders for Lord George to march with only the
British cavalry, and to the left. Lord George, as Fitzroy, who
arrived suddenly after Ligonier, said, received the order with
some confusion, and rephed, " This cannot be so ; would he
have me break the line?" Fitzroy, young, brave, and im
petuous, urged the command. Lord George desired he would
not be in a hurry. " I am out of breath with galloping," said
Fitzroy, "which makes me speak quick; but my orders are
positive : the French are in disorder ; here is a glorious op
portunity for the Enghsh to distinguish themselves." Lord
George still hesitated, saying, it was impossible the Prince
could mean to break the line. Fitzroy stuck to the Prince's
orders. Lord George asked which way the cavalry was to
march, and who was to be their guide ? "I !" said Fitzroy,
bravely. Lord George pretending the different orders puzzled
him, desired to be conducted to the Prince for explanation :
in the mean time dispatched Smith, his favourite, with orders
to lead on the British cavalry ; from whence, he pleaded, no
delay could happen. Smith whispered Lord George, to con-

GEORGE THE SECOND. 365
vince him of the necessity of obeying. Lord George persisted 1759.
on being carried to the Prince, who at Fitzroy 's report was , Lord G
much astonished. Even when Lord George did march, he ac V1
twice sent orders to Lord Granby to halt, who was posting on
with less attention to the rules of a march, but with more
ardour for engaging — before they arrived, the battle was
gained. Lord George defended himself on the seeming con
tradiction of the orders ; on the short space of time that was
lost, at most eight minutes ; on obstructions from a wood on
his march ; and on his own alertness, he having been one of
the first on horseback on hearing the French canonade ; the
Prince of Anhalt having neglected to send to Prince Fer
dinand information of the approach of the French, which he
had learnt from four deserters.
That the whole affair turned on very few minutes, is cer
tain. Whether, if employed, they would have been of great
consequence, cannot now be determined. Enough was evident
to prove that Lord George, at best, was too critically and
minutely cool in such a moment of importance. Indeed, more
was proved. Previous to the arrival of Ligonier, he had lost
time in affecting not to understand a message delivered to him
by a German aid-de-camp. Colonel Sloper, too (who had been
obliged to him), remarking his confusion, said to Ligonier,
"For God's sake, repeat your orders to that man, that he may
not pretend not to understand them — but you see the con
dition he is in !" Had Lord George's courage been less pro
blematic, one might suspect that his hatred to Prince Fer-

366 MEMOIRES OF
1759. dinand had made him wilhng, by an affected delay, to balk
4 Lord G. the Prince of part of his glory * — but some late occasions had
already discovered that his lordship was no hero. The late
Duke of Marlborough -j~ had remarked it in their joint ex
pedition to the coast of France ; and the httle spirit he had
shown in Ireland, under the most grievous abuse, was now
recollected, and concurred to corroborate the present im
putation. His real constitution, I believe, was this : he had
a high and bold spirit, till danger came extraordinarily near.
Then his judgment was fascinated — yet even then he seems
not to have lost a certain presence of mind. His quickness in
distinguishing a trifling contradiction in a message dehvered
by two boys in not precisely the same terms, showed that all
his senses were not lost — but if that dexterity served his fears,
it cut up his fortune by the roots, annihilated his character,
and gratified the utmost spleen and vengeance of his enemy.
I question if a fuller victory had been more acceptable to
Prince Ferdinand.
That disappointment alone had not provoked his High
ness, seemed to appear from the choice he made of Lord
Granby for the particular object of his compliment. Though
the next officer to Lord George in the cavalry, Lord Granby
had only marked a great readiness to lead them to the charge ;
* Some went so far as to suppose, that Lord George, concluding the Prince
would be beaten, had a mind to have the honour of saving the cavalry  but
I know nothing to confirm that opinion.
f Charles Spencer, second Duke of Marlborough. He died between the ex
pedition to St. Cas and the battle of Minden.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 367
but had had no opportunity of otherwise distinguishing him- 1759.
self. For Lord George, whether unconscious of having failed
in his duty ; or whether, which is more probable, to carry on
the semblance of having done it, he did not scruple to mix
with the general officers at Prince Ferdinand's table after the
battle. " Voila cet homme," said the Prince to those nearest
to him, " autant a son aise comme s'il avoit fait des mer-
veilles !" No more passed then. The next day's orders in
formed Lord George that the Prince's silence was no indem
nity. His Highness knew the Enghsh ; and left it to them
to execute the rest.
Lord George Sackville felt the stroke. He saw Germany ' Lord g.
v ... Sackville
and the army were no longer a situation for him. He wrote returns to
England.'
for leave to resign his command, and to return. Both were
granted. Ere he could arrive, both the court and the nation
were prepared to receive him with httle less abhorrence and
abuse than had led the way to the fate of Admiral Byng.
A promotion of heutenants-general was immediately made,
in order to include and hasten the rank to General Walde
grave*, to whom the success of the battle had in great measure
been owing. The six Enghsh regiments, who sustained the
whole effort of the French, had begun the engagement with
less promise of valour. At first they began to give way.
Waldegrave, affecting not to perceive that their motion tended
towards a retreat, cried out, " Wheel to the right !" — they did,
* John, younger brother of James, Earl of Waldegrave (the author of the
Memoirs), whom he succeeded in the title in 1763, died Oct. 15, 1784.

368 , MEM01RES OF
1759. and recovered the day. Waldegrave was a man who united
much frankness with steady attention to his interest. His
parts were never taken notice of but on this occasion : but
such an occasion is immortality.
Seventy thousand men routed by 35,000 was indeed a
shining victory. The defeat of the French was attended with
< Corre- scarce less rancour between their generals than happened be-
spondenceof French tween ours. The Marshals Contades and Broglio threw the
generals.' °
blame on each other: but the former never recovered any
share of estimation. His papers, which fell into our hands
soon after the battle, were artfully published. They included
his correspondence with Marshal Belleisle, who directed the
operations of the war, and gave orders for the conduct of it
with a barbarity that spoke very plainly how httle France
was influenced by any sentiments of humanity or good faith
in pursuit of her views*. The Germans were treated in those
dispatches with the most marked contempt; the Princes
suspected by them, despotically ; and even their friends, the
Electors of Cologne and Palatine, were to be made feel the
misery of being connected with a too powerfull and arrogant
ally. They were to be plundered under the observance of
the most insulting ceremonial. But what shocked Europe
most, were repeated commands to reduce the most fertile
provinces of Germany to a desart : the pretence, to shorten
the war. Had their meditated invasions of this country suc-
* Lord Chesterfield wrote and published a letter to expose that infamous
conduct.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 369
ceeded, one may judge what would have been the secret in- 1759.
structions to their generals !
We must now turn to the King of Prussia. The efforts 'King of
° Prussia's
he had made in the preceding campaigns to withstand so campaign.'
many enemies were again to be renewed. The Russians were
ready to burst on Silesia, and were not a nation with whom
he could temporize, as he could with Marshal Daun, by stra
tagems, shifting situations, and the other resources of a pohtic
general. Count Dohna, who was opposed to them, had en
deavoured to ward off the blow by such expedients : but his
master determined in his own mind that the Russian storm
should be encountered by a shock like their own. He dis
graced Dohna, and substituted Wedel in his place, with ab
solute command to risk a battle. Wedel accordingly engaged
seventy thousand Russians with less than half their number,
and was defeated. The towns of Crossen and Francfort on
the Oder fell into the hands of the conquerors.
The King, to vindicate his own measure, and indeed from
the necessity of making a decisive effort, hastened with ten
thousand men to the shattered remains of Wedel's army;
while Marshal Daun, who knew that the Russians wanted
nothing but a body of cavalry, dispatched twelve thousand
horse to them under General Laudohn, who was accompanied,
too, by eight thousand foot. This supply made the Russian
force amount to above fourscore thousand men, already blooded
with victory and barbarity. The King, with all the recruits he
could collect, had not assembled above fifty thousand men —
VOL. II. 3 B

370 MEMOIRES OF
1759. enough to sacrifice to despair! It was near the village of
¦ Battle of Cunnersdorf that he once more tried what the most intrepid
Cunners dorf.' rashness could perform. Even the advantage of situation was
against him : yet nothing stopped his impetuosity. His ge
nerals had no option : his troops were animated by revenge,
by the dangers that threatened their country, and by the
example of their King, who was so far intitled to lavish the
blood of his soldiers, as he was prodigal of his own. Such
motives and such fury bore down all before them. The
Russian entrenchments were forced ; seventy pieces of their
cannon were taken ; posts after posts were carried, and pro
digious slaughter made of their bravest battahons. The King,
confident of success, and impatient to notify it, dispatched a
courier to the Queen with these words : " Madam, we have
beaten the Russians from their entrenchments : in two hours
expect to hear of a glorious victory." Unless he concluded
that the expeditious divulging of his success could check the
progress of his other enemies, or encourage his people to with
stand the tempest that was ready to break upon them, this
anticipation of his good fortune was childish, and more like
the juvenile ardour of an unpracticed hero, than of a man
accustomed both to victory and reverses, and who was now
fighting for dearer objects than glory.
The promised two hours never arrived. Soltikoff, the
Russian general, collected the remains of his right wing, and,
with supphes drawn from his center, reinforced his left, which
he observed to be the most entire, and posted it on a rising

GEORGE THE SECOND. 37)
ground to advantage. The King, flushed with success, and 1759.
now engaged in honour to make it compleat, resolved to drive
the Russians from that last post too. The fatigue of his
troops, the representations of his generals, the advantages
already gained, nothing could dissuade him from pushing his
fortune to the utmost. The command for attack was given,
and was obeyed with alacrity by the Prussians, though almost
spent by the heat of the day, and the efforts they had exerted.
At that moment the Austrian cavalry, so judiciously furnished
by Daun, and as ably put in motion by Laudohn, rushed upon
the enfeebled victors, broke their ranks, drove them back in
disorder, and ravished from them in few moments the fruit of
their glorious ardour and intrepidity. A total defeat of the < Prussians
Prussians ensued, notwithstanding the undaunted valour of
their monarch, who could not recover by despair what he had
let slip out of his hands by presumption. Yet, to that in
temperance in action succeeded the coolest prudence and
judgment. He had acted as in despair at the head of fifty
thousand men ; he took measures for re-establishing his army,
when he knew not whether he had an army left. All his
generals were killed or wounded, all his cannon taken, the
flower of his troops slaughtered or dispersed : yet, in those
circumstances he made so able a retreat, so assiduously re
assembled the remains of his army, and chose his ground in
so masterly a manner, that the Russians not only did not
venture to make any attempt on Berlin, but drew no ad
vantages from so compleat a victory. Even Marshal Daun,
3b 2

372 MEMOIRES OF
1759. who had selected the very moment for deciding the King's
ruin, improved- the conjuncture with far less capacity than
the vanquished Prince, who seemed to have no resource left.
The marshal, instead of being born, as men conjectured, to
weary out the fertility of that monarch's genius, seemed at
last but the proper touchstone for proving the extent of his
abihties. In a second note to his queen, his Majesty ordered
her to remove from Berlin with the royal family; the archives
to be transported to Potsdam. The capital, he added, might
make conditions with the enemy. This was the first thought
• King of — yet he not only saved Berlin ; but though Marshal Daun
Prussia saves . .
Berlin, and joined Soltikoff, and though the King received two more
retrieves his .
afiairs.' defeats during the course of the campaign, yet by the
dexterous manoeuvres of his brother, Prince Henry, whose
mihtary talents the King professed to prefer to his own, and
who drew the marshal towards Saxony by a daring and cele
brated march, by the retreat of the Russians, to which the
King forced them, and by the too dehberate councils of the
Austrian chief, who continued to act in a defensive style even
after he had reduced the King to the last gasp, that Prince
was still saved to baffle the reasonings of the speculative, and
to terminate his glorious career in a manner worthy of its
progress. While the war seemed drawing towards a conclusion in
the North, it looked as if fate was opening a new source of
calamities to mankind. Ferdinand King of Spain died; a
prince of no abilities, and lately of disordered intellects. His

GEORGE THE SECOND. 373
want of issue had formerly been imputed to drugs administered 1759.
to him by the practices of his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Farnese, < Spain and
. Naples.'
the pohtic Queen-dowager. Men of a suspicious cast might
attribute his phrenzy to the same cause ; but a more pregnant
reason might be assigned. His father, who certainly was far
from being afflicted with any bodily debility, had been equally
disturbed in his understanding. Ferdinand's queen*, who had
great ascendant over him, had kept his madness within
bounds. On her death nobody had any influence with him.
His disorder, thus left to itself, increased, and put an end to
his hfe about a year after the decease of his queen. The
Queen-dowager, though not absolute directress of affairs during
the life of her son-in-law, had yet, from her intrigues, bribes,
and dependents, and still more from the visible and approach
ing prospect of her own son's succession, acquired much
authority, though not enough to throw the kingdom, as she
wished, into direct connection with France. The probability
of the weight she would have with her son Don Carlos ; the
power his own queen, who was a daughter of Saxony, was
known to have with him ; and the subjection in which we
had held him while only King of Naples — all these motives
concurred to lead him into French measures. Naples, by the
peace of Aix-la-ChapeUe, had been destined to his brother the
Duke of Parma. Don Carlos, indeed, had never given his
consent to that disposition : he was less inclined to conform
to it when the forces of Spain enabled him to dispute it.
Accordingly, on obtaining the Spanish crown, he destined
* Barbara, a princess of Portugal. — E.

374 MEMOIRES OF
1759. that of Naples to one of his younger sons. The eldest, called
'Charles in. Duke of Calabria, and heir-apparent of Spain, inherited the
of Spain sets
aside his weakness of mind of his grandfather and uncle. Him, there-
eldest son.' fore, it was determined totaUy to set aside. Solemnity was
used in proceeding to that rejection. The young Prince,
then thirteen, was formerly examined by physicians. One *
of them was so honest as to refuse to sign his persuasion of
the Prince's incapacity, though at length he too yielded.
The case was novel and striking. Just, undoubtedly, to the
people who were to be governed : but many favourers of
hereditary right — that is, men who think that no want of
talents or virtues ought to exclude a prince from exercising
that office which requires the noblest share of both, and hold
that mankind, like land, ought to be the property of birth —
will not be pleased with the reasons which the Neapolitan
physicians were of opinion disqualified the Prince for the
throne of Spain. " He was short, his joints were contracted,
he stooped, looked down, squinted, was sometimes indifferent
to things convenient for him, at others too warm and impe
tuous. His passions not restrained by reason ; he had an
obstinate aversion to sweetmeats ; was disturbed by all sorts
of noise ; pain or pleasure made no lasting impressions on
him; he was utterly unacquainted with good-breeding; had
not the least idea of the mysteries of their holy religion;
loved childish amusements, the most boisterous the best ; and
* His name was Serras. He urged, " That the Prince was not an incurable
changeling; and that age, strengthening his constitution, might strengthen his
intellects."

GEORGE THE SECOND. 375
was continually shifting from one thing to another."— If these 1759.
defects were disquahfications, hard would be the fate of most Reasons for
setting aside
sovereigns ! how seldom would an eldest son succeed his Duke of
Calabria
father ! Would not one think that the faculty of physic at examined.'
Naples had rather been describing a monarch than dis
possessing him ? One thing is evident — it must have been a
king who selected such criterions for judging whether his son
was capable of governing a great nation. " Ask him," we
must suppose, said his Neapohtan Majesty, " whether he
loves sweetmeats ! if he does not, he is unworthy of filling
the throne of his ancestors." The Prince's ignorance of
good-breeding and of his religion seems rather imputable
to his parents and preceptors than to him. If it was the
mysteries of the Roman Catholic faith which he was incapable
of comprehending, I should suspect the Prince was a sensible
lad. Perhaps the honest physician thought as I do — at least,
I do not doubt but, if permitted, he would have asked the
Prince other questions.
Voltaire, who, I do not know why, thinks princes are
always to be mentioned with strict decorum, could hardly
persuade any man to refrain from laughing at this absurd
catalogue of royal deficiencies. The Prince really was an
idiot ; nor was it likely that a father would wish to disinherit
his own child, especially who was not old enough to have
given him jealousy, unless the incapacity had been glaring
and hopeless — but one would think the whole cabinet of
Naples had been idiots hkewise, when they could find no
better colours to dress up a notorious fact. Indeed, the

376 MEMOIRES OF
1759. Spanish as well as Portuguese statesmen have been wofully
defective in composition in this age, as often as they have
attempted to lay the grounds of their proceedings before the
rest of Europe. The most barbarous periods of monkish
ignorance and despotism produced nothing more despicable
than several manifestos of those crowns.
'King of The Prince was set aside in consequence of the decision
Spain.' .
of the physicians*. The second son was carried to Spam
and declared Prince of Asturias. To the third was actually
resigned the crown of Naples, though too young to have it
known whether he was more fit to reign than his eldest
brother — but a baby is never thought disqualified. The
tranquillity however of that child's reign depended so much
on preserving the friendship of England, that the new King of
Spain was not impatient to hurry into French councils. His
wife too had prepossessed him with apprehensions of being
governed by his mother. The crown of Naples, which he
* The rejected Prince lived several years after at Naples, but never attained
any degree of understanding. He was allowed to take the air in his coach con
stantly and publicly, and every body could perceive his insensibility. The next
prince, become Prince of Asturias-f-, was violent and brutal. The third, King of
Naples, was not void of symptoms of the malady of his family, though it was
doubtfuU whether his intellects were weak or deranged. Like his father, he was
indefatigable in hunting, and passed many more hours of every day with his dogs
than with his ministers — such a sinecure is royalty ! Had the eldest Prince been
capable of passing his whole time in hunting, he might have been King.
t And afterwards Charles IV. of Spain. He never renounced his right to the kingdom of
Naples ; and though he acquiesced in his brother's (the present King's) possession of it, always
disputed his title, which, as it was in violation of the law of primogeniture, was never distinctly
admitted by any government of Spain till the revolution of 1820.— E.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 377
had owed entirely to her intrigues, could not induce him to 1759.
put that of Spain under her direction. She could not even ' King of
Spain.'
obtain to see him alone — a mortifying return from a darling
son, who had been absent from her thirty years ! But if the
new Queen in that instance showed her influence, she lost it
in every other. The King was extremely weak, but un-
measurably obstinate. The crown of Spain, or probably some
Spanish minister, infused into him higher thoughts of himself.
He grew jealous of his wife's ascendant, sent away a Neapohtan
duchess who governed her, and took a resolution of deciding
every thing by his own judgment. He could not have chosen
a worse counsellor*. The disgraces that soon attended his

* Our author treats Charles III. with undue severity. He was no hero or
statesman, but yet not devoid of good qualities. Probity, justice, consistency,
and humanity were among his virtues. On his accession to the crown of Spain
he submitted to great inconvenience, from a principle of honesty — he deemed
it wrong to divert any portion of the treasure of Naples from the service of that
kingdom ; and he adhered so religiously to his scruple, that he not only left the
pubhc funds untouched, but divested himself of all private wealth, even to
pictures, gems, and rings, considering them as the property of the people whose
resources had enabled him to purchase them . He engaged, indeed, in two wars-
one manifestly unjust, and both perhaps unnecessary; but he protected literature
and the arts of peace. Though a bigoted Catholic, he suppressed the Jesuits,
abolished, or at least discountenanced, torture, and mitigated religious persecution
by his neglect and dislike of the Inquisition. In short, few absolute kings, and
none of his race and country, have been more free from the reproach of extrava
gance, injustice, or inhumanity. His reign was less oppressive and less inglorious
than any under which Spain languished during the long suspension or evasion of
her ancient free institutions. — E.
VOL. II. 3 c

378 MEMOIRES OF
1759. measures made the true Spaniards wish that the Neapolitan
doctors had been consulted on more cases than one.
lT^v ^e death of King Ferdinand was followed (Sept. 4) by
beth- that of the Lady Ehzabeth of England, second daughter of
Frederic Prince of Wales, in her eighteenth year. She had
the quickest parts of any of his children, but was extremely
deformed and homely. She died at Kew of an inflammation
in her bowels, having been ill but two days.
Boscawen rp^e beginning of the same month was distinguished by a
French fleet, torrent of prosperous news. The French fleet had sailed from
Toulon. Admiral Boscawen* was refitting his squadron at
Gibraltar — an inaction, of which they hoped to profit; but
the alertness of our commander demolished their hopes. On
notice of their approach he sailed out, and came up with the
French off Cape Lagos in Portugal. They made a running
fight, but could not escape the vigilance and bravery of
Boscawen. Two of their largest ships were taken; two
others forced on shore and burnt ; in one of which was the
commander, who, was wounded in both legs, and expired soon
after. The action passed on the 18th of August.
^America5' ^ ^e same ^me we learnt the conquest of Niagara by
Sir Wilham Johnson, the provincial hero. The account was
carried to General Amherst on the very day on which he took
possession of Ticonderoga and Crown-point, abandoned by
* Edward Boscawen was second son of Hugh, the first Viscount Falmouth.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 379
the French. It had been the plan to attack all the strong 1759.
posts of the French at once. Amherst * had the command in
chief; and, by the river St. Laurence, was to fall on Quebec
on one side, while the expedition under Wolfe and Saunders
was to undertake the siege on the other. The conduct of
that against Niagara was committed to General Prideaux,
who was killed in the trenches by the bursting of a eohorn.
Sir Wilham Johnson, on whom the command devolved, took
the place, after beating an army of French and Indians sent
to relieve it.
Amid such a tide of success Lord George Sackville arrived ' Lord g.
° Sackville.'
in London. He immediately wrote to Lord Holderness to
demand a court-martial. The demand was evaded for the
present. He was told, the officers necessary were employed
abroad. Lord Ligonier, the commander in chief, and Lord
Barrington, secretary at war, were more exphcit, and informed
him, that, if he desired a court-martial, he must seek it in
Germany. This was followed by a message dehvered by the
latter, acquainting Lord George, that not only the command
of his regiment would be taken from him, but that he would
be dismissed from his rank of general, and from his post of
lieutenant-general of the ordnance ; and Lord Barrington
asked civilly if his lordship chose to receive that notification

* Jeffery Amherst, afterwards knight of the Bath, and made a peer and
commander-in-chief in the next reign.
3c2

380 MEMOIRES OF
1759. then from his mouth, or in writing ! Lord George preferred
< Lord G. the latter. " That," rephed Lord Barrington, " will be easy;
Sackville.' ° J
for I know but one precedent, that of the late Lord Cobham :
I will send your lordship the same/' Lord George smiled,
and replied, " I hope your lo'rdship will send me a copy of
Lord Cobham's answer too."
This behaviour of the court was not very intelligible:
many even thought it had been concerted, as the gentlest
way of letting Lord George escape. Certain it is, that their
avoiding to call him to a trial made him presume on his
cause, and resolve to try to correct the severity of his fortune.
On the other hand, the punishment seemed too rigid to a
man untried, uncondemned, who asked a trial, and against
whom no complaint was preferred in form. He had even, a
fortnight after his disgrace, written to Prince Ferdinand to
know his charge. The latter protested he had no complaint
against him, nor had written a word in his disfavour, till on
hearing the discourses in the camp. Tenderness to so old a
servant as the Duke of Dorset perhaps made the King wilhng
to avoid the last severity, which, should Lord George be con
demned, would be difficult to avoid. The officers of the fleet,
who had seen an example made in their profession, would
exclaim against partiality to a land-officer, the greatness of
whose birth would be the obvious cause of such lenity. Mr.
Pitt, too, was of no sanguinary complexion, though a rigid
exactor of obedience. From the first moment of Lord

GEORGE THE SECOND. 381
George's disgrace, Mr. Pitt warmly adopted the sentiments 1759
of Prince Ferdinand, whom he was determined heartily to < Lord g.
support. Though he went to visit Lord George in form, he by
no means meant to protect him. He would not, he said, con
demn any man unheard. But he was sworn to the German cause,
and to the heroes, whose success reflected such lustre on his own
administration, and concurred so much to give it stability.
When Fitzroy returned to the army, Mr. Pitt charged him
with the strongest assurances to Prince Ferdinand (as Fitzroy
told Mr. Conway) : " Tell him," said Mr. Pitt, " he shall have
what reinforcements, what ammunition he pleases — tell him
I will stand or fall with him." Hearing, too, that Lord
Mansfield connected with Lord George, and the law intended
to support him, " The law," said Pitt, " have nothing to do
with that question." Lord Granby succeeded Lord George
Sackville in the ordnance, and General Waldegrave in the
regiment. Lord George published a short address, intreating
the nation to suspend their opinion till he could have an
opportunity of clearing himself.
In this month of September died Dr. Madox, bishop of
Worcester, a man who, from very low beginnings, and with
no visible address, had raised himself to great height in the
church ; and which at that time was singular, he never pushed
his fortune through the Duke of Newcastle. He had higher
merit, assiduously promoting regulations to prevent the de
structive vices of the common people. He was succeeded by

MEMOIRES OF

1759.

' Marshal
D'Estrees.'

Johnson of Gloucester, who has been much mentioned in these
Memoires on a particular occasion*.
Prince Ferdinand reaped as httle advantage from his
success at Minden as the enemies had from the defeat of the
King of Prussia. The French army was stiU superior. Con
tades had so entirely lost his credit, that Marshal D'Etrees,
against his own inchnation, was sent to share the command ;
' and at least warded off any new disgrace to his country. Yet
so sunk were both their councils and commanders in the
estimation of the pubhc, and so much of the national shame
was attributed to the influence of Madame de Pompadour,
that a description of their situation and of the supposed cause
was fixed upon the walls of Versailles in these words,
" Bateaux plats a vendre,
Soldats a louer,
Ministres a pendre,
Generaux a louer.
O France, le sexe femelle
Fit toujours ton destin,
Ton bonheur vint d'une Pucelle,
Ton malheur vient d'une catin."
But the measure of their disgraces was not yet compleat.
French They were foiled in the East Indies, as in all other parts.
worsted in
East indies. Lally, their general, a man of great parts and impetuosity,
but with both the high and the low talents of an adventurer,
was forced to raise the siege which he had undertaken of

* The affair of Lord Ravensworth and Fawcet.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 383
Madras, and resigned his command in indignation at the 1*759-
cowardice of his countrymen. Admiral Pocoeke twice beat
their fleet. Their invasions on the Ohio cost them the
second empire which they had so artfully and so silently
been founding at the other end of the world.
The joy on those successes, however, was damped by a ' Wolfe's
embafrass-
desponding letter received from General Wolfe before Quebec ments.'
on the 14th of October. He had found the enterprize in
finitely more difficult than he had conceived, the country
strong from every circumstance of situation : the French had
a superior army, had called in every Canadian capable of bear
ing arms : twenty-two ship-loads of provisions had escaped
Admiral Durell, and got into the town : Amherst was not
come up : and, above all, Montcalm, the French general, had
shown that he understood the natural strength of the country,
had posted himself in the most advantageous situation, and
was not to be drawn from it by any stratagem which Wolfe,
assisted by the steady co-operation of our fleet, could put in
practice. Wolfe himself was languishing with the stone, and
a comphcation of disorders which fatigue and disappointment
had brought upon him. Townshend* and other officers had
crossed him in his plans, but he had not yielded. Himself
had been one of the warmest censurers of the miscarried
expedition to Rochfort ; and he had received this high com-
* George, son of Charles Viscount Townshend, whom he succeeded.

384 MEMOIRES OF
1759. mand upon the assurance that no dangers or difficulties should
' Wolfe's discourage him. His army wasted before his eyes by sick-
embarrass ments: ness; the season advanced fast which must put an end to
his attempts : he had no choice remaining but in variety of
difficulties. In the most artfull terms that could be framed
he left the nation uncertain whether he meaned to prepare an
excuse for desisting, or to claim the melancholy merit of
having sacrificed himself without a prospect of success.
Conquest of Three days after, an express arrived that Quebec was
Quebec. taken — a conquest heightened by the preceding gloom and
despair. The rapidity with which our arms had prevailed
in every quarter of the globe made us presume that Canada
could not fail of being added to our acquisitions ; and how
ever arduously won, it would have sunk in value, if the
transient cloud that overcast the dawn of this glory had not
made it burst forth with redoubled lustre. The incidents of
dramatic fiction could not be conducted with more address to
lead an audience from despondency to sudden exultation, than
accident prepared to excite the passions of a whole people.
Death of They despaired — they triumphed — and they wept — for Wolfe
Wolfe. had fallen in the hour of victory! Joy, grief, curiosity,
astonishment, were painted in every countenance : the more
they inquired, the higher their admiration rose. Not an
incident but was heroic and affecting! Wolfe, between
persuasion of the impracticabihty, unwillingness to leave any
attempt untried that could be proposed, and worn out with

GEORGE THE SECOND. 385
the anxiety of mind and body, had determined to make one 1759.
last effort above the town. He embarked his forces at one in Conquest of
1 • i Quebec.
the morning, and passed the French sentinels in silence that
were posted along the shore. The current carried them
beyond the destined spot. They found themselves at the
foot of a precipice, esteemed so impracticable, that only a
slight guard of one hundred and fifty men defended it. Had
there been a path, the night was too dark to discover it. The
troops, whom nothing could discourage, for these difficulties
could not, pulled themselves and one another up by stumps
and boughs of trees. The guard, hearing a rusthng, fired down
the precipice at random, as our men did up into the air:
but, terrified by the strangeness of the attempt, the French
picquet fled — all but the captain, who, though wounded,
would not accept quarter, but fired at one of our officers at
the head of five hundred men. This, as he staked but a
single hfe, was thought such an unfair war, that, instead of
honouring his desperate valour, our men, to punish him, cut
off his croix de St. Louis before they sent him to the hospital.
Two of our officers, however, signed a certificate of his courage,
lest the French should punish him as corrupted; our enter-
prize, unless facihtated by corruption, being deemed impossible
to have taken place. Day-break discovered our forces in pos
session of the eminence. Montcalm could not credit it when
reported to him — but it was too late to doubt when nothing
but a battle could save the town. Even then he held our
VOL. II. 3 D

386 MEMOIRES OF
1759. attempt so desperate, that, being shown the position of the
Enghsh, he said, " Oui, je les vois ou Us ne doivent pas etre."
Forced to quit his entrenchments, he said, " S'il faut done
combattre, je vais les ecraser." He prepared for engagement,
after hning the bushes with detachments of Indians. Our men,
according to orders, reserved their fire with a patience and tran
quillity equal to the resolution they had exerted in clambering
the precipice — but when they gave it, it took place with such
terrible slaughter of the enemy, that half an hour decided
the day. The French fled precipitately; and Montcalm,
endeavouring to rally them, was killed on the spot. General
Monckton* was wounded early, and obliged to retire.
Death of The fall of Wolfe was noble indeed. He received a wound
in the head, but covered it from his soldiers with his hand
kerchief. A second ball struck him in the belly : that too he
dissembled. A third hitting him in the breast, he sunk under
the anguish, and was carried behind the ranks. Yet, fast as
hfe ebbed out, his whole anxiety centered on the fortune of
the day. He begged to be borne nearer to the action ; but
his sight being dimmed by the approach of death, he entreated
to be told what they who supported him saw: he was answered,
that the enemy gave ground. He eagerly repeated the ques
tion, heard the enemy was totally routed, cried " I am satisfied"
— and expired. * Robert Monckton, second son of the Lord Viscount Galway.

Wolfe.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 387
In five days the town capitulated. Wolfe dead, and 1759.
Monckton disabled, General Townshend signed the articles. Conquestof
He, and his friends for him, even attempted to ravish the Quebec-
honour of the conquest from Wolfe. Townshend's first letter
said nothing in praise of him. In one to the Speaker of the
House of Commons he went so far as indirectly to assume the
glory of the last effort. The words were these, " We deter
mined on the 13th of September to do what we ought to have
done in the beginning : but in military operations it is never too
late to reform." In other more private dispatches Townshend
was still more explicit. These he ordered to be shown to the
Prince of Wales, the Duke of Newcastle, and Mr. Pitt. From
the first he received great assurances of countenance — but the
passion of gratitude with which the nation was transported
towards Wolfe's memory overbore all attempts to lessen his
fame. It was not by surviving him that he could be echpsed.
Monsieur de Vaudreuil, governor of the province, had * Perfidy and
cruelty of
appeared at the close of the engagement, but, seeing his French go
vernment.'
countrymen defeated, retired to Montreal. Had he fallen
into our hands, our men were determined to scalp him, he
having been the chief and blackest author of the cruelties
exercised on our countrymen. Some of his letters were taken,
in which he explicitly and basely said, that " Peace was the
best time for making war on the Enghsh." Such perfidy, and
such barbarism as was contained in the dispatches of Marshal
Belleisle, mentioned before, affix a stain on a nation which
it requires an age of generous heroism to wash out. The
3d 2

388 MEMOIRES OF
1759. cruelties exercised in the palatinate by Louis XIV- conjured
up that storm which overwhelmed the end of his reign, and
enjoined the humiliating proposal of obliging him to concur
in dethroning his own grandson. When ambition is inhuman
and tyranny insolent, they double the bitterness of a reverse
of fortune by having given a precedent of wanton indignities.
Bankruptcy The repeated misfortunes of France, and the efforts they
of France. had made without effect to bring the war to some tolerable
conclusion, reduced them at last to a state of bankruptcy ; a
kind of evidence which even their future historians wiU not
be able to parry. Defeated armies frequently claim the
victory, but no nation ever sung Te Deum on becoming
insolvent. Three arrets were pubhshed by the court of
France in October, suspending for a year the payment of the
orders upon the general receipts of the finances, and allowing
five per cent, on the respective sums as an indemnification.
The second, of the same tenour with respect to the bills of
the general farms ; and the third suspending the reimburse
ment of capitals, as weU in regard to the treasury as to the
redemption-fund. This stoppage * gave rise to a stroke of humour in the
Enghsh newspapers, which, in the hst of bankrupts, inserted
these words, "Louis It Petit, of the city of Paris, peace-
breaker, dealer, and chapman."
Monsieur Thurot, in the mean while, who had escaped
* The King, the princes of the blood, and the nobility, sent their plate to
the mint.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 389
our fleet, arrived at Gottenburgh ; it was then supposed with 1759.
an intention of taking some Swedish forces on board, and <Thurot
invading some part of Scotland or Ireland. Mr. Pitt, thinking sails"
too httle attention was paid in Ireland to this project, wrote
to the Duke of Bedford to notify the suspicions entertained
here on that head. The duke too rashly communicated that
intelligence to the Irish parhament, and his son, the Marquis
of Tavistock, moved them to arm. The consequence was,
that the bankers there took the alarmr and stopped payment.
The Enghsh parliament met October 13th. Beckford, by 'Parliament.*
a high-flown encomium on Mr. Pitt, paved the way for that
minister to open on his own and our situation, which he did
with great address, seeming to wave any merit, but stating
our success in a manner that excluded all others from a share
in it. He disclaimed particular praise, and professed his
determination of keeping united with the rest of the ministers.
Fidelity and diligence was all he could boajst, though his bad
health perhaps had caused him to relax somewhat of his
application. Not a week, he said, had passed in the summer
but had been a crisis, in which he had not known whether he
should be torn in pieces, or commended, as he was now by
Mr. Beckford. That the more a man was versed in business,
the more he found the hand of Providence every where.
That success had given us unanimity, not unanimity success.
That for himself, however, he could not have dared, as he had
done, but in these times. Other ministers had hoped as well,
but had not been circumstanced (not so popular) to dare as

390 MEMOIRES OF
1759- much. (This was handsome to them, yet appropriated the
' Mr. Pitt's whole merit to himself.) He thought the stone almost rolled
speec i. j.Q £ke j.Qp q£ ^e j^^ ^u^. ^ jjj-g^ ror| Dack with dreadfuU
repercussion. A weak moment in the field, or in council,
might overturn all; for there was no such thing as chance;
it was the unaccountable name of Nothing. AU was Providence,
whose favour was to be merited by virtue. Our allies must
be supported : if one wheel stopped, all might. He had un
learned his juvenile errors, and thought no longer that
England could do all by itself; (This was an indirect apology
for having embraced the German system ; and what followed
on the invasion was perhaps an artfull method of solliciting
more troops, which, once voted, might be sent abroad) — who
had never been subject to a panic, was not likely to be terrified
now. He stated Prince Ferdinand's army as containing but
60,000 effective men : France, the next year, would have an
hundred thousand — was Prince Ferdinand therefore as strong
as we wished him ? He did wish 10,000 more could be found
for him ; believed France meaned to invade us, though he
should not look on the attempt as dangerous, if she did. He
balanced his attention between the landed and the monied
interest; said, he did not prefer the monied men and the
eighty millions in the funds to the landed interest, though he
thought our complaisance for the former ought to increase as
pubhc credit became more delicate. He ended with a mention
of peace. Any body, he said, could advise him in war : who
could draw such a peace- as would please every body ? He

GEORGE THE SECOND. 391
would snatch at the first moment of peace ; though he wished 1759-
he could leave off at the war. This conclusion seemed to
come from his heart, and perhaps escaped him without design.
Though no man knew so well how to say what he pleased, no
man ever knew so httle what he was going to say*. Lord
Buckingham moved the address in the Lords, and flung in
much panegyric on George Townshend ; whose friends were
now reduced to compose and pubhsh in his name a letter in
praise of Wolfe. The ministers had proposed that the address
of the Commons should be moved by Charles Townshend, the
nearness of whose connection would exclude him from being
profuse on his brother : but he refused on finding how httle
incense was intended to be offerred to their name.
The unanimity in the government which Mr. Pitt had 'Lord
Temple
advertized, was far from sohd. It was not the fault of one resigns the
privy seal.'
man's vanity that it was not dissolved. Lord Temple taking
advantage of the adoration which the nation paid to Mr. Pitt,
asked — considering the moment, it may be said, demanded —
the garter; and being refused, abruptly resigned the privy
* In 1766, Lord Chatham, then privy seal, in going down to parliament with
Lord Shelburne, the secretary of state, in his carriage, communicated to him some
intelligence which it was important should be known to the ministry, and equally
important should be concealed from the public. Soon afterwards the coach
stopped at the House of Lords, and Lord Shelburne carelessly asked Lord
Chatham if he meant to speak that day ? — " Not after what I have told you," was
his lordship's answer. His companion then observed that he did not see why that
should prevent him, as the matter communicated bore no sort of relation to the
question coming on in the House. " True," said Lord Chatham ; " but when my
mind is full of a subject, if once I get on my legs, it is sure to run over." — E.

392 MEMOIRES OF
1759. seal. The insult, in effect, was to the nation : it was saying,
" I will have that I will, or here end your victories ; Mr. Pitt
shall serve you no more." It was sacrificing largely to friend
ship and gratitude that Mr. Pitt did not reckon himself deeply
insulted too. An ascendant so notified could not be endured
by many men. What if Antony had said to Caesar, " Abandon
the conquest of Gaul, if I am not allowed to wear a chaplet of
laurel!" Two days afterwards, the King commissioned the
< Lord Duke of Devonshire to persuade Lord Temple to resume his
resumes the place : some civil hints towards a promise of the garter were
privy seal.' L
added. Lord Temple finding his resignation received by the
world with due indignation, was not obdurate, and kissed
hands again for the privy seal. He pretended to Lord Hert
ford, that finding himself ill-treated by the King, he had asked
for the garter as an indication of returning favour ; that his
suit being rejected, he had begged an audience, in which he
hoped he had effaced his majesty's ill impressions ; and in
which audience the King had three times pressed him to re
consider his resolution of retiring : that he had entreated Mr.
Pitt to resent nothing on his account; and had insisted on
his brothers retaining their places, and continuing to support
the government, as he should himself: that he was then
going out of town the most contented man in England. This
passed before his resumption of the seal. To others he denied
having asked, the garter. He obtained it shortly after this
violence. On the 21st, Mr. Pitt moved the House of Commons to

GEORGE THE SECOND. 393
order a monument for General Wolfe; and, in a low and 1759.
plaintive voice, pronounced a kind of funeral oration. It was, Monument
perhaps, the worst harangue he ever uttered. His eloquence *°d tn^s
was too native not to suffer by being crouded into a ready- ° ° cers'
prepared mould. The parallels which he drew from Greek
and Roman story did but flatten the pathetic of the topic.
Mr. Pitt himself had done more for Britain than any orator
for Rome. Our three last campaigns had over-run more world
than they conquered in a century — and for the Grecians, their
story were a pretty theme if the town of St. Albans were
waging war with that of Brentford. The horror of the night,
the precipice scaled by Wolfe, the empire he with a handfull
of men added to England, and the glorious catastrophe of
contentedly terminating hfe where- his fame began — ancient
story may be ransacked, and ostentatious philosophy thrown
into the account, before an episode can be found to rank
with Wolfe's. Beckford commended General Townshend, and
hoped some thanks would be given to those who compleated
the conquest. Sir Wilham WiUiams enlarged on the praise
of Wolfe. Lord North, in a more manly style, said it was a
proof of Mr. Pitt's abihties, that they sat there securely de
cerning rewards, while the French fleet was sailed from Brest.
For Wolfe, he had paid his debt of expectation. Pitt then
moved, in general words, for thanks to the generals and ad
mirals; mentioned them all, particularly Admiral Saunders,
whose merit, he said, had equaUed those who have beaten
Armadas — " May I anticipate ?" cried he, « those who will beat
VOL. n. 3 E

394

MEMOIRES OF

1759. Armadas !" He expatiated more largely on Townshend, who,
he said, had gone unrequested whither the invited never
came. This was far from being strictly fact. Townshend
had gone unwilhngly ; sent even, as was believed, by Mr. Pitt,
who wished to get rid of so troublesome a man. George
Grenville put an end to the day in an affecting manner ; men
tioning the death of his younger brother Thomas, who, in the
preceding war, had fallen with expressions of content* on a
day of victory.
'Admiral Mr. Pitt's anticipation of Saunders's renown was pro-
Saunders.' .
phetic. That admiral was a pattern of most steady bravery,
united with the most unaffected modesty. No man said less,
or deserved more. Simplicity in his manners, generosity, and
good-nature, adorned his genuine love of his country. His
services at Quebec had been eminent. Returning thence, he
heard that Monsieur Conflans had taken the opportunity of
Sir Edward Hawke's retiring to Gibraltar to refit, and had
sailed out of Brest. Saunders, who heard the news at Ply
mouth, far from thinking he had done enough, turned back
instantaneously, and sailed to assist Hawke. His patriotism
dictated that step, and would not wait for other orders. He
arrived too late — but a moment so embraced could not be
accounted lost. Such, too, was the age, that England did not
want the addition of a Saunders ! That prudent and active
* He said, " This is preferable to being brought to a court-martial." There
is a monument in Westminster abbey to his memory, and a column in the gardens
at Stowe.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 395
officer, Sir Edward Hawke, had sailed on the first notice to 1759.

seek the French squadron. He had twenty-three ships, they < Hawke
twenty-one. He came up with them on their own coast; conflans'
and, before half his fleet had joined him, began the attack.
Conflans at first made a show of fighting, but soon took the
part of endeavouring to shelter himself among the rocks, of
which that coast is full. It was the 20th of November : the
shortness of the day prevented the total demolition of the
enemy — but darkness nor a dreadfull tempest that ensued
could call off Sir Edward from pursuing his blow. The roaring
of the elements was redoubled by the thunder from our ships ;
and both concurred, in that scene of horror, to put a period to
the navy and hopes of France. Seven ships of the hne got Hawke
destroys the
into the river Vilaine, eight more escaped to different ports. French fleet.
Conflans's own ship and another were run on shore and burnt.
One we took. Two of ours were lost in the storm, but the
crews saved. Lord Howe, who attacked the Formidable, bore
down on her with such violence, that her prow forced in his
lower tier of guns. Captain Digby*, in the Dunkirk, received
the fire of twelve of the enemy's ships, and lost not a man.
Keppel's was full of water, and he thought it sinking: a
sudden squall emptied his ship, but he was informed all his
powder was wet — " Then," said he, " I am sorry I am safe."
They came and told him a small quantity was undamaged —
" Very well," said he ; " then attack again." Not above eight
* Robert, brother of Edward and Henry, successively Lords Digby. He
died, senior admiral of the royal navy, in 1814. — E.
3e 2

396 1759.

Debates on
extraordi
nary com
missions.

MEMOIRES OF
of our ships were engaged in obtaining that decisive victory.
The invasion was heard of no more, but in a puny episode
that will bo mentioned hereafter. While in agitation, it was
expected that the people would call for the Duke of Cumber
land to command. The Duchess of Bedford told him of the
rumour. " I do not believe, madam," replied the Prince,
" that the command will be offerred to me, but when no wise
man would accept it, and no honest man would refuse it."
The parhament in the mean time had sat on the army for
the future year, and a new case had appeared before the com
mittee of the Commons. Lord Downe*, Lord Pulteney -j-, and
Sir Wilham Peere Williams, had received general commissions
to act as officers, yet their seats in parhament had not been
declared vacant. As this seemed an innovation, and contrary
to the usage of the House, of Commons, Sir John Philipps de
sired to have the case explained. Lord Downe, he said, he
knew had received a brevet, that, if taken prisoner, he might
be intitled to the benefit of the cartel. Sir Wilham Williams
took upon him to explain it : declared he had no pay, never
would accept pay, and had only a commission to raise men, as
his zeal had prompted him to do. Mr. Fox asked, how he
came then to be employed in any particular regiment ? He

* Henry Pleydell Dawnay, Viscount Downe.
¦f- William, only son of Wilham Pulteney, Earl of Bath. These three spirited
young men were taken off soon after this period. Lord Downe was killed in
Germany, Sir W. Williams at Belleisle, and Lord Pulteney died in Spain, on his
return to England.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 397
rephed readily, though his usual manner was formal, that he 1759.
acted only by the regimental book at Northampton. Lord
Barrington urged for Lord Downe, who was in Germany, that
he acted only as deputy lieutenant-colonel, another person
receiving the pay. Favour to those three disinterested young
men obtained the connivance of the House, though the case
indubitably was unparliamentary. The partiahty of the Tories
to George Townshend, who, having quitted the service during
the command of the Duke of Cumberland, had again lately
entered into it, and accepted a regiment, was still more re
markable. As no evasion could except him from the law, his
ease was not mentioned, and he continued to enjoy his seat
without a re-election. Lord Barrington then opened the state ' Army
t estimates.
of the army, which, including 18,000 mihtia, would amount to
above 175,000 men in British pay. Sir John Philipps again
glanced at new regiments and extraordinary commissions.
Mr. Pitt avowed the measure for his own, and owned he
would have carried it farther, if he had been permitted : re
lated how he had been pleased with the behaviour of Colonel
Hale, who had brought the news of the conquest of Quebec ;
and who finding an invasion threatened, and himself at a
distance from his regiment, had offerred to form a corps of the
footmen and chairmen of London, and lead them against the
best houshold troops of France. For the ©economic part, to
push expence was the best ceconomy — for blood, we had lost
none ; never had been so bloodless a war ; not fifteen hundred
men had fallen in America. That the city of London had

398 MEMOIRES OF
1759. raised more men than Ireland in a twelvemonth. He hoped
it would be related to the Irish parhament that they had been
censured in the English. He did justice to the merit of Ge
neral Amherst, whose campaign, if in Vegetius, all the world
would admire: it was in America, and nobody regarded it.
He dwelt on Amherst's letters to the provinces, exhorting,
encouraging, and commanding their efforts for the common
cause. He painted France in a state of bankruptcy and
despondence ; and their attempts as rather those of a dying
than living monarchy. On this topic he made a fine con
clusion — and the battle of Minden was not forgotten.
So much given to glory, something was to be done that
might look like moderation. Europe began to take umbrage
at our success : but, saihng with prosperity, Mr. Pitt did not
trouble himself whether Europe's voice went along with his
atchievements. It was the nation that he had made so great,
that must be allured to approve his farther enterprizes. Ge-
Proposais neral Yorke, at the Hague, had received some anonymous
for peace J
ineffectual, proposals of peace, and had transmitted them to his father,
who communicated them to the Duke of Newcastle. The
latter mentioned them to Knyphausen, the Prussian minister,
who, though enjoined to secrecy, revealed them to Lord Hol
derness. The latter, who had quitted Newcastle for Pitt,
instantly carried the inteUigence to his new patron. Pitt,
enraged to find a kind of negotiation carrying on without the
participation of either secretary, reproached Newcastle in
warm terms. The latter threw the blame on General Yorke.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 399
Pitt, however, thought it prudent (whether to have the honour 1759.
of the treaty, or an opportunity of breaking it off) to direct
General Yorke, in the name of his own King and of the King
of Prussia, to acquaint Prince Lewis of Brunswic, who com
manded the forces of Holland, and through him Monsieur
D'Affry, the French minister at the Hague, and the ministers
of Spain and Russia, that, notwithstanding our victories, we
were wilhng to listen to terms of peace, if France would
specify her proposals — an overture that ended in air. Nor
did any subsequent step of Mr. Pitt speak him cordial to the
business of peace. I have been told, he said, " that some
time before he should have been well contented to bring
France on her knees ; now he would not rest till he had laid
her on her back."
During these events of eclat, an incident happened that 'Heir-
led to a discovery of some of the secret pohtics of the Heir- court.'
apparent's court. A seat for the county of Hampshire was be
come vacant, the Marquis of Winchester*, one of its members,
succeeding his father in the dukedom. Legge, about the same
time, had likewise vacated his seat for the same county, a
patent-place devolving to him by the death of his brother.
Lord Bute took that opportunity of notifying his resentment
to Legge, who stood for the county, and carried it against one
Stewart f, recommended by the earl. Pitt did not favour
Legge ; and was as little inclined to favour the views of the
* Charles Poulet, eldest son of Harry, Duke of Bolton. He died in 1765.
•f- Not a Scot, but son of Sir Simeon Stewart, a Hampshire knight.

400 MEMOIRES OF
1759. Prince's court. Their mutual haughtiness and reserve had
early impaired the connection of Lord Bute and Pitt. The
Prince's court had secrets of their own ; nor was Pitt more
communicative to the successor of his grandfather's measures.
The affair of Lord George Sackville, who was patronized by
the Prince, widened the breach.
Victorious Rewards were now bestowed on the meritorious com-
officers re
warded, manders. Sir Edward Hawke, a man void of ostentation or
ambition, was rewarded with an annual pension of 1500/. for
thirty years. Admiral Boscawen was made general of marines,
and Saunders heutenant-general ; the former with 51. a day,
the latter with 41. A present of twenty thousand pounds was
given to Prince Ferdinand by the King, but brought into the
House of Commons with other charges of the year. Sir John
Philipps, obliquely to make the King's parsimony remarked,
who had made a present to his general at the expence of his
people, found fault with the manner, and said that the gift of
the House ought to have been transacted in a handsomer
manner. Pitt took the advice on himself, and descanted on
the merit of the Prince, who had served us for two years
without pay; talked on the rewards to the Duke of Marl
borough; and quoted Lord Stair for having in one article
charged 40,000/. for putting the Austrians in motion. But
neither was the present itself blamed, nor could the Prince be
said to have served for nothing. Twelve thousand pounds a
year were paid to him for his table and stables : he had the
garter, and a pension of two thousand a year on Ireland.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 401
If he sufferred his German agents to embezzle milhons 1759.
without accounting with him, he had less prudence than
the Duke of Marlborough — and yet did not escape similar
suspicions. Towards the close of the year, Nugent was made vice-
treasurer of Ireland, on the death of Potter, and was suc
ceeded in the treasury by Oswald. Pitt, in contradiction to
the house of Manners, who solhcited for Dr. Ewer, to New
castle, who stickled for a Cambridge man, and to the op
position of the episcopal bench, made Warburton bishop of Warburton
Gloucester ; whose doubtfuU Christianity, whose writings and bishop.
turbulent arrogance, made him generaUy obnoxious. War
burton, inquiring of a friend what the clergy thought of his
promotion, and being told how much it offended them, said,
" TeU them, it was well for their cause that I did not embrace
any other profession,". — We must now take a view of another
scene. Mr. Pitt, as I have said, had endeavoured to instiU appre- Ireland.
hensions of an invasion into the Irish parhament ; at least, to
encourage a spirit of raising troops, which might afterwards
be apphed to other services. It happened, at that juncture
that there was another point which alarmed the Irish more
than the rumours of invasion. This was a jealousy that an
union with England was intended, which they regarded as the
means of subjecting them farther to this crown. This union
was, indeed, a favourite object with Lord Hilsborough. He
had hinted such a wish a year or two before in the parhament
VOL. II. 3 F

Dublin.

402 MEMOIRES OF
1759. of England; and being now in Ireland, let drop expressions
Tumults in °f tne same tendency. This was no sooner divulged than
Dublin was in a flame. The mob grew outrageous, and as
sembled at the door of the House of Commons. Mr. Rigby*
went forth and assured them there was no foundation for
their jealousy : but his word they would not take. Ponsonby,
the Speaker, was at last obliged to go out and pacify them ;
and Mr. Rigby declared in the House, that if a BiU of Union
was brought in, he would vote against it. The tumult then
subsided ; but Rigby soon after, in consequence of the re
presentations from England, moving that the lord-lieutenant
might on an emergency, such as on an invasion, summon the
parhament to meet without an intervention of forty days, the
former suspicions revived, and Rigby's motion was inter
preted as preparatory to some sudden scheme of union before
measures could be taken to oppose it. The surmize was ab
surd ; for were any surprize intended, the forms are so many
before a bill can be compleat in Ireland, that time can never
be wanted to withstand the most expeditious. A biU must
come from the Irish privy council to their House of Com
mons, must return to the council, must then be transmitted
to England and back again, before it becomes a law. But
mobs do not reason, nor, if once prepossessed, hsten to reason.
A dangerous riot ensued; the people rose in aU parts of
Dubhn, and possessing themselves of the avenues to the par-
* Richard Rigby, favourite secretary to the Duke of Bedford, lord-lieutenant.
He was afterwards paymaster, and died April 8, 1788.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 403
liament, seized on the members, and obhged them to take an 1759-
oath to be true to their country, and to vote against an Tumults in
union. Many were worse treated. One Rowley, a rich pres-
byterian, who had long opposed the administration, they seized
and stripped, and were going to drown, from which they were
with difficulty prevented. Lord Inchiquin, who was newly
arrived from the country on purpose to oppose the rumoured
union, was alike insulted. They pulled off his perriwig and
red ribband, and put the oath to him. He had an impedi
ment in his speech, and stuttering, they cried, " Damn you, do
you hesitate?" but hearing that his name was Obrien, their
rage was turned into acclamations. They pulled the Bishop
of Killala out of his coach, as they did the Lord ChanceUor
Bowes, obliging him to take their oath ; but being seized with
a droU scruple that their administring the oath did not give
it legality, they stopped the chief justice, and made the chan-
ceUor renew the oath before him. Malone was so httle in
their favour, that though he had taken the oath, one of the
ringleaders dipped his fist in the kennel before he would
shake hands with him. They then went to the House of
Lords, where Sir Thomas Pendergrass looking out, they puUed
him forth by the nose, and roUed him in the kennel. In the
House they found Lord Farnham taking the oaths on the
death of his father, instead of which they made him take
theirs. There they committed the grossest and most filthy
indecencies, placed an old woman on the throne, and sent for
3f 2

404 MEMOIRES OF
1759. pipes and tobacco for her. They next went to the House of
Tumults in Commons, and ordered the clerk to bring them the journals
Dublin. tQ burn jje obeyed ; but teUing them they would destroy
the only records of the glorious year 1755, they were con
tented to restore them. But their greatest fury was intended
against Rigby, whom the Duke of Bedford had lately made
their Master of the RoUs. The office there is no post of
business : stiU the choice of a man so httle grave was not
decent. The mob prepared a gaUows, and were determined
to hang Rigby on it ; but, fortunately, that morning he had
gone out of town to ride, and received timely'' notice not to
return. The Duke of Bedford sent to the mayor to queU the
tumult, but he excused himself on pretence of there being no
riot-act in Ireland. The privy council was then called to
gether, who advised sending for a troop of horse. That was
executed : the troopers were ordered not to fire ; but riding
among the mob with their swords drawn, slashing and cutting,
they at length dispersed the rioters, after putting to death
fifteen or sixteen.
The Duke of Bedford and Rigby, in their letters to
England, carefuUy concealed the enormity of the outrage.
They knew Lord Temple wished to be lord-lieutenant ; and
perhaps suspected, that that ambition had been the foundation
of Mr. Pitt's expostulations. Those seeds of jealousy, com
bining with Rigby's devotion to Fox, gave rise to the suc
ceeding animosities between the duke and Pitt. What was

GEORGE THE SECOND. 405
more remarkable was, that the letters from the castle acquitted 1759.
the Papists of being authors of the sedition ; yet, a short time Tumults in
before, the duke had quarreUed with the primate for saying
he had no apprehensions from that quarter. Whatever was
pretended, there was much reason for beheving that the in
surrection had deeper foundation than in a meer jealousy of
an union with England. Seditious papers had been printed :
two drummers, in the hvery of the college, had commenced
the uproar in the Earl of Meath's hberties, telling the people,
that if they did not rise by one o'clock, an act would be
passed to abolish parhaments in Ireland. So small, too, was
the dishke to the then government, that one of the rioters
skimming away Lord Tavistock's* hat, his comrades gave him
200 lashes, saying, Lord Tavistock had not offended them.
But the strongest presumption of the tumult being excited
by the emissaries of France came out afterwards ; it appearing
that the commotion began the very day after intelhgence was
received that the French fleet was sailed from Brest. Indeed
it is now past doubt that the court of France had laid a very
extensive plan, meditating an attack on the three kingdoms at
one and the same time. England was to be invaded from
Dunkirk, Ireland by the Brest fleet, while Thurotf was to fall
on the north of Scotland. Nor was Dubhn the sole theatre
* Only son of the Duke of Bedford. (I find 200 lashes in my notes, but it
is not probable that they carried their severity so far for so trifling an offence.)
f The plan was Marshal Belleisle's. The author of La Vie Privee de Louis
XV. says, that Thurot had orders not to commit hostilities on Scotland, but to

406 MEMOIRES OF
1759. where confusion was to be spread. Riots were raised at Cork
on the prohibition of exporting Irish cattle. Mr. Pitt wrote
a warm letter to the Duke of Bedford to complain of his
supineness after such repeated inteUigence of the designs of
France.
'Irish par- That storm weathered, the castle met with little op-
liament.' position. Perry, the most formidable of the minority, they
bought off. One man alone gave them trouble; his name
Hutchinson*, a lawyer. His views he owned himself. Being
asked, on leaving England, whether he should addict himself
to the opposition or to the castle, he replied, "Not to the
castle certainly; nothing is to be gotten there" — meaning
invite the Jacobites to join him. — Vol. iii. That author has collected a great
deal of curious matter, as far as he could be assisted by public materials ; but his
secret history is far from being equally authentic, nor does he seem to have been
conversant with persons well informed and near the scene of action. He thinks
the first cause of the Dauphin's illness and death proceeded from his vexation at
the expulsion of the Jesuits. The Dauphin had been bred a bigot ; but, before
his death, was grown a freethinker to a very great latitude, and gave very in
dubitable marks of it in the last days of his life. The author was as ignorant
of the motives of the Due de Choiseul's opposition to Madame du Barri, and his
consequential fall, which the author imputes to the Duchesse de Grammont, his
sister, being provoked at not being the King's mistress herself— a vulgar story.
The author seems to be most versed in the marine, and the great object of his
work to show that all the successes of the English, in 1759 and 1760, were owing
to the incapacity of all the ministers and commanders, and especially to the
cowardice of their admirals, to the King's indolence, and to Madame de Pompa
dour's ascendant.
* Hely Hutchinson, afterwards provost of the college at Dublin ; where his
conduct was so violent as to draw on him a most acrimonious inquest, which he
repelled by equal adulation to power.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 407
that Rigby engrossed every thing. Hutchinson had good 1759.
parts, and exerted them briskly, annoying Rigby, Malone, and
the courtiers. He said, Lord George SackviUe had parts, but
no integrity ; Conway integrity, but no parts ; now they were
governed by one who had neither. There was more wit than
truth in this description. Conway's parts, though not bril
liant, were solid: for Rigby, though he never shone in the
Irish parhament, no man wanted parts less — and his joviahty
soon made him not only captivate so bacchanahan a capital,
but impress a very durable memory of his festive sociability.
For the Irish courtiers, it required no masterly pencil to
expose their profligacy. That was the case of Sir Richard
Cox. Hutchinson moved a resolution that the vote against
pensions had had effect. " It is true," said Sir Richard : " I
lost a smaU pension, and have got a good place — yet I should
not have expected such a motion from that gentleman."
" Oh I" rephed Hutchinson, " I should have opposed the motion
in the House, though I have now made it in the committee :
I only had a mind to try if this committee would not vote
for any thing — yet I cannot believe that gentleman (Sir
Richard Cox) is so very profligate and abandoned as he says
himself."

Finished Oct. 28, 176S.

_3.::ny.--r ff.tu

MEMOIRES

OF

THE YEAR 1760.

Une noble hardiesse reveille l'enthousiasme national.
Steele d' Alexandre, p. 177.

The year began, as the last had concluded, with severe 176°-
weather and hard frost: yet the armies in Germany kept the 'War in
Germany**
field. Glory was not the object of that war. Mutual ani
mosity excluded aU confidence, and neither side would retire
a foot, while both were impatient to bring things to a con
clusion, and whUe the Empress-Queen, especiaUy, flattered
herself with hopes of crushing her enemy. What the country
suffered from that bitterness is not to be expressed — but
when are the number considered ? None suffered more than
the Saxons. While their King and his criminal favorite were
wearing out their inglorious hves in Poland, without power or
esteem, Dresden endured the worst consequences of Bruhl's
VOL. II. 3 G

410 MEMOIRES OF
1760. impertinent ambition. Bread was risen there to eleven pence
Prince Fer- a pound. Our army suffered no less hardships : one day in
detachment December they were fourteen hours under arms, expecting to
Prussia! ° De attacked by the French, which was threatened by Broglio,
whose natural vivacity was encouraged by Prince Ferdinand
weakening our army. Without waiting for permission from
England, he had detached 12,000 men, under the Hereditary
Prince, to the assistance of the King of Prussia ; a step that
highly and justly offended King George ; and the more pro
voking, as there was reason to believe the measure concerted
with the King of Prussia to involve both Hanoverians and
English in actual war with the Empress-Queen ; a declaration
which the British monarch, both as King and Elector, had
hitherto carefuUy avoided. The first question Frederic put
to the Prince of Brunswick was, "What English have you
brought to me ?" There were both Highlanders and Hano
verians. Brogho did, indeed, make an attack on Prince
Ferdinand, who retreated, but repulsed the French to their
loss. In England the winter was not memorable for any par
liamentary debates: the few of consequence shall be men
tioned. Other events, too, I shall not omit. These sheets,
I have often declared, were less intended for a history of war
than for civil annals. Whatever, therefore, leads to a know
ledge of the characters of remarkable persons, of the manners
of the age, and of its political intrigues, comes properly within
my plan. I am more attentive to deserve the thanks of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 411
posterity than their admiration. A great modern author 1760.
(Voltaire) recommends the omission of smaU circumstances,
and would confine history to its capital outlines. In the first
place, mine is not history, but Memoires. Next, what would ' Value of
r •' contempo-
be less amusing than such a history? Battles, revolutions, ran,M«-
° J moires.'
and the wild waste of war, are common to all times ; but they
are the circumstances that distinguish one age from another.
Lastly, future historians may reject the rubbish, and preserve
only striking events : yet, for the power of such choice, he
must be indebted to us cotemporaries. With me, I own, one
reflection farther has determined me to the course I have
pursued. They are the minutiae of which I have observed
posterity is ever most fond: they are the omissions that
historians in their grandeur disdain to record, which the
humble reader most painfully labours to recover, and, if re
covered, to weave into the materials of which he is already
possessed. The patchwork seldom unites weU, for want of
those hghts which cotemporaries might have given. Is it
not more eligible to have chaff to winnow, than to add to a
stack ?
Lord Bath*, assisted by Douglas f, his chaplain, pubhshed Lord Baths
letter*
a piece caUed A Letter to Two Great Men (Mr. Pitt and the
* William Pulteney, the celebrated Earl of Bath.
¦f- Dr. Douglas, canon of Windsor, known for his detection of Lauder, and
controversy with Archibald Bower, author of the Lives of the Popes. — A.
He became bishop of Carlisle in 1788, bishop of Salisbury in 1791, and died
in 1807.— E.
3&2

412 MEMOIRES OF
1760. Duke of Newcastle). It contained a plan of the terms which
_____ ^ lordship thought we ought to demand, if we concluded a
peace : it was as little regarded by the persons it addressed,
as a work of Mr. Pitt's would have been, if, outhving his
patriotism, power, and character, he should twenty years after
have emerged in a pamphlet. However, it pleased in coffee
houses more than it deserved ; yet made much less noise than
a farce written at the same time by an Irish player, one
'Mackiyn's Macklyn*, called Love a, la Mode. The principal characters
Love a la
Mode: were a Scotchman and an Irishman : the first, heightened and
odious ; the latter, softened and amiable, played inimitably by
one Moody. What made it memorable was, that Lord Butef
interposed to have it prohibited. This intervention made the
ridicule on the Scotch the more tasted ; and being tasted, it
would have been too offensive to the pubhc to have stopped
the run. A composition was made that it should not be
* Macklyn, in general a disagreeable actor, was liked in Iago, and extremely
admired in Shylock the Jew. He had been tried and honorably acquitted for the
murder of another actor, but his character was not popular. He played the
Scotchman himself in his own farce, but not well : however, its not being printed,
nor played but when he pleased, made it always draw crouded audiences ; which,
with having a daughter who was a pretty good actress, and of an excellent cha
racter, made him never rejected by the theatres, though of a quarrelsome temper.
He continued to play for twenty years, and, though past fourscore, retained so
much vigour and parts, that he wrote another piece, not less severe on the Scotch,
though it was much curtailed before he could obtain permission to have it acted ;
and though it succeeded, it was not near so much liked as his Love a la Mode.
t John Stuart, Earl of Bute, a very considerable personage in the succeeding
reign.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 413
printed. The King, whose age then kept him from pubhc 1760.
places, sent for the copy, and ordered it to be read to him.
Lord George SackviUe, having waited till the officers re- L°rd g.
& ' & Sackville
turned from Germany, had written at the end of the year to demands a
court-mar-
Lord Holderness, demanding a court-martial. He received tiai-
for answer, that it would be referred to the judges ; a question
having arisen, whether he could legally be tried, the orders
he had disobeyed having been given by a foreigner. The
attorney and solhcitor generals, however, not the judges, were
the persons consulted, and they gave their opinions that he
might have a court-martial. Another doubt had been started,
whether, having been dismissed from the service, his lordship
could yet be subject to mihtary law : but this was then passed
over; and, Jan. 18th, Lord Holderness notified the opinion
of the attorney and solhcitor to Lord George, adding, that his
majesty desired to know how his lordship wished to have the
proceeding, as there was no specific charge against him. This
disculpation under the hand of a secretary of state was re
markable. Some surmized that it had been contrived by
Lord Mansfield, a friend to Lord George. It was palpable, at
least, that the court had gone even this length, in order to
hold out to Lord George an opportunity of not pushing the
matter any farther. He, notwithstanding, assuming to himself
such a conviction of innocence, that he declared he would
even accept of Lord Tyrawley* (a brutal man, and one of his
* Being told that General Conway, whose miscarriage at Rochfort it was sup
posed Lord George had inflamed, would be of the court-martial against him, he

Sackville.

414 MEMOIRES- OF
1760. bitterest foes on that and former occasions) for president of
Lord g. tne court-martial, wrote in reply to Lord Holderness, " that
he had no business to accuse himself, nor had been guilty of
any fault ; but that he concluded Prince Ferdinand must have
exhibited some charge against him ; otherwise, undoubtedly
his majesty would not have stripped him of every thing in so
ignominious a manner. He therefore repeated his petition
for a court-martial, and would abide the event." Intimations
at the same time were privately given to Lord George, that if
he would desist from prosecuting the affair, the court would
also. On the other hand he was told, that be the consequence
how severe so ever, the King was firm to let the law take its
course, should the court-martial once proceed. With any
mitigation of his fate, if the event was sinister, Lord George
could not flatter himself. He had too many and too power-
full enemies, to expect any remission. The King hated him,
and hated those who favoured him, the Prince's faction. The
Duke was as iU-inchned to him. Fox, from private resent
ments, was his enemy. The army, whether the officers were
attached to the Duke, to Prince Ferdinand, or to Lord Granby,
were equaUy averse to him. Mr. Pitt, though no bitter enemy,
had adopted Prince Ferdinand's cause. The people, too, who
said, he should wish for no man sooner for his judge — the highest compliment
that could be paid to Conway's integrity and candour. Though at their outset,
both as soldiers and parliamentary speakers, the world had marked them as rivals,
there never was any open enmity between them ; nor were they ever intimate : the
spotless virtue of Conway, his disinterestedness, and total alienation from all po
litical intrigues, could not assimilate with a man so different.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 415
in a free country are reckoned for something, were prepossessed 1760.
against him. In his own profession he had disgusted many, Lor(1 G
both of superior and inferior rank. Newcastle, who never felt
for a powerless friend, had abandoned him. The house of
Bedford, from reasons of family*, were not his weU- wishers.
What had he to depend on ? — an ancient father and mother,
of great dignity indeed, and old servants of the crown f; but
the duke retired, disgraced almost, and worn out by age and
infirmities ; their small circle of friends ; the Scotch, obnoxious
at court by the mutual hatred between the Duke of Cum
berland and them since the last rebellion, and from being
attached to the Prince, and even by being attached to Lord
George; his own parts; and perhaps the unwillingness of
every profession to proceed against a member of their own
corps — what frail trust, when weighed against influence!' —
yet he pushed on his trial, and sought danger, though he saw
it, and must have weighed it. If here ambition preponderated
over fear, at least he was not always a coward. It was pre
tended that Lord Mansfield had assured him he could not be
convicted — but do general officers weigh legal niceties in the
scales of Westminster haU? Does their education quahfy them
for the tenderness required of Enghsh juries ? Are not mihtary
men apt to pique themselves on showing antipathy to every
* The sister of the Duchess of Bedford had married Lord John Sackville,
and had quarrelled with Lord George.
f The Duke of Dorset had enjoyed many great employments both in the
court and state: the duchess had been mistress of the robes to the late Queen.

Sackville.

416 MEMOIRES OF
1760. suspicion of cowardice, unless they are very brave and sensible
LordG indeed? — For my own part, I would sooner pronounce Lord
George a hero for provoking his trial, than a coward for
shrinking from the French. He would have been in less
danger by leading up the cavalry at Minden, than in every
hour that he went down to the Horse-guards as a criminal.
But whatever apology is due to Lord George's spirit, none
offers itself for his judgment. The obvious consequence of a
trial was condemnation. Laying aside the consideration of
hfe, ambition, and restlessness under the ruin of his fortune,
which probably dictated his insisting on a court-martial, were
almost certain of being disappointed by a formal sentence*.
A legal conviction of cowardice would for ever dash his hopes.
An acquittal would but partially remove such an imputation.
The court's avowal of there being no specific charge against
him was equal in value to such an acquittal. Time would
have drawn a kind of obhvion over what was passed : art and
future incidents might have superinduced a plea in his favour
from the supposed animosity of Prince Ferdinand. A de
claration of the court rather in his favour was of more weight
than even an acquittal after the reproach of an actual trial.
As a military man he could entertain no farther views. In a
* This reasoning was not destroyed by Lord George's being afterwards twice
employed in civil employments, the second time in a very high one ; for though
he had occasion to prove his personal courage, the imputation of wanting it was
never effaced; and was so often thrown in his face, that he never afterwards
recovered spirit enough to act with dignity, nor to display the parts which had
been so conspicuous in his early life.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 417
civil hght he might thereafter construe the rigour he had felt 1760.
into substantial merit. The approaching reign promised to be Lord G.
favorable to any sufferer under the present ; nor could Lord
George but know, that to be the enemy of Prince Ferdinand
would be meritorious in the eyes of the Prince and Princess
Dowager, who hated the ducal line of Brunswic. But this
was not the only error Lord George SackviUe had made in
judgment. It is not easy to conceive why he had persisted
to seek employment in Germany, if he felt that within him
which told him the road of martial glory was not his proper
walk. He had interest enough to wave service ; and had his
declining it been interpreted to his disadvantage, what was
suspicion in comparison bf proof ? On the 23d of January he
was acquainted that he should have a court-martial. It was
appointed, and General Onslow* constituted president. A
messenger was dispatched to Prince Ferdinand to send over
evidence. To General Balfour, nominated one of his judges,
Lord George objected on the score of former enmity between
them. While this affair was depending, a more atrocious criminal Earl Ferrers.
appeared on the stage. Lawrence, Earl Ferrers, had been
parted from his wife-f, and an allowance settled on her by
parhament out of his estate, for his causeless iU-usage of her.
* Richard Onslow, brother of the Speaker of the House of Commons.
t Sister of Sir William Meredith, a most amiable woman ; afterwards married
to Lord Frederic Campbell, brother of the Duke of Argyle. — A. She was burnt
to death in 1807.— £.
VOL,. II. 3 H

418 MEMOIRES OF
1760. A receiver of his rents, too, had been appointed, but the
Earl Ferrers nomination left to the earl, who named one Johnson, his own
murders his
steward. steward. That honest man not proving so tractable as his
lordship expected, had fallen under his displeasure. The
earl hved at his own seat in Leicestershire with a former
mistress, whom he had taken again on being seperated from
his wife, and by whom he had four children. In that retire
ment there appeared many symptoms of a phrenzy incident
to his family, as had also during his cohabitation with his
lady; and frequent drunkenness inflamed the disorder. In
that mood of madness and revenge he sent for Johnson,
having artfully dispatched his family and servants different
ways on various pretences. The poor man was no sooner
alone with him, than the earl locking the door, and holding a
pistol to his breast, would have obhged Johnson to sign a
paper, avowing himself a villain. While the unhappy man,
kneehng at his feet, hesitated to sign, Lord Ferrers shot him
in the body. The wound was mortal, but not instantly so.
Remorse or fear seized on the murderer, for he was then
sober. He sent for a surgeon, and wished to have Johnson
saved. Those sentiments soon vanished, or were expelled by
drink ; for the earl passed the remaining hours of that horrid
day between his bottle and the chamber of the expiring man,
sometimes in promises to his daughter, whom he had sum
moned to her father, oftener in transports of insult, threats,
and cruelty, to the victim himself, who languished till the
next morning. At first the peer prepared to defend himself

GEORGE THE SECOND. 419
from being seized; but his courage failed him, as it had on 1760.
former occasions. He was apprehended by the populace, and
lodged in Leicester jayl. Thence he was brought to town,
and carried before the House of Lords, where his behaviour
was cool and sensible. The Lords committed him to the Tower.
In February was tried a criminal of a stiU different com- Smoiiet
plexion. Dr. SmoUet was convicted in the King's Bench of a libel.
publishing scurrilous abuse on Admiral KnoUys in the Critical
Review. Smoiiet was a worthless man, and only mentioned
here because author of a History of England, of the errors in
which posterity ought to be warned. SmoUet was bred a sea-
surgeon, and turned author. He wrote a tragedy, and sent it
to Lord Lyttelton, with whom he was not acquainted. Lord
Lyttelton not caring to point out its defects, civiUy advised
him to try comedy. He wrote one, and solhcited the same
lord to recommend it to the stage. The latter excused him
self, but promised, if it should be acted, to do aU the service
in his power for the author. SmoUet's return was drawing an
abusive portrait of Lord Lyttelton in Roderick Random, a
novel ; of which sort he published two or three. His next
attempt was on the History of England ; a work in which he
engaged for bookseUers, and finished, though four volumes in
quarto, in two years ; yet an easy task, as being pilfered from
other histories. Accordingly it was httle noticed tiU it came
down to the present times : then, though compiled from the
hbels of the age and the most paltry materials, yet being
heightened by personal invectives, strong Jacobitism, and the
worst representation of the Duke of Cumberland's conduct in
3h2

420 MEMOIRES OF
1760. Scotland, the sale was prodigious. Eleven thousand copies of
Smoiiet. that trash were instantly sold, while at the same time the
university of Oxford ventured to print but two thousand of
that inimitable work, Lord Clarendon's Life ! A reflection on
the age sad to mention, yet too true to be suppressed !
SmoUet's work was again printed, and again tasted: it was
adorned with wretched prints, except two or three by
Strange*, who could not refuse his admirable graver to the
service of the Jacobite cause. SmoUet then engaged in a
monthly magazine, caUed the Critical Review, the scope of
which was to decry any work that appeared favorable to the
principles of the Revolution. Nor was he single in that
measure. The Scotch in the heart of London assumed a
dictatorial power of reviling every book that censured the
Stuarts, or upheld the Revolution — a provocation they ought
to have remembered when the tide roUed back upon them.
SmoUet, while in prison f, undertook a new magazine ; and
* Strange was a most undisguised Jacobite. Alan Ramsay, the painter, of as
disaffected a family, (and who had set out to join the Pretender, when he heard of
his defeat,) being offended that Strange had been unwilling to engrave his portrait
of George III., imputed it to Strangers Jacobitism. The latter, who certainly had
been patronized by Lord Bute on the death of George II., but quarrelled with
him, published a pamphlet against the earl, in which he taxed the earl with
the ridiculous vanity of chusing to have his own portrait engraved before the
King's. t It was worth remembering, that amongst the authors patronized and pen
sioned by George the Third, were Smoiiet, imprisoned for a libel; Shebbeare,
who had stood in the pillory for abusing George I., King William, and the
Revolution ; and some other libellers. — A.
To have patronized two ingenious men of letters, though formerly convicted
of political libels, is no discredit whatever to George III. — When, indeed, during

GEORGE THE SECOND. 421
notwithstanding the notoriety of his disaffection, obtained the 1760.
King's patent for it by the interest of Mr. Pitt, to whom he
had dedicated his History. In the foUowing reign he was
hired to write a scurrilous paper, called the Briton, against
that very patron, Mr. Pitt.
While the trials of Lord George Sackville and Earl Ferrers Thurot's
expedition to
were preparing, the attention of the public was drawn off to Ireland.
Ireland. We have mentioned the escape of Thurot from
Dunkirk, and his arrival with his pigmy squadron in Sweden.
His expedition was a codicil to the lofty plan of invading
these kingdoms in various parts at once. While the expe
dition from the coast of France should pour its flat-bottomed
boats on this island, Conflans was to fall on Ireland, and
Thurot to make a diversion either in Scotland or in the
North of Ireland. His armament, originaUy composed but
of five frigates, was by various accidents reduced to three :
his twelve hundred men, by sickness, to half that number.
The winter too was so adverse, that they lost three months in
beating about among the northern isles ; whence their pro
visions were so consumed, that they were obhged in the
middle of February to put into the Isle of Islay to recruit.
Supplied they were, and paid for what they received. Scot-
his reign, new and severer laws were devised against political libel, it might have
been worth remembering how many worthy, eminent, and learned men had incurred
the guilt, and been exposed to the consequences of that imperfectly defined species
of offence, at various periods of our history : a circumstance from which it must
naturally be inferred, that all further penalties adopted by parliament may be
inflicted on others, as worthy, as eminent, and as learned. — E.

422 MEMOIRES OF
1760. land was too wise to take a step farther in behalf of so forlorn
Thurot's a hope. There he learned the fate of the larger machine, the
expedition to
Ireland. defeat of Conflans. Ambitious however of personal honour,
and aware that desperate characters can only be supported by
desperate actions, he determined to make an attempt on some
part of Ireland ; and about the 28th of February appeared
before Carrickfergus. The remonstrances of the Enghsh
ministry had operated so httle on the administration in
Ireland, that Carrickfergus, though seated in the heart of
the Protestant interest, where arms might securely have
been trusted, was found by Thurot totally unguarded and
unprovided. Making a draught from his seamen, he landed
with a smaU body, and prepared to attack the town which
was so little prepared to resist. The waUs were ruinous, in
many places incompleat. The force within consisted of four
companies — unluckily, they consisted but of seventy-two men.
They were commanded by Lieutenant^colonel Jennings, a
man formed for a hero ; for he had great bravery and a smaU
portion of sense. Thurot, who wanted provisions even more
than glory, was content to make a demand of about twenty
articles, for which he promised to pay. In case of refusal he
threatened to burn the place, and then to march to Belfast, a
far more opulent and commercial town. Colonel Jennings,
who had scarce any ammunition, thought it more prudent to
comply than to resist, when he had no means of resisting.
He agreed to furnish Thurot with what he wanted. Some
disagreement, however, arising, the capitulation was broken.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 423
The gates were shut against the invaders — still to the honour 1760.
of Jennings, for the gates had neither bars nor locks. The Thurot's
fight began with firing at each other through the gates : but Ireland.
the Irish ammunition soon faihng, so brave was the garrison,
and so zealous the inhabitants, that for some time they de
fended themselves with brick-bats, which the rotten condition
of the waUs easily supplied. When even those stores were
exhausted, Jennings retired to the castle, while four or five
raw recruits still defended the shattered gates. The citadel,
however, could not hold out without either powder or pro
visions. It surrendered, and the garrison were made prisoners.
Thurot plundered the town, and then sent to demand contri
butions from Belfast.
Ridiculous as this campaign was, it was no joke to the
Duke of Bedford. Jennings and his puny force had shown
themselves wiUing to do their utmost. The success of Thurot
was a glaring comment on the negligence of his grace's ad
ministration. The danger to which so wealthy a town as
Belfast was exposed was still more alarming. General Fitz
william was immediately detached with four regiments of
foot and three of horse to drive out the invaders. The lord
lieutenant in person promised to overtake him at Newry.
But Thurot would not give his grace an opportunity of
retrieving his own carelesness. Taking along with him the
mayor and three of the principal inhabitants of Carrickfergus,
Thurot again put to sea. Another measure taken by the
Irish administration had luckier consequences. They had

424 MEMOIRES OF
1760. sent advice of the invasion to Kingsale, where lay three of our
best frigates. Elhot * commanded them. He instantly sailed,
and came up with Thurot in the Irish Channel. Elliot's
vessels were inferior in size and number to Thurot's, but
cleaner, and the men fresh. After a smart action, he boarded
Thurot's Thurot's ship. The latter feU, but not till he had given
death. proof of the most romantic bravery. The other two frigates
soon struck, and were aU carried into the Isle of Man.
Elliot's account to the Admiralty was penned with such
modesty, that a more important victory had not been more
honorable. Feb. 28th, Lord Barrington acquainted the House of
Commons that Lord George SackviUe had been put under
arrest for disobedience of orders. The Speaker had been
much averse to the trial of a member who was no longer in
the army, and hoped it would be opposed : but it was not.
Lord Milton f, brother-in-law of Lord George, was empowered
by him to say that the trial was what he earnestly desired.
Lord Barrington then moved an address of thanks to the
King for the communication, and for his Majesty's tenderness
' of the privileges of the House. This being readily agreed to,
Lord Barrington said it was nemine contradicente ; but Dod
dington X had faintly said no, and the Speaker said there had
* Brother of Sir Gilbert Elliot, one of the lords of the Treasury.
-f- Joseph Damer Lord Milton had married Lady Caroline Sackville, sister of
Lord George. — A. He was created an earl in 1792, and died in 1798. — E.
\ Doddington was an old friend of the Duke of Dorset, was no friend to Mr.
Pitt, and was attached to the Princess-dowager: so was Sir Francis Dashwood.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 425
been a negative. Sir Francis Dashwood then said, that he 1760.
had not opposed the address, as Lord George wished the Debate on
rr ° trial of
trial ; but he hoped the measure would be considered here- member of
House of
after in some mutiny-bill, and that the time might be hmited Commons.
how long persons who had quitted the army should be liable
to martial law. Doddington added, " That every body seemed
to agree it ought not to remain law ; that he did not think it
law ; nay, that Lord George might have been tried while he
was a military man. Martial law was growing upon us, would
eat up the banks, and overflow the whole. The Mutiny-bill
feU to the ground every year, but, hke the giant, recovered
new strength on touching it." Sir John Rushout added, that,
were he in the army, he would not sit on the trial of any man
out of it. Sir Francis Dashwood promised to caU for a revisal
of the Mutiny-biU, if nobody else did.
The next day the court-martial met. When Lord George Court mar-
• • /-< 1 -r» 1 p 1 **a* 0n ^Ord
Sackville appeared before it, seeing General Balfour on the G. Sackville.
bench, he said, he thought that officer had not been to sit on
him, he having made his exceptions, and been told Balfour
should not be of the court. Balfour said, he came not to be
a judge, nor desired to be, but to know the exception, which"
he thought touched his honour — a strong proof how dissonant
courts-martial are from the spirit of the Enghsh constitution,
which does not understand that persons accused are to be
awed by points of romantic honour from excepting against
their jury, if suspected of enmity or partiality. Lord George
pleaded opposition that Balfour had exercised against him
VOL. n. 3 I

426 MEMOIRES OF
1760. in the Ordnance. The court-martial voted that reason in-

Court mar- sufficient, but told Balfour they would excuse his attendance
tial on Lord . n .
g. Sackville. if he desired it; which he did. They had no such power
either of voting the exception invalid, or of excusing him.
The King had appointed him, and had aUowed the exception.
Their next step was more respectfull to the laws, and came
from a quarter which was not suspected of much tenderness
to the prisoner. Lord Albemarle* asked him if he was in the
army ; the judge-advocate for the prisoner answered, No.
The court then was cleared, and adjourned to the following
Thursday (it was then Friday), desiring to have the opinion
of the judges, whether a man no longer in the army was
subject to martial law. The attorney and solhcitor generals
had determined in the affirmative, grounding their sentiment
on those words of the Mutiny-bill, " All persons being officers
on the 25th of March, and committing such and such faults
within the course of the year," &c. These words being in
force as long as the biU, they thought comprehended such
persons for the same period.
Lord Albemarle had gone farther : he had asked if the
•court was empowered to inflict any punishment under capital
on the delinquent. This provision of tenderness was not
expected from the favorite of the Duke of Cumberland, or
from one who had expressed himself warmly enough against
Lord George. Private reasons were sought for this conduct
* Lord Albemarle was the favorite of the Duke of Cumberland, who was
no friend to Lord George.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 427
by those who would not suppose that in that trial any motives 1760.
but those of passion or interest would be hearkened to. They Court mar
tial on Lord
who canvassed Lord Albemarle's behaviour under such pre- G. Sackville.
judice accounted for it by the Duke's envy of Prince Ferdinand,
and desire of rescuing even that hated criminal from his venge
ance — yet were those but surmizes, not corroborated by any
appearance of acrimony in the complexion or conduct of the
judges. So iU, however, was Lord Albemarle's obstruction of
the proceedings accepted by the King, who now pushed on
the trial angrily and indecently, that his mother, Lady Albe
marle*, was omitted in the private nightly parties at court,
and not spoken to in the morning drawing-room. The King
went farther : Prince Ferdinand was impatient for the return
of the officers : General Onslow, president of the court-martial,
was member of another on Lord Charles Hay -j-, a brave but
mad officer, who having in America reflected on the dilatoriness
of Lord Loudun, had been put under arrest by him. Onslow
at that trial was seized with an apoplectic fit, and died. The
King was so impatient of any delay on Lord George Sackville's
case, that the Duke of Newcastle at four in the afternoon was
ordered to send to the secretary at war, then in the House of*
* Lady Anne Lenox, youngest daughter of Charles, first Duke of Richmond
of that line. She had been lady of the bed-chamber to Queen Caroline. After
the Queen's death the King had private parties at cards every night from nine to
eleven in the apartment of the Princesses Amelie and Carohne, to which only the
most favorite lords and ladies of the court were invited, and some of the King's
grooms of the bed-chamber. She died, at an advanced age, in 1789.
¦f- Brother of the Marquis of Tweddale.
3i 2

428 MEMOIRES OF
1760. Commons, directions to have a new commission made out that
very evening, that not a day might be lost. Four more
members too were added to the court, to guard against any
deficience, the law aUowing not a greater number than twenty-
one, nor less than thirteen.
Reference fen judges (the other two, Bathurst * and Chve, of which
to judges on J °
Lord George the former held Lord George's trial illegal, being absent on
Sackville's & & ' fa
trial. ^he circuit) gave their opinions, that, as far as they could then
see, he might be tried; but they reserved to themselves a
farther consideration, if any appeal should be made from the
sentence. On the very day on which they were to dehver
their opinion arrived the account of Thurot's defeat and
death. There was a great court to congratulate the King ;
yet so impatient was he to learn the decision of the bench,
that he scarce staid a moment in the drawing-room. In
private he expressed, without decency, his apprehensions of
what the German princes would think of his want of power,
should he not be able to obtain Lord George's trial and
condemnation. The moment he was certified that the trial
might proceed, he named General Pulteney f president of the
court in the room of Onslow ; and Pulteney excusing himself,
Sir Charles Howard % was appointed.
March 7th, the trial recommenced. Lord George, who
* Henry Bathurst, chancellor to the late Prince of Wales, attached to the
Princess-dowager, and lord high chancellor in the following reign. — A. He died in
1794.— E.
t Only brother of William, Earl of Bath.
\ Only brother of the Earl of Carlisle, and knight of the Bath.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 429
treated his adversaries with little management, desired the 1760.
judge-advocate to explain to Wintzenrode, Prince Ferdinand's Court mar-
n r~K Till *'B^ °n ^J0X^
aid-de-camp, the nature of perjury: the German replied hand- g. Sackville.
somely, that he understood it both from rehgion and honour,
and supposed it was the same in aU countries.
Through the course of the trial, which, being in print,
it is not necessary to recapitulate, the chief examinants were
General Cholmondeley * and Lord Albemarle ; both appearing
unfavorable to Lord George, and the latter as httle sparing
Prince Ferdinand, when, by any indirect question, he could
draw forth evidence of the Prince having been surprized into
the battle. The rest of the court took so httle share in the
examination, that Cholmondeley complained of the invidious
part that was forced on him. Sloper was particularly acri
monious in his evidence against Lord George, and was beheved
actuated by General Mordaunt, so warmly did the latter
resent Lord George's practices on the miscarriage at Roch
fort; though, if Lord George stirred up the prosecution of
that affair, Mordaunt had only sufferred by imphcation :
Conway was Lord George's object ; but Conway was far from
retorting that injury in the same manner. Lord Granby,
who was actually involved in the trial as evidence, showed the
same honourable and compassionate tenderness. So far from
exaggerating the minutest circumstance, he palliated or sup
pressed whatever might load the prisoner, and seemed to
* James, only brother of George, third Earl of Cholmondeley, and much
attached to the Duke of Cumberland.

430 MEMOIRES OF
1760. study nothing but how to avoid appearing a party against
court mar- him— so inseperable in his bosom were valour and goocU
S sTckviiie. nature. That the constitution of the court itself was not
unfavorable to Lord George appeared, when a question that
bore hard against him being put by General Cholmondeley,
and Lord Robert Bertie objecting to it, it was put to the
vote, and by the majority not admitted to be asked.
Lord George's own behaviour was most extraordinary.
He had undoubtedly trusted to the superiority of his parts
for extricating him. Most men in his situation would have
adapted such parts to the conciliating the favour of his
judges, to drawing the witnesses into contradictions, to mis
leading and bewUdering the court, and to throwing the most
specious colours on his own conduct, without offending the
parties declared against him. Very different was the conduct
of Lord George. From the outset, and during the whole
process, he assumed a dictatorial style to the court, and
treated the inferiority of their capacities as he would have
done if sitting amongst them. He browbeat the witnesses,
gave the lie to Sloper, and used the judge-advocate, though
a very clever man, with contempt. Nothing was timid,
nothing humble in his behaviour. His replies were quick
and spirited. He prescribed to the court, and they acquiesced.
An instant of such resolution at Minden had estabhshed his
character for ever.
The trial had lasted longer than was expected. The
Mutiny-bill expired. A new warrant was forced to be made

GEORGE THE SECOND. 431
out, and the depositions were read over to the witnesses. It 1760.
was the third of April before the whole proceeding was Sentence
of court
closed: the event different from what Lord George had martial.
presumed, and yet short of what he had reason to expect.
The court-martial pronounced him guilty of having disobeyed
Prince Ferdinand's orders, whom by his commission and
instructions he was ordered to obey, and declared it their
opinion that he was unfit to serve his Majesty in any mihtary
capacity whatever.
The King confirmed the sentence, but, dissatisfied that it
had gone no farther, he could not resist the ungenerous im
pulse of loading it with every insult in his power ; impotent,
as circumscribed in narrower hmits than his wishes ; and un
just, as exceeding the bounds of a just trial ; since no man
ought to be punished beyond his sentence. The court-
martial's decision was directed to be given out in pubhc
orders to the army, declaring the sentence worse than death.
The King struck Lord George's name out of the council-book,
and- forbad his appearance at court. The Lord Chamberlain too
was ordered to notify that prohibition to the Prince of "Wales
and the Princess-dowager ; and lest that should not be suf
ficient, the vice-chamberlain was sent to acquaint Lord Bute
with it, who said, to be sure the Prince would not think of
seeing Lord George while it was disagreable to his Majesty.
Lord George's witnesses and friends were treated with no less
cruelty. Hugo, a Hanoverian, was dismissed on his return to
the army. John Smith was obhged to quit it here; and

432 MEMOIRES OF
1760. Cunningham was sent to America, though he had been there
three times already. Yet not a murmur foUowed: as the
object was obnoxious, even the dangerous precedent of perse
cuting witnesses who had thwarted the inclinations of the
court made no impression — so much do liberty and power
depend on circumstances and seasons #.
* As that trial and sentence came remarkably into question two-and-twenty
years afterwards, it may not be improper to touch slightly the occasion of its being
recalled ; together with a few outlines of the subsequent life of a man, whose
disgrace seemed to have annihilated him for ever in a political light ; and who,
though his restless ambition incited him again to aspire to high employments and
honours, both which he attained, will never figure in history as an admired
character, since he acquired no successes, no glory for his country by his councils,
strengthened f rather than effaced the suspicion of. his courage, almost forfeited the
general opinion of his parts, and obtained no honours that were not balanced by
redoubled disgraces and mortifications. He was admitted into a lucrative, though
subordinate, post in Lord Rockingham's first administration ; was grossly insulted
by Governor Johnstone, whom he challenged and fought f with a coolness that with
almost all men justly palliated or removed the imputation on his spirit. Not long
after the commencement of the fatal American war he was suddenly hoisted to the
management of it; in the course of which he was frequently exposed to most
bitter apostrophes on his former imputed timidity, and did but give new handle to
that imputation by the tameness or feebleness with which he bore or repelled those
attacks ; while the want of vigour in his defences, void of any emanations of parts,
made his abilities as much questioned as his spirit by those who were too young to
remember his former exertions. Whether his councils and plans were ill-o-rounded
impolitic, or unwise, or whether the recovery of America was unattainable when
he entered on the office, it is certain that not only ill success attended almost
t How he strengthened rather than effaced the suspicion of his courage, and yet fought
with a coolness that with almost all men justly palliated or removed the imputation on his spirit,
seems rather difficult to explain, if it were any part of the duty of an editor to reconcile the
contradictions of an author. — E.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 433
The trial of Lord Ferrers had more solemn conclusion. 1760.

To one man his crimes were advantageous. Sir Robert Trial of
Earl Ferrers.
Henley, lord keeper, had been hoisted to that eminence by
circumstances of faction ; which, however, could not give
weight to his decisions in Chancery. Those, as he complained,
were often reversed before his face by the House of Lords
without his being empowered to defend them, he not being a
peer. It was proper to apppint him lord high steward for
the trial of Lord Ferrers ; and it was requisite, to fiU that
office, that he should be a peer. Henley was accordingly
every one of the measures he recommended or promoted, but two disgraces -f-
(unparalleled so far, that two similar never happened to any country in any one
war) befell the British arms, sufficient to blast, if not demolish, any minister so
unauspiciously seconded by fortune. Yet misfortune and disgrace were not en
tirely the causes of Lord George's fall. The mercenary intrigue and treachery
of a few of his associates tumbled him in a moment from a height which he
decorated so ill — while the partiality or obstinacy of a sovereign, whose passions
he implicitly obeyed, compensated his fall by the extravagant reward of a viscount's
coronet. This exaltation was as abruptly and cruelly the occasion of recalling the
former stigma. The Marquis of Carmarthen J proposed to the House of Lords
to protest against the admission into their order of a man stamped by an indelible
brand, and by a sentence that had never been cancelled. The positive Monarch
precipitated the patent in defiance. The marquis, as unshaken, pursued his
hostility, sollicited the peers to condemn the indignity offerred to them ; and the
new viscount was reduced in the first debate after taking his seat to hear his
former sentence read to his face, and to combat in person for the Sovereign's
prerogative right of giving, and his own competence of receiving, the conferred
honour. — A. t The surrenders of General Burgoyne's and Cornwallis's armies.
J Francis OsborneJ only son of the Duke of Leeds.
VOL. II. 3 K

434 MEMOIRES OF
1760. created a baron ; but, as the seals had not taught him more
Trial of law, a coronet and white staff contributed as httle to give him
EarlFerrers. iitti
more dignity. He despised form, even where he had httle
to do but to be formal. He did not want sense, and spirit
stiU less ; but he could not, or would not, stoop to so easy a
lesson as that of ceremonial. Nothing is more awfuU than
the trial of a British peer ; yet the mean appearance of the
prisoner, and the vulgar awkwardness of the chief judge,
made the present trial as httle imposing as possible. The
earl's behaviour conciliated no favour to him: it was some
what suUen, and his defence contemptible, endeavouring to
protract the time, though without address. At length he
pleaded madness — unwilhngly, but in compliance with the
entreaties of his family. The audience was touched at the
appearance of his two brothers, reduced to depose to the
lunacy in their blood. But those impressions were effaced,
and gave way to horror, when it appeared to the court that
the earl had gloried in his shocking deed. Being easily
convicted, he begged pardon of his judges for having used
the plea of madness. But if his hfe was odious, and during
his life his cowardice notorious, he showed at his death that
he did not want sense, resolution, or temper. He bore the
ignominy of his fate like a philosopher, and went to meet it
with the ease of a gentleman. In the tedious passage of his
conveyance from the Tower to Tyburn, which was impeded
by the crouds that assembled round his coach, he dropped not

GEORGE THE SECOND. 435
a rash word, nor one that had not sense and thought in it. 1760.
Little was wanting to grace his catastrophe but less resent- Execution
... 7 . . of Earl
ment to his wife, the peculiarity of being executed in his Ferrers.
wedding-habit too strongly marking that he imputed his
calamity to that source. His relation, Lady Huntingdon, the
metropolitan of the Methodists, had laboured much in his last
hours to profit of his fears for the honour of her sect ; but,
having renounced the plea of madness, he did not chuse to
resign his intellects to folly. So impudent, however, were
those knavish zealots, that one Loyd, a Methodist, having
been robbed by his coachman, a Methodist too, Whitfield
appeared at the trial before the lord mayor, and read an
excommunication that he had pronounced against the coach
man. They would have accepted a murderer, if a proselyte
from the estabhshed church; and flattered themselves that
they could shake off the infamy of a house-breaker by casting
him out from their own — so brief and effectual do enthusiasts
hold their own legerdemain.
A man, whose pretensions to virtue were as equivocal as Qualification
. . Bill.
Whitfield's to sanctity, took upon him about this time to lay
straiter obhgations on members of parhament. The plan,
like that of hypocrites of all denominations, was, by coining
new occasions of guUt. Sir John Philipps brought a bill into
the House of Commons to oblige the members to give in
particulars of their qualifications, and to swear to the truth of
them. A known Jacobite, who and whose friends had taken
the oaths to King George, ought to have been sensible that
3k2

436 MEMOIRES OF
1760. perjury was not the crime at which most men stuck in that
Quaiifica- age: nor could it be hoped that they who made a seat in
tion Bill. parliament the foundation of their fortune would not overleap
any obstacle to obtain one. Pitt, James GrenviUe, and Beck
ford promoted the biU. Lord Egmont opposed it with great
abihty, and pointed out how much it would subject aU
estates to the inspection, and, consequently, to the iniquitous
practices of attornies : and he showed that western estates in
particular were so circumstanced, that, without double the
qualification required, they would not be sufficient to answer
it. Much spirit against the biU appeared in others. The
Duke of Newcastle was very averse to it, but forced to
swaUow it a httle curtailed, as Pitt insisted that something
must be done to gratify the Tories. Lord Strange ridiculed
it, particularly one notorious blunder : the bill directed that
no man should take his seat tiU he had produced his qua
lification and sworn to it in a fuU house, the Speaker in the
chair. This, at the opening of a new parliament, was an
impossibihty — by whom was the Speaker to be chosen ?
Young Thomas Townshend spoke warmly against it, and
traced its origin to the four last disgracefuU years of Queen
Anne, when a hke biU had been attempted by the Tories.
The biU, however, passed both Houses. In the Lords, the
Duke of Richmond and the Earls of Gower and Hilsborouffh
opposed it. Lord Temple supported it insolently, threatening
disunion if it were not allowed to pass. Lord Hardwicke
seemed but cool towards it; yet he treated the Commons

GEORGE THE SECOND. 437
arrogantly, and said he had winked at many things for the 1760.
sake of union. Lord Gower put it home to the bishops
whether the bill would not multiply perjuries — yet it was
carried by fifty to sixteen, as it had been in the other House
by fourscore to forty.
A bill for a militia in Scotland was less succesfuU ; nor Militia Bills.
could the disaffected there obtain this mode of having their
arms restored. Pitt had acquiesced ; but the Duke of New
castle, the Sollicitor-general Yorke, Nugent, Lord Barrington,
and the young Whigs, attacked it with all their force. Even
the Scotch lord advocate spoke with spirit against it. EUiot
defended it masterly ; and Sir Henry Erskine went so far as
to say that aU Scotland would come and demand it at the bar
of the House. Unluckily for that menace, the man who had
most weight in that country, the Duke of Argyll, was not
cordial to the bill, and it was rejected by one hundred and
ninety-four to eighty-four.
A proposed extension of the militia met with the same
fate. It had been granted for five years. The counties
which had adopted it grew tired of the expence. The Tory
gentlemen were fond of this more decent mode of accepting
emoluments. To humour them and George Townshend, Pitt
had consented that a biU should be brought in to make the
expence common to the whole kingdom, by enabhng the
counties where militia was raised to draw on the Exchequer.
The Speaker advertised the House that this would not only
be a money-biU, but must have the consent of, nay, must be

438 MEMOIRES OF
1760. recommended by, the Crown. That the King absolutely
Militia refused to give. Notice being taken of the biU's non-
Bill. 8 8
appearance, Lord Strange, in his frank manner, said, Why did
not gentlemen speak out ? was it not that his Majesty would
not consent to the biU? Pitt, to draw aU possible honour
from what he could not bestow, rephed, it was now too late in
the "session ; but if any man would renew the motion the
second day of next session, even to make the militia perpetual?
he would not only second, but try to get the biU passed
before the supplies — yet what were those supphes to feed
but his own war, which he boasted had doubled the expence
of any year of Queen Anne ? This very year above sixteen
milhons were voted.
Those prodigious efforts were crowned, though not with
universal, yet with most important success. In Germany the
campaign was far from decisive ; but in America the war was
concluded. After the loss of Quebec the French retired into
General the heart of Canada. General Murray*, a brave and adven-
beatenat turous officer, with a garrison of about seven thousand men
and with the terror our arms had inspired, was left to defend
the ruins of Quebec. The frost had obhged the fleet to
retire. Monsieur Levi, who had succeded Montcalm, seized
that last opportunity of struggling to recover their empire.
Assembling a body of French, Canadians, and Indians, to the
amount of ten thousand and upwards, he marched in April to
* The same person who, when governor of Minorca, was forced to surrender
it to the Spaniards in 1782.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 439
besiege the capital. General Murray, impatient to be cooped 1760.
within waUs into which the English had entered so impe
tuously, disdained to await a regular siege, and, with far
more intrepidity than pohcy, marched out with inferior force,
attacked the French, and was defeated. He lost his cannon,
but was sufficiently fortunate in not being cut off, as he was
near being, from his retreat to the city. Levi soon prepared
to form the siege by land and sea, having brought up six
frigates ; against which we had not a single vessel. The
place must have faUen into the hands of its old masters, if, on French re-
the 9th of May, Lord ColviUe, with two frigates, outsaihng the Quebec.
British squadron, had not entered the river and demolished
the French armament. Levi from the heights on the other
side was witness to that defeat ; and, judging rightly that the
rest of our naval force approached, broke up his camp in
haste and confusion, and retreated, leaving his artiUery behind
him. One resource still remained — Montreal. There Monsieur
de Vaudreuil, the general governor, fixed his stand, and col
lected the whole force of the province. But he had to deal
with a man, who, as brave as Wolfe or as Murray, and as
circumspect as Vaudreuil was insidious, possessed the whole
system of war. Provident, methodic, conciliating, and cool,
Amherst disposed his plans, adapted his measures, reconcUed
jarring interests, and pursued his operations with steadiness,
neither precipitating nor delaying beyond the due point, and
comprehending the whole under an authority which he knew

440 MEMOIRES OF
1760. how to assume, and to temper from giving disgust*. A
'General character so composed could not shine on a sudden: it
Amherst #
takes Mont- required penetration to admire him ; but the finer the details,
r-eal.' * Jeffery Amherst, afterwards made knight of the Bath, a baron of
England, and commander-in-chief of the forces of Great Britain, from which post
he was removed in 1782, was one of those men who, in particular circumstances,
in one period of their hfe have performed not only great actions, but have con
ducted them with consummate sense and address, and who in the rest of their
lives have been able to display no symptoms of genius. Amherst, who terminated
the war in America with so much ability, being afterwards raised to the com
mand of the army at home, was discovered and universally allowed to be a
man of incapacity, or neglectfull of the most common details of his office.
Whether conscious of his own defects, and of being incompetent to converse
with men whom he knew enlightened, he seemed determined to bury his
deficiency in obstinate silence; or else his pride and vanity, of which he had
a tolerable share, made him disdain to communicate his paucity of ideas. No
satisfaction could be extorted from him on whatever business he was consulted;
nor was it much easier to obtain from him the necessary orders in his department.
In 1779, when the French fleet arrived off Plymouth, he could not have given
more absurd directions had he meant to betray the place ; and, when every part
of the coast was open to expected invasion, he was no where prepared with
the common necessaries for taking the field. When reproached in parliament
with his negligence and insufficience, he confirmed them by the sullen and in
adequate brevity of his reply. When at last he was removed by the preponderance
of the opposition in 1782, he fell as unregretted as he had remained in place
despised. General Moncke had been another of those temporary brilliants. All the
depths of refined policy had seemed to have conducted and ensured his success.
After the Restoration not a gleam of genius appeared, though he proved just
the reverse of Amherst. Moncke had observed the most profound secrecy and
' dissimulation in conducting the re-establishment of the King. He seems to have
thrown off all disguise in the rest of his life ; though his activity remained, when
ever called out. Amherst assumed reserve when he had nothing to conceal and
laid aside industry when it would have sufficed to communicate vigour to others.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 44 i
the more astonishing was the result. Amherst had deter- 1760.
mined by one collective arrangement to overwhelm the last General
¦n rv» • Amherst
hopes of France in Canada; an object sufficiently important takes Mon
treal.
to justify the exertion of superabundant resources. Colonel
Haviland was ordered to sail from Crownpoint, and proceed
When men shine but once, it is probable that fortune has the chief merit in their
success; and that others impute to their foresight the lucky combinatidns of
chance in their favour.
In different parts of these Memoires I am well aware that I have given very
different characters of somei of the principal actors. The reason is, that, having
observed them well for a long series of years, I have seen cause to change my
opinions — perhaps the persons themselves altered, for who is consistent ? I chuse
to leave the portraits with their variations; I think they were just at each period
in which they were drawn — the reader must judge from the conduct of the
persons ; for he will observe, that, if I vary my accounts, I produce the instances
in which the actors appeared different from themselves. Lord Chatham I have
described in all the lights in which he appeared — sometimes a capital statesman,
and sometimes an empiric. The Duke of Cumberland I have shown to have
become a most wise, philosophic, and respectable, from a haughty and insolent
prince. Lord George Sackville I have spoken of with admiration of his
parts, with great indecision on his spirit, with scorn of his want of judgment,
and of his want of abilities in the latter part of his time. Lord Amherst was
allowed for many years to have deserved the encomiums I have given to his
conduct in America. The contempt conceived for him afterwards was so general,
that, even while he retained his power, he had not an advocate. — A.
The author's notes were generally written many years after the text. The
above unfavorable portrait of Lord Amherst was probably annexed to the MS.
at the close of the American war, when political animosities obscured every
impartial view of living characters. The panegyric in text was composed in 1763,
Horace Walpole being then more than ever disposed to magnify the events and
extol the tactics of the seven-years' war. Allowance must be made for these
circumstances. We may abate something of the warmth of encomium in the text,
but we must also mitigate the bitterness which forms so large an ingredient in
the note. — E.
VOL. II. 3 L,

442 MEMOIRES OF
1760. directly to Montreal: General Murray was commanded to
General bring up aU the force he could spare from Quebec. Amherst
takes Mont- himself, with a body of ten thousand men, and reinforced by
a thousand savages under Sir Wilham Johnson, embarked on
lake Ontario for the river St. Laurence ; a spectacle that
recalled the expeditions of ancient story, when the rudeness
and novelty of naval armaments raised the first adventurers
to the rank of demigods. That vast lake was to be traversed
in open galhes laden with artillery, not with arrows and
javelins. Wolfe, with aU the formidable apparatus of modern
war, had almost failed before Quebec : Amherst with barks
and boats invaded Montreal, and atchieved the conquest,
though, what would have daunted the heroes of antiquity,
he had the cataracts to pass. He surmounted that danger
with inconsiderable loss, and appeared before Montreal on the
very same day with General Murray. Too many obstacles, to
which Monsieur de VaudreuU had trusted, were conquered.
The place itself was httle tenable. The governor took the
only part that remained, that of surrendering his garrison
prisoners of war. Thus was the French empire in Canada
annihUated without effusion of blood. Amherst's glory was
compleated by pardoning Vaudreuil's perfidy and cruelties,
and by preserving the vanquished from insult and injury.
successes^m The power of France drew as near to a period in the
East Indies. Colonel Coote, Major Brereton, who fell in
the contest, Major Monson, and others, carried on the war
triumphantly. Lally, who left no valour unexerted, no

GEORGE THE SECOND. 443
stratagem unattempted, was constantly defeated. Sir George 1760.
Pocoeke entirely dispersed their navy in those seas after three
repeated engagements.
The German war was far from drawing to a conclusion. Campaign
in Germany.
It was next to a miracle, considering how gloomily the last
campaign had terminated for the King of Prussia, that the
present did not compleat his ruin. The Empress-queen's
hatred and resources were by no means exhausted. She con
trived, too, to keep up to the same mark the implacabihty of
the Czarina, who, having less both to hope and to fear, may
weU be believed to have been actuated by bribes and pensions
to her ministers. Immersed in pleasure and cool to ambition,
gentle, too, to her subjects, it is not credible that the armies
she poured on the King of Prussia's dominions were dispatched
by feehngs of her own. The danger was not the less pressing
to the King. The Russians again threatened him ; advanced
again. The desultory Swedes stiU hovered over him. The
Austrian force was compleat and numerous ; and, if Daun
was too cautious, Laudohn promised to repair by activity the
marshal's circumspection. The court of Vienna seemed to
applaud Laudohn's vigour, whether to animate Daun by
giving him a rival, or really wishing for an opportunity to
fling the command into hands more alert. The marshal, who
preferred the interests of his mistress to his own glory, was
not to be provoked out of his prudence. Inferior forces, he
seemed to think, might be justified in rashness : superior
strength, that could command time, could also ensure success ;
and, as his conduct had already brought the King of Prussia
3l 2

444 MEMOIRES OF
1760. to the verge of ruin, he saw no cause to precipitate measures
which had and did tend so naturally to compleat the work.
The King, whom experience had successively taught to be
brave, to be desperate, to be circumspect, was not impatient
to advance his fate. His whole conduct in this campaign
evidenced that he looked on his situation as little less than
hopeless ; firm, however, to find an issue, if art or industry
could furnish one. He entrenched himself strongly between
the Elbe and the Multa, covering Saxony. Prince Henry
defended Silesia ; General Fouquet, preserving a communi
cation with the latter, was posted near Glaiz. Daun watched
the King in a camp no less strong ; while Laudohn, with a
light army, shifted his quarters, and by turns threatened
Silesia and Berlin — sometimes hovered over the strong places
in Silesia, at others made a feint of attacking Prince Henry.
The storm, however, at length seemed levelled against Schweid-
Pmssians nitz. General Fouquet was the dupe of that mouvement ; and,
defeated, and ¦, .
General Fou- marching to cover the town, was drawn into an engagement
quet taken. by Laudohn near Landshut, in which the Prussians were not
only totally defeated, but Fouquet himself, with two other
generals, four colonels, two hundred and thirteen officers,
and seven thousand men, were obhged to lay down their
arms and surrender themselves prisoners.
Laudohn, eager to improve his victory, besieged Glatz and
took it. He was of a nature not to stop in the career of
success. The King trembled for Silesia ; while, at the same
time, he was kept in check by Daun's superior force. He
had no logger leisure to temporize. By a secret and rapid

GEORGE THE SECOND. 445
march he crossed the Elbe before the marshal had notice of 1760.
his departure. But Daun, however wary, was not dilatory. King of
Prussia
He foUowed the King with an expedition which, being before Dresden.
assisted by having a shorter cut to make, soon gave him
the start of his Majesty. This was the point at which the
King had pushed. When he found the marshal was advanced
before him by a march of two days, the King turned suddenly
back, and, while he was supposed on the borders of Silesia,
appeared before the walls of Dresden. He commenced the
siege with ardour; for it would admit of no delay. The
glory of outwitting Daun was all the fruit reaped by this
stratagem; and, unless the King flattered himself with a
prospect of carrying Dresden by surprize or storm, his
manoeuvre was, in his circumstances, a puerile stratagem, a
game of generalship not adequate to the crisis of his fortune.
It seemed one of those vainglorious littlenesses which too
often entered into his composition. The same mistaken
appetite of applause tempted him in this very campaign to
pubhsh his poems; a superficial medley, ungratefull to the
Deity, that had given him such talents, and who had not
given him a genius for poetry. Achilles was a subject for
Pindar's lyre, but could not strike it hke Pindar.
Daun soon compensated for his error, and reached Dresden
in six days after the siege was formed. He flung sixteen
battalions into the town ; and in three days more the King is obliged
abandoned the siege. He had astonished Europe — and he siege.
was satisfied. His brother's glory was more sohd. Laudohn
had invested Breslau, and expected to be joined by seventy

446 MEMOIRES OF
1760. thousand Russians. The town in the mean time was battered
King of with incredible fury. The Russians did not appear — but
r 1*11 fi Q I H
Prince Henry did. He had marched from Glogau with
surprizing expedition, and arrived in time to save the place.
Laudohn thought fit to decamp without risking a battle ; but
he blocked up Neisse and Schweidnitz ; and the Russians at
last advanced. Three bodies of Austrians also joined, com
manded by Daun, Laudohn, and Lacy. The King by large
strides hastened to the defence of Silesia, and encamped at
Lignitz. His own superiority of force, and the approach of
the Russians, appeared to Marshal Daun the favorable moment
' for determining the contest. He disposed his plan for attack
ing the King in different quarters with all the three armies ;
and, to leave as little as possible to chance, he meaned to
surprize him in the night. Measures so wisely taken were
frustrated by the vivacity of the King. He had learned the
approach of a body of Russians, and saw himself in a net. In
vain had he already attempted to divide the Austrian armies ;
but what his stratagems could not effect, their own disposition
offerred to him. Meaning to surround him, they necessarily
were to act in detached bodies. He seized the lucky hour
with vigour and sagacity; and, on the evening before the
destined general attack, he silently quitted his position, and
seized a post through which Laudohn was to pass. Daun
had begun to move, when, to his inexpressible surprize, he
found no enemy to encounter. The astonishment of Laudohn
was not less, when, at three in the morning, he found himself
opposed to the whole force of the King of Prussia. He was

GEORGE THE SECOND. 447
fallen into the snare, and it was too late to retreat. For three 1760.

hours he sustained the redoubled onsets of the Prussians ; but King of
the King, who fought to avoid a battle, as well as to gain defeats
• 1 11-1 Laudohn.
one, exerted such desperate heroism, that at length he totaUy
routed the Austrians. They fled, leaving the Monarch in
possession of every mark of victory, but expecting each
moment to have it ravished from him. Here, if ever, Marshal
Daun seems to have hesitated unwisely. The Prussians were
flushed with success ; but such a victory was not gained with
out fatigue. Daun suspended his blow, and never recovered
the opportunity : he lost it by waiting to ensure it. Never
trusting to chance, while additional strength was in view, he
detached a strong corps to meet the Russians and press them
to advance. Great as the reinforcement was, it did not
counterbalance the panic with which they were struck by
Laudohn's defeat. They repassed the Oder with precipitation,
and left the King at liberty to join Prince Henry. Marshal
Daun, who was more lessened by his competitor's defeat than Daun com-
he could have been by any triumph of Laudohn, descended raise the
from the lofty hopes he had so reasonably entertained, and Schweidnitz
blockaded Schweidnitz. But the honour of forming a single
siege was soon ravished from him by Frederic, who, having
surprized and vanquished a corps under General Beck, obhged
the marshal to raise the blockade and retreat precipitately to
the mountains.
StUl dangers crouded on the King as fast as he dispersed
them. While he was defending Silesia, the Russians, seeing
Brandenburg open, turned their invasion towards that pro-

448 MEMOIRES OF
1760. vince. Count Czernichew led on a considerable body ; Daun
sent them 15,000 Austrians, and the imperial army in Saxony
was ordered to meet them at the gates of Berhn. Count
Halsen had upheld the sinking fortune of the King in
Saxony : he was now commanded to make an effort for saving
Allies take Berlin ; but when he had assembled all possible force, it
Berlin. ^ .
amounted but to 15,000 men. With such scanty means, he
could only be witness to the reduction of the capital, which
immediately capitulated. The allied army laid the town
under heavy contribution ; but the Russians, who had not
distinguished themselves in that war by lenity, blushed to see
themselves surpassed by the excesses of the Austrians ; so
much did animosity surpass barbarism. Even the Swedes had
hoped to come in for share of the plunder of Berlin, and were
stretching thither.
The King, whose fortune sunk where ever he was not in
person to sustain it, marched to relieve his capital. The
plunderers did not await him, but, after wasting the country,
retired ; the Imperialists, to profit of the King's absence, and
to seize Saxony, which lay at their mercy ; the Russians, to
form the siege of Colberg, which, however, they abandoned,
\bandon it. and retreated. Laudohn had no better success before Cosel:
and before the end of the campaign, the Swedes, too, were
driven back by the alertness of General Werner.
Still Marshal Daun's army remained entire, and superior
to the King's. He had foUowed and watched every motion
of that Prince, and both passed the Elbe on the same day.
The two armies encamped near Torgau ; the marshal with

GEORGE THE SECOND. 449
every advantage of position. The King's situation was tre- 1760.
mendous. The enemy was not to be forced from a post
so judiciously chosen. Winter advanced ; and Frederic had
nothing but a ruined country to receive him, if defeated.
The King saw the gulph that surrounded him. He saw the
fruifelessness of disguising their danger to his army. He de
termined to fight, and told his troops that he was resolved
to conquer or die. Under the awfullness of despair they
attacked the enemy. The onset and the reception became
the renown of such armies and such commanders. Fury
animated the Prussians ; intrepidity sustained the Austrians.
The King's valour was correspondent to his declaration. The
Marshal showed that his fire had been restrained by wisdom
alone, not by want of heroism. The event was long in
suspence, and fluctuated alternately, each side being often
repulsed, and returning to the charge with fresh alacrity.
The Prussians at last threw the enemy into disorder ; and the King of
Prussia
marshal himself receiving a dangerous wound in the thigh, beats Daun
at Torgau.
and being borne from the field, Count Odonnel, who suc
ceeded to the command, found it vain to dispute the field
any longer. It was nine at night in the month of November ;
the battle had lasted from two in the afternoon. A retreat
was sounded, and made in good order by the Austrians.
Dearly did the Prussians buy their victory; but in such a
crisis what was too dear a price for Frederic to pay? His
loss was computed at 13,000 men. The Austrians had not
sufferred less; in prisoners abundantly. Four generals, 216
VOL. II. 3 M

450 MEMOIRES OF
1760. officers, and 8000 private men taken, with possession of the
field, were decisive in favour of the Prussians. The recovery
of all Saxony, but Dresden, made the victory indisputable.
Campaign Prince Ferdinand's campaign was not alike resplendent in
in Ger
many, action or variety. His army had been reinforced, but was
stiU inferior to the French commanded by Marshal Broglio.
A. seperate corps was under the orders of Count St. Germain,
an officer of reputation, but between whom and Broglio an
enmity subsisted, which made it thought unadvisable to let
them act together. That they should even act in concert
was httle to be expected — nor did they. Prince Ferdinand
reaped security from their dissentions rather than laurels.
Their animosities ran so high, that Broglio ordering St.
Germain to join his force with the grand army, contrary to
the compact which the latter had made of commanding a
distinct body, St. Germain, who was also an older officer, threw
up his commission, and quitted the service of his country.
The Hereditary Prince, ever alert, had attacked a post,
been beaten, and been wounded. He soon compensated for
that disgrace by surprizing another detachment, in which he
made the general who commanded it, and 3000 men, prisoners.
That success was foUowed by a more considerable action at
Warbourg, in which the French were again worsted by Prince
Ferdinand and his heroic nephew : yet so httle advantage was
reaped by that atchievement, that the French soon over-ran
Hesse, seized Gottingen and Munden, and were at the eve of
possessing Hanover.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 451
The Hereditary Prince continued his eccentric enterprizes 1760.
with advantage. His ardour was weU seconded by the bravery c^p^o.,,
of the Enghsh troops : yet those flying rencounters rather ^a„""
kept off than forwarded any decisive blow. Prince Ferdinand
made other detachments with hke prosperity ; and gained at
least the glory of diverting Broglio, with very superior force,
from accomphshing any point of importance. A more un
accountable expedition, on which Prince Ferdinand suddenly
dispatched his nephew, at the head of a considerable force,
towards the frontiers of Holland, occasioned much soUicitude
in England, as the main army, already unequal to that of
France, was thus rendered much weaker. King George felt
it with anxiety ; and though not productive of the disasters
apprehended, it was far, whatever were the object of its
destination, from turning to account. Cleves, indeed, feU into
our hands, and the siege of Wesel was undertaken ; but the
French not thinking fit to leave the Hereditary Prince un
disturbed in his progress, sent Monsieur de Castries, with a
powerfull detachment, to interrupt the siege. The Prince,
whose characteristic was quickness, did not wait to be com
pelled to raise the siege. He attempted to surprize the
enemy, but was repulsed with loss, and received another
wound. In that action fell Lord Downe*, a gallant young
man, adorned with every amiable quahty. Intrepid, generous,
and good-natured, he had abandoned the enjoyment of an
ample fortune for the pursuit of arms, to which he had an
* Henry Pleydell Dawney, Viscount Downe of Ireland.
3m 2

452 MEMOIRES OF
1760. ungovernable impulse. He had parts to have distinguished
him in a safer scene ; and a peculiarity of humour that orna
mented even his virtues. He received three wounds, and
languished some weeks in torment, which he supported with
indifference to every thing but the impatience of returning to
his profession — but his wounds were mortal. The Prince re
joined the army, which soon after went into winter-quarters.
While the theatre of war was thus open to men so formed
to shine on it, another hero, who had been excluded from the
' Duke of scene, was in a melancholy condition. The Duke of Cum-
Cumber-
land.- berland, in the summer, had a stroke of palsy. He soon
recovered both his speech and limbs ; but the grossness of his
constitution, and other disorders, made his friends apprehend
he would not long survive it. Himself treated it with in
difference, and with the same philosophy with which his high
spirit had supported misfortunes to him more sensible.
< Earl of The martial temper of the age caUed forth a champion of
Clanrickard.' _
dissimilar complexion. There was in Ireland an Earl of Clan
rickard, who, even in this country, where singular characters
are not uncommon, had been reckoned more than ordinarily
extravagant. The Duke of Bedford had refused to let him
raise a regiment. To prove his valour, he chaUenged the
Lord-Lieutenant ; who contemning so improper an adversary,
the earl printed in the public papers a letter to the duke,
reproaching him with rejecting the challenge, and reflecting
both on his grace and his secretary, whose bones he threatened
to break. Such an insult on the chief governor of a kingdom

GEORGE THE SECOND. 453
was atrocious. The privy council of England ordered the 1760.
attorney-general to commence a prosecution against the earl.
Mr. Rigby, whose spirit was more questionless than the earl's,
returned a chaUenge for himself; but the earl thought it
safest to confine his prowess to the master, and forbore coming
to England. Three years afterwards, when Rigby went to
Ireland to quahfy for a place, the privy council of that king
dom obliged Lord Clanrickard to give security for his good
behaviour ; and the matter was compromized.
These were the last events in the long and memorable ' George
the Second.'
reign of George the Second — a reign that had produced as
great statesmen, orators, and heroes, as dignify the annals of
whatever country. His thirteen first years were stamped
with every blessing of peace, but unanimity — if disagreement
is an evil to a free country, to which jealousy is perhaps
essential. A rebelhon and two wars caUed forth aU our
resources: the disgrace that attended the councils and pro
secution of the first war served but to illustrate the abihties
of the nation, which, reviving from its ignominy and ca
lamities, carried the glory of our arms and measures to a
height unknown in our story. The Prince himself was
neither accessary to the one or the other. His greatest
merit was bearing either fortune with calmness. Triumphant
as Elizabeth and Anne, he neither presumed on the zeal of
his subjects like the first, nor was so like the last as to
concur in or behold an ignominious peace, that tarnished

454

MEMOIRES OF

1760.

' George
the Second'

Dies.'

' His cha
racter.'

such conspicuous victories, and squandered such irrecoverable
advantages. FuU of years and glory, he died without a pang,
and without a reverse. He left his family firmly estabhshed
on a long-disputed throne, and was taken away in the moment
that approaching extinction of sight and hearing made loss of
life the only blessing that remained desirable.
On the 25th of October he rose as usual at six, and drank
his chocolate ; for all his actions were invariably methodic.
A quarter after seven he went into a httle closet. His Ger
man valet de chambre in waiting heard a noise, and running
in, found the King dead on the floor. In faUing, he had cut
his face against the corner of a bureau. He was laid on a bed
and blooded, but not a drop followed : the ventricle of his
heart had burst. Princess Amelie was called, and told the
King wanted her. She went immediately, and thought him
in a fit. Being deaf herself, she saw nothing in the chamber
that indicated his being dead ; and putting her face close to
his, to hear if he spoke to her, she then first perceived he was
lifeless. The character of this Prince has been so amply displayed
in the course of this work, that it were tautology to reca
pitulate it. His faults were more the blemishes of a private
man than of a King. The affection and tenderness he in
variably showed to a people over whom he had unbounded
rule, forbid our wondering that he used circumscribed power
with moderation. Often situated in humiliating circum
stances, his resentments seldom operated when the power of

GEORGE THE SECOND. 455
revenge returned. He bore the ascendant of his ministers) 1760.
who seldom were his favourites, with more patience than he , character
sufferred any encroachment on his wUl from, his mistresses, the Second.'
Content to bargain for the gratification of his two pre
dominant passions, Hanover and money, he was almost in
different to the rest of his royal authority, provided exterior
observance was not wanting ; for he comforted himself if he
did not perceive the diminution of majesty, -though it was
notorious to all. the rest of the world; Yet he was not so
totaUy careless of the affection and interests of this country as
his father had. been. George the First -possessed a sounder
understanding and a better temper: yet George the Second
gained more by being compared with his eldest son, than he
lost if paraUeled with his father. His treatment of his second
son, to whose valour he was indebted for the preservation of
his crown, and to the silence and tenderness of whose duty he
owed the preservation of his honour, was punished by the
ingratitude of the Princess of Wales. Bookish men have
censured his neglect of litterature — a reflection that at least
is evidence that pubhc utihty is not the sole purport of their
labours. But the advantages resulting to their country from
authors must be better ascertained, before the imputation
becomes a grave one. Had he pensioned half a dozen poets,
and reaped their incense, the world had heard of nothing but
his liberality. Let Kings prefer a TiUotson or a Seneca, nay,
a Bacon or a Newton — if Bacon or Seneca wUl not forget
their philosophy. Let them enrich such angelic men, when

the Second.'

His will.'

456 MEMOIRES OF
1760. there are such angelic men, as Dr. Hales*: but money is as
' Geor e we^ hoarded as squandered on BoUeaus and Benserades, on
Atterburys and Drydens. In truth, I believe King George
would have preferred a guinea to a composition as perfect as
Alexander's Feast. He certainly did not spare rewards to
those who served their country. The profusion of favours
which he sufferred the Duke of Newcastle to shower on the
university of Cambridge ought to disculpate the King from
the charge of neglecting litterature — it was the fault of that
body if they were not learned. If dying but moderately rich
were as good a proof that he had not been avaricious, one of
the greatest stains of his character would be effaced. By his
wiU he gave fifty thousand pounds between his three sur
viving children, the Duke, Princess Amelie, and Mary, Princess
of Hesse : a strong box, not to be opened, to Lady Yarmouth.
The rest of his private fortune he had given by a deed,
executed soon after the battle of Culloden, and unrevoked, to
the Duke of Cumberland; who thence became heir to his
jewels (sold afterwards to the successor for about fifty thousand
pounds), and to his mortgages in Germany, amounting to
about an hundred and fourscore thousand more. A scanty
pittance, if compared with what he must have amassed in a
reign of three and thirty years. For part of that term he had
received yearly to his own use an hundred thousand pounds
from the civil hst, and never less than fifty thousand ; relin-
* Dr. Stephen Hales, parson of Teddington, chaplain to Augusta, Princess of
Wales, author of several most humane and philosophic works.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 457
quishing the rest to the disposal of his ministers for ne- 1760.
cessary services ! At his accession he was worth three hundred , Ge
thousand pounds. The revenues of Hanover exceed five the Second-*
hundred thousand pounds a year; a sum he by no means
expended. Reduce his savings to the lowest, discount his
purchases, and swell Lady Yarmouth's legacy, which was given
out to be ten thousand pounds, to four times that sum ; and
allow two millions, which his last war is said to have cost him
in defence of Hanover ; it will stiU be difficult to beheve that
he did not die worth three hundred and fifty thousand pounds
— what became of the rest, or how concealed if there was
more, I pretend not to determine, nor even to guess.
The King himself had stated his late expence for Hanover
still higher than I have set down. Mr. Onslow, the Speaker
showed me a remarkable paper, which had been brought to
him at the King's command, in the year 1758, by Baron
Munchausen *, with whom Mr. Onslow had no acquaintance.
In that memorandum the King declared that he had then
expended on the war 2,500,000/. the savings of thirty years ;
that he had borrowed above 200,000/. here in England, as
much more in Germany, and that the Hanoverian chancery of
war owed 200,000 rix-doUars. " The King," concluded the
paper, " can do no more himself towards the war." — If he did
more in the two foUowing years, and it has never been pre
tended that he stopped his hand in 1758, his remaining ability
to go on induces a suspicion that there was as httle exactness
* The minister for Hanover in England.
VOL. II. 3 N

458 MEMOIRES OF
1760. observed in stating the rest of the account. On the envelope
,G 8 of Munchausen's paper Mr. Onslow had written, " I could
the Second's gend nQ angwer ^ ^ „
The morning after the King's death, the Duke of Cum
berland sent for Lord Waldegrave, and told him, that if, as
Lady Yarmouth beheved, no new wiU had been made since
that in Princess Amehe's hands, his father had done greatly
for him — not, however, so largely as he had once purposed:
he had said to the Duke, "WiUiam, I see you will never
marry ; it is in vain to think of making a great estabhshment
of a new branch through you: I shaU do weU for you for
your hfe; yet not so large as I should have done in that
case." This certainly intimated a project of leaving his pur
chased principalities in Germany to the Duke.
'Anecdote Lord Waldegrave in return showed his Royal Highness
of George
the First's an extraordinary piece ; it was endorsed, very private paper,
and was a letter from the Duke of Newcastle to the first Earl
of Waldegrave ; in which his grace informed the Earl *, that
he had received by the messenger the copy of the wiU and
codicil of George the First ; that he had dehvered it to his
Majesty, who put it into the fire without opening it — " so,"
adds the duke, " we do not know whether it confirms the
other or not :" and he proceeds to say, " I dispatch a mes
senger to the Duke of Wolfenbuttle with the treaty, in which
is granted aU he desires ; and we expect by the return of the
messenger the original wiU from him." George the First had
* Then ambassador in France.

will.

GEORGE THE SECOND. 459
left two wiUs ; one in the hands of Dr. Wake, archbishop of i7g0
Canterbury, the other with the Duke of Wolfenbuttle. The , *
J 'Anecdote
archbishop, on news of the King's death, carried his copy to °*GJj?rs?
the privy council, and, without the precaution of opening it wU1/
before them, which the poor man could not apprehend would
be so necessary as it proved, gave it into the new King's hands,
who, to the prelate's great surprize, carried it from countil
unopened*. The letter I have quoted above shows what was
the fate of the other copy : the honest Duke of Wolfenbuttle
sold it for a subsidy ! George the First had been in the
right to take those precautions: he himself had burned his
wife's testament f , and her father's, the Duke of ZeU, both
of whom had made George the Second their heir — a pal
liative of the latter's obliquity, if justice would aUow of any
violation. * It was believed that George the First had bequeathed a large sum to his
daughter, the Queen of Prussia, and another to his mistress, or rather left-handed
wife, the Duchess of Kendal. Frederic the Second, King of Prussia, was said to
have often claimed his mother's legacy ; and the Earl of Chesterfield, who married
the Countess of Walsingham, niece and heiress of the Duchess of Kendal, com
menced or threatened a suit for the duchess's legacy, and was supposed to be
quieted by a sum of twenty thousand pounds. Lady Walsingham was believed
to be the King's daughter by the Duchess of Kendal.
f (Fide Appendix.) END OF MEMOIRES OF KING GEORGE II.

SN 2

APPENDIX.

APPENDIX

(Vide page 73.)
[As our author derived his information on northern and German
courts, especiaUy Dresden, from Sir Charles Hanbury WiUiams,
of whose letters from abroad he speaks (p. 180, Vol. I.) in terms
of such high commendation, and has already given extracts in
the Appendix, Vol. I., a short account of that hvely writer's
embassies, taken in substance from the same author's MS. notes,
together with a farther specimen of his correspondence concerning
the court of Saxony, wiU not be misplaced here ; at least they wiU
afford some entertainment to the reader.]
Sir Charles Hanbury WiUiams was appointed envoy to Dresden in
1747, was commissioned in July, 1749, along with Mr. Anstis, garter
at arms, to carry the blue riband to the Margrave of Anspach ; and on
Mr. Fox waving, at the request of the King, his pretensions to the
treasurership of the navy, was, with a view of gratifying that gentle
man, who was his intimate friend, named envoy extraordinary at Berlin.
He set out for that court in May, 1750, and passed through Hanover
when the King was there. From thence he was sent to the King of
Poland, who was holding the diet at Warsaw, to engage his vote for
the Archduke Joseph to be King of the Romans. On this progress
he wrote a celebrated letter to the Duke of Newcastle at Hanover,
which was sent over to England and much admired, as his ministerial

464 APPENDIX.
letters generally were. About this time he met the ministers of
the two Empresses of Germany and Russia; reconciled those two
princesses, and set out for Berlin, where he was very coldly received,
and soon grew so offensive to the King, that he was, as he had pre
dicted, recalled at his request, and sent back to Dresden in February,
1751. Sir Charles had detected the Saxon minister at Berlin, in
betraying his master's and Russia's secrets to the court of Prussia ;
and had also exposed an artifice of the King of Prussia in making
a Tartar, sent to release a countryman who had enlisted in the
Prussian army, pass for a deputy or minister from the disaffected in
Russian Tartary. These circumstances, and his satirical tongue, and
yet more * satirical pen, combined to exasperate the King of Prussia.
It was, he said in his private letters, " in vain to contend with so
mighty a prince, and he became the sacrifice." However, in 1753,
he was sent to Vienna to demand the assistance of that court in case
Prussia should proceed to extremities after stopping the Silesian
loan ; and in his triple capacity of minister, courtier, and poet, he
composed the following distich on the Empress Queen :
Oh Regina orbis prima et pulcherrima ! ridens
Es Venus, incedens Juno, Minerva loquens.
\ The general style of his poetry was far from being so compli
mentary ; and that of his prose, though not so well known, and often
too licentious for publication, was to the full as easy, hvely, and humor
ous as his verse. After returning to England he was again appointed
to Dresden, and attended the King of Poland to Warsaw, in 1754,
where, upon espousing very warmly the interests of the Poniatowskys
in an affair called the disposition of the Ostrog, he came to an open
rupture with Count Bruhl. He shortly afterwards concluded a
subsidiary treaty with Russia, and was named embassador to Peters-
* See Vol. I, page 5)9.

APPENDIX. 465
burgh in 1755. He returned to England in 1758, and died in
1759. The following letter was written on his first arrival at Dresden,
and before any quarrel with Count Bruhl. Though addressed to a
private friend, it seems nearly a duplicate of his pubhc dispatch.
It is no unfavourable specimen of his correspondence, but is perhaps
less enlivened by anecdote, as well as less disfigured by indecencies,
than many of his epistolary compositions from Germany.
Dear Sir, The short time that I have been abroad, would, in
any other court, have hardly been sufficient to have formed a judg
ment, or given a description of it ; but this, where I am, is so easy to
be understood, that an understanding as mean as mine may see into
it as clearly in a month's time as in ten years.
The King's absolute and avowed hatred to aU business, and his
known love for idleness and low pleasures, such as operas, plays,
masquerades, tilts and tournaments, balls, hunting, and shooting,
prevent both him and his country from making that figure in Europe
which this noble electorate ought to do, and often has done. As to
the King himself, he is very polite and weU-bred, and his natural
abilities far from bad ones. I have very often (much oftener than
any minister here) the honour of conversing with him, and I must
say, that he talks better, and makes juster judgments on affairs, than
any other person I have met with in this court : but he won't dweU
long upon politics. 'Tis visible that he soon grows uneasy, and then
you must change the discourse to the last stag that he hunted, the
last opera that was acted, or the last picture that he has bought.
Immediately you perceive that his countenance clears up, and he
talks on with pleasure. From these subjects 'tis easy to lead him
back to any other you please, always taking care to observe his
countenance, which is a very speaking one. He is seldom seen when
at Dresden but at dinner. He always dines with company, and his
vol. n. ^ °

466 APPENDIX.
buffoons make a great noise, and fight with one another during the
whole repast, which is quite over by two o'clock; and then his
Majesty retires to his own apartments, undresses totaUy, and then
puts on his night-gown, in which he sits the rest of the day. Nobody
must come to him at that time but Count Bruhl, Father Guerini,
and the buffoon. He has had a great loss in the Electress of Bavaria
being married, for she often came to him in the afternoon, and they
have been surprized together in very indecent postures. The Queen
knew this, and waa furious about it. She complained of it to her
confessor ; but the good Jesuit told her, that since things were so, it
was much better that the King's affections should remain in his own
family, than be fixed upon a stranger, who might be a Lutheran, and
do prejudice to their holy religion ; and by this these holy casuists
appeased her angry Majesty.
The whole court is now gaping to see who will succeed the
Electress, for his Majesty's constitution requires somebody besides
the Queen. The King is excessively fond of hunting, and 'tis
reckoned that the game of aU sorts (which is strictly preserved for
him) do ^§50,000 per annum of damage to this country. I have
myself seen fifty stags a feeding in one corn-field ; and to take care
of aU his game and forests, there are no less than 4000 persons in
constant pay.
The expenses of this court of every sort are in proportion with
that of the chase. After this, Sir, you will not be surprized when I
tell you, that the debts of this electorate (aU incurred since this
King came into possession of it) are near four milhons sterling, and
that their credit is quite ruined ; but the King will not hear of the
expenses of the court being lessened. He has no idea of the state
of his country; but as he finds himself easy, he thinks and wishes his
people to be so too. He is not beloved nor respected. His never
heading his army, and his precipitate flight from Dresden at the
King of Prussia's approach, did him more injury in the minds of the
Saxons, than he wiU eyer be able to retrieve.

APPENDIX. 467
Her Majesty the Queen is very devout, but not a bit the better
for her devotions : she does nothing but commit smaU sins, and beg
forgiveness for them. She is ugly beyond painting, and mahcious
beyond expression. Her violent hatred to the Empress Queen, and
her great love to all her enemies, make me rejoice that she has not
the least influence at this court. She has much impotent aversion to
Count Bruhl : he hates her Majesty in return, but then he makes
her feel his power. She meddles much in the lowest things, such as
disgracing or restoring a buffoon to favour ; disposing the parts of
an opera, and giving the preference to such and such a dancer ; and
even this she never does by merit, but he or she that comes oftenest
to mass has the best parts and the first rank. The Itahans are
much favoured here. They are divided into two parties, one of
which is headed by Father Guerini, who first placed the colony here ;
the other, which is the most powerful, has the Faustina for its
leader; and the two chiefs have by turns vented their complaints
against each other to me, till I could hardly keep my countenance.
But to return to her Majesty: I look upon her to be thoroughly
in the French interests. She is not at all beloved, nor does she
deserve it, for she does no good to any body but converts, and very
httle to them.
I am next to speak of the Electoral Prince. You know, Sir, his
person is bad, and his backbone so disjointed, that he cannot stand
without two people to support him. The weakness of his body has
hurt his mind. His parts, if he ever had any, are much decayed ;
but he is civil, good, and weU-tempered. His education has been
extremely bad ; he knows nothing. He asked 'tother day at table,
whether, though England were an island, one could not go there by
land? judge of the rest by this. When he walks, supported or
rather dragged along by two people, his knees almost touch his
stomach ; and the Duchess of Courland (who is our good friend at
this court) told me that she saw him in bed on his wedding night,
and that he lay in the same posture there ; so that she did not com-
3 o 2

468 APPENDIX.
prehend how matters could be accomplished. The court, however,
swear that (the marriage was then consummated). He is at present
wholly devoted to his new bride, about whom I must say a little,
having the happiness, by her permission, to see her very often.
She is far from being handsome or weU made ; but then she is
infinitely agreeable in her manner, and very weU-bred. She talks
much, and is ve"ry entertaining. When she first came, she had
flattered herself with hopes of succeeding the Electress, and attacked
the King the first night, but without success. He seemed rather
disgusted with her advances, and since that time she has not recovered
the ground she then lost. All * this I have also from the Duchess of
Courland. Before she came here she was reckoned to meddle much
in politics, and to be in the French interests. She denies all this
herself, and declares against women's meddhng in state affairs ; but
I wiU venture to prophesy, that if ever the Prince Electoral should
outlive his father^ she wiU govern this country most absolutely.
Hitherto she is much hked and admired by aU who eome near
her, for her address is very engaging, and not at aU hke the
Queen's. The King has four younger sons, and three unmarried daughters.
As to the princesses I can say nothing of them, but that they are
very young and very plain.
Prince Xavier is next to the Prince Royal, and has always been
the Queen's favourite, and she tried every way to persuade the
Prince Electoral to go into orders that this Prince might succeed
his father. His person is good, and I believe his natural parts are
so too, but his education has been very unfortunate. He is sixteen
years of age, and has hitherto been taught nothing but bodily exer-
* It is perhaps more reasonable, and certainly more charitable, to suspect Sir Charles of
credulity, and his female informant of malignity, than to believe the tales of incest and licentious
effrontery reported in this letter. On the other hand, it must be acknowledged that the . "eneral
state of manners in German courts in the middle of last century by no means disproves such
imputations. — E.

APPENDIX. 469
cises ; and they do not seem to think in this country, that a prinee
wants any accomphshments who can dance, fence, ride at the ring,
and shoot at the mark. This Prince has not yet learned common good
manners, and is almost a stranger to common decency. The French
ambassador and I dined with him the other day, and the whole time
we were at table he talked to the pages behind him, and what he
said to them was in German. Monsieur des Issarts was quite out
of humour at the treatment he met with : I was only sorry for the
Prince. But to end his character, those who are best acquainted
with him tell me he is very proud and very malicious. 'Tis publicly
known that he hates his elder brother ; but his pride is much abated,
and his spirits much sunk since the Electoral Prince's marriage,
which was a thing that he had been taught to believe never would
happen. StUl he flatters himself with the hope that if the King his
father should die, he should succeed him in the throne of Poland.
Prince Charles is next ; he is a fine youth about thirteen : his
person is good, and he has great quickness of parts ; but as he
labours under the misfortune of having the same wretched education
as his brothers have had, 'tis impossible to say how he wiU turn out ;
and here I must observe, that the scarcity of men of ability is so
great in this country > that out of four governors employed in the
education of these princes, there is not one who is a Saxon.
The two other Princes, Albert and Clement, are both so young,
that I can say nothing about them.
Having now, Sir, gone through the royal family, I shaU speak of
their fine country, which, I believe, produces more to its sovereign
than any other district of land of the same size in Europe. The last
grant of the diet of Saxony was between eight and nine milhon of
doUars (each dollar exactly three shillings and sixpence English
money) per annum for nine years ; yet 'tis likely that the whole may
be anticipated and spent in five, and then the King calls a new diet
and gets fresh supplies, so that 'tis not possible to say exactly what
the King's revenues are ; but every body must see that they are very

470 APPENDIX.
large, and how the people wiU continue such payments begins to be
a question. It is certain this country grows daily poorer, which is
very visible by the decay of Leipsick fair. Every body agrees that
the last Easter fair was not half so good as it used to be ; and this
fair is the touchstone of the trade and money in this electorate.
The loss and expenses their own bad politics have drawn them into
during this war, have been very great; and the visit the King of
Prussia made to Dresden was very expensive to this country ; but
above aU, the visible decay of their linens and tinned iron manu
factures (which England has been wise enough not to want any
longer in such great quantities from foreign countries), is a blow that
is felt more severely than can be expressed. The Stier biUs, which
are the funds here, and which always used to bear a premium, are
now at 5 and 6 per cent discount; and 'tis very difficult to negotiate
them even at that price, though they carry 5 per cent interest. I
have been offered some, whose principal is due at Michaelmas, 1748,
at 7 per cent discount. This being so, you see that their credit is
exhausted, and that they would hardly be able to borrow under 10 per
cent ; and yet they must take up money, or their army will mutiny,
for their officers are most of 'em twelve or fifteen months in arrear.
In the midst of aU these difficulties the court has squandered away
above g§200,000 sterling at the late double marriages ; given =£100,000
sterhng for the Duke of Modena's gaUery of pictures : and Count
Bruhl alone cannot spend so little as =£60,000 sterling a year. The
pensions also that the King gives in Poland exceed the revenues he
receives from thence by full g§50,000 per annum.
It is now necessary I should say something of the person to
whom the King commits the entire care of this country. Count
Bruhl is originaUy of a good family, but as he was a page to the late
King, so he had the education of a page. His natural parts, without
being very good, are certainly better than any other person's I have
hitherto conversed with at this court. He was employed by the late
King in high employments, but never touched the zenith of power

APPENDIX. 471
tiU after the faU of Monsieur Sulkowsky, who was his predecessor in
the present King's favour. Sulkowsky lost it by absenting himself
from the King's person to make campaigns in Hungary and upon the
Rhine. As Count Bruhl profited by this false step of Sulkowsky, he
is resolved no person shaU ever have such an advantage over him :
he is never absent from the King's person, and he pays the closest
attention to every thing his Majesty says or does, though he himself
is naturaUy very idle. His every day is past in the foUowing manner :
he rises before six in the morning, then Father Guerini comes to
him to talk upon business, and to read over whatever letters they
receive, and then they send such of them as they please to the privy
council ; but if any body comes in, business is laid aside, and he is
very ready to talk upon indifferent matters. Afterwards he dresses,
which takes up above an hour, and he is obliged to be with the King
before nine. He stays with him tiU his Majesty goes to mass, which
he does exactly at eleven ; and then Count Bruhl goes to the Countess
Moyenska, where he stays till twelve ; from thence he goes either to
dinner with the King, or to his own house, with a few of the lowest
and worst people of this court.
After dinner he undresses and goes to sleep tiU five, when father
Guerini comes and sits with him while he dresses, and at six he goes
again to the King, with whom he stays till after seven ; from thence
he goes to some assembly, where he plays at cards very deep, the
Countess Moyenska being always of the party, who plays very weU,
and wins considerable sums of the Count ; rather before ten he sits
down to supper, and from thence he goes to bed about twelve.
Now as every thing of every kind, from the highest affairs of
state down to operas and hunting, are aU in Count Braid's immediate
care, I leave you to judge how his post is executed, by the time he
takes to do business in. His expenses are immense : he keeps three
hundred servants, and as many horses. His house is in extreme bad
taste and extravagance. He has at least a dozen country seats,

472 APPENDIX.
where he is always bmlding and altering, but which he never sees*
It is said, and I believe it, that he takes money for every thing the
King disposes of in Poland, where they frequently have very great
employments to bestow. Every body here reckons that he is not
sincere, but for my own part I have as yet no great reason to think
so. He is very communicative to me, and very patient to hear what
ever I have to say. He is certainly not an iU-natured man, having
never done a hard or cruel thing to any person that I heard of since
he has been in power. He is very vain, and a httle flattery is
absolutely necessary for those who intend being weU with him ; and
my notion of the duty of a foreign minister is, that after serving his
master to the utmost of his power and abihty, he ought to make
himself as agreeable as possible at the court he is sent to. From this
way of thinking, I have endeavoured to cultivate the King of Poland
and his minister as much as possible ; because a time may come when
my being well with this court may be of some small service to the King
my master. Count Bruhl is polite, civil, and very ready to oblige ;
and, after the first ceremonies are over, without any forms. If he
has any principle in pohtics, 'tis certainly favourable to the house of
Austria. That, indeed, is not much, but it is more than any other
person has that belongs to this court ; and whenever he faUs we shall
faU into worse hands. He has been very neghgent of support at
court, having never, during his long administration, made himself one
friend of any great consequence. The clamours now against him are
very high, for the two reasons of the fall of the Stier biUs, and the
non-payment of the army. The man that heads these complaints,
and whom 'tis possible his Majesty may remember to have seen at
Hanover, is one Count Linard, a Saxon, whom I take to be thoroughly
in the French interests. He has but moderate parts, and very httle
hterature ; but in Saxon learning he is very deep. He rides, shoots,
and dances better than any body here ; and by these accomphshments
he has got himself into a good degree of the King's favour, and

APPENDIX. 473
flatters himself that whenever the minister faUs, he is the man that
is to succeed him. I know he has been contriving to get a body of
officers to throw themselves at the King's feet to complain of Count
Bruhl, and to demand their pay. By means of a spy that I had at
court I discovered this affair, and told Count Bruhl of it. He owned
things were as I said, and added, that he did not expect nor deserve
such usage from Count Linard ; but two days afterwards he told me
that my information was very true, and that he had taken such
measures upon it as would perfectly secure him. I have since had
the misfortune to lose my spy, who is fled for having got a woman
with child, he being a married man, and adultery in this country is
punished with death.
The next person I shaU speak of is Father Guerini, a Jesuit, who
is more in the King's favour than in any credit. He has been long
in the service, and is now kept, hke an old horse, for what he has
formerly done. He is Count Bruhl's absolute creature, and has his
confidence. He is perpetually with the King and Queen, and con
stantly employed in making up some quarrel among the singers and
dancers. If he ever had any parts, they were gone before I came ;
but he is a good, trifling old man, and, though a priest, has no ambi
tion. He has twice refused a cardinal's hat; and the last time?
which was not above half a year ago, the King pressed him to it very
much, but in vain. I go to him very often; for he often comes out
with things that he is trusted with, and which I am sure he ought
not to tell.
The next person to Count Bruhl in business is one Heinnech, a
low man, who once wore a hvery, though he now wears the blue
riband of Russia. He talks no French, and we converse in Latin ;
but Monsieur Heinnech has so quarreled with aU moods and tenses,
numbers and cases, that 'tis with difficulty I understand him. If I
guess right at what he says to me, he is very ignorant of the affairs I
talk about. He is chef des finances; and it is said that Count Bruhl
voi. n. 3 p

474 APPENDIX.
and he know so many bad things of each other with respect to the
disposal of public money, that 'tis impossible they should ever quarrel.
He is the minister's right hand for domestic affairs, as Mr. Saul is for
foreign ones, who in that province does every thing. He is also a
very low man ; but he has parts, quickness, and knowledge, without
the least appearance of fashion or manners of a gentleman. There is
not a man in Saxony that does not detest him, except his patron,
Count Bruhl, to whom he is certainly very useful. Heinnech went
so far once as to propose in the privy council to hang him. He has
very strange schemes in his head ; he is certainly for the House of
Austria, but in a manner peculiar to himself; for he wishes to see that
House strictly united with that of Bourbon, and believes that a * practi
cable business. He is secretary to the cabinet council, in conjunction
with Mr. Walter, who is a very honest knowing man, well-intentioned,
and quite in the true system, but at present hardly employed at all,
to our great misfortune.
These persons govern under Count Bruhl, as the Countess
Moyenska does over him —
 orbi
Jupiter imponit jura, sed ilia Jovi.
She is thoroughly hated, having aU bad qualities that can unite in
one person, among which pride, avarice, and revenge shine most con
spicuous. She has certainly received money in large sums from
France ; but as that is received, and there is no immediate prospect
of more, I think her violence against us seems to abate. I thought
it my business to do aU I could to be weU with her, and I am now
of aU her parties. My reception, when I first went, was very cold ;
but I expected that, and persisted in going tiU I came to be very
well received.
* This passage, written in 1747, is remarkable; for Mr. Saul's "scheme" was proved to be a
"practicable business" in the course of a few years. — E.

APPENDIX. 475
I shaU now say a word or two of their army. They aver that they
have 44,000 men, but they really have but 33,000. To all appear
ance they are very fine ones, especiaUy the cavalry ; but as I have
already told you how ill they are paid, you must see that without a
large sum to put them in motion, 'tis impossible they should act out
of their own country. As to their generals, Count Rotosha and the
Chevalier de Saxe, both natural sons of the late King of Poland, are
at the head of the army. They are not wanting in abilities and
knowledge ; but they are both the idlest and most inactive of all
mankind, and both bitter enemies of the House of Austria, because
they reckon they were sacrificed by Prince Charles at the battle of
Keisersdorf. There is also in this service a Prince of Anhalt-Dessau,
who was formerly in the King of Prussia's, but who was discharged
from thence upon suspicion of cowardice. He afterwards served as
a volunteer in the armies of the Empress Queen ; but they would not
give him any command at Vienna. At last the father, about a year
and a half ago, brought him to Leipsick fair, presented and recom
mended him to the King of Poland, and begged he would make him
a lieutenant-general in his army. The King answered he would
consider of it. Upon this the old Prince came out into the anti-
chamber, and told every body that the King had made his son Eugene
a lieutenant-general, and got his commission immediately made out,
which the good King, rather than have the trouble of a dispute,
signed ; and he is in this service.
There is another general here, a Frenchman, named D'Ollone,
who was in the service of their Imperial Majesties ; but being sent
hither, about eight months ago, to regulate some differences about
the Saxon troops, when they were in Bohemia, he talked so fast, and
played so deep with Count Bruhl, that he thought him the greatest
officer of the age, and at onee offered to make him general of foot
(whereas he had been but heutenant-general under their Imperial
Majesties). This offer D'Ollone readily accepted, and entered into
this service ; but in a month's time all D'Ollone's talk was out, and
3 p 2

476 APPENDIX.
he had won too much of Count Bruhl's money ; so he quickly grew
out of favour, and was found to be a man of no parts or consequence.
In short, both parties are heartily sick of their bargain. He curses
the day he was taken, and they the day they took him.
I hope you wiU excuse my mentioning these two last stories ; but
I mean them more for entertainment than information, though they
are both strictly true, and serve a little to illustrate the characters of
the King of Poland and his first minister.
I must now inform you of what I judge to be the views and
wishes of this court. The King of Poland most ardently desires to
see a peace made. He loves peace so much, that I beheve he is not
much concerned about what sort of a one it may be : but till that
happy hour arrives, their system here (if they have any system) is to
observe an impracticable neutrality; and by the fear they have of
offending any body (which is the natural consequence of such a
system), they take care to oblige nobody. The court of Vienna is
very much dissatisfied with their proceedings at Dresden ; but the
ministry of VersaiUes are often fuU as discontented with the steps they
take. Russia alone is the power to which the King pays real court.
'Tis by the Czarina only that the King keeps possession of the throne
of Poland ; for his affairs in that kingdom are in so bad a situation,
and his interest there so very low, that the grand marshal, the grand
chancellor, and many other Poles of distinction that came here upon
the late double marriages, told me, in my first week's acquaintance
with them, that if it was not for fear of Russia they would dethrone
their King in half a year and choose another ; for that he had broken
through every promise that he had ever made them, and had not
kept, one tittle of the pact a conventa. The ministry were so sensible
that all this is true, that the court goes into Poland early the next
spring in order to manage that people, and to conciliate their minds
to the House of Saxony ; for the King has the succession of that
crown in his family much at heart ; and this, if ever it does happen,
must be brought about by Russia. After all this, judge of the

APPENDIX. 477
weight the court of Petersburgh must have with that of Dresden.
For my part, I give it as an opinion, by which I will abide, and which
I can prove by facts, that whenever there is a minister at Dresden,
sent by the Czarina with absolute instructions to act in concert with
those of his Majesty and his aUies, Saxony must do whatever they
please. There is something unfortunate between this court and that of
Vienna. They never were perfectly weU together for six weeks at
a time. This King thinks that it was entirely owing to him that the
imperial dignity returned to the House of Austria, and that their
Imperial Majesties can never do enough to repay that obligation.
The court of Vienna says, that she placed the Elector of Saxony on
the throne of Poland (for doing which she has certainly since been a
great sufferer), without having any returns of gratitude from the
court of Dresden. 'Tis indeed true, that at a time when the Em
press Queen is fully employed, and unable to pay much attention to
smaU things, this court shews her very little regard. The Austrian
court sees this, and resents it tacitly very much. They have not yet
thought fit to appoint any body to succeed Esterhazy here, and they
talked of sending only a resident, at which this court seems much
offended. As to Prussia, this court has not yet recovered the wounds
nor the fright which it lately received from that quarter. With respect
to France, their heads here were so turned with the marriage of the
Dauphiness, that they are not yet quite settled. They are still pen
sioners to that crown, but their treaty of subsidy expires next Fe
bruary. I flatter myself that it wiU not be renewed : nothing but po
verty can make them do it. I have asked Count Bruhl twenty times
how it was possible to rely in the least upon a power who would at any
time sacrifice this country (because it is their interest so to do, which
the French understand but too weU) at a moment's warning to their
hated and dreaded foe, the King of Prussia. But the real cause that
lost the allies this court, and threw it into the arms of France, was
Mr. Calhoen, who, when minister from HoUand, had orders from his

478 APPENDIX.
masters to treat about the taking a body of Saxon troops into their
pay. He did indeed make the proposition ; but at the same time
prevented the success of it by telling Count Bruhl, that though, by
his office, he was obhged to ask for a body of Saxon troops, yet, as a
friend to the Court of Dresden, he could not help saying that he
doubted whether they would be weU or regularly paid for them
Thus did this perfidious Dutchman talk, and easily persuaded Count
Bruhl (who thought of nothing but the money) to refuse the troops.
The minister from this court to the States General is a Frenchman,
and heartily in the interest of his country; and all his letters that
come here are as partial to our enemies and as prejudicial to his
Majesty and his allies as possible ; and indeed this whole court is so
thoroughly Frenchified, that upon the late successes of our fleets, and
the late battle won by our aUies in Italy, I don't think that I was
congratulated by five people here, arid those few that did wish me
joy did it in a whisper. I can't help mentioning one thing upon
which this court value themselves, and make a merit of to me. They
say it is their influence over the King of the Two Sicihes (because he
married their daughter) that has prevented his marching against our
aUies in Lombardy; but such counters as these are never taken in
payment. Thus far I got Mr. Stephens to copy almost word for word a
letter I wrote to Lord Chesterfield, by the same messenger that
brings you this ; and therefore it should not be shewn to every body ;
but I hope it will divert Lord Ilchester and the Duke of Marlbo
rough. If it had been wrote to you in my own way, I could have
made you laugh heartily. You observe that Monsieur Bruhl, like
all first ministers, keeps the lowest company. I wish I dared write
all I could ; but things are not yet ripe. The first opportunity you
shaU have a packet of curiosities. I am ever entirely yours,
C. HANBURY WILLIAMS.
Dresden, 27th August, 1745, N. S. * *- #

APPENDIX. 479

(Vide page 459.)
I learned from Henrietta, Countess of Suffolk, mistress to
George the Second, the fact mentioned in text, of George the First
burning his wife's testament. That Princess, the Electress of Ha
nover, hked the famous Count Konismark, while her husband was
at the army. The old Elector, father of George the First, ordered
him away. The Electress, then hereditary Princess, was persuaded
to let him kiss her hand before his departure. She saw him in
bed — he retired, and was never heard of more. When George the
Second went first to Hanover after his father's death, and made
some alterations in the palace, the body of Konismark was found
under the floor of the chamber next to the Electress's chamber : he
had been strangled immediately on leaving her, by the old Elector's
order, and buried under the floor. This fact Queen Caroline re
lated to my father, Sir Robert Walpole. George the Second told
it to his wife, but never to his mistress, Lady Suffolk, who had
never heard it till I told it to her many years after. The Electress
was separated from George I. on that amour, and was caUed Duchess
of Halle ; and he married the Duchess of Kendal with his left hand.
When the French threatened Hanover in Queen Anne's war, the
Duchess of Halle was sent to her parents, the Duke and Duchess of
ZeU, who doated on her their only child, and she staid a year with
them ; but though they were most earnest to retain her, she was
forced to return to her confinement, in which she died the year
before her husband. Some French prophetess, as supposed hired by
the Duke of ZeU, warned George I. to take care of his wife, for he
would not long outlive her. As the Germans are very superstitious,
he beheved the prophecy; and when he took leave of his son and the

480 APPENDIX.
Princess of Wales, Caroline, he told them he should never see them
more. George II., who hated his father and was very fond of his
mother, meant, if she had survived her husband, to bring her over,
and declare her Queen Dowager. Lady Suffolk told me, that the
morning after the news of the death of George I. arrived, when she
went, as woman of the bedchamber, to the new Queen, she found a
whole and half-length portraits of the Electress hung up in the
apartment ; George II. had had them locked up, but had not dared
to produce them. Princess Amelie has the half-length at her house
in Cavendish Square. George I. told the Duchess of Kendal, that if
he could, he would appear to her after his death. Soon after that
event, a large bird, I forget of what sort, flew into her window. She
beheved it was the King's soul, and took the utmost care of it.
George II. was not less credulous ; he beheved in vampires. His
son Frederic affected the same contradictory fondness for his grand
father, and erected the statue of George I. in Leicester-fields ; and
intended, if he had come to the crown, to place a monument to his
memory in St. Paul's.
George L, besides the Duchess of Kendal, had several other mis
tresses, particularly one whom he brought over and created Countess
of Darlington ; by whom he was father of Charlotte, Viscountess
Howe, though she was not publicly avowed. In the last year or two
of his hfe he had another mistress, Miss Anne Brett, daughter, by
her second husband, Colonel Brett, of the famous divorced Countess
of Macclesfield, mother of Savage the poet. Miss Brett had an apart
ment given to her in the palace at St. James's, and was to have been
created a countess if the King had returned.

INDEX

OF THE

NAMES OF PERSONS MENTIONED IN THESE MEMOIRES.

Abercrombie (General), ii. 277.
Adams (Judge), ii. 300.
Ailesbury (Earl of), ii. 106.
Albemarle (W. A. Van Keppel, Earl of), i. 71,
168, 366, 381 ; ii. 235, 330, 426, 429.
Albemarle (Lady), i. 72 ; ii. 427.
AJdworth (Mr.), i. 168.
Allen (Mr.), ii. 202.
Amelie (Princess), i. 348, 398, 517 j ii. 191,
427, 456, 458, 480.
Amherst (General), ii. 277, 3 1 2, 378, 383, 398,
439,440,441, 442.
Andrewes (Dr.), i. 319.
Andrie(M.), i. 519.
Anhalt-Dessau (Prince of), ii. 475.
Anhalt (Prince of), ii. 365.
Ankram (Mr.), i. 52.
Anson (Lord), i. 33, 59, 99, 163, 166, 168,
169, 224, 266, 289, 300, 330, 367, 393;
ii. 30, 68, 104, 134, 144, 168, 179, 191,
217, 225, 227, 237, 250, 289, 305.
VOL. II.

Anspach (Margrave of), i. 252 ; ii. 463.
Anstis (Mr.), ii. 463.
Anstruther (General), i. 36, 37, 48, 49, 50, 52,
55, 56, 59, 70, 91, 92, 93, 94, 97.
Apraxin, ii. 304.
Archer (Lord), i. 7.
Argyle (John, Duke of), i. 36, 143, 155, 181,
240 ; ii. 36, 133.
Argyle (Archibald, Duke of), i. 35, 71, 220,
225, 238, 240, 289, 316, 330, 339; ii. 32,
131, 332.
Armitage (Sir John), ii. 305, 314.
Arran (Lord), ii. 332, 340.
Arundel (Mr.), i. 485 ; ii. 203.
Ashburnham (Lord), ii. 216.
Ashton, ii. 284.
Asturias (Prince of), ii. 376.
Atcheson (Sir Archibald), ii. 259.
Augusta (the Lady), i. 64, 72, 253; ii. 49.
Austria (Empress of), ii. 60, 71, 74, 76, 208,
303, 409.
Ayscough (Dr.), i. 69, 175.
3q

482

INDEX OF NAMES.

B.
Baker (Alderman), i. 61; ii. 133.
Balfour (General), ii. 417, 425.
Baltimore (Lord), i. 75.
Bareil (M. de), ii. 342.
Barnard (Lord), i. 336.
Barnard (Sir John), i. 7, 38, 39, 47, 116,
183, 190, 223, 310, 318, 320; ii. 25, 202.
Barri (Madame du), ii. 406.
Barrington (General), ii. 344.
Barrington (William Barrington Shute, Vis
count), i. 10, 26, 183, 191, 337, 356, 403,
437, 438, 454, 465, 484, 486 ; ii. 7, 8, 11,
12, 33, 87, 147, 274, 379, 397, 424.
Bateman (Lord), i. 483; ii. 107, 225.
Bath (Earl of), i. 21, 31, 40, 78, 80, 100,
101, 102, 103, 128, 149, 151, 155, 165, 178,
193, 228, 237, 240, 288, 293, 302; ii. 46,
290,396,411.
Bathurst (Henry), i. 7, 26, 82.
Bathurst (Lord), i. 406; ii. 93.
Bathurst (Judge), ii. 300, 428.
Bavaria (Electress of), ii. 466.
Beck (General), ii. 447.
Beaufort (Duke of), i. 240.
Beckford (Mr.), i. 134, 185, 190, 213, 222,
223, 225, 269, 300, 350, 356, 377, 410,
422, 434, 445, 464, 474, 486; ii. 3, 5, 36,
132, 149, 195, 275, 326, 350, 351, 355,
389.
Beckford (Mr. jun.), i. 349, 355.
Bedford (John, Duke of), i. 1, 2, 3, 19, 29,
40, 47, 48, 52, 53, 54, 59, 60, 69, 71, 85,
105, 128, 140, 143, 144, 149, 161, 162,
164, 165, 166, 167, 168, 169, 172, 197,
203, 210, 211, 212, 213, 219, 220, 222,
228, 229, 240, 241, 259, 271, 272, 274,
276, 277, 284, 287, 290, 293, 300, 301,
302, 313, 321, 359, 360, 382, 404, 405,
406, 447, 453, 470, 482, 483; ii. 32,

44, 45, 90, 91, 96, 100, 102, 103, 105,
116, 142, 152, 158, 177, 179, 193, 197,
208, 210, 212, 215, 223, 227, 233, 253,
255, 257, 258, 278, 280, 296, 332, 353,
389, 396, 404, 405, 406, 423.
Bedford (Duchess of), i. 2, 162, 211, 306, 359,
405 ; ii. 254, 280, 415.
Behan (Mrs.),i. 506.
Belchier (Mr.), i. 54.
Belleisle (Marshal), ii. 307, 356, 368, 387, 405.
Benedict XIV. (Pope), ii. 309, 320.
Bentinck (Monsieur), i. 180.
Bentley (Captain John), ii. 121, 185.
Berkeley (Earl), i. 84; ii. 107.
Bernis (Cardinal de), ii. 332.
Bertie (Lord Robert), i. 81; ii. 123, 430.
Bertie (Norris), i. 116, 185.
Berwick (Duke of), i. 2.
Besborough (Earl of), i. 170, 246, 339, 382,
388; ii. 29.
Bestucheff (Chancellor), ii. 303.
Bettesworth (Dr. John), i. 78.
Bevern (Prince of), ii. 266.
Blackbourn (Dr. Archbishop of York), i. 74.
513.
Blacket (Sir Walter), i. 213, 222.
Blair (Mr.), ii. 263.
Blakeney (General), ii. 35, 53, 66, 108, 128.
Blakiston (a grocer), i. 31.
Bland (Dr. Henry), i. 56.
Blighe (General), ii. 306, 311, 313, 314, 330.
Bloodworth (Mr.), i. 83.
Bollan (Mr.), ii. 19, 20.
Bolinbroke (Henry St. John, Viscount), i. 63,
69, 182, 191, 194, 526, 527; ii. 290.
Bolton (Harry, Duke of), ii. 399.
Bolton (Charles, Duke of), ii. 399.
Boscawen (Admiral), i. 87, 168, 169, 377,
388; ii. 118, 125, 260, 312, 378, 400.
Bonville (M.), ii. 242.

INDEX OF NAMES.

483

Boone (Mr.), i. 83.
Bothmar (Baron), i. 468.
Bovver (Arch.), ii. 282, 353, 411.
Bowes (Mr.), i. 127-
Bowes (Lord Chancellor), ii. 403.
Boyle (Bellingham), i. 320.
Boyle (Lady Charlotte), i. 169.
Boyle (Mr.), i. 243, 245, 246, 247, 309, 319,
338, 339 ; ii. 29.
Boys (Captain William), ii. 121, 185.
Braddock (General), i. 347, 390, 391, 392.
Bradstreet (Colonel), ii. 312.
Brereton (Majo?,), ii. 442.
Brett (Miss Anne), ii. 480.
Brett (Colonel), ii. 480.
Bristol (Earl of), i. 58 ; ii. 268.
Broderick (Rear- Admiral), ii. 121, 165, 184,
240, 263.
Broglio (Due de), ii. 308, 368, 410.
Brown (Marshal), ii. 80, 210.
Brown (Lady), ii. 358.
Bruce (Mr.), i. 232.
Bruce (Lady Mary), ii. 144.
Brudenel (Mr.), ii. 93.
Brudenel (Colonel Robert), ii. 329.
Bruhl (Count), ii. 72, 74, 76, 409, 464, 465,
466, 467, 470, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475,
477.
Brunswick (Duke of), i. 522, 523.
Brunswick (Duchess of), i. 64.
Brunswick (Princess of), i. 395.
Buckinghamshire (John,Earl of), i. 154 ; ii. 391.
Buckingham (Duchess of), i. 102.
Burdett (Sir Robert), i. 82.
Burgundy (Duchess of), ii. 52.
Burlington (Richard, Earl of), i. 169.
Bury (Lord), i, 72.
Bussy (Abbe de), i. 389.
Butcher (Mr.), i. 168.

Bute (Earl of), i. 40, 118; ii. 48, 49, 62, 86,
92, 93, 94, 100,219, 221, 222, 231, 284,
302, 332, 356, 399, 400, 412, 420, 431.
Butler (Dr., Bishop of Durham), i. 129.
Byng (Admiral), i. 3 ; ii. 35, 54, 56, 57, 65,
67, 68, 82, 108, 116, 119, 134, 189.
C.
Cadogan (Lord), ii. 36.
Cadogan (Mr.), ii. 93.
Calabria (Duke of), ii. 374.
Calcraft (Mr.), i. 401; ii. 222.
Calhoen (Mr,), ii. 477.
Cameron (Dr. Archibald), i. 290, 307.
Campbell (General), i. 226.
Campbell (Alexander Hume), i. 16, 455, 460,
470, 471, 485, 486, 488, 490; ii. 25, 149,
150, 156, 203, 204,206,217.
Campbell (John, of Calder), i. 378; ii. 354.
Campbell (Lord Frederick), ii. 417.
Canterbury (Archbishop of), i. 64.
Cardigan (Earl of), i. 223, 228.
Carlisle (Lord), i. 151; ii. 108.
Carmarthen (Francis Osborne, Marquis of),
ii. 433.
Caroline (her Majesty Queen), i. 56, 63, 64,
66, 142, 154, 155, 156, 158, 172, 180, 192,
193, 241 ; ii. 61, 268, 479.
Caroline (Princess), ii. 268, 285, 427.
Came (Mr.), i. 21, 82.
Carneguy (Mr.), i. 52.
Carpenter (Lord), i. 21, 22, 23, 27, 174.
Carter (Mr.), i. 246, 319, 320 ; ii. 29.
Carteret (Lord), i. 142.
Carysfort (Lord), ii. 200.
Cathcart (Lord), i. 68, 453.
Cavalchini (Cardinal), ii. 310, 311.
Cavendish (Lord John), i. 169.
Cavendish (Lord George), ii. 206.
3q2

484

INDEX OF NAMES.

Chapeau (M.), i. 521, 522.
Chapman (Dr.), i. 267-
Charles (Prince of Austria), ii. 210, 266.
Chateauroux (Duchesse de), i. 292 ; ii. 52.
Cheselden (John), i. 154.
Chesterfield (Philip, Earl of), i. 40, 41, 44, 63,
143, 149, 154, 177, 182, 240, 384, 403,
452, 490, 516; ii. 224, 244, 341, 368, 478.
Chevert (M.), ii. 308, 309.
Child (Sir Josiah), ii. 350.
Choiseul (Due de), ii. 406.
Cholmondeley (George, Earl of), i. 150, 316,
484,485; ii. 184, 225.
Cholmondeley (Mr.), i. 288.
Cholmondeley (General), ii. 116, 264, 265,
429, 430.
Churchill (General), i. 20.
Cibber (Colley), ii. 267.
Clair (St., General), i. 37, 48.
Clanrickard (Earl of), ii. 452, 453.
Clarges (Sir Thomas), i. 27.
Clarke (Dr.), i. 56.
Clarke (Mr.), ii. 234, 241, 263, 315.
Clayton (Dr., Bishop of Clogher), ii. 282.
Cleland (Mr.), ii. 83.
Clavering (Colonel), ii. 344.
Clement (Jacques), i. 160.
Clermont (Comte de), ii. 193, 289, 307.
Clive (General), ii. 246, 276.
Clive (Judge), ii. 428.
Cobham (Richard Grenville, Lord), i. 69, 117,
118, 211, 213, 449, 505, 508; ii. 10, 341,
351, 380.
Coke (Lord), i. 14, 17, 23, 24, 181, 182, 183,
184, 227.
Cologne (Elector of), i. 71.
ColviUe (Lord), ii. 439.
Coloredo (M.), ii. 61, 228.
Compagni (Don Juan), i. 49.

Conflans (Admiral), ii. 394, 421.
Contades (General), ii. 308, 361, 368, 382.
Conway (Lord), i. 35.
Conway (Henry Seymour), i. 11, 35, 49, 51,
52, 297, 338, 350, 358, 368, 383, 386,
388, 486, 489; ii. 28, 102, 103, 132, 144,
145, 156, 160, 200, 214, 222, 235, 236,
239, 240, 242, 243, 244, 251, 253, 256,
257, 261, 263, 264, 265, 277, 279, 291,
330, 331, 342, 346, 381, 407, 413, 429.
Cooke (Mr.), i. 11, 12, 13, 25, 27, 72, 190,
222 ; ii. 356.
Coote (Colonel), ii. 442.
Cope (Sir John), i. 150.
Cornbury (Lord), i. 208,
Cornwall (Velters), ii. 170.
CornwaUis (Colonel), i. 55, 59, 269; ii. 117,
239, 242, 245, 277, 330.
Cotton (Sir John Hinde), i. 7, 12, 19, 22, 23,
26, 27, 28, 29, 107, 119, 123, 126, 181,
185, 186, 190, 223.
Courtney (Mr.), i. 353.
Coventry (Lord), i. 181.
Coventry (Mr.), ii. 355.
Cowper (Dr., Dean of Durham), i. 266, 278.
Cox (Sir Richard), i. 246 ; ii. 281, 407.
Craggs (James, Esq.), i. 28.
Crawley (Sir Ambrose, Knt.), i. 28.
Cresset (Mr.), i. 79, 196, 248, 253; ii. 48.
Crooke (Mrs.), i. 153.
Crowle (Mr.), i. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.
Cunningham (Captain), ii. 66, 258, 315, 432.
Cumberland (H. R. H. William, Duke of), i. 1,
2, 33, 34, 40, 60, 68, 77, 85, 86, 90, 112,
137, 139, 159, 184, 197, 209, 210, 228,
240, 241, 266, 305, 334, 349, 363, 384,
390, 397, 401, 418, 453, 482, 504; ii. 6,
23, 47, 58, 60, 109, 135, 193, 195, 197,
200, 201, 209, 228, 229, 236, 246, 248,

INDEX OF NAMES.

485

249, 250, 251, 252, 263, 269, 272, 294,
346, 358, 396, 414, 426, 452, 456, 458.
Cummings (Mr.), i. 231, 232, 239.
Cust (Sir John), i. 83.
Czernichew (Count), ii. 448.
D.
D'Abreu (M.), ii. 56, 96, 248, 309.
Dacre (Lord) , ii. 23.
D'Affry (M.),ii. 399.
D'Aiguillon (Due), ii. 307, 313, 314.
Dalkeith (Countess Dowager of), ii. 65.
Dalrymple (Sir Hugh), i. 41.
Damiens, ii. 114, 115.
Darcy (Sir Conyers), i. 485.
D'Argenson (M.), ii. 23.
Darlington (Earl of), i. 337, 483; ii. 107-
Dartmouth (Earl of), i. 165
Dashwood (Sir Francis), i. 8, 9, 22, 106, 369,
378, 417, 486, 488; ii. 27, 140, 145, 150,
154, 156, 161, 171, 198, 424, 425.
Dashwood (Sir James), i. 316.
.Daun (Marshal), ii. 208, 228, 266, 303, 304,
316, 324, 369, 371, 372, 443, 444, 445,
446.
Davidson (Mr.), i. 232.
Davison (Major), i. 275.
D'Ayen (Le Due), ii. 115.
Delaval (Mr.), i. 53, 107, 222, 466.
Delaval (Mr. jun.), i. 353.
Denbigh (Lord), ii. 174, 179, 215, 290, 294,
352, 355.
Denis (Captain Peter), ii. 121, 145, 155, 186.
Denmaik (King of), i. 197; ii. 247.
Denmark (her Majesty the Queen of), i. 197.
D'Etrees (Marshal), ii. 193, 229, 307, 308,
382.
Devonshire (William, Duke of), i. 99, 169,
170, 266, 285, 328, 331, 384, 399, 406,
437 j ii. 29, 63, 93, 97, 99, 100, 101, 102,

103, 108, 109, 116, 132, 179, 192, 197,
199, 207, 211, 215, 235, 250, 267, 279,
297, 332, 392.
Dickinson (Alderman), ii. 188.
Dieskau (Baron de), i. 404.
Digby (Mr.),i. 81.
Digby (Lord), ii. 46, 87, 93, 274.
Digby (Captain), ii. 395.
Diggs (the actor), i. 338.
Dilks (Mr), i. 320.
Doddington (George Bubb), i. 7, 10, 40, 63,
66, 75, 382, 408, 417, 483, 486, 488, 505,
506, 507, 508; ii. 28, 31, 96, 107, 147,
164, 200, 265, 326, 424, 425.
Dohna (General), ii. 315, 316, 369.
D'Ollone (M.), ii. 475.
Doneraile (Arthur St. Leger, Viscount), i. 64,
65.
Dorset (Lionel Cranfield, Duke of), i. 5, 71,
83, 84; ii. 361.
Dorset (Charles Sackville, Duke of), i. 83,
84, 167, 244, 245, 247, 287, 309, 310,
320, 338, 339,374, 382; ii. 218, 222, 224,
233, 380, 415.
Dorset (J. F. Sackville, Duke of), i. 84.
Douglas (Mr.), i. 83.
Douglas (Captain James), ii. 121, 185.
Douglas (Dr.), ii. 353, 411.
Dowdeswell (Mr.), i. 24, 126, 127.
Downe (Lord), i. 81, 181 ; ii. 46, 305, 396,
397, 451.
Drax (Mr. Secretary), i. 65.
Drummond (Dr. Hay, Bishop of St. Asaph),
i. 269, 286, 312; ii. 290.
Dubacq (Monsr.) i. 180.
Dumfries (Earl of), i. 228.
Dunbar (Titular Earl of), i. 130, 250.
Dunbar (Colonel), i. 391, 393.
Duncannon (Lord), i. 170, 383.
Dundas (Lord Advocate), i. 432, 486.

486

INDEX OF NAMES.

Dunk (Miss Anne), i. 173.
Duplin (Lord), i. 13, 22, 23, 50, 54, 181,
269, 332, 336, 340, 454, 483, 486, 488;
ii. 96, 203, 355.
Durell (Admiral), ii. 383.
Durham (Bishop of), ii. 191.
Durini (Cardinal), ii. 311.
Dury (General), ii. 314.

Earle (Giles, Esq.) i. 78.
Edgecumbe (Mr.) i. 483; ii. 107-
Edgecumbe (Captain), ii. 65.
Edgecumbe (Lord), ii. 218.
Edward (Prince), i. 63, 101, 198, 228, 253,
508; ii. 49, 50, 93, 94, 251, 306, 311.
Effingham (Lord), ii. 117.
Egerton (Lady Sophia), ii. 191.
Eglinton (Lord), ii. 130.
Egmont (John Perceval, Earl of), i. 7 , 8, 9,
10, 12, 13, 14, 17, 23, 26, 30, 32, 34, 40,
42, 43, 49, 52, 56, 70, 136, 182, 185, 188,
191, 194, 257, 258, 297, 300, 310, 316,
350, 362, 364, 365, 372, 399, 411, 477,
486,495; ii. 20, 96, 214, 218.
Egremont (Earl o'f ), i. 69, 70, 453 ; ii. 200.
Elibank (Lord), i. 15.
Elliot (Mr.), i.370, 378, 431, 432, 477, 486;
ii. 108, 139, 151, 200.
Elliot (Sir Gilbert), ii. 424.
Ellis (Mr.), i. 222, 402, 422, 431, 484, 486;
ii. 4, 155, 204, 220.
Elizabeth (The Lady), ii. 49, 378.
Emily (Princess), i. 63, 66, 68, 139, 158,
159, 197, 271, 348, 512; ii. 61, 135, 195,
249, 269, 285
Erskine (Sir Henry), i. 35, 36, 37, 48, 49,
55, 59, 91, 92, 93, 96, 97, 98, 191, 212,
222, 258; ii. 1, 9, 10, 12,284.

Eugene (Prince), i. 481.
Euston (Lord), ii. 93.
Evans (Mr.), 104.

Fagel (Greffier), i. 171, 180.
Falconberg (Lady), i. 500.
Fane (Lord), i. 353, 354, 405 ; ii. 280.
Farnham (Lord), ii. 403.
Fawcett (Mr. Attorney), i. 266, 267, 268,
269, 275, 278.
Fazakerley (Mr.) i. 49, 96, 109, 125, 127,
132, 138, 222, 225, 297, 376.
Ferdinand (Prince, of Brunswick), ii. 266,
288, 307, 308, 309, 323, 348, 359, 360,
362, 363, 367, 380, 381, 382, 400, 410,
414, 427, 429, 450, 451.
Ferrers (Earl), ii. 417, 421, 433.
Fielding (Henry), i. 1], 38.
Finch (Edward), i. 466.
Finkenstein (Count), i. 515, 519.
Firebrace (Sir Cordel), i. 269.
Fitz-morrice (Lord), ii. 315.
Fitzroy (Charles), ii. 244.
Fitzroy (Colonel), ii. 361, 364, 381.
Fitzwalter (Earl of), i. 171, 364.
Fitzwalter (Lady), i. 172.
Fitzwilliam (Colonel), i. 34; ii. 170.
Fitzwilliam (General), ii. 423.
Fleming (Count), ii. 74.
Fleury (Cardinal), i. 292.
Folkestone (Lord), i. 105.
Foley (Lord), i. 100.
Forbes (Admiral), ii. 108, 139.
Forbes (Colonel), ii. 193.
Forbes (General), ii. 312.
Fortescue (Lord), ii. 183, 185.
Foster (Judge), ii. 300.
Fowke (General), ii. 56, 57, 69, 117.

INDEX OF NAMES.

487

Fox (Henry), i. 7, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 24,
25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 35, 38, 41, 48, 49, 50,
51, 52, 53, 55, 58, 59, 60, 61, 66, 79, 80,
81,90, 95, 97, 111, 114, 120, 121, 125,
128, 129, 131, 132, 137, 162, 171, 178,
184, 185, 212, 223, 266, 297, 298, 299,
300, 301, 304, 305, 306, 329, 331, 332,
334, 335, 337, 340, 352, 353, 355, 356,
359, 361, 362, 363, 364, 369, 373, 375,
376, 377, 380, 383, 384, 387, 397, 399,
400, 401, 403, 404, 405, 406, 417, 418,
419, 421, 424, 426, 428, 429, 431, 435,
441, 447, 453, 454, 463, 476, 482, 483,
486, 490; ii. 3, 4, 5, 9, 12, 19, 22, 25,28,
30, 32, 35, 36, 49, 55, 62, 63, 68, 86, 88,
89, 90, 92, 95, 96, 97, 99, 103, 104, 107,
108, 109, 116, 131, 132, 133, 137, 140,
142, 151, 153, 158, 159, 161, 165, 168,
169, 170, 171, 172, 173, 195, 196, 198,
199, 201, 203, 214, 215, 216, 217, 219,
220, 222, 223, 225, 249, 251, 274, 278,
291, 292, 297, 346, 396, 404, 414.
Fox (Lady Caroline), ii. 143, 144, 201.
Francis (Rev. Mr.), ii. 109.
Francis (Prince, of Brunswick), ii. 324.
Frederick (H. R. H. Prince of Wales), i. 500,
502, 506.
Fredersdorif (M.), i. 515.
French (Jeffery), i. 470.
Furnese (Harry), i. 102, 483.
Fynte (Sir Charles), i. 19.
G.
Gage (Lord), i. 483.
Galissoniere (M.), ii. 56, 65, 139.
Gaily (Dr.), i. 42.
Gardiner (Luke), i. 309.
Gardiner (Captain), ii. 123.
Gascoyne (Mr.), i. 21.
Gates (General), i. 347.

Geary (Captain Francis), ii. 121, 165, 167,
169, 185.
George (King), I., i. 192, 194, 458, 459; ii.
479, 480.
George (King), II., i. I, 3, 6, 19, 52, 53, 54,
56, 61, 64, 67, 68, 69, 72, 74, 83, 89, 98,
100, 105, 136, 139, 142, 150, 151, 152, 156,
158, 160, 163, 164, 167, 172, 174, 175,
179, 180, 184, 195, 197, 198, 210, 211,
222, 252, 254, 271, 306, 309, 331, 335,
347, 361, 383, 384, 394, 396, 482; ii. 3,
17, 18, 31, 50, 58, 60, 68, 70, 86, 89,
92, 94, 97, 101, 106, 107, 110, 116, 135,
139, 141, 157, 192, 194, 195, 197, 201,
203, 208, 211, 219, 220, 223, 227, 229,
246, 247, 249, 250, 251, 261, 269, 277,
280, 284, 285, 293, 295, 305, 307, 330,
353, 355, 356, 380, 392, 410, 414, 427,
431, 451, 453, 454, 455, 456, 457, 479, 480.
George (H. R. H , Prince of Wales), i. 68, 69,
70, 74, 81, 91, 98, 100, 140, 247, 253,
275, 395, 453; ii. 47, 49, 62, 93, 94, 218,
231, 302, 387, 420, 431.
Gibson, i. 15, 19, 22, 27.
Gilbert (Archbishop), ii. 194.
Gisors (Due de), ii. 307.
Glenorchy (Lord), i. 57.
Glover (Mr.), i. 506.
Godolphin (Lord), i. 193.
Golding (Mr.), i. 41.
Gooch (Dr., Bishop of Ely), i. 129.
Gore (Sir Arthur), ii. 29.
Gower (R. L.), i. 2, 228.
Gower (Lady Eliz. Leveson), i. 164.
Gower (John, Baron), i. 11, 12, 29, 58, 60,
71, 164, 166,167,197,228,366,368,482,
436,437; ii. 46, 218, 224.
Grafton (Charles Fitzroy, Duke of),i. 41, 71,
156, 157, 158, 270, 287 ; ii. 32, 94, 95,
102, 107, 211, 361.

488

INDEX OF NAMES.

Granville (Earl), i. 5, 6, 7, 8, 37, 39, 41, 46,
58, 64, 70, 78, 80, 90, 105, 143, 145, 146,
148, 149, 150, 151, 152, 160, 161, 168,
170, 171, 193, 203, 221, 241, 266, 287,
304, 313, 315, 316, 397, 401, 402, 418,
473, 488; ii. 30, 44, 45, 55, 61, 63, 88,
89, 102, 117, 177, 197, 200, 216, 223, 250,
272, 298, 333.
Graham (Mr.), i. 161.
Granby (Lord), i. 382, 469, 475; ii. 131,
135, 206, 305, 323, 362, 365, 366, 381,
414, 429.
Gray (Mr.), i. 127, 269, 354.
Gray (the poet), ii. 267.
Grantham (Lord),i. 192.
Greaves (Admiral), ii. 240.
Gregory (Dr.), i. 57.
Grammont (Duchesse de), ii. 406.
Grenville (George), i. 11, 15, 52, 117, 118,
336, 337, 409, 418, 434, 457, 473, 486,
488; ii. 4, 5, 27, 39, 93, 108, 153, 156,
160, 199, 211, 214, 219, 289, 355, 394.
Grenville (James), i. 118, 418; ii. 10, 93,
108, 211,436.
Grenville (Richard), i. 506.
Grenville (Thomas), ii. 394.
Grey (Lady Mary), i. 57.
Grey (Marchioness de), i. 57.
Grierson (Mr.), ii. 6.
Griffith (Colonel Edward), i. 5.
Grosvenor (Sir Richard), ii. 326.
Guilford (Earl of), ii. 356.
Guerini (Father), ii. ii. 466, 467, 471, 473.
Gybbon (Mr.), i. 102, 125, 155.
H.
Haldane (Colonel), i. 49,51, 70, 473, 165.
Hale (Colonel), ii. 397.
Hales (Dr.), i. 419; ii. 456.

Halifax (George Montagu, Earl of), i. 53, 54,
59, 60, 162, 173, 191, 220, 259, 344, 406,
453; ii. 5, 23, 45, 144, 176, 177, 180, 181,
183, 184, 187, 226.
Halley (Dr.), i. 419.
Halsen (Count), i. 448.
Hamilton (Lord Archibald), i. 65.
Hamilton (Lady Archibald), i. 64, 65, 66.
Hamilton (Sir James), i. 320.
Hamilton (William Gerard), i. 402, 408, 483 ;
ii. 200.
Hampden (Mr.), i. 16, 222, 297.
Hanbury, i. 347.
Handasyde (General), i. 9.
Hanmer (Lady Catherine), i. 500.
Harcourt (Simon, Earl of), i. 74, 81, 247,
252, 254, 267, 283, 290, 313.
Harding (Mr.), i. 24, 25, 50, 116, 197.
Hardwicke (Lord Chancellor), i. 436; ii. 45,
49,59,62,86,107,110, 136, 138, 144,168,
176, 177, 178, 179, 180, 182, 183, 184, 187,
208, 210, 211, 215, 216, 217, 218, 224,
226, 232, 248, 250, 287, 289, 290, 293,
296, 298, 299, 302, 352.
Harley (Lord), i. 126, 190, 222, 316.
Harrington (William Stanhope, Earl of), i. 3,
65, 75, 143, 150, 152, 243, 245, 246; ii.
227.
Harris (Mr.), ii. 194.
Harrington (Marquis of), i. 11, 17, 18, 160,
167, 168, 169, 170, 181, 287, 331, 332,
333, 335, 368, 381, 383, 386, 388, 399,
400.
Haviland (Colonel), i. 441.
Hawke (Sir Edward), i. 393; ii. 57, 239, 240,
243, 245, 263, 265, 305, 394, 395, 400.
Hawkins (Mr. Surgeon), i. 62.
Hawley (General), i. 89, 265.
Hay (Dr.), i. 381, 411, 437, 477, 486, 488;
ii. 28, 104, 108, 139, 192.

INDEX OF NAMES.

489

Hay (Lord Charles), ii. 427.
Hayter (Dr., Bishop of Norwich), i. 74, 247,
253, 254, 264, 267, 284, 290.
Hedges (Charles), i. 66.
Heichel (M.) i. 515, 520.
Heinnech (Monsieur), ii. 473, 474.
Henley (Mr.), i. 7, 83, 93, 125, 300,364; ii.
107, 164, 206.
Henley (Sir Robert), ii. 225, 226,433.
Henry (Prince, of Prussia), i. 447; ii. 315, 372.
Hensey (Dr.), ii. 309.
Herbert (Nich.) i. 196.
Hereford (Viscount), i. 100.
Herring (Archbishop), i. 78, 129; ii. 193.
Hertford (Earl of), i. 35, 81, 338, 367, 368;
ii. 102, 108, 2 16, 297, 330, 392.
Hervey (John, Lord), i. 58, 65, 80, 102, 148,
178, 519; ii. 268.
Hervey (Felton), i. 228.
Hesse (Landgrave of), i. 252, 351, 352, 465 ;
ii. 326.
Hesse (Mary, Princess of), ii. 456.
Hesse Cassel (Frederick, Hereditary Prince
of), i. 351.
Hill (Mr.), i. 339; ii. 280.
Hilsborough (Earl of),i. 69, 70, 126, 212,227,
297,337,407,483,485,486,436; ii. 107,
280, 401.
Hinchinbroke (Viscount), i. 173.
Hoadley (Dr., Bishop of Winchester), i. 129.
Hobart (Sir Henry), i. 154.
Hobart (Lord), i. 483.
Hobson, ii. 330.
Hogarth, ii. 284.
Holburne (Rear- Admiral), ii. 121, 165, 182,
232.
Holderness (Robert Darcy, Earl of), i. 171,
172, 173, 180, 252, 289, 308, 337, 347,
395, 398, 418, 446, 453, 469; ii. 85, 100,
VOL. II.

101, 104, 199, 207, 212, 220, 224, 227,
250, 413.
Holmes (Captain Charles), ii. 121, 165, 167,
184.
Holmes (Mr.), ii. 168, 169.
Home (Lord), i. 16.
Home (John), ii. 231, 284.
Hopson (General), ii. 344, 345.
Hoskins (John, Esq.), i. 169.
Houblon (Jacob, Esq.), i. 28.
Howard (General), ii. 239, 245.
Howard (Sir Charles), ii. 428.
Howe (Captain), i. 388; ii. 240, 244, 245.
Howe (Commodore), ii. 305, 306, 311, 312.
Howe (Lord), ii. 312, 318, 395.
Hugo, ii. 431.
Hunter (Mr.).ii. 108, 139, 151.
Huntingdon (Lord), ii. 93.
Huskc (General), ii.. 116.
Hussey (Mr.),i. 178,375.
Hutchinson (Ilely), ii. 406.
Hutton (Archbishop), i. 129; ii. 194, 290.
Hyndford (Lord), ii. 293. I.
Ilchester (Lord), i. 80, 178, 454 ; ii. 46, 89.
Imhoff (Baron), ii. 308, 309.
Inchiquin (Lord), ii. 403.
Ingram (Mr.), ii. 93.
Inverness (Titular Count of), i. 250.
Irby (Sir William), i. 75.
Islay (Lord), i. 142.
Issarts (Mons. de), ii. 469.

Jansen (Alderman), i. 25.
Jefferies (Lieutenant-Colonel), ii. 66.
Jekyll (Sir Joseph), i. 58.
Jenyns (Soame), i. 483; ii. 352.

3r

490

INDEX OF NAMES.

Jennings (Lieutenant-Colonel), ii. 422.
Joddrell (Mr. Solicitor), i. 56, 82.
Johnson (Dr., Bishop of Gloucester), i. 254,
266, 274, 276, 278, 284; ii. 382.
Johnson (Colonel, Sir Williaai), i. 404; 2. 4,
378, 379, 442.
Johnson, ii. 418.
Johnstone (Governor), ii. 432.
Jones (Neville), i. 245, 247, 315, 316, 319.
Jones (Mr.), ii. 106.
Joseph (Archduke, of Austria), L 6, 177, 210.
K.
Kaunitz (Count), i. 85 ; ii. 73.
Keene (Sir Benjamin), i. 165,345, 394, 430.
Keith, i. 295.
Keith (Marshal), i, 177; ii. 80,324
Kendal (Duchess of), i. 46, 192, 194; ii. 479,
480.
Kent (Henry, Duke of), ii. 57, 99.
Keppel (Hon. Augustus), ii. 121, 144, 145,
153, 155, 156, 159, 168, 171, 185, 188,
240, 343, 395.
Kildare (Earl of), i. 65, 307, 316, 387, 399;
ii. 29, 143, 255, 256, 258, 259, 278, 281.
KiMa (Bishop of), ii. 403.
Kilmanseg (Count), ii. :85-
King (Dr.), ii. 194.
Kingsley (General), ii. 361.
Kingston (Duke of), i. 240.
Kneller (Sir Godfrey), i. 61.
Knight (Mrs.), i. 39.
Kniphausen, ii. 293, 307, 398.
Knollys (Admiral), ii. 419.
Knowies (Admiral), i. 87; ii. 3, 240, 263.
Konismark (Count), ii. 479.
L.
LaUy (General), ii. 382, 442.

Lambert (Mr.), i. 319.
Lamont (Dr.), i. 42, 74.
Lanti (Cardinal), ii. 310.
Lauder, ii. 411.
Laudohn (General), ii. 369, 371, 443, 444,
445, 446, 447, 448.
Laurence (Dr. Thomas), i. 5.
Lechmere (Lord) , i. 56.
Lee (Sir George, D.C.L.), i. 7, 26, 67, 77,
107, 124, 185, 186, 187, 194, 260, 350,
399, 410, 464, 486; ii. 48, 200, 217, 221,
332.
Lee (Chief Justice), i. 99, 328, 339.
Leeds (Duke of), ii. 221.
Legge (Mr.), i. 165, 166, 212, 226, 331, 336,
337, 339, 350, 354, 395, 397, 398, 399,
405, 406, 411, 418, 437, 464, 472, 486,
488; ii. 5, 24, 25, 26, 49, 50, 93, 99, 102,
104, 107, 117, 132, 164, 194, 195, 199,
202, 224, 248, 298, 294, 349, 350, 351,
354, 356, 399.
Legge (Judge), ii. 300.
Legonier (General Sir John), i. 89, 255, 344,
482; ii. 116, 237, 241, 267, 277, 291, 330,
361.
Lehwald (General), ii. 246.
Leicester (Thomas, Earl of), i. 181.
Leigh (Dr.), i. 62.
Leveson (Mr.), i. 168, 197.
Levi (a Jew), i. 288.
Levi (M. de), ii. 438, 439.
Lewis (Mr.), i. 288.
Lewis (Prince, of Brunswick), ii, 399.
Lewisham (Lord), ii. 356.
Ligonier (Colonel), ii. 361, 364.
Ligonier (Lord), i. 482, 483; ii. 379.
Limerick (James Hamilton, Viscount), i. 21,
106, 124.
Linard (Count), ii. 472, 473.

INDEX OF NAMES.

491

Lincoln (Henry Clinton, Earl of), L 67, 72,
73, 167, 228, 248, 375; ii. 106, 203, 216,
221, 294.
Linzendorffe, ii. 282.
Litchfield (Earl of), i. 100, 164,240; ii. 341.
Lobkowitz (Prince), i. 500.
Lochiel, i. 307.
Locke (Mr.), ii. 26.
London (Dr. Sherlock, Bishop of),i. 105, 128,
129,315.
Lonsdale (Henry, Viscount), i. 17-
Lothian (Lord), i. 485.
Loudun (Lord), ii. 7, 231, 232, 275, 427.
Louis (Monsieur), i. 154.
Louis XV., i. 188, 291 ; ii. 113, 327, 3S8.
Loyd (Sir Richard), i. 94, 132, 300, 316,
339.
Lovat (Lord), i. 225.
Lowendahl (Marshal), ii. 234-
Lowther (Sir James), ii. 305.
Lucchesi, ii. 210.
Luynes (Cardinal de), ii. 310.
Lynar (Count), ii. 247.
Lyttelton (Sir Thomas), i. 174.
Lyttelton (Col. Sir Richard), i. 9, 22, 24, 33,
433, 436; ii. 12, 108, 135, 155, 167, 188.
Lyttelton (Sir George, afterwards Lord Lyt
telton), i. 10, 11, 15, 16, 42, 63, 69, 73,
117, 174, 175, 203, 336, 337, 354, 358,
360, 369, 409, 419, 451, 454, 471, 486,
488, 503; ii. 3, 24, 27, 36, 37, 39, 41, 96,
106, 135, 182, 290, 294, 301, 419.
Lyttelton (William), i. 185.
Lyttelton (Governor), ii. 19.
M.
M'Cleod (Mr.), i. 52.
Machault (M.), ii. 56.
Macklyn (the player), ii. 412,
Macclesfield (Lord), i. 44, 240.

Maddox (Dr*., Bishop of Worcester), i, 103,
289, 290,321; ii. 381.
Mailly (Madame de), i. 291.
Malagrida, ii. 322.
Malone (Mr.), i. 246, 320, 375, 386 ; ii. 29,
256, 257, 259, 280, 281, 403, 407.
Maillebois (M.), ii. 308.
Mallet (Mr.), i. 40.
Manchester (Duchess of),i. 178; ii. 119.
Mansfield (Lord), ii. 174, 175, 180, 181, 197,
208, 223, 265, 272, 283, 286, 287, 296,
297, 298, 299, 301, 328, 332, 413, 415.
Manteuffel (General), ii. 315.
Marchmont (Earl of), i. 44, 257, 406; ii.
187, 290.
Marlborough (John, Churchill, first Duke of),
ii. 133, 326.
Marlborough (Sarah, Duchess of), i. 79.
Marlborough (Charles Spencer, Duke of), i.
8, 60, 71, 81, 172, 286, 352, 362, 368,
405, 406,482, 483; ii. 84, 96, 131, 133,
262, 263, 291, 305, 306,307, 308,323,366.
Martin (Mr.), L 7, 21, 42, 118, 316, 408,
454,486; ii. 108, 165.
Martyn (Mr.), i. 188.
Mary (Princess), i. 252, 351.
Mary (Princess, of Hesse), ii. 385.
Masham (Mr.),ii. 93.
Mason (Rev. Wm.), ii. 267.
Matthews (Admiral), ii. 191.
Maynard (Lord), i. 100, 240.
Mazzoni (M.), ii. 56.
Mechell (M.), ii. 2.
Mecklenburg (Princess Anne of), ii. 112.
Meredith (Sir William), ii. 417-
Methuen (Sir Paul), i. 142, 288.
Michell (Monsieur), i. 259.
Middlesex (Earl of), i. 83, 188, 509.
Middlesex (Jane, Countess of), i. 40, 65, 500;
ii. 48.
3K2

492

INDEX OF NAMES.

Middleton (Mr., Sheriff of Denbigh), i. 24.
Middleton (Dr. Conyers), i. 128, 195.
Milton (Lord), i. 232 ; ii. 424.
Mirepoix (Duke de), i. 176, 366, 367, 389.
Mitchell (Mr.), i. 82, 222; ii. 293.
Modena (Duchess of), ii. 52.
Molesworth (Sir John),i. 82.
Molesworth (Lord), ii. 267.
Moncke (General), ii. 440.
Monckton (Colonel), i. 390.
Monckton (General), ii. 386.
Moncrief (Mr.), i. 58.
Monroe (Sir Harry), i. 236.
Monson (Mr.), ii. 93.
Monson (General), ii. 442.
Montagu (Duke of), i. 447; ii. 133.
Montagu (Sir Edward), ii. 119.
Montcalm (General), ii. 383, 385, 438.
Moody (a player), ii. 412.
Moore (Captain John), ii. 121, 145, 153, 165,
181, 185, 188,344.
Mordaunt (Sir John), i. 26, 95, 225, 369,
378; ii. 236, 239, 240, 243, 244, 245,
260, 262, 263, 264, 277, 330, 429.
Morton (Mr.), i. 126, 222.
Morton (Lord),i. 453; ii. 117, 181.
Moyenska (Countess), ii. 471, 474.
Moyston (General), ii. 200, 330, 342, 344.
Moyston (Sir Roger), ii. 344.
Munchausen (Baron), ii. 248, 251, 252, 331,
457, 458.
Murphy (Arthur), ii. 109.
Murphy (Miss), i. 291.
Murray (Lord John), i. 38.
Murray (General), ii. 438, 439, 442.
Murray (Alexander), i. 15, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24,
26, 27, 29, 30, 41, 43, 72, 73, 98, 99, 174,
181, 182, 183, 184.
Murray (Lord Chief Justice, afterwards Earl
of Mansfield), i. 42, 107, 113, 124, 125,

130, 132, 144, 212, 222, 223, 248, 250,
253, 254, 266, 267, 269, 275, 278, 297,
300, 301, 305, 320, 329, 336, 339, 350,
354, 357, 371, 377, 379, 399, 410, 418,
422, 429, 437, 458, 477, 486, 490 ; ii. 1 1,
25, 28, 42, 64, 67, 85, 95, 106, 203, 226,
297. N.
Newcastle (Thomas Pelham Holies, Duke of),
i. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 19, 40, 41, 52, 54, 59,
61, 71, 73, 85, 86, 99, 100, 103, 111, 136,
140, 141, 142, 143, 148, 156, 158, 160,
165, 166, 167, 172, 173, 185, 205, 215,
216, 224, 239, 243, 248, 259, 265, 274,
285, 287, 299, 305, 312, 324, 330, 332,
334, 336, 339, 340, 343, 344, 346, 347,
348, 352, 353, 360, 361, 374, 376, 378,
383,384, 387, 388, 389, 395, 397, 398,399,
400, 401, 406, 418, 419, 453, 455, 482,
483, 484, 485 ; ii. 2, 5, 23, 28, 30, 32,
44, 46, 49, 54, 59, 62, 63, 68, 70, 85, 86,
87, 89, 92, 94, 95, 96, 97, 99, 101, 104,
105, 106, 108, 133, 177, 194, 196, 198, 201,
203, 210, 215, 216, 217, 218, 219, 221,
224, 225, 250, 281, 285, 289, 291, 294,
296, 297, 298, 317, 326, 328, 330, 331,
332, 342, 347, 353, 354, 355, 356, 387,
398, 401, 415, 427, 458, 463.
Newcastle (Duchess of), ii. 191.
Newdigate (Sir Roger), i. 222, 317.
Ninervois (Due de), ii. 2.
Noel (Judge), ii. 300.
Norris (Rear- Admiral), ii. 121, 153, 182, 184,
188.
North (Lord), i. 67, 74, 148, 163; ii. 356,
393.
Northampton (Earl of), ii. 106.
Northey (Mr.), i. 185, 213, 222, 225, 227,316,
376,486, 487; ii. 36.

INDEX OF NAMES.

493

Northumberland (Earl of), i. 7, 224, 289 ; ii.
46, 108, 221.
Nugent (Robert), i. 10, 26, 36, 38, 39, 40,
47, 76, 93, 106, 117, 128, 171, 213, 222,
295, 296, 297, 309, 316, 336, 356, 357,
373, 375, 381, 396, 410, 433, 443, 473,
486, 488; ii. 88, 96, 133, 161, 163, 170,
208, 212,401.
Nugent (Mrs.),i. 40. O.
Obrien (Mr.), i. 484; ii. 106.
Odonnel (Count), ii. 449.
Ofarel (Brigadier), i. 91, 93, 95.
Oglethorpe (General), i. 7, 98, 106, 121, 190.
Oldfield (Mrs.), 1.20.
Onslow (Lord), i. 228.
Onslow (Mr. Speaker), i. 18, 23, 24, 25, 26,
43, 96, 109, 111, 112, 174, 188, 240, 270,
298, 369, 371, 379, 417, 451 ; ii. 5, 9, 11,
23, 107, 140, 151, 154,157, 160, 173,233,
292, 387, 457.
Onslow (General), ii. 417, 427.
Orange (Prince of), i. 179, 228; ii. 11.
Orange (Princess of), i. 179; ii. 6, 307, 317,
343.
Orange (Princess Caroline of), ii. 343.
Orford (Robert Walpole, Earl of), i. 72, 149,
348.
Orford (George, Earl of), ii. 357.
Orleans (Duke of), i. 67.
Orme (Captain), i. 392.
Ormond (Duke of), i. 45.
Osborn (Sir Danvers), i. 344, 365; ii. 21.
Osborn (Mrs.), ii. 119, 152.
Osborn (Admiral), ii. 327.
Oswald (Mr.), i. 51, 225, 364, 381, 486, 488;
ii. 356, 401.
Oxenden (Sir George), i. 25.

Oxford (Earl of), i. 41, 84, 100, 102, 240.
Oxford (Bishop of). See Seeker.

Palisser (Sir Hugh), ii. 343.
Palmer (Deputy Serjeant at Arms), i. 73.
Panmure (Lord), ii. 57.
Paris (Archbishop of), i. 189,
Paul (Dr.), i. 260.
Pavonarius, i. 62.
Peache (Mr.), i. 81.
Pelham (Henry), i. 2, 7, 9, 10, 11, 15, 16, 24,
25, 26, 27, 29, 31, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 47,
48, 50, 52, 53, 54, 58, 60, 61, 69, 71, 73,
81, 90, 91, 96, 99, 102, 103, 106, 107,
108, 111, 115, 134, 136, 137, 141, 145,
147, 150, 151, 152, 156, 160, 166, 167,
168, 171, 175, 181, 182, 183, 185, 187,
189, 190, 197, 199, 200, 211, 212, 213,
223, 225, 229, 240, 258, 266, 267, 269,
275, 297, 299, 304, 305, 306, 308, 316,
318, 321, 328, 341, 352; ii. 1, 55, 328.
Pelham (T.), ii. 106.
Pelham (Lady Catharine), ii. 216.
Pembroke (Lord), ii. 93.
Pendergrass (Sir Thomas), ii. 403..
Penlez (Bosavern), i. 11.
Perry (Mr.), ii. 257, 406.
Philipps (Sir John), i. 98, 349, 382; ii. 154,
275, 292, 326, 352, 396, 397, 400, 435.
Piccolomini (General), ii. 81.
Pinfold (Colonel), i. 59.
Pitt (William, afterwards Earl of Chatham),
i. 6, 7, 10, 11, 15, 16, 23, 26, 36, 40, 42,
46, 48, 50, 51, 52, 53, 55, 61, 65, 66, 69,
73,79,80,81,82, 94, 95, 113, 119, 120,
121, 133, 148, 149, 166, 176, 201, 203,
209, 210, 211, 316, 318, 329, 340, 353,
354, 357, 358, 360, 361, 362, 364, 365,

494

INDEX OF NAMES.

372, 376, 380, 397, 399, 405, 412, 417,
418, 419, 422, 425, 426, 431, 436, 438,
442, 447, 448, 449, 455, 459, 479, 486,
490, 491; ii. 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12,
19, 22, 23, 25, 30, 33, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41,
49, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 97, 99, 101, 102,
103, 104, 107, 108, 109, 110, 116, 132,
135, 138, 140, 141, 149, 151, 152, 154,
156, 157, 158, 159, 165, 167, 172, 189,
195, 197, 199, 201, 202, 203, 205, 206,
210, 211, 212, 216, 217, 219, 224, 225,
227, 232, 233, 235, 237, 249, 250, 258,
260, 261, 263, 264, 271, 272, 274, 275,
285, 289, 291, 304, 314, 318, 325, 326,
330, 331, 332, 342, 345, 346, 350, 351,
352, 354, 355, 356, 361, 363, 380, 381,
389, 391, 397, 398, 399, 400, 401, 404,
406, 414, 436, 437.
Pitt (Thomas), i. 23, 55, 79, 107, 121, 123,
127.
Pitt (John), ii. 108.
Pocoeke (Admiral Sir George), ii. 276, 383,
443.
Poland (Augustus, King of), i. 177, 214; ii. 79.
Poland (Queen of), ii. 267.
Pombal (Marquis of), ii. 320.
Pomfret (Lord), i. 453.
Pompadour (Madame de), i. 188, 291, 292;
ii, 23, 54, 229, 308, 311, 332, 382, 406.
Ponsonby (Mr. Speaker), i. 246, 388; ii. 29,
256, 259, 278, 281, 402.
.Ponsonby (Lady Eliz.), i. 388.
Pope (Mr.), i. 130, 192, 195 ; ii. 267.
Porteous (Captain), i. 36, 37, 50, 51.
Portugal (King of), ii. 318.
Potter (Thomas), i. 7, 10, 11, 26, 57, 60, 61,
79,212,350,376,411,454, 486; ii. 108,
165, 168,211,225,261,401.
Powlett (Earl), i. 56, 381, 383, 384.

Pratt (Mr. Attorney-General), ii. 225, 286,
287, 297.
Pretender (The), i. 63, 194, 195, 249, 266,
307, 456.
Prevot (M.), ii. 6, 19.
Prideaux (General), ii. 379.
Prior (Mr.), i. 83.
Probyn (Mr.), i. 7.
Proctor (Sir W. B.) i. 181.
Prowse (Mr.;, i. 108, 121, 185, 222, 225, 316,
382/
Prussia (Frederick III., King of), i. 153, 166,
177, 211, 259, 352, 383, 395 ; ii. 60, 71, 76,
78, 80, 81, 98, 141, 209, 210, 228, 246,
248, 265, 266, 276, 293, 303, 315, 324,
348, 356, 360, 369, 370, 371, 410, 443,
444, 445, 446, 447, 448, 449.
Prussia (Queen of), i. 153; ii. 370, 371.
Prussia (Queen Dowager of), ii. 255.
Pulteney (Lord), i. 431, 465 j ii. 396.
Pulteney (General), ii. 428.
R.
Ralph (James), i. 300, 506.
Ramsay (Allan), ii. 420.
Randan (Due de), ii. 289.
Rantzau (Count), ii. 208.
Ravensworth (Lord), i. 265, 266, 267, 268,
269, 271, 273, 275, 285, 290, 453; ii. 5,
183.
Raymond (Lord), i. 453.
Rezzonico (Cardinal), ii. 311.
Rich (Sir Robert), ii. 267.
Richelieu (Marshal,, le Due de), ii. 35, 52, 65,
139, 229, 289.
Richmond (Duke of), i. 3 ; ii. 144, 361, 436.
Rider (Sir Dudley, Attorney-General), i. 8,
107, 128, 225, 261, 297, 339 ; ii, 46, 64.

INDEX OF NAMES.

495

Rigby (Mr.), i. 404, 405, 483; ii. 32, 91, 100,
142, 158, 197, 254, 255, 256, 257, 260,
280, 281, 402, 404, 407, 453.
Robinson (Sir Thomas), i. 123, 124, 185, 190,
212, 337, 354, 361, 364, 382, 403, 411,
426, 443, 485 ; ii. 100, 200, 217.
Robyns (Mr.), i. 56.
Rochford (Earl of), i, 381.
Rochefoucault (Cardinal de la), ii. 23.
Rockingham (Marquis of), i. 237, 289 ; ii. 46,
221, 432.
Rodney (Admiral), ii. 358.
Romney (Lord), i. 100.
Roolt (Cardinal), ii. 310.
Rothes (Lord), i. 383.
Rotosha (Count), ii. 475.
Rouille (Monsieur), ii. 1.
Rowley (Admiral), i. 168; ii. 200.
Rowley (Mr.), ii. 403.
Royston (Lord), ii. 204, 216.
Rushout (Sir John), i. 102, 127, 155; ii. 425.
RusseU (Sir WiUiam), i. 154.
Russia (Elizabeth, Czarina of), ii. 71, 75, 76,
112,209,303.
Russia (John, Czar of), ii. 71.
Rutland (Duke of), i. 34, 368.

Sacheverel (Dr.), i. 202.
Sackville (Lord George), i. 25, 26, 35, 93, 94,
244, 246, 247, 258, 319, 338, 365, 371,
374, 445, 451, 474, 486, 489; ii. 8, 22,
30, 31, 35, 84, 116, 131, 132, 141, 142,
156, 165, 198, 210, 214, 217, 218, 220,
222, 225, 236, 256, 262, 263, 267, 275,
292, 305, 306, 323, 361, 362, 363, 379,
400, 407, 413, 414, 421, 424, 425, 430,
431.
Sackville (Lord John), ii. 415.
Sackville (Lady Caroline), ii. 424.

Sandwich (John Montagu, Earl of), i. 6, 60,
68, 71, 85, 100, 106, 140, 143, 161, 162,
163, 164, 165, 166, 167, 169, 173, 218,
229, 240, 353,375, 377, 405, 484; ii. 110,
177, 180, 294.
Sandys (Samuel), i. 58, 102, 155 ; ii. 200, 226.
Sandys (Lord), i. 290, 302, 484; ii. 44, 107,
226.
Sardinia (King of), ii. 310.
Sassy (M.), ii. 23.
Saunders (Captain), i. 300.
Saunders (Admiral), ii. 57, 393, 394, 400.
Saxe (the Chevalier de), ii. 475.
Saxe (Marshal), i. 88, 404.
Saxe-Gotha (Duke of), i. 252.
Saxony (Augustus, King of), ii. 74, 80, 81, 409.
Scarborough (Earl of), i. 165.
Schutz (Mr.), i. 81.
Schomberg (Duke), i. 171 ; ii. 133.
Schwerin (Marshal), ii. 210.
Scott (Mr.), i. 69, 79, 248; ii. 93, 285.
Seeker (Thomas, Bishop of Oxford, afterwards
Archbishop of Canterbury), i. 56, 302, 312,
314; ii. 290, S52.
Selwyn (George), i. 402, 483 ; ii. 30.
Selwyn (John), i. 81, 100, 149, 196.
Serras, ii. 374.
Seymour (Lady Eliz.) i. 7-
Sheridan, i. 338.
Shaftsbury (Earl of), i. 43, 100.
Shannon (Viscount), i. 65 ; ii. 281.
Sharpe (Mr., Governor of Virginia), i. 347.
Shaw (Dr.), i. 161.
Shebbear (Dr.), ii. 328, 329, 420.
Shelburne (Lord), ii. 391.
Shelley (Mr.), ii. 106.
Shelvocke (Mr.), i. 175.
Simcoe (Captain John), ii. 121, 185.
Sloper (Mr.), i. 402.
Sloper (Colonel), ii. 365, 429.

49G

INDEX OF NAMES.

Smith (Vice- Admiral), ii. 121, 135, 155, 180,
188, 192.
Smith (Lieutenant-Colonel), ii. 123.
Smith (John), ii. 431.
Smithson (Sir Hugh), i. 7.
Smoiiet (Dr.), ii. 419.
Smyth (Baron), ii. 107, 300.
Sobieski (Princess), i. 250.
Soissons (Fitz-James, Bishop of), i. 292.
Soltikoff (General), ii. 370.
Somerset (Algernon, Duke of), i. 7, 70, 223.
Soubise (Prince de), ii. 308.
Southwell (Mr.), i. 127.
Spain (Ferdinand, King of), ii. 372.
Spain (Elizabeth, Queen Dowager of), ii. 373,
377.
Spain (Barbara, Queen of), ii. 373, 377.
Spain (Charles III., King of), ii. 373, 377.
Spence (Mr.), i. 83.
Spenser (Mr.), i. 80.
St. Simon (Marquis), i. 456.
Stair (Lord), i. 192, 241.
Stamford (Lord), ii. 184.
Stanley (Mr.), i. 433 ; ii. 131, 171.
Stanhope (Sir William), i. 65.
Stanhope (Earl), i. 100, 202; ii. 45, 244.
Stanhope (George), ii. 244.
Stephens (Mr.), ii. 478.
Stevens (Mr.), i. 56.
Stewart (Colonel), ii. 117.
Stewart (Sir Simeon), ii. 399.
St. John (Lady), i. 194.
Stone (Andrew), i. 42, 74, 100, 248, 253,
266, 267, 268, 269, 275, 320, 362, 374,
401, 403; ii. 93, 95.
Stone (Dr. George, Primate of Ireland) , i. 244,
309, 338, 339, 374, 382, 386.387; ii. 116,
210, 255, 256, 258, 278, 280, 281.
Stormont (Viscount), i. 130, 250; ii. 67-
Strange (Sir John), i. 8.

Strange (Lord), i. 93, 96, 97, 98, 108, 113,
121, 124, 133, 190, 213, 486,488; ii. 5,
11, 25, 140, 148, 152, 155, 159, 165.
Strange (Mr.), ii. 420.
Strawbridge (Mrs.), i. 507.
Sturt (Mrs.), i. 145.
Suffolk (Henrietta, Countess of), i. 45, 154,
194,241; ii. 479, 480.
Sulkowsky (M.), ii. 471.
Sunderland (Lord), i. 67, 142, 202.
Sundon (Lord), i. 18, 31, 506.
Sussex (Lord), i. 81.
Sutton (Lord Robert), i. 34 ; ii. 233.
Sydenham (Mr.), i. 43, 47, 107, 123, 182,
184, 190, 191, 213, 222, 225.
T.
Talbot (Judge), i. 483.
Talbot (William, Lord), i. 100, 104, 283; ii.
23, 181.
Talbot (Charles, Lord Chancellor), i. 104, 138,
142.
Talbot (Bishop of Durham), i. 56.
Tavistock (Lord), ii. 281, 405.
Tavora (Marchioness of), ii. 321.
Taylor (Dr.), i. 62.
Temple (Earl), i. 312, 313, 314, 315, 316,
359, 406, 418, 452,453, 507 ; ii. 23, 45, 89,
93, 96, 100, 102, 107, 108, 135, 139, 145,
153, 176, 177, 179, 180, 181, 186, 192,
197, 199, 208, 211, 212, 224, 294, 298,
300, 301, 302, 355, 391, 392, 404.
Temple (Lady Hesther), i. 418.
Tennison, ii. 225.
Tessin (Count), i. 199.
Thanet (Earl of), i. 100.
Thierri (M.), ii. 241, 264, 265.
Thomas (Bishop), i. 255 ; ii. 194.
Thomond (Lord), ii. 225.
Thompson (Dr.), i. 152.

INDEX OF NAMES.

497

Thompson (Sir William), L 456.
Thornbagh (Mr.), ii. 156.
Thornton (Mr.),i. 185, 190.
Thurot (M.), ii. 358, 388, 405, 421, 423,
428.
Torrington (Lord), ii. 58, 137.
Townshend (Charles, Viscount), i. 33, 45, 76,
81, 100, 105, 192, 202, 290, 482; ii. 64,
383.
Townshend (Lady Elizabeth), ii. 64.
Townshend (Lady Ethelreda), i. 33, 34, 151 ;
ii. 358.
Townshend (George, Lord), ii. 357.
Townshend (George), i. 9, 22, 33, 34, 48, 49,
50, 55, 82, 125, 382, 411, 419, 447, 469,
475 ; ii. 3, 5, 25, 68, 82, 133, 135, 154,
172, 198, 199, 201, 204, 206, 220, 226,
233, 305, 345, 383, 387, 391, 393, 394,
397, 437.
Townshend (Charles), i. 212, 296, 297, 301,
365, 370, 405, 418, 419, 432, 444, 467,
482, 486, 489; ii. 4, 5, 11, 12, 19, 20,
22, 23, 59, 64, 65, 93, 98, 108, 132,
133, 172, 199, 201, 204, 214, 226, 355,
391.
Townshend (Admiral), ii. 83, 192.
Townshend (Thomas), ii. 436.
Tracy (Mr.), i. 222.
Trefusis (Samuel, Esq.), i. 28.
Trentham (Lord), i. 11, 12, 13, 14, 19, 22,
32, 82, 166, 168, 228.
Trevor (Dr., Bishop of Durham), ii. 341.
Turner (Sir Edward), i. 422.
Tweddale (Marquis of), ii. 427.
Tweedale (Lord), i. 239, 241.
Tyrawley (Lord), i. 224; ii. 35, 57, 264, 291,
592,413.
Tyrconnel (Lord), i. 177.
Tyrrel (Sir John), i. 21, 22, 23.
VOL. II.

U.

Upton (Mr.), ii. 257. V.
Vandeput (Sir George), i. 12, 14, 27, 174,
257.
Vane (Harry), i. 101, 102, 267, 271, 275,
285.
Vaudreuil (M. de), ii. 387, 438.
Vernon (Admiral), i. 26, 86, 87, 190, 316,
417.
ViUiers (Mr.), ii. 46, 293.
Vintimille (Madame de), i. 291.
Voltaire (M.), ii. 139, 375, 411.
Vyner (Mr.), i. 7, 25, 55, 108, 127, 184,
190, 225,457; ii. 25, 356.
W.
Waldegrave (James, Earl of), i. 79, 254, 286,
362, 363,400; ii. 50, 62, 93, 94, 211,220,
223,227,305,367, 458.
Waldegrave (Colonel), i. 164.
Waldegrave (General), ii. 262, 344, 361, 367,
381.
Waldegrave (Lady Eliz.), i. 211 ; ii. 255, 257.
Wager (Sir Charles), i. 18, 31.
Waldo (General), ii. 19.
Wales (H. R. H. Frederick, Prince of), i. 10,
33, 40, 41, 59, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67,
70, 75, 84, 104, 175, 195, 197; ii. 48.
Wales (H. R. H. the Princess Dowager of),
i. 60, 62, 64, 66, 67, 69, 72, 74, 76, 83, 90,
98, 137, 252, 330, 396, 398 ; ii. 47, 93, 94,
109, 195, 203, 231, 248, 251, 302, 315,
431.
Wall (General), i. 177, 345, 367.
Walmoden (Baron of), i. 154.
Walpole (Sir Robert), i. 6, 7, 9, 11, 15, 20,
3 S

498

INDEX OF NAMES.

27, 28, 30,' 31, 42, 45, 51, 58, 61, 64,
75, 78, 79, 80, 81, 91, 102, 103, 112, 124,
133, 138, 139, 142, 145, 147, 148, 155, 156,
158, 165, 170, 178, 192, 193, 195, 196,
199, 200, 212, 241, 348, 487, 505,512; ii.
62, 106, 272, 290, 341, 351, 479.
Walpole (Horace, senior), i. 7, 10, 38, 61,
121, 122, 123, 170, 192, 205, 211, 222,
297, 316, 384, 397, 407, 411, 455, 475;
ii. 23, 46, 334.
Walpole (Horace, junior), i. 7, 170, 261, 334,
358; ii. 12, 90, 102, 153, 222.
Walpole (Mary), i. 150, 165.
Walsingham (Melusina Schulemburgh, Coun
tess of), i. 46.
Walsingham (Lady), ii. 459.
Walter (Mr.), ii. 474.
Warburton (Dr. Bishop of Gloucester), ii. 401 .
Ward (Lord), i. 100, 240.
Warren (Sir Peter), i. 212, 257.
Warton (Dr. Joseph), i. 505.
AVashington (Major), i. 346.
Watson (Admiral), ii. 245, 276.
Wedel (General), ii. 369.
Weir (Mr. Hope),i. 52.
Wells (Paul), i. 153.
Wentworth (General), i. 86.
Wentworth (Lord), i. 240.
Werner (General), ii. 448.
Wesley, ii. 283.
West (Admiral), ii. 68, 108, 126, 127, 135.
West (Mr.), ii. 106.
Westmoreland (Earl of), i. 8, 449; ii. 10,
274,341.
Whitehead (Paul), i. 174 ; ii. 267.
Whitfield, ii. 282, 283, 435.
Wilbraham (Mr.), i. 298.
Willes (Lord Chief Justice), i. 61, 76, 147,
150, 153; ii. 107,220,298.

Williams (Sir Charles Hanbury), i. 18, 58, 81,
146, 169, 177, 178,199,334,506,509; ii.
293, 463—478.
Williams (Sir William), ii. 393, 396.
Willoughby (Lord), i. 181 ; ii. 117.
Wilmington (Spencer Compton, Earl of), i. 64,
" 102, 122, 141, 155.
Wilmot (Dr.), i. 62.
Wilmot (Judge), ii. 107, 300.
Winchelsea (Daniel Finch, Earl of), i. 41, 151,
166, 223, 228 ; ii. 31, 200, 215, 217, 219,
225, 290.
Windham (Sir William), i. 70, 193; ii. 290.
Winnington (Thomas), i. 28, 80, 150, 151,
160, 178,506; ii. 254.
Winton (Lord), i. 252.
Wintzenrode (General), ii. 429.
Wolfe (General), ii. 239, 244, 245, 261, 277,
312, 345, 383,384, 386, 393, 442.
Wolfenbuttle (Duke of), ii. 252, 459.
Wyndham (Henry Penruddocke), i. 505, 508.
Wynne (Sir John), i. 402.

Xavier (Prince of Saxony, ii. 468.)

Yarmouth (Amelia Sophia, Countess of), i. 35,
67, 72, 154, 330, 384 ; ii. 88, 91, 94, 208,
246, 250, 456, 457, 458.
Yonge (Sir William), i. 19, 25, 26, 27, 29,
43, 47, 91, 97, 100, 123, 125, 133, 212,
222, 225, 297, 316, 320, 484, 505.
York (Cardinal of), i. 248 ; ii. 310.
Yorke (Philip, Earl of Hardwicke, Lord Chan
cellor), i. 99, 103, 104, 105, 136, 138,
233, 238, 271, 277, 280, 299, 302, 303,
305, 314, 316, 330, 331, 333, 337, 339,

INDEX OF NAMES. 499
354, 362, 374, 399, 400, 406, 418, 453, Ysenberg (Prince of), ii. 308.
483.
Yorke (Philip), i. 99. Z-
Yorke (Charles), i. 108, 113, 127, 299; ii. Zelle (George William, Duke of), i. 79; ii.
299, 355. 459, 479.
Yorke (Colonel), ii. 1, 293. ZeUe (Eleonora D'Esmurs, Duchess of), i. 79;
Yorke (General), ii. 360, 398, 399. ii. 479.
Young (Rev. Dr.), i. 506. Zelle (Sophia Dorothea, Princess of), i. 79.

3 S 2

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Act of Grace, curious reasoning on, i. 94.
Addresses from counties, numerous, on the loss
of Minorca, ii. 69.
ADMIRALTY. First appointment of the
Earl of Sandwich, i. 1 ; diminished number
of seamen voted, 10, 15 ; Lord Anson pro
poses a severe naval code, but fails, 33 ;
refusal to send ships to Nova Scotia, avoid
ing offence to France, 53 ; resignation of
Lord Sandwich, and the re-appointment of
Lord Anson, 166; proposition of hard la
bour in the dockyards to commute trans
portation, 223; war with France, 366;
careful selection of officers by Lord Anson,
393; debates on prize bill, 431; defended
in the Commons by George Granville, ii.
40 ; vide Byng, 1 1 6, et seq. ; circumstances
connected with Byng's sentence, 139; affair
of the navy bill, 289.
Albemarle, Lord, his diplomatic character, i.
71; anecdotes of, 72; death and political
character, 366.
Amelia, Princess, her conduct towards Fre
derick Prince of Wales, i. 63 ; political cha
racter and anecdotes, 159; her law-suit
as ranger of Richmond Park, i. 348 ; most
extraordinary anecdote respecting Byng's
execution, ii. 191.

America, North, state of, and politics respect
ing, previous to the war of 1756, i. 341;
commencement of the war, and first services
of General (then major) Washington, 347,
et seq. ; first naval operations of the war,
385 ; military operations commence in Nova
Scotia, 390; Braddock's unfortunate ex
pedition, 390, et seq.; Sir William John
son's victory in Canada, 404; grant of
money to colonies and to individuals, ii. 4;
review of military affairs in the House of
Commons, 7; debates on the raising of
Swiss regiments for service there, ib. 18, 19,
et seq.; affairs in 1757, 230; campaign of
1758, 277, 312; attack on Quebec, and in
vasion of Canada, 343, et seq.; the French
driven thence, 440, 442.
Amherst, General, biographical notice of, ii.
440, 441, notes; takes command in America,
ii. 277; takes Ticonderoga and Crown
Point, 378; proceeds towards Quebec to
assist Wolfe, 379; takes Montreal, 440,
442.
Andrews, Dr., parliamentary anecdote of, in
Ireland, i. 319.
ANECDOTES of Lord Sandwich, i. 2; of
Lord Harrington, 3 ; of French players, 1 1 ;
of Lord Nugent, 17; of Crowle, the well-

502

INDEX OF MATTERS.

known punster, 18; of Sir William Yonge,
19; of Sir Robert Walpole, 20; of Speaker
Onslow and Lord Coke, 23 ; of Mr. Murray,
before the House on the Westminster peti
tion, 24; of Sir John Cotton, 28; of Lord
Gower and Sir John Cotton, 29 ; of Lord
Egmont, 30; of Colonel Lyttelton and
family, 33; of Lady Townshend, ibid; of
Colonel Conway, 35 ; of Sir H. Erskine,
ibid; of Lord Granville in the council, 37;
of Lord Bute, 40; of Lord Mansfield, 42;
of Lord Chesterfield, 44; of Queen Caro
line and Lady Suffolk, 45 ; of Sarah, Duchess
of Marlborough, 46 ; of Commissioner Os
wald, 51 ; of Mr. Fox's candour in parlia
ment, 53; of George II. and his ministers,
54; of Archbishop Seeker, 56 ; of Sir God
frey Kneller, 61 ; of Frederick Prince of
Wales, 62, 64; of Lord Doneraile, 65 ;
of Lady Archibald Hamilton, ibid ; of Lady
Middlesex, ibid; of Sir WiUiam Stanhope,
65 ; of the Princess of Wales, 66 ; of Dod
dington, 66, 75 ; of George II., 67 ; of the
Duke of Cumberland, 68 ; of Dr. Ayscough,
69 ; of Lord Albemarle, 72 ; of Archbishop
Blackburne, 74 ; of Lord Chief Justice WiUes,
75; of Sir George Lee, ibid ; of Pitt, 79 ; of
Fox, 80; of old John Selwyn, 81 ; of Lord
Berkeley and the Duke of Dorset, 84 ; of Ad
miral Vernon, 86 ; military one of the French
and Duke of Cumberland, 89 ; of the Duke
and Prince George, 91 ; of Pulteney, Earl of
Bath, 102; of Sir Francis Dashwood, 106;
political, of the Regency Bill, 111, et seq.;
of George II., and the Regency Bill, 137; of
the first Lord Hardwicke, 138 ; of the Duke
of Newcastle, 141; of Pelham, 145; of
Lord Granville, 146; of the dismissed
cabinet in 1745, 151; amatory and avarici
ous one of George II., 153; of Lady Suffolk,

153; of Lady Yarmouth, ibid ; ofCheselden,
the surgeon, ibid ; of Lord Chesterfield, 154;
of Queen Caroline, 156, 159; of the Duke
of Grafton, 157; of Mr. Legge, 165 ; of the
Duke of Devonshire, 169 ; of Paul Whitehead,
174; of the Princess of Orange, 179, 180; of
the king and Mr. Fox, 184; of Lord Stair
and Queen Caroline, 192; of Pope and Lord
Bolinbroke, 1 95 ; political, of the Duchess
of Bedford, 211 ; parliamentary, of Fox and
Pelham, 223; of Archibald, Duke of Argyle,
240; of the Pretender and his court, and
family, 243 ; of the education of the young
princes, 248, 253 ; of General Ligonier and
the king, 255; of Lewis XV. and Miss
Murphy, 291; of the Marriage Bill, 295;
of Charles Townshend, 296; parliamentary
one, 298 ; punning one of Jones, the Irisn
architect, 316 ; of Newcastle's geographical
ignorance, 344 ; of General Washington and
George II., 347 ; of Pitt and Murray, 358 ;
of the quarrel between Pitt and Lyttelton,
360 ; of Sir Thomas Robinson, 403 ; of old
Horace Walpole and the speaker, ii. 23 ; of
Madame Pompadour, 23 ; of Doddington,
31 ; of Lord Bute and Leicester-house, 48,
et seq. ; of Queen Caroline, Princess Amelia,
and Richmond Park, 61 ; of Charles Towns
hend respecting the squabbles of party, 64 ;
of caricatures and Ubels during Byng's affair,
68 ; of Counts Bruhl and Kaunitz, 73 ; of
Fox's rupture with Newcastle, 86, et seq. ;
of Damien's tortures for stabbing the King
of France, 115; of Admiral Byng on his trial
and condemnation, 119, et seq.; most ex-
traordiuary one, 191; of Archbishop Gilbert,
1 94 ; of Dr. King, ibid ; of Lord Temple and
the king, 197; of Harry Conway, 244; of
the Princess Caroline, 268 ; of the king and
Archbishop Seeker, 352 ; of Pitt and Lord

INDEX OF MATTERS.

503

Shelburne, 391 ; of Macklyn, Lord Bute, and
Love a la Mode, 412 ; of Dr. Smoiiet, 419.
Anne, Princess, Dowager of, Orange, death,
and politics, ii. 343.
Anson, Lord, proposes several articles of war,
but fails, i. 33 ; appointed to the admiralty
in room of Lord Sandwich, 1 66 ; character,
169 ; careful selection of officers, and pledge
to the king on that subject, 394 ; his feelings
in regard to Byng's execution, ii. 144; ob
servations on him in regard to Byng's sen
tence and execution, 167; restored to the
admiralty under Pitt and Newcastle, in
1757, 225 ; his restoration to the admiralty
highly unpleasing to the city, 227.
Anspach, Margrave of, opposes English politics
in Germany, i. 252.
Ansiruiher, General, parliamentary charges
against, i. 36, 48, 55 ; further proceedings
on his case, and motion of Lord Strange,
91.
Archer, Lord, seconds address in the House
of Lords in 1751, i. 7.
Argyle, John, 2d Duke of, his political connec
tion with Sir Robert Walpole, i. 143.
 Archibald, 3d Duke of, inefficient and
disappointing speech on the Scottish Colo
nization Bill, i. 238 ; character, 240.
ARMY {British). Votes in 1751, i. 21 ; debate
on the staff, 26 ; military reformation and im
provement by the Duke of Cumberland, 32 ;
new Mutiny Bill, ibid ; half-pay officers first
subjected to military law, ibid.; estimates
proposed by Mr. Fox, 185; proposed reduc
tion, founded on the colonization of Scottish
forfeited estates, 227; estimates in 1754,
debate on, 355 ; inefficient state of in Eng
land, at the commencement of the war, 382 ;
estimates on the opening of the war, 437 ;
affairs of the Militia Bill, of new raised

troops, of foreign troops employed, ii. 6—47 ;
camps formed, and disturbances with the fo-
, reign troops, 84 ; remarkable court of in
quiry connected with General Fowke and
Byng's affair, 117; war in Germany, 197,
327; extraordinary commissions granted,
and debated on in parliament, 396.
Army (Saxon), account of, ii. 475.
Articles of War, Naval, debates on the 1 2th,
in the House of Commons, in Byng's case,
ii. 146, et seq.
Ascendency, Protestant, in Ireland, in 1752,
and before, i. 243, et seq.
Ashton, Rev. Mr., a quaint preacher, anecdotes
of, ii. 284.
Atcheson, Sir Archibald, political insignificance
in the Irish House of Commons, ii. 259.
Austrians, defeat of, in the campaign of 1 760,
ii. 446, 447, 449.
Avarice, whimsical anecdote of, in George II.,
i. 153.
Ayscough, Dr., anecdotes of his tutorship of
Prince George, i. 69.

B.
Bacon, Lord, observations on, i. 325.
Baker, Alderman, a contractor, affair of, ii.
133.
Barnard, Sir John, political and civic charac
ter, i. 39 ; proposes a sinking fund, 1 90,
223 ; moves the repeal of the Bribery Oath,
320.
Barri, Madame du, anecdotes and intrigues,
ii. 406.
Barrington, Lord, moves a diminished number
of seamen, i. 10; proposes an increased
vote of seamen, 183 ; his political character,
and parallel with EUis, 484 ; justifies the
application of the 12th article of war to

504

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Byng's case, in the House of Commons, ii.
147.
Bath, Lord, his political apostasy vindicated
by Lord Percival, i. 31 ; parliamentary con
duct on the committal of the Regency Bill,
1 00, et seq. ; joins the Bedford Opposition
on the Scottish Colonization Bill, 237 ;
originates the Marriage Bill in the House of
Lords, and why, 293; publishes his cele
brated letter to two great men, ii. 41 1 .
Bathurst, Henry, character of, i. 82.
Bavaria, Treaty with, for securing the peace
of Germany, i. 6 ; subsidy to, 41.
Beckford, Alderman, opposes the Regency Bill,
i. 134; extraordinary declaration, caused
by his jealousy of the army, 185; attends
at the first meeting of the Tories, at the
Horn Tavern, as a political party, 377 ; ab
surd boasting, 445 ; opposite opinions of the
Commons, and of Pitt, uponhis merits, ii. 350.
BEDFORD, Duke of, disagreement with the
Duke of Newcastle, i. 1 ; political and sport
ing connection with Lord Sandwich, 2 ; po
litical duplicity on the Naturalization Bill,
48 ; increase of popularity, 53 ; fails of sup
port in the Nova Scotia affair, 59; inter
feres with the establishment of the young-
princes, on the death of the Prince of Wales,
69 ; conduct on the Regency question, on
demise of the Prince of Wales, 85 ; pro
posed opposition to the Bill prevented by
the gout, 105; political neglect of his co
adjutors in the Cabinet, 1 40 ; party intrigues
of the Pelhams after the Prince's demise,
161; his political character, 162; change
of ministry and resignation of office, 1 66 ;
spirited and judicious conduct towards the
Duke of Newcastle, 167; conduct in op
position to Walpole, 203'; his intended
quiescent politics on the meeting of Parlia

ment after the recess, 211 ; but is led into
Opposition on the Saxon Treaty, 212 ;
speaks against it in the Lords, 213 ; poli
tical connection formed with the Duke of
Cumberland, 229 ; opposes the Bill for co
lonization of the Scottish forfeited estates,
230; interferes in the charges against the
Prince's tutors, 271, et seq. 287; opposition
to the Marriage Bill, 301 ; projects of re
union with the Court party, 359 ; receives
proposals from the Lyttelton party on the
part of Ministers, but rejects them, and
sends for Pitt, 360 ; declining power of the
Duke of Newcastle, and overtures from Fox ,
404 ; coalesces, approves of the German
Treaties, but refuses office, 405 ; defends
himself in the Lords, 406 ; objects to the
proposed new road, out of jealousy to the
Duke of Grafton, but afterwards sees his
error, ii. 32 ; courageous conduct on the
change of ministry, and Pitt's accession to
power, 1 00 ; but accepts the Lieutenancy
of Ireland, 105 ; applies to the King in
favour of Admiral Byng, but without suc
cess, 152; objects to the coalition of Pitt
and Fox, 227; attacked by the rioters on
the Militia Bill, 233 ; difficulties in his Irish
government, 253 — 260; new connection
formed with the Duke of Newcastle, 353 ;
policy during the tumults in Dublin, in op
position to a suspected union, 404 ; conduct
towards Lord G. Sackville, 415.
Bedford, Duchess of, her political ascend
ency over the Duke, i. 162 ; her ingenious
ruse to draw the Duke again into politics,
211 ; her vice-regal state in Ireland during
the Duke's government, ii. 254.
Berkeley, Earl of, political anecdote, i. 84.
Berlin captured by the Austrians and Russians,
ii. 448.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

$05

Bernis, Cardinal de, political disgrace, ii. 332.
Besborough, Lord, his share in Irish politics,
i. 382.
Bishops, Bench of, their inactivity on the
marriage clause of the Regency Bill, i. 128;
their characters, 129.
Blackburne, Archbishop, curious anecdote of,
i. 74.
Blackiston, a spurious patriot and Jacobite, and
why, i. 31.
Blakeney, General, defence of Minorca, ii. 53,
et seq. 65 ; gets a red riband, 1 08.
Board of Trade, attempt of Lord Halifax to
subject the West Indian Colonies to that
Board, i. 173.
Bolinbroke, Lord, tortuous politics of, at the
Prince of Wales's court, i. 63; his death,
character, and anecdotes of him, 191 ; ingrati
tude towards Sir Robert Walpole, 192]; poli
tical ingenuity and infamy, 1 93 ; courtly
anecdote, 194; contrasted with Walpole,
195.
Boscawen, Admiral, character andpolitical rise,
i. 1 68 ; extraordinary conduct during Byng's
trial, ii. 118; defeats the French fleet under
De la Clue, off Lagos, 378.
Boscawen family, their contest with the Sand
wich interests in Cornwall first led to the
formation of a Tory party for general pur
poses, i. 377-
Boyle, Mr. (Speaker of the Irish House of
Commons), his character and politics, i.
243. et seq.
Braddock, General, his unfortunate expedition,
i. 390.
Bribery Oath, motion for its repeal, i. 320.
Brick Tax proposed, but dropped, ii. 24.
Bristol, extraordinary surrender of election
liberties to the King, i. 309.
Broglio, Marshal, affair of Minden, ii. 369.
VOL. II.

Brown, Marshal, the Austrian General, de
feated by the King of Prussia, ii. 210.
Bruhl, Count, his politics and magnificence,
ii. 72 ; his political character, 470 — 473.
Brunswick, Duchess of, anecdote of her birth,
i. 64.
Burdett, Sir Robert, a Tory member ; extreme
kindness of the Whigs to, on a breach of
privilege, i. 82.
Burgundy, Duke of; born, an important event
to France, i. 176.
Bute, Lord, his political debut, i. 40 ; anecdotes
of his favouritism at Leicester-house, ii. 48,
et seq. ; vide Wales.
Butler, Bishop, political and ecclesiastical cha
racter, i. 129.
Byng, Admiral, sent to relieve Minorca, ii.
35, 51, 56; public clamour, 57, 67, 68;
trial of, 82, et seq. 108, 116 ; unfair political
trick, 117; is sentenced, 119; representa
tion of the court, 123; observations, 128,
135 ; extraordinary circumstances connected
with the sentence of execution, 144, et seq.;
debates in flie Commons, 146, et seq.; mercy
refused by the king, 152 ; solicitations of the
court martial refused, 153, 155, 157; case
before parliament, 158, 188; dies, ibid.
C.
Calcraft, Mr., his political connection with
Lord Holland, i. 401.
Calcutta, affair of the Black Hole at, ii. 244.
Camden, Lord, vide Pratt.
Cameron, Dr. Archibald, romantic story of his
capture as a rebel, i. 290; executed, 307.
Campbell, A. H., parliamentary conduct, and
anecdotes, i. 16.
Campbell, Mr. Hume, is brought forward again
by the Duke of Newcastle in support of the
German treaties, i. 455 ; quarrel with Pitt,
3t

506

INDEX OF MATTERS.

459; pensioned, 485; anecdote of his po
litical modesty on a change of ministers, ii.
218.
Canada, conquest of, ii. 343.
Candour, political and paternal, of Horace Wal
pole, and why, i. 206, 207, et seq.
Cape Breton taken, ii. 312.
Caprice, public, various instances of, i. 311.
Cardigan, Lord, appointed governor of Wind
sor Castle, i. 223.
Cards and Dice taxed, ii. 24.
Caricatures on cards invented by George
Townshend, on Byng's affair, ii. 68.
Caroline, Queen, anecdote of, and Lord Ches
terfield, i. 45 ; her influence over the King,
and politic juggling with Sir Robert Wal
pole, 56.
Caroline, Princess, death, and anecdotes, ii. 268.
Carpenter, Lord, disgraceful conduct of, on the
Westminster petition, i. 22.
Carrickfergus taken by Thurot's squadron, ii.
421.
Carter, Mr. (Master of the Rolls in Ireland),
his character and factious politics, i. 246,
et seq.
Chairmen and footmen of the metropolis. Col.
Hale offers to lead them against the best
troops of France, ii. 397.
Charles III., King of Spain, observations on,
and character, ii. 377.
Chatham, Lord, vide Pitt.
Cherbourg, capture of, ii. 311.
Cheselden, the surgeon, anecdote of, i. 154.
Chesterfield, Lord, brings in a biU for the re
formation of the calendar, i. 44; anecdotes,
and political intrigues, 45, et seq.; whim
sical aud courtly anecdote of, 155 ; engages
to negociate between Pitt and the Duke of
Newcastle, at the princess dowager's insti
gation, ii. 225.

Cholmondeley, Earl of, character and anec
dotes, i. 150.
Circular letters to members of parliament,
censured in the House, i. 419.
Clandestine marriages, inactivity of the bench
of Bishops on a proposed bill to restrain,
i. 128.
Clarke, Mr., a military adventurer, plans the
siege of Rochefort, ii. 284.
Cleland, Mr., secretary to the Admiralty, his
shameful conduct on Byng's affair, ii. 126.
Clive, Lord, early military services in India,
ii. 246, 276.
Closter Seven, convention of, ii. 246.
Cobham, Lord, speech and party interest on
the Regency Bill, i. 117; political character,
118.
Cobham party described, i. 118.
Coke, Lord, parliamentary conduct on the
Westminster petition, i. 14; clears the gal
lery, and quarrels with Speaker Onslow, 23 ;
his political character, 181 ; moves the re
committal of Murray for contempt to the
House, ibid; hated by the Scotch, and
why, 227 ; opposes the bill for purchasing
the forfeited estates, ibid.
Colchester petition, proceedings on, alarm the
Newcastle party in the House, i. 354.
Colley Gibber, death and character, ii. 267.
Cologne, Elector of, joins France in opposition
to British interests, i. 71.
Colonies totally neglected by the Duke of New
castle, when Secretary of State, i. 343.
Comines, character of, as an historian, i. 325.
COMMONS, House of, session of 1751, i.
6, et seq. ; affair of the Westminster petition
against Lord Trentham, 12, et seq.; contu
macy of Mr. Murray, 24 ; libels against the
House, 26 ; inefficient opposition to the
three shilling land-tax, 27 j opposition to

INDEX OF MATTERS.

507

the Mutiny Bill, 32 ; attack on General An-
struther, 36 ; committee for the suppression
of vice and reform of the police, 38 ; pro
posed subsidy to Bavaria, 41 ; debate on
Murray's close confinement, 43; debates on
the Naturalization Bill, 47; debate on An-
struther's business, 48 ; the House adjourns
to see Othello at Drury-lane, 53 ; proceed
ings on the Gin Bill, 58; relaxation in pro
ceedings against Murray, 72; Naturaliza
tion BiU thrown out, 79 ; proceedings on a
breach of privilege, 82 ; further proceedings
on Anstruther's case, 92 ; Habeas Corpus
granted by the King's Bench for Murray,
98 ; he is remanded, and the committal of
the House acknowledged to be valid, 99 ;
question of privilege, as to members on the
prince's establishment, negatived, 100; the
Regency Bill returned from the Lords, and
proceedings thereon, 106, 121 ; Regency
Bill passes the House, 134; close of the
session, release and petty triumph of Mur
ray, 174; a new session, 181; Murray re
manded to Newgate by the House, ibid;
debate on the same, 182; reward voted for
the apprehension of Murray, who had ab
sconded, 184; army estimates proposed by
Mr. Fox, 185 ; land-tax proposed by Pel
ham, accompanied by an extraordinary sys
tem of national policy, 189; adjournment,
and cessation of opposition, 198; Walpole's
rise and faU by that House, and why, 202 ;
House meets in 1752, 211; takes up the
affair of the Saxon treaty, 212; motion
against subsidiary treaties in time of peace,
by Lord Harley, 222 ; debate thereon, ibid ;
state of parties in the House, 229; bill for
colonizing the Scottish forfeited estates,
224, et seq. ; prorogation and extraordi
nary speech of the speaker to the king,

against the management of Scotland, 240;
session of 1753 opens, 257; engaged in
affairs of Nova Scotia and the West Indies,
269 ; affair of the Marriage Bill, 294, et
seq.; affair of the Jew Naturalization Bill,
310, 316; proposed repeal of the Planta
tion Act, 316; motion for repeal of the
Bribery Oath, 320 ; people look towards it
on the ministerial difficulties arising from
Pelham's demise, 329; debates on the open
ing war of 1756, 350; borough influence
and appearances of opposition, 352 ; alarm
of the ministerial majority at Pitt's spirited
attack on election bribery, 354 ; debate on
the army estimates, 355 ; debate on the
Mutiny BiU, 364; debate respecting ad
journment on anniversary of King Charles's
martyrdom, 369 ; debate on the Scottish
Sheriff's Depute Bill, 370; a division of the
House falsified by Mr. Potter, 376 ; first
appearance of the modern application of the
distinctions of Whig and Tory, ibid, et seq. ;
tempestuous opposition of Pitt to the Fox
and Bedford coalition, the German treaties,
&c, 407; sit till five in the morning, the
longest debate then on record, ibid, 45 6 ;
complaint respecting circular letters, 419;
debates on the vote for seamen, 422 ; de
bates on a Prize Bill, 43 1 ; charges of bri
bery by France, 434 ; debates on the army
estimates, 437 ; committee moved on the
militia question, 447 ; taking of notes by
strangers noticed by Hume Campbell, 456 ;
close of a long debate on the German
treaties, 476; repeal of all the old militia
acts to prepare for a new bill, ii. 3 ; de
bates on Prevot's regiment, 7 ; Ways and
Means brought forward by Sir George Lyt
telton, 24; debates on employing foreign
troops, 30, et seq.; Militia Bill voted with-
3T 2

508

INDEX OF MATTERS.

out a division, 36 ; vote of credit of one
million opposed, ibid; debates on the Prus
sian treaty, 41 ; Pitt's first Parliament, 109 ;
ordnance estimates and Militia Bill, 134.
el seq.; Byng's sentence announced to the
House by a messenger from the Admiralty,
139, et seq. ; Pitt's first appearance in the
House as minister, and to demand money
for Hanover, 140 ; further debates on Byng's
sentence, 145, et seq.; royal message, bill
for absolving the court-martial from their
oaths of secrecy; passes, but lost in the
Lords, 157 — 188; inquiry into the loss of
Minorca, 201, et seq.; debates upon the
vote of a million, 212; debates upon the
Habeas Corpus, 287, 302 ; estimates of the
year 1759, 349; debates respecting officers
commissioned vacating seats, 396 ; debates
on army estimates, 397; affair of Sackville's
arrest and court martial, as matter of privi
lege, 424.
Compton, Sir Spencer, vide Wilmington.
Conflans, Monsieur, defeated by Sir Edward
Hawke, ii. 395.
Constitution of Britain, political view of, ii. 294.
Contades, Marshal, loses the battle of Minden,
ii. 369.
Contest, a weekly political satire on Pitt's
coming into administration, ii. 109.
Conway, Colonel H. S., his political debut,
i. 35 ; his parliamentary quickness and cha
racter compared with Charles Towshend,
297 ; is appointed secretary in Ireland solely
from his private merits, 368 ; military
promptitude in the affair of the Rochefort
expedition, ii. 243 ; as general, employed in
the expedition to Rochefort, 236.
Cooke, Mr., presents a Westminster petition
against Lord Trentham, i. 11 ; transactions
thereon, 12, et seq.

Cornwall, county of, anecdotes of tin parlia
ments, i. 123 ; election petitions and county
politics, 353; first led to a Tory party in
general politics, 376.
Corruption, political, by Sir Robert Walpole,
and by Mr. Pelham, its extent and differ
ence, i. 204.
Cotton, Sir J., opposes the three shilling land-
tax, but fails, i. 27 ; the last active Jacobite,
dies, i. 223.
County Addresses, vide Addresses.
Court of Inquiry, a remarkable one, connected
with Byng's affair, ii. 117.
Court Martial on Admiral Byng, vide Ad
miralty — Navy — Byng — desire to be ab
solved from their oaths of secrecy, ii. 153;
vide Keppel — bill in parliament, 157, 188.
Cowper, Dr., Dean of Durham, affair of the
charges against the prince's tutors, i. 278.
Cox, Sir Richard, his character, and factious
politics in Ireland, i. 246, et seq.
Cresset, Mr., engaged in the education of Prince
George, i. 248; dissensions in that establish
ment, 253, et seq.
Crevelt, victory of, gained by Prince Fer
dinand, ii. 307.
Critical Review, a libel in, punished at law, ii.
419.
Crowle, Mr., affair of the Westminster petition
against Lord Trentham, i. 16; parliamentary
witticism, 18; puns, ibid.
C UMBERLAND, H. R. H. William Duke of,
political connexion with Lord Sandwich, i. 1 ;
affairs in Flanders, 2 ; political and treason
able attacks on, 8; restoration of miUtary
discipline, 32; jealousy of the Prince of
Wales, 62 ; behaviour on his demise, 68 ;
popular suspicions, 85 ; affair of the regency,
and rupture with the Duke of Newcastle,
85; his character, 86; quarrels with the

INDEX OF MATTERS.

509

Pelhams on the regency business, 90; the
king's feelings towards him expressed in
conversation with Fox, 137; accident in
hunting, 184; judicious conduct in regard
to parties, 209; gives his private encourage
ment to the opposition to the Saxon treaty,
219 ; takes offence at the bill for colonizing
the forfeited estates, 228 ; forms connection
with the Duke of Bedford, 229 ; his advice
to Fox on the ministerial arrangements after
Pelham's death, 334; injudicious conduct of
the ministry towards him in the war in
America, 347 ; his sentiments on a projected
change of ministry in 1754, 363; placed at
the head of the regency on the king's visit
to Hanover, 384; error in ordering enlist
ment in Germany without the concurrence
of ministers, ii. 23 ; unfair conduct towards
regiments raised for home service, 46 ; in
stance of moderation in command, 193 ; be
comes a favourite with the king, 1 95 ; joins
in the intrigues against Pitt, 196; is ap
pointed to command the army in Germany,
197, 201 ; checks the confederacy against the
King of Prussia, 228 ; but is forced to retire
from Hanover, and defeated, though not dis
graced, at Hastenbecke, 229; convention
of Closter Seven, 246 ; returns to England,
249; offers to resign, 250; repartee when
his return to command is talked of, 396.
Cummings, John, an active Jacobite, yet pa
tronized, i. 232.
Cunnersdorf, battle of, and Prussians defeated,
ii. 370.
Cunningham^ Captain, patriotic and spirited
conduct of, at Minorca, ii. 66.
Custrin, battle of, Russians defeated by the
King of Prussia, ii. 316.
D.
Dacre, Lord, opposes the bill for Swiss troops,
on constitutional grounds, ii. 23.

Damien, attempts to murder the King of France,
but fails, and suffers horrid tortures, ii. 115.
Dashwood, Sir Francis, disclaims jacobitism
in parliament, i. 8; opposes the Regency
Bill on the first reading, 106; anecdotes of,
ibid; his exertions in the House of Com
mons in Byng's case, ii. 140, 145; et seq.
154.
Daun, Marshal, outmanoeuvred by the King of
Prussia, ii. 446; compelled to raise the
siege of Schweidnitz, 447; defeated at
Torgau, 449.
Dauphin of France, father of Louis XVI.,
anecdotes and character of, ii. 113, 406.
Debt, national, ii. 327.
Delaval, Mr., makes a very absurd speech on
the Regency Bill, i. 107-
Denbigh, Lord, attacks Lord Marchmont in
the House, upon his jacobitical principles,
ii. 290.
Denmark, King of, takes offence at the pre-
- amble of an English mutiny bill, i. 221.
Denmark, Queen of, (daughter of George II.)
her death and character, i. 197; extra
ordinary policy of her husband, ibid.
Dennis, Captain, one of Byng's court-martial,
makes appUcation to the throne for mercy,
ii. 145.
Devonshire, Fourth Duke of, character and
anecdotes of, i. 169 ; consulted on choice of a
premier on the death of Pelham, 328; death,
and conscientious qualification of his younger
sons for the House of Commons, i. 437.
Devonshire, Fifth Duke of, (Lord Hartington)
receives the king's commands to form a new
ministry, ii. 97; accepts the treasury, 103.
Dice and Cards taxed, ii. 24.
Dickinson, Lord Mayor, his cold and unfeeUng
conduct on proposed petition in favour of
Byng, ii. 189.
Digby, Captain (Admiral), gallantly of, in
Hawke's action, ii. 395.

510

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Diggs, the actor, in Dublin, produces a riot
by political allusions, i. 338.
Divisions of the Commons, falsified by Potter,
i. 376; extraordinary arrangement on the
question of the German treaties, 417.
Doddington, G. B., Lord Melcombe, biographi
cal notice of, i. 505 — 508; gaming anecdote,
66 ; further anecdotes, 75 ; impugns the
justice of Byng's sentence, in the House of
Commons, ii. 148; supports the question of
mercy towards Byng, in the House, ii. 149.
Doner aile, Lord, anecdote of, i. 65.
DORSET, Charles, Duke of, appointed vice
roy of Ireland, i. 5; anecdotes of, 83; his
character and political government of Ire
land, i. 244, et seq.; his extreme modera
tion during the factious disputes in Ireland,
i. 320; transactions respecting his removal
from the viceroyship of Ireland, i. 374; ap
pointed master of the horse, 382; attacked
by the rioters on the Militia Bill, ii. 233.
Douglas, Dr., the opponent of Lander, assists
the Earl of Bath in a pofitical letter, ii. 41 1 .
Drury Lane Theatre, representation of Othello
at, produces an adjournment of the House of
Commons, i. 53.
Dublin, tumults at, in consequence of a pro
jected Irish union, in 1759, ii. 402.
Dukedoms refused by the Earls of Northampton
and Aylsbury, and why, ii, 106.
Duncannon, Lord, his share in Irish politics,
i. 383.
Dunkirk man-of-war, extraordinary chance in
Hawke's action, ii. 395.
Duplin, Lord, his share in the Newcastle ad
ministration, i. 340. E.
East Indies, affairs in 1 757, ii. 245 ; 1758, 276,
383.
Edgcumbe family, their opposition to the

Sandwich interests in Cornwall, i. 375 ; and
first forms a Tory party, 376.
Edward, Prince, engages in the naval service,
ii. 306, 311, et seq.
Egerton, Lady Sophia, most extraordinary
anecdote of, respecting Byng's execution, ii.
191.
Egmont, Lord, opposes address in 1751, i. 7;
suspicion of treason, 8 ; parliamentary dis -
cussion, 9; political intrigues in West
minster, 12; opposes the Mutiny Bill, 30;
anecdotes of him, ibid; curious opposition
manoeuvre on death of the Prince of Wales,
70; proposes to Lord Bolinbroke the renewal
of feudal tenures as a popular act, 182; in
genious speech in opposition to the army es
timates, 185; speech against the address, and
opposition to the Mutiny BiU of 1753, 258;
makes a ridiculous mistake in opposing the
Mutiny Bill, 364; is attacked by Charles
Townshend, 365 ; copy of the constitutional
queries ascribed to him, 495, 499.
Egremont, Earl of, moves address of con
dolence on the death of the Prince of Wales,
i. 69 ; declines to accept the seals on Pitt's
dismissal, ii. 200.
Epigram on Admiral Vernon, i. 87.
Election Committees in the new parliament of
1754, i. 353.
Elections, general, policy of France respecting,
in regard to the Pretender's cause, i. 105;
purity of, infringed by the people themselves,
309.
Elijahs Mantle, a political aUusion, borrowed
by Walpole from a poem by Sir C. H.
Williams, i. 199.
Elliot, Commodore, engages and takes Thurot
and squadron off the Isle of Man, ii. 424.
Ellis, Welbore, political character, and parallel
with Lord Barrington, i. 484; parliamentary
tactics, by which Fox loses an important
question, ii. 220.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

511

Eloquence, parliamentary, review of it, i. 486.
Embden, political differences respecting the im
pressment of English sailors out of, i. 228.
Empress Queen, her politics in regard to
Hungary and Austria, i. 210; her inveteracy
against Prussia, ii. 409.
Epitaph on a Swedish nobleman, i. 510, 511.
Erskine, Sir Henry, military and poUtical debut,
i. 35 ; military and political attack on Ge
neral Anstruther, 48, 55 ; is dismissed from
the army for joining Mr. Pitt, and becomes-
an oppositionist, ii. 1 .
Exchequer, chancellorship, not to remain un
occupied, i. 328.
Excise, praised by Sir George Lyttelton, ii.
27.
Exotic plants principally introduced into Eng
land, by the Duke of Argyle, i. 242.
F.
Fane, Lord, prevails on the Duke of Bedford
to coalesce with Fox, and support the Ger
man treaties, i. 405.
Fawcett, Mr., accuses the prince's tutors of
drinking the Pretender's health, i. 266.
Fazakerly, Mr., his activity in the first forma
tion of the Tories as a distinct party for
general political purposes, i. 376.
Ferdinand, Prince, drives the French out of
Hanover, ii. 288; victory of Crevelt, 307;
campaign of 1759, 359; battle of Minden,
360; pecuniary rewards from England, 400;
detaches a force in aid of Frederick, 410.
Ferrers, Earl of, his unhappy history and fate,
ii. 417; his trial, and execution for murder,
433, 435.
Feudal tenures, their restoration proposed by
Lord Egmont as a popular act, i. 182.
Fielding, H., dramatic attack on the king, i.
12; writes on the police, 38.

Finch, Mr. Edward, character, anecdotes, and
absurd reply to Lord Pultney, respecting the
Czarina of Russia, i. 466.
Fitzwilliam, Colonel, witty repartee of Colonel
Townshend, i. 34; indecent and absurd con
duct in the House of Commons, in Byng's
case, ii. 170.
Fleet weddings, their history, i. 295.
Footmen and chairmen of London, Colonel
Hale offers to lead them against the best
troops of France, ii. 397.
Forbes, Colonel, military anecdote of, ii. 193.
Forfeited estates in Scotland, proposed colo
nization by foreigners, i. 53; bill for the
purchase from the crown, for national pur
poses, 224; further debates thereon, 225, et
seq.
Forgery, extraordinary instance of, relative to
royal mercy, i. 153.
Fowke, General, tried and suspended, but
broke by the king, for his conduct at Gib
raltar in Byng's affair, ii. 69, vide Byng.
Fox, Mr. (Lord HoUand), conduct in the par-
Uament of 1751, i. 7 ; on the Westminster
petition, display of wit and abilities, 13, 17,
23; decided conduct in Murray's case, 29;
ingratitude of Lord Egmont, 31; his po
litical consistency on the Naturalization Bill,
48 ; parliamentary exertions in Anstruther's
case, 50; increase of popularity in union
with the Duke of Bedford, 53 ; his opinion
of Pitt, expressed in parliament, ibid; bio
graphical anecdotes and character, 78; sup
ports the Regency Bill, 115, 120, 125;
contest with Solicitor-General Murray on
that bill, 1 29 ; conversation with the king
on the Regency Bill, 137; political inter
ference to save the Duke of Bedford from
the plots of the Pelhams, 162; is solicited
by Lord Granville to join the new ministry,

512

INDEX OF MATTERS.

after the Duke of Bedford's resignation, but
refuses, 171 j conversations with the king
and duke on the regency, 184; proposes
the army estimates, 1 85 ; political feeling of
Pelham, 223; strenuous opposition to the
Marriage Bill, 297, 301 ; his quarrel with
the Lord Chancellor and the York party, on
the Marriage Bill, 304; his conversation
with Pelham on that subject, 305 ; con
versation with the king respecting the same,
306 ; looked to as a candidate for the pre
miership, 329; becomes secretary of war,
and manager of the House of Commons,
33 1 ; new regulation of the secret service
money, 332 ; hurt by Newcastle's breach of
faith, declines office, 334 ; subsequent inter
view with the king, 335 ; explanation with
Pitt, 340; joins Pitt in attacking the mini
stry, 355; but softens on a conversation
with the king, 361 ; consents to abjure Pitt,
and becomes a, cabinet counsellor, 364;
excites a debate in the House by proposing
to sit on the anniversary of Charles' mar
tyrdom, 369 5 supports Lord Sandwich's
borough interests in the House, 375 ; op
posed by the Tories, who now first appear
as a poUtical party distinct from jacobitism,
376; separates from Pitt on the Hanoverian
question, 397; agrees to support the Ger
man treaties and the Duke of Newcastle,
400, et seq.; his political history, 401;
vindicated, ibid ; becomes secretary of state,
402 ; insincerity of coalition, 403 ; brings
in the Bedford party, 404; meets the Com
mons, 417; censured in the house for circular
letters to members, 419; contest with Pitt
on the naval estimates, 422 ; ditto on the
army estimates, 441 ; defends Hume Camp
bell against Pitt's attack, 463 ; his friends
objected to by the Duke of Newcastle, 484 ;

repeated sparring with Pitt, ii. 4, et seq. ;
debate respecting the Swiss battalions, 6, et
seq.; parliamentary squabble with Charles
Townshend, 20; conduct on the calling in
of foreign troops, 30; animadversions on,
55; his political conduct respecting the
Prince of Wales and Leicester House, 63 ;
rupture with the Duke of Newcastle, 86;
resigns, 88; proposed coalition with Pitt,
90, et seq. ; extraordinary conversation with
Pitt, 97; various arrangements for his
friends, and a peerc.ge ;;i:d for his wife
and son, marks his inte: ^od politics in the
Commons, 107; but refused by the king,
ibid ; disappointed in his political plans in
regard to the Duke of Devonshire, J 09;
further political intrigues, 133, et seq ,• his
conduct in Byng's affair, 137, 140, 150,
153, 158; speeches on the same in the
House, 159, 188; intrigues to dismiss Pitt
from power, 195 ; events leading to a change
of ministry, 198; supports the liberty of the
press, 199; gets the clerkship of the Pells
in Ireland for himself and sons, 201; po
litical difference with Newcastle, 203; in
trigues of parties, 211; advice of Horace
Walpole, 222 ; accepts the pay-office, under
Pitt and Newcastle, 225 ; political intrigues
between the latter and the Duke of Bedford,
353.
France, political duplicity and evasion in ful
filling treaties, i. 71 ; extraordinary political
proceedings on the birth of the Duke of
Burgundy, 176, 188; general view of her
politics, policy, and power, in 1752, illus
trated in parliament, in regard to the Saxon
treaty, 221 ; origin of the war that followed
the death of Mr. Pelham, 340 ; haughty reply
to British remonstrances, 368; unfolds the
mystery of her moderation, ii. 1 ; com-

INDEX OF MATTERS.

513

mences retaliation at sea, 5; unpopularity
of the war there, 23 ; their financiers copy
ing English plans, 28; state of politics, in
1757, and attempt upon the king's life, 112,
' et seq.; an army sent to the Rhine, 192;
ministerial revolutions, 332 ; affairs in North
America, 343; again threatens invasion,
357 ; her perfidy, 387 ; her bankruptcy,
388 ; alarmed at her own reverses, proposes
peace, 398.
Frederick, King of Prussia, political jealousy
of, on the part of George II. i. 89 ; lu's junc
tion with French policy in the affairs of
Germany, and attack upon British interests,
178, vide Prussia; his successes in Bo
hemia, ii. 209 ; defeats Marshal Brown in
the battle of Prague, 210 ; defeated by Count
Daun, 228 ; defeats the Russians, 246 ; fur
ther victories, 266; takes Breslau, 276;
opens a glbrious campaign, 303 ; invades
Bohemia, 315; battle of Custrin, 316; de
feated at Hochkerchen, 324; takes advan
tage of English liberality, 348 ; campaign of
1759, 369; saves Berlin, after defeat, 374.
French players, dislike of the populace to, i. 1 1 .
.  , driven from Quebec, ii. 439, 442.
Furnese, Harry, made a Lord of the Treasury,
and why, i. 483. i
G.
Galissoniere the French admiral, affair of, at
Minorca, ii. 56, 65.
Gardiner, Luke, interferes in the party politics
of Ireland, i. 309.
Garter, order of, honours granted on Pitt's
coming into administration, ii. 108, 227.
Gates (afterwards General), military and poli
tical anecdote, i. 347.
VOL. II.

Geary, Capt. Francis, extraordinary conduct in
regard to Byng's trial, ii. 1 67.
GEORGE I. anecdote of the cancelUng of his
will, ii. 458, 459 ; burnt his own queen's
will, 479, 480; notice of his mistresses,
480.
GEORGE II. Return from Hanover in 1 75 1 ,
i.\.et seq.; political harshness towards' the
South Sea Company, 6 ; approves of the
young Whigs in parliament, 19; his patron
age of General Anstruther, 52 , candid opi
nion respecting his ministers, 54 ; refuses
to hear Bishop Seeker preach at the Royal
Chapel, 5 6 ; behaviour on the demise of the
Prince of Wales, 67 ; marked condescension
and tenderness to the prince's family, 72 ;
conduct on the regency settlement, 85 ; anec
dote of his love of money, 95 ; observations
on the Commons' amendments to the Re
gency Bill, 136 ; extraordinary self-command
under political differences, 152 ; his charac
ter, 153; curious anecdote of his love of
money, ibid ; dislike to Lord Sandwich, and
why, 163; change of ministry and triumph
of the Pelhams, 167; gives advice to the
new minister, and a reprimand to the Pel-
hams, 172; conversation with Mr. Fox, on
the Duke of Cumberland's dangerous acci
dent, 184; paternal feelings on the loss of
his children, 198 ; political interference with
the election of the Romans, 210; visits
Hanover in 1752, attended by the Duke of
Newcastle, 243 ; unlucky in his German
alliances, 252; returns to England, ibid;
curbed by ministers in church preferments,
255; his conduct respecting the charges
against the prince's tutors, 247, 271 ; judi
cious conduct in the cabinet respecting the
accusations against Fox, on occasion of the
3n

514

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Marriage Bill, 306 ; haughty reply to Lord
KUdare's memorial on the affairs of Ireland,
308 ; his political character and influence in
the state towards the close of his life, 326;
his feelings on the death of Pelham, 328;
his objections to Legge, as a cabinet mi
nister, 331; conversation with Fox, on his
declining the seals, 335 ; also in regard to
his partial opposition, 361 ; acquaints the
Commons of the French preparations for
war, 382 ; determines to revisit Hanover,
383 ; is alarmed for the safety of that elec
torate, 394 ; returns, just as opposition be
gins to the German treaties, 399 ; comes to
an accommodation with the King of Prussia
respecting Germany, ii. 2; his feelings to
wards Hanover, 18; bon mot of Doddington
on his avarice, 3 1 ; proposes taking the
prince from his mother's tuition, 50, etseq.;
his feelings on the change of ministry and
Pitt's accession to power, 89, 101; refuses
to read Pitt's long speech, and sends it back
to be shortened, 110; sends a complimen
tary gratulation to the French king on his
escape from assassination, which is well re
ceived, 116; deceived by the Newcastle ad
ministration in regard to Byng, 125, 135 ;
refuses Pitt's solicitation for mercy, 152,
157; but consents to a temporary reprieve,
ibid ; his dislike to long speeches in the ca
binet, 197; left without a ministry in 1757,
207 ; Hanover occupied by the French, 208 ;
refuses their offer of neutrality for that elec
torate, ibid; demands support from parlia
ment during the contests of parties for
power, 211; his personal feelings strongly
expressed, 223; loses Hanover for a time,
229 ; conduct on the affair of Closter Seven,
247; anecdotes of munificence, 281 ; prohi

bits Sackville's appearance at court, 431 ;
death of, 454; character of, 454,458.
George III., vide Prince George.
German Treaties, and their consequences, i.
395, et seq. 451.
Germany, political state of, in 1751, i. 6; un
fortunate turn of politics there, 71 ; our po
litics in regard to the election of the Arch
duke Joseph of Austria, as king of the
Romans, 177; affairs arranged with the
King of Prussia, ii. 2 ; Empress Queen joins
with France, 60; origin and causes of the
war, 71; a French army sent to the Rhine,
1 92 ; Hanover occupied by the French, its
neutrality offered by them, but rejected,
208; successes of the King of Prussia in
Bohemia, 209; campaign of 1757, 246;
convention of Closter Seven, 247; cam
paign of 1758, 276; successes of the King
of Prussia and Prince Ferdinand, 303, 307 ;
state of the English army, 323 ; advantages
taken of English liberality, 348 ; campai<m
of 1759, 359; Pitt labours to increase our
army there, 390; objects of the war, 409;
campaign of 1760 in, 443, 452.
Gibraltar, vide Byng, Minorca, and Galis
soniere.
Gibson, the upholsterer, contumacy on the
Westminster petition, 19; committed to
Newgate, ibid; petitions, is reprimanded
and released, 27.
Gilbert, Archbishop, curious anecdote of, at
York, ii, 194.
Gin Bill, proceedings on, i. 38, 58, 91.
Gooch, Bishop of Ely, political and ecclesias
tical character, i. 129.
Goree captured, ii. 343.
Gower, Lord, his political character, i. 164;
death and political character, i. 366.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

515

Gower family, connection with the Bedfords,
i. 2 ; resentment of the Jacobites, 1 1 ; West-
minster politics, 1 6, et seq. ; connection with
the Pelham faction, in opposition to the Bed-
fords, 1 64 ; resignation of Lord Trentham
from the Admiralty, in opposition to his
father's wishes, 166, 168; death of Lord
Gower, 366 ; the young Lord Gower receives
the privy seal, 482.
Grafton, Duke of, political repartee, i. 41 ;
character of, and anecdotes, 157.
Granby, Marquis of, observations on the affair
of the Highland regiments, ii. 131 ; appointed
Colojiel of the Blues, and serves at St. Ma-
loes, 305 ; second in command in Germany,
323 ; battle of Minden, 360, et seq.
Granville, Lord, political retrospect in 1746,
i. 5, 6, 7 ; further, 90 ; in a speech on com
mittal of the Regency Bill, developes the
insidious policy of the French court, [105;
character and anecdotes of, 146; political
administration, 147; suspected of jacobit
ism, 148 ; dislike to Pitt, 149; his conduct
during the rebellion, 150, etseq.; becomes
president of the council, 1 68 ; judicious and
well-timed speech on the Saxon treaty,
221; refuses the premiership, when offered
'to him by the Duke of Newcastle, 401.
Gray, Mr., his election petition from Colches
ter, i. 354.
Gray, the poet, declines the laureateship, ii.
267, 268.
Great Seal put in commission, ii. 107.
Grenville interest, parliamentary conduct in
1751, i. 11.
Grenville, George, opens charges in the House
of Commons of bribery on the part of France,
i. 434.
Grierson, Mr., a minister, convicted of illegal
marriages, and 1400 dissolved thereby, ii. 6.

Guadaloupe, capture of, ii. 344.
Guerini (Father), character of, ii. 473.
H.
Habeas Corpus, affair of, in Parliament, ii.
285, 295.
Hale, Colonel, offers to lead the footmen and
chairmen of London against the best troops
of France, ii. 397.
Half-pay Officers in the army, first subjected
to military law, i. 32.
Halifax, Lord, attempts to bring the West In
dian Colonies under the Board of Trade, i.
173, 191; character, ibid; supports the
Saxon treaty in the House of Lords, 220 ;
his exertions at the Board of Trade to save
the colonies from the ignorance of his col
leagues, 344 ; supports Byng's cause in the
House of Lords, ii. 176.
s
Hamilton, Lady Archibald, anecdotes of, i. 65.
Hamilton, Sir James, an Irish patriot, his ho
nesty, i. 320.
Hamilton, WiUiam Gerard, his extraordinary
introduction into political life, i. 402 ; first
speech, 408; in office, 483.
Hampden, Mr., parliamentary attack upon Pitt
and Lyttelton, i. 16.
Hampshire, an election there betrays Lord
Bute's secret politics, under the auspices of
the prince's influence, ii. 399.
Hanover, the king's return from, in 1751, i. 1 ;
political pamphlets respecting, 10; political
regulations and jealousies, respecting, on the
regency question, 89; its dangers from
French invasion, and the king's consequent
alarm, 394; occupied by the French, its
neutrality offered by them, but rejected by
the king, ii. 209 ; occupied by the French in
1758, 289.
3u2

516

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Hanoverian troops sent for, to guard against
invasion, ii. 30.
Harcourt, Lord, appointed governor of Prince
George, i. 74 ; punctilious nicety in the edu
cation of Prince George, 248 ; his loss of
royal favour, 252, 254, et seq.; his speech
on the charges against the prince's tutors,
283.
Hard Labour in the dock-yards proposed, to
commute transportation, i. 223.
Hardwicke, Lord Chancellor, draws up the
Regency Bill ; its despotic character, i. 99 ;
his speech, 103 ; political character and
anecdotes, 138 ; reasons for his conduct
on the affair of the regency, 139; political
intimacy with the Duke of Newcastle, 140 ;
his speech in reply to the Duke of Bedford,
on the Scottish Colonization Bill, 233 ;' his
conduct in the affair of Fawcett's accusa
tion against the Solicitor General, for drink
ing the Pretender's health, 270 ; speech
on the affair of the charges against the
prince's tutors, 280; his speech on pass
ing the Marriage BiU, 303 ; resigns the
seals on Pitt's coming into administration in
1756, ii. 106; his conduct in regard to Ad
miral Byng's trial, 145 ; refuses the seals
on Pitt's coalition with Fox, 226 ; opposes
the Militia Bill, 232.
Harley, Lord, speech on the Regency Bill, i.
123 ; moves for declaring against subsidiary
treaties in time of peace, i. 222.
HARRINGTON, Eariof (William), political
and biographical notices of, i. 3.
Harris, commissioner of wine licenses, vio
lent speech in the Commons on the abolition
of his office, ii. 194.
Harlington, Lord, political manoeuvre between
Pitt and the Whigs, i. 11 ; Westminster pe
tition, 17; his share in the ministerial nego

tiations on the death of Pelham, 332 ; suc
ceeds the Duke of Dorset as Irish Viceroy,
368, 381, 387.— Vide Devonshire.
Hastenbecke, battle of, and defeat of the Duke
of Cumberland, ii. 229.
Havre-de-Grace bombarded, ii. 358.
Hawke, Sir Edward, his naval operations, i.
393 ; sent to supersede Byng in the Medi
terranean, ii. 57 ; takes the naval command
in the expedition to Rochefort, 239 ; at
tacks the French fleet under Conflans, and
destroys them, 395.
Hawley, General, his military severity, i. 90;
selected as the propagator of a pretended
memorial on the prince's education, and
why, i. 265.
Hayter, Dr., vide Norwich (Bishop of).
Heinnech, Monsieur, notice of, ii. 473, 474.
Henley (afterwards Lord Northington), cha
racter of, i. 83 ; impartial exercise of his
office as a member of parliament, 93 ; ap
pointed lord keeper in the Pitt and New
castle administration in 1757, ii. 226.
Hensey, Dr. convicted for treason, ii. 309.
Herring, Archbishop, political and ecclesi
astical character, i. 129; interference in, and
intrigues respecting, the education of the
princes, 248, 253, et seq. ; death and cha
racter, ii. 193.
Hertford, Earl of, appointed ambassador to
Paris in 1755, and why, i. 367.
Hesse-Cassel, Prince of, turns papist, i. 351.
Hessian troops sent for to assist against in
vasion, ii. 5, 30.
Highland regiments raised for American ser
vice, ii. 130.
Highlands of Scotland defended from the charge
of jacobitism in the House of Commons, as
early as 1754, i. 378.
Hillsborough, Lord, parliamentary character,

INDEX OF MATTERS.

517

i. 70; speech on the Regency BiU, 126;
supports the biU for the purchase and colo
nization of the Scottish forfeited estates,
227; political error and delay in the de
bate on the German treaties, i. 407 ; pro
jects a union of Ireland with Great Britain
as early as 1757, ii. 401.
History, observations on, i. 324.
Hoadley, Bishop, political excellence, i. 129.
Hochkerchen, battle of, ii. 324.
Holbourn, Admiral, commands on the American
station, ii. 232.
Holderness, Earl of, character and accession to
power, i. 172 ; disgrace at court for playing
at blind man's buff, 252; becomes secretary
of state in Pitt's administration in 1757, ii.
224 ; extraordinary notification to Lord G.
SackviUe, on his demand of a court martial,
413 ; further proceedings, 414.
Holland, Lord, vide Fox.
 , extraordinary change of poUtics on
the death of the Prince of Orange, i. 180;
disputes with, in 1758, ii. 317,343.
Holmes, Captain Charles, unhappy misunder
standings on the question of Byng's court-
martial, ii. 168.
Home, Lord, parliamentary quarrel with A.
H. Campbell, i. 16.
Home, the author of Douglas, pensioned by
the princess dowager, ii. 231.
Horn Tavern, the, remarkable as the first
place of meeting of the Tories, as a distinct
political party for general purposes, i. 376.
Howe, Captain, commences the naval war with
France by the capture of three ships of war,
i. 388; naval and political character, expe
dition to Rochefort, ii. 240.
Howe, Lord, succeeds to the title on the faU of
his brother, ii. 312; gaUantry in Hawke's
action, 395.

Hume of Munderson, Mr., a furious Jacobite
in Scotland, yet patronized, i. 232.
Hutchinson, Hely, his Irish politics, ii. 406.
Hutton, Archbishop, promoted to Canterbury,
ii. 194. I.
Invasion of England threatened by a French
armament in the Isle du Rhee, i. 383 ; threats
of, by France, in 1759, ii. 357 ; general plan
of, defeated by Hawke's victory, 405 ; French
measures pursued in Ireland in aid of it, ibid.
IRELAND, removal of Lord Harrington from
viceroyship, i. 3 ; appointment of the Duke
of Dorset, 5 ; judicious observations of Lord
Hillsborough on the Protestant settling of
mountain districts, 227 ; affairs in 1 752, and
history of the factions there, 243, et seq.;
further troubles, 307; intrigues in parlia
ment, 309; factious disputes, 315; suc
cesses of opposition, 316, 319; further, 320,
338 ; theatrical and political riots, 338 ; re
sults of the Newcastle administration, 339;
Lord Harrington succeeds the Duke of Dor
set, 368, 374; its state in 1755, 385; ge
neral politics on the arrival of Lord Hart-
ington, 386, et seq.; division of the vice-
treasurership, ii. 4 ; state of, in 1756, 28; a
change of ministry gives the yiceroyship to
the Duke of Bedford, 105 ; affairs in 1757,
210, 253; violence of parties in 1758, 278;
proposed union in 1759, 401 ; Thurot's pi
ratical expedition, 421.
Irish parliament, experiments tried on it by
Hely Hutchinson, and anecdote of Sir
Richard Cox, ii. 407.
Isle d'Aix, expedition to, ii. 240.

J.

Jacobites, supposed political attack on the

518

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Duke of Cumberland, i. 8 ; dislike to the
Gowers, 1 1 ; their activity and caution on
the Westminster election, 15 ; their inge
nuity in saving their consciences under oaths
and salaries, 28 ; death of the last active
one, Sir John Cotton, 223 ; anecdotes of
their conduct in the rebellion in Scotland,
and subsequent patronage, 231.
Jacobitism silenced towards the year 1752, i.
209 ; receives its death-blow by the Tories
uniting for party politics distinct from the
question of the Stuart succession, 376, et seq.
Jamaica, charges of tyranny at, against Ad
miral Knowies, but they fail, ii. 3.
Jansen, Alderman, defends the conduct of the
sheriffs in releasing Murray from Newgate,
i. 184.
Jenyns, Soame, comes into office, i. 483.
Jesuits, their state and opinions in France,
and the attempted murder of Lewis XV.,
ii. 112, et seq.; their influence in Portugal,
and its consequences to their order, 318,
et seq.
Jew Bill of Naturalization, warm opposition to,
i. 310, et seq.
Jews exempted in the Marriage Bill, i. 295.
Johnson, Dr. (Bishop of Gloucester), proposed
as preceptor to the princes, i. 254, 266, 284.
Johnson, Sir William, gains a victory in Ca
nada, i. 404.
Jones, NeviUe, his prosecution in Ireland,
through party principles, i. 245, 316.
Judges, bench of, bribery of, and witticism on,
ii. 355.
Justice, instance of political, in Pitt's conduct
on Byng's affair, ii. 172.
K.
Kaunitz, Count, politics and foppish effemi
nacy, ii. 73.

Keene, Sir Benjamin, diplomatic services at
the court of Spain, previous to the war of
1756, i. 345.
Keith, the Mayfair parson, anecdotes of his
marriages and burials, i. 295.
Keppd, Captain (afterwards Admiral), one of
Byng's court-martial, his feelings on the ap
proaching execution, ii. 144, 153; requests
to be absolved from his oath, 154, 174,
185 ; gallantry in Hawke's action, ii. 395.
Kildare, Earl of, presents a memorial to the
king against the Duke of Dorset, i. 308 ;
party politics during the Bedford administra
tion in Ireland, ii. 257, et seq., 278, et seq.
King, Dr., anecdote of, ii. 194.
Knowies, Admiral, charged by Beckford with
tyranny in Jamaica, but cleared triumph
antly in the House, ii. 3.
L.
Lancaster, duchy of, regulations of that office,
and political demands for it, ii. 218.
Land Tax of three shillings opposed, but car
ried, i. 27 ; moved by Pelham, accompa
nied by a pitiful system of national policy,
i. 189.
Laudohn, Marshal, defeated by the King of
Prussia, ii. 446, 447.
Lawyers, parliamentary character of, in poli
tics, i. 130.
Lee, Sir George, anecdotes of, i. 77 ; political
errors in the debate on army estimates, 1 85 ;
as lord chief justice appointed chanceUor of
the exchequer pro tempore, on the death
of Pelham, 328 ; quits Leicester-house po
litics, disgusted by Pitt's influence with the
princess dowager, ii. 221.
Legge, H. B. (Lord Stawell), character and
anecdotes, i. 1 65 ; becomes chancellor of

INDEX OF MATTERS.

519

the exchequer under the Duke of Newcastle,
381 ; refuses to sign the German subsidiary
treaties, in opposition to the Duke of New
castle, 394, et seq.; his share in the changes
of administration on the Duke of Newcastle's
resignation, ii. 99 ; humane observations in
the House of Commons pending the question
of Byng's trial, 165; offers the House of
Commons to serve in office without salary,
provided others would, 195.
Leicester-house politics, influence and inter
ference in ministerial arrangements on the
rupture of Pitt and Fox, i. 399.
Leveson, WilUam, political independence and
loss of patronage, i. 197.
Lewis XV., extraordinary change of feeling in
France towards him in old age, i. 188; some
notices of his amours, and their whimsical
results, 291; his contests with the parlia
ment of Paris ; loss of popularity, and at
tempted assassination, ii. 112, et seq.
Libels, extraordinary conduct of Lord Mans
field respecting one on the Princess AineUa,
ii. 61.
Ligonier, General, obliges the king with a
church living, i. 255 ; loses the ordnance to
make room for the Duke of Marlborough,
482 ; his character and services, ibid.
Limerick, James, Viscount, political character,
i. 21; political censure and animadversions
on the Regency Bill, 124.
Lincoln, Lord, political character of, i. 73.
Lisbon destroyed by an earthquake, i. 430; as
sisted by the parUament, 43 1 .
Litchfield, Lord, his poUtical character, ii. 341.
Lochiel, Laird of, his share in the rebellion, i.
307.
London, Bishop of, objects to the despotic
powers granted by the Regency Bill, i. 99.

London, city of, invidious remarks of Lord Nu
gent on the question of the Gin Bill, i. 38;
conduct of the sheriffs in releasing Murray
from Newgate impugned in the House, and
defended by Jansen, 1 84 ; absurdity of its
poUtics during the contest for power be
tween Pitt, Fox, and Newcastle, ii. 99 ; a
petition in favour of Admiral Byng pro
posed by four tory aldermen, and fails,
189.
Lonsdale, Henry, Viscount, death and charac
ter, i. 17.
LORDS, House of, session of 1751, i. 6;
affair of the constitutional queries, 8 ; biU
brought in to reform the old style, 44 ; ad
dress of condolence on demise of the Prin
cess of Wales, 69 ; alterations in the Re
gency Bill, 99 ; go into committee on the
bill, 100; third reading of the bill, 106;
amendments from the Commons to the Re
gency Bill, explained and agreed to, 136 ;
close of the session, 1 74 ; a new session
opens, 181 ; adjournment and remarkable
cessation of opposition, 198; House meets
in 1752, 211 ; Saxon treaty debated, 213 ;
opposition by the Duke of Bedford, ibid;
state of parties in the House, 229 ; bill
for colonizing the Scottish forfeited estates,
opposed by the Duke of Bedford, 230 ;
prorogation, 240; session of 1753, 257;
affair of the prince's education brought for
ward by the Duke of Bedford, 272, 290;
affair of the Marriage Bill, 293, et seq. ; bill
for naturalizing the Jews, 310 ; absurd mo
tion of Lord Powlet on the king's going to
Hanover, 383 ; proceedings on the coalition
of Fox and Bedford, the German treaties,
French war, &c. 405, 45 1 ; debates on the
Swiss regiments for American service, ii, 23 ;
Militia Bill rejected, 44, et seq.; a speaker

520

INDEX OF MATTERS.

chosen on the resignation of the lord ch an-
ceUor, 107; punish the author of a spurious
royal speech, 110; affairs of Byng's court-
martial, and bill from the Commons to ab
solve the court from oath of secrecy, 1 74 ;
debates, ibid, et seq.; bill dropped, 188;
engaged on the Militia Bill, 208; affair of
the Navy Bill, 289; Habeas Corpus, 290,
302.
Lottery, a guinea one proposed for the sup
plies, in Pitt's administration, ii. 132.
Loudun, Earl of, comments on America, ii.
231.
Lovat, Lord, erroneous declaration before the
peers, as to his Scottish estates, i. 225.
Love-a-la-mode, its performance opposed by
Lord Bute, but in vain, ii. 412; its copy
sent for by the king, and read to him, 413.
Loyd, Sir Richard, judicious observations on
Anstruther's case, and on the Act of Grace,
i. 94.
Lucas, Mr. or Dr., at the head of the discon
tented in Ireland, i. 244.
Lyttelton, Col. R., disclaims jacobitism in par
liament, i. 9 ; opposes the Mutiny Bill, 33 ;
political anecdotes of himself and family,
133.
Lyttelton, George, Lord, character of, i. 33 ;
political intrigues discovered by the opening
of a letter, 175; his character, ibid; joins
the Newcastle administration, and manages
for his friends, 336; breach with Pitt, its
history and anecdotes, 358, 360; becomes
chancellor of the exchequer, over the ruins
of his old friends, 419; again courts Pitt,
45 1 ; awkwardness at first moving the sup
plies as chancellor, and squabble with Pitt,
ii. 3 ; made a peer, 106 ; introduced by
Smollett, in very abusive terms, in Roderick
Random, 419.

M.
Macklyn, ludicrous anecdote of his Love-a-la-
mode, ii. 412.
Madox, Dr. (Bishop of Worcester), speech on
the charges against the prince's tutors, i.
289 ; death and eminent clerical character,
ii. 381.
Malagrida, the Jesuit, his conduct and fate,
ii. 322, vide Portugal.
Malone, Mr., his character and factious po
litics in Ireland, i. 246.
Mansfield, Earl of, vide Murray.
Marchmont, Earl of, difference as a speaker in
court favour and in opposition, i. 257 ; un
precedented severity of conduct in the Lords
upon Byng's affair, u. 187.
Marlborough, Charles, Duke of, takes pariia-
mentary notice of the Jacobite attack on the
Duke of Cumberland, i. 8; his speech on
the charges against the prince's tutors, 286 ;
interferes in county election in Oxfordshire,
352 ; in projected ministerial changes, 362 ;
commands in the expedition to St. Maloes,
ii. 305 ; its effects upon the German cam
paign, 307.
Marlborough, Sarah, Duchess of, her poUtical
feelings in death, i. 46.
Marriage Bill sent down from the Lords ; fur
ther and final proceedings thereon, i. 293,
et seq. ; its history, ibid.
Marriages dissolved in a most unfeeling man
ner, to an immense amount, by virtue of the
new act, ii. 6.
Marriages, royal, first controlled by legal en
actment in the Regency Bill, i. 127.
Martin, Mr., his political inconsistency on the
Regency Bill, &c. i. 118.
Martin, Mr. (the West Indian), opposes the
repeal of the Plantation Act, i. 316.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

521

Martinico, miscarriage at, ii. 344.
Mason, the poet, declines the laureateship, ii.
267.
Masquerades abolished on account of the Lis
bon earthquake, ii. 283.
Mayfair weddings, their history, i. 295.
Meat, proposed excise on it, ii. 27-
Methodism, its effects on society, ii. 282, et
seq.
Memoirs, cotemporary, their value ; Voltaire's
opinion on, ii. 411.
Middlesex, county of, accused of jacobitism in
the House of Commons, i. 378.
Middlesex, Lord, character and appointment in
the princess's household, i. 83.
Middlesex, Lady, anecdotes of, i. 65.
Middleton, Dr. Conyers, his controversial writ
ings attacking Christianity, i. 128.
Militia recommended by Fox on the opening
of the war, i. 441, 446, etseq.; riots through
out the kingdom, in the apprehension of the
regiments being sent abroad, ii. 232 ; plan
first proposed to march them out of their
counties in case of invasion, ii. 356.
Militia Bill for Scotland, parliamentary pro
ceedings on, ii. 437, 438.
Minden, battle of, ii. 360, et seq.; vide Sack
ville.
MINISTRY, expected changes in 1751, i. 1,
et seq.; whimsical candour of George II.,
54 ; differences between the Bedford and
Newcastle parties, 71 ; affair of the regency
on the death of Frederick, Prince of Wales,
85, 89; political neglect of the Duke of
Bedford in the cabinet by the Pelhams, 140;
further intrigues of the Pelhams to displace
the Duke of Bedford, 161; dismissal of Lord
Sandwich, through the Pelham interest, 1 65 ;
change of ministry, and resignation of the
Duke of Bedford, 166; conduct and cha-
VOL. II.

racter of the Pelhams in regard to foreign
affairs and to national insults, 177; state of
politics at the opening of 1752, 209; op
position of the Pelhams by the Duke of Bed
ford, 212; proposed policy for tranquillizing
Scotland, 234 ; manoeuvres of opposition in
1753, 259; difference of opinion in the ca
binet on the pretended memorial respecting
the prince's education, 266 ; differences of
Fox and the chancellor on the Marriage
Bill, 304 ; forced to repeal the Jew Na
turalization Bill, 310, et seq.; death of Mr.
Pelham, and its consequences, 321, et seq.,
328 ; difficulties in appointing his suc
cessor, ibid; new one formed, 331, 337;
pacific character of the Pelham and New
castle administrations leads to insults and
encroachments on the part of France, 340 ;
extraordinary conduct of the Newcastle ad
ministration when the French began the war
in America, 347 ; appearances of opposition
in parliament, 352 ; alarm at Pitt's oppo
sition, 361 ; projected changes in, 362; ap
proaching war with France, 367; changes
in consequence of the death of Lord Gower,
368 ; the Newcastle administration first sup
ported by the Tories, on their uniting as
a political party, distinct from jacobitism,
376 ; political manoeuvre to silence Fox,
384; divisions in the cabinet against the
Duke of Newcastle on the German subsi
diary treaties, 395 ; disunion of Fox and
Pitt, 397 ; refusal of Pitt, and consent of
Fox, to support the German treaties, 400,
et seq.; decline of Newcastle's power, and
coalition of Fox with the Bedford party,
404, et seq.; further changes in favour of
the Bedford party, 482 ; heavy charges of
pensions in consequence, 485 ; state at the
breaking out of the war, ii. 2 ; divisions on
3x

522

INDEX OF MATTERS.

the caUing in of foreign troops, 30 ; conduct
in the affair of Byng, 35, 5 1, et seq., 59 ;
Fox's resignation, and its consequences, 86,
et seq. ; resignation of the Duke of New
castle, and Pitt's accession to power, 104,
et seq.; changes settled, 107; state of the
cabinet, 116; events leading to the dis
missal of Pitt and his friends, 198, 199;
new administration, 200 ; difficulties in its
formation, 207, 218; Pitt and Newcastle
again come in, 224 ; political review of Pitt's
administration, 272 ; and cabinet, 273 ; jea
lousies of Newcastle, 353 ; resignation of
Lord Temple, 391.
Minorca, affairs of courts-martial under Ge
neral Anstruther brought before parliament,
i. 35, 48, et seq. ; debates respecting its
defence, 424; attacked by the French, ii.
35, 51, et seq. 65, vide Byng; parliamentary
inquiry into its loss, 204.
Mirepoix, Mons. de, French ambassador, re
turns without taking leave, i. 389 ; his
character, 176; disliked by , the Pelhams,
177-
Mobs in Ireland; their rejoicings on the suc
cess of the Castle opposition in 1753, i.
319.
Monks of Portugal, their ingenuity in smug
gling money on board of English ships of
war, i. 224.
Montcalm, General, vide Quebec.
Montreal taken from the French, ii. 440, 442.
Moore, Captain, one of Byng's judges, joins
in an application to the throne for mercy,
ii. 145.
Mordaunt, Sir John, his character, i. 95 ; op
poses the parliamentary purchase of the
forfeited estates, 225 ; entrusted with the
attack on Rochefort, ii. 236, et seq.; inquiry,
260.

Moyenska, Countess, notice of, ii. 474.
Munchausen, Baron, the Hanoverian minister
in England, his conduct on the affair of
Closter Seven, ii. 248.
Murphy, Miss, supplants Madame Pompa
dour in the heart of Lewis XV., and pro
duces a whimsical alarm, i. 291.
Murray, Mr. A., conduct on the Westminster
election, i. 15, 19, et seq., 21; refuses to
kneeL 24 ; further proceedings in the House
upon his case, 29 ; further insolence towards
the House of Commons, 73 ; Habeas Corpus
granted by the Court of King's Bench, 98 ;
but is remanded, 99 ; released from New
gate on the prorogation of the House of
Commons, 174; but is remanded in the en
suing session, 181 ; absconds, 185.
Murray, James (nominal Earl of Dunbar), his
character and politics in service of the pre
tender, i, 250.
Murray, Lord John, his prudence in regard to
political attack, i. 33.
Murray, Solicitor-General (Lord Mansfield),
supports the Bavarian subsidy, i. 41 ; speech
on second reading of the Regency Bill, 114;
parliamentary contest with Fox on the Re
gency Bill, 130; affair of the dissensions
on the education of the young princes, 248,
253, et seq.; drinking the pretender's health,
269; his elaborate and well- written confuta
tion of the French memorial on the Silesian
loan, 261 ; looked to as a candidate for the
premiership on Pelham's death, 329 ; be-,
comes lord chief justice, and is made a peer,
anecdotes, &c, ii. 64, 67; his conduct on
the bill for absolving Byng's court-martial,
1 74 ; severe conduct towards Byng, with
observations, 175.
Murray, General, defeated at Quebec, ii.
438.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

523

Mutiny BiU, modern opposition to, i. 30, et
seq. ; curious question of the King of Den
mark in regard to its preamble, 221.
N.
Names of princes, taken from English history,
curious anecdote of, i. 174.
Naples, affairs of, on the death of the King of
Spain, ii. 373.
National debt, observations on, in 1758, ii.
327.
Naturalization Bill brought forward, i. 47;
thrown out, 79.
NAVY, diminished number of seamen voted,
i. 10, 15; Lord Anson proposes a severe
naval code, but fails, 33 ; an increased vote
of seamen proposed by Lord Barrington,
183 ; approaching war with France, 366 ; a
fleet ordered to watch the French motions
in America, 385 ; vote for seamen, 422; de
bates on a Prize Bill, 431 ; state of naval
force at the opening of the war, ii. 39 ; con
sequences of Byng's trial, 126; affair of the
Navy Bill, 289.
Newcastle, Duke of, disagreement with the
Duke of Bedford, i. 1 ; betrays the interests
of the South Sea Company in the treaty with
Spain, 6 ; political adoption of intrepidity,
8; political and family differences, 40; per
sonal influence of Pitt, 52 ; conduct on
regency question after demise of the Prince
of Wales, 85 ; speech on the committal of
the Regency Bill, 1 03 ; political anecdote in
forming the bill, 111; explains the Commons'
amendments to the Lords, and carries the
bill, 136; his power secured, 140; his cha
racter and anecdotes, 14); political ingrati
tude to Sir Robert Walpole, 143; further
anecdotes, 160; fear of the sea, and whim
sical expedition to Hanover, 161 ; dismisses

Lord Sandwich from office, 165; produces
the resignation of the Duke of Bedford, 167;
jealousy of Mr. Fox, on an illness of the
Duke of Cumberland, 185; his inferiority as
a politician, 208 ; political influence at open
ing of 1752, and why, 209; inefficient reply
to the opposition of the Duke of Bedford
on the Saxon treaty, 216; debate on the
Scottish Colonization Bill, and inefficient
answer to the Duke of Bedford, 239; whim
sical mode of guarding against the dangers
of the sea, on a visit to Hanover, 243 ; his
alarm at the pretended memorial respecting
the education of the Prince of Wales, 265 ;
his long and very extraordinary speech in
the House on that affair, 285 ; parliamentary
sparring with the Duke of Bedford, 287;
moves the repeal of the Jew Naturalization
BiU, 312; Walpolian sarcasms, 324; be
comes first minister on the death of his
brother, 330 ; reserves the management of the
secret service money in his own hands, 331 ;
perfidy and breach of promise to Fox, 332 ;
his political inefficiency, 339; striking in
attention to colonial affairs while secretary
of state, 343; geographical and political
ignorance, 344; professes to remove abuses,
yet encourages them, 346; secret instiga
tion of the law-suit respecting Richmond
Park, 348 ; alarmed by the conduct of Pitt,
361; receives the support of the Tories,
who now first unite as a political party, di
stinct from jacobitism, 376, et seq.; inter
ference in the appointment of the temporary
regency on the king's visit to Hanover, 384;
conduct on Irish politics, 386, et seq.; first
decline of his power on the subsidiary Ger
man treaties, 395, 403 ; tampers with Pitt
for their support, but fails, 399; applies to
Fox, and succeeds, 400; offers to resign in
3x2

524

INDEX OF MATTERS.

a fright, 40 1 ; events leading to his fall,
403, et seq. ; objects to Fox's friends, 484 ;
heavy charges of pensions brought on the
nation by his caprices, 485 ; conduct on the
calling in of foreign troops, ii. 30; his plan
of separating the prince from his mother, &c,
62 ; political fears of quarrelling with Lei
cester-house, 85 ; affair of Fox's resigna
tion, 86 ; proposes to resign, 97 ; resigns,
105 ; extraordinary story in regard to Byng's
affair, 117; another most extraordinary
anecdote respecting the duchess in that affair,
191 ; political difference with Fox, 203; ap
proaches of Pitt towards conciliation, 204;
further negociations, 210; political character
and irresolution, 216; comes again into
power with Pitt, 224 ; differences and anec
dotes, 281 ; influence of office under Pitt,
347; grows jealous of him, 353; conduct
towards Lord G. Sackville, 415.
Newcastle, Duchess of, most extraordinary
anecdote respecting Byng's execution, ii.
191.
Newdigate, Sir Roger, his speech for the re
peal of the Plantation Act, i. 317.
Newmarket, its sports set in the balance against
the affairs of the nation, ii. 199.
New Road first proposed, but objected to, ii.
32; carried, and afterwards extended by its
opponents, 33.
Niagara taken by Sir W. Johnson, ii. 378.
Norris, Admiral, strange incompetency when
examined before the Lords, in Byng's case,
ii. 182.
North, Lord, his character, and removal from
governorship of Prince George, i. 74.
Northumberland, Earl of, moves address in the
House of Lords, in 1751, i. 6; gives a
pointed refusal of resignation to the Duke
of Newcastle, ii. 221 .

Norwich, Bishop of, engaged in the education
of the Prince of Wales, i. 247 > dissensions
in that establishment, 253 ; speech in parlia
ment, 284.
Notes of parliamentary debates first mentioned
in the House of Commons, i. 456.
Nova Scotia, affairs of, i. 53, et seq. 59.
Nugent, Lord, absurd parliamentary conduct,
i. 17; his character and anecdotes, 39; re
fused by the people of Bristol as the king's
nominee, under most unprecedented cir
cumstances, 309 ; his absurd speech defend
ing ministers against the attacks of Pitt,
443 ; his parliamentary conduct on Byng's
affair, and the application to dissolve the
oath of secrecy, ii. 161, 163.
O.
Oleron, attack on, ii. 243.
Onslow, Mr. Speaker, witty remark on his
official conduct, i. 18; reprimands Mr.
Crowle on the Westminster election, ibid;
quarrels with Lord Coke, 23 ; contemptuous
treatment of him by Mr. Murray, 24, 25 ;
impressive speech on the Regency Bill, 109;
his character, 112; spiritedly rebuked by
Pitt in the debate on Byng's affair, ii. 174;
attacked by the rioters on the Militia Bill,
233 ; speech on the Scottish Sheriff Depute
Bill, 379.
Opposition, remarkable cessation of, i. 198; a
systematic one now commences, ii. 1 ; junc
tion of Pitt's friends and the Tories against
the new Fox administration, 201.
Orange, Prince of, his death, and anedotes of
his marriage, i. 1 79 ; political consequences
in Holland, 180.
Orange, Princess of, her extraordinary mar
riage, i. 179; ambition, character, and po
litics, 180.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

525

Oratory, parliamentary, its difference under
court favour, or in opposition, i. 257-
Ordnance, master-general of, pay first raised
to 10-s. per day by the Duke of Marlborough,
in 1757, ii. 133.
Orford, second Earl of, his death, i. 72.
Orford, Lord, anecdote of, and the Duke of
Newcastle, ii. 223.
Orleans, Pere d', his book causes dissensions
at Leicester-house, i. 253.
Oswald, Mr. Commissioner, parliamentary debut
and progress, i. 5 1 .
Oxfordshire, a little kingdom of jacobitism, i.
352 ; election, political manoeuvres relating
to it in the House of Commons, first bring into
play the modern party designation of Whigs
and Tories, distinct from the question of the
Stuart succession, i. 376, 383.
Oxford University, attacked by Pitt in the
House of Commons with charges of jaco
bitism, i. 358; contest for the chancellorship
on the death of the Earl of Arran, ii. 341.
P.
PARLIAMENT, meets in 1751, i. 6; pro
ceedings respecting the treasonable papers
attacking the Duke of Cumberland, 8 ; debate
on diminished vote of seamen, 10; trans
actions on the Westminster petition against
Lord Trentham, 1 2 ; u itty observation of
Mr. Crowle at the bar of the Commons, 18;
Murray brought to the bar, 21; refuses to
kneel, and is recommitted to Newgate, 24;
debate on the staff, 26; — see further Lords
and Commons — regency business arranged,
99, et seq.; political character of lawyers in
the legislature, 130; the session ended, and
the poUtical consequences, 1 74 ; a new
session opens, in 1752, 181; adjournment,
and remarkable cessation of opposition, 1 98 ;

opens after the recess in 1 752, 211; con
sideration of the treaty with Saxony, 212;
colonization of the Scottish forfeited estates,
224, et seq.; biU passes the Lords, 239 ; pro
rogation, 240; session of 1753, 257; affair
of the charges against the prince's tutors,
272, et seq.; proceedings on the Marriage
Bill, 293, et seq.; opens again with the Jew
BiU, 310; adjourns on Pelham's death, 328;
dissolved under the Newcastle administration,
and an accommodating new one chosen,
339; session of 1754 opens, 349; first union
of the Tories as a party for general political
purposes, and thereby forming the leading
distinctions of Whig and Tory in the state,
without reference to the Stuart succession,
376; first meeting after the coalition of Fox
and Bedford, 405 ; first notice of reporters
and taking of notes in the Commons, 456 ;
eloquence reviewed, 486; session of 1756
opens, ii. 1 ; meeting after Pitt's coming
into power, 109; its support demanded by
the king during the contests of parties, 211;
session of 1758,274, 325; session of 1759,
389.
Parliamentary orators of 1755, characters of,
i. 4S9, 491.
Party feeling, extraordinary instance of, i. 160.
Parties state of, in the year 1752, i. 229.
Patriots, spurious, how made, and why, i. 30,
31.
Peerages, refusal of one in Ireland, and why,
i. 246, 247.
PELHAM, Right Hon. Henry, his political
suavity, i. 2; parliamentary discussion on
the constitutional queries, 9; political in
consistency, 16; financial expertness, 27;
political and family differences, 40; proposes
the subsidy to Bavaria, 41 ; excites surprise
by supporting the Naturalization BiU, 47;

526

INDEX OF MATTERS.

conduct in regard to the auditorship of the
exchequer, 72 ; conduct on the regency
affair, in regard to the Princess of Wales,
90, 106; carries the bill on a first reading,
107; his feelings on the opposition of Speaker
Onslow, 111; speech on third reading of
the Regency Bill, 134; power secured by
the passing of that biU, 140; political cha
racter and anecdotes, 145, 159; intrigues
against Lord Sandwich, 164; his political
and private character exposed to the king by
the Duke of Bedford, 167; hurt by Lord
Trentham's resignation and reproaches, 168;
unhandsome conduct in regard to private
correspondence, 175; jealousy of Mr. Fox
during the illness of the Duke of Cumber
land, 185; dull speech in reply to Lord
Egmont opposing the army estimates, 187;
proposes the land tax, and proposes a most
extraordinary system of national policy, 1 89 ;
his power confirmed by a cessation of op
position, 198; paraUel between him and Sir
R. Walpole, 199; poUtical influence at open
ing of 1 752, 209; supports the Saxon treaty,
212; in 1753 replies to Lord Egmont in de
fence of the address, 258; rebukes Alderman
Beckford for opposition, 269; parliamentary
sparring with Fox on the Marriage Bill,
297; interesting conversation with Fox on
the debates on the Marriage Bill, and his
difference with the ChanceUor Hardwicke,
304; opposes the repeal of the Plantation
Act, 318; his death and character, 32 1 , et seq .
Pelham interest, accused of supporting Van-
deput in Westminster, i. 12; regency, 89;
their power in parliament and in the cabinet
secured by the Regency Bill, 140; intrigues,
149, 160.
Pelham, Lady Catharine, interference in party
politics, ii. 216.

Pensions, heavy ones bro'ught on the nation
by the capricious change of ministry in 1755,
i. 485 ; heavy charges entailed on the public
by the coalition of Pitt, Fox, and Newcastle,
ii. 226.
Philipps, Sir John, his character, i. 98; moves
the King's Bench for a Habeas Corpus for
Murray, ibid.
PITT, Right Hon. William, political incon
sistency, i. 6; parliamentary recantation, 7;
renews his connexion with the Prince of
Wales, 10; differs with Pelham on the vote
for seamen, 15; his parliamentary oratory,
36; parliamentary politics, 52; offends the
Whigs, ibid; Fox's opinion of him, 53;
politics at the prince's court, 69; his friends
suffer from the king's displeasure, 73 ; anec
dotes biographical, 79 ; mortification at the
royal silence and neglect, 95 ; levels an at
tack at Fox upon Anstruther's affair, 95;
change of politics upon the Regency BiU,
1 1 9, 1 23 ; he and his party dissatisfied at the
triumph of the Pelhams over the Bedford
interest, 210; incites Lord Cobham to tra
verse the king's politics in favour of the
Archduke Joseph of Austria, 211; opposes
the repeal of the Plantation Act, 318; looked
to as a candidate for the premiership, 329 ;
is persuaded to join the Newcastle admini
stration, 336 ; his disgust at the new arrange
ments, leads to an explanation with Fox,
340; differences with the Duke of Newcastle,
353 ; alarms the House with his spirited
remarks on charges of bribery, 354 ; attacks
the Solicitor General Murray as secretary at
war, 357; breach with Sir George (Lord)
Lyttelton, 358, et seq.; his conduct during
a projected change of ministry, 362 ; is
disclaimed by Fox, 364 ; makes one of his
best speeches on the Scottish Sheriff Depute

INDEX OF MATTERS.

527

Bill, 370 ; objected to by the Tories, who
uow first unite to form a distinct political
party in the state, on points unconnected
with jacobitism, 376 ; separates from Fox,
397; refuses to support the German treaties,
399 ; his interference guarded against during
the coalition of Fox and Bedford, 405 ;
commences a tempestuous opposition in the
House, 407 ; most eloquent speech on that
occasion, 412; is dismissed from office, 418;
but accepts a pension, ibid; speech on the
naval estimates, 422 ; florid speech in favour
of the war in America, in preference to Ger
man campaigns, 438; supports the militia
question, 448; parliamentary quarrel with
Hume Campbell, 459; admirable and witty
speech in reply on the committee report,
479 ; character of, as a parliamentary orator,
490, 491; contemptuous treatment of Lyttel
ton as chancellor, ii. 3; ridicules the affair
of the Swiss battalions for American service,
11; et seq. ; opposition to the Hessian
troops, 33 ; and to the Hanoverians, ibid ;
violent philippic against ministers in the
debate upon vote of credit, 37; sarcastic
attack of Lyttelton, 41; anecdotes of his
connection with Lord Bute, 49 ; proceedings
on Fox's resignation, political and courtly
intrigues, 89; visits Lady Yarmouth, 94;
declines acting with Fox, 97; gradual re
laxation in his demands and politics, 98 ;
comes into power, 104; arrangements for
his friends, 1 07 ; his objects and conduct as
first minister, 109; his long speech for the
opening of parliament sent back by the
king unread, to be shortened, 110; affairs
connected with Byng's trial, 135, 140; first
appearance in the House as minister, and to
demand money for Hanover, 140; declares
in favour of mercy to Admiral Byng in the

House, 149, 155; asks mercy of the king,
but refused, 152; exertions in the House on
the royal message of reprieve, 155, 174;
intrigues to dismiss him from power, 195;
events leading to a change of ministry, 198;
chooses to be turned out in preference to re
signation, 199; his power and popularity,
202; tendency towards the Duke of New
castle, 204 ; extraordinary finesse in attend
ing the House on the Minorca inquiry, 205 ;
further negotiations, 210; comes again into
power with the Duke of Newcastle, 224 ;
commences a vigorous system of govern
ment, 233 ; political honesty in the affair of
Closter Seven, 249 ; «;f Rochefort also, 261 ;
patronizes Wolfe, 262 ; political influence in
1753, 271; objects to German campaigns,
274; supports the Habeas Corpus, 287; his
conduct of the war, 305 ; opens the session
of 1758, personal and ministerial conduct,
330; character of his mUitary administration,
342; successes of 1759, 343, et seq.; cha
racter and ministry, 346; offends the House
by t axes and excise, 35 1 ; speech in par
liament after the glorious successes of the
war, 1759, loses Lord Temple, 391 ; but
who returns to office, 392; declines offers
of peace from France from a determination
to humble her, 398 ; rupture with Lord Bute,
399; writes a warm letter to the Duke of
Bedford on the affairs of Ireland, 406.
Plantation Act, its repeal proposed in the
House of Commons, i. 316.
Planting in England first encouraged by Archi
bald, Duke of Argyle, i. 242.
Plate, wrought, taxed, ii. 24; ignorance of
leading members, 25.
Pocoeke, Admiral, successes in the East Indies,
ii. 383.

528

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Police, national, observations on, in commuta
tion of capital punishments, i. 224.
Policy, national, a most extraordinary system
of proposed by Pelham, i. 189.
Pompadour, Madame, affair of Miss Murphy's
rivalship with, i. 291.
Ponsonby, Speaker, in Ireland, party politics
during the Bedford administration, ii. 255,
et seq.
Pope, Alexander, anecdote of his duplicity
towards Lord BoUnbroke, i. 195.
Popedom, consequences of election to, upon
general pontics, ii. 309.
Porteus, Captain, affair of, at Edinburgh,
curious facts relating to, i. 36, 50.
Portugal, complaints about money smuggled
by Enghsh ships of war, i. 224.
Portugal, King of, assassinated, ii. 318, et seq.
Post-office, breach of confidence in opening
letters, i. 175.
Potter, Thomas, parliamentary exertions on
the Gin Bill, i. 60.
Potter, Mr., shameful conduct in falsifying
votes as a teller in the House, i. 376.
Poulett, Earl of, his political character and
conduct, i. 381 ; absurd motion by, 383.
Prague, battle of, and Prussian victory, ii. 210.
Pratt, Mr. (Lord Camden), becomes attorney
general at the express desire of Mr. Pitt, ii.
225 ; brings in a bill to explain and support
the Habeas Corpus, ii. 287.
Prerogative, royal, observations on, i. 349.
Press, public, first notice of reports in the
House of Commons, i. 456.
Pretender, the, account of his family and court,
i. 248.
Prevot's regiment, long debates respecting, ii.
6, et seq.
Prince Edward, vide Edward.
Prince George (George III.), conduct on de

mise of his father, i. 68 ; changes in his esta
blishment, 69, 74, 81 ; extraordinary sus
picion of the Duke of Cumberland, 91 ;
created Prince of Wales, 98 ; new appoint
ments in his household, 196; divisions in
his tutorship, and connected with affairs in
Ireland, 247, 253 ; affair of the pretended
memorial, written by Horace Walpole, 261,
266 ; marriage proposed with a princess of
Brunswick, 396; opposition to the coalition
of Fox and Bedford, 405 ; attains the age of
majority, ii. 47; proposed separation from
his mother, 50, 62, et seq.; new household
established, 93 ; enters on political life by
interfering in the formation of a ministry,
219 ; animadversions on his education, 231;
influence of Lord Bute, 302 ; secret politics
of his court discovered, 399.
Prince of Wales, Frederick, vide Wales.
Princess of Wales, vide Wales.
Prize Bill, debates on, i. 43 1 .
Protestant ascendency, vide Ascendency.
Protester, a new anti-ministerial paper, its
history and first appearance, i. 300.
Prussia, Frederick, King of, account of his
successes and reverses in the campaign in
Germany, of 1760, ii. 443, 452. — See also
Frederick.
Prussia, accommodation with that state, ii. 2 ;
new treaty, 36 ; its politics previous to the
German war, 60, 76, et seq.; pacific politics
of Frederick, 78; his political and military
character, 82 ; successes of Frederick in Bo
hemia, 209, et seq.; new treaty with, 293.
Publications, licentious, prohibited by the
police in 1758, ii. 283.
Pulteney, Lord, political character and con
nexions, i. 431; speech on the treaties,
465.
Pulteney, William, see Bath.

INDEX OF MATTERS.

529

Purity of elections, infringed by the people, i.
309. Q.
Quackery, medical, anecdotes of, i. 152, 195.
Qualifications for the House of Commons,
conscientious arrangement of the Duke of
Devonshire, i. 437.
Qualification Bill, proceedings on, ii. 436,
437.
Quakers exempted in the Marriage Bill, i. 295.
Quebec, expedition against, ii. 343, et seq.; Ge
neral Murray defeated at, 438 ; the French
driven thence, 439, 442.
Queries, constitutional, so called, an attack
on the Duke of Cumberland, i. 3.
R.
Ralph, a dull political author, bought off by
mistake, i. 300.
Randan, Due de, the French governor of Han
over, his praiseworthy humanity, ii. 289.
Ranelagh masquerades, curious denouncement
of, by drunken mobs, ii. 283.
Ravensworth, Lord, his character as a warm
and honest Whig, i. 265 ; affair of the pre
tended memorial, ibid, et seq.
Reduction of duties proved to be beneficial,
ii. 25.
Regency, political views respecting, if during
the minority of Prince George, i. 85, 99.
Reporters in parliament, first taken notice of in
the House of Commons, i. 456.
Republicanism, observations on, i. 327.
Rewards to military and naval officers, ii. 400.
Richelieu, Due de, character of, and affair of
Minorca, ii. 52, 65; writes to Voltaire in
vindication of Admiral Byng, 139.
RICHMOND, second Duke of, his death, i. 3.
VOL. II

Richmond Park, remarkable law-suit respect
ing, i. 348 ; further contests with the Prin
cess Amelia, about the right of way, ii. 61.
Rider, Sir Dudley, parliamentary character, i.
107; dies just as made a peer, ii. 46; the
patent withheld, and why, ibid.
Rigby, Mr., becomes an agent between Fox and
the Duke of Bedford, i. 404 ; further political
intrigues in Ireland, ii. 143; political cha
racter and conduct in Ireland, ii. 254, 260.
Robinhood Society, its meetings and rules, i. 36.
Robinson, Sir Thomas, appointed secretary at
war, i. 337; his character, ibid; resigns the
seals to make way for Fox; his gratitude
and paternal feelings on receiving place and
pension, i. 403 ; absurd reply to Pitt, 443.
Rochefoucault, Cardinal, works on the super
stition of Lewis XV. ii. 24.
Rochester, election to supply Byng's vacancy ;
singular circumstances connected with it,
ii. 192.
Rochefort, attack on, first proposed, ii. 234 ;
expedition to, 236, et seq.; inquiry on, 260.
Rockingham, Marquis of, his inefficient speech
on the Scottish Colonization Bill, i. 237;
on the prince's tutors, 289.
Roman Catholics in Ireland, their state in 1 752,
and before, i. 243, et seq.
Rosbach, battle of, Imperial and French armies
defeated by the King of Prussia, ii. 266.
Rouille, Mons., the French minister, sends an
extraordinary memorial respecting hostUi-
ties, ii. 1.
Royal marriages first controlled by legal en
actment in the Regency Bill, i. 127.
Royal speech, a spurious one published in
Pitt's first parliament, and the author pu
nished by the House of Lords, ii. 110.
Royal wills, anecdote of burning, i. 153; ii.
458, 459, 479, 480.
3y

530

INDEX OF MATTERS.

Royalty in England, its influence little felt in
politics, i. 326 ; the author's observations
on, as contrasted with republicanism,- i. 327.
Russia, alliance with, and its consequences, ii.
2, 75.
Rutland, Duke of, returns to court after long re
tirement, i. 368; is appointed lord steward,
but independent of party, ibid.

S.
Sabbath-day, comparative rigidness of the Jews
and Quakers, ii. 16; police regulations on,
283.
Sackville, Lord G., opposes the Duke of Cum
berland's Mutiny Bill, i. 35 ; his character,
and political influence in Ireland, 244 ; de
clares himself for Pitt in the House of Com
mons ; political anecdotes and observations
on the same, ii. 142 ; acquires great weight
in government, 290 (vide Ireland passim) ;
commands in Germany, 323 ; battle of Min
den, 360, et seq., 379, et seq. ; court-mar
tial, and opinion on, after dismissal from the
service, 413; personal consequences of the
imputation of cowardice, 416; arrest and
court-martial brought before the House of
Commons as matter of privilege, 424 ; sen
tence, 431 ; remarks, 432.
Salt tax proposed by Alderman Beckford, ii.
132.
SANDWICH, Earl of, political rise to the
Admiralty, through the Bedford interest, i.
1 ; sporting practices and diplomatic ser
vices, 2 ; political manoeuvre in regard to
the German war, 85, et seq.; political versa
tility and clinging to power, 140 ; political
hostility of the Pelham faction, 161; inter
feres to save the Duke of Bedford from that
party, 162; his poUtical character, 163;

is dismissed from office by the Pelham fac
tion, 165; differs in parliament with the
Duke of Bedford, on the Saxon treaty, 218;
ruins his credit for abilities by an unfor
tunate speech, 219; election differences with
the Duke of Newcastle in Cornwall, 353,
375.
Sandys, Lord, parliamentary juggling on the
Marriage Bill, i. 302; becomes speaker to
the House of Lords, ii. 107.
Saunders, Captain, compelled by the first lord
of the Admiralty to vote for the Marriage
Bill, i. 300.
Saunders, Admiral, his character, political and
naval, 394 ; judicious exercise of discre
tion, ibid.
Saxony, a subsidiary treaty with, in favour of
the Archduke Joseph, i. 210; comes before
parliament, 212; invaded by Prussia, ii. 79;
and Dresden taken, ibid ; its sufferings from
the German war, 409 ; character and anec
dotes of the court of, 465, 478.
Scarborough, extraordinary surrender of the
liberty of election to Pelham, as the mini
ster, i. 309.
Schweidnitz, seige and capture by the King of
Prussia, ii. 303.
SCOTLAND, proposed colonization of the
forfeited estates in, i. 224, et seq.; anecdotes
of the rebellion, 231 ; policy of the Pelham
ministry for the tranquillity of Scotland,
234; political anecdotes of the Scottish
Whigs, 241 ; influence and conduct of Archi
bald, Duke of Argyle, 242; predominant
influence of that duke under the Newcastle
administration, 339; motion respecting the
sheriffs depute, 370, 379 ; piratical affair of
Thurot's squadron, ii. 421.
Seamen seized on board of Embden ships ; pro
ceedings on, and a biU brought in i. 228;

INDEX OF MATTERS.

531

their marriages prevented by the Marriage
Bill, 300 ; bill for regulating their wages
brought in by George Grenville, but lost, ii.
214.
Seeker, Archbishop, disliked by George II., i.
56; as Bishop of Oxford, extraordinary in
stance of sophistry in regard to the Marriage
Bill, 302 ; becomes Archbishop of Canter
bury, on the death of Hutton, ii. 290.
Secretaryship of State, a third office first sug
gested for the colonies by Lord HaUfax, i.
173, 191.
Secretaryship in Ireland, its lucrative influence,
ii. 279.
Secret service money, arrangements respecting,
under the Newcastle administration, i. 331 ;
its baneful influence, 332.
Selwyn, old John, anecdotes of, i. 81.
Sharpe, governor of Virginia, chosen as a ge
neral by the Duke of Newcastle, i. 347.
Shebbear, Dr., affair of, ii. 329.
Sheridan, Mr., as manager, produces a thea
trical riot by political allusions, i. 338.
Sheriffs depute of Scotland, motion respect
ing the tenure of their offices, i. 370, 379,
et seq.
Sherlock, Bishop, political and ecclesiastical
character of, i. 129.
Silesian loan, its stoppage, and further trans
actions thereon, i. 259, et seq.
Sinking fund proposed by Sir John Barnard,
i. 190, 223.
Smith, Admiral, president of Byng's court-
martial, examination before , the House of
Lords, ii. 180; anecdote, 192.
Smollett, Dr., punished for a libel on Admiral
Knollys in the Critical Review, ii. 419 ; anec
dotes of him, 420.
Smuggling of money in foreign ports, i. 224.

Somersetshire, troops raised in, for home ser
vice, forced to Gibraltar, ii. 46.
Sophistry, extraordinary instance of, from the
Bishop of Oxford, i. 302.
South Sea Company receive indemnification
from Spain at the peace of 1751, i. 5; their
concerns betrayed by the Duke of Newcastle,
6 ; propose to lower their interest, but demur
to giving up their demand against Spain, 54.
SPAIN, close of the war in 1751, and indem
nification to the South Sea Company, i. 6 ;
political animadversions, ibid ; political state
previous to the war of 1756, 345; mini
sterial assertions respecting her love of peace,
350 ; promises not to engage in the war,
394 ; death of the king, contest for the
crown, affairs of Naples, ii. 372.
St. Cas, attack on, ii. 313,
St. Maloes, expedition to, ii. 304.
St. Simon, Marquis de, a Frenchman, offends
the House of Commons by taking notes in
the gallery, i. 456.
Stage, act for licensing passed, i. 12.
Stair, Lord, courtly anecdote of, and Queen
Caroline, i. 192.
Stanhope, Earl of, his republican principles,
and steady party conduct, i. 100.
Stanhope, Sir William, anecdote of, i. 65.
Statesmen, their faults more productive of events
than their good intentions, i. 325.
Style, new, proposed in the peers by Lord Ches
terfield, i. 44.
Stocks fall on Pitt's resignation in 1 757, ii. 207.
Stone, Dr. George, primate of Ireland, his cha
racter and political influence, i. 244 ; eager
participation in Irish politics, ii. 254, et seq. ;
vide Ireland passim.
Stone, Mr., engaged in the education of Prince
George, i. 248 ; dissensions in that esta-
3 Y 2

532

INDEX OF MATTERS.

bUshment, 253, et seq.; his influence in the
ministerial changes leading to the fall of the
Duke of Newcastle, i. 403 (vide further
under the head Princess of Wales).
Strange, Lord, parliamentary character, and
motion on General Anstruther's affair, i. 93 ;
speech on the second reading of the Regency
Bill, 113.
Stuart, House of, the author's observations
on the three anniversary holidays in honour
of it, i. 369; decUne of their cause, 376.
Subsidy, vide Bavaria, Prussia, Germany.
Suffolk, Henrietta Howard, Countess of, anec
dotes of, i. 45, 512, 513 ; character and po
litical anecdote of, 154.
Sunderland, Lord, betrayed by the Duke of
Newcastle, i. 142.
Suppression of vice, parliamentary committee
for, appointed, i. 36.
Sweetmeats, a love of, considered as a quali
fication for a throne, ii. 375.
Sweden, want of patriotism and disregard of
liberty, i. 199; revolution in, ii. 70.
Swiss regiments, for American service, debates
on, ii. 6, 18, et seq.
Sydenham, Mr., extraordinary speech in fa
vour of Murray the jacobite, i. 184, 191.

Talbot, Lord, political character, and speech
on committal of the Regency Bill, i. 104 ;
speech on the charges against the prince's
tutors, 283.
Tea tax proposed by Alderman Beckford, ii.
132.
Temple, Lord, opposes the repeal of the Jew
Naturalization Bill, i. 312, 314, 316 ; solicits
mercy of the king for Admiral Byng, at the

request of seven members of the court-mar
tial, but is refused, ii. 153, 176, 192; his
tiresomeness in council, 1 97 ; comes in with
Pitt and the Duke of Newcastle, as lord
privy seal, 224 ; parliamentary squabble with
Lord Lyttelton, 301 ; resigns the privy seal
on being refused the garter, 391 ; but re
turns, 392.
Tessin, Count, the Swedish minister, his de
spotic policy, in imitation of the Pelhams, i.
199.
Test, a weekly paper begun by Charles Towns
hend; only one number published, ii. 59.
Thomas, Dr. (Bishop of Peterborough), ap
pointed preceptor to the Prince of Wales, i.
255.
Thurot, Mons., invades Ireland with a smaU
squadron, but is defeated, and falls, ii. 388,
et seq. 424.
Ticonderoga taken, ii. 378.
Times and manners, view of, in 1757, ii. Ill,
282.
TORIES, first noticed as a political body di
stinct from jacobitism, i. 376; acquire im
portance in the House by uniting to hold a
balance between Fox and Newcastle, ibid;
further manoeuvres in opposition to Fox,
377, et seq.; opinions on the calling in of
foreign troops, ii. 30 ; their feeling towards
Pitt on his becoming first minister, 109,
132; Tory aldermen attempt to promote a
petition in favour of Byng, but fail, 1 88 ;
join with Pitt's friends to form an opposi
tion, 201 ; election of a chancellor at Ox
ford, 341 ; weaned from their opposition to
Pitt by militia commissions, 357.
Torrington, Lord, exerts himself in the cause
of his uncle Byng, ii. 137.
Townshend, Charles, opposes the Marriage Bill,

INDEX OF MATTERS.

533

i. 296 ; attacks Lord Egmont on his absurd
conduct respecting the Mutiny BiU, 365;
his long speech on the German treaties, in
opposition to Newcastle, 467 ; parliamentary
squabble with Fox on the question of fo
reign troops in America, ii. 20, 22 ; extra
ordinary conduct and political shuffling on
Byng's affair, 172; witticism on Fox's sine
cure grant of the pells in Ireland, 201.
Townshend, Colonel George (afterwards briga
dier-general), character of, i. 33; attack on
General Anstruther, 48 ; complains to the
House against Mr. Fox's circulars, 419;
procures the repeal of aU the old militia
acts preparatory to a new one, ii. 3 ; next
in command to Wolfe at Quebec, 345, et
seq.; succeeds Wolfe in the command in
Canada, but treats his memory unhand
somely, 337.
Townshend, Lord, political anecdotes of, i.
142.
Townshend, Lady, political anecdotes of, i. 33..
Transportation, commutation to hard labour in
the dock-yards, proposed as a substitute for,
i. 223.
Trentham, Lord, gives offence to his West
minster constituents, i. 11; judicious con
duct, 12.
Troops raised by peers to guard against inva
sion, ii. 46.
Truth necessary for history, and why, i. 208.
Turner, Sir Edward, his extraordinary dis
avowal of Mr. Fox, i. 422.
Tyrawley, Lord, »ent to Portugal to settle
complaints about smuggling money, i. 224 ;
parliamentary affair with Lord George Sack
ville, ii. 291.
Tyrrel, Sir John, shameful conduct of, on the
Westminster petition, i. 22.

U.
Upton, Mr. (Lord Templetown), party affairs
in Ireland, ii. 257- V.
Vandeput, Sir George, first brought forward in
Westminster, i. 12.
Vane, Henry (afterwards Earl of Darlington),
his poUtical character, drunk or sober, i.
101.
Vaudreuil, Mons. de, his perfidious conduct in
Canada, ii. 387.
Vernon, Admiral, outrageous speech on Mur
ray's affair, and the Westminster petition, i.
26 ; anecdotes of, parliamentary and naval,
i. 86.
Viceroyship of Ireland, its lucrative advantages,
ii. 279.
Voltaire, character of, as an historian, i. 325 ;
sends to England a letter from the Due de
Richelieu exculpating Byng, ii. 139.
W.
Waldegrave, Earl of, appointed warden of the
stannaries, i. 79; appointed governor to the
Prince of Wales, 254; character and anec
dotes, 255 ; speech, 286 ; entrusted with
negociations for a projected change of mi
nistry, 362 ; attempts to form a ministry, ii.
250 ; but is forced to abandon it, 223.
Waldegrave, General, by a weU-timed ma
noeuvre, gains the battle of Minden, ii. 367.
WALES, Frederick, Prince of, renewed in
tercourse with the Pitt party, i. 10; conduct
of his party on the Westminster petition, 23 ;
party politics, 34, 40 ; death, and its poli
tical consequences, 61, 75; his character,
62; his debts, 75; songs by, 500, 503.

534

INDEX OF MATTERS.

WALES, Princess of, character and anec
dotes, i. 66 ; behaviour on death of the
Prince, 67; education of her children, 69;
kindness of the king, 72 ; changes in her
household, 82; the regency affair, 89, ct
seq., 130, et seq.; the Princess Matilda, a
posthumous child, born, 174; differences in
the tutorship of the Prince of Wales, 247 ;
appears in public with the same honours as
the late queen, 252 ; interference in the po-
Utics of the day, 362 ; her projects for go
verning her son, 396; conduct in regard to
his proposed marriage, ibid ; interference in
politics, 399, 403; opposition to the coali
tion of Fox and Bedford, 405 ; her con
duct on the prince attaining majority, ii.
47; anecdotes of Lord Bute, 48 ; proposed
plan of removing the prince, 62 ; Leicester-
house politics and change of ministry, 89, et
seq.; total rejection of Fox's overtures, in
1757, at Leicester-house, 203; further ma
noeuvres, 219, 225, 302.
Wall, General, political anecdotes of, i. 345.
WALPOLE, Horace, moves the address in
the Commons in 1751, i. 7; his sarcasms
against the Devonshires accounted for, 1 70 ;
praiseworthy candour, 206, 207, et seq.;
the pretended memorial on the education of
the Prince of Wales, 261 ; his part in the
breach between Pitt and Lyttelton, 359 ;
and of a union between Pitt and Fox, ibid ;
speech on the Swiss regiments, ii. 12 ; ap
plied to by Fox on his rupture with the
Duke of Newcastle, but declines interfer
ence, 90 ; urges Keppel to apply to be ab
solved from his oath, 153; extraordinary
fact relative to Byng's affair, 189; advice
to Fox, to save him from the precipice of
poUtical ruin, 222 ; observations on, and

apologies for his work, 333 ; draws his own
character, 336.
Walpole, old Horace, political character, with
anecdotes, i. 122, et seq.; his remarkable
speech on the Saxon treaty, 212; speech
and vote different, 222.
Walpole, Lord, his replies to Lord Bolin-
broke's letters and principles, i. 1 93.
WALPOLE, Sir Robert, inconsistency of his
political opponents at close of the Spanish
war, i. 6 ; witticism on Sir W. Yonge, 20 ;
financial expertness, 27; politic advice to
the Duke of Cumberland, 91 ; his reasons
for supporting the Duke of Newcastle, 142 ;
contrasted with Bohnbroke, 1 95 ; parallel
between him and Pelham, 199.
War of 1756, as so called, first announced to
the House of Commons by order of the king,
i. 382, 389.
Warburton, Dr., promoted to the see of Glou
cester, ii. 401.
Washington, General, his first action, whilst a
major in British service, in the war of 1756,
i. 346 ; his curious despatch, and the king's
remark, 347.
Watson, Admiral, retakes Calcutta, ii. 246,
276.
Ways and Means, vide Commons.
Weobly, election of Lord Perceval, i. 31.
West, Admiral, his conduct iu Byng's affair, ii.
126, 135.
West Indian Colonies, attempt of Lord Halifax
to bring them under the control of the Board
of Trade, i. 173 ; further ministerial negotia
tions, 191 ; naval and military operations in
1759, ii. 344.
Westminster petition to the Commons against
Lord Trentham, i. 11, 16; spurious pa
triotism and jacobitism united, and why,

INDEX OF MATTERS.

535

31, 32 ; attempted opposition to the court,
in favour of Sir George Vandeput, fails,
257.
Westmorland, Earl of, his political character,
and election to the chancellorship of Oxford,
ii. 341.
WHIG INTEREST, alluded to in parlia
ment, in regard to the Duke of Cumberland,
in 1751, i. 9; young Whigs gain a parlia
mentary victory on the Westminster peti
tion, 14; their conduct in support of party,
1 8 ; defeat the Tories in bringing Murray
on his knees at the bar, 24 ; in favour of
general naturalization, 38; change of politics
on that bill, 48 ; take offence at Pitt, 52 ;
proceedings on a breach of privilege, 82 ;
their feelings on the dismissal of the Bedford
party from power, through the Pelham in
trigues, 170; political anecdotes of Scottish
Whigs, 241 ; interference in the education
of the Prince of Wales, 254 ; affair of the
pretended memorial respecting the education
of the Prince of Wales, written by Horace
Walpole, 261 ; political difficulties on the
death of the premier Pelham, 329 ; first op
posed by the Tories, as a party, in a po
litical point of view distinct from the ques
tion of the Stuart succession, 376.
Whitehead, Paul, anecdote and character of, i.
174.
Whitfield, the methodist, ii. 282.
Willes, Lord Chief Justice, character and anec
dotes of, i. 76.
Williams, Sir Charles Hanbury, witticism on
Speaker Onslow, i. 18; witticism upon Lord
Anson, 169; his foreign diplomacy, 177,
1 78 ; persuades Fox to refuse the seals, but
is never forgiven by him for it, 334; epi
gram by, on the Sackville family, 509;

•* biographical notice of, ii. 463, 464 ; charac
ter of the court, politics, and military force
of the Elector of Saxony, 465, 478.
Wills, royal, anecdote of burning, i. 153; ii.
458, 459, 479, 480.
Wilmington, Lord, his bon-mot on the Duke
of Newcastle, i. 141; character and anec
dotes, 155.
Wilmot, Judge, his character, and appoint
ment as a commissioner of the great seal,
ii. 107.
Winchelsea, Earl of, excellent political charac
ter, i. 151; brings forward a bill to com
mute transportation to working in the dock
yards, i. 223; behaves with true spirit, ii.
225.
Winduw tax in Scotland, its inefficiency, i. 228
Wine licence office abolished, ii. 195.
Winnington, Thomas, character and anecdotes,
i. 151.
Wolfe, General, first employed in the war, in the
expedition to Rochefort, ii. 239; patronized
by Pitt, 262 ; goes to America second in
command, 277; expedition to Quebec, 344 ;
difficulties of the siege, 383 ; takes Quebec,
but falls in the moment of victory, 385 ; mo
nument voted by parliament, 393.
Worcester, Bishop of (Dr. Maddox), speech on
the Regency BiU, i. 103.
Words, parhamentary meaning of, whimsically
misinterpreted by Henley and Murray, both
state lawyers, i. 300.

Yarmouth, Countess of, anecdotes and cha
racter, i. 154; prudent refusal to interfere
in foreign politics, ii. 208.
Yonge, Sir W., anedotes and character of, i.
19; proposes that offices on the prince's

536

INDEX OF MATTERS.

estabhshment shall vacate seats in the HouSe,
99 ; seconds a motion for repeal of the Bri
bery Oath, i. 320.
Yorke, Charles, speech on the Regency Bill, i.
108; parliamentary sparring with Fox on
the Marriage Bill, 299.

Yorke, Colonel (Lord Dover), resident at the
Hague, receives an extraordinary memorial
from the French court, ii. 1.
Yorkshire, riots on the Militia BiU, from fears
of foreign service, ii. 233.
Yvery, House of, bibliographic anecdote of, i. 3 1 .

THE END.

LONDON:
PRINTED DV THOMAS DAVISON, WHITEFIUARS.

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