YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND, ACCESSION OF GEORGE III., 1760, TO THE ACCESSION OF QUEEN VICTORIA, 1837. By the Rev. T. S. HUGHES, B.1X, LATE CANON OF PETERBOROUGH. BEING THE COMPLETION OF THE HISTOBT OF ENGLAND FEOM THE INTASION OF JUXITJS CffiSAE TO THE FEESENT BEIGN. A NEW EDITION, WITH A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, COl'lOTIS NOTES, CORRECTIONS, IMPROVEMENTS, AND ENLARGEMENT. TO WHICH IS PREFIXED, A PRELIMINARY ESSAY. IN SEVEN VOLUMES. VOL. III. LONDON : GEORGE BELL, 186, FLEET STREET. 1855. Skills ^SlS&SSl ISBN®* LORD THURLOW. LONDON : RAVNEIt AND HO»OK8, I'RlNTKttS 109, Fetter Lane, Fleet Street. EW57 5c CONTENTS THE THIRD VOLUME. CHAPTER XXII. GEORGE III.— 1779. Meeting of parliament — King's speech — Amendment moved to the address — Systematic attack on administration arranged — Efforts of Burke, Dunning, and Fox — Change of principles in lord Lyt- tleton and Mr. Adam — Duel between the latter and Mr. Fox — Attack on the king's speech by lord George Gordon — Lord Shelburne attacks ministers in the case of Ireland — Communi cation of papers respecting that country by lord North— Intro duces three propositions for the relief of Ireland, &c. — Fails in giving satisfaction — Cry for economy — Cause of economical reform — Duke of Richmond's motion on the subject in the house of lords rejected — Mr. Burke introduces it into the lower house — Meeting jn Yorkshire and other counties, &c, to petition for reform — Mr. Burke's motion in the house — His scheme, com prised in five resolutions, is rejected- — Lord Shelburne's motion for a commission of accounts rejected — ¦¦Colonel Barrels motion for a committee of accounts passed with lord North's approbation — Bill for excluding contractors, &c. from parliament, rejected — Other motions regarding places and pensions, &c. — Duel between Mr. Fullarton and lord Shelburne — Altercation between lord North and the speaker — Reception of petitions by the house — Debates on them — Mr. Dunning's motions on the increase of crown influence, &c. carried — Illness of the speaker — The house adjourns — Reassembles with altered sentiments — Mr. Dunning's motion for an address to the king — Mr. Adam opposes it — Answered by Mr. Fox — Motion rejected — Subsequent debates, &c. — Change of sentiments in the house accounted for — Lord North's proposal respecting the East India company — Motion by general Conway, &c. — Protestant association — Lord George Gordon — Steps taken to procure a repeal of acts in favor of papists — Riots in London — Meeting of parliament — Conduct of the king — Discussions respecting the interference of the military — Lord Mansfield's opinion — The petitions taken into considera tion by the commons — Bill against catholic schoolmasters passed by the lower, but rejected by the upper house — Supplies, &c. for iv- CONTENTS. 1780 — Rioters tried — Lord George Gordon tried, and acquitted — Dissolution of parliament — New elections — The armed neu trality — Coalition against us in India — State of domestic affairs — Sir George Rodney's success against the Spaniards — Defeats admiral Langara — His humane conduct regarding the prisoners — Relieves Minorca and Gibraltar, &c. — Sails for the West Indies — His actions with the French fleet, &c. — Proceeds to the coast of North America — State of American affairs— Expedition against South Carolina— Capture of Charleston, and reduction of the province, &c. — General Gates appointed to the American command — Battle of Camden — Conduct of lord Cornwallis — Affairs at New York — Treason of general Arnold, and fate of major Andre, &c. — Rodney returns to the West Indies — Mari time losses sustained by the British — Domestic affairs. page 1 CHAPTER XXIII. Meeting of the new parliament — Mr. Cornwall elected speaker — King's speech — Fox's attack on lord Sandwich — Lord North's reply — Rupture with Holland — Notice of it in the session of 1781 — Associations appoint delegates — Mr. Burke brings for ward the rejected bills of last session — -Mr. Pitt's first speech in the house of commons — Other popular efforts — Altered prin ciples of whigs and tories — Supplies, &c. — Other popular sub jects discussed in the house — Mr. Sheridan's first speech — System of associations and delegates approved — Evils in the marriage act corrected — Debates on it — Different opinions of Fox and Burke on the subject — Fox's motion respecting the war — Pitt's speech, and defence of his father's principles — Committees on East Indian affairs — Temporary bill continuing the company's monopoly — End of the session, &c. — East Indian affairs in the Deccan from 1778 to 1786 — Attack on Jersey — Gibraltar relieved — Attacked by the Spaniards — Attack on Mi norca — Combined fleets in the English channel — Naval action with the Dutch — Commodore Johnstone attacked by de Suffrein — Capture of St. Eustace — Confiscation of property — Farther operations of the fleets in the West Indies — State of affairs in America— Arnold's expedition to Virginia — State of the Ameri can army, &c; — Washington's resources — Lord Cornwallis's Vir ginian campaign—Large naval force despatched from France un der de Grasse— Siege of Cornwallis in Yorktown— His surrender to Washington — Reflections on the events of the campaign . 55 CHAPTER XXIV. Sentiments of foreign powers towards England — Prevailing dis affection at home toward ministers — Arrival of the news con cerning lord Cornwallis's surrender, &c. — King's speech De bates on address, &c. — Attack on sir George Rodney and general Vaughan regarding the capture of St. Eustace, &c— Debates on the army estimates — Motions of sir James Lowther for peace CONTENTS. v Declining influence of administration — Renewed debates — Mr. Pitt's speech, &c. — Discharge of Mr. Laurens — Parliament ad journs — Addresses to his majesty for a dismissal of ministers — Admiral Kempenfeldt's action — Domestic events — Appearance of the heir apparent at court, &c. — State of Spain and France — Events in the West Indies — Capture of St. Christopher's, &c. — Plan of attack on ministers — Fox's motions for inquiry into the navy, &c. — Event discouraging to the ministers — Debates on lord George Germaine's elevation to the peerage — Attacks on administration — Lord North resigns — Rockingham administra tion — Mr. Pitt's situation — That of Fox and Burke — Sentiments of the cabinet — Resolutions agreed on — Affairs of Ireland, and establishment of its legislative independence — Bill passed re garding contractors and revenue officers — Resolutions regarding Wilkes expunged from the journals — Borough of Cricklade dis franchised — Debates on parliamentary reform — Subject intro duced by Mr. Pitt, &c. — East India affairs — Passing of Mr. Burke's bill for economical reform — Proposals for peace with Holland — Low estimation of England at this time by the conti nental powers — Great Britain recovers her consequence by Rodney's glorious victory — Honors bestowed on the admiral, &c. — Tardy negotiations for peace page 106 CHAPTER XXV. Change in ministry through the death of lord Rockingham — Lord Shelburne's administration — Prorogation of parliament, and king's speech — Supplies — Anecdote respecting the regalia of the crown — Affairs of the war in America — Conduct of general Greene, and evacuation of Charleston — State of things in New York — Affair of captain Joshua Huddy — State of the war in the West Indies — Plan of our maritime warfare — Admiral Barrington's cruise — Brilliant affair of captain Jer vis — Lord Howe's manoeuvres — Dreadful losses sustained by admiral Graves's fleet — Loss of the Royal George — Siege and relief of Gibraltar — Prospect of a general pacification — Mr. Fitzherbert sent as minister plenipo tentiary to Paris — Progress of negotiations — Attempts made by lord Shelburne to strengthen his cabinet — Hostilities commence between Pitt and Fox — Meeting of parliament in December — King's speech — Debates on the address, &c. — Parliament ad journs — Preliminary treaties — Affairs of Ireland — Embarrassed situation of the ministry — Commencement and conclusion of the coalition between Fox and lord North — Discussion of the preli minaries of peace in the house of lords — Defence of himself by lord Shelburne — Debates in the house of commons — Success of the coalition — Interregnum in the ministry — Addresses to the king for the appointment of a new administration — His majesty's embarrassment — Various attempts to form a cabinet — The coali tion ministers forced on the king— Character of the coalition- Mr. Pitt's prudent and honorable conduct 146 VOL. III. b CONTENTS. CHAPTER XXVI. Re-establishment of commercial intercourse, &c. with America — Provision made for the American loyalists — Loan of £12,000,000 — Outcry against it — Mr. Pitt's motion for reforming the treasury — Indian affairs brought before the house, and relief bill passed — Mr. Pitt's bill for a reform of parliament — Rejected — Other popular measures of Mr. Pitt — Petition of the quakers against the slave trade — Settlement on the prince of Wales — Prorogation of parliament — Execution of treaties, &c. — Effects of American war — State of foreign nations — Mr. Adams arrives as envoy from the United States — His interview with the king — Affairs of America — Evils consequent on the reduction of the army — Services of Washington — He bids adieu to his officers — Resigns his command to congress— His subsequent good offices — Chosen president of the United States — Re-elected to that station — His final retreat from public affairs — English affairs — The king's disgust at the coalition ministry — Fox gives notice of his cele brated India bill — Meeting of parliament — King's speech — In troduction of Mr. Fox's bill — Debates on it— Rejected— Pro ceedings of parliament in consequence — Ministry dissolved by the king — Commencement of Mr. Pitt's administration, page 183 CHAPTER XXVIL Situation of the king and the new minister — Mr. Pitt's determina tion not to dissolve the parliament — Reasons for that determina tion — Mr. Erskine's motion for an address to the king on the subject — His majesty's answer — Motion of lord Surrey respecting the duchy of Lancaster— Mr. Pitt's disinterested conduct re garding the clerkship of the pells— Domestic affairs — Conduct of the prince of Wales in the affair of Fox's India bill, &c. — Meeting of parliament— Great contest between Pitt and Fox for supremacy— Attempts made to produce a coalition between them fail— Firmness and moral courage of the king— The people favor his cause against the commons — This, added to Mr. Pitt's high character, occasions the triumph of that minister— Dissolu tion of parliament — Returns highly favorable to Mr. Pitt Effect on different parties — The minister's difficult situation . . 209 CHAPTER XXVIII. Meeting of a new parliament— Conduct of the high-bailiff of West minster canvassed — Acts to prevent smuggling— Budget of 1784 —Bill for the regulation of the East India company introduced by Mr. Pitt— Carried— Bill passed for the restoration of forfeited estates in Scotland— Great popularity of Mr. Pitt— Domestic events— Prince of Wales at Brighton— Attempt of the emperor Joseph to open the navigation of the Scheldt— Opening of par liament— The minister left in a minority— Mr. Pitt introduces a CONTENTS. vii new measure of parliamentary reform — Is defeated — Financial improvements adopted by the minister — Budget of 1785 — Affairs of Ireland — Resolutions for adjusting the commercial intercourse between the two kingdoms passed in both houses — But not sanc tioned by the Irish legislature — Mortification of Mr. Pitt on this occasion — Popular meetings in Ireland, and prosecutions by government — Affairs on the continent page 245 CHAPTER XXIX. Meeting of parliament — Bill for the establishment of an effectual fortification of the dockyards at Portsmouth and Plymouth introduced by Mr. Pitt — Is lost by the casting vote of the speaker — Mr. Pitt's proposition of an efficient sinking fund is approved by both houses, and receives the royal assent — Bill for the prevention of frauds in the revenue passed — East India company empowered to make an addition to their stock — Im provements in the government of India — Impeachment of War ren Hastings — Close of the session — Margaret Nicholson's at tempt on the life of the king — Commercial treaty with France — Convention with Spain — Dr. Seabury, bishop of Connecticut, consecrated at Aberdeen — Scottish episcopalians transfer their allegiance to the house of Hanover — Pecuniary embarrassments of the heir apparent — Deaths of the princess Amelia and Frederic of Prussia 277 CHAPTER XXX. General affairs of Europe — Parliament re-assembles — Committee of the house on the commercial treaty with France — Mr. Pitt's measure for consolidating the duties on the customs, excise, and stamps — Motion for a repeal of the corporation and test acts — Payment of the prince of Wales's debts — Impeachment of Warren Hastings voted by the house of commons — Prorogation of parliament — Interference with the affairs of Holland — Meeting of parliament — Continental engagements — Increase of military establishments — East Indian declaratory act — Domestic occur rences, &c 304 CHAPTER XXXI. Trial of Warren Hastings — Burke's opening speeches, &c — Debates — First article of impeachment opened by Fox — Second by Mr. Adam— Sheridan's speech— Burke's opinion of its elo quence, &c. — Charge against sir Elijah Impey— Additions made to the bill for trying controverted elections — The budget, and florishing state of the revenue— Mr. Pitt's plan for liquidating the claims of American loyalists — Question of the slave trade taken up by the public — Society formed, at the head of which is Mr. Wilberforce — Petitions— Committee of the privy council viii CONTENTS. —Opposition to the design of abolishing slavery— The question taken up by Mr. Pitt— Sir William Dolben's motion for allevia ting the suffering of slaves on the passage— Supported by Mr. Pitt, and carried— Treaties of alliance between Great Britain, the United Provinces, and Prussia— Object of them— Retire ment of lord Mansfield from the bench— Derangement of his majesty— Conduct of the privy council and the two houses of parliament on this occasion— Death of the speaker— Regency bill introduced into the house of commons— The king's recovery, and national demonstrations of joy page 351 CHAPTER XXXII. Plan of fortifying the West Indian islands adopted — Shop tax repealed — Mr. Beaufoy's motion respecting the corporation and test acts— Lord Stanhope's to repeal the penal laws— Mr. Wil- berforce's motion for the abolition of the slave trade — Debates on it in the house of commons — Opinions in the country at large — Sir William Dolben's bill renewed — Lord Sidney resigns his office of secretary of state— Mr. Grenville succeeds him— Mr. Addington elected speaker — Mr. Pitt's financial scheme for the year — Finances of the East India Company, &c— Affairs in the impeachment of Warren Hastings — Prorogation of parlia ment — The royal family visit the southern coast — Return to Windsor, levees, &c. — State of affairs in the north of Europe, in the Netherlands, and in France 394 CHAPTER XXXIII. State of parties at the breaking out of the French revolution, &c. — Meeting of parliament — Difference of opinion regarding events in France between Burke, Fox, &c, leading to a grand schism of the whigs — Quarrel between Burke and Sheridan — Motion to repeal the corporation and test acts rejected — Part acted by the dissenters in general polity — Mr. Flood's motion for a reform in parliament withdrawn — Scheme of finance — State of East Indian finances — Sums voted for services and losses — Evidence heard on the slave trade — Mr. Hastings's trial — Affair of Nootka- sound with the Spaniards — Session closes — Parliament dissolved ¦ — Affair of Nootka-sound adjusted — Comments on it in both houses — Proposed manner of meeting the expenses — Conti nental affairs— State of parties in England — Death of Howard the philanthropist 426 THE HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAPTER XXII. GEORGE III. (continued.)— 1779. Meeting of parliament — King's speech — Amendment moved to the address — Systematic attack on administration arranged — Efforts of Burke, Dunning, and Fox — Change of principles in lord Lyt- tleton and Mr. Adam — Duel between the latter and Mr. Fox — Attack on the king's speech by lord George Gordon — Lord Shelburne attacks ministers in the case of Ireland — Communi cation of papers respecting that country by lord North — Intro duces three propositions for the relief of Ireland, &c. — Fails in giving satisfaction — Cry for economy — Cause of economical reform — Duke of Richmond's motion on the subject in the house of lords rejected — Mr. Burke introduces it into the lower house — Meeting in Yorkshire and other counties, &c, to petition for reform — Mr. Burke's motion in the house — His scheme, com prised in five resolutions, is rejected — Lord Shelburne's motion for a commission of accounts rejected — Colonel Barry's motion for a committee of accounts passed with lord North's approbation — Bill for excluding contractors, &c. from parliament, rejected — Other motions regarding places and pensions, &c— Duel between Mr. Fullarton and lord Shelburne — Altercation between lord North and the speaker — Reception of petitions by the house — Debates on them — Mr. Dunning's motions on the increase of crown influence, &c. carried — Illness of the speaker — The house adjourns — Reassembles with altered sentiments — Mr. Dunning's motion for an address to the king — Mr. Adam opposes it — Answered by Mr. Fox — Motion rejected — Subsequent debates, &c. — Change of sentiments in the house accounted for — Lord North's proposal respecting the East India company — Motion by general Conway, &c. — Protestant association — Lord George Gordon — Steps taken to procure a repeal of acts in favor of papists — Riots in London — Meeting of parliament — Conduct of the king — Discussions respecting the interference of the military VOL. III. B 2 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. CHAP. —Lord Mansfield's opinion— The petitions taken into considera- XXIL tion by the commons— Bill against catholic schoolmasters passed 177P. by the lower, but rejected by the upper house— Supplies, &c. for 1780 — Rioters tried — Lord George Gordon tried, and acquitted — Dissolution of parliament — New elections — The armed neu trality — Coalition against us in India — State of domestic affairs — Sir George Rodney's success against the Spaniards — Defeats admiral Langara — His humane conduct regarding the prisoners — Relieves Minorca and Gibraltar, &c. — Sails for the West Indies — His actions with the French fleet, &c. — Proceeds to the coast of North America — State of American affairs — Expedition against South Carolina — Capture of Charleston, and reduction of the province, &c. — General Gates appointed to the American command — Battle of Camden — Conduct of lord Cornwallis — Affairs at New York — Treason of general Arnold, and fate of major Andr6, &c. — Rodney returns to the West Indies — Mari time losses sustained by the British — Domestic affairs. Meeting of 'Tjq; king, when he met his parliament, alluded to the ""' ' " ' character of his people as well as that of the war; and, trusting in their spirited resistance to the designs of their common enemies, professed his resolution of per sisting in the contest, and his expectation of defeating the projects of ambition and injustice : he recommended the state of Ireland to consideration, praised the exemplary conduct of the national militia, and returned cordial thanks to all his loyal subjects who had stood forward in these momentous times of trial. An extraordinary amendment was moved to the address ; its purport being to contrast the glorious condition of the country at his majesty's accession, with its present gloomy prospects : imputing this alteration to a change in the plans of government, it proposed a return to the old system ; while the present difficulties, dangers, and disgraces of the country were pointedly brought forward ; and it was asserted that nothing but new counsels and new counsellors — a real change, not mere palliatives — could prevent the con summation of public ruin. Opposition members, not content with employing all the powers of vituperation against ministers, attacked the throne itself in terms which fell but little short of treasonable menaces ; for they were irritated by late ministerial changes, in which his majesty's favor had been confined to those on whom GEORGE III. he could rely for co-operation in the plans he had C3J£' adopted, and in which he was determined to persist. - The speeches in support of the amendment contained m9' outlines of proceedings for the session: a systematic plan of attack on the administration was arranged; ¦ and the principal leaders of it were the three distin guished orators, Burke, Dunning, and Fox : the first of these brought all the powers of his expanded and philosophic mind to bear on schemes of political economy ; the vigorous and acute intellect of the second, enriched with legal knowlege, and sharpened by forensic contention, was engaged in correcting con stitutional abuses, or in supporting constitutional law and practice ; while the comprehensive genius, the penetrating sagacity, and the impetuous eloquence of Fox, were actively employed in canvassing the execu tive conduct of ministers : the debates on the address, in both houses, produced an extensive discussion of their whole political system, and were characterised by efforts of the highest oratorical powers ; but the result was unfavorable to the ablest speakers, opposition being outvoted by a majority of 233 to 134 in the commons, and eighty to forty-one in the lords. This preliminary contention was distinguished by a remarkable desertion of party in each house. Lord Lyttleton, who for the last seven years had been one of the most strenuous partisans of administration, now appeared in the ranks of opposition, and vied with the most bitter railers against the friends whom he had forsaken : in the lower house, Mr. Adam left the minority, to take his place under the ministerial standard. After stating various reasons for changing his political sentiments, he declared that ' he could not concur in the pretended necessity of new counsels or new counsellors; since, among those gentlemen who stood candidates for office, he was unable to single out one by whom the state was likely to be better served than by its present rulers.' Mr: Fox's reply, as re ported in the newspapers, being thought to convey a personal reflection on Mr. Adam, that gentleman de manded a disavowal of it through the same channels. b 2 4 HISTORY OF ENGLAND. Cxxn ' of Public intelligence ; but such a concession not ap- — pearing consistent with Mr. Fox's notions of propriety, 1779' a duel was the consequence, in which the latter was slightly wounded. Violence of The audacious virulence displayed by lord George Godrdon0.rge Gordon would scarcely deserve notice, had it not been a prelude to those disgraceful scenes in which he soon afterwards bore so conspicuous a part. He insisted that the king's speech was full of impropriety, and deficient in common sense ; that the ministry were no less odious in Ireland than in England ; while the people of Scotland were almost equally prepared to rise in opposition. Adverting to a refusal by govern ment to permit the arming of the inhabitants of Dumfries-shire, he read a letter on that subject ad dressed to the duke of Queensbury from the secretary at war : then, suddenly apostrophising that minister, — 'and you, Charles Jenkinson,' he exclaimed, 'how durst you write such a letter ? Robert Bruce would not have dared to write such a one ; yet the secretary of an elector of Hanover has had the presumption to do so: the royal family of Stuart were banished for not attending to the voice of their people; yet the elector of Hanover is not afraid to disregard it. Sir Hugh Smithson, (earl Percy) armed cap-d-pe, marches at the head of all the cheesemongers and grocers from Temple-bar to Brentford, and the great Douglas of Scotland is not to be trusted with arms. The Scotch are irritated at this partiality; and in point of religion they are exasperated, as they are convinced the king is a papist.' This intemperate ribaldry was arrested by the speaker's interposition; but almost unlimited acrimony prevailed during the whole debate. Frequent allusions having been made to the state of Ireland, the members of administration in both houses gave positive assurances that satisfactory plans of relief were in contemplation; but before these could be brought forward, the earl of Shelburne, having pro cured a summons of the house, recapitulated the pro ceedings of last session, blamed the delay of ministers, , and to that cause attributed the disaffection prevailing GEORGE III. ,' in the sister kingdom. * The government there,' he c*£*- said, ' having been abdicated, the people had resumed - their powers ; and were fully justified : in the last 1?79' session of parliament, moderate concessions and reason able expectations of relief would have satisfied them ; but now the incapacity and inattention of ministers had brought England to the melancholy dilemma of submitting to the dictation of Ireland, or of losing America.' He attributed much of this evil to lord North, who was always asleep when he should be awake, but attentive when alacrity led to error ; and he concluded an able speech with a motion of censure on ministers. They were defended by lord Hills borough, who proved that no delay could be justly imputed to administration : measures for the relief of Ireland could not be at once adopted by government ; they must flow from the legislature, and not be com menced without proper information : much extraneous matter was introduced into the debate, tending to throw blame on the cabinet ; and a transaction regard ing the purchase of a sinecure place from Mr. Fox, in order to bestow it on Mr. Jenkinson, by which the Irish establishment was loaded with a pension of £3000 per annum, was severely reprobated by the noble mover of the resolution: earl Gower also, who had lately retired from administration, reproached his former colleagues in bitter terms. ' He had presided,' he said, ' for some years at the council-table, and had seen such things pass of late, that no man of honor or conscience could sit there any longer.' The motion was negatived : but lord North on the same day com municated to the commons additional papers respecting the state of Ireland ; promising the remainder with all convenient despatch, together with a plan for the redress of grievances : this intimation did not prevent the earl of Ossory from proposing a vote of censure, which, like that in the upper house, was rejected, after it had given birth to highly-applauded speeches from Fox and Burke ; the latter of whom remarked, ' that what had been at first requested as a favor, was de layed till anger demanded it as a right ; till threats b HISTORY OF ENGLAND.