BILL FOR LIMITING THE TERM OF A SOLDIER'S SERVICE.

Immediately after the mutiny-bill had passed the lower house, another fruitless effort was made by the opposition. The danger of a standing army, on whose virtue the constitution of Great Britain seemed to depend, did not fail to alarm the minds of many who were zealously attached to the liberties of their country, and gave birth to a scheme, which if executed; would have enabled the legislature to establish a militia that must have answered many national purposes, and acted as a constitutional bulwark against the excesses and ambition of a military standing force, under the immediate influence of government. The scheme which patriotism conceived, was, in all probability, adopted by party. A bill was brought in, limiting the time beyond which no soldier, or non-commissioned officer, should be compelled to continue in the service. Had this limitation taken place, such a rotation of soldiers would have ensued among the common people, that in a few years every peasant, labourer, and inferior tradesman in the kingdom, would have understood the exercise of arms; and perhaps the people in general would have concluded that a standing army was altogether unnecessary. A project of this nature could not, for obvious reasons, be agreeable to the administration, and therefore the bill was rendered abortive; for, after having been twice read, it was postponed from time to time till the parliament was prorogued, and never appeared in the sequel. Such were the chief subjects of debate between the ministry and the opposition, composed, as we have already observed, of the prince's servants and the remains of the country party, this last being headed by lord Strange, son of the earl of Derby, and sir Francis Dashwood; the former, a nobleman of distinguished abilities, keen, penetrating, eloquent and sagacious; the other frank, spirited, and sensible.



MEASURES TAKEN WITH RESPECT TO THE AFRICAN TRADE.

It must be owned, however, for the honour of the ministry, that if they carried a few unpopular measures with a high hand, they seemed earnestly desirous of making amends to the nation, by promoting divers regulations for the benefit and improvement of commerce, which actually took place in the ensuing session of parliament. One of the principal objects of this nature which fell under their cognizance, was the trade to the coast of Guinea; a very important branch of traffic, whether considered as a market for British manufactures, or as the source that supplied the English plantations with negroes. This was originally monopolized by a joint-stock company, which had from time to time derived considerable sums from the legislature, for enabling them the better to support certain forts or castles on the coast of Africa, to facilitate the commerce and protect the merchants. In the sequel, however, the exclusive privilege having been judged prejudicial to the national trade, the coast was laid open to all British subjects indiscriminately, on condition of their paying a certain duty towards defraying the expense of the forts and factories. This expedient did not answer the purposes for which it had been contrived. The separate traders, instead of receiving any benefit from the protection of the company, industriously avoided their castles, as the receptacles of tyranny and oppression. The company, whether from misconduct or knavery of their directors, contracted such a load of debts as their stock was unable to discharge. They seemed to neglect the traffic, and allowed their castles to decay. In a word, their credit being exhausted, and their creditors growing clamorous, they presented a petition to the house of commons, disclosing their distresses, and imploring such assistance as should enable them not only to pay their debts, but also to maintain the forts in a defensible condition. This petition, recommended to the house in a message from his majesty, was corroborated by another in behalf of the company's creditors. Divers merchants of London, interested in the trade of Africa and the British plantations in America, petitioned the house, that as the African trade was of the utmost importance to the nation, and could not be supported without forts and settlements, some effectual means should be speedily taken for protecting and extending this valuable branch of commerce. A fourth was offered by the merchants of Liverpool, representing that the security and protection of the trade to Africa must always principally depend upon his majesty's ships of war being properly stationed on that coast, and seasonably relieved, and that such forts and settlements as might be judged necessary for marks of sovereignty and possession, would prove a nuisance and a burden to the trade, should they remain in the hands of any joint-stock company, whose private interest always had been, and ever would be, found incompatible with the interest of the separate and open trader. They therefore prayed, that the said forts might either be taken into his majesty's immediate possession, and supported by the public, or committed to the merchants trading on that coast, in such a manner as the house should judge expedient, without vesting in them any other advantage or right to the commerce, but what should be common to all his majesty's subjects. This remonstrance was succeeded by another to the same effect, from the master, wardens, assistants, and commonalty of the society of merchant adventurers within the city of Bristol. All these petitions were referred to a committee appointed to deliberate on this subject; who agreed to certain resolutions, implying, that the trade to Africa should be free and open; that the British forts and settlements on that coast ought to be maintained, and put under proper direction; and that in order to carry on the African trade in the most beneficial manner to these kingdoms, all the British subjects trading to Africa should be united in one open company, without any joint-stock, or power to trade as a corporation. A bill was immediately founded on these resolutions, which alarmed the company to such a degree, that they had recourse to another petition, demonstrating their right to the coast of Africa, and expressing their reliance on the justice of the house that they should not be deprived of their property without an adequate consideration. In a few days a second address was offered by their creditors, complaining of the company's mismanagement, promising to surrender their right, as the wisdom of parliament should prescribe; praying that their debts might be inquired into; and that the equivalent to be granted for the company's possessions might be secured and applied, in the first place, for their benefit. The commons, in consequence of this petition, ordered the company to produce a list of their debts, together with a copy of their charter, and two remonstrances which their creditors had presented to them before this application to parliament. A committee of the whole house, having deliberated on these papers and petitions, and heard the company by their counsel, resolved to give them a reasonable compensation for their charter, lands, forts, settlements, slaves, and effects, to be in the first place applied towards the payment of their creditors. A bill being formed accordingly, passed the commons, and was conveyed to the upper house, where a great many objections were started; and for the present it was dropped, until a more unexceptionable plan should be concerted. In the meantime their lordships addressed his majesty, that the lords commissioners for trade and plantations might be directed to prepare a scheme on this subject, to be laid before both houses of parliament at the beginning of next session; that instant orders should be given for preserving and securing the forts and settlements on the coast of Guinea belonging to Great Britain; and that proper persons should be appointed to examine into the condition of those forts, as well as of the military stores, slaves, and vessels belonging to the African company, so as to make a faithful report of these particulars, with all possible expedition.



SCHEME FOR IMPROVING THE BRITISH FISHERY.

The ministry having professed an inclination, and indeed shown a disposition, to promote and extend the commerce of the kingdom, the commons resolved to take some steps for encouraging the white fishery along the northern coast of the island, which is an inexhaustible source of wealth to our industrious neighbours the Dutch, who employ annually a great number of hands and vessels in this branch of commerce. The sensible part of the British people, reflecting on this subject, plainly foresaw that a fishery, under due regulations, undertaken with the protection and encouragement of the legislature, would not only prove a fund of national riches, and a nursery of seamen, but likewise in a great measure prevent any future insurrections in the Highlands of Scotland, by diffusing a spirit of industry among the natives of that country, who finding it in their power to become independent on the fruits of their own labour, would soon enfranchise themselves from that slavish attachment by which they had been so long connected with their landlords and chieftains. Accordingly, a committee was appointed to deliberate on the state of the British fishery; and upon their report a bill was founded for encouraging the whale fishery on the coast of Spitsbergen, by a bounty of forty shillings per ton for every ship equipped for that undertaking. The bill having made its way through both houses, and obtained the royal assent, the merchants in different parts of the kingdom, particularly in North Britain, began to build and fit out ships of great burden, and peculiar structure, for the purpose of that fishery, which ever since hath been carried on with equal vigour and success. Divers merchants and traders of London having presented to the house of commons a petition, representing the benefits that would accrue to the community from a herring and cod fishery, established on proper principles, and carried on with skill and integrity, this remonstrance was referred to a committee, upon whose resolutions a bill was formed; but before this could be discussed in the house, the parliament was prorogued, and of consequence this measure proved abortive.



ATTEMPT TO OPEN THE COMMERCE TO HUDSON'S BAY.

The next regulation proposed in favour of trade, was that of laying open the commerce of Hudson's-bay, in the most northern parts of America, where a small monopoly maintained a few forts and settlements, and prosecuted a very advantageous fur trade with the Indians of that continent. It was suggested, that the company had long ago enriched themselves by their exclusive privilege; that they employed no more than four annual ships; that, contrary to an express injunction in their charter, they discouraged all attempts to discover a north-west passage to the East Indies; that they dealt cruelly and perfidiously with the poor Indians, who never traded with them except when compelled by necessity, so that the best part of the fur trade had devolved to the enemies of Great Britain; and that their exclusive patent restricted to very narrow limits a branch of commerce which might be cultivated to a prodigious extent; as well as to the infinite advantage of Great Britain. Petitions, that the trade of Hudson's-bay might be laid open, were presented to the house by the merchants of London, Great Yarmouth, and Wolverhampton; and a committee was appointed to deliberate upon this subject. On the other hand, the company exerted themselves in petitions and private applications for their own preservation. The committee examined many papers and records; and the report was taken into consideration by the whole house. Many evidences were interrogated, and elaborate speeches made, on both sides of the question. At length a majority seemed satisfied that the traffic on the coast of Hudson's-bay could not be preserved without forts and settlements, which must be maintained either by an exclusive company, or at the public expense; and, as this was not judged a proper juncture to encumber the nation with any charge of that kind the design of dissolving the company was laid aside till a more favourable opportunity.



PLAN FOR MAINTAINING THE NAVY.

The government had, during the war, found great difficulty in pressing men for the service of the navy—a practice, which, however sanctioned by necessity, is nevertheless a flagrant encroachment on the liberty of the subject, and a violent outrage against the constitution of Great Britain. The ministry, therefore, had employed some of their agents to form a scheme for retaining in time of peace, by means of a certain allowance, a number of seamen, who should be registered for the purpose, and be ready to man a squadron upon any emergency. Such a plan, properly regulated, would have been a great advantage to commerce, which is always distressed by the practice of pressing seamen; and at the same time, a great security to the kingdom in dangerous conjunctures, when it may be necessary to equip an armament at a minute's warning. The house of commons being moved upon this subject, agreed to divers resolutions as a foundation for the bill; but the members in the opposition affecting to represent this measure in an odious light, as an imitation of the French method of registering seamen without their own consent, Mr. Pelham dropped it, as an unpopular project.

Information having been received that the French intended to settle the neutral islands of St. Lucia, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Tobago, in the West Indies, the nation had taken the alarm in the beginning of the year; and a motion was made in the house of commons to address his majesty, that he would be graciously pleased to give directions for laying before the house copies of the instructions given to the governors of Barbadoes for the last ten years past, so far as they related to these neutral islands; but whether the minister was conscious of a neglect in this particular, or thought such inquiries trenched upon the prerogative, he opposed the motion with all his might; and after some debate, the previous question passed in the negative. This was also the fate of another motion made by the earl of E——t for an address, entreating his majesty would submit to the inspection of the house all the proposals of peace that had been made by the French king since the year which preceded the last rebellion, to that in which the definitive treaty was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle. This they proposed as a previous step to the parliament's forming any opinion concerning the utility or necessity of the peace which had been established. Violent debates ensued, in which the opposition was as much excelled in oratory as out-numbered in votes. Such were the material transactions of this session, which in the month of June was closed as usual with a speech from the throne; in which his majesty signified his hope, that the parliament, at their next meeting, would be able to perfect what they had now begun for advancing the trade and navigation of the kingdom. He likewise expressed his satisfaction at seeing public credit flourish at the end of an expensive war; and recommended unanimity, as the surest bulwark of national security.

While the ministry on some occasions exhibited all the external signs of moderation and good humour, they, on others, manifested a spirit of jealousy and resentment which seems to have been childish and illiberal. Two or three young riotous students at Oxford, trained up in prejudice, and heated with intemperance, uttered some expressions over their cups, implying their attachment to the family of the pretender. The report of this indiscretion was industriously circulated by certain worthless individuals, who, having no reliance on their own intrinsic merit, hoped to distinguish themselves as the tools of party, and to obtain favour with the ministry by acting as volunteers in the infamous practice of information. Though neither the rank, age, nor connexions of the delinquents were such as ought to have attracted the notice of the public, the vice-chancellor, heads of houses, and proctors of the university, knowing the invidious scrutiny to which their conduct was subjected, thought proper to publish a declaration, signifying their abhorrence of all seditious practices, their determined resolution to punish all offenders to the utmost severity and rigour of the statutes; and containing peremptory orders for the regulation of the university. Notwithstanding these wise and salutary precautions, the three boys, who in the heat of their intoxication had drunk the pretender's health, were taken into custody by a messenger of state; and two of them being tried in the court of king's bench, and found guilty, were sentenced to walk through the courts of Westminster, with a specification of their crime fixed to their foreheads; to pay a find of five nobles each; to be imprisoned for two years, and find security for their good behaviour for the term of seven years after their enlargement. Many people thought they saw the proceedings of the star-chamber revived in the severity of this punishment. The administration, not yet satisfied with the vengeance which had been taken on these three striplings, seemed determined to stigmatize the university to which they belonged. The cry of jacobitism was loudly trumpeted against the whole community. The address of the university, congratulating his majesty on the establishment of the peace, was rejected with disdain, and an attempt was made to subject their statutes to the inspection of the king's council; but this rule, being argued in the court of king's-bench, was dismissed in consequence of the opinions given by the judges. Finally, the same tribunal granted an information against Dr. Purnel, the vice-chancellor, for his behaviour in the case of the rioters above-mentioned; but this was countermanded in the sequel, his conduct appearing unexceptionable upon a more cool and impartial inquiry.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



ELECTION OF A CHANCELLOR OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE.

In proportion as Oxford declined, her sister university rose in the favour of the administration, which she at this period cultivated by an extraordinary mark of compliance and attachment. The dignity of chancellor of the university being vacated by the death of the duke of Somerset, the nation in general seemed to think it would naturally devolve upon the prince of Wales, as a compliment at all times due to that rank; but more especially to the then heir-apparent, who had eminently distinguished himself by the virtues of a patriot and a prince. He had even pleased himself with the hope of receiving this mark of attachment from a seminary for which he entertained a particular regard. But the ruling members, seeing no immediate prospect of advantage in glorifying even a prince who was at variance with the ministry, wisely turned their eyes upon the illustrious character of the duke of Newcastle, whom they elected without opposition, and installed with great magnificence; learning, poetry, and eloquence, joining their efforts in celebrating the shining virtues and extraordinary talents of their new patron.

Although opposition lay gasping at the feet of power in the house of commons, the people of England did not yet implicitly approve all the measures of the administration; and the dregs of faction, still agitated by an internal ferment, threw up some ineffectual bubbles in different parts of the kingdom. Some of those who made no secret of their disaffection to the reigning family, determined to manifest their resentment and contempt of certain noblemen, and others, who were said to have abandoned their ancient principles, and to have sacrificed their consciences to their interest. Many individuals, animated by the fumes of inebriation, now loudly extolled that cause which they durst not avow when it required their open approbation and assistance; and, though they industriously avoided exposing their lives and fortunes to the chance of war in promoting their favourite interest when there was a possibility of success, they betrayed no apprehension in celebrating the memory of its last effort, amidst the tumult of a riot and the clamours of intemperance. In the neighbourhood of Lichfield, the sportsmen of the party appeared in the Highland taste of variegated drapery; and their zeal descending to a very extraordinary exhibition of practical ridicule, they hunted, with hounds clothed in plaid, a fox dressed in a red uniform. Even the females at their assembly, and the gentlemen at the races, affected to wear the chequered stuff by which the prince-pretender and his followers had been distinguished. Divers noblemen on the course were insulted as apostates; and one personage, of high rank, is said to have undergone a very disagreeable flagellation.



SCHEME FOR A NEW SETTLEMENT.

As the public generally suffers at the end of a war, by the sudden dismission of a great number of soldiers and seamen, who having contracted a habit of idleness, and finding themselves without employment and the means of subsistence, engage in desperate courses and prey upon the community, it was judged expedient to provide an opening through which these unquiet spirits might exhale without damage to the commonwealth. The most natural was that of encouraging them to become members of a new colony in North America, which, by being properly regulated, supported, and improved, might be the source of great advantages to its mother country. Many disputes had arisen between the subjects of England and France concerning the limits of Nova Scotia, which no treaty had as yet properly ascertained. A fort had been raised, and a small garrison maintained, by the king of Great Britain, at a part of this very country, called Annapolis-Royal, to overawe the French neutrals settled in the neighbourhood; but this did not answer the purpose for which it was intended. Upon every rupture or dispute between the two crowns, these planters, forgetting their neutrality, intrigued with the Indians, communicated intelligence to their own countrymen settled at St. John's and Cape Breton, and did all the ill offices their hatred could suggest against the colonies and subjects of Great Britain. A scheme was now formed for making a new establishment on the same peninsula, which should further confirm and extend the property and dominion of the crown of Great Britain in that large tract of country, clear the uncultivated grounds, constitute communities, diffuse the benefits of population and agriculture, and improve the fishery of that coast, which might be rendered a new source of wealth and commerce to Old England. The particulars of the plan being duly considered, it was laid before his majesty, who approved of the design, and referred the execution of it to the board of trade and plantations, over which the earl of Halifax presided. This nobleman, endued by nature with an excellent capacity, which had been diligently and judiciously cultivated, animated with liberal sentiments, and fired with an eager spirit of patriotism, adopted the plan with the most generous ardour, and cherished the infant colony with paternal affection. The commissioners for trade and plantations immediately advertised, under the sanction of his majesty's authority, that proper encouragement would be given to such of the officers and private men, lately dismissed from the land and sea service, as were willing to settle, with or without families, in the province of Nova Scotia; that the fee simple, or perpetual property, of fifty acres of land should be granted to every private soldier or seaman, free from the payment of any quit-rents or taxes, for the term of ten years; at the expiration of which no person should pay more than one shilling per annum for every fifty acres so granted; that, over and above these fifty, each person should receive a grant of ten acres for every individual, including women and children, of which his family should consist; that further grants should be made to them as the number should increase, and in proportion as they should manifest their abilities in agriculture; that every officer, under the rank of ensign in the land service, or lieutenant in the navy, should be gratified with fourscore acres on the same conditions; that two hundred acres should be bestowed upon ensigns, three hundred upon lieutenants, four hundred upon captains, and six hundred on every officer above that degree, with proportionable considerations for the number and increase of every family; that the lands should be parcelled out as soon as possible after the arrival of the colonists, and a civil government established; by virtue of which they should enjoy all the liberties and privileges of British subjects, with proper security and protection; that the settlers, with their families, should be conveyed to Nova Scotia, and maintained for twelve months after their arrival, at the expense of the government; which should also supply them with arms and ammunition, as far as should be judged necessary for their defence, with proper materials and utensils for clearing and cultivating their lands, erecting habitations, exercising the fishery, and such other purposes as should be judged necessary for their support.



TOWN OF HALIFAX FOUNDED.

The scheme was so feasible, and the encouragement so inviting, that in a little time about four thousand adventurers, with their families, were entered, according to the directions of the board of trade, who in the beginning of May set sail from England, under the command of Colonel Cornwallis, whom the king had appointed their governor, and towards the latter end of June arrived at the place of their destination, which was the harbour of Chebucton, on the sea-coast of the peninsula, about midway between Cape Canceau and Cape Sable. It is one of the most secure and commodious havens in the whole world, and well situated for the fishery; yet the climate is cold, the soil barren, and the whole country covered with woods of birch, fir, pine, and some oak, unfit for the purposes of timber; but at the same time extremely difficult to remove and extirpate. Governor Cornwallis no sooner arrived in this harbour than he was joined by two regiments of infantry from Cape Breton, and a company of rangers from Annapolis. Then he pitched upon a spot for the settlement, and employed his people in clearing the ground for laying the foundations of a town; but some inconveniences being discovered in this situation, he chose another to the northward, hard by the harbour, on an easy ascent, commanding a prospect of the whole peninsula, and well supplied with rivulets of fresh and wholesome water. Here he began to build a town on a regular plan, to which he gave the name of Halifax, in honour of the nobleman who had the greatest share in founding the colony; and before the approach of winter, above three hundred comfortable wooden houses were built, the whole surrounded by a strong pallisade. This colony, however, has by no means answered the sanguine expectations of the projectors; for notwithstanding the ardour with which the interests of it were promoted by its noble patron, and the repeated indulgence it has reaped from the bounty of the legislature, the inhabitants have made little or no progress in agriculture; the fishery is altogether neglected, and the settlement entirely subsists on the sums expended by the individuals of the army and navy, whose duty obliges them to reside in this part of North America.



FRENCH ATTEMPTS TO SETTLE THE ISLAND OF TOBAGO.

The establishment of such a powerful colony in Nova-Scotia, could not fail giving umbrage to the French in that neighbourhood, who, though they did not think proper to promulgate their jealousy and disgust, nevertheless employed their emissaries clandestinely in stimulating and exciting the Indians to harass the colonists with hostilities, in such a manner as should effectually hinder them from extending their plantations, and perhaps induce them to abandon the settlement. Nor was this the only part of America in which the French court countenanced such perfidious practices. More than ever convinced of the importance of a considerable navy, and an extensive plantation trade, they not only exerted uncommon industry in re-establishing their marine, which had suffered so severely during the war; but they resolved, if possible, to extend their plantations in the West Indies by settling the neutral islands, which we have already mentioned. In the beginning of the year, the governor of Barbadoes, having received intelligence that the French had begun to settle the island of Tobago, sent captain Tyrrel thither in a frigate to learn the particulars. That officer found above three hundred men already landed, secured by two batteries and two ships of war, and in daily expectation of a further reinforcement from the marquis de Caylus, governor of Martinique; who had published an ordonnance, authorizing the subjects of the French king to settle the island of Tobago, and promising to defend them from the attempts of all their enemies. This assurance was in answer to a proclamation issued by Mr. Grenville, governor of Barbadoes, and stuck up in the different parts of the island, commanding all the inhabitants to remove, in thirty days, on pain of undergoing military execution. Captain Tyrrel, with a spirit that became a commander in the British navy, gave the French officers to understand, that his most christian majesty had no right to settle the island, which was declared neutral by treaties; and that, if they would not desist, he should be obliged to employ force in driving them from their new settlement. Night coming on, and Mr. Tyrrel's ship falling to leeward, the French captains seized that opportunity of sailing to Martinique; and next day the English commander returned to Barbadoes, having no power to commit hostilities. These tidings, with a copy of the French governor's ordonnance, were no sooner transmitted to the ministry than they despatched a courier to the English envoy at Paris, with directions to make representations to the court of Versailles on this subject. The ministry of France, knowing they were in no condition to support the consequences of an immediate rupture, and understanding how much the merchants and people of Great Britain were alarmed and incensed at their attempts to possess these islands, thought proper to disown the proceedings of the marquis de Caylus, and to grant the satisfaction that was demanded, by sending him orders to discontinue the settlement, and evacuate the island of Tobago. At the same time, however, that the court of Versailles made this sacrifice for the satisfaction of England, the marquis de Puysieux, the French minister, observed to the English resident, that France was undoubtedly in possession of that island towards the middle of the last century. He ought in candour to have added, that although Louis XIV. made a conquest of this island from the Hollanders, during his war with that republic, it was restored to them by the treaty of Nimeguen; and since that time France could not have the least shadow of a claim to number it among her settlements. It was before this answer could be obtained from the court of Versailles that the motion, of which we have already taken notice, was made in the house of commons, relating to the subject of the neutral islands; a motion discouraged by the court, and defeated by the majority.



REJOICINGS FOR THE PEACE.

The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle was celebrated by fireworks, illuminations, and rejoicings, in which the English, French, and Dutch, seemed to display a spirit of emulation in point of taste and magnificence; and, in all probability, these three powers were sincerely pleased at the cessation of the war. England enjoyed a respite from intolerable supplies, exorbitant insurance, and interrupted commerce; Holland was delivered from the brink of a French invasion; and France had obtained a breathing time for re-establishing her naval power, for exerting that spirit of intrigue, by dint of which she hath often embroiled her neighbours, and for executing plans of insensible encroachment, which might prove more advantageous than the progress of open hostilities. In the affair of Tobago, the French king had manifested his inclination to avoid immediate disputes with England; and had exhibited another proof of the same disposition in his behaviour to the prince-pretender, who had excited such a dangerous rebellion in the island of Great Britain.

Among those princes and powers who excepted against different articles of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the chevalier de St. George, foreseeing that none of the plenipotentiaries would receive his protest, employed his agents to fix it up in the public places of Aix-la-Chapelle; a precaution of very little service to his cause, which all the states of Christendom seemed now to have abandoned. So little was the interest of his family considered in this negotiation, that the contracting powers agreed, without reserve, to a literal insertion of the fifth article of the quadruple alliance; by which it was stipulated, that neither the pretender nor any of his descendants should be allowed to reside within the territories belonging to any of the subscribing parties. At the same time the plenipotentiaries of France promised to those of Great Britain, that prince Charles-Edward should be immediately obliged to quit the dominions of his most christian majesty. Notice of this agreement was accordingly given by the court of Versailles to the young adventurer; and as he had declared he would never return to Italy, Mons. de Courteille, the French envoy to the cantons of Switzerland, was directed by his sovereign to demand an asylum for prince Edward in the city of Fribourg. The regency having complied in this particular with the earnest request of his most christian majesty, Mr. Bamaby, the British minister to the Helvetic body, took the alarm, and presented the magistracy of Fribourg with a remonstrance, couched in such terms as gave offence to that regency, and drew upon him a severe answer. In vain had the French king exerted his influence in procuring this retreat for the young pretender, who, being pressed with repeated messages to withdraw, persisted in refusing to quit the place, to which he had been so cordially invited by his cousin the king of France; and where he said that monarch had solemnly promised, on the word of a king, that he would never forsake him in his distress, nor abandon the interests of his family. Louis was not a little perplexed at this obstinacy of prince Edward, which was the more vexatious, as that youth appeared to be the darling of the Parisians; who not only admired him for his own accomplishments, and pitied him for his sufferings, but also revered him, as a young hero lineally descended from their renowned Henry the Fourth. At length, the two English noblemen arriving at Paris as hostages for the performance of the treaty, and seeing him appear at all the public places of diversion, complained of this circumstance as an insult to their sovereign, and an infringement of the treaty so lately concluded. The French king, after some hesitation between punctilio and convenience, resolved to employ violence upon the person of this troublesome stranger, since milder remonstrances had not been able to influence his conduct; but this resolution was not taken till the return of a courier whom he despatched to the chevalier de St. George; who, being thus informed of his son's deportment, wrote a letter to him, laying strong injunctions upon him to yield to the necessity of the times, and acquiesce with a good grace in the stipulations which his cousin of France had found it necessary to subscribe for the interest of his realm. Edward, far from complying with this advice and injunction, signified his resolution to remain in Paris; and even declared that he would pistol any man who should presume to lay violent hands on his person. In consequence of this bold declaration, an extraordinary council was held at Versailles, when it was determined to arrest him without further delay, and the whole plan of this enterprise was finally adjusted. That same evening, the prince entering the narrow lane that leads to the opera, the barrier was immediately shut, and the sergeant of the guard called "to arms;" on which monsieur de Vaudreuil, exempt of the French guards, advancing to Edward, "Prince," said he, "I arrest you in the king's name, by virtue of this order." At that instant the youth was surrounded by four grenadiers, in order to prevent any mischief he might have done with a case of pocket-pistols which he always carried about him; and a guard was placed at all the avenues and doors of the opera-house, lest any tumult should have ensued among the populace. These precautions being taken, Vaudreuil, with an escort, conducted the prisoner through the garden of the palais-royal, to a house where the duke de Biron waited with a coach and six to convey him to the castle of Vincennes, whether he was immediately accompanied by a detachment from the regiment of French guards, under the command of that nobleman. He had not remained above three days in his confinement, when he gave the French ministry to understand that he would conform himself to the king's intentions; and was immediately enlarged, upon giving his word and honour that he would, without delay, retire from the dominions of France. Accordingly, he set out in four days from Fountainbleau, attended by three officers, who conducted him as far as Pont-Bauvosin on the frontiers, where they took their leave of him and returned to Versailles. He proceeded for some time in the road to Chamberri; but soon returned into the French dominions, and, passing through Dauphine, repaired to Avignon, where he was received with extraordinary honours by the pope's legate. In the meantime, his arrest excited great murmurings at Paris; the inhabitants blaming, without scruple, their king's conduct in this instance, as a scandalous breach of hospitality, as well as a mean proof of condescension to the king of England; and many severe pasquinades, relating to this transaction, were fixed up in the most public places of that metropolis.



APPEARANCE OF A RUPTURE BETWEEN RUSSIA AND SWEDEN.

Although peace was now re-established among the principal powers of the continent, yet another storm seemed ready to burst upon the northern parts of Europe, in a fresh rupture between Russia and Sweden. Whether the czarina had actually obtained information that the French faction meditated some revolution of government at Stockholm, or she wanted a pretence of annexing Finland to her empire; certain it is, she affected to apprehend that the prince-successor of Sweden waited only for the decease of the reigning king, who was very old and infirm, to change the form of government, and resume that absolute authority which some of the monarchs, his predecessors, had enjoyed. She seemed to think that a prince thus vested with arbitrary power, and guided by the councils of France and Prussia, with which Sweden had lately engaged in close alliance, might become a very troublesome and dangerous neighbour to her in the Baltic; she therefore recruited her armies, repaired her fortifications, filled her magazines, ordered a strong body of troops to advance towards the frontiers of Finland, and declared in plain terms to the court of Stockholm, that if any step should be taken to alter the government, which she had bound herself by treaty to maintain, her troops should enter the territory of Sweden, and she would act up to the spirit of her engagements. The Swedish ministry, alarmed at these peremptory proceedings, had recourse to their allies; and in the meantime, made repeated declarations to the court of Petersburgh, that there was no design to make the least innovation in the nature of their established government; but little or no regard being paid to these representations, they began to put the kingdom in a posture of defence; and the old king gave the czarina to understand, that if, notwithstanding the satisfaction he had offered, her forces should pass the frontiers of Finland, he would consider their march as an hostile invasion, and employ the means which God had put in his power for the defence of his dominions.



INTERPOSITION OF THE KING OF PRUSSIA.

This declaration, in all probability, did not produce such effect as the interposition of his Prussian majesty, the most enterprising prince of his time, at the head of one hundred and forty thousand of the best troops that Germany ever trained. Perhaps he was not sorry that the empress of Muscovy furnished him with a plausible pretence for maintaining such a formidable army, after the peace of Europe had been ascertained by a formal treaty, and all the surrounding states had diminished the number of their forces. He now wrote a letter to his uncle the king of Great Britain, complaining of the insults and menaces which had been offered by the czarina to Sweden; declaring, that he was bound by a defensive alliance, to which France had acceded, to defend the government at present established in Sweden; and that he would not sit still, and tamely see that kingdom attacked by any power whatsoever, without acting up to his engagements; he therefore entreated his Britannic majesty to interpose his good offices, in conjunction with France and him, to compromise the disputes which threatened to embroil the northern parts of Europe. By this time the Russian army had approached the frontiers of Finland: the Swedes had assembled their troops, replenished their magazines, and repaired their marine; and the king of Denmark, jealous of the czarina's designs with regard to the duchy of Sleswick, which was contested with him by the prince-successor of Russia, kept his army and navy on the most respectable footing. At this critical juncture the courts of London, Versailles, and Berlin, co-operated so effectually by remonstrances and declarations at Petersburgh and Stockholm, that the empress of Russia thought proper to own herself satisfied, and all those clouds of trouble were immediately dispersed. Yet, in all probability, her real aim was disappointed; and, however she might dissemble her sentiments, she never heartily forgave the king of Prussia for the share he had in this transaction. That monarch, without relaxing in his attention to the support of a very formidable military power, exerted very extraordinary endeavours in cultivating the civil interests of his country. He reformed the laws of Brandenburgh, and rescued the administration of justice from the frauds of chicanery. He encouraged the arts of agriculture and manufacture; and even laid the foundation of naval commerce, by establishing an East-India company in the port of Embden.

Nor did the French ministry neglect any measure that might contribute to repair the damage which the kingdom had sustained in the course of the war. One half of the army was disbanded: the severe imposition of the tenth penny was suspended by the king's edict: a scheme of economy was proposed with respect to the finances; and the utmost diligence used in procuring materials, as well as workmen, for ship-building, that the navy of France might speedily retrieve its former importance. In the midst of these truly patriotic schemes, the court of Versailles betrayed a littleness of genius, and spirit of tyranny, joined to fanaticism, in quarreling with their parliament about superstitious forms of religion. The sacraments had been denied to a certain person on his death-bed, because he refused to subscribe to the bull Unigenitus. The nephew of the defunct preferred a complaint to the parliament, whose province it was to take cognizance of the affair; a deputation of that body attended the king with the report of the resolutions; and and his majesty commanded them to suspend all proceedings relating to a matter of such consequence, concerning which he would take an opportunity of signifying his royal pleasure. This interposition was the source of disputes between the crown and parliament, which had like to have filled the whole kingdom with intestine troubles.



CONDUCT OF DIFFERENT EUROPEAN POWERS.

At Vienna, the empress-queen was not more solicitous in promoting the trade and internal manufactures of her dominions, by sumptuary regulations, necessary restrictions on foreign superfluities, by opening her ports in the Adriatic, and giving proper encouragement to commerce, than she was careful and provident in reforming the economy of her finances, maintaining a respectable body of forces, and guarding, by defensive alliances, against the enterprise of his Prussian majesty, on whose military power she looked with jealousy and distrust. In Holland, all the authority and influence of the stadtholder were scarcely sufficient to allay the ferments excited among the people by the provisional taxation, which had succeeded the abolition of the patchers, and was indeed very grievous to the subject. As this was no more than a temporary expedient, the prince of Orange proposed a more equitable plan, which was approved by the states, and established with great difficulty. In Italy the system of politics seemed to change its complexion. The king of Sardinia effected a match between one of the infantas of Spain and the prince of Piedmont; and whether irritated by the conduct of the Austrians in the last war, or apprehensive of such a powerful neighbour in the Milanese, he engaged with the kings of France and Spain in a defensive alliance, comprehending the king of the Two Sicilies, the republic of Genoa, and the dukes of Modena and Parma. His most catholic majesty, sincerely disposed to cultivate the arts of peace, and encourage every measure that could contribute to the advantage of his country, was no sooner released from the embarrassments of war, than he began to execute plans of internal economy; to reduce unnecessary pensions, discharge the debts contracted in the war, replenish his arsenals, augment his navy, promote manufactures, and encourage an active commerce by sea, the benefits of which the kingdom of Spain had not known since the first discovery and conquest of the West Indies.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



INSOLENCE OF THE BARBARY CORSAIRS.

The preparations for refitting and increasing the navy of Spain were carried on with such extraordinary vigour, that other nations believed an expedition was intended against the corsairs of Algiers, who had for some time grievously infested the trade and coasts of the Mediterranean. The existence of this and other predatory republics, which entirely subsist upon piracy and rapine, petty states of barbarous ruffians, maintained as it were in the midst of powerful nations, which they insult with impunity, and of which they even exact an annual contribution, is a flagrant reproach upon Christendom; a reproach the greater, as it is founded upon a low, selfish, illiberal maxim of policy. All the powers that border on the Mediterranean, except France and Tuscany, are at perpetual war with the Moors of Barbary, and for that reason obliged to employ foreign ships for the transportation of their merchandise. This employment naturally devolves to those nations whose vessels are in no danger from the depredations of the barbarians; namely, the subjects of the maritime powers, who for this puny advantage, not only tolerate the piratical states of Barbary, but even supply them with arms and ammunition, solicit their passes, and purchase their forbearance with annual presents, which are, in effect, equivalent to a tribute; whereas, by one vigorous exertion of their power, they might destroy all their ships, lay their towns in ashes, and totally extirpate those pernicious broods of desperate banditti. Even all the condescension of those who disgrace themselves with the title of allies to these miscreants, is not always sufficient to restrain them from acts of cruelty and rapine. At this very period four cruisers from Algiers made a capture of an English packet-boat, in her voyage from Lisbon, and conveyed her to their city, where she was plundered of money and effects to the amount of one hundred thousand pounds, and afterwards dismissed. In consequence of this outrage, commodore Keppel was sent with seven ships of war to demand satisfaction, as well as to compromise certain differences which had arisen on account of arrears claimed of the English by the dey of Algiers. The Mussulman frankly owned, that the money having been divided among the captors, could not possibly be refunded. The commodore returned to Gibraltar; and, in the sequel, an Algerine ambassador arrived in London, with some presents of wild beasts for his Britannic majesty. This transaction was succeeded by another injurious affront offered by the governor or alcayde of Tetuan to Mr. Latton, an English ambassador, sent thither to redeem the British subjects who had been many years enslaved in the dominions of the king of Morocco. A revolution having lately happened in this empire, Mully Abdallah, the reigning ruffian, insisted upon the ambassador's paying a pretended balance for the ransom of the captives, as well as depositing a considerable sum, which had already been paid to a deceased pacha; alleging, that as he, the emperor, received no part of it, the payment was illegal. Mr. Latton refusing to comply with this arbitrary demand, his house was surrounded by a detachment of soldiers, who violently dragged his secretary from his presence, and threw him into a dismal subterranean dungeon, where he continued twenty days. The English slaves, to the number of twenty-seven, were condemned to the same fate; the ambassador himself was degraded from his character, deprived of his allowance, and sequestered from all communication. All the letters directed to him were intercepted, and interpreted to the alcayde; two negro porters were intrusted with the keys of all his apartments, and a couple of soldiers posted at his chamber-door; nay, this Moorish governor threatened to load him with irons, and violently seized part of the presents designed by his Britannic majesty for the emperor. At length, finding that neither Mr. Latton nor the governor of Gibraltar, to whom he had written, would deposit the money, without fresh instructions from the court of London, the barbarian thought proper to relax in his severity: the prisoners were enlarged, the restrictions removed from the person of the ambassador, and, after all these indignities offered to the honour of the British nation, the balance was paid, and the affair quietly adjusted.



DISTURBANCES IN ENGLAND.

Britain, in the meanwhile, was altogether barren of events which might deserve a place in a general history. Commerce and manufacture flourished again, to such a degree of increase as had never been known in the island; but this advantage was attended with an irresistible tide of luxury and excess, which flowed through all degrees of the people, breaking down all the mounds of civil polity, and opening a way for license and immorality. The highways were infested with rapine and assassination; the cities teemed with the brutal votaries of lewdness, intemperance, and profligacy. The whole land was overspread with a succession of tumult, riot, and insurrection, excited in different parts of the kingdom by the erection of new turnpikes, which the legislature judged necessary for the convenience of inland carriage. In order to quell these disturbances, recourse was had to the military power; several individuals were slain, and some were executed as examples.



SESSION OPENED.

In the month of November the session of parliament was opened with a speech from the throne, in which his majesty expressed a particular pleasure in meeting them at a time when the perfect re-establishment of a general peace had restored to his people the blessings of quiet and tranquillity. He said, the good effects of these already appeared in the flourishing condition of national commerce, and in the rise of public credit, which were the foundations of strength and prosperity to these kingdoms. He declared, that, during the summer, he had used every opportunity of cementing and securing the peace; that it was his firm resolution to do everything in his power for the preservation of it, and religiously adhere to the engagements into which he had entered. Finally, he took notice of the good disposition he had found in the other contracting parties to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle to cherish the public tranquillity of Europe; and he earnestly recommended to the two houses the maintenance of a strong naval power, as the bulwark of national security.

When the motion was made for an address of thanks in the house of commons, the first paragraph of his majesty's speech furnished the opposition with a handle to declaim against the late treaty. Sir John Hinde Cotton observed, that the peace could not be properly styled complete, as nothing had been stipulated with respect to the article of "No search;" alluding to the interruption our commerce had sustained from the Spaniards in the West Indies; a stipulation, without which both houses of parliament had formerly voted that there should be no peace with that kingdom.

{1749}

In the present conjuncture of affairs, such an objection savoured rather of party than of patriotism; and indeed sir John declared, that the remarks he made upon the occasion were rather in discharge of the duty he owed to his country, than in hope of seeing his sentiments espoused by the majority. Some sharp altercation was used in the debate which arose on this subject; and many severe invectives were levelled at those who negotiated, as well as at those who approved and confirmed the treaty. But Mr. Pelham, who sustained the whole weight of the debate on the side of the administration, answered every objection with equal candour and ability; and if he failed in proving that the terms of peace were as favourable as could be expected, considering the unfortunate events of the war, and the situation of the contending powers; he at least demonstrated, that it would be the interest of the kingdom to acquiesce for the present in the treaty which had been concluded, and endeavour to remedy its imperfections by subsequent conventions, amicably opened among those powers between whom any cause of dispute remained. With respect to the vote of both houses, mentioned by sir John Hinde Cotton, he declared that he had never approved of that step, when it was first taken; or if he had, times and circumstances, which could not be foreseen, would have justified his deviating from it in the re-establishment of peace. He reminded them that a parliament of Great Britain had once voted "no peace while any part of the West Indies should remain in possession of the Spanish king;" yet a train of incidents, which they could not possibly foresee, afterwards rendered it expedient to adopt a peace without insisting upon the accomplishment of that condition. In a word, we must own, that, in the majority of debates excited in the course of this session, the ministry derived their triumphs from the force of reason, as well as from the weight of influence. We shall always, however, except the efforts that were made for reducing the number of land-forces to fifteen thousand, and maintaining a greater number of seamen than the ministry proposed. On these constitutional points the earl of Egmont, and the other chiefs of the opposition, expatiated with all the energy of eloquence; which however was frustrated by the power of superior numbers. Ten thousand seamen were voted for the service of the ensuing year, notwithstanding his majesty's injunction to maintain a considerable navy; and the number of land-forces was continued at eighteen thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven. The sums granted for making good his majesty's engagements with the electors of Bavaria and Mentz, and the duke of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle, amounted to fifty-three thousand two hundred and twenty-five pounds sterling. The services done by the colonies in North America, during the war, were gratified with the sum of one hundred and twenty-two thousand two hundred and forty-six pounds. The expense incurred by the new colony of Nova-Scotia exceeded seventy-six thousand pounds. A small sum was voted for the improvement of Georgia; and ten thousand pounds were granted towards the support of the British forts and settlements on the coast of Africa.. The sum total granted in this session arose to four millions one hundred and forty-one thousand six hundred and sixty-one pounds, nine shillings and eleven pence halfpenny, to be raised by the land-tax, at three shillings in the pound; the malt, and other duties, the surplus of divers impositions remaining in the bank and exchequer; one million by annuities at three per cent., charged on the sinking fund, until redeemed by parliament; and nine hundred thousand pounds out of the excess or overplus of monies denominated the sinking fund.



SCHEME FOR REDUCING THE INTEREST OF THE NATIONAL DEBT.

But the capital measure which distinguished this session of parliament was the reduction of the interest on the public funds; a scheme which was planned and executed by the minister, without any national disturbance or disquiet, to the astonishment of all Europe; the different nations of which could not comprehend how it would be possible for the government, at the close of a long expensive war, which had so considerably drained the country, and augmented the enormous burden of national debt, to find money for paying off such of the public creditors as might choose to receive the principal, rather than submit to a reduction of the interest. It was not very much for the honour of the opposition, that some of its leading members endeavoured to impede this great machine of civil economy, by taking opportunities of affirming in parliament, in opposition to his majesty's speech, that the nation, far from being in a flourishing condition, was almost entirely exhausted; that commerce drooped and declined; that public credit stood tottering on the brink of ruin; and that all the treaties lately concluded among the different powers of Europe were, in effect, disadvantageous and prejudicial to the interests of Great Britain. In answer to these assertions, Mr. Pelham undertook to prove, from the register of exports and imports, that the commerce of the kingdom was more extensive at this than at any former period; and that the public credit was strong enough to admit of an experiment, which he would not presume to hazard, except upon a moral certainty of its being firmly rooted beyond the power of accident and faction to shake or overturn. He declared, that his design of reducing the interest upon the funds was the result of the love he bore his country, and an opinion that it was the duty of the servants of the crown to ease the burdens of the people. He said, he had conferred on this subject with persons of the most approved knowledge, and undoubted experience; and chose to promulgate the method proposed for alleviating the load of the national debt, that the public, in knowing the particulars of the scheme, might have time to consider them at leisure, and start such objections as should occur to their reflection, before it might be too late to adopt amendments. He observed, that nothing could more clearly demonstrate the vigour of public credit, and the augmentation of national commerce, than the price of stock, which had within three years risen to a very considerable increase; and the duties on imports, which in nine months had added one million to the sinking fund, notwithstanding a very extraordinary sum which had been paid as bounties for exported corn. He expressed great tenderness and regard for the interests of those who had advanced their money for the service of the government; declaring, that his aim was to contrive a fair, honest, and equitable method for lessening the national incumbrances, by lowering the interest, conformable to parliamentary faith, and agreeable to the rules of eternal justice. His plan was accordingly communicated, canvassed, and ap proved in the house of commons, and an act passed for reducing the interest of the funds which constitute the national debt. [321] [See note 2 Q, at the end of this Vol.] In pursuance of this act for the reduction of the interest, the greater part of the creditors complied with the terms proposed, and subscribed their respective annuities before the end of February; but the three great companies at first kept aloof, and refused to subscribe any part of their capital.

About the middle of March the commons ordered the proper officers to lay before them an account of the sums which had been subscribed, and these were taken into consideration by a committee of the whole house. It was then that Mr. Pelham, as chancellor of the exchequer, observed, that besides the debts due to the three great companies in their corporate capacity, all the rest, carrying four per centum interest, had been subscribed, except about eight or nine millions, the proprietors of which had forfeited the favour designed them by parliament; but as many of these had been misled by evil counsellors, who perhaps were more intent on distressing the government, than solicitous to serve their friends; and as many were foreigners, residing beyond sea, who had not time to take proper advice, and give the necessary instruction; and as these could not possibly be distinguished from such as refused to subscribe from mere obstinacy or disaffection, it might be thought cruel to take the most rigorous advantage of the forfeiture they had incurred. With respect to the proprietors of the stock or capital belonging to the three great companies, he asserted, that many of them would willingly have subscribed their properties within the time limited, but were necessarily excluded by the majority on the ballot; and as it was equally impossible to know those who were against the question on the ballot, he thought that some tenderness was due even to the proprietors of those three companies; his opinion therefore was, that they and the uncomplying annuitants should be indulged with further time to complete their subscription; but, in order to preserve the authority of parliament, and the respect due to that august assembly, they ought not to be gratified with such advantageous terms as were allowed to the annuitants who at first cheerfully complied with the proposals offered by the legislature. For these reasons he proposed, that although the term of subscribing should be protracted till the thirtieth day of May, the encouragement of three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum should not be continued to the second subscribers longer than till the fifth day of December, in the year one thousand seven hundred and fifty-five. The proposal being approved, a bill was framed for this purpose, as well as for redeeming such annuities as should not be subscribed, which passed through both houses, and was enacted into a law, after having received an additional clause, empowering the East India company, in case they should subscribe all their stock bearing an interest of four per centum, to borrow, with the consent of the treasury, any sums not exceeding four millions two hundred thousand pounds, after the several rates of interest before proposed to be paid by the public, and one million more at three per centum per annum. They were also vested with a power to raise money by bonds as formerly; yet so as the whole, including the annuities, should not exceed what they were by former acts empowered to borrow. The objections to the execution of this project, which by many were deemed insurmountable, entirely vanished before the fortitude, perseverance, and caution of the minister; who had secured, among the monied men of the nation, the promise of such sums as would have been sufficient to pay off the capital belonging to those creditors who might refuse to accept the interest thus reduced. The second subscription had the desired effect. The three great companies acquiesced, and their example was followed by the other scrupulous annuitants; the national burden was comfortably lightened, and the sinking fund considerably increased, without producing the least perplexity or disturbance in the commonwealth; a circumstance that could not fail to excite the admiration and envy of all Christendom.

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NEW MUTINY BILL.

The mutiny bill for the ensuing year was mitigated with an essential alteration, relating to the oath of secrecy imposed upon the members of every court-martial, who were now released from this reserve if required to give evidence, by due course of law, in any court of judicature; and whereas, by the former mutiny bill, a general was empowered to order the revival of any sentence by a court-martial as often as he pleased, and, on that pretence, to keep in confinement a man who had been acquitted upon a fair trial; it was now enacted, that no sentence pronounced by any court-martial, and signed by the president, should be more than once liable to revisal. Colonel George Townshend, son of lord viscount Townshend, who had equally distinguished himself by his civil and military accomplishments, proposed another clause, for preventing any noncommissioned officer's being broke or reduced into the ranks; or any soldier's being punished, but by the sentence of a court-martial. He gave the house to understand, that certain persons attended at the door, who from the station of non-commissioned officers had been broke, and reduced into the ranks, without trial, or any cause assigned; and he expatiated not only upon the iniquity of such proceedings, but also upon the danger of leaving such arbitrary power in the hands of any individual officer. A warm debate was the consequence of this motion, which, however, was overruled by the majority.



BILL FOR ENCOURAGING the IMPORTATION OF IRON FROM AMERICA.

Among other regulations made in the course of this session for the encouragement of the British manufactures, a large duty was laid upon Irish sail-cloth, which being sold at an under price, was found to interfere with the same species of commodity fabricated in the island of Great Britain; and, for the farther benefit of this last, the bounty upon the exportation of it, which had been deducted from a defective fund, was now made payable out of the customs. This measure, however, was not of such importance to the nation, as the act which they passed for encouraging the importation of pig and bar iron from the British colonies in North America. Every well-wisher to his country reflected with concern on the nature of the British trade with Sweden, from which kingdom the subjects of his Britannic majesty imported more iron and steel than all the other countries in Europe. For this article they paid a very great balance in ready money, which the Swedes again expended in purchasing from the French, and other mercantile powers, those necessaries and superfluities with which they might have been as cheaply furnished by Great Britain. In the meantime, the English colonies in America were restricted by severe duties from making advantage of their own produce, in exchanging their iron for such commodities as they were under the necessity of procuring from their mother country. Such restrictions was not only a cruel grievance upon our own settlements, but also attended with manifest prejudice to the interest of Great Britain, annually drained of great sums in favour of an ungrateful nation, from which no part of them returned; whereas the iron imported from America must of necessity come in exchange for our own manufactures. The commons having appointed a day for taking this affair into consideration, carefully examined into the state of the British commerce carried on with Sweden, as well as into the accounts of iron imported from the plantations of America; and a committee of the whole house having resolved, that the duties on American pig and bar iron should be removed, a bill [322] [See note 2 R, at the end of this Vol.] was brought in for that purpose, containing a clause, however, to prevent his majesty's subjects from making steel, and establishing mills for slitting and rolling iron within the British colonies of America: this precaution being taken, that the colonists might not interfere with the manufactures of their mother country.



ERECTION OF THE BRITISH HERRING FISHERY.

The next commercial improvement of which we shall take notice, was the bill for the encouragement of the British white herring and cod fisheries. This was likewise the result of mature deliberation, importing, that a bounty of thirty shillings per ton should be granted, and paid out of the customs, to all new vessels from twenty to fourscore tons burden, which should be built for that purpose, and actually employed in the fishery; that a society should be incorporated, under the name of the Free British Fishery, by a charter, not exclusive, with power to raise a capital not exceeding five hundred thousand pounds; and that three pounds ten shillings per centum per annum, should be granted and paid out of the customs to the proprietors for fourteen years, for so much of the capital as should be actually employed in the said fisheries. Corresponding chambers were proposed to be erected in remote parts of North Britain, for taking in subscriptions, and prosecuting the trade, under the directions of the company at London; and the nation in general seemed eager to dispute this branch of commerce with the subjects of Holland, whom they considered as ungrateful interlopers. In the house of peers, however, the bill met with a formidable opposition from the earl of Winchelsea and lord Sandys, who justly observed, that it was a crude indigested scheme, which in the execution would never answer the expectations of the people; that in contending with the Dutch, who are the patterns of unwearied industry and the most rigid economy, nothing could be more absurd than a joint-stock company, which is always clogged with extraordinary expense; and the resolution of fitting out vessels at the port of London, where all sorts of materials, labour, and seamen, are so much dearer than in any other part of the united kingdom, exclusive of the great distance and dangerous voyage between the metropolis and the sound of Brassa in Shetland, the rendezvous at which all the herring-busses were to assemble in the beginning of the fishing season. They likewise took notice of the heavy duty on salt, used in curing the fish for sale, and the beef for provisions to the mariners; a circumstance of itself sufficient to discourage adventurers from embarking in a commerce which, at best, yields but very slender profits to the trade in particular, how important soever it might prove to the community in general. These objections were answered by the duke of Argyle and the earl of Granville, who seemed to think that this branch of trade could not be fairly set on foot, without such a considerable sum of money as no single individual would care to advance; that a joint-stock company would be able to prosecute the fishery at a smaller expense than that which particular traders must necessarily incur; that the present spirit of the nation, which was eagerly bent upon trying the experiment, ought not to be balked by delay, lest it should evaporate; and that though the plan was not unexceptionable, the defects of it might in the sequel be remedied by the legislature. In a word, the bill was adopted by the majority, with a small amendment in the title, which produced some disquiets in the lower house; but this dispute was compromised, and it was enacted into a law towards the close of the session. Nothing could be more agreeable to the public than the sanction of the legislature to this favourite plan, which was ardently promoted, and patronised by men of the greatest eminence for wealth and popularity. The company chose for their governor the prince of Wales, who received this proof of their attachment and respect with particular marks of satisfaction; the president and vice-president were both aldermen of London; and the council was composed of thirty gentlemen, the majority of whom were members of parliament. Great pains were taken, and some artifice was used, to learn the Dutch method of curing the fish. People crowded with their subscriptions; a number of hands were employed in building and equipping the busses or vessels used in the fishery; and the most favourable consequences were expected from the general vigour and alacrity which animated these preparations. But the success did not gratify the sanguine hopes of the projectors and adventurers. The objections made in the house of lords soon appeared to have been well founded; these co-operating with mismanagement in the directors, the spirit of the company began to flag, the natural consequences of commercial disappointment; and now the British fishery seems to languish under the neglect of the legislature.



NEW AFRICAN COMPANY.

Touching the trade to the coast of Africa, petitions were renewed by the company and its creditors, the merchants of Bristol, Liverpool, and Lancaster; and a remonstrance was presented by the planters and merchants interested in the British sugar settlements in America; but the commons adhered to their former resolutions of laying open the trade, maintaining the forts at the public expense, and regulating the commerce by a committee of merchants, representing the chief trading towns in the kingdom, to be superintended by the board of trade and plantations. The bill was accordingly framed and presented, and having proceeded through both houses without opposition, obtained the royal assent. Over and above these wise, salutary, and patriotic measures for the improvement of commerce, they encouraged the importation of raw silk by an act, reducing the duties formerly payable on that which was the growth of China to the same that is raised on the raw silk from Italy, and allowing the same drawback upon the exportation of the one which had been usually granted on the other. A second bill was brought in for the encouragement of the growth and culture of silk in Carolina and Georgia, where it had been lately produced with extraordinary success, by freeing from all duties that which should be imported from his majesty's dominions in America; and a third was framed, permitting raw silk of the growth or produce of Persia, purchased in Russia, to be imported into Great Britain, from any port or place belonging to the empire of Russia. Divers efforts were made, by different members in the opposition, to rectify certain abuses in the army and administration; some bills were brought in, and several petitions were left on the table; but all of them proved abortive, from the power and influence of the minister, who seemed resolved that no benefit should flow upon the nation through any channel but his own. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged, for the honour of his memory, that there is no session on record so productive as this was of measures advantageous to the community.

{GEORGE II. 1727-1760}



WESTMINSTER ELECTION.

The people, however, were not entirely satisfied with the conduct of the administration, if we may judge from the ferment and commotions raised during the progress of an election for a citizen to represent the city of Westminster in parliament. The seat which had been filled by lord Trentham, eldest son of earl Gower, having become vacant, in consequence of that nobleman's accepting a place at the board of admiralty, he again declared himself a candidate, and met with a violent opposition. Those who styled themselves the independent electors of Westminster, being now incensed to an uncommon degree of turbulence by the interposition of ministerial influence, determined to use their utmost endeavours to baffle the designs of the court, and at the same time take vengeance on the family of earl Gower, who had entirely abandoned the opposition, of which he was formerly one of the most respected leaders. With this view they held consultations, agreed to resolutions, and set up a private gentleman, named sir George Vandeput, as the competitor of lord Trentham, declaring that they would support his pretensions at their own expense, being the more encouraged to this enterprise by the countenance and assistance of the prince of Wales and his adherents. They accordingly opened houses of entertainment for their partisans, solicited votes, circulated remonstrances, and propagated abuse; in a word, they canvassed, with surprising spirit and perseverance, against the whole interest of St. James'. Mobs were hired and processions made on both sides, and the city of Westminster was filled with tumult and uproar. The mutual animosity of the parties seemed every day to increase during the election, and a great number of unqualified votes were presented on both sides; all the powers of insinuation, obloquy, and ridicule, were employed to vilify and depreciate both candidates. At length the poll being closed, a majority of votes appeared in behalf of lord Trentham; but a scrutiny being demanded by the other side, the returning officer complied with their request. The speaker of the lower house had issued his warrant for a new writ of election about the middle of November; and towards the end of February, Mr. Fox, secretary at war, standing up and observing that no return had yet been made, thought proper to move that the clerk of the crown, the messenger-extraordinary attending the great seal, the under-sheriff of Middlesex, and the high-bailiff of Westminster, should attend next morning and give an account of their issuing, delivering, and executing the writ of election. These being examined, and the high-bailiff declaring that he would proceed with all possible despatch in the scrutiny which had been demanded and was begun, Mr. Speaker explained to him some particulars of his duty, in the discharge of which, he was given to understand, he might depend upon the protection of the house, should he meet with any obstruction which he could not otherwise surmount, By the violence and caprice with which a great number of votes were contested on both sides, the scrutiny was protracted a long time, and the return attended with some extraordinary consequences, which shall be particularized among the transactions of the next year. In the meantime, the present session of parliament was closed on the twelfth day of April, with a speech from the throne, commending the commons for having seized the very first opportunity of reducing the interest of the national debt, without the least infringement upon the faith of parliament; and congratulating them on the flourishing state of the public credit, which could not fail to add strength and reputation to the government, both at home and abroad. Immediately after the rising of the parliament, his majesty appointed a regency to govern the kingdom in his absence, and embarked for the continent in order to visit his German dominions.



EARTHQUAKES IN LONDON.

The month of January and the beginning of February were distinguished, the first day by a very remarkable Aurora Borealis appearing at night to the north-east, of a deep and dusky red colour, like the reflection of some great fire, for which it was by many people mistaken; and the coruscations, unlike those that are generally observed, did not meet in the zenith, but in a point some degrees to the southward. February was ushered in by terrible peals of thunder, flashes of lightning, and such a tempest of wind, hail, and rain, as overwhelmed with fear and consternation the inhabitants of Bristol, where it chiefly raged. On the eighth day of the same month, between twelve and one in the afternoon, the people of London were still more dreadfully alarmed by the shock of an earthquake, which shook all the houses with such violence, that the furniture rocked on the floors, the pewter and porcelain rattled on the shelves, the chamber-bells rang, and the whole of this commotion was attended by a clap of noise resembling that produced by the fall of some heavy piece of furniture. The shock extended through the cities of London and Westminster, and was felt on both sides of the river Thames, from Greenwich to the westward of London; but not perceptible at a considerable distance. On the very same day of the next month, between five and six o'clock in the morning, the inhabitants of the metropolis were again affrighted by a second shock, more violent than the first, and abundantly more alarming, as it waked the greater part of the people from their repose. It was preceded by a succession of thick low flashes of lightning, and a rumbling noise, like that of a heavy carriage rolling over a hollow pavement. The shock itself consisted of repeated vibrations, which lasted some seconds, and violently shook every house from top to bottom. Again the chairs rocked, the shelves clattered, the small bells rang, and in some places public clocks were heard to strike. Many persons, roused by this terrible visitation, started naked from their beds, and ran to their doors and windows in distraction; yet no life was lost, and no house overthrown by this concussion, though it was so dreadful as to threaten an immediate dissolution of the globe. The circumstance, however, did not fail to make a deep impression upon ignorant, weak, and superstitious minds, which were the more affected by the consideration that the two shocks were periodical; that the second, which happened exactly one month after the first, had been the more violent; and that the next, increasing in proportion, might be attended with the most dismal consequences. This general notion was confirmed, and indeed propagated, among all ranks of people, by the admonitions of a fanatic soldier, who publicly preached up repentance, and boldly prophesied that the next shock would happen on the same day of April, and totally destroy the cities of London and Westminster. Considering the infectious nature of fear and superstition, and the emphatic manner in which the imagination had been prepared and prepossessed, it was no wonder that the prediction of this illiterate enthusiast should have contributed, in a great measure, to augment the general terror. The churches were crowded with penitent sinners; the sons of riot and profligacy were overawed into sobriety and decorum. The streets no longer resounded with execrations, or the noise of brutal licentiousness; and the iand of charity was liberally opened. Those whom fortune had enabled to retire from the devoted city, fled to the country with hurry and precipitation, insomuch that the highways were encumbered with horses and carriages. Many who had in the beginning combated these groundless fears with the weapons of reason and ridicule, began insensibly to imbibe the contagion, and felt their hearts fail in proportion as the hour of probation approached; even science and philosophy were not proof against the unaccountable effects of this communication. In after ages it will hardly be believed, that on the evening of the eighth day of April, the open fields that skirt the metropolis were filled with an incredible number of people assembled in chairs, in chaises, and coaches, as well as on foot, who waited in the most fearful suspense until morning, and the return of day disproved the truth of the dreaded prophecy. Then their fears vanished; they returned to their respective habitations in a transport of joy; and were soon reconciled to their abandoned vices, which they seemed to resume with redoubled affection, and once more bade defiance to the vengeance of heaven.



PESTILENTIAL FEVER AT THE SESSION IN THE OLD BAILEY.

By this time all the gaols in England were filled with the refuse of the army and navy, which having been dismissed at the peace, and either averse to labour or excluded from employment, had naturally preyed upon the commonwealth. Great numbers of those wretches who, by proper regulations, might have been rendered serviceable to the community, were executed as examples; and the rest perished miserably, amidst the stench and horrors of noisome dungeons. Even the prison of Newgate was rendered so infectious by the uncommon crowds of confined felons stowed together in close apartments, that the very air they breathed acquired a pestilential degree of putrefaction. It was this putrefied air, which, adhering to the clothes of the malefactors brought to trial at the bar of the Old Bailey, in May, produced among the audience a pestilential fever, which infected and proved fatal to the lord mayor of London, to one alderman, two of the judges, divers lawyers who attended the session, the greatest part of the jury, and a considerable number of the spectators. In order to prevent such disasters for the future, the gaols were cleansed, and accommodated with ventilators, which exhaust the foul and supply a circulation of fresh air; and other humane precautions were taken for the benefit of the prisoners.