CHAPTER IV.

NEVER, perhaps, were the most reasonable calculations of judicious and reflecting men more thoroughly or more happily falsified than at the death of Queen Anne. Looking to the distracted state of parties in England-to the storm of disaffection ready to burst forth in Ireland and Scotland-remembering that the Hanover succession would be discountenanced by all the Catholic powers from religion, and by many of the Protestant from policy-that France, and Spain, and Italy, were as favourable to the Pretender as they dared-that the Emperor, from German jealousies of the Elector, was by no means desirous to see him on the British throne-that his claims would be promoted only by the exhausted republic of Holland, or the infant monarchy of Prussia; viewing, also, the genius of Bolingbroke and his ascendency over the Queen,-the demise of the latter could only be anticipated as a period of violent struggles and a doubtful victory. Yet the skilful interposition of Shrewsbury, and the prudent measures of the Council, completely warded off the expected conflict; and no son, with the most undisputed title, and in the most loyal times, ever succeeded his father with more apparent unanimity and quiet, than now a foreign and unknown prince was hailed as King of England.

We are, indeed, assured that Atterbury, immediately on the Queen's demise, proposed to Bolingbroke to attempt proclaiming James at Charing Cross; and offered himself to head the procession in his lawn sleeves. But Bolingbroke, shrinking from an enterprise so desperate, with the majority of the Council and the Executive Government against them, the Bishop is said to have exclaimed, with an oath, "There is the best cause in Europe lost for want of spirit!" With this exception, the Jacobites appear to have been utterly helpless and surprised; their real inferiority of numbers being now most strikingly displayed. George the First was proclaimed in London, in York,* and the other principal cities of England, amidst the loudest acclamations.1

* An account of this ceremony is given by Lady Mary W. Montagu, in a letter to her husband from York (vol. ii. p. 137, ed. 1820): "I went to-day to see the King proclaimed, which was done, the Archbishop walking next the Lord Mayor, and all the country gentry following, with greater crowds of people than I believed to be in York; vast acclamations and the appearance of a general satisfaction; the Pretender afterwards dragged about the streets and burned; ringing of bells, bonfires and illuminations; the mob crying Liberty and Property!' and 'Long live King George!' . . . . All the Protestants here seem unanimous for the Hanover succession."

1

[Whatever feeling was shown in British America, on the occasion of the Hanoverian

Previous to the proclamation, however, and immediately after her Majesty's demise, the Council had met; and the Hanoverian resident, M. Kreyenberg, produced an instrument in the Elector's own. writing, nominating the persons who, as provided by the Regency Act, and in conjunction with the seven great officers of state, were to act as Lords Justices until the King's arrival. The list was found to contain the names of eighteen of the principal Peers, nearly all belonging to the Whig party; such as the Dukes of Shrewsbury, Somerset, and Argyle; Lords Cowper, Halifax, and Townshend. Two omissions, however, excited great surprise and displeasure: the most patriotic statesman and the most illustrious warrior of the age being passed over in Somers and Marlborough. The increasing infirmities of the former might, indeed, supply a pretext for his being .omitted; yet, had they even made the nomination an empty compliment, it was one due and required by his character. The exclusion of Marlborough, and of his son-in-law Lord Sunderland, was commonly ascribed to a personal pique of the Elector against the former, who, during the campaign of 1708, had, in pursuance of his duty and of the public service, forborne to communicate any part of the plan of operations. But it is probable that the real motive for the slight put upon these illustrious men was a jealousy of great party leaders, an impression derived from Tory insinuations that they had attempted to dictate to Queen Anne, and a resolution to avoid a second "Junta.”

It may easily be supposed what just resentment swelled in the bosom of Marlborough at the news of his unexpected exclusion. He

There were two duplicates of this instrument; the one deposited with the Arch. bishop of Canterbury, and the other with the Lord Chancellor. See the Lords Justices' speech to Parliament, Aug. 5, 1714.

† Coxe's Life, vol. iv. p. 309.

succession, seems to have been favourable to it. This was especially the case in New England, and in the middle provinces.

"Through English America even the clergy heralded the elevation of George I. as an omen of happiness, and from the pulpit in Boston it was announced of its people, that in the whole land “not a dog can wag his tongue to charge them with disloyalty." To the children of the Puritans the accession of the house of Hanover was the triumph of Protestantism, and the guaranty of Protestant liberties."--Bancroft's History of the United States, vol. iii. p. 322, ch. xxiii.

"The secret designs of Queen Anne's last ministry were nowhere more suspected, nor more dreaded than in Massachusetts; and the first of August was nowhere celebrated with greater joy during the whole of the king's reign.”—Gov. Hutchinson's History of Massachusetts, chap. ii., where are also given the dates of the proclamation, in the several colonies, of the accession of George I.

It is, I have no doubt, justly remarked by the late Mr. Grahame in his excellent History of the United States, that "the accession of George the First to the British throne, excited very little interest in any of the North American provinces, except New England, where it was joyfully hailed as a triumph of revolutionary principles over the views and designs which the Tories had harboured and hoped to accomplish on the demise of Queen Anne."--Book viii. chap. 2.

The first address from the Assembly of the Province of Pennsylvania to George the First, was not made till 1716. The delay is explained in it, on account of the enfeebled health of William Penn at that time, and advantage is taken of it to accompany the address with loyal congratulations on the suppression of the rebellion of 1715.]

had landed at Dover on the very day of the Queen's death. Proceeding to London, his public entry drew forth so warm a welcome from the people as more than atoned for the insult of his sovereign. It might truly be called a triumph, whether we consider the hero thus restored to his country, or the joyful festivities which greeted his return. Two hundred gentlemen on horseback, headed by Sir Charles Cox, member for Southwark, met him on the road; the procession was joined by a long train of carriages; and, though his own broke down at Temple Bar, and he was obliged to enter another, the accident only gave fresh delight to the spectators, as serving to display his person to their view. He appeared in the House of Lords on their meeting, and took the oaths; but then, deeply chagrined at his exclusion, retired into the country until the arrival of the King.

The Lords Justices having met, chose Addison their secretary, and ordered all despatches addressed to the Secretary of State to be brought to him. Thus Lord Bolingbroke, so lately supreme, found himself obliged to wait like some humble suitor at the door of the Council Chamber with his bag and papers, and to receive commands instead of giving them. One principal object of anxiety was Ireland, where it was feared that the Catholics might attempt a rising; and the Lords Justices at first had it in contemplation to send thither immediately, and without waiting for the King's sanction, Sunderland as Lord Lieutenant, and Stanhope as Commanderin-Chief. But the unanimity and quiet which they saw around them allayed their apprehensions; and, in fact, the Lords Justices of Ireland (the Archbishop of Armagh, and Sir Constantine Phipps) peaceably proclaimed the King on the 6th of August; nay, more, in vindication of their suspected zeal, issued a proclamation for disarming Papists and seizing their horses. At Edinburgh, also, the same ceremony took place without opposition.

*

According to the provisions of the Act of Regency, Parliament met on Sunday, the day of the Queen's demise. Secretary Bromley moved, That the Commons should adjourn to the Wednesday following, the Speaker being in Wales; but Sir Richard Onslow replied that the occasion was too critical, and time too precious for any to be wasted; and it was carried that the House should adjourn only to the next day. The three following days were occupied in taking the oaths. On the 5th the Lords Justices came down to the House of Peers; and the Lord Chancellor, in their name, delivered a speech, announcing their authority; observing, that as several branches of the revenue had expired with the Queen, they recommended to the Commons to provide anew for the dignity and honour of the Crown; and concluding: "We forbear laying before you anything that does not require your immediate consideration, not having received his Majesty's pleasure. We shall only exhort you, with the greatest earnestness, to a perfect unanimity, and a firm adherence to our Sovereign's interest, as being the only means to continue among us

• Despatch from Bothmar to Robethon, Aug. 3, 1714. Macpherson's State Papers.

our present happy tranquillity." In pursuance of this intimation, loyal and dutiful addresses to his Majesty were unanimously carried in both Houses, expressing, according to the motley combination of feelings which it is thought proper to profess on such occasions, their deep grief at "the death of our late sovereign lady Queen Anne, of blessed memory," and their lively pleasure at the accession of a monarch of such "princely virtues," and "undoubted right to the crown. ."* Their next business was the settlement of his Civil List. The Tories, by rather too glaring a manoeuvre for favour at Court, proposed one million, which was more by 300,000l. than had been granted to Queen Anne. But the wisest of the King's friends perceived that such an augmentation would furnish grounds for future complaints of Royal rapacity, proceeding, perhaps, from the very same party which had urged it. The proposal, therefore, though not openly opposed, was discouraged and dropped, and the sum of 700,000l. was voted. During the progress of the bill, Horace Walpole, brother of Robert, moved, That the committee should be instructed to insert a clause for the payment of the arrears due to the Hanover troops in the pay of England. These arrears, amounting to 65,0227.,† had been withheld ever since July, 1712, when the troops in question, and several other regiments in English pay, had protested against the shameful secession of the Duke of Ormond, and indignantly left the English standards. To the Whigs this conduct appeared most public-spirited and praiseworthy, while the Tories held it forth as something hardly short of military desertion. The payment of the arrears had therefore long been a point of contention between the two parties, and only a very few weeks before had been negatived by a large majority in this same House of Commons. But the accession of the sovereign of these troops to the throne of England proved to be a most conclusive argument, and effected many strange conversions; the motion of Horace Walpole was seconded by Sir William Wyndham, and was carried without opposition. Another clause, moved by Horace Walpole, for a reward of 100,000l. to be paid by the Treasury to any person apprehending the Pretender if he should attempt to land, passed also. Several other money bills having been carried received the Royal assent by commission, and this short session was closed by prorogation.

Nor was the Regency less prosperous and undisturbed in the foreign relations of the kingdom. The Court of France, confounded by the Queen's sudden death, and dreading any pretext for another war whilst their wounds from the last were still green, determined peaceably to acknowledge King George. A verbal assurance to this effect was first brought over by Lord Peterborough, who, with his

"We are as full in the House of Commons as at any time. We are gaping and staring to see who is to rule us. The Whigs think they shall engross all. We think we shall have our share." Erasmus Lewis to Swift, Aug. 7, 1714.

† See the items in the Commons' Journals, vol. xvii. p. 577.

See Lockhart's Comment., p. 469.

usual activity, had hastened from France on the first news of the great event in England;* and this was speedily followed and confirmed by a letter from Louis himself to the Lords Justices. The recognition of the Hanover succession by this haughty monarch was considered, as it proved, an earnest that it would likewise be acknowledged by the other European powers. The first use made by the Lords Justices of the peaceable disposition of Louis is one that does them high honour, as tending to retrieve that of the country. They interceded in behalf of the unhappy Catalans, so infamously betrayed by the late administration, and now closely pressed by the combined forces of France and Spain. Prior received orders to make an application on this subject, while new instructions were sent out to Admiral Wishart in the Mediterranean, and a communication entered into with one of the Catalan deputies in London. But it was already too late. The doom of that heroic people was sealed. The application of Prior was civilly declined, and a fresh and more peremptory one prevented by the storm and reduction of Barcelona on the fatal 11th of September.

During these transactions the eyes of all England were intently and anxiously directed to Hanover.

The new King was a man of more virtues than accomplishments. His private character-if, indeed, the character of a King can ever be called private-was upright, honourable, and benevolent. He was apt to remember services much longer than injuries, a quality rare in every rank of life, but least of all common with princes. He was steady in his friendships; even in his temper; sparing, and sometimes niggardly, in his expenses. This severe economy also extended to his time, which he distributed with the precision of a piece of machinery, and of which he devoted no small share to public business. A desire for peace was in him combined with tried valour and military knowledge, and he loved his people as much as he was capable of loving any thing. But, unhappily, his qualities, however solid, were not shining. A heavy countenance, an awkward address, an aversion to the pomp of majesty, nay even to the acclamations which greeted him, disgusted the multitude; while men of education were mortified at finding that he neither loved nor encouraged any branch of literature or science, nor any one of the fine arts, except music. Politicians complained of his unbending obstinacy, and contracted understanding. "His views and affections," says Lord Chesterfield, "were singly confined to the narrow compass of his electorate; England was too big for him." A diffidence of * See Lord Stair's Diary in the Hardwicke State Papers, vol. ii. p. 528.

["George the First was an honest, dull German gentleman, as unfit as unwilling to act the part of a king, which is to shine and oppress. Lazy and inactive, even in his pleasures, which were, therefore, lowly sensual. He was coolly intrepid, and indolently benevolent. He was diffident of his own parts, which made him speak little in public, and prefer in his social, which were his favourite, hours, the company of wags and buffoons. Even his mistress, the Duchess of Kendal, with whom he passed most of his time, and who had all influence over him, was very little above an idiot, etc." -"Characters," Lord Chesterfield's Letters, Lord Mahon's Edit., vol. ii. p. 432.]