Lord Thurlow.

Widely different was the character of Lord Thurlow. Long in the king's most secret counsels, his Chancellor in every administration, except the coalition, from Lord North's to Mr. Pitt's, he had directed the movements of the king's friends, encouraged his Majesty's love of power, and supported those principles of government which found most favor in the royal mind. He was in theory, in sympathy, and in temper, the very impersonation of a Tory of that period. For some years he exercised a sway, less potential, indeed, than that of Mr. Pitt, in the general policy of the state, but scarcely inferior to that of the minister in influence with the king, in patronage, in court favors, and party allegiance. If Mr. Pitt was absolute master of the House of Commons, the House of Lords was the plaything of Lord Thurlow. It was not until Mr. Pitt resolved to endure no longer the intrigues, treachery, and insolent opposition of his Chancellor, that he freely enjoyed all the powers of a responsible minister.1

The Whigs
and the

Prince of
Wales.

The Whigs, proscribed at court, and despairing of royal favor, cultivated the friendship of the Prince of Wales, who, in his first youth, warmly encouraged their personal intimacy, and espoused their cause. The social charms of such men as Fox, Sheridan, and Erskine, made their society most attractive to a young prince of ability and many accomplishments; and his early estrangement from the king and his ministers naturally threw him into the arms of the opposition. Even his vices received little reproof or discouragement from some of the gay members of the Whig party, who shared in the fashionable indulgences of that period. Young men of fashion drank deeply; and many wasted their health and fortunes at the gaming table. Some of his Whig associates - Fox and Sheridan among the number did not affect to be the most moral or prudent men of their age; and their association with the

1 Moore's Life of Sheridan, i. 406; Campbell's Lives of the Chancellors, v. 532, 555, 602, &c.; Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, ii. 148.

prince aggravated the king's repugnance to their party. How could he forgive the men whom he believed to be perverting the politics, alienating the affections, and corrupting the morals of the heir to his throne?

It was no new political phenomenon to see the court of the heir-apparent the nucleus of the opposition. It had been the unhappy lot of the Hanoverian family that every Prince of Wales had been alienated from the reigning sovereign. George I. hated his son with unnatural malignity; and the Prince, repelled from court, became the hope of the opposition. Again, in the next reign, Frederick Prince of Wales, estranged from his father in domestic life, espoused the opinions and cultivated the friendship of Bolingbroke, Chesterfield, Wyndham, Cartaret, Pulteney, and other statesmen most vehemently opposed to the king's government.2

The Whigs being in office throughout both these reigns, the court of the heir-apparent fell naturally under the influence of the Tories. And now the first-born son of George III. was in open opposition to his father and his father's chosen ministers; and the Tories being in the ascendant at court, the Whigs took possession of Carlton House. The Prince wore the buff and blue uniform, and everywhere paraded his adherence to the Whig party. In 1784, after the Westminster election, he joined Mr. Fox's procession, gave fêtes at Carlton House in celebration of his victory, attended public dinners, and shared in other social gatherings of the party. 3

Their alliance was still more ostensible during the king's

1 Coxe's Walpole, i. 78, 93.

2 Walpole's Mem. of Geo. II., i. 47; Lord Hervey's Mem., i. 235, 236, 271, 277. Hearing of their meeting at Kew, in September, 1737, the king said, They will all soon be tired of the puppy, for besides his being a scoundrel, he is such a fool, that he will talk more fiddle-faddle to them in a day than any old woman talks in a week."— Ibid., 442.

8 Lord J. Russell's Life of Fox, i. 337, &c.

illness in 1788. They openly espoused the cause of the prince, and boasted of their approaching restoration to power; while the prince was actively canvassing for votes to support them in Parliament. To the Earl of Lonsdale he wrote to solicit his support as a personal favor; and all his nominees in the House of Commons, though ordinarily stanch supporters of Mr. Pitt, were found voting with Mr. Fox and the opposition.2

lution upon

parties.

The Whigs were still a considerable party. However Effects of the inferior, in numbers, to the ministerial phalanx, French Revo- they were led by men of commanding talents, high rank, and social influence; their principles were popular, and they were generally united in sentiment and policy. But events were impending, which were destined to subvert the relations of parties. The momentous incidents of the French Revolution, new and unexampled in the history of the world, - could not fail to affect deeply the minds of every class of politicians. In their early development, the democrats hailed them with enthusiasm; the Whigs with hopeful sympathy; the king and the Tories with indignation and alarm.3 Mr. Fox foresaw the spread of liberty throughout Europe. Mr. Pitt, sympathizing with freedom more than any of his party, watched the progress of events with friendly interest.5 Mr. Burke was the first statesman who was overcome with terror. Foreseeing nothing but evil and dangers, he brought the whole force of his genius, with characteristic earnestness, to the denunciation of the French Revolution, its principles, its actors, and its consequences. In his excitement against de

1 Supra, Vol. I. 149, et seq.

6

2 Court and Cabinets of George III., ii. 64.

8 Tomline's Life of Pitt, iii. 104; Stanhope's Life of Pitt, ii. App. xvii. 4 Mem. of Fox, ii. 361.

5 Tomline's Life of Pitt, iii. 118; Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, ii. 48, 49. 6 Prior's Life of Burke, ii. 42; MacKnight's Life of Burke, iii. 274, et seq.; Burke's Correspondence, iii. 102, 183, 267, 286.-" He loved to exaggerate everything: when exasperated by the slightest opposition, even on accidcn

mocracy, he publicly renounced the generous and manly friendship of Mr. Fox, and repudiated the old associations of his party.1

Society was becoming separated into two opposite parties, -the friends and the foes of democracy. For a Divisions time, the Whigs were able to stand between them, among the Whigs. -maintaining liberty, without either encouraging or fearing democracy. But their position was not long tenable. Democrats espoused parliamentary reform: their opponents confounded it with revolution. Never had there been a time so inopportune for the discussion of that question, when the Society of the Friends of the People was founded. Mr, Fox, foreseeing the misconstructions to which it would be exposed, prudently withheld his support; but it was joined by Mr. Sheridan, Mr. Erskine, Mr. Grey, Mr. Tierney, and other leading Whigs, who, for the sake of the cause they had espoused, were willing to coöperate with men of democratic opinions, and even with members of the Corresponding Society, who had enrolled themselves among the Friends of the People.2 When Mr. Grey gave April 30th, notice of his motion for reform, the tone of the debate disclosed the revulsion of feeling that was arising against popular questions, and the widening schism of the Whig party. While some of its members were not diverted from their purpose by the contact of democracy, others May 21st, were repelled by it even from their traditional love 1792. of liberty. A further breach in the ranks of the opposition

1792.

tal topics of conversation, he always pushed his principles, his opinions, and even his impressions of the moment, to the extreme."— Lord Holland's Mem., i. 7.

1 Parl. Hist., Feb. 9, 1790, xxviii. 363, xxix. 249; Fox's Speeches, iv. 51-200; Burke's Appeal from the new to the old Whigs, Works, vi. 110; Lord J. Russell's Life of Fox, ii. 241-252, 273, 283, 318; Annual Register, 1791, p. 114; Lord Holland's Mem., i. 10; Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, ii. 91, et seq.; Moore's Life of Sheridan, ii. 125; MacKnight's Life of Burke, iii. 383-411.

2 Lord Holland's Mem., i. 13; Lord J. Russell's Life of Fox, ii. 281; Life and Opinions of Earl Grey, 9-13.

was soon afterwards caused by the proclamation against seditious writings. Mr. Fox, Mr. Whitbread, and Mr. Grey condemned the proclamation, as designed to discredit the Friends of the People and to disunite the opposition.1 On the other hand, Lord North, Lord Tichfield, Mr. Wyndham, and Mr. Powys, thought the proclamation necessary, and supported the government. Whether Mr. Pitt designed it or not, no measure could have been more effectual for dividing the Whig party.

An attempt was now made, through Mr. Dundas, Lord Loughborough, Lord Malmesbury, and the Duke of Portland, to arrange a coalition between Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox. Both were, at this time, agreed in viewing the revolutionary excesses of France with disgust; and both were alike anxious for neutrality and peace: but the difficulties of satisfying the claims of the different parties, the violent opposition. of Mr. Burke, the disunion of the Whigs, and little earnestness on either side, insured the failure of these overtures.2 Their miscarriage had a serious influence upon the future policy of the state. The union of two such men as Mr. Pitt and Mr. Fox would have insured temperate and enlightened counsels at the most critical period in the history of Europe. But Mr. Fox, in opposition, was encouraged to coquet with democracy, and proclaim, out of season, the sovereignty of the people; while the alarmist section of the Whigs were naturally drawn closer to Mr. Pitt.

1 Lord Holland's Mem., i. 15; Parl. Hist., xxix. 1476, 1514. Before the proclamation was issued, "Mr. Pitt sent copies of it to several members of the opposition in both Houses, requesting their advice."- Lord Malmesbury's Diary, June 13, 1792; Tomline's Life of Pitt, iii. 347; Lord Stanhope's Life of Pitt, ii. 156.

2 Lord Malmesbury's Corr., ii. 425-440. Lord Colchester's Diary and Corr., i. 13. "It was the object of Mr. Pitt to separate Mr. Fox from some of his friends, and particularly from Sheridan. He wished to make him a party to a coalition between the ministry and the aristocratical branches of the Whigs. Mr. Fox, with his usual generosity, declined the offer."- Lord Holland's Mem., ii. 46. Lord Campbell's Life of Lord Loughborough — Lives of Chancellors, vi. 221, et seq.