1743-1744 CARTERET'S FOREIGN POLICY 737 Dutch and Austrian forces. On June 27 he defeated the French at Dettingen on the Main. In July the new Bavarian emperor undertook to desert the French on condition of receiving a subsidy from England; and if this arrangement had been carried out, all Germany would probably have been united against France. Newcastle, however, being jealous of Carteret, and too timid to embark on so far-sighted a combination, refused to sanction the agreement, and the German powers were soon once more in strife with one another. In 1744 Frederick and Maria Theresa were again at war, and France—with which, in spite of the battle of Dettingen, only the German Electorate of Hanover, and not England, had as yet been avowedly at war--now declared war against England. Charles Edward, the son of the Pretender-who was known in England as the Young Pretender, and amongst his own friends as the Prince of Wales--was sent with a French fleet to invade England. The fleet was, however, shattered by a storm, and the danger was thus for a time averted. II. Carteret and the Family Compact. 1743-1744. Carteret's object had been to take up again the policy of the Whigs of Anne's time as opposed to the policy of the time of Walpole. The former had aimed at a general European combination against France, the latter at keeping the peace by a French alliance. Reasons were not wanting for such a change of policy. France was now formidable, not only on account of her renewed military strength, but by reason of her close alliance with Spain (with which England was still at war), the Family Compact-first signed in 1733 (see p. 725)—having been renewed in 1743. Carteret, who had a better knowledge of Continental affairs—and especially of German affairs-than any man of his day, thought it wise to oppose so dangerous a combination. There were, however, many difficulties in his way, even as far as the Continent was concerned. German powers were too intent on their own quarrels to be easily brought to care for common interests, and, as far as England was concerned, Carteret could not reasonably expect support. England had roused herself sufficiently to care for the welfare of her trade and the protection of her smugglers, but she was far more of a maritime than of a Continental power; and, whilst the effects of the Family Compact-not a syllable of which had yet been made public-were seen in a close alliance between France and Spain on the Continent, no such effects had as yet been seen at sea. When Spain was attacked by England in 1739 France had given no help to her ally. As Carteret was more The remiss even than Walpole in carrying on the maritime war against Spain, people unfairly thought that all his continental schemes were merely the fruit of his subservience to the king's predilection for anything that would profit the Hanoverian electorate. Pitt, who afterwards took up much of Carteret's policy, thundered against him with passionate invective as the base minister who was selling the interests of England for the profit of Hanover. 12. Carteret's Fall. 1744. Other causes contributed to weaken Carteret. He had no voice in the military arrangements, and the armies were put under worn-out or incompetent officers. His greatest weakness, however, arose from his never having sat in Grenadier of the First Regiment of Footguards, 1745. Uniform of the Footguards, the House of Commons, and his consequent inability to understand its ways. "I want," he said to a young politician, "to instil a noble ambition into you; to make you knock the heads of the kings of Europe together, and jumble out something that may be of service to this country." "What is it to me," he said on another occasion, "who is made a judge or who is a bishop? It is my business to make kings and emperors, and to maintain the balance of Europe." "Then," was the obvious reply, "those who want to be bishops and judges will apply to those who submit to make it their business." Newcastle, at least, stuck to the work of making judges and bishops, and thereby gained the House 1744 CARTERET'S FALL 739 of Commons to his side. He insisted on Carteret's dismissal, and on November 23, 1744, Carteret--who had just become, by his mother's death, Earl Granville-was driven, in spite of the king's warm support, to resign office. 13. The Broad-bottomed Administration. 1744. Henry Pelham, Newcastle's brother, who had for some time been First Lord of the Treasury, now became virtually Prime Minister. He was a good man of business, and anxious to return to Walpole's policy of peace. His administration was distinguished as the Broadbottomed Administration, because everyone whose influence or talents rendered him at all dangerous was at once given a place in it. The consequence was that, for the only time since partygovernment began, there was no Opposition in the House of Commons. For the present, indeed, the king refused to admit Pitt to office, but Pitt knew that the ministers were friendly to him, and abstained from attacking them. When once, however, the Pelhams had turned out Granville, they forgot their professions, and squandered English money on Hanoverian troops and German princes, without any of Carteret's genius to enable them to use their allies for any good purpose whatever. A large British force, indeed, joined the allies to defend the Netherlands against a French army at that time under a great general, Marshal Saxe; and on May 1, 1745, a battle was fought at Fontenoy. The British column, headed by the king's second son, the Duke of Cumberland, pressed steadily on into the heart of the French line, and, driving everything before it, all but won the day. The Dutch, however, failed to second it, and the French guard, falling upon the isolated column, drove it back. The British army had maintained its honourable traditions, but the French gained the battle ; and the frontier towns of the Austrian Netherlands fell at once into their hands. 14. The Young Pretender in Scotland. 1745. The French victory at Fontenoy encouraged Charles Edward to try his fortunes in Scotland. On July 25, 1745, he landed in Moidart, in the West Highlands, with only seven friends, known afterwards as the 66 seven men of Moidart." The few Highland chiefs who came to meet him shook their heads at his rash enterprise; but his gallant bearing and persuasive words soon swept away their scruples, and they bade their clans follow a prince who had thrown himself on the generosity of the Highlanders. On August 19 Charles Edward raised the Royal Standard in Glenfinnan, and was soon at the head of 1,600 men. It was a small force with 1 which to overrun Scotland, but the Prince had the best of allies in the incapacity of the British commander, Sir John Cope. Military commands were at that time bestowed on men whose friends had influence enough to secure votes to the government in Parliament; and inquiry was seldom made, when an officer was selected for promotion, whether he was in any way fit for the post. Cope inexplicably withdrew to Inverness, and Charles Edward marched straight upon Edinburgh. In Scotland the traders, having gained much by the Union, were Hanoverians to a man ;1 but a large part of the population of Edinburgh regretted the loss of the advantages which the town had possessed as a capital, and there was, moreover, a widespread dissatisfaction with the Hanoverian government, because it had imposed an excise on whisky. In Edinburgh, therefore, Charles Edward was welcomed. Before long Cope returned by sea from Inverness to Dunbar, at the head of his little army of 2,200 men. On the morning of September 21, as day was breaking, Charles Edward, now at the head of 2,500 Highlanders, fell upon him at Preston Pans. With a yell and a rush, the Highlanders broke up the English ranks. Cope himself was amongst the foremost in the flight. 15. The March to Derby. 1745.-Many of the Highlanders returned to their glens with their booty, but reinforcements streamed in, and Charles Edward, now at the head of 6,000 men, crossed the Border, hoping to rouse England in his support. England was strangely apathetic. Walpole and the Whigs had weaned Englishmen of Jacobitism, but they had never appealed to any popular sentiment, and though few joined Charles Edward, there was no general rising against him. They found numbers were gathering round. They gave London a good fright. The king's guards were sent out to Finchley to defend London, and troops from other quarters gathered menacingly round Charles Edward's line of march. When on December 5 the Highlanders reached Derby, they were exposed to an attack from forces far superior to their own; and, further progress being hopeless, they turned back. The king had made ready to leave England if necessary; and it is said that on Black Friday as it was called-the Bank of England cashed cheques in sixpences, in order to delay payment as long as possible. 16. Falkirk and Culloden. 1746.—Charles Edward won one more victory. On January 17 he defeated Hawley-a general as 1 The character of Baillie Nicol Jarvie in Scott's Rob Roy' conveys much instruction on this point. 1745-1746 THE YOUNG PRETENDER 741 incompetent as Cope-at Falkirk. The Duke of Cumberland, however, advanced into Scotland with an army of 8,000, whilst Charles Edward (who retreated to Inverness) had now but 5,000 with him. Cumberland was not a great general, but he had some knowledge of the art of war. His men, moreover, were well drilled, and the advantage of superior training soon became manifest. On the Hogarth's March to Finchley,' 1745. |