CHARLES TOWNSHEND.
Charles Townshend, son of Viscount Townshend, was born 1725. From his youth, he was distinguished for great quickness of conception and extraordinary curiosity. In 1747, he went into parliament, and continued a member till he died. He held various offices in the government. In 1765, he was paymaster general, and chancellor of the exchequer; and a lord of the treasury in August, 1766, from which period he remained in office until his decease, which took place on the 4th of September, 1767.
In person, Charles Townshend was tall and beautifully proportioned; his countenance was manly, handsome, expressive, and prepossessing. He was much beloved in private life, and enjoyed an unusual share of domestic happiness.
Burke, in his speech on American taxation, thus admirably depicted the general character of Charles Townshend: "Before this splendid orb (alluding to the great Lord Chatham) had entirely set, and while the western horizon was in a blaze with his descending glory, on the opposite quarter of the heavens arose another luminary, and for his hour he became lord of the ascendant. This light, too, is passed, and set for ever! I speak of Charles Townshend, officially the rëproducer of this fatal scheme (American taxation); whom I cannot even now remember, without some degree of sensibility. In truth, he was the delight and ornament of this house, and the charm of every private society which he honored with his presence. Perhaps there never arose in this country, nor in any country, a man of more pointed and finished wit, and (where his passions were not concerned) of a more refined, exquisite, and penetrating judgment. If he had not so great a stock, as some have had who flourished formerly, of knowledge long treasured up, he knew better by far, than any man I ever was acquainted with, how to bring together, within a short time, all that was necessary to establish, to illustrate, and to decorate that side of the question he supported. He stated his matter skillfully and powerfully; he particularly excelled in a most luminous explanation and display of his subject."