PREFACE.

The Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Third, by Horace Walpole (Earl of Orford), now for the first time submitted to the Public, are printed from a manuscript copy contained in the box of papers which came into the possession of the late Earl of Waldegrave, under the circumstances stated in the Preface to “The Memoires of the Last Twelve Years of the Reign of George the Second.” This manuscript was placed by Lord Waldegrave in the hands of the late Lord Holland at the same time with “the Memoires” last mentioned, and hopes were long entertained that it would have had the advantage of the editorial care which gave so much additional interest to that work; but from the date of Lord Holland’s return to office, in 1830, the little leisure he could find for literary pursuits was diverted from these volumes by engagements of a more pressing character; and it appeared at his death that he had never even commenced the task which he was of all persons eminently qualified to execute. Under these circumstances Lord Euston (now Duke of Grafton) on whom the property of the manuscript had devolved, as Lord Waldegrave’s executor, became very desirous that the publication should no longer be deferred; and happening to consult me on the subject, my interest was so much excited by a cursory perusal, that I acceded to the request made to me to prepare the Work for the press. In this I was further encouraged by the assurance I received of the zealous co-operation and assistance of the late Mr. John Allen, whose knowledge of the early years of George the Third’s reign was surpassed by none of his contemporaries (excepting, perhaps, Lord Holland), and whose participation in all the studies, and I might almost add identification with the literary pursuits of that nobleman, would have given me many of the advantages I should have derived from himself, had he been still living. I had several conversations with Mr. Allen on the plan to be pursued in editing the Work, and his hints on the characters of the individuals described in it were of essential service to me; but unhappily, before my labours had commenced in earnest, he was taken ill, and in a few days followed his friend and patron to the grave. Few of the associates of his latter days valued him more than myself, or more deeply regretted his loss; and in revising these pages, my mind has often recurred with melancholy yet grateful satisfaction to the many agreeable and most instructive hours I have passed in his and Lord Holland’s society at a house which has acquired an European celebrity as the great point of intellectual and moral reunion among the most distinguished political and literary men of the present century.

These Memoirs comprise the first twelve years of the reign of George the Third, and close the historical works of Horace Walpole. “On their merits,” to use the words of Lord Holland,[1] “it would be improper to enlarge in this place. That they contain much curious and original information, will not be disputed.” In common with the Memoires of George the Second, “they treat of a part of our annals most imperfectly known to us,” with the decided advantage of the period being one marked by events of deeper interest and more congenial in their character and bearings with those which have since engaged, and still occupy our attention. The contests between Whigs and Jacobites may not be undeserving our curiosity; yet they sink into insignificance when compared with the origin and progress of the American discontents, in which may be traced the first indistinct rudiments of the great antagonistic principles and social revolutions of our own time. The Parliamentary struggles, too, in the case of General Warrants, are important, not less on account of the stores of constitutional knowledge they elicited, than from the spirit of free inquiry into the Prerogatives of the Crown on the one hand and the Privileges of the People on the other, which necessarily sprang out of them. Nor is it an uninstructive lesson to observe the efforts made by George the Third to break up the political parties which had embarrassed the reign of his predecessor. These topics are among the most prominent in the History of England during the Eighteenth Century, and they constitute the staple of the present Work. Some of the best debates on the Stamp Act, and on the proceedings against Mr. Wilkes, are here reported with a vivacity and apparent correctness which may be sought in vain elsewhere; and we meet throughout the Work the same abundance of anecdote, and the same graphic description of men and manners, that characterise the Memoires of George the Second. It gives even more copious details of the negotiations between political parties, especially those incidental to the fall of Lord Rockingham’s Administration; the gradual alienation of that nobleman and his friends from the Duke of Grafton; and the other divisions among the Whig party, which ended in the long enjoyment of power by their opponents. The records of these transactions do not, it is true, form the most dignified department of the historian, but political history is necessarily incomplete without them; and here Walpole is on his own ground. Unlike most of the writers who have minutely chronicled their times, he can neither be charged with obtaining mere imperfect or occasional glances into the councils of men in power, nor with suffering himself to be shackled by a sense of official restraint, not to say responsibility. He possessed entirely the secret of affairs, at least as long as Conway remained Minister; and so unreservedly discloses what he knew, that he might not untruly boast, as he does elsewhere, “that the failings of some of his nearest friends are as little concealed as those of other persons.”[2]

I have little to add concerning my own share in these Memoirs. They are printed exactly as the Author left them, except that it has been thought right to suppress a few passages of an indecent tendency; and following the example of Lord Holland, “two or three passages affecting the private characters of private persons, and in no ways connected with any political event, or illustrative of any great public character, have been omitted.”[3]

The notes that occur without any distinguishing mark were left by the Author. It will be perceived that they seldom extend beyond a brief statement of the rank or relationship of the individuals noticed in the text. All the other notes are mine.

In compliance with a wish generally expressed after the publication of the “Memoires of the Last Twelve Years of the Reign of George the Second,” for additional information respecting many of the characters described in that work, I have enlarged on the meagre notices left by Walpole, and endeavoured to correct his errors—taking, as my model, the annotations of Lord Dover and Mr. Wright on the Author’s correspondence. My references to those popular works will be found to have been frequent, and I can venture to add my testimony to their impartiality and correctness.[4] I may have unconsciously borrowed from them, where we are treating of the same individuals; but I have endeavoured, as much as possible, to steer an independent course, and the subject is sufficiently wide to admit of it. I have also carefully consulted all the contemporary authorities within my reach, and, in more than one instance, have received valuable communications from persons who either lived near the times described by Walpole, or were actually acquainted with him. My sole object, however, has been to contribute to the information of readers hitherto little conversant with the events and characters of the period under our notice. More detailed criticism on particular transactions, and some biographical sketches, too long for insertion in the notes, will be given in the Appendix to the Fourth Volume; but I have no pretensions to encroach on the province of the historian—especially since the publication of the last volume of Lord Mahon’s History of George the Third, and the recent article on Lord Chatham in the Edinburgh Review, both of which have appeared since this Work went to the press.

It was at first expected that this Work would be comprised in three volumes, but a more careful examination of the manuscript having proved a fourth to be indispensable, it is thought best not to delay the publication of the two volumes already printed, and to reserve the two concluding volumes until early in the Spring.

I have to acknowledge much kindness from various friends in the prosecution of my inquiries. Sir Edward Colebrooke, in particular, has favoured me with the loan of the manuscript autobiography of his grandfather, Sir George Colebrooke, M. P., Chairman of the East India Company, an active politician, who lived on confidential terms with the Duke of Newcastle, Lord Rockingham, and Mr. Charles Townshend; and I am indebted to Sir George Larpent for the perusal of the papers of his father, when Secretary to Lord Hertford, during the embassy of the latter at Paris.

Denis Le Marchant.

7, Harley Street,
December 4, 1844.

CONTENTS
OF
THE FIRST VOLUME.

A. D. PAGE
[CHAPTER I.]
Career of George II.[4]
1760.Auspicious circumstances under which George III. ascended the Throne[5]
Firmness of the Administration[ib.]
Glory and Fortune in War[ib.]
Precipitate Peace[ib.]
Communication to the Prince of Wales of the Death of George II.[6]
His Conduct to the Duke of Cumberland[7]
The first Council[ib.]
George II.’s Will[8]
The King’s Speech to his Council[9]
[CHAPTER II.]
1760.Plan to carry the Prerogative to an unusual height[16]
Unpopularity and Seclusion of the Princess of Wales[17]
Intended Duel between the Earl of Albemarle and General Townshend[20]
Nov. 18. Meeting of Parliament[24]
The King’s Speech[ib.]
Increase of the Court Establishment[ib.]
Interview between Lord Bute and the Duke of Richmond[27]
Irish Disputes[31]
The King of Prussia’s Victory over Marshal Daun[33]
Mauduit’s Pamphlet on the German War[ib.]
[CHAPTER III.]
1761.Ways and Means for the ensuing Year[34]
New Promotions[35]
Lord Bute[36]
Secret Article in the Treaty with the Landgrave of Hesse[39]
New Tenure of the Judges[41]
Lord Bute appears more ostensibly in the character of Minister[42]
Ministerial Changes[43]
Overtures by France for Peace[50]
[CHAPTER IV.]
1761.March 18th. Thanks of the House of Commons to Mr. Onslow, their Speaker[51]
Lord Bath’s Pamphlet[54]
Solicitations by France for Peace[55]
Mr. Pitt disinclined to negotiate[56]
Expedition against Belleisle[57]
Negotiation for Peace[58]
[CHAPTER V.]
1761.July 8th. Announcement of the King’s intended Marriage[62]
The Princess Dowager’s Aversion to her Son’s Marriage[63]
Schemes of Mr. Fox[64]
Colonel Graeme despatched to Germany to select a Queen[65]
Serious Crisis in the Cabinet[67]
Lofty Conduct of Mr. Pitt[69]
His Draught for a Treaty with France[ib.]
Sept. 7th. Arrival of the new Queen[70]
Her mental and personal Characteristics[71]
Disposal of the vacant Bishopricks[73]
Lord Talbot and the Barons of the Cinque Ports[74]
[CHAPTER VI.]
1761.Interposition of Spain in behalf of France[77]
Oct. 5th and 9th. Resignation of Mr. Pitt and Lord Temple[80]
Effect on the Nation of Mr. Pitt’s Secession from the Cabinet[82]
His Acceptance of a Peerage for his Wife, and of a Pension[ib.]
His Injudicious Conduct[ib.]
Address to him from the Common Council of London, and from Provincial Towns[85]
Nov. 3rd. Meeting of Parliament[86]
Choice of a Speaker[87]
Nov. 6th. The King’s Speech[88]
The Address[ib.]
Nov. 9th. The King and Royal Family dine in the City with the Lord Mayor[89]
Mr. Pitt’s Reception at Guildhall[ib.]
Riots[90]
[CHAPTER VII.]
1761.Nov. 13th. Mr. Wilkes’s Censures on the King’s Speech[91]
Debate on continuing the War[92]
The Queen’s Dowry voted[99]
Ministerial Manœuvres on the Secession of Mr. Pitt[ib.]
Nov. 25th. Meeting at the St. Alban’s Tavern[100]
Policy of the Court[101]
Debate on the War in Germany[ib.]
George Grenville’s Desertion of Pitt[104]
[CHAPTER VIII.]
1761.Debates in Parliament on the German War[109]
Dec. 11. Discussion on our Affairs with Spain[112]
Colonel Barré’s insulting Conduct to Mr. Pitt[120]
Family-compact between France and Spain[123]
Portugal invaded by Charles the Third of Spain[125]
[CHAPTER IX.]
1762.Jan 1st. Fuentes, the Spanish Ambassador, quits England[127]
Jan. 4th. War declared against Spain[128]
Divisions in the Council respecting the War with Spain[129]
Expedition to the Havannah[131]
Jan. 19th. Meeting of Parliament[ib.]
Court Intrigues in France against Marshal Broglio and his Brother[138]
Preponderating Influence and Haughtiness of Lord Bute[139]
The Duke of York’s Contempt of Lord Bute and the Scotch[140]
Proceedings in the Parliament of Ireland[141]
March 19th. Bill for continuing the Militia[142]
[CHAPTER X.]
1762.March 22nd. News of the Conquest of Martinico[143]
War in Portugal[144]
Pacific Disposition of the new Czar[150]
His Popular Measures[151]
Meditated War with Denmark by the Czar and the King of Prussia[152]
Insurrections in Ireland quelled by the Earl of Hertford[154]
The Portuguese War, and the War in Germany[155]
Private Negotiation with the Court of Vienna[157]
April 28th. Creation of seven new Peers[ib.]
Buckingham House purchased by the Queen[159]
Seclusion of the King and Queen[ib.]
[CHAPTER XI.]
1762.May 12th. Debate in the House of Commons on a Vote of Credit and the Support of Portugal[161]
May 26th. The Duke of Newcastle’s resignation[168]
Lord Bute is declared First Lord of the Treasury[171]
Sir Francis Dashwood, Chancellor of the Exchequer[ib.]
[CHAPTER XII.]
1762.Honours heaped on Lord Bute[176]
Lord Halifax appointed to the Admiralty[177]
First Appearance of “The North Briton”[ib.]
Its excessive Audacity[178]
Sketch of its Author, John Wilkes[179]
Churchill, Wilkes’s Associate[180]
Capture and Recapture of Newfoundland[183]
The French Camp surprised by Prince Ferdinand[ib.]
Propensity of the Court for Peace[ib.]
The Empress Catherine[184]
Horrible Conspiracy against Peter the Third[185]
Catherine raised to the Throne[186]
Murder of Peter[187]
Effect of the Russian Revolution on the King of Prussia[188]
[CHAPTER XIII.]
1762.August 12th. Birth of the Prince of Wales[190]
Treasure of the Hermione[ib.]
Conquest of the Havannah[ib.]
Indifference of the Court on that event[191]
Negotiations for Peace[ib.]
Reception in France of the Duke of Bedford[ib.]
Beckford elected Lord Mayor[193]
Duel between Lord Talbot and Wilkes[194]
Disgust at the Union of Bute and Fox[195]
Purchase of a Majority to approve the Peace[199]
[CHAPTER XIV.]
1762.Nov. 8th. Preliminaries of Peace with France and Spain[204]
Embassy to the Court of Spain offered to Lord Sandwich[205]
Insult to the Duke of Cumberland[ib.]
Resignation of Lords Ashburnham and Kinnoul[206]
Lord Lincoln’s Ingratitude to the Duke of Newcastle[207]
The Duke of York obliged to go to Italy[209]
Attempt to propitiate Walpole[211]
[CHAPTER XV.]
1762.Conference between the Duke of Cumberland and Mr. Pitt[219]
Anxiety of the Ministers[220]
Nov. 9th. Debates in both Houses on the Preliminaries of Peace[222]
The Minority on the Division[232]
Exultation of the Princess of Wales on the Preliminaries being carried[233]
Severe political Persecution[ib.]
Numerous Dismissals from Place[234]
[CHAPTER XVI.]
1763.Jan. 2nd. Death of John Earl Granville[236]
Attack on Patent Places[239]
Triumph of the Court[241]
Favour shown to the Friends of the Stuarts[242]
Observance of the Jacobite Fast[ib.]
Committee to inspect Madhouses[244]
Accounts of the Navy[245]
The Standing Army[246]
[CHAPTER XVII.]
1763.Address to the King[248]
Sir Francis Dashwood’s Budget[250]
Tax on Cider[251]
Discussion on Ways and Means[ib.]
Ardent Opposition to the Cider Tax[ib.]
Petition from Newfoundland[252]
March 28th. Debate in the House of Lords on the Cider-bill[253]
March 30th. Passing of the Bill[ib.]
April 8th. George Grenville first Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the Exchequer[258]
Removal of Sir Francis Dashwood[ib.]
Ministerial Changes and Promotions[259]
[CHAPTER XVIII.]
1763.The Bedford Faction[260]
Ambition of the Duchess of Bedford[261]
Reversions granted by Lord Bute before his resignation[265]
Walpole’s Feelings towards that Minister[ib.]
His Political Acts[266]
April 8th. Death of Lord Waldegrave[267]
[CHAPTER XIX.]
1763.April 19th. Lord Bute’s pretended Abdication of Business[270]
The “Triumvirate” who succeeded him[271]
Grenville’s Ingratitude to Lord Bute[273]
April 23rd. The memorable Forty-fifth Number of the “North Briton.”[274]
April 30th. Wilkes apprehended on a General Warrant[276]
Committed close Prisoner to the Tower[277]
May 3rd. He is taken by Habeas Corpus to the Court of Common Pleas[278]
He is discharged from Confinement[279]
Triumph of Wilkes[ib.]
His Endeavour to obtain Warrants against the Secretaries of State[280]
Discontent in the Cider Counties[ib.]
Mortifications of the Court[281]
Wilkes challenged by Forbes[282]
Aug. 21st. Sudden Death of Lord Egremont[283]
[CHAPTER XX.]
1763.Perplexity of the “Triumvirate”[284]
Lord Bute’s unsuccessful Manœuvres[285]
Aug. 25th. Lord Halifax and Mr. Grenville remonstrate with the King[286]
Schemes of the Bedford Faction[ib.]
Aug. 28th. Mr. Pitt sent for by the King[288]
Negotiation with the former[ib.]
The Treaty broken off[289]
Causes of the Rupture[290]
The King’s Account of his Interviews with Pitt[291]
Ministerial Arrangements[295]
[CHAPTER XXI.]
1763.Secret Power of Lord Bute[298]
His Rupture with Pitt[299]
Unanimous Attempt to destroy Wilkes[301]
Death of Augustus the Third, of Saxony[306]
The Pope invites the Duke of York to Rome[307]
Humiliation of the helpless Line of Stuart[ib.]
Nov. 3rd. Charles Yorke resigns the Attorney-Generalship[ib.]
Unfavourable Commencement of the new Lord-Lieutenant’s Power in Ireland[308]
[CHAPTER XXII.]
1763.Nov. 15th. Opening of Parliament[309]
Wilkes’s “Essay on Woman” laid before the House of Lords[310]
Persecution of Wilkes[313]
He complains in the House of a Breach of Privilege[314]
Warm Debate on the Question[ib.]
Wilkes wounded in a Duel by Martin[317]
Nov. 16th. The King’s Speech read to the Commons[318]
Postponement of the farther Hearing on Wilkes[319]
Bestowal of the Bishoprick of Osnabrugh[320]
[CHAPTER XXIII.]
1763.Nov. 23rd. Important Question as to the Privilege of Parliament[321]
Abandonment of General Warrants[323]
Debate on the Proceedings against Wilkes[324]
“The Moderator,” a new scurrilous Paper[329]
Dec. 3rd. Riot on the attempt to burn “The North Briton.”[330]
Dec. 6th. Debate on this subject in the House of Lords[331]
Triumph of Wilkes[333]
Attempt to assassinate Wilkes[ib.]
The East India Company and Lord Clive[334]
Outlawry against Wilkes[335]
[CHAPTER XXIV.]
1763.Lord Sandwich offers himself for the High Stewardship of Cambridge[339]
His “Flying Pension”[337]
Disgraceful Grant to Count Virri[ib.]
Dismissal of General A’Court[ib.]
Negotiation between Grenville, Conway, and Walpole[338]
[CHAPTER XXV.]
1764.Jan 16th. Marriage of the Princess Augusta with the Hereditary Duke of Brunswick[348]
His marked Opposition to the Wishes of the King[ib.]
Jan. 19th. Debates on Wilkes’s Complaint of Breach of Privilege[349]
Jan. 20th. Sir William Meredith and Sir George Saville[350]
The “Essay on Woman”[354]
Feb. 9th. The Marriage Bill[359]
Feb. 13th. Debate on Breach of Privilege[ib.]
Cases of Carteret Webbe and Wood[361]
[CHAPTER XXVI.]
1764.Feb. 17th. Debates on the Legality of General Warrants, and the Conduct of Wilkes, continued[368]
Feb. 21st. Treatise entitled “Droit le Roi,” condemned by the Lords[383]
[CHAPTER XXVII.]
1764.The Earl of Egmont[387]
March 9th. The Budget[388]
Taxation of the American Colonies[389]
March 23rd. Appearance of the “Lettres, Mémoires, et Négotiations du Chevalier d’Eon,” &c.[392]
Contest at Cambridge[395]
April 12th. Lord Clive appointed Governor-General of India[397]
[CHAPTER XXVIII.]
1764.April 19th. Prorogation of the Parliament[401]
Walpole’s Conduct on the Dismissal of General Conway[402]
May 9th. Mr. Conway’s regiment given to the Earl of Pembroke[415]
May 22nd. Trial of Carteret Webbe for Perjury[417]
The Earl of Northumberland Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland[418]