CHAPTER II.

Church Preferments.—Meeting of Parliament.—Conway’s Speech.—Lord Chatham’s Legacy from Sir William Pynsent.—Speeches on Dismissal of Officers.—Duel between Mr. Chaworth and Lord Byron.—Renewal of the Question of General Warrants.

The primacy of Ireland being vacant, Mr. Grenville was desirous of procuring that dignity for Dr. Newton, Bishop of Bristol; but he declining it, Lord Granby solicited Grenville’s interest for Dr. Ewer,[38] who had been his tutor, and Grenville intended to bestow that mitre on him. In the meantime it was known that Lord Northumberland espoused Robinson, Bishop of Kildare, and sought to make him Archbishop. This was immediately considered as a contest for power between the Favourite and the nominal Minister,—for that Grenville was only nominal Minister, appeared by Robinson’s obtaining the Archbishoprick; though when Grenville found he could not obtain it for Ewer, he had maliciously and artfully instigated the Duke of Bedford to solicit for Bishop Carmichael,[39] who being a Scot, his promotion would have struck mankind as the act of Lord Bute, more than the appointment of Robinson, whom he really supported. The intrigues of the late Primate had been so noxious and troublesome to the English Government, that it was determined no future Archbishops of Armagh should be Lords Justices, or have any power in the Administration. The new Primate, a proud but superficial man, had not talents to recover the credit enjoyed by his predecessors.[40]

January 10th,—the Parliament met. The King notified to the two Houses the intended marriage of his youngest sister, the Princess Caroline Matilda, with the Prince Royal of Denmark, her first cousin. Princess Louisa, her eldest sister, was so remarkably small of her age, that, though she lived three years after this, she never appeared but as an unhealthy child of thirteen or fourteen years of age. Lord Townshend and Lord Bottetort moved the address of the Lords; Lord Warkworth and T. Pitt, of the Commons. An accidental debate happening in the latter House, General Conway, to the surprise of everybody, and particularly of me, who had with astonishment beheld his tranquillity, broke out on his own dismission, and attacked George Grenville with a fire, eloquence, and rapidity of passion and bitterness, that showed both how much he had resented and how much he had concealed. Very warm words passed between them; great applause was given to Conway by the Opposition; and the Ministers felt that the vengeance they had exerted began to lose something of its sweetness. They had infused a spirit into Conway with which all his friends would in vain have endeavoured to inspire him.

On the 15th, the King sent another message to both Houses, referring to their consideration an offer made by France to pay 670,000l., in three years, for our maintenance of their prisoners, instead of 1,100,000l., which had been settled, but with no specification of time, by the late peace. This offer was accepted on a subsequent day.

About the same time happened the following extraordinary event. Sir William Pynsent, a baronet of Somersetshire, died and left his whole fortune to Mr. Pitt, no ways related, nor personally known to him. Nor, as it appeared, was this great legacy so much the reward of his illustrious services as of his opposition to General Warrants. Sir William Pynsent, at his death, was aged 86, had formerly served in Parliament, and had voted against the Treaty of Utrecht; his principles being zealously and unalterably Whig. He was said to have had parts and humour.[41] * * * * * * Lord North had married his next relation[42]—had courted him, and stood fair to be his heir;[43] till, having voted for the tax on cyder, Sir William, who had long lived retired upon his estate, had not only quarrelled with his cousin North, but had encouraged the mob to burn him in effigy. He then became enamoured of Mr. Pitt; is said to have cast some inconstant glances towards Wilkes, and, immediately before his death, had indubitably given orders to his lawyer, to draw a new will entirely in favour of General Conway; but it was not prepared in time. Mr. Pitt, therefore, found himself in possession of real and personal estates worth above forty thousand pounds, without the regret of losing a friend; without the imputation of having flattered his benefactor, for he had never seen him; without injuring a family, for Sir William had no very near relation,[44] and not one that expected his fortune; and with the satisfaction of owing such a public mark of esteem to his own virtue or merits.

On the 18th a meeting of the Opposition was held at Sir George Saville’s, to consult whether they should bring on, or defer for some time longer, a renewal of the question on General Warrants. The doubt was raised by the ill health of Mr. Pitt. James Grenville and a nephew of Lord Chief Justice Pratt, who attended the meeting, would not say that Mr. Pitt desired the motion should be deferred. The company squabbled till two in the morning, and then agreed to adjourn the measure. Sir William Meredith wrote to acquaint George Grenville with this procrastination—a ridiculous piece of candour, and received properly by Grenville, who made no answer. These assemblies I seldom or never attended; they were childish imitations of Parliaments, rarely produced any good, and only taught a party to quarrel and split into less factions. Many who cannot utter in the House of Commons can prattle in a private room. Business can never be reduced to too few heads. There should, in party as well as in Government, be one man who should consult others separately, and act as he finds best from the result of that advice, and of his own judgment: but he should let the rest know as little as possible that they are almost all probably of different opinions.

On the 21st, Dowdeswell proposed to reduce the sixteen thousand seamen to eleven thousand, but without effect. On the contrary, Charles Townshend spoke for the larger number in warm terms, and declared he had always approved the peace. This desertion did not surprise me: nor was it owing solely to his fickleness. He was now influenced by Lord George Sackville, who, dissatisfied with Lord Bute for not supporting him, had joined the Opposition: Oppositions are always great whitewashers. But the declining state of the Opposition, by deaths and other causes which I have mentioned, had alarmed Lord George, and he began to look towards Grenville, who would want all manner of strength to support himself against the Favourite.

On Jan. 23rd, the day of voting the army for the year, there happened a very spirited debate.[45] Beckford began it, by declaring that if any man would second him, he would oppose so large a number as 16,000 men, because we were in no danger of being attacked by surprise; and because he apprehended there was an intention of modelling the army, which he concluded from the dismission of General Conway. He mentioned, too, an expression dropped by Charles Townshend, which he said had made his ears tingle; it was that the Colonies were not to be emancipated. The Colonies, said Beckford, are more free than Ireland, for America had not been conquered: on the contrary, it was inhabited by the conquerors. Townshend ridiculed Beckford’s alarm, affirming he had only meant that the Colonies were not to be emancipated from their dependence on the supremacy of this country. Beckford told him he had expressed a single idea by a multitude of circumlocutions, and was troubled with a diarrhœa of words—an expression with which Townshend was much hurt.

Nicholson Calvert and George Onslow opened on the dismission of Conway in very strong terms. The former said, Grenville[46] had avowed it was for parliamentary conduct when he owned he had thought himself turned out for a similar cause. Onslow called the Ministers profligate and abandoned; and Lord Strange attempting to defend them, was so roughly handled on his own tergiversations by Onslow, Sir George Saville, and Thomas Townshend, that he who was wont to be all spirit, quickness, and fire, was quite abashed, and showed at least the sensibility of virtue. Thomas Townshend went farther, mentioned a list of sixteen officers, carried into the closet for dismission by Lord Sandwich: and seeing the latter sitting under the gallery, he turned towards him, and said he would tell that Minister to his face in any private company, that he was a profligate Minister. Onslow added, that they had been so cowardly as to wait for the end of the session, and skulk behind the recess.

Rigby said the Opponents had quoted all the reigns to the last, but had stopped short there, and had not mentioned Sir Robert Walpole, who had said it must be a pitiful Minister that would not dare to turn out a man that voted against him. For himself, he said he did not believe the question of Mr. Conway’s dismission would be brought on; which Lord John Cavendish assured him it would be.

Lord Harry Poulet[47] told Grenville that he would be ashamed to show his face, if he could be ashamed of anything, if his uncle Lord Cobham[48] could rise from the dead—Grenville stopped him, and said if his Lordship had a mind to use such language, he knew where to find him.—Others interposing to reconcile them, Grenville acknowledged he had thrown out a challenge; but at last explained it away, and the matter ended. Ellis indiscreetly affirmed that the army was necessary to support the civil magistrate. Beckford replied, that at the late riot on burning the North Briton, the magistrates of the City had secured one of the rioters without military force.

Grenville entered into a long discussion of the Crown’s prerogative of dismission; and confounded civil and military officers, without making the necessary distinction, that the latter lose a profession. He himself, he said, had not inquired formerly why he was turned out. Should he be turned out to-morrow, he would not inquire, though if he did his duty and was approved by his country, he should think it extraordinary. This sentence, seemingly incoherent with, nay, contradictory to, the rest of his speech, was, no doubt, levelled at Lord Bute, and dictated by the uneasiness of Grenville’s situation, then not generally known. He proceeded to say on the dismissed officers that some might think one meritorious, some another; others might see cause of blame. This invidious hint called up General Conway, who with exceeding warmth and spirit made one of his most admired speeches. He had asked, he said, for a court-martial, that, if anything had been thought defective in his conduct, he might be questioned on it. The refusal had proved that his dismission had flowed from no military offence. Even in the days of Charles II. the Lords Clarendon and Southampton had, though requested by the King to forbear, spoken against his measures, and yet had not been dismissed.[49] The situation of officers was grievous; called on by conscience and by honour, they were chastised if not obedient. Another profession was more fortunate; Bishops were made for life; and, indeed, were piously obsequious; they might be preferred for their behaviour in Parliament, but could not be dismissed for it. He himself had received intimations to take care what he did—Grenville started!—yet he should not say from what quarter; he would not reveal what was not proper; but he had been bid to take care what he did. He had despised those menaces, had done his duty, and had been punished. He knew the threats had not come from the King, who had restored Sir Henry Erskine. He had made, he said, a declaration that he was attached to no party, yet that allegiance, it seemed, had not been thought sufficient. He concluded with strongly exhorting his brother officers not to be made slaves—he might as well have called on the Bishops.

This debate was doubly mortifying to the Ministers, who were at once so rudely tasked by the Opposition, and unsupported by every man of the Favourite’s faction—a tacit method of disavowing them; and an encouragement to those who might be tempted to oppose them.

On the 26th Mr. Chaworth, a private gentleman of fair character, was killed at a tavern by Lord Byron in a duel, to which the latter had been driven by the undisguised contempt with which the former had treated his want of honour and spirit at a club where they had just dined together. Lord Byron was formally tried by his Peers,[50] and escaped punishment, in consideration of the provocation he had received.

On the 29th the question of General Warrants was again renewed in the House of Commons by Sir William Meredith,[51] more agreeably, indeed, to principle than to prudence. I had endeavoured to divert the attempt and had the concurrence of the Lord Chief Justice Pratt’s opinion, we both apprehending, from the great diminution of our party since the preceding winter, that, as we should make a much more inconsiderable figure on a division in Parliament than we had done before on the same question, the merits of the cause would suffer more from that defeat than we should gain by reviving the memory of it. Though the event in the House proved what we had foreseen, we found, however, strength enough to support a battle till between four and five in the morning. Sir W. Meredith, with great force and severity, exposed the conduct of Lord Halifax, who shamefully to that hour (and indeed for some years afterwards) defeated all prosecutions against him at Wilkes’s suit, by standing on the privilege of his peerage. If they, said Sir William, who issued the warrants, had put themselves on the justice of their country, it would have alleviated their guilt; but while the privilege of the House of Commons was given up, the privilege of the other House had interfered to stop justice. He then moved that General Warrants were not consonant to law or to the liberty of the subject; and in a second question, if against a Member. Lord Strafford himself, he said, had issued but one, had pleaded that it was according to practice, and yet had recalled it. Charles II. had applied to Parliament for leave to do it by the Licensing Act. Application had been made in King William’s reign to renew that act, but it was refused. Some said the illegality was decided by the law; others that it was not. Some would say that the House of Commons was not to declare what was law. Who could bring it to an issue? Dryden Leach and other printers were ruined, and could not carry on the suit! Wilkes expelled, outlawed, banished, had no longer any interest in the question: the Secretaries of State did not desire to brine it to any issue; the House of Commons alone could do it. Sir Edward Coke declared, that, when courts of law would not decide on a clear question, the House of Commons ought. Sir Alexander Gilmour added, that not one lawyer, last year, had defended the legality of General Warrants, but had given assurances that they would be decided in the Courts below; and yet that decision had been postponed till Wilkes had been outlawed.

Dr. Hay replied with much and able subtlety; owned that when he was for putting off the question last year he had meant to reject it; his party had said that it was not proper for that House to declare on law; he himself had said those warrants were illegal, unless great urgency in their favour.[52] He agreed that, by the common law of the land, those warrants were illegal: nay, he thought the question ought to be settled by Parliament, not by a resolution of one House only. Sir William had omitted the words seditious and treasonable, though adopted last year. The House might do what it pleased, but ought it to do so? Why not make the case general to all cases? Then this resolution, he heard, was to be followed by another on breach of privilege; but was every injury to a member a breach of privilege? Was the House to be an universal judicatory for offences? But the House had already declared that it has no privilege in the case of seditious and treasonable libels—a question of law is safe in courts of law; but Houses of Commons, not being permanent, may vary their resolutions. One House—both Houses cannot declare laws, though they, with the King, may enact laws. The question had either been adjudged, or was pending: both were true. The Court of Common Pleas had decided and given damages; then he named the Chief Justice Pratt, taking notice of the strong expression of an iron rod, used by that magistrate on the occasion. All juries say General Warrants are illegal; but at present the question had been hung up by the bill of exceptions, which bills are in the nature of appeals—an argument why the House should not, at that time, make a declaration. If there had been delay, why was not the offender called on? He had heard that the delay arose from the prosecutors. If anything was done wrong in the Courts below, the House alone could redress it. He then, as a correction to the proposed question, moved the following strange and scarce intelligible sentence (to load the motion ridiculously, and with intention to reject afterwards the question so amended), “That in the particular case of libels, it is proper and necessary to fix, by a vote of this House only, what ought to be deemed the law in respect of General Warrants; and for that purpose, at the time when the determination of the legality of such warrants, in the instance of a most seditious and treasonable libel, is actually depending before the courts of law; for this House do declare that a General Warrant for apprehending the authors, printers, or publishers of a libel, together with their papers, is not warranted by law, and is a high violation of the liberty of the subject.”

It was requisite for me to state the words of this proposition and account for them; for standing as they do on the printed votes without a comment, what could posterity, or persons ignorant of parliamentary craft and proceedings, think of them? Would they believe such a proposition was seriously debated?—yet, as the votes never joke, could they avoid believing so? The fact, as I have said, was, that the Ministry, to load Sir William Meredith’s question with absurdity, made use of their power, as the majority, thus to amend the question, and forced the opponents to debate it thus hampered, or withdraw it; and even the latter could not be done without leave of the House, that is of the majority, who probably would not have granted that permission, that they might give a negative to the question thus loaded, instead of rejecting Sir W. Meredith’s plain question, which it would have been more unpopular to do. By the strict rules of the House they could even have obliged the debate to be pursued on the question only as amended; but, content with the certainty of rejecting it in their own way, they suffered the Opposition to argue on the simple state of the case, and the debate accordingly proceeded so. Lord Middleton asked if the Petition of Rights had not come in by declaration? and, with regard to the charge of delay, he said the plaintiffs could not afford to go on with the bill of exceptions, and then were accused of protracting; and, to justify the renewal of the question, he observed that Lord Coke says, “Many a good proposition had succeeded at last by being pursued year after year.” Sir W. Meredith said, he had omitted the word seditious, that the question might carry no reference to Wilkes, being calculated for the general and indefinite good of all. No epithets ought to be mixed with prosecutions, nor should a man be liable to be prosecuted as a traitor for having written a libel. No privilege held against treason; but the House ought not to be deprived of its members on a false charge of treason. Conway asked if Hay had been serious in his motion? did he mean his amendment should go out into the world on so important a question? It would be a mockery of Parliament. Grenville called him to order; but Conway persisted and said it would be a shameful proceeding. Wedderburn and the Solicitor-General again interrupted him; but he was supported by Sir George Saville and Onslow; and the Speaker declared there was nothing disorderly in Conway’s words. Dowdeswell said, Dr. Hay had argued on the whole question, therefore he would; but Lord Frederick Campbell endeavouring to fix the debate on the question as amended, Charles Townshend tried to compose the heat that had arisen by recurring to the subject, and said he hoped no lawyer would assert that juries were not judges of law as well as of fact. De Grey, Solicitor-General, said the juries had given the prosecutors exemplary and vindictive damages, and had been animated by faction. The defendants had pressed the prosecutors not to delay. Charles Yorke spoke for three-quarters of an hour on the side of the Opposition; said he would retract if he had altered his opinion; but found reasons against the warrants growing all over the kingdom. The warrant had been so emphatically illegal, that it never could be debated in a court of law. It was expedient for Parliament and for the honour of the Crown, that Parliament should take the lead in questions of law. The House of Commons had often carried up resolutions to the other House. This question was connected with the privileges of the House. Precedents made in good times were felt in bad. The words of the warrant had been copied from an old blundering warrant of office, and could never be taken up again. The Crown should extinguish any jealousy of such a proceeding in future, by not making difficulties on plain questions. Beckford said, this country was obliged to Wilkes for the stand he had made. It had been the more necessary when a Whig Ministry acted on Tory principles, and he quoted the instance of Minutius, who pleaded that he had written nothing against the Emperor and his mother.

Dyson said, if the House of Commons had a right of declaring law, it had no occasion to make laws: they might declare to be law whatever they wished should be so. Lord George Sackville asked if the seizure of papers would come in question in the Courts below? and said, that, had they had a mind to impeach the Secretaries of State, they must previously have come to this declaration.

Norton entered into the defence of Lord Halifax, whose delays, he said, had not impeded the decision of the great cause. Lord Halifax had been guilty of a slip; and therefore, against such a prosecutor as Wilkes, was justifiable. Lord Halifax had availed himself of his privilege, till Wilkes was outlawed, (and so he did for years after); the journeymen printers had applied to be bought off. Dryden Leach’s attorney had come to him (Norton), and said he had heard it was wished to compromise Leach’s cause; but he (Norton) had refused, but had offered to bring it to an issue in a week; since then had never heard of him. Till that very day they had not been able to get the bill of exceptions sealed. Charles Yorke had said that question had never been argued; but he (Yorke) had argued it himself. (This Yorke denied.) It would be a quære whether Lord Halifax, as Secretary of State, was a Justice of Peace. Had not the most respectable characters, living and dead, been abused? That sort of libel deserved no quarter.

Colonel Barré said the Inquisition itself did not seize papers for evidence. Opposition keeps Ministers in order, though many oppose from faction. About twenty officers had opposed the Court last year on the question of General Warrants! It was now said, all but one had repented—if they had, were such officers fit to be employed? He commended Lord Nuneham[53] and Lord Charles Spencer, who had resisted the connections and importunities of their families: and then said ironically, “When the two present honest Secretaries of State[54] die, the Court may choose one of the most profligate abandoned dogs in the kingdom to replace him.”—This was levelled at Lord Sandwich, who was sitting under the gallery. Barré then advised the Ministers to adopt the question without amending it—why would they do things too well? Such a man as Sandwich would write a panegyric on Nero. If this question was suffered to pass, it would make the King beloved and the Ministers less hated. General Howard,[55] in answer to the attack above, said, he remained of the same opinion as last year, and had never paid court nor asked pardon.

Lord North defended his uncle Halifax, on whom he thought Barré had bestowed the epithet of little-minded. Barré said he had applied it to the Administration in general. He was glad to see Mr. Grenville with all his friends about him. It had been said in a foregoing debate that he had carried the whole Administration home in his chariot. He liked Lord North’s panegyric on one of the Secretaries—if anybody had a mind to make a panegyric on the other, he was welcome.

Conway again declared his surprise that they would load such a question with so many words. Why not pass it simply, or put a negative? Was there ever an instance of such a preface with new matter? On the Star Chamber and other grievances each resolution stood single. Lord Halifax might be in the right, but had caused delay. All that we have valuable stands on resolutions.

Grenville then spoke his usual hour; and immediately after him Sir George Saville rose to take notice of most obnoxious words that had fallen from Dr. Hay in the beginning of the debate. I hear, said Saville, that the Law of Government is superior to the Law of the Land: such words are impeachable. Dr. Hay replied that the Law of Government meant the Law of Necessity. This produced great warmth and calling to order, till at last Sir George Saville said he was glad the gentleman did not avow those words. Hay taxing Conway with want of temper, the latter replied, he believed those who had meant to hurt him, had hurt themselves more. Onslow offered to produce pamphlet for pamphlet written by the Administration: and then Hussey very ably and for fifty minutes discoursed against the arbitrary tenets set up by the Court and its lawyers; yet still with the candour and decency peculiar to him. The circumstances inserted in the amendment, he said, were not true. He doubted if ever the question could be determined in Westminster Hall. This was the first time that ever a probable cause was pleaded in behalf of General Warrants. New doctrines sprung up every day in Westminster Hall. A number of points must be determined before that cause could be decided; as whether a Secretary of State is a Justice of Peace; whether his messenger is a constable; whether the reason assigned for the commitment was a probable cause, &c. Great difficulties, too, there were in contending with the Crown, and against its influence and its money, &c. He did not believe that the warrants would come before the Courts below. The predecessors of these Ministers had always compounded such prosecutions. The Justices in Ireland having imposed illegal oaths, the House had declared them illegal, but went no farther; excusing the Justices on the circumstances of the times: it was in King William’s reign. Lord Palmerston,[56] a young man of sense, and who spoke then for the first time, declared himself convinced by Hussey’s arguments. Rigby pronounced Lord Halifax’s intrenching himself within privilege, justifiable; for who knew what damages might be given against him?—and so far was true; juries could impose fines to the vastest amount; and as such fine became the property of the prosecutor, the Crown itself could not remit it. But what latent defects, therefore, were discovered by agitating these questions? A Secretary of State could commit a grievous injustice, and yet could avoid punishment, if sheltered by the privilege of his peerage. On the other hand, for a slight imprisonment, a jury, naturally partial to their equals, especially when oppressed, and as naturally averse to their superiors, can give damages to the amount of the defendant’s whole estate, without his being able to obtain redress from any quarter.

At half an hour after four in the morning the Question, as amended, was rejected by 224 against 185, the Opposition being forced to divide for the question that had been imposed on them, or they could have obtained a division on none at all.

A remarkable circumstance in the foregoing debate, but which would have interrupted the thread of the narration, was that Norton told the younger Onslow that he should be diverted, for he would treat Yorke worse than ever he had been treated—and he kept his word, being willing to lower Yorke, who might be his competitor for the Seals. Yorke bore this insult with too little spirit, and thence and by his fluctuating behaviour, and by discovering far less parts than he was supposed to possess, daily sunk in the estimation of the House.