[162] Thomas Viscount Gage, attached to the Duke of Newcastle, whom he afterwards abandoned as Lord Ashburnham did, to keep their places.
[163] Sir Fletcher Norton.
[164] Little is now known of Mr. Dowdeswell, beyond the high estimation in which he was held by the Whig party. His epitaph is by no means the happiest of Burke’s compositions; but amidst the cloud of panegyric the rays of truth exhibit a character of genuine English mould which it is very agreeable to contemplate. In a private letter, Burke says, “There never was a soul so remote as his from fraud, duplicity, or fear, so perfectly free from any of that rapacious unevenness of temper which embitters friendship and perplexes business. Of all the men I ever knew, he was the best to act with in public and to live with in private, from the manly decision and firmness of his judgment, and the extreme mildness and pleasantness of his temper.” His speeches, imperfectly as they are reported, prove him to have been a man of plain, sound, vigorous understanding, and not without respectable powers of debate. Burke exalts his knowledge of the revenue. He certainly was one of the leading members of the House, previous to his appointment, and the distinction conferred upon him was generally approved, Charles Townshend being forward to claim the merit of having suggested it. See the interesting Memoirs of Mr. Dowdeswell, in Cavendish’s Parliamentary Debates, i. 575.—E.
[165] The opinion entertained of Lord Rockingham by many of the most eminent men of his time, is alone sufficient to prove him not to have been the feeble-minded and insignificant character described in the text. He had the disadvantage of coming early into the possession of a princely fortune. His youth was wasted in the pursuits too common with his rank, and the only official employment he had as yet filled was that of a Lord of the Bedchamber. From the time, however, that he applied himself seriously to politics, he gradually obtained an ascendancy over his associates such as was possessed by no cotemporary statesman,—even the opinions of Lord Chatham having less weight with the more reflecting and intelligent members of the Liberal party than those of Lord Rockingham. A singular instance of this ascendancy used to be related by the late Lord Spencer, who happened to witness it. At a meeting of the Whigs, in 1782, preparatory to Lord Rockingham’s last Administration, his Lordship read a list of the appointments which he proposed to submit to the King. As soon as he uttered the name of Mr. Sheridan as Under-Secretary of State, the latter, then a young man, justly conscious of great abilities, and expecting a much higher post, exclaimed, in an indignant tone, “I will not accept!” Lord Rockingham fixing his eye on him, calmly but emphatically exclaimed, “You shall.” Sheridan seemed perfectly daunted, bowed his head, and made no further remonstrance. It was very rare, said Lord Spencer, that Lord Rockingham’s decisions did not meet the immediate acquiescence of the party. Nor was this purchased by the arts that exhausted the revenues and lowered the character of the Duke of Newcastle. Lord Rockingham stood clear of any charge of parliamentary corruption. His mode of living, though noble as suited his rank, was simple and unostentatious, and the disinterestedness of his political supporters may be inferred from the honourable boast of one of the most needy of them, that they had derived no permanent provision from his acceptance of office.[A] The same friendly pen has recorded, in the noble monumental inscription at Wentworth, “that his virtues were his arts,” and no doubt he was a virtuous, high-minded, amiable man; but he owed his success mainly to “a clear, sound, unadulterated sense,” which showed itself in great discretion, sagacity, and tact. His views were generally correct, and his firmness and perseverance never yielded in the most adverse and discouraging crisis, as was strongly evinced in the great American contest; and thus without eloquence, or any large share of the qualifications which usually confer eminence on popular leaders, he retained his political supremacy to the close of his life.—E.
[A] “A Short History of a Late Short Administration.”
[166] Lady Elizabeth Finch, youngest sister of Daniel Earl of Winchelsea, and of the Marchioness-dowager of Rockingham.
[167] Lord Northington.
[168] George Lord Townshend.
[169] “The vacillation of this eminent person was so decided as materially to lessen his influence and general consideration.” (See Charles Townshend’s singular Letter to Mr. Dowdeswell. Cavendish’s Debates, i. p. 576.) It eventually drew him to that fatal step which ruined his peace of mind and hurried him to the grave.—E.
[170] John Yorke. He died in 1769.—E.