fourteen hours, a special jury gave a verdict against him, with £1000 damages to Wilkes. The Lord Chief-justice Pratt, before whom the cause was tried, now ventured to declare peremptorily that general warrants were unconstitutional, illegal, and absolutely void, and his judgment was afterwards affirmed by the Court of King's Bench. When the day approached on which Wilkes was to appear at the bar of the commons, Dr. Brocklesby, an eminent physician, and Mr. Graves, a surgeon, declared that the state of Mr. Wilkes' wound and health would not permit him to obey the summons. The house then granted another week's delay. At the expiration of this term (on the 16th of December) Dr. Brocklesby and Mr. Graves appeared again at the bar, and made the same report as before. The Wilkes war continued more A.D. 1764. fierce than ever. The festivity of Christmas was only a short truce. On the 19th of January parliament met, and caused the order to be read for Mr. Wilkes' attendance at the bar. But the droll, who could hardly have been so ill represented, had gone beyond sea, to amuse admired.' the English people dislike all appearances of he salons of Paris, where he was exceedingly The speaker produced a letter from , inclosing a certificate signed by a French my surgeon and by one of the French king's hysicians, signifying that the wound was still a such a state as to render it dangerous for Mr. Wilkes to leave Paris. Tired of medical reports, he house observed that this certificate wanted he signature of a notary public to give it autheneity, and then resolved to admit of no further elays, but proceed against Wilkes as if he were resent. The examination of witnesses and apers and the debate lasted till three hours fter midnight; when it was resolved by a marity of 239 against 102, that No. 45 of the North Triton, which had been voted a seditious libel, ntained expressions of the most unexampled solence and contumely towards his majesty, he grossest aspersions upon both Houses of Parament, and the most audacious defiance of the uthority of the whole legislature; that it had a anifest tendency to alienate the affections of the eople from the king; to withdraw them from heir obedience to the laws; and to excite them > traitorous insurrections against government. Next day it was further resolved that Wilkes hould be expelled the house, and a new writ be ssned for the borough of Aylesbury. In general On the 13th of February the opposition moved that Wilkes' complaint of breach of privilege, in the matter of the general warrant, should be heard. George Grenville objected, since, by the vote of the 20th of January, Mr. Wilkes had ceased to be a member of the house. Charles Townshend, Sir George Saville, and others said, that at all events Wilkes was a member of the house when he was arbitrarily arrested by the secretary of state's warrant, and that it behoved the house to secure its privileges from such assome smart 'The Abbé Galliani, in writing to a friend, says "We have were in Paris a strange, squinting Englishman, who has more wit and vivacity than all Paris put together." But the most anusing thing is that the Parisians considered Wilkes to be on a par with Pitt; and a French diplomate in London thought him self obliged to inform his court that there was a considerable dif saults. They gave the minister" and the wits, and the literati continued, however, to show 2 It appears from Wilkes own letters that he was not without apprehension of being arrested for debt if he returned to London, As he was no longer defended from his creditors by the panoply of parliament he might have been thrown into the ference in character and importance between the two patriots! King's Bench Prison as a debtor, instead of going there, as he -Segur, Politique de tous les Cabinets. The best society of Paris, afterwards did, as an oppressed patriot. 112 their dismission of officers who had voted with it was said that Lord Temple had fagots ready the opposition. George Grenville, with very for two bonfires of his own. On the last day of little truth, denied the charge of menacing offi- the debate the lame and the sick were brought cers, &c. At that moment General A'Court, who to vote by both parties. "One would have had just been dismissed from his command of the thought," says Walpole, "that they had sent a second regiment of foot-guards, walked up the search-warrant for members of parliament into house, as if to give the minister the lie. The every hospital. Votes were brought down in little incident produced a great sensation, and flannels and blankets, till the floor of the house this was increased by another trifling accident. I looked like the pool of Bethesda.” The speaker chanced to call Barré by his usual military rank;—"I beg your pardon, sir," said Barré, " you have given me a title I have no right to: I am no longer a colonel; they have dismissed me from my regiment and from the office of adjutant-general." After a most stormy discussion, the house again divided, at seven o'clock in the morning, when it was carried by a majority of only fourteen- the numbers being, 232 against 218-that Meredith's motion should be adjourned for four months. A few weeks after, General Conway, whose brother, the Earl of Hertford, was then ambassador at Paris, was pettishly deprived of all his employment, both courtly and military.' In anticipation of a victory by the opposition, bells, bonfires, and an illumination from the Monument had been prepared in the city; and Lord Temple having engaged to bear all the expenses of the law proceedings, Wilkes entered an appearance, and the trial for libel went on it the Court of King's Bench, where Wilkes was found guilty of publishing both the North Briton and the Essay on Woman. But this triumph of ministers was more than balanced by the city of London giving their freedom to Lord Chief-justice Pratt, and ordering his portrait to be placed in Guildhall; and by the common council voting thanks to the city members for their behaviour in parliament on that important question, and their spirited endeavours to assert the rights and liberties of the people. The city of Dublin, and other places in the two kingdoms, follows! the example of London; and freedoms and golu snuff-boxes fell almost as thickly upon Pratt as they had fallen upon Pitt a few years before. CHAPTER II.-CIVIL AND MILITARY HISTORY.-A.D. 1764-1768. GEORGE III. Proposal to tax our American colonies-The resolution thoughtlessly passed-Indignation of the colonists-Ther additional difficulties from the hostile Indians-Their opposition to the proposed taxes-They send Benjam Franklin to England as their agent-His fitness for the office -Pitt's independence-Unpromising opening of parliament-It persists in the design of taxing the American colonies-Carelessness with which the resoluti e is adopted-The Wilkes prosecution resumed-Serious illness of George III.-Excitement in parliament from the proposal of a regency bill-Complaint of the importation of French silks-Riot of the Spitalfields weavers -Fresh efforts to induce Pitt to return to office-His refusals-A new administration formed, with the Marquis of Rockingham for premier-Hostile demonstrations of the Americans against the stamp act-Pitts speech in parliament against American taxation-Complaints of Lord Bute's influence with the king-Ther groundlessness-Grenville attempts to justify the stamp act-Pitt's reply-The stamp act repealed-Repeal of the obnoxious cider act--General warrants declared illegal-The Rockingham administration dissolved-Pat commissioned to form a new one-Altercation on the subject between him and Lord Temple-Pitt create Earl of Chatham-His selection of members for the new ministry-Popularity of his speeches among the American colonists-Scarcity of corn, and famine riots-An embargo laid on the exportation of wheat ans! flour-Debate in parliament upon the justice of the enbargo-Difficulties of the Earl of Chatham's adminis tration--Secessions among his adherents-New appointments to fill their places-Chatham reduced to inst tion-The land tax diminished-Consideration of the American colonies resumed-Further threats of taxi them-Bill to that effect passed-Political rivalry between Charles Townshend and the Earl of Chatları --Chatham's refusal to command or advise-He keeps aloof from the political difficulties-The ministry cotstituted anew as the Duke of Grafton's administration. dens, it was resolved to tax our colonies in America; and on the 10th of March a series of resolutions respecting new duties to be laid on foreign goods imported by the Americans, was brought into the house and passed with little 1 Horace Walpole's and General Conway's own letters to the Letter to the Earl of Hertânl T was at this troubled and inauspicious moment that George Grenville, the "gentle shepherd," as he was usually termed, brought forward his proposition for shearing the great flock on the other side of the Atlantic. As the English people were complaining of bur- | Earl of Hertford. to detach the Indians of the six nations from the confederacy, and induce them to join the British against the other Indians. After various skirmishes and surprises, the savages submitted to conditions, or retired farther into the depth of their native wilds and forests. The worst part of these calamities had befallen our American colonists in the summer and autumn of the preceding year (1763); but the recollection of them was recent, and the losses that had been sustained were making themselves more and more painfully felt when Grenville's acts arrived. Every citizen, moreover, was armed for the defence of his home and property against the Indians; and when men have muskets in their hands, and in their hearts the certainty that their quarrel will become a general one, they are not likely to limit themselves to murmurs and complaints, petitions and remonstrances. To those who mildly represented the moderate amount of the taxation proposed in Grenville's acts,' they replied that this moderation could only be meant as an experiment on their temper; and that, if once they submitted to the right of the mother notice. General Conway is said to have been the only member who directly protested against these duties, the bill imposing which received the royal assent on the 5th of April. The minister also proposed to raise a direct revenue from the colonies in the shape of a stamp tax; but this scheme was withdrawn for the present. At the same time, however, certain restrictions were laid upon the profitable contraband trade carried on by the Americans with the Spanish colonies-a trade of which the Spanish government was constantly and bitterly complaining to the court of Great Britain. It was undeniably this interference with the profitable practice of running tobacco and dry goods to South America that was considered as one of the worst infringements on the liberties of our subjects in North America; and Grenville had rashly determined to intrust the execution of his prohibitory orders to military men and to aptains in the navy, who were little acquainted with the niceties of the excise law, or of any other w, and who, from the habits of their lives, were o much disposed to carry matters with a high and. The country gentlemen congratulated hemselves on the pleasing prospect of the non-country to tax them, there was no possibility of Crease or diminution of the land tax; no class emed aware of the mighty mischief set in moon; and the king, in proroguing parliament on 19th of April, expressed his hearty approbaof the measures, calling them wise regulaons, calculated to augment the public revenues, unite the interests of his most distant possesons, and to encourage and to secure their comfree with Great Britain. But in the course of few months this pleasant dream was dissipated a strong blast across the Atlantic-by news at our American colonists had received these ise regulations like knives put to their throats. sides being unpalatable in themselves, they d the additional misfortune of arriving when colonists were in a very bad humour. On itting Canada the French government had not øken off all connection with the native Indians; l, partly through the encouragement of their ents, and in part through some encroachments ade by the British on their hunting-grounds, e Indian nations or tribes flew to arms with e intention of making a combined attack on all r back settlements in harvest time. In some aces their secret was betrayed and their moveent anticipated; but they fell like a flight of usts upon Pennsylvania, Maryland, and VirLia, plundering, burning, and destroying, till e frontiers of those three provinces were left are and void of inhabitants. The Indians also arprised several British forts in Canada, and assacred the weak and unsuspecting garrisons hey found in them. Fortunately Sir William Johnston was enabled 1 1 saying to what extent she might proceed in relieving the British subject by throwing the burden upon the Americans. Taking the lead the provinces of New England passed strong resolutions, and transmitted them to their agents in London to be laid before government. They also circulated their printed papers and opinions throughout the other provinces, and begged their fellow citizens to make no further use of the articles of luxury upon which the duties were to be laid. Pennsylvania appointed a new provincial agent, and chose for the important office an individual of extraordinary ability, perseverance, and energy. This was the celebrated Benjamin Franklin, the son of a tallow-chandler at Boston, in New England, who, from the condition of a poor journeyman printer, had raised himself, by force of steadiness of purpose and astonishing industry, to be a man of property and of science, a leading magistrate, a high functionary in the local government, a powerful writer, a statesman, and philosopher. Franklin had been in England twice before—once as a journeyman printer, and the second time as agent to manage a difficult controversy before the privy council, in which his ability and success were so eminent, that (besides Pennsylvania) Massachusetts, Maryland, and Georgia severally appointed him their agent. He had only returned to America in 1762; and when he came back to London at the end of the present year he was already well known to our ministers and public men, and in possession 1 It was calculated that the taxes or duties would only draw from the American colonies about £200,000 per annum. of a high reputation both for his discoveries in natural science and for his political shrewdness. The instructions which he now brought with him from his native country were to oppose to the very utmost the stamp act and every other act that might be proposed in the British parliament to tax the people of America without their consent. In the autumn of this year, when George Grenville seemed sliding from his seat, and the whole cabinet was in confusion and dismay, Mr. Pitt abruptly broke his recently formed league with the old Duke of Newcastle, telling his grace in a decisive letter that he was determined henceforward to act "for his single self," to keep himself "free from all stipulation," and to oppose or support measures in parliament "independent of the sentiments of others." It was, however, reported in the month of September that Pitt was listening to overtures made by the Duke of Bedford, who remained in the ministry. The opposition apprehended that they might be weakened by the disseverance of the Duke of Newcastle and the great orator; but they nevertheless confidently predicted that the ministry could not stand beyond the Christmas holidays. At the end of the year, or early in the next, Pitt, who was singularly fortunate in legacies, was left by a Somersetshire baronet about £30,000 in ready money, and the estate of Burton Pynsent, worth about £2500 a year. Sir William Pynsent is described as "an old man of ninety, who quitted the world on the peace of Utrecht, and, luckily for Mr. Pitt, lived to be angry with its pendant, the treaty of Paris."" up the affair of general warrants; and nothing seemed wanting but an harangue from Pitt, who was absent, and reported to be very ill of the gout. To accommodate him the great question of the warrants was put off. The ministry attempted to conciliate the Americans by offering to drop the proposed stamp tax, if they on their part would contribute about an equal sum in any other way more acceptable to themselves. To this Franklin and the other agents replied that they were instructed to oppose Grenville's act, and any other bill whatsoever that assumed as a principle the right of taxing the colonies. But the British king and the British cabinet were resolutely determined not to yield their claim of right; and the British legislature, with a small number of exceptions, seemed either to consider the right indisputable, or the question of little moment. The debates on the whole were languid, and failed to draw full houses. Even Pitt, who had shown on former occasions that he could attend and harangue in flannels and upon crutches, and defy gout and fever, for far less momentous objects, now kept away from the house. Was this the effect of ignorance as to the life-and-death importance of the matter? or did Pitt purposely withhold his warning and potential voice, in order that his political adversaries might take the fatal stephe not caring for the humiliation of his country, or for the miseries to be inflicted on humanity, provided the hostile administration were rent to pieces and the powers of the crown thrown a' his feet? Fifty-five resolutions proposed by a committee of ways and means were agreed to by the commons, and incorporated into an act for laying nearly the same stamp duties on the American colonies as were payable at the time in England. On the 7th of February there was what Walpole styles "one slight day on the American taxes," and Burke, who sat in the gallery during the progress of the bill, said that he never heard a more languid debate. Charles Townshend, supporting the act, received "a heavy thump" from Colonel Barré, "who," says Walpole, “is the prsent Pitt." But Barre's startling prediction of a coming outburst of American independence was not heeded-it was treated merely as the com plaint of a colonel who had lost his regiment. few or none seconded his vaticination; the op position were still waiting for the absent Pitt, and they mustered only a thin majority of forty Parliament assembled on the 10th A.D. 1765. of January, when the king, in his speech, alluded to American taxation and American discontents; and, unwarned by the gathering storm, recommended the carrying out of Grenville's scheme and the enforcing obedience in the colonies. The royal speech also announced the approaching marriage of the Princess Caroline, George's youngest sister, with the prince royal of Denmark; an inauspicious union, which, in the course of a few years, was attended with tragical consequences. The opening of the session did not promise serenity. Mr. Beckford took up a letter written by Sir William Draper, and complaining that the court of Spain had not yet paid the Manilla ransom. Lord Granby, the idol of the army, and at the time a great favourite of the people, declared his disapprobation of the dis-on this vital question. There was only one divi mission of excellent officers for party reasons. Sir William Meredith notified his intention of taking 1 Chatham Correspondence: Prior, Life of Burke. 2 Horace Walpole, Letters to the Earl of Hertford. 3 Before the nuptials were solemnized the prince royal was King of Denmark. sion during the whole progress of the momen tous bill. Petitions presented by English mer Mr. Grenville, at a subsequent period, said in the House o Commons "I did propose the stamp act, and shall have po objection to have it christened by my name. There was only one division in the committee against it, and not a single nega chants trading with the colonies, and by others who were both interested in and acquainted with American affairs, were treated with contempt; and the house refused to receive four petitions offered by the agents of Connecticut, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Carolina; and another petition, from the traders of Jamaica, was treated in the same manner. The House of Lords were still more expeditious and indifferent than the commons, for they passed the bill without division or protest, and apparently without debate. With all these encouragements the king joyfully gave the royal assent, and the stamp act became law on the 22d of March. Franklin had told them before, and he now told them again, that the Americans would never submit to its operation. Wilkes, who remained in Paris, instead of returning to receive judgment in the Court of King's Bench, was visited with the inore serious sentence of outlawry. Williams, the printer or reprinter of the North Briton, was condemned to stand in the pillory in Palace-yard. He went in a hackney-coach, the number of which was fortyfee, as if glorying in the particular number of the paper which had contained the libel. While he was standing in the pillory the mob erected a gallows opposite to him, on which they hung a boot with a straw bonnet on the top of it (emble-black flags and other symptoms of distress and matical of Lord Bute and the king's mother); and then they made a collection for the printer, which amounted to near £200. Thus every proceeding against Wilkes or those concerned with him, only elicited an increase of popular favour for him and them, and the most unequivocal demonstrations against Bute and ministers. anxious for a regency bill, and told them the particulars of his intention. Mr. Fox, now Lord Holland, drew up the sketch of a bill which left the regent in petto, or to be named by the king. This injudicious regency scheme, which was somewhat altered in its passage through parlia ment, but which was never acted upon, provoked a dreadful storm in both houses, and exposed the fact that the members of his majesty's government had no concord or agreement among themselves. Grenville, the premier, seemed to admit that the Princess-dowager of Wales, on account of her unpopularity, ought to be for ever excluded from a share in the regency. The bill was managed throughout in a foul spirit of faction, those who held the princess - dowager as innocent, and those who accused her, being alike led by merely party motives, and all of them playing a game which must ever remain unintelligible in many of its parts. In the end of March, not a week after giving his assent to the American stamp act, it was reported that the king was very seriously ill and in Treat danger. He was kept close and every possible secrecy was preserved; it was given out hat he had a bad cold, and that the rheum ad fallen on his chest; then it was rumoured in some quarters that he had been seized with a sudden vertigo or giddiness; but now it appears be pretty clearly ascertained that the illness was more in the brain than on the lungs, and hat it was, in fact, a slight attack of that terible malady which thrice afterwards afflicted George III., and finally incapacited him for the duties of government. This time the malady was transient; and as soon as his majesty recovered he appeared suddenly and unexpectedly at his levee at St. James's, and a few days fter he acquainted his ministers that he was ve in the House of Lords. It is easy to give an ex post facto igment; but of all who acted with me in the government I ever heard any one prophesy that the measure would be opposed. After the event prophecy is very safe. The honourable colonel Barré) did indeed say that he knew not what anger it might ccasion in America."-Cavendish's Debates. The mob seemed determined not to leave all the black work to ministers, lords and commons, but to take their share of noise and confusion. On the 15th of May, when the king went down to give his assent to the regency bill, a multitude of journeymen silk - weavers and others from Spitalfields, went up to St. James's Palace with mourning, to present a petition in which they complained that they were all reduced to a state of starvation by the importation of French silks. They surrounded both Houses of Parliament, making a great noise and insulting various members. They carried red flags mixed with their black banners; they terrified the House of Lords, where thirty members were not present, into an adjournment; and in the evening they attacked Bedford House and began to pull down the walls, shouting out that the duke had been bribed to make the treaty of Fontainebleau, which had brought French silks, poverty, and all other curses into the land. The riot act was read, and detachments of the guards, both horse and foot, were called out. The mob then fled, many of them being much cut and trampled on, but no lives lost. For some days after London presented a melancholy aspect, the streets being crowded with soldiery, and all kinds of reports spread of mutinies among the sailors at Portsmouth, insurrections among the weavers of Norwich, tumultuous gatherings in Essex, and riots and marchings from Lancashire. "And what is worst of all," says Horace Walpole, "there is such a general spirit of mutiny and dissatisfaction in the lower people, that I think we are in danger of a rebellion in the heart of the capital in a week. In the meantime, there is neither administration nor government. The king is out of town; and this is the crisis in which Mr. Pitt, who could stop |