THE

HISTORY OF ENGLAND

FROM

THE PEACE OF UTRECHT.

CHAPTER LXI.

THE rising ferment in England, at the close of 1779 and commencement of 1780, was shown in numerous county meetings, all tending to Economical Reform. It was natural that, at such a period, the complaints of the people should take that course. There was a pang in contributing to taxes for the prosecution of the war, and receiving no news of triumph in return. There was a contrast, such as could not fail to strike the least observant minds, of the frequently recurring debts upon the Civil List with the personal frugality and unostentatious habits of the King. There was a clamour, and a just one surely, at the number of sinecure places bestowed on undeserving men, at seeing suddenly enriched so many a son or nephew of some but second-rate Minister; each decked with some scarce intelligible title, as Clerk of the Pipe, or Clerk of the Pells, or one of the Justices in Eyre; each enabled, under cover of this gibberish, to draw an ample salary.

Such feelings, which could not fail to arise in a long protracted and as yet inglorious war, were, of course, heightened and inflamed by all the skill of Opposition.

In the first fortnight of December, 1779, two motions for Economical Reform were brought forward in the House of Lords; the one by the Duke of Richmond, the second by the Earl of Shelburne. Both were rejected by large majorities. But on the same night as Lord Shelburne's Burke in the Commons gave notice, that after the Christmas holidays he would introduce a Bill on this important subject. At the same time he also stated the outline of his intended measure, and received warm encouragements from Fox and other of his friends. "I am just come," said Fox, "from another place, where the first men in "this kingdom, the first in abilities, the first in estima"tion, are now libelling this House." Here, many a member may have, as Fox expected, shown surprise. "Yes, I repeat it," cried Fox. "Every instance they "give-and they give many and strong instances "uncorrected abuse with regard to public money is a "libel on this House. Every thing they state on the luxuriant growth of corrupt influence and "it never was half so flourishing—is a libel on this "House."*

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Richmond and Shelburne, though outvoted, were not foiled. The ill success of the Parliamentary attacks, far from checking, rather incited and called forth, the popular demonstrations. Before the month of December had expired, an important meeting, which served as a pattern. to the rest, was held in the chief town of our greatest county. From a single private room at York there went forth with no common strength the cry for Economical Reform. There stood Rockingham and Savile; there crowded in the independent freeholders, notwithstanding the many efforts that were made, by threat or by persuasion, to prevent them from attending. Such at least was the charge brought by the Marquis of Carmarthen, who was Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding at the time of the meeting, but who, concurring in its object, was in consequence dismissed from his Lord Lieutenancy. †

*Parl. Hist. vol. xx. p. 1302.

† Speech in the House of Lords, February 8. 1780. matises the means which had been used as 66

He stig

mean, shabby, pitiful,

"and unwarrantable." That very day he had received the news of

1780.

GREAT MEETING AT YORK.

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In spite of every exertion to the contrary, upwards of 8,000 freeholders signed the county petition agreed upon at York, praying the House of Commons to reduce all exorbitant emoluments, and abolish all sinecure places. Another part of the York proceedings was to appoint a Committee of sixty-one gentlemen to carry on the necessary correspondence for promoting the prayer of the petition, and likewise to prepare the plan of a national association for the same object, and for "such other "measures as might conduce to restore the freedom of "Parliament."

The example of York was soon followed by other shires. Middlesex was the next to meet. And within a very few weeks, twenty-three more of our English counties, and eleven of our largest cities or towns, had been convened. In all these there were adopted petitions similar to that of York; in most of them there were also named Committees of Correspondence. The latter, being far too clearly framed from the precedents set by the revolted Colonies, were much disapproved by Lord Carmarthen and other moderate men, and were dropped accordingly in several of the counties. Nor, indeed, did the petitions for Economical Reform everywhere pass unanimously. Open resistance to their prayer was not likely to prevail. It was tried with very ill success at Huntingdon by the Earl of Sandwich. But protests, declaring that the whole should be left to the wisdom of Parliament, were signed by great part of the landed gentlemen in many places. It is to be noted, that in all the steps tending to Economical Reform both branches of the old Opposition the followers of Lord Rockingham and the followers of the late Lord Chatham -appear to have cordially concurred. Thus, while Lord Rockingham was busy in York, Lord Shelburne was no less busy in Buckinghamshire; and Chatham's son-in-law, Lord Mahon, became the Chairman of the Kent Committee.*

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his dismissal, which no doubt may have given a keener edge to his epithets.

* For some of the ulterior proceedings, see in the Appendix to this volume Lord Shelburne's Letter to Lord Mahon, April 7.

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The great Yorkshire petition was presented to the Commons, on the 8th of February, by the principal Yorkshire member, Sir George Savile. On that occasion, as the forms of the House did not yet prohibit, Savile delivered a speech in its support. His slender figure and his feeble voice (then especially he was suffering from hoarseness) seemed to expand, and his delicate frame to gather strength, from the magnitude of the interests confided to his charge; and his brother members, preserving an unbroken silence, showed him all the attention and respect due to a character so upright and unsullied. Three days later, Burke brought forward the motion that he had announced on Economical Reform. His speech, as shortly afterwards it was revised and published by himself, may deserve to rank among the highest of his oratorical productions. "One "of the ablest speeches I have ever heard," said Lord North in reply; a speech such as no other member "could have made." Here the brilliant hues of fancy impart form and colour even to the dry bones of financial calculation. Here the very details of the Exchequer grow amusing. Thus lightly, for example, does Burke play on the defects of the five lesser sovereign jurisdictions of the realm: "Ours is not a monarchy in "strictness; but as in the Saxon times this country was "an heptarchy so now it is a strange sort of pentarchy. ... Cross a brook, and you lose the King of England; "but you have some comfort in coming again under His Majesty, though shorn of his beams, and no more than "Prince of Wales. Go to the north, and you find him “dwindled to a Duke of Lancaster; turn to the west of "that north, and he pops upon you in the humble cha"racter of Earl of Chester. Travel a few miles on, "the Earl of Chester disappears, and the King surprises you again as Count Palatine of Lancaster. If you "travel beyond Mount Edgecombe you find him once "more in his incognito, and he is Duke of Cornwall. "So that, quite fatigued and satiated with this dull variety, you are infinitely refreshed when you return "to the sphere of his proper splendour, and behold your "amiable Sovereign in his true, simple, undisguised, "native character of Majesty."

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