The English press in politics, 1760–1774

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The English press in politics, 1760–1774

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TML SMLIS1I PRESS Ilf POLITICS 1760 * 1774

Eoberb HI gilt Kea

u b m l t t e d t o t h e f a c u lt y o f th e G r a d u a t e S c h o o l in p a r t i a l f u l f i l l m e n t o f th e r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r th e d eg ree* D o e t o r o f P h ilo so p h y in t h e D e p a r tm e n t o f H i s t o r y In d ia n a am v© r s i t y May 1950

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uest ProQuest 10295240 Published by ProQuest LLC (2016). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States C ode Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 - 1346

Y©t» a f t e r I had b l i n d e d m y s e l f w it h p o r i n g o v e r j o u r n a l s 3 d e b a t e s , and p a r l i a m e n t a r y h i s t o r y , I was a t l a s t o b l i g e d t o h a s a r d a b o l d a s s e r t i o n * * «* J u n i u s t o John W ilkes 18 S e p te m b e r , 1771#

me wax o f p r e f a c e

The i»®ign o f G eorge I I I * p a r t i c u l a r l y %ho year® 1 7 6 0 -1 7 7 4 , ha® a lw a y s been a s u b j e c t o f I n t e r e s t t o JA«rleaika* R a t io n a l p r e j u d ic e s and p o l i t i c a l p r eju d ice © have com bined t o dim o u r v ie w o f t h i s p e r io d In su ch a f a s h io n t h a t o n ly In r e c e n t year® ha® a a in c e r e e f f o r t been made t o d e lv e b elow t h e m arfaoe o f p o l i t i e s # T h is l& m t r u e in th e s p e c i a l f i e l d o f th e h i s t o r y o f jo u r ­ n a lis m ae i n t h e g e n e r a l f i e l d o f p o l i t i c a l and c o n s t i ­ t u t i o n a l h is t o r y * W hile much has been w r it t e n c o n c e r n in g t h e p r e s s i n t h i s p e r io d and i t s le a d i n g f ig u r e s * John M i k e s and J u n iu s* no e f f o r t h a s been- made to I n c o r p o r a te t h e i r s t o r y — and t h a t o f t h e swarm o f hack® and s c r ib b le r ® accom panying them— i n t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l n a r r a t iv e # T h is d i s s e r t a t i o n I s an a tte m p t t o f i l l t h a t v o id * t o d e s c r ib e in d e t a i l t h e m ethods u se d t o c r e a t e th e 1p u b lic o p in io n * w h ich made W ilk es and J u n iu s Im portant* T h is 1® n o t a stu d y o f ’ p u b lic o p in io n ’ por s.e* but ©f t h e p r e s s w h ich p rodu ced t h a t eph em eral f o r c e — and was a power u n to I t s e l f * In d e a lin g w ith t h e p r e s s * th e b r o a d e s t p o s s i b l e us© h as been mad© o f t h e term* Mewspapers* p e r i o d i c a l s , p a m p h lets, b r o a d s id e e , and s a t i r i c a l p r i n t s a l i k e r e p r e s e n t I t s p h y s ic a l a s p e c t , and t h e ’ a u th o r s* p r in te r ® and p u b lis h e r s * o f e i g h t ©mth osn tu x y i n f o rm a tio n s p r o v id e t h e human ©lem®nt* Any e f f o r t tow ard s y n t h e s is i e b a se d upon th e work o f many* r a t h e r th a n one* t h e d e b t in t h i s came w i l l be r e a d i l y se e n In f o o t n o t e and b ib lio g r a p h y , where p r in te d m a tte r I® co n cern ed * bu t t h e a u th o r ’ s o b l i g a t i o n s e x te n d fu r th e r a f ie ld # To Prof* John J* Murray, whose g u id a n c e in w r it in g ha® beers b e n e v o le n t , whose s c h o la r s h ip h a s been a s ta n d a r d , and w hose f r ie n d s h ip ham lig h t e n e d t h e p a st f o u r y e a r s , th e e x p r e s s io n o f g r a t it u d e I s s c a r c e ly s u f ­ fic ie n t* The In d ia n a U n iv e r s it y L ib rary ha® ex te n d e d ©very s e r v i c e and a t t e n t i o n f a r beyond t h e l i n e o f d u ty ; I t i s © p le a s u r e t o ack now ledge my in d e b te d n e s s t o Mlos Geneva Warner* M iss D o r is R eed, D r * C ecil K. B yrd, and Mr*John R* Thompson* The p a th o f r e s e a r c h in tr o d u c e d me t o Fred 8* 81sh o r t* D ir e c t o r o f th e S ch o o l o f J o u r n a lis m , a t t h e U n iv e r s it y o f I l l i n o i s , whose e n t h u s i a s t i c en co u r­ agem ent was © q u a iled by Mm k in d n e s s in o f f e r i n g th e f r u i t s o f hi© own s tu d y , note® and m an u scrip t® , f o r my p e r u s a l#

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H Ishard ?# Sim plon ©pent many v a lu a b le h ou rs t r a n s c r ib in g m a teria l® in t h e B r i t i s h Museum and th e p u b lic Hecord© O f f lo e w h ich would o th e r w is e have b een u n a v a ila b le # th ro u g h a s e r i e s o f g r a n ts and f e llo w s h ip s * t h e H is t o r y d ep artm en t o f I n d ia n a U n iv e r s it y ha© e x p r e s s e d i t s su p ­ p o r t and encouragem ent th r o u g h o u t my year© o f g ra d u a te stu d y* U lt im a t e ly * t h i s s tu d y would n e v e r have b een made b u t f o r t h e u n d y in g f a i t h and b e l i e f o f my parent©* t o whom 1 humbly o f f e r my th an k s* D u rin g t h e p r e p a r a tio n o f t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n I have le a r n e d why a h i s t o r i a n i n f a l l i b l y d e d i c a t e s h i s work t o h i s w ife * I w ould be t h e l a s t t o turn from t h e t r a d it io n *

B loom ington* I n d ia n a A p r il IT* 1950*

t m w , o f o o w fm s

A0ICNOfU:D*y A d m i n l s t r a t i on * , . * *” I b i d . , pp #56-7» 9 I b i d * # p p .61 -4* i3 lo S i r Horace 7 n n t November 3 0 , 1 7 6 9 # The l e t t e r s of Coruco H a lp o le , e d . Hrb. Saget Toyi■doe ( Oxf o i d , 1 9 0 3 - Id'-'y, Vr ] , 3 3 5 # C l t ed h o r o a f t r a s l e t t e r s ( T o y n b e e ) #

-

5-

r, n i l o f Power & JProperty w ith o u t D o o ro , o r f i on*. v/hrx ot?i«i Cause? .th e Karl o f Chatham d r a m a t i c a l l y d e c l a r e d t h a t W h o e v e r u n a e r s t a n d s t h e t h e o r y o f t h e B n g li» h C o n s t i t u t i o n , and w i l l com­ p a re I t w i t h t h e f a c t , im ist s@® a t once how w i d e l y t h e y d i f ­ fer*

We m ust r e c o n c i l e , them t o e a c h o th e r * * •

»

l ame y e a r s

l a t e r , S h e lb u r n e summed up w i t h b r i l l i a n t a f t e r - s i glit « Government and p e o p le a r e p e r p e t u a l l y c h a n g ln o f w i t h o u t e i t h e r b e i n g aware of i t , w h ich o f i t s e l f m ust p ro d u ce con ­ f u s io n * Governm ent becom es w eak er and t h e p e o p le s t r o n g e r in s e n s ib ly * • a «■ ■" % *t h e Bouse o f Commons u n d er i t s p r o s ant i n s t i t u t i o n , lias had i t s d a y , and P a r lia m e n t I t s e l f i s n o l o n g e r c o n s i d e r e d a s O m nipotent aa Lord M a n s fie ld u se d to c a l l i t * i s 'Know­ l e d g e h as sp r e a d and t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s have become c o r ­ r u p te d , i t ha© c e a s e d t o im p o s e , ami h a s no l o n g e r th e same c o n f id e n c e w i t h t h e p e o p le * I t may s t i l l do a l i t t l e good o r p r e v e n t a l i t t l e harm o f i t s e l f , b u t i t I s t h e p u b lic o p in io n w h ich d e c i d e s , w hich ih© House o f Gommoms m ust o b e y , a s ©very rmrt o f Governm ent m ust In t h i s and e v e r y c o u n tr y o f Kurope where i t show s i t s e l f * The e x t i n c t i o n o f t h e o ld p a r t i e s o f w hig and T o r y , t h e d e p r e s s i o n o f t h e la n d e d i n t:r© crt* .» t h e i n c r e a s e of t r a d e , t h e w e a lth a r i s i n g f r o u i t , .♦ ♦ t h e s e v e r y c i r c u m s t a n c e s g i v e r i s e t o and fo m en t p u b l i c o p in io n , w h ich k e e p s th e Bouse o f Commons i n a gr© a t a; r s t a t e o f d ep en d en ce a s a body th an h a s e v e r b een th e c a s e h e r e t o ­ fo r e * The Crown t o o * , . i n t e r f e r e s i n a v e r y d l f f r e n t man­ n e r from what i t u sed t o d o , and n a t u r a l l y t e n d s t o m eet t h e I n c l i n a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l s , w it h o u t c o n s id e r in g t h a t i t I s Punch whom i t i s b u y in g , and t h a t t h e p u p p et-sh ow w i l l c o n t in u e o n ly a s lo n g a s p u b l i c o p in io n d o e s *13 The I n g l i s h c o n s t i t u t i o n was in the', p r o c e s s of r e - I n t e r p r e ­ t a t i o n b e f o r e th e b s r o f p u b l i c o p i n i o n ; t h e Jury e r a made

J . K . P o i s f r e t , "some f u r t h e r l e t t e r s o f / l l l i a m s tra fa a n , p r i n t e r * * P e n n s y lv a n ia f a g a z l n o o f H i s t o r y and Hi on raphv ,Lx {1936 ) ,4 ? 1 * 13 House o f L o r d s, J an u ary 2 2 , 1 769: Von K u v i l l e , i l l , 2 6 0 . 13 S .F lt s m & u r ic e , e a . , I 4 f e o f W i lli a m , K arl o f S h elb u rn e f London, 1 8 7 6 ), I I I , 3 5 6 - 7 7 * 3 " — — —

up o f f r e e - b o r a E n g lis h m e n , •» • G a n a l l l e 9 f o r l o r n gru b s and gac z3 e tb e r a , d e s p e r ­ a t e g a m b le r s , 'iradeem eii t h r i c e b a n k r u p t , p r e n t i c e s t o J o u rneym en, u n d e r s t r a p p e r s t o p o r t e r s , hungry p e t t i f o g g e r s , b a i l ­ i f f s f o l l o w e r s , d i s c a r d e d draymen, h o s t l e r s o u t o f p l a c e , and f e l o n s r e t u r n e d from t r a n s p o r t a t i o n . T h e se a r e t h e p e o p le who p r o c la im th am aelve© f r e e born Bngli©hiaen, and t r a n s p o r t @d by a la u d a b l e s p i r i t o f p a t r i o t i s m - i n s i s t upon n a v in g a sp ok e In t h e w h e e l o f g o v e r n m e n t * * * # ^ n * * .what tim e do we n o t l i v e i n , * w ro te G eorge I I I , 11when a p a r e s 11 o f low s h o p k e e p e r s p r e t e n d to d i r e c t t h e w h o le L e g i s l a t u r e . *^-5

An u n r e p r e s e n te d and u n e n f r a n c h ! sod. pop­

u l a c e c o u ld n o t c o n t r o l a govern m en t b a se d in a l l i t s

form s

upon p r i v a t e p r o p e r t y but * . »»a w ick ed mob and a f o o l i s h m in is t r y may p rod u ce s tr a n g e e v e n t s •"

Many must have a g r e e d

th a t i t was b e t t e r i n o ld t i m e s , when th e M i n i s t r y vms wicked, and t h e mob f o o l i s h * m i n i s t e r s h ow ever w ic k e d , do n o t p u l l down h o u s e s , n o r I g n o r a n t mobs p u l l down G overnm ents* mob t h a t can r e a d , and a M in is t r y t h a t c a n n o t t h i n k , a r e s a d l y m atched Ho roan d id more t o r o u s e i n th e p o p u la c e a sons© o f t h e i r im p o r ta n c e th a n Hi H i am P i t t , o f whom G eorge I I on ce r e im r k e d , ” #You have t a u g h t ms t o loo?? f o r th e c o r s e o f my p e o p le i n o t h e r p l a c e s th an t h e Tl-use o f Commons.9

le t

p a r a d o x i c a l l y , few men had l e s s a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e me m m — ----- ------------- -----TH --------------------T * S m o l l e t t I n B r i t o n k o * 1 5 , S e p t e m b e r 1762s Ov,ntlonwnn, s M a g a z i n e , XXXII ( i T S g T *"^17. H e r e a f t e r c i t e d a s lag. i5 " " To B u t e , c h 3 0 , 1 7 6 3 * Romuoy S e d g w i c k , o d e . L e t t e r s f r o m G e o r g e I I I t o Lord B u t e 1 7 5 6 - 1 7 6 6 ( L o n d o n , 1 9 3 9 ) , p . 2 0 6 .

IS



G « £ « V e i t o h , The g e n e s ! 0 o f p a r 15 n m o n t e r v nv»

The h o n o r a b le p r o f i t - o f w r i t i n g f o r the

l i e .A d v e r tis e r * ^

p e r i o d i c a l p r e s s a t t r a c t e d t h e t a l o n t o of a m u ltitu d e o f 11gru b s and g a z e t t e e r s " » b u t none s o e x a l t e d a s t h o s e of Ed­ mund Burke, who, from 1756*-1790, e d i t e d and p a r t i a l l y w rote t h e Annual K egi-gt^r*

F or h i s s e r v i s e e Burke r e c e i v e d f.100

per#an*, i n i t i a l l y , and l a t e r , p ro b a b ly £ 3 0 0 .

V a lu a b le pre­

p a r a tio n f o r t h e p a r lia m e n t a r y s e a s o n wee p a in ed t h e r e b y , and a t th e sain© tim e Burk© was a b l e t o r e p l e n i s h h i s u s u a l l y d e f i c i e n t f u n d s *57 N e it h e r th e l a u r e l s of p o l i t i c a l l i b e r t y n o r tun more t a n g ib l e b e n e f i t s o f econ om ic In d ep en d en ce q u it e gu ar­ a n te ed t o th e p r e s s I t s freed om from G overnm ent, however* Throughout th e r e i g n o f Georg© I I I m in lc t r s m a in ta in ed t h e i r m anagers and s u p e r v is o r s o f t h e p r e s s *

u s u a lly

55 R* A .A u ste n -L e ig h , "Yrilliom Ltr&han and M e l e d g e r s , !* T ran s■Ugliobg Of . ..the B lb iio g jf^ b h io a .l S o c ie t y ,2nd s e r * ,1 1 1 ( 1 9 9 ^ 5 7 7 PP* 266-7^* 56 Of irr ick * s I n t e r e s t was h u n d l u d by Tom l a v l e e I n 1765 i s e e L a v l d 0 a r r i o k , C o r r e s p o n d e n o e ( Lon d o n , 1 8 3 5 } » 1 » 1 52• 57 On Burke and th e Annual R e g i s t e r * s e e P r i o r . .Burke, 1 ,8 6 ; S ir P h i l i p Magnus, Edmund1''B urnet London, 19591 p *333; t . f .C o p la n d , "Burk© and Pods l e y T©-lAnnua l R e g i s t e r ," P u b l i c a t i o n s o f th e Modem Language A s s o c i a t i o n ,LIV ( 1 9 5 5 ) ,2 2 3 ^ 6 ; iM lp h ~G trau s, R o b e r t'b b f ls le y f London ) , pp. 2 5 7 -8 * ■— n - r - i r r - ' m - . n T ' ,

„r—



u n d e r - s e c r e t a r i e s o f s t a t e o r t h e T r e a s u r y , t h e s e men mat­ ched t h e p r e s s f o r u n f a v o r a b le comment, a d v is e d t h e i r nupe r i o r s on q u e s t i o n s o f l e g a l a c t i o n ,

and i f

were s u c h , w ro te in s u p p o r t o f Government *

th o ir a b i l i t i e s upon o c c a s i o n

i t was th e u n d e r - s e c r e t a r y who a rra n g ed t h e do t a i l s o f a p e n sio n or s u b s id y b etw een m i n i s t e r s , p u b l i s h e r s arc a u th o r s s f o r " th e r e were G atton end Did Bar urn n ew sp apers a& well as Gat tor; and o ld Barum b o r o u g h s *"5® Below t h e s e men, some of whom, l i f e

Charles J e rk in s o n ,

r o s e t o g r e a t p r o m i n e n c e , swarmed a shadowy h o s t of c l e r k s , s p i e s , and c o f f e e - h o u s e r u n n e r s who were g e n e r a l l y known a s "messengers of t h e p re ss* " i l l d e f in e d |

T h e i r p o s i t i o n and D u t i e s wore

t h e i r names a p p e a r e d o n l y i n c o u r t s of law*

W i l l i am B i b b i n s was e m ployee s no p a i d by t h e T r e a s u r y t o s e c u r e a l l p o l i t i c a l p a m p h le ts , m a g a z i n e s , and o t h e r p u b l i c ­ ations*

Bo a l s o was l a t h a n i e l Crowder.-*^

T h e s e men, d e s ­

p is e d a s i n f o r m e r s i n t h e i r d a y , w ere t h e d i r e c t l i n k be tw een g o v er n m en t and t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y media o f c o m m u n i c a t i o n s * They probably worked in l e a g u e w ith t h e l i n g ' s m essen g ers in o r d i n a r y , such a s Ha th a n ! e l C a r r in g to n , Hobart Bis. ok­

^__ .■.... ...i-nilB -i— ■ ----rrt-nmnni-■ .— execu ted the

.

rao r e , James w a tso n , and John honey who 58

A s p in & ll, P o l i t i c s and t b s p r e s s , up* v , 6 6 . I f hab n o t been p o s s i b l e t o prove t h e c l o s e c o n n e c t io n b e tv e e n t h e news­ paper p r e s s and government f o r the p e r io d 1 7 5 0 -1 7 7 ^ , t h a t e x ­ i s t e d e i t h e r b e f o r e o r s f t e r t h e p o r l o d • That i t d id e x i s t , t h i s a u th o r f u l l y b e l i e v e s mid hopes sortie day t o be a b le t o prove*

59 Bee t e s t im o n y in R* v . A i m on ( 1 7 7 0 ) , u t c t e t r i a l s , ~ — _ _ ~ ™

31,

-

21-

, B2 9-

r e s u l t i n g w a rra n ts The London G a z e t t e , by w h ich t h e Government p u b lis h e d prool&ui& tions, s t a t e p a p e r s , and some n e w s » was a p p a r e n t ly of l i t t l e

serv'dere d e l i v e r e d to th e E arl o f E grem cn t*^ ~ ™ P o d ln g t o n t o B u t e ,O c t o b e r 6 , 1 ? 6 1 ; B u te t o r o d i n g t o n , O cto b er 7 , 1 7 6 1 * L lo y d S a n d e r s , P atron end p l a c e - h u n t e r {London,1 9 1 9 } » pp*2 6 1 - 2 ; '#*5. T a y l o r and J*B«TrTn&la»e d s * , C o rr e sp o n d e n c e o f . 1 1 1 jam P i t t ,, a r l o f Chatham (London, 1 B 4 0 ) JT f , 14* n 71« 131 t e d h e r e a f t e r a s ahatham ;orr* 51 ™— — —. George- G r e n v i l l e { 1 7 1 2 - 7 0 ) , t r e a s u r e r o f t h e n a v y , 17 57-62* 52 Henry Fox,. 1 s t Baron H o l l a n d ( 1 7 0 5 - 7 4 ) , s e c r e t a r y a t war 1 7 4 6 5 4 , s e c r e ta r y of s t a t e 1 7 5 5 -6 , p a y m a ster-g en er a ! 1757-63, c r e a t e d a p e e r i n 1 7 6 3 ; t h e most u n p o p u la r o f aontem porary s t a t e s m e n 5 Fox was l o n g F l t t * s c h i e f r i v a l in t h e House of Commons* 53 C h a r le s Wyndhani»2nd K arl o f p grem ont( 1 7 1 0 - 6 3 ) , b r o t h e r - i n ­ law o f C . G r e n v i l i e * Egremont had no o u t s t a n d i n g c a p a c i t i e s , b u t was w e l l t h o u g h t o f among th e c o u n t r y T o r i e s . On t h e p o l i t i c a l t e r g i v e r e a t l o n s o f t h e summer of 1?61 l e a d ­ i n g up t o i ' l t t *s r e o i g n & t i o n , boo Kgirder, on g l a n d , p p *739 f f *; D*A*Wi n s t a n 1 ey * P e r s o n a l ar-o p arty goverrv^TT^C 'iaabrldgo, 1 9 1 0 ) , PP* 4 3 - 7 9 . 50

-4 1 -

The t e s t o f B i t © ’ a a b i l i t y t o s h a p e p u b l i c o p i n i o n had come.

I f P i t t c o u l d draw upon t h e n u m e r i c a l and v o c a l

w e ig h t o f h i e f o l l o w i n g i n t h e c o u n t r y and t h e O i l y o f Lon­ d o n , h e m i g h t , i f he c h o s e , push m l n i s t - - r a hard.*

He was

n e v e r more p o p u l a r , and s h a r e d h i s l a u r e l s o n ly w i t h Tem ple, who r e s i g n e d O c to b e r 9«

o u t t h e n a t i o n owed much t o P i t t ,

and m i n i s t e r s p rep a red t o reward t h o s e y e a r s o f s e r v i c e , t h e t e r m i n a t i o n o f w h i c h had n o t a s y e t been f o r m a l l y an­ n ou n ced .

R e f u s in g g r e a t e r h o n o rs, P i t t a ccep ted a peerage

f o r h i s w i f e , and an a n n u it y f o r h i m s e l f o f £3000 f o r t h r e e liv e s *

T h is form o f rem u n era tio n was s u g g e s t e d by Hardwieke,

and on O cto b e r 9 , B u t e i n f ormed both ^ardw ieke and N e w c a s tle o f t h e u s e he meant t o make of i t . and Lady H ester* s t i t l e ,

The news of Hie p e n c io n

C o u n te ss o f Chatham, was t o accom­

pany t h e announcement o f r i t t ’ s r e s i g n a t i o n in th e G a z e t te o f O c t o b e r 10:

w h i c h s u r e l y m us t h a v e an e f f e c t upan

t h e cry o f h i s d i s i n t e r e s t e d p o p u l a r i t y , 1* o b s e r v e d N e w c a s t l e . ^ The announcement appeared a s s c h e d u l e d , and a s an a d d e d t o u c h , a s o o t h i n g d e c l a r a t i o n o f ftp a in *& p a c i f i c i n t e n t i o n s was pr­ i n t e d I n c l o n e pr-oxim lty t o I t * 5 5 The r e s u l t was a l l Bute m i g h t h a v e hoped f o r .

A rum­

o r c o n c e r n in g F i t t ’ s hon ors had c i r c u l a t e d on K r i d a y th e 9 t h , p

------------------------------------------ ,------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

N e w c a s t l e t o H a r d w i e k e , O c t o b e r 9 , 1761 : q u o t e d by T u n s t a l l , P i t t ., p . 3 0 8 . Hardwick® t o C hari® s Y o r k d , O c t o b e r 1C, 1751: I ' . C . i o r k e , The l i f e and a o r r e s p o n d e r . c © o f r h i l i p York©, , .a r l o f Hardw 1 e k e 'f Ham bridge 7 1 9 1 3 ) , 1 1 1 ,'336' i G. j?. s . ■;1 l i o t , Xlie. Bor3 ? r ~~k1 i l o t b { d i n bur g b , 1 B9T)» P-370« §51 A la o n , L a te m i n o r i t y , pp. 3b-6*

—7 ted vd. t h

Fox, produced & b i t t e r l y

s a t i r i c a l L e t t e r f r o . a . r i g h t hon­

o u r a b l e p e r s o n and t h e a n s w e r t o i t ,

t r a n s l a te d I n t o y oroe

a b o u t t h e same t i m e *76 C harles ^© nkinson, B u t e 's p r i v a t e s e c r e ta r y ?

probably

beg an h i s a c t i v e c a r e e r an a g o v e r n m e n t press, n a r . a g e r d u r i n g the l i t e r a r y

s t r i f e follow ing P i t t ' s

reel g n atio n .

ionkinson,

who h a d e n t e r e d p o l i t i c ® a s "an u s e f u l t y p o g r a p h i c a l cormu1 &'*n worked h i e way i n t o h i g h e r p o l i t i c s s d t h l i t t l e factio n or p arty .

regard fo r

Ho had w r i t t e n i n e u p p o r t o f t h e

irltt-hew -

c a s t l e m i n i s t r y , a n d a t G e o r g e G r e n v i l l e ' s i n s t a n c e , had -------------------— — — — — — — ------- — — a a l p o l e t o C o u n t e s s A l i e s b u r y , November 2 8 , 1 7 6 1 : L e t t e r s ( T o y n h e e ) , V, 1 4 7 . 75 W a lp o le, %e m p ir e , | , 9 6 - 7 . F r a n c is a l s o w rote j l e t t e r from t h e anonymous a u t h o r o f the L e t t e r s v e r s i f i e d *

T*

■ .i inmM M .. . i — .mrwuwwii-w.iraw^rrf-.i -*■»» ^»^n.r

For a g e n e r a l s u r v e y o f ' t h e p a m p h l e t l i t e r a t u r e s e e Gen t ' s La g#,XXXi( 1 7 6 1 ) , 4 6 0 - 9 , 5 1 3 - 2 1 , 5 7 9 - 8 3 ; A n n u a l L e g * , 1 V ( I T o I ) , * 3 = 8 1 C r i t i c a l R ev iew , X I I ( 1 7 6 1 ) , 3 0 4 r T T T W T T f T T 476 f f *

77 ■Almon, L e t t e r t o C h a r le s J e n k in son , p„5 imnwu

wm>MJTriiiMfti**T--irt>^"-Tr—lnr~*Tll—ff,>~t***g>rBfyWBBrt1>~Uflrt,-*rttit>i*rMrrcTrn~Bni*fnr>~rji^ iu>>miipliiiiaiiii~t*« iiiwiiw^i «* inn >«>»ii|i —'n • « —ft

49 d r e n v i l l e p a p e r s , 1 1 , 3* 1 d is a g r e e w ith f o b b e d o r th B rito n p * I3 T T tH a r Tem ple showed no "unusual o b io tio n ” a t t h i s 'p o in t The l e t t e r c i t e d b e g i n s , r,Hy hands a re a lm o st f r o z e n , as I a s l u s t r tu r n e d from r id in g * *. . , H an u r g e n t m es&age, q u it e o b v io u s ly 9 30 T h is was W ilk e s ’ s s t o r y in 1 769; i t may or may n o t be w h o lly true* A l e t t e r t o th e E t , Hon *Hep *Groev i l l © in P o ll e c t i o n o f a c a r c e T r a c t&, J l l / 3 ? * C al«H *Q *papers* I ,2 0 3 •

52 I b i d , , I ,2 4 8 ; N obbe, N orth B r it o n , p , 132* vm w m m bm nw .

nm*h w m n n * w «muKa *

governm ent hands u n t i l November 2 7 * ^

Ik© f a i l u r e

of th e

m in is t r y t o s e r v e t h e s e w a rra n ts h as been e x p la in e d by as** sum ing t h a t th e y w ere put t o a n o th e r u se*

The p r i n t i n g of

th e Morth B r ito n had been dona by R ich ard son o f S a lis b u r y C o u rt, F l e e t s t r e e t * ^

W ilk es in form ed h i s o o - a d ju t o r

C h u r c h ill, November 2 4 , t h a t hicb.ard.son rt#. . . h a s ab solu te-* l y r e f u s ’d t h e h a v in g any more con cern in t h a t p a p e r .#*55 Bry&en Leach of

E l i o t ’ s C ourt, was in d u ced t o

p r in t h o . 2 6 ,

w hich c o n s is t e d

c h i e f l y o f p o e t r y , ana th e e d it o r s e x p la in ­

ed t h a t th e change was due to * * * .t h e f e a r s of a p r in t e r , who trem b led a t

th e th o u g h ts o f Im p rison m en t, and sm arted

u n d er a s e v e r e ,

p r iv a t e r e p r i m a n d . I f

th e

second war-

want e x t e n d in g th ro u g h He* 26 was ehowr lo Leach and h is p r i n t e r P e t e r Cock, I t e x p la in s why th e l a t t e r

• had

th e t e r r o r s o f th e Lord o f the I s l e £B u te3 so s tr o n g be­ f o r e him , t h a t he has. f a l l e n i l l t o a v o id p r i n t i n g th e pa57 p e r .* * -' K ea re le y was a lr e a d y n e g o t ia t in g w ith R ichard B a lf e , o f Old S a l l e y ,

M ik e s c le a r e d h o . 27 w ith :i3 s law ­

y e r , S a y e r , and B a lfe p r in te d th e Korth s r I t o n u n t i l i t s l a s t fam ous number r o l l e d o f f h ie p r e s s . 5^

h o . 27 co n se­

q u e n tly ech o ed M i k e s ’ ® f i r s t v o l l e y (a lth o u g h t h i s one was 53 54

'



C & l.B .Q .p a p er s, 1 , 205•

P robably W illia m R ich a rd so n , nephew and s u c c e s s o r to Samuel B ic h a r d s o n . P lom er, d ic t io n a r y , p n .2 1 1 -1 2 . 55 ~ Nobbe, N orth B r it o n , p . 1 3 0 . 56 ~ H orth B r it o n , Ho. 2 6 , November 2 7 , 1 7 6 2 . 57 ' f llk e ® t o Charts h i 1 1 , ©comber 2 ,1 7 6 2 s quoted by Eobbe, B er th B rito n * p . 133* s e e a l s o Horace B lea ck lo -y , John M lkor(London ,1 6 1 7 ) , p . 9 2 . 58 Nobbe, N orth B r it o n , pp.136-7* .

74 .

w r it t e n by C h u r c h ill) In d e f e n s e of "the* l i b e r t y of th e p r e s s , t h a t bulw ark o f t h e l i b e r t i e s o f t h e p e o p le .* ,* " Why, i t a s k e d , was n o t th e

etS lo n g ago?

o n 3t o r , i f c r im in a l, suppress-*

The an sw er was fo rth co m in g ? b e ca u se M* . , a t

t h i s im p o rta n t and c r i t i c a l j u n c t u r e , i t m ight bo of ex­ c e l l e n t u s e t o s t o p t h e m ouths o f t h o s e who im agin e i t p os­ s i b l e t o lo v e t h e i r c o u n tr y , a lth o u g h th ey ex cla im a g a in s t th e m i n i s t e r * . ** Th© m in is t r y had f a i l e d t o s i l e n c e t h e r 'o r t h mr-iton, an d t h e c a s e a g a i n s t t h e M o n ito r was n o t poshed*

m i® h ad

b een u n a b le t o s i l e n c e c r i t i c i s m o f t h e ponce ho was about t o p r e s e n t t o P a r l i a m e n t o u t - o f - d o o r s , he m ig h t hope f o r g r e a t e r s u c c e s s w i t h i n t h o s e h a llo w ed w a l l s *

iu e r o th e

e f f e c t o f th e war o f t h e w e e k l i e s and tlic p a m p h le t e e r s would be w e ig h e d , t h e r e s u l t o f T e ia p le ’ s p o l i c y e v a lu a te d . I b i s p r o c e s s h ad a l r e a d y begun*

Toe n o b l e p r o p a g a n d i s t ,

d e c la r in g h i s d i s a p p r o v a l o f ’’t h i s p a p e r w ar, anti t i e d a lly a b o m in a tio n s w hich a r e p u b lis h e d ,” f o r t h e e y e s o f the p o s t a l c e n s o r s h i p , ^ s t o o d f i r m l y b e h in d p u b lic d i s c u s s i o n o f th e peace*

P i t t v a o i l a t e d betw een open c o o p e r a t i o n w ith

w illces^* t o warm o p p o s i t i o n t o ” *, * *al'l k i n d s of p o l i t i c a l — — — — -— — — N orth B r it o n s No* 27* December 4,1762* 6c T ~ ~~ Tempi© t o Lady Chatham, O ctober 1 0 ,1 7 6 2 : Chatham c o r r * , 1 1 ,1 9 3 . *1 n e v e r put a n y th in g in b la c k an ; tai-eu from C h a r le s Yorfee1© a c c o u n t \ coo H a r r i s , Card wl e k e , A11, 347*34

W h ile l^r&bt pon&sred and H IIk o s w a it e d f o r F r id a y

and t h e C h ie f j u s t i c e ' s d e c i s i o n , t h e h ea d s o f f a c t i o n mere- c o n s id e r in g s'i I k e s a e © pawn i n t h e game o f p o l i t i e s . Temple had p l s y e d h i s p a rt w e l l ;

he had. d o n e e v e r y t h i n g

p o s s i b l e t o a i d W ilk e s , a n d h ad s c o u r e d t h e s u p p o r t -of a number o f o t h e r s , among thorn t h e y o u n g huh© of G r a fto n *23 They had been w i t n e s s e s t o w i I k e s ' s c l o s e im p riso n m en t, and W ilk es lo o k e d t o b o t h f o r s u p p o r t s h o u ld he b e c a l l e d upon to o f fe r b a l l ,

G raf t o n f h o w ev er, drew t h e l i n e a t moral

s u p p o r t , a n d e x c u s e d h i m s e l f t o T em p le,

The h a r l r e c o g ­

n iz e d th e man who w o u ld n o t s u p p o r t a c a u s e f o r f e a r of " th e shadow o f o f f e n c e 1’ a g a i n s t th e K in g, a s a p o t e n t i a l enetay, a n d h i s r e p l y was a m a s t e r - p i e c e of f r i g i d p o l i t e ­ n ess* ^

The d i f f i c u l t y o f s e p a r a t i n g t h e i n d i v i d u a l from

the - I s s u e s he

t o r e p r e s e n t h a d f a r - r e a c h i n g co n seq u e­

W i l k e s h i m s e l f p r e f e r r e d a f u s i o n of i d e n t i t y ; b i s

n c e s*

p e r s o n a l s u c c e s s w e lln i& h d e f e a t e d t h e movem,-at a h i c h ho came t o head* On W ednesday, day X, t h e r o y a l p r o p o s a l t o d i s p l a c e W ilk es from th e Bu c fcloghams h i r e m i l i t i a was c a r r i e d i n t o e ffe c t*

Pgremont commanded Tem ple, a s L c r d - i i c u t - a u n t ,

t o Inform W ilk es o f M s d i s m i s s i o n ,

The ;a r l d id so on

T hursday, bu t e x p r e s s e d M* * » th e can c o m I f o o l in the I d s * o f an o f f i c e r , by M s d e p o r tm e n t in command, en deared t o

53

“■“

*

~ ~

A uguetus Henry F i t z r o y , 3rd Duke o f G rafton (1739-1811) > Lord-11 ourtenant o f S u f f o l k , he had op p osed Bute and Gener­ a l l y f o l l o w e d t h e y o u n g e r b ran ch o f h e w o a s t l e 1s c o l l e a g u e s , 34 W ilk es t o G r a f t o n , Eay 3 , 1 7 6 3 : W,K.Anson, Autohioar-- phy Of t h e Puk.e o f G ra fto n (L on d on ,1 8 9 8 } , p» 190* G rafton t o Te.'M e *r:1"laym *5ri?^3 F lR e r v l l i e p a p e rs, 11,54; Arsen, G rafton, in 191 Temple t o G r a f t o n h a y ' I T o f : " T K s o n » G r a f t o n , pp. 191-2«

t h e 'whole c o r p s* "

W ilk e s r e t u r n e d t h e com plim ent and

thank® f o r Temple*© s u p p o r t ,

By t r m end o f t h e week Tem­

pi© was n o l o n g e r L o r d -1 1 c u t e n a n t ; h& was sum m arily d i s w i s sod way ?» t o make room f o r f i r F r a n c i s Dashwood, now l a r d It© Bee pen c o r *^5

W ilk es was b r o u g h t t o th e C o u rt of loam or ,, l e a s , F r i ­ day m orning* inay 6 , t o h e a r t h e C h ie f j u s t i c e se op i n .ion or: hi® c a s e *

About t e n o ’ c l o c k f r a t s p o k e ; the? f i r s t two

o b j e c t i o n s which Glynn had r a i s e d be th re w o u t , but th e p l e a o f p r i v i l e g e he u p h eld *

*We a r e a l l o f o p i n i o n t h a t l i b e l

l e not a breach of t h e peace,

nd t h a t i s th e u tm o st**

* ••*

&r« H i k e s must he d i s c h a r g e d from h i s i© p r i sonment ** -'’w H i ­

k e s th an k ed t h e Court and h i e c o u n s e l , and ar. he t u r n e d t o l e a v e , bowed low t o th e a u d ie n c e cro w d in g t h e h a l l * p l o s i v e r o a r o f c h e e r s and a p p l a u s e g r e e t e d him ,

An ex­

His a u d i t ­

o r s , s t i r r e d up by h a n d b i l l s cl rou l& ted i n d u s t r i o u s l y a b o u t t h e c o u r t -r o o m , a cc o m p a n ie d W ilkes t o h i s home, and c e l e b r a t ­ ed t h e o c c a s i o n w e l l i n t o t h e n i g h t *

u p la n d had found h e r

P a tr io t,2 T k ta s te

of t he Tower had w h e tte d W ilk ee *s a p p e t i be*

Ho s o o n e r had h e a r r i v e d i n G re a t G eorge Atra c t ,

th an he

s e n t t o th e S e c r e t a r i e s of P l a t e dem anding th e r e t u r n of h i s s e q u e s t e r e d p a p e r s — 11s t o l e n ^

goods* which he b e li e v e d —

Hgremcnt t o T em p le, hay 4 , 1 7 6 3 ; Temple t o l i k e s , "ay 5 , 17631 W ilk es t o T em p le, hay 5* 17 6 3 - w lik en o o r r , , i ,1 1 3 * 1 6 , Hal 1 f a x t o f em p i e , May 7 *17 6 3" firre nv i r r r "pa pc r s s 1 1 ,55 • hoe a l s o An au th e n t i c k a c c o u n t , d p * i f f - § 0 s ”Annuai'™:^- e r 3l s t e r , VI ( l? 6 3 T 7 l3 B F Geni *& h a g , , X/XI1J (1 7 6 3 ) *23!TTF. 36 —— ~S t a t e t r i a l s , X I X ,9 6 7 - 9 9 0 , 37 D a n i e l Wray t o Lord Hoy s i on : York© »Hardy; 1 cb e , 11 1 >4-94; W ilk e s c o r r , , 1 ,1 1 6 - 2 4 * -1 0 1 -

t h e i r Lordship© t o p o sse s s,

Lgremont ancl H a l i f a x no l e e s

promptly reminded W ilk es t h a t he was s t i l l ch arg ed w ith b e i n g t h e a u t h o r o f a s e d i t i o u s l i b e l , and t h a t **0 «, hi c

Majesty has o r d e r e d you t o be p r o s e c u te d by h i s a t t o r n e y g e n e r a l*

”28

The S e c r e ta r ie s may h a v e spoken t r u t h f u l l y in

r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e r o y a l w ish t o c o n t in u e p r o s e c u t i o n , b u t i t

appears t h a t no o f f i c i a l a c t i o n wan tak en u n t il hay 9 , when H a l i f a x o r d e r e d t h e A t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l t o p ro ceed by informat­

ion to t h e c a s e c f er o f Ho* 4 5 «

l i k e s and d e a r s ! e y a s a u th o r and a tb lish -

S c a r c e ly r e b u f f e d by t h e t h r e a t o f p r o s e c u t ­

ion,. Wilke© c a l l e d t h e S e c r e t a r i e s 9 l e t t e r HB1 i l t r e s g a t e 0 thereby s co rin g ; a v e r y p a l p a b l e h i t *

H a l i f a x , I r a t e a t such

treatm en t^ In q u ir e d o f the law o f f i c e r s a s t o t h e a c t i o n a b l e c h a r a c t e r of '-'IIk es4s f i r s t l e t t e r which he p e r s o n a l l y fo u n d ’’v e r y abusive** toward S e c r e t a r i e s , hr Ivy C ou n cil l o r e , and 41 p e e r s o f t h e realm i n g e n e r a l » York©*© r e p ly d o es n o t a p p e a r , t h a t he p r e f e r r e d l e a v i n g

but i f

seems prob ab le

. l i k e s t o th e ten d er morel os o f

H ogarth, whoso s a t i r i c a l p r i n t o f

l i k e s 9 t h e PhnmpIon o f

L i b e r t y , ran th rou gh i t s f l r c t p r i n t i n g cu‘ 4000 m

r a p id ly

t h a t t h e p r i n t e r was f o r c e d

t o work h i c p r e s s e s d ay and

n ig h t

'•orton r e p o r te d s

Sol ic lt o r - g e n o r a l

ay 11 ? t h a t

3$" ' ' ' .......' ' W ilkee t o t h e S e c r e t a r i e s , l a y 6 ,1 7 6 3 1 gromoni auc fax t o s i l k e n , ay 7 , 1 7 6 3 j U I k os g o r r , , X, lr.'4-Y0 39 —

a ll-

P al, H* 0 ,paper©, 1 , 280, 40 41

W ilk es t o t h e S e c r e t a r i e s ,

:ey 9 ,1 7 6 b :

i l k us oox*r, ,1 ,1 2 8 - 9 *

P a l »H,0, papers a 1, 2 6 1 * 42 K*R,;fo o r e , Hogarth* b l i t e r a r y r^ela t i o n r>;, . ( ion- a po 1:1 s rt

Pa 11 * -1 0 2 -

},

t h e g r a n t i n g o f an in f o r m a t i o n a g a i n s t a l i k e a in t h e King*® Bench w ou ld o n l y r a i s e t h e q u e s t i o n o f

p r i v i l e g e o n c e m ore,^ 3

N e v e r t h e l e s s , a g a i n s t th© a d v i s e of t h e l a r - o f f i c e r s , a new p r o s e c u t i o n was b e g u n ,

W ilk e s s to o d upo.

h is p r iv ile g e ;

York© r e f u s e d t o p r e c i p i t a t e m a t t e r s by f o i c i n g

b is a tte n d ­

a n c e , and t h e c a s e d r a g g e d on u n t i l p o l i t i c a l e v e n t s i n t e r v cn ed, * 44 P r a t t ’ s d e c i s i o n had p l e a s e d many, b u t I t f a i l e d c o n v i n c e H ard w ick e,

to

91A f t e r h a v i n g been A t t o r n e y - G e n e m l

t e n y e a r s , C h ie f J u s t i c e b e tw een t h r e e and f b u r y e a r s , an .c h a n c e llo r a lm o s t t w e n t y , I s h a l l n o t now c o n t r a d i c t a l l t h e p r i n c i p l e s , and a l l t h e r u l e s o f law and o r d e r , which I have been

m a i n t a i n i n g a l l ay I l f ©,**^5

The whole a f f a i r

gave c a u s e f o r * v e r y s e r i o u s r e f l e x i o n s , 1* and when

.gremont

c a l l e d on h im , Way 1 3 , he fo u n d t h e S e c r e t a r y *4v e r y sore** on t h e s u b j e c t o f W i l k e s , and "hi s M aster* * *e x t re :aely h urt and provoked w i t h l t * w^

Th© e f f o r t t o b r i n g Hardwicks and

N e w c a s t le i n t o t h e Court r a n k s w as u n s u c c e s s f u l , and t h e E a r l s h o r t l y r e t i r e d

how ever,

t o t h e c o u n tr y u h o r e , he w rote

h i s s o n , ’’one o f my g r e a t e s t p lea su res* , * * i s b e i n g f r e e from

T f^ g * * 111 m'* m — ■■■" * ' 1

43

m

mw - w w w n .................

.

t h e n o i s e and e t e r n a l t a l k a b o u t Mr* W i l k e s . 4*2^ ,,i i

C a l*H« 0 . p a p e r s , 1 , 262* 44 N obbe, Worth B r i t o n , PP*2 3 3 - 4 ; v.’in&ton l e y , A .rr.onal and g a r t y g o v e r n m e n t* p . 1 6 2 . ~ ' Hardwicks t o Hoys to ri, May 1 0 , 1 7 6 3 s Y ork o, A :.rdaiake, 111 . 495. 46 H&rdwi'cke t o N e w c a s t l e , ay 1 3 ,1 7 6 3 s Vo r k e , i fcwdwi cl-. , ^ T7 P 4 9 5 -6 * ' ‘ 47 Hardwicke t o R o y s t o n , May 1 7 , 1 7 6 3 : I b i d * , I I I , 497*

103-

J u s t a s Hardwick© h ad re m in d e d N e w c a stle t h a t in h i s day t h e Duke had i s s u e d w a r r a n ts s i m i l a r t o t h a t U--. 48 d©r-;, 'which W ilk e s was a r r e s t e d , so n t t r e p u l s e d h i e own c o m p l i c i t y and made q u e r i e s * ed t o Pratt*.

To s o l v e h i s d c u b t e he t u r n ­

The p o in t i n i s s u e was t he l e g a l i t y

of war­

r a n t — a p o i n t w hich h a d n o t e n t e r e d l a r g e l y I n t h e h e a; l a g s o f May 3 an&6, h u t w hich l a y dormant i n t h e p r o c e s s by which W ilk e s h a d b e e n a p p r e h e n d e d *

t h e C hief J u s t i c e p ointed out

t o P i t t t h a t t h e w arrant was n o t d e f e n s i b l e , p a r t i c u l a r l y I n r e g a rd , t o t h e s e i z u r e o f p a p e r s *

Only i n t h e i n s t a n c e

o f s t o l e n good s was s e a r c h and s e i z u r e ad m in s a b l e ; i n c e r t ­ a in c a s e s f o r c i b l e

en try might be a l lo w e d ,

c o u l d apprehend n o t h i n g b u t t h e persoil#

but the o ffice*

*\Gocsa ui y , sa

G

.

45

,

v /h iie t h e p a r lia m e n ta r y problems? a r i s i n g from the p u b l i c a t i o n o f K orth B r i t o n » P o . 4%, and t h e a r r e s t o f John f i l l i e s wore d i s t u r b i n g th e p o l i t i c a l s c e n e , o t h e r a s ­ p e c t s o f th e same problem s were b e i n g d e b a te d b e f o r e t h e E n g l is h c o u r t s of law *

from t h e d e c i s i o n s handed down i n

th e c a s e s i n i t i a t e d on b e h a l f o f t h e p r i n t e r s arid p u b l is h ­ e r s arr- s l e d u n d e r the g e n e r a l w arrant o f A p r il 2 6 , 1 7 6 3 , a r o s e a new I n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e pow ers o f governm ent* Out of t h o s e c a s e s a l s o ap p eared a new I n t e r p r e t a t i o n of th e l i b e r t y o f t h e p r e s s — b a sed upon a grow in g r e a l i z a t ­ io n o f t h e power o f p u b li c o p i n i o n a s e x p r e s s e d by a ju ry o f f r e e - b o r n Englishm en*

T h ese d ev elo p m e n ts d id n o t o r i g ­

i n a t e in th© summer o f 1 7 6 3 a n o r most c e r t a i n l y d id th ey win co m p le te a c c e p t a n c e a t t h a t t i m e ,

but th e t r a n s i t i o n

o f a u t h o r it y from I t s lo n g - r e 004301 zed d ep en d en ce on Gov­ ernment and Law t o th e P e o p le and t h e Law may w e l l b

d a t­

ed from t h e e v e n t s w h ich nor t o o k p l a c e . L 'llk es had u rg ed t h e p u b l i s h e r s o f t h e

or-1 to r t o

b eg in a c t i o n s f o r f a l s e a r r e s t when th e y had b-..en s e i z e d th e p r e c e d in g y e a r , and i t was h a r d ly s u r p r is in g t h a t when he found h im s e lf In a com p arab le s i t u a t i o n ho sh o u ld pro­ c e e d a c c o r d in g t o h i s own a d v i c e ,

And h ere w e r e , n ot o n e,

but many c lu b s w ith w hich t o b e la b o r th e

ov e m in e n t*

soon a s R ilk e s was r e l e a s e d by t h e C01?r t of -oueon

-123-

is

p r o s c c u t i o n s were begun a g a i n s t t h e t i n g * a m e ss e n g e r s In b e h a l f o f th e v a r i o u s p r i n t e r s *

Back of t h e s e men, who

e o u M h a r d ly s t a n d t h e e x pens® o f l e n g t h y l e g a l p r o c e e d i n g s , s t o o d E a r l Temple*

H ie was t h e ttl o n g n u r s e 11 r h l c h co n te n d ­

ed a g a i n s t th© p u b l i c t r e a s u r y , and p erh ap s M s t h e i n i t ­ i a t i v e i n s t a r t i n g th e s e r i e s of a c t l o r e t h a t dragged on f o r tw o y e a r s *

Aimon I s d o u b t l e s s c o r r e c t when he s t a t e s

t h a t * in t h i s tT em p le3 was a l o n e — even fc'r# P i t t t h o u g h t M e s p i r i t was t o o h ig h * * *

But i t was MXkee who p r o f i t ­

t e d m ost from e v e r y a c t i o n and made c e r t a i n t h a t t h e y w»* * w ere p r o s e c u t e d i n

su ch a manner, t h a t t h e .pu b lic a t t e n t i o n

t o them was k e p t c o n t i n u a l l y & li v e * rt^ The p a t r i o t himself began a c t i o n s against the two S e c r e t a r i e s of State and against K o b e r t hood and P h i l i p G arter© t webb for his arrest and iraprieonm ont, and the s e i z u r e o f h i s p a p ers* as M s

Serjeant John Glynn he retained

c o u n s e l a l o n g with T em p le *b agent A rthur Boar dm ore.

By th e m id d le o f June h i Ike a a d v i s e d the :jarl that ’*Every­ t h i n g l e g a l wears t h e m ost smiling aspect**,*'’

era ho wsr

®* ** charmed w it h the account Serjeant Glynn gave me of t h e s t a t e o f th e c a u s e * fi 2 w ere

On t h e 1 6 t h , e i g h t special juries

r e q u e s t e d to handle the prosecutions,*** and two days

1 John Aimon, Late m i n o r i t y , p p .1 8 4 - 8 ; £ ; raphical aneo d o t e s , i X , 2 7 i**hTTk©0 o o r r . , X, 1 3 1 - 3 2 ; K i l k o s t o Maple* May 2 5 , 1 7 o 3 i G r e n v i l l e paper a , XI , 5 7 . 2 Annual R e g i s t e r , VII ( 1 7 6 4 ) , 1 '-IV* in Mini in ■*

s*

~~ ni-im tTiriniir t u i r r r

*

9

**

9

^Gilkea

t o Tem ple, June 1 1 , 1 7 6 3 1 G renville? ]•■:■per;-, 1 1 ,5 0 -6 1 .

G e n t 8a

Pag * , x ; ; x m ( 1 7 6 3 ) , 3 1 2 . *124*

la te r * a f te r a leagt&y coaferexHi© w it h h i s l e g a l a d v i s e r s , W ilk es e x u l t e d t W I R e lie v e th a t I s h a l l e x p e r ie n c e a l l th e

douceurs ©f the law , w it h o u t e i t h e r t h e smart o r t h e delay of it* *

a s t o t h e p r i n t e r s 1 cases, he ad d ed , sf * . , t h e r e i s

bu t on© o p i n i o n respooting a l l t h o s e a c t i o n s * *5 The f i r s t c a u s e t o rea o h t h e b a r was t h a t of w illia m HuokelX, a Journeyman p r i n t e r employed by rry&en L each» H Uckell had been s e i s e d , and. d e t a in e d f o r some hours i n t h e m e s s e n g e r s r c u s t o d y , on A p r i l 2 9 , though in no way im­ p l i c a t e d In t h e p u b l i s h i n g o f do* 4 5 .

Hie c a s e came on b e­

f o r e C h ief J u s t i c e P r a t t a t t h e Court of Common P l e a s i n t h e G u i l d h a l l , J u l y 6; th e h e a r i n g began a t 9*00 a*a* and l a s t e d u n t i l e i g h t o ’ c l o c k t h a t e v e n in g *

The jure c o n s id ­

e r e d t h e e a s y bu t a few m in u te s b e f o r e i t

r e tu r n e d =■■ v e r d i c t

in H u c k e l l *s f a v o r and m t h i s aa sap eo a t fJOO ana c o s t s . Tlia weight of argument fell upon John Clynn and Charles Torko *

After witnesses had eat: all shod

facts in the case,

the basic

the Attorn©y-general opened P.. a defense

with an attack upon the lieontiousner>s of the _ o r t h and a panegyric on the

as P l t V

d

the whole,

s personal virtues.

solicitor wrote him,

nritor

It was,

15A very good sp e e c h u pon

if addressed to the lira. h i m s e l f , but n v ry

injudicious one to a jury of oitisens of Lend o x ; . T h e defense was well-planned nonetheless, 5 _ — T il Ike b t Q i'0-Hplti! j blurt 6 l o , 1 IO • I I , 62.

125

to ovoid bring!ng

ClJ'CtnVll. '

-----------------------------------------------------------

,

in t o q u estio n th e l e g a l i t y

o f th e g e n e r a l w a r r a n t i t s e l f *

Xorke h e l d t h a t t h e p l a i n t i f f ’ s p r o c e d u r e was t e c h n i c a l l y I n c o r r e c t : t h a t c o n s t a b l e s must b© sued t o g e t h e r w it h j u s t ­ ic e © o f t h e p e a c e , and a s no a c t i o n bad been b ro u g h t a g a i n ­ s t t h e S e c r e t a r i e s o f B t a t e , t h i s c a u s e c o u ld n o t he su p ­ p o r te d *

S e c o n d l y , t h e A tto r n e y and s o l i c i t o r - g e n e r a 1 m ain­

t a i n e d t h a t t h e r e had been s u f f i c i e n t p r o b a b l e u a a sc t o w a rr a n t th e ap p reh en sio n of th e p r in te r ,, antiquity

They ©t r e p sad t h e

of t h e p r a c t i c e and p o w e r s of t h e

i a e r n t - . r y 1s

o f f i c e , and d e f ended t h e ■;;• n r u ;goro a s a c t i n g u n d e r t h e i r law ful a u th o rity ,,

Ac a f i n a l s t e p t o p r o t e c t t h e 1 r s u p e r

i o r s , t h e Crown law o f f i c e r s r e q u e s t e d n s p e c i a l v e r d i c t w h i c h , I f g r a n t e d , w o u ld a l l o w a n o t h e r h e a r i n g hoi e r e a, f u l l Benoh* G lyn n f a argument & have n e t survived In dotal1 ; he seams to have appealed to the jury upon the grounds of the

h a rsh a n d arbitrary actions under v hi oh his client suffer©d.

I t was P r a t t who blasted the deforce go alt I nu by re ­

futing the Attorney-general *a ai guar nts*

Che first

point

was over-ruled when fratt hold that Cecrt-tnrieo end

..one-

an g ers were not j u s t i c e o of the peace and eo; stab'Us, and if they wore,

they had not

carried out the- instructions of

t h e w a rran t In a r r e s t i n g H u c k e li; hence they wore r*ot titled to the protect!or; of the warrant.

‘s to Luo grounds

upon which HuGkell was apprehended, they euan? gl only ireuff l e l ©nt t o f o TX& any clef once* P r a tt a t f i r s t favored

sp e c ia l v e rd ic t, d esirin g

f u r t h e r time jury

t o c o n s i d e r c e r t a i n points o f low, but the

m a i s t ed upon bringing in a general v wed l o t u n d e r his

d ire c tio n .

Fo l l o w i n g the chief

-J u s tic e * s l e n g t h y cnmwatlon

Webb banded York© a bill o f exceptions which was presentee

b e f o r e P r a t t instructed tlio j u r y t o find the d e f e n d a n t s guilty and to determine the a n r a g e B 0

Thin

stop,

though

q u i t e legal and assigned t o a l l o w fu r t h e r hearings f o r the

d e f e n s e , was a t best ill-considered*

p la in ­

Counsel f o r the

t i f f p ro m p tly urged the jury to find liberal ce.o-a.gee, as a r g u i n g the exceptions would probably cost ule c l i e n t £ 200, and it

was p a t e n t l y clear that the fro an had antic:! pa ted

P r a t t ’ s opinion.

As the Chief justice reaarkef

to

Y orke,

51TI f i n d you d o n ’ t c a r e t o t r u s t e i t h e r no o r t h e j e ry * * * The v c r c U c t wae w e l l r o s o l v e d #

A l l i e s a tte n d e d the

t r i a l and d e p a r t e d a m i n e t h e a r t y gYjootq; H o r t o n drew t h e w r n t b o f t h e court to his c h a r io t.

i l l .Tie t o b a r

a o t and was c l o s e d free;.; t h e

The dam ag es aw arded vac r e adni.lt t e d -

l y h i g h , n e i t h e r i n k e e p i n g w i t h t h e p l a i n t ' f f *i c a f f •. r i n g s or his statio n #

They r . f l e e 1n.d s e c u ; a t e l y , haven re

ice

o p i n i o n of t h e London c i t i a e n r y i;pon e v e r y a s p e c t o f th e case.

On J u l y 7 , t h e s c e n e was r e p e a t e d .

J a n e s Lindsay

r e c e i v e d £2 00 a n d c o s t s and t h e Crown a g r e e d t o r e c o g n i s e t h i s d e c is io n as d eterm in in g th e tw elv e a c tio n s s t i l l

be b o a r d .

to

Che C o u rt was u n d o u b te d ly d i © g r a n t j .cd a t th e

tu rn of e v en ts,

but t h e C i ty o v e rflo w e d a ia h j u y .

H ik e s

c o n g r a t u l a t e d Tom p i e o r “t h e g l o r i o u s v - . r d i c t s , " --id add® e d , " t h e C hief j u s t i c e i s a d o r e d , a rc

:..i j , / : : T ,.jiynr h a s

i n c r e a s e d a v e r y g r e a t s t o c k of re p u t a t i o n ." '

he von more

p r i n t e r s , he © b s e r r e d w e r e ce&ffi© rein s , m o ti o n s „v Sstrdwla&e f e l t * t h a t P r a t t h a d a l l o w e d t o : dom t o t h e J u r y , t e n d i n g t o make th em w ell as of f a s t , hm®

w h ich , i f i t

much f r e e ­

. J u d g e c of law as

ooyoc t o be e s t a b l i s h e d , w i l l

e x trao rd ln ary consequences.”

he a l s o f e l t , w i t h ’’many

c o o l - h e a d e d i m p a r t i a l p e r r o n s , 11 t h a t t h e damages '.‘o r e exc©gH3iv*e,7

i n S c o t l a n d I t was a t f i r s t b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e

d e c i s i o n h ad be on i n e f f e c t on a c q u i t t a l of v~o. '?3 , f r ie n d s urged the m in is try

to o c u r t o r a c t

b e f o r e i t be cone gonarn/.l, point out, t i m e

cases

a t e ?s

ouch r-r: o p i n i o n

I s C o v e r r u c n t one '- n ic k t o

condemned t h e a c t i o n

of 4:h

ooraony-

e r e i n a r r e s t i n g t h e pr* n t e r s ; t h e l o g ? 1* t y of t h e q; n e r a l w a r r a n t wan p u r p o s e f u l l y avoi doc o r e l r n o vary

.f foe. t e d by

them ,^ The gr l i t e r s 1 c a u s e r w ere t y no n o n r c co : p l - t th is point,

at

- I t ho ugh G-ovo m n e n t had a r - p a r -nt-ly conceded

d e f e a t , t h e b i l l o f e x c e p t i o n s s t i l l romef no*' ,

::. f Temple,

s t l e a s t , word©red w h e t h e r r:ow a c t i o n s s h o u l d n o t be ST

-

On t h e s e e a s e s s e a aerit *a fa g * ,XXXX I I (176*5)»33 9 5 Condon T a g a s l is q . X O I T ( 1 7 6 ? } 7 5 ^ T ' l r n u e l 'n.; 1 o r , ‘ ^ (l?o y) 7 ^ “ f n o H m i ~ E r t h s . i l t o .11 t t , J u X F T T l T b ^ r i i E afbs-m c orr-. , I I , 930 35* 9 l i k e s to T e m p le, J u l y 7 and O^lTo^u ir5, .Sir-cl t o Poyoton, J u ly 2 3* 17 63 ; H a r r i s , P a r d w io k e, 111 *369, 7 ™ "~ Hs.rdwicke t o ' ' i n u t i l e , J u l y 9 and 1 4 ,1 7 0 3 ; Yorfco, Par d w l o k a , 111,510-11. h u e a l s o The t r e n c h a n t m uark:" of f •. rinuor W illia m H t r a h a n i n h i s l e t t e r * t o Ben Jam in / r a n k l i n 9 August lb, 1 7 6 3 * 5 t r s . h r ji t h o u g h t Jamden was p a r t i a l l y t y r i l ad ncvay by M s own p o p u l a r i t y , and t h a t t h o enormous a aa, ..an ohov/ef t h e s t r o n g e s t ” c o r t e m p t of t h s Oov*..n:nort. ” f. „ 0 - e u f r t , {,oom.? f u r t h e r l e t t e r s o f . . i l l i a n J b r a h a n / 1 rcmnu. c r . o f 212 £^« S l o g . , L>: { 1 9 3 o } , 4 6 9 . ~~ ~ " J » 3 « r a e k e n * l e t o C*J«n k i n s o n , J u l y 1 5 . 1 7 9 3 : J c r n . x r o ^ enp|T 6 , pp,167-0, 168 n . l , c i t i n g t h e G a z e t t e e r o f July Xu. ■•I A O

undertaken. i n eonfcwnaity t o t h e s e e p s t h e At* o ra o y —g e n e r a l bad o u t l i n e d a s t e c h n i c a l l y c o r r e c t ,

The f a r ! f e l t anch

s t e p s would i n s u r e t h e p r i n t e r s , f o r * th e w h o le fund, o f t h e i r dam ages, i f s u c c e s s f u l , w i l l a b u n d an tly answer ©von a l l th e e x p a n s e s w h ich Webb can a c c u m u la t e .

A nother ob­

s e r v e r o f th e c o s t o f A d m in ! s t r a t i m * s e r r o r s , pored th e q u e s t io n * *,Ari& I a sk y o u , hov> l i k e you t he ^ r e s e n t tim es? w h eth er you had n o t r a t h e r be a I r i n t o r 1g “ e v i l , ■Uan a Secretary of s ta te ? The b i l l of e x c e p t i o n s wee n o t o r - c o e d *

A n o t i o n was

made i n Common f l e a s , h o w e v e r , t c s e t a a i d e t h e v e r d i c t s b e c a u s e of e x c e s s i v e damages *

The C o u r t g r r u t n

e r u le to

show c a u s e why new t r i a l s s h o u l d n o t bo g r a n t e d , b u t a f t e r c o u n s e l was h e a r d , t h e m o t i o n was c o t a s i d e ,

of or: rovem-

bo* 2 6 , 1 7 6 3 , ^he v e r d i c t s w er e c o r f I r u c c U ^

'h e ro r e m a i n ­

ed o n l y t h e payment of t h e d o a a g e o a r e t hi s woo: d e l a y eel a n ­ o t h e r s i x months*

On bo nday e v e n i n g , J u n e 00, was

p a i d £ 1 7 0 i t h e o t h e r s r e c e i v e d £120 o f t r i e d r £ 2 0 0 , e r e t h e i r a t t o r n e y f e e s veer • p a i d *

i t was no t e c t h a t " f r o c 1, in.- l o n g

d e l a y i n t h e p a y m e n t ; t h e i r a t t o r n e y J s o i l .Is, -...a : t h e r o g u e ­ ry o f come o f th e m , who a b s c o n d e d w i t h two of t h e i r " ho pmat e-s s h a r e s , t hay a r c so poo nod t o have r c c . i i o e d v e i y 10



Temple t o W ilk e s , d u ly 2 4 ,1 7 6 3 * G r e n v i l l e p a p e r s , I I , 7 8 - 9 . 11 ~~ — Thomas Gray t o Thomas Wharton, August ;5S1 7 6 3 ‘ ’v C .T o v e y , ed»»Tho l e t t e r s of Thomas Gray [ L o n d o n , l v C 4 ; , -• I I , lb* 12 G e n t1s cag*,A.XXxJi (1 7 6 3 )> 6 6 1 ; ...ci-clor;IddO3} 9oJl ; M n u a l R eg, , VI (1 7 5 3 ) 988»

l i t t l e b e n e f it* * * ** One o t h e r c a s e o f a s u p p o s e d p r i n t e r of do . 4 5 * a a y e t to be fo u g h t out*

Dry&en L e a c h , t h e m a s t e r o f o e v o r ­

a l o f t h e j o u r n e y m e n whoaa c a s e s w o k h & ;r-o iri J u l y 1763# was t h e f i r s t man s e i a e d u n d e r t h e g e n e r a l w a r r a n t *

do d i d

n o t c a r r y h i s c a u se a lo n g w i t h h i s journeyman, but supported a s e p a r a t e a c t i o n o f t r e s p a s s a g a i n s t t h e thi\-;e m e s s e n g e r s , Money, B a t s o n , and g l a c k m o r e who had e n t e r e d h i s h o u s e and se ise d h is b e lo n g in g s .

The c a s e ea-ne on a t the 0 u i i d h a l l

b e f o r e P r a t t a n a & s p e c i a l j u r y # t h e 10th day of f a c e t h e r . The d e f e n d a n t s p le a d e d n o t g u i l t y and s o u g h t t o j u s t i f y t h e i r a c t i o n u n d e r t h e o r d e r of t h e h e a r in g o f s e v e n h o u r s , £400 a n d c o s t s *

d e c r e t o r y of f t a t e .

-Tter a

t h e .jury found, f o r t In. p l a i n t i f f I n

A b i l l of e x c e p t i o n was prom ptly e n t e r e d on

t h e b a s i s o f t h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y a c t p r o t e c t i n g j u s t i c e s of t h e pe&oe and c o n s t a b l e s w h i l e a c t i n g i n o b e d i e n c e t o t h e i r w a r r a n t s . ^ "bendon &afi» , x x x n i (1 764) ,3 771 R o y a l Hag. , x ( 1764) , 3 3 2 ; Ann­ u a l Hog* »V11 ( 1 7 6 4 ) * 8 1 , w h e r e one i s s t a t e d to a - v e g o t t e n £175? and a l l t o pay t h e i r m m c o s t s * The c a s h payment was a b o u t 60,S o f t ii e j u r y aw a r d . 14 £4 0 e o . I I , 'dm a c t f o r r o n d e r i i ^ j u s t i c e s of t ho r a o o more s a f e i n e x e c u t i o n o f t h e i r o f f i c e , an d f o r i n d e m n i f y i n g co n­ s t a b l e s and. o t h e r s a c t i n g i n o b e d i e n c e bo t h e i r w a r r a n t s . '■ I t a p p ears t h a t s e v e r a l o t h e r p r i n t e r s were a l s o b r in g ­ in g c u l t a t t h e same t i m e — p e r haps she s e v e n no to d by f l l t e s e a r l i e r i n th e y e a r . " Im m ed iately a f t e r t h e v r d i o t was p r o ­ nounced t h e g e n t l e m e n c o n c e r n e d f o r the p l a i n t i f f s d e c l a r e d , 1t h a t . . . t h e y were w i l l i n g t o a c c e p t n om in al damages (which ca rry c o s t a o f s u i t ) In t h e n e x t f i v e oaus3B« * *' crown c o u n s e l r e a d i l y a c c e p t e d t h e o f f e r w hich was commended by t h e Court and a p p la u d ed by t b s a u d i e n c e , '’b i l l s of e x c e p t ion a , however, a r e b ro u g h t i n t h i s and n i n e t e e n o t h e r c a u s e s , d eterm in ed i n f a v o r o f the o r i r i t e r s . ?t Annual K e g ., V I ( 1 7 6 5 ) , 1 1 5 i Loydcm n a g . , XXXII (1 7 6 3 ) , 6 7 3 . The r e p o r t in G ent*s Tap, 3x;: >if T l 7 l? h 3 T ,o l5 has c o n f u s e d t h i s c a s e w ith ^ l i k e s v t f o o d , v;rich was heard a few day a e a r l i e r . The o t h e r p r i n t e r s are n o t named, .:Uid I have fo u n d no r e c o r d o f f u r t h e r a c t i o n in t h e i r c a u s e s .

-130*

A lth o u g h P r a t t * e d e c l a i m s had b een d e l i v e r e d In f o r c e f u l t e w # , th e i s s u e o f keaefc*® c a s e had b een torme&n toy t h e m in i s t * y * 3 5 Judgem ent w&a g i v e n f o r th e p l a i n t i f f on Juno 1 6 , 1 7 6 4 , and two o a y s l a t e r a rg u m en ts w ere heard or t h e w r i t o f e r r o r In t h e Court o f King* a Bench*

th e S o li c i t o r-g en era l* tlX -

16

11am Be «jrey*v argu ed t h a t t h e S e c r e t a r y was a J u s t i c e o f t h e peace e x o f f i c i o , and t h a t t h e c h a r a c t e r of t h e w arran t was s a n c t i o n e d by l o n g u s a g e ; c o n s e q u e n t l y th e m e ss e n g e r s w ere p r o t e c t e d by law *

John b u rm in g ,* ? r e p r e s e n t i n g th o

p l a i n t i f f , h e l d t h a t H a l i f a x was n o t a J u s t i c e , bo t h e raes s e n g e r s wore n o t p r o t e c t e d u n d er t b s term s of th e a c t *

for

d id h e h e s i t a t e t o go f u r t h e r * * , ,t f e e w a r r a n t i t s e l f i s i l l e g a l * I t i s a g a i n s t tho a u t h o i , p r i n t e r , and p u b l i s h e r o f t h e r.a-Dar, g e n e r a l l y , T lt li e u t nam­ i n g o r d e s c r i b i n g them; and n o t founded on any ch a rg e upon o a t h * , * * ¥ e J u s i l c e of p ea ce has power t o i s s u e su c h a w ai» r a n t* * * ,* * .* * U o r i s t h e r e any p r e t e n c e o f u sa g o t o support s u c h a c la im o f d o i n g i t a s seoretr-rjr o f s t a t e , f u r t h e r hack than t h e R e v o l u t i o n , In summarising, t h e c a s e J h i e f J u s t i c e h e ld Dunning*a argu m en t,

'anp.fi o ld up­

"Thla I s o n ly t h s u sa g e ox a p a r t ­

i c u l a r o f f i c e , and c o n t r a r y t o th o u s a g e o f a l l other- J u s t ­ i c e s and c o n s e r v a t o r s o f t h e peace**

*A iip a go ,'1 he d e c l a r ­

e d , * to grow I n t o l a w , ought t o be a g e n e r a l i i s a g e * , , /

1 be

m e sse n g e r s w ere t h e r e f o r e b o ld t o be -unprotected by th e ac»'. H a l i f a x t o H e s t o n , fecem boi fa r t I , 361,

1 1 ,1 7 6 3 * u ,--» 0 , 1 0 t h R ep ort,

W illia m I)e Grey ( 1 7 1 9 - 0 1 ) , b r r r i s i o r , A ttc r r .iiy -g ^ n o r r l 1 7 6 6 7 0 , d h l e f J u s t i c e of Com,on P l e a s 1 7 7 1 - BO, Gras ted aaron a l slngham* 17 John l a m i n g 3) s b a r r ir t e r , n o l i c i t e v»;,general 176e:7 0 , p r iv y c o u n c i l o r , c r e a t e d baron Ashburton X7RR, •. e x t to B lyim t h o m ost o u t n t n d in e pro a s la w y e r o f h lr t i I ll-

o f p a r l i a m e n t ; t h e o t t e r J u s t i© e « -- W iln io t,18 Y a t e s , ^

and

A sten ^ 0 —u p h e ld M an sfield *© o p i n i o n , and the e x c e p t i o n was n o t a llo w e d *

A r e - o p e n in g wa© begun by Yorke on ^ovem ter

S , l ? 6 5 , b u t h e c o n f e s s e d h im s e lf u n a b le to c a r r y t h e argu­ m en t, m &

Judgment was c o n fir m ed *

s u r p r is i n g In I t s e l f , upon l e g a l a c t io n *

T h is e t c p , n o t a l i t t l e

d em o n stra ted th e e f f e c t o f p o l i t i c s

C h a r le s Y o rk e, h a v in g begun t h e mes­

s e n g e r s * d e f e n s e a s A fc to m e y -g e n e r a l in 1?63» had r e s i g n ­ ed toward t h e end o f t h a t y e a r , b u t r e tu r n e d to h i s o f f i c e w ith M s f r i e n d s Rockingham and N e w c a s tle two y e a r s l a t e r * The Rockingham m i n i s t r y had f a r . l e s s rea so n t o pr. s s su c h a c t i o n s a s Loach*e t o th e l a s t d e f e n s e *

Yorke a o v is e d

Rockingham t h a t , i n h i s o p i n i o n , i t was c l e a r l y i m p o s s ib l e to. p r o t e c t t h e © e ssa n g e r e any f u r t h e r ,

n.»* * th e t r u e com­

p l a i n t o f a l l t h e s e v e r d i c t s i s t h e e x c e s s o f damagoe, which can n ot be s e t r i g h t ; and * * . i t i s i m p o s s i b l e t o a v o id th e paymeht o f t h e m * ,* * 0

He t h e r e f o r e u rg ed t h a t an end bo

made t o a l l o f t h e r e a c t i o n s ;

“Though t h e p in g may t h in k ,

a s t h e i m p a r t i a l w o r ld d o e s , th e a mages t o o g r o a t , y e t h i s s e r v a n t s must su b a.it to t h e c o u r se of law and J u s t i c e , ' 1 I t would appear t h a t Yorke*e r e q u e s t f o r a f r e e hand to s e t t l e t h i s m a t t e r m e g r a n te d * * ^ T5

---------------~-------~ S i r John Kara l e y M Lmot ( 1 7 0 9 - 9 2 ) ,b a r r i s t e r , p u isn e judge i n K in g ’ s Bench' 1 7 5 5 , 3 h i o f J u s t i c e o f Common i; l e a s 1 7 6 6 -7 1 « 19 S i r J o s e p h Y a t e s ( 1 7 2 2 - 7 0 ) , b a r r i s t e r , ju dge o f K in g ’ s dona-. 1 7 6 4 , rem oved to Court o f Common P le a s 1 7 7 0 , 20 S i r R ich ard Aston < d ,1 7 7 8 ) , b a r r i s t e r , Lord c h i e f j u s t i c e o f Common P l e a s , I r o l a n d l 7 6 l , k n ig h t ed an cl t r a n s f e r r e d t o K in g 's B e n c h ,rin glan d , 1 7 6 5 , c o m m is sio n e r o f t h e G reat ,'--cal 1770-71* 21 G.Y orke t o Rockingham, November 3 ,1 7 6 5 s n o o k l:t .0--:, o i r s , I , 2 4 6 -8 *

f i l e p r a c t i c a l e f f e c t o f t h e c a s e of Leach v . soney e f a l . was fc© end t h e u s e o f g e n e r a l w a rra n t b for- a r r e s t . I t s h o u ld be n o t e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t ^axisf’l e l d ’ s d e c l a r a t i o n s doaee-Xttlng %lm i l l e g a l i t y

o f t h e g e n e r a l w a n v n t appeared

o n ly i n a pro-Judgm ent d i c t u m , and t h e A t t o r n e y - gen o r a l

gave up M s case on a n o t h e r p o i n t ; c o n s e q u e n t l y g . r s e r a l warr a n t s fo r a r r e s t w ere n e v e r f o r m a l l y condemned,

m e u nan­

i m i t y o f t h e Court of X i n g ' s Bench and t h e w e ig h t o f Aansf i e l d ' s opinion was s u f f i c i e n t , n o n e t h e l e s s , to ha v e t h e e f f e c t o f a fo rm a l d e c l a r a t i o n * ^ A

s e c o n d s e t o f l e g a l c a s e s r i s i n g fror.i t h e p u b lic ­

a t i o n o f n o r t h B r ito n Ho, 4 5 , c o n c e r n e d th e a u t h o r s , p r i n t e r s and p u b l i s h e r s o f t h e M onitor* —

»nwiawm>-

The c l ro w u sta n ces under-

w h ich Beardmoro, is n t ic h , and t h e i r a s s o c i a t e s wore a r r e s t e d h as been n o t i c e d e a r l i e r *

The m i n i s t r y , h a v in g v. on i t s

p o i n t by s i l e n c i n g t h e M o n ito r , f a i l e d t o p r e s s a c t i o n s a g a i n s t th e men c o n c e r n e d , and t h e y w«ro d is c h a r g e d from t h e i r r e c o g n i s a n c e s , June 2 2 , 1 ? 6 3 , by th e Oourt of K in g 's Bench* ^

Ho doubt t h e r e c e n t d ev elo p m en ts in t t e j o u r t of

Common F l e a s i n f l u e n c e d Ooverniqont t o d em o n stra te the-1 r l e n ­ ien cy .

Beardmore and h i s f r i e n d s d id n o t share such an a t ­ titu d e ,

H aving ta k en p a r t In - l i k e s * e t r i a l , A r t m r Beardraor-

On t h e case o f Leach v* ^ o n ey , see s t a t e t r i a l - , a!X, 10031 02 8; W«8*Holdaworth, .A^ h i s t o r y o f ^n&Hsfi TcftTCHoetpn , 1 9 3 6 ) , X ,6 6 7 - 8 , 6 7 1 - 2 1 A,Thomaon, fh a S e c r e t a r i e s of s t a t e 1661l ? 8 g ( O x f o r d ,1 9 3 2 )» p p .1 2 3 - 4 : What s l y t o O r .j T v i l le , June 1 9 , l f o 5 s Q r & n v ille p a p e r s , I I I , 5 0 , 23 ' ! ’ •Annual .-e g . , y 1 ( 1 ? 6 3 ) , 6 2 , Gen t ' s ..;ag* , XXX f.I ( IT9 3 } , 312; Lon­

don

Bag. ,x m i (1763) ,333*

mm

t h e p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f c o m t e r - a c t i o n * ana a f t e r t h e s u c ­

c e s s e s o f t h e Journeymen p r i n t e r s in J u l y ,

o o t lo n s were be—

gun a g a i n s t Lord H a l i f a x and t h e K in g ’ s m e s s e n g e r s * ^

The

f i r s t ©f t h o s e cause© t o bo h e a r d was t h a t b ro u g h t by Beardmere In th e Court o f Common P l e a s , a g a i n s t

the m essen g ers

f o r e n t e r i n g h i s house and s e i s i n g h i s p a p e r s ,

Jhe A tto r n -

e y - g e n e r a l n o t e d t h a t an a c t i o n was a l s o p en d in g , in which t h e m m e p a r t i e s were c o n c e r n e d , f o r f a l s e im p rison m en t. He p rop osed t h a t t h e c a u s e s be u n i t e d ; b o t h th e plaintiff and C h ie f J u s t i c e P r a t t a g r e e d , and t r i a l was a p p o in te d f o r t h e 4 t h o f Pay *^ In due c o u r s e the new trial o ccu rred *

A f t e r a hear­

in g o f se v e n h o u r s , d u r in g w h ic h the arguments o f the Att o r n e y and S o l l c l t o r - g e n e i a l w ere matched by those of Glynn and S u n n in g , the Jury retired f o r f lf .t y mi nutoe m d

retu rn ­

ed w it h a v e r d i c t f o r the p l a i n t i f f with £1000 damages* To­ ward th e end o f hay, counsel w ere heard on ce more as the Crown law officers a ttem p ted t o Of e x c e s s i v e damages*

s e c u r e a new trial because

Arguments were extended throughout

two d a y s , and i n the course of the m otion Be&rdraoro offer­ ed to- f o r e g o t h i s v e r d i c t i f

H a l i f a x would consent t o the

c a u s e a g a i n s t himself coming to trial, rare would abide by. th e d e c i s i o n i n t h a t c a s e *

The clef end ant *s counsel had

3 *------- ----------------------------------D ated S ep tem b er 2 , 1 7 6 3 by Annual R eg* ,VX( 1 7 6 3 ),9 8 ;_ d a te d Septem ber 4 , 1763 by G@ntirc*1Jag.. ,XTXII1 (1 7 6 3 3 ,4 6 s * 25 Annual Hag* , V11. (1 7 6 4 ) , 7 3 —4; London ••.&&» saXa i s J H ogal a m .. X ( l T 6 4 ) , l m 2 .

no a u t h o r i t y t o a c c e p t s u c h a p r o p o s i t i o n , ana the? o r i g i n a l v e r d i c t l e t m a in ta in e d by t h e O o u r t«^ The S e c r e t a r y o f S ta te* © e f f o r t s to escapes p r o s e c u t ­ i o n ( s u c c e s s f u l i n w t I k e s ’ s c a s e ) by d e l a y i n g h i s ap p earan ce In c o u r t , s e r v e d o n ly to bind him more firmly In the tent­ a c l e s of t h e la w .

T?11 Ham M e r e d ith , Beardmore’ s c l e r k and

a p r o b a b le ' c o n t r i b u t o r t o t h e ^ o n l t o r , found M s a c t i o n a g ­ a i n s t H a lif a x put o f f f o r a lm o s t a y e a r .

His c o u n s e l t h e r e ­

f o r e moved th e Court o f Gommoj P l e a s , June 2 7 , 1 7 6 4 , t o i n ­ c r e a s e t h e is s u e © on t h e r e t u r n o f a w r i t o f d i s t r i n g a s a g ­ a in s t H a lifa x *

In v ie w o f t h e p r o t r a c t e d d e l a y cau sed by

t h e d e f e n d a n t , the Court o r d e r e d £500 I s s u e s on the a l i a s d i s t r i n g a s * By t h e end of t h e y e a r the secretary was a t the mercy o f the entire hop it o r s t a f f I s the meantime t h e m e s s e n g e r s had been once more successfully prosecuted,

Pi Ison and Fell,

the

d o okcellere

who p u b l i s h e d the M o n ito r , brought act!or- a g a i n s t three o f the messengers for t r e s p a s s i n g

seising

their papers.

Be&rdmor© h i m s e l f acted as t h e i r a t t o r n e y , and John tu n ­ n in g a s t h e i r c o u n s e l*

The i n q u i r y o f manage e was e x e c u t ­

ed b e f o r e Jr. B e n n e t t , secondary of a o o d - e t reet Compter, sS

"

11

' n: 1 ,'11*Tr'1 rn"" ” " 1u"I,rnl"ri,T™ '"

-

~ ~ ~

Annual Re^,., V II ( 1 7 6 4 ) , 7 3 - 4 1 London J a g . , XXXII I ( 17 6A) ,2 6 6 , 26Wrr'd S t T s^' -eg. , XXXIV ( 1 7 6 4 ) , The f l e a ! Learie,; i n t h i s casi"""apparently o c c u r r e d between Jay 23 m-di y 26. 27 I^ndon , XXXIII (1 7 6 4 ) ,277» I he w r i t of d i s t r i n g a s I s d e s ig n e d t o fore© t h e appearance- o f t h o d e f e n d a n t in cou rt by p l a c i n g h i s c h a t t e l s a t f o r f e i t In t h e amount rceiad i f be f a i l e d t o obey th e o r d e r t o o a p p e a r . oe tin: -jourt or-cered an a l i a s d i s t r i n g a s i.n the above e u s e , .it i n d i c a t e s t h a t one w r i t of d i s t r i n g a s had a lr e a d y been i s s u e d in .ercd.1tiif s b e h a lf, -

135 -

June 21* a t t h e G u i l d h a l l .

The J u r y , composed o f oris person

fro© e a c h c i t y ward, r e t i r e d f o r a b o u t h a l f an hour b e f o r e r e t u r n i n g £6 0 0 damages f o r v l l c o n and f o i l * 28 John Rnblck n e x t b ro u g h t s u i t a g a i n s t C arrin gton f o r t h e e e l s u r e o f h i s p a p ers a s the su p p o s e s a u th o r of t h e M on itor.

Eh t i c k v* C a r r in g to n was heard J u l y 2 0 , 17 6 4 , a t

W estm in ster h a l l b e f o r e C h ie f J u s t i c e P r a t t and a s p e c i a l Jury* h ours.

C ou n sel and w i t n e s s e s were h eard f o r n e a r l y f o u r The e r s t - w h i l e p r i n t e r of tas M o n i t o r , Jonathan S c o t t ,

was t h e s t a r w i t n e s s f o r th e -Hrown but co u ld n o t sway the Jury*

The d e f e n s e

p l e a was, a s u s u a l , a c t i o n under the Sec­

r e t a r y o f S t a t e 1g w a r r a n t , and It was n o more s u c c e s s f u l th an b e f o r e .

A f t e r an h o u r , t h e Jury found fo r the p l a i n ­

t i f f , n o t t h e £2000 damages he a s k e d , bu t £300 and c o s t s *

The a c t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e Marl of H a l if a x e a se on in t h e second week o f December.

Beard©ore *c cau se was a rg ued

f o r e i g h t hou rs b e f o r e C h ie f J u s t i c e P r a t t , and. a f t e r f o r t y f i v e m in u te s t h e j u r y r e t u r n e d a v e r d i c t f o r c e a rd a o ro w ith

£1500 dam ages.

T h is sum I n c l u d e d t h e zXOOO p r e v i o u s l y award­

ed i n t h e c a s e o f t h e m e sse n g e rs*

The n e x t day t h e a c t io n s

of 62ntiok, T e l l , W ils o n , end herodifch a g a i n s t th e s e c r e t a r y were h e a rd by f o u r d i f f e r e n t j u r i e s who found dauaece of £20,

£10, £.40* and £200 f o r t h e r e o y o c t i v c pi? in t i f f ® .

*e i n

3 8 --------------------------- ~ ~ London Mag* ,XX£1 11 {1764) »326 ; G-ente r- . n r , , /XRJV (1761) ,5 0 1 5 Annual V I I (1 7 6 4 ) , E l i Royal R a g . , x ( 1 7 6 4 ),3 3 1 . —

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London Mag* ,X X X Iil (1 7 6 4 ) ,3 7 S ; hunt *a / e g . , hx.. mn»i nr i n in

r nr

■|iw »w »b^»i||iM|,™,»iiW

a g a in st me th a n t h e b u elsaes I m now u p on , but w h i l e t h in g s s ta n d In t h e i r p r e s e n t t i c k l i s h s i t u a t i o n i t I s Im p o s s ib le t o avoid i t . 11

He sh o u ld ad o p t a m oderate t o n e , he added,

h u t t o do p u rp o se a s any a c t i o n would he a c r i m e in th e e y e s o f th e oth& r s i d e .

He wished he had f o llo w e d Hew c a s t l e g u l

o f o f f i c e , and in m, a d m ir a b le passage w h i c h t h r o w s much

lig h t upon h i a l a t e r c a r e e r , c o n c lu d e d : "From th e t i m e one engages on© draw© c l o s e r and c l o s e r , u n t il one h a s so fa r engaged t h a t one ca n n o t In honour d e c l i n e t a k i n g a p a r t in a th o u sa n d a f f a i r s w h e r e in one would ch o o se t o be q u io t * * ^ W h ile th e c h i e f s f o r m e d t h e i r s c hem es, t h e c la n s l i t ­

e r a lly g a t h e r e d .

Governments p la n s w e r e k e p t s e c r e t from

th© o p p o s it io n d e sp ite t h e a p p a r e n t w id esp r ea d kn owledge of com ing e v e n t s among t h e f i d en d s o f t h e Court*

G r e n v ille and

th e tw o S e c r e t a r i e s in fo rm ed S tu a r t M ac k e n z ie o f t h e i r p la n s in O c to b e r , and h© im m e d ia te ly s e t o u t t o whip u p th e a tte n d ­ an ce o f th e S c o tc h m embers.

111 hope t o God no one Somber

o f th e n o r t h o f t h e Tweed ( e x c e p t th e scabby s h e e p ) w i l l be

absent at- the o p e n in g o f th e s e s s io n ,•••*

he a d v ise d a

f r i e n d , and a t t h e same tim e warned him to "say n o t h in g , f o r

God* s s a k e , but in c o n f id e n c e , and t o e x c i t e any ba ck war d member t o a t t e n d , o f what I h a v e t o ld you abou t o u r in te n d ­

ed p roceed in g© a t t h e o p en in g o f th e S ession#1*^® £raong th e 21

~ — —— a o r th t o G u ilf o r d , Pov ember 8 ,1 7 6 3 s Lord N orth , *Lord N orth , th e prim e m in i s t e r : a p e r s o n a l m em oir,* N orth American R eview , GLXXVI (19035 *783? R .J .L u c a s , Lord. N o r th ( L o n d o n Il9 lT )T l,32» 22 M ackenzie t o Baron & u re,O ctob er 3 0 ,1 7 6 3 ? a a lc w e ll p a p e r s , P art I I , V o l .i , 1 9 7 .

-1 3 2 '

S o o t s t h e a n t i c i p a t e d c r u s h in g o f Jo h n H ilk e e woe an a f f a i r o f n a t i o n a l h o n o r , and men U k o G i l b e r t ' l l i o t lo o k e d f o r ­ ward e x p e c t a n t ly t o *©oia« p r e t t y i n t e r e s t i n g P'X P a r lia m e n t sh o u ld c o n v e n e , ^

p o in ts * when

On t h e 1 5 t h o f Hov ember* t h e two 'louses met*

it

be­

came Im m ed ia te ly a p p a r en t t h a t l * a f f a l r o h i 1hog was fo rem o st i n th e m inds o f a l l p a r t ie s *

G r e n v i l l e and v.'ilkee c la s h e d

in t h e o p e n in g moments of the s e s s i o n , the f i r s t a c q u a in t­

in g t h e House t h a t he had a

message

t e r r a is in g a p o in t of p r iv ile g e *

fro m t h e JCing, the l a t ­ As i t was custom ary to

b e g in t h e s e s s i o n by r e a d in g a b i l l , b o t h sides tried to s e c u r e p r i o r i t y by m aking amendments to the motion for the

b ill*

The m in is t r y c a r r i e d t h e i r p o i n t by a d i v i s i o n of

3 0 0 1 1 1 , and G r e n v i l l e presented t h e royal message.

He i n ­

form ed th© House t h a t John Hi I k e s was t h e a u t h o r c f a most s e d i t i o u s and d a n g ero u s l i b e l , that ho had been a T re a te d and d is c h a r g e d by t h e C o u rt o f Common f l e a s on hi b p r i v i ­

le g e a s a member, and had s i n c e r e f u s e d t o a p p e a r i n ans­ wer to charges l a i d a g a in s t him in Bench*

the Court of king's

He t h e r e f o r e l a i d t h e c a s e before t h e Mouse for

i t s c o n sid e ra tio n .

True to i t s m a s t e r , t h e House voted

i t s th a n k s t o H is Majesty* o n , 150, 4 5 , was 11a f a l s e ,

North now

s c a n d a l o u s , and s e d i t i o u s l i b e l , ”

In t h e d e b a t e t h a t f o l l o w e d , ersh ip f o r t h e o p p o s i t i o n

moved that North frit-

iitt

t o o k t h e hu rden of l e a d ­

upon his own shoulders, readily

d i f f e r i n g w i t h M ilk es h i m s e l f , and opposed most strongly 2? “ ~ ! E l l i o t t o S u r e , O atob er 2 8 ,1 7 6 3 s 0»l >t*>. —f !*■' - 7 ; iire*;Aontagu t o K r»;lontagu, cc* J a n u a ry i 5 J ' 17o4T niT urit, x.re« 'o n ta g u , 1 ,8 7 86; G r e n v ille * s D ia r y , and t h e K ing t o G r e n v i l l e , January 20, 1764s Grenv 111 e p ap ort , 1 1 , 4 8 4 ,2551 W inat& nley, l e r s o f .a l an governme n t T pp 1X 96-7 *

W

8 i r W illia m F e rQ d ith {d * 1 7 9 0 )K oi i# f o r L iv e r p o o l 1 7 6 1 -8 0 , from tory t e n d e n o t e s he v e e r e d tow ard Rockingham , a d m ira lty lord 1 7 6 5 , p r iv y c o u n c i l l o r 1 7 7 4 - 7 , g e n e r a lly in d ep en d en t and a s u p p o r te r o f v a r io u s reform s* 41 N e w c a s tle t o C um berland, F eb ru ary 1 2 ,1 7 6 4 s Y orke, Hardwieke 1 1 1 ,5 6 2 * 42 Walpole t o H e r tfo r d , F ebruary 6 ,1 7 6 4 ; x & lp o le , h o tto r e fT o y n b e e ), V , 4 5 0 -5 1 *

Hond&y, F eb ru a ry 1 3 , e v id e n c e was heard a g a i n s t wood and Webb f o r t h e i r p r o c e e d in g s a g a i n s t H i k e s .

About m id n ig h t,

G r e n v i l l e o f f e r e d a m o tio n t o a d jo u r n , b u t upon r l t t * e c h a l ­ le n g e t h a t members sh o u ld n e i t h e r e a t n o r s l e e p u n t i l t h e g r o a t p o in t had b een d e c id e d , 379 member© v o te d t o c o n tin u e d e b a t e , a g a in s t 31 f u r adjournm ent*

* * ,* a n d t h e n , 11 F a lp o le

commented d r i l y , "— h a l f t h e House w ent

a w a y

**^3

The n e x t d a y , F ebruary 1 4 , th e c o l l e c t i o n

was resu m ed .

o f e v id e n c e

C a r r in g to n , t h e s e n io r m e ss e n g e r , u nderw ent

seven h o u rs o f q u e s t i o n i n g , **.. .p le a s o d w ith r e c o u n t in g h is a c h ie v e m e n ts , y e t p e r f e c t l y guarded and b e t r a y in g n o th in g * " I t was n o t u n t i l one o * c lo c k t h a t M ered ith r o s e t o o f f e r h is m otion "That a g e n e r a l w a rra n t f o r ap p reh en d in g and s e i s i n g th e a u t h o r s » p r i n t e r s , mid p u b lis h e r s o f a s e d i t i o u s l i b e l , t o g e t h e r w ith t h e i r p a p e r s , l a n o t w a rra n ted by law*" M in is t e r s fou n d th e m s e lv e s on th e d e f e n s i v e ! w is h in g t o

c le a r Wood and webto o f t h e c h a r g e s b rough t a g a in s t them , G r e n v ille d e f e a t e d an amendment on a m otion to ad jou rn by a s c a n t 207 t o 1 9 7 .

I t was a q u a r te r a f t e r fo u r when t h i s

d i v i s i o n to o k p l a c e , b u t more was y e t t o come*

" O r e st-

f a l l e n , t h e m i n i s t e r s th e n p ro p o sed sim p ly to d is c h a r g e th© c o m p la in t; but th e plum es w h ich th e y had d ro p p ed , H i t soon p la c e d in h i s b e a v e r .

Me broke o u t on l i b e r t y * . * * "

P i t t sp ok e t w i c e , a t g r e a t le n g t h and w ith ouch e f f e c t th a t G r e n v ille knew he m ust d efen d h im s e lf o r a c c e p t d e f e a t . W alp ole t o H e r tfo r d , F ebruary 1 5 ,1 7 6 4 ; I b i d . , V I » 1 -2*

-163*

Tb© mln l i s t e r sp o k e "vary f i n e l y , v e r y p a t h e t i o a l l y , v e r y anim ated*"

A© G r e n v i l l e c o n f e s s e d t o th e K in g, n e i t h e r

T l t t *b s p e e c h o r h i s own r e p ly " .. .w a s c o n f in e d to t h e q u e s t ­ i o n , h u t w ent upon th e g e n e r a l m easu res a n d s t a t e o f t h e Gov­ ernm ent*"

At s e v e n o , e lo c k t h e o p p o s it io n a g a in c a l l e d f o r

ad journm en t, b u t f a i l i n g t o c a r r y t h e i r m o tio n , 184 t o 208, th e y w ith d r e w , l e a v i n g " . . . t h e m in i s t e r s t o s a t i s f y wood, Webb, and th e m s e lv e s a s w e l l a s th e y co u ld * "

,H M n t h i r t y

minute© t h e c o m p la in ts a g a i n s t th e g o v ern m en t’ s a g e n t s were d ie c h a r g e d .44 The m a jo r ity o f t e n w h ich G r e n v i l l e ' had m a in ta in e d ©» Tuesday n i g h t seemed p o r te n to u s o f t h i n g s t o com e, th en he r e p o r te d t o th e K ing on W ednesday, lie found George "angry h u t n o t alarm ed**

The King was aware t h a t " t h e o p p o s it io n

m ig h t.* .c a r r y t h e q u e s t io n upon t h e w a r r a n ts on F r id a y . . . but th a t would make no ch an ge in him In r e g a r d t o t h i s p r e s e n t A d m in is tr a tio n , w h ich he meant t o su p p o r t to t h e u t m o s t . . . . * H is M a je s ty ’ s " fir m n e ss and. s t e a d i n e s s " p r o b a b l y w eigh ed more w ith G r e n v ille than S an d w ich ’ s l i g h t op tim ism ; o t h e r member© o f th e C ourt p a r t y w e r e l e s s c e r t a in of v i c t o r y . ^ T h e ir a n ta g o n is t® w ere j u b i l a n t .

W alpole sw o re t h a t h e r e ­

a f t e r , m in i s t e r s " . . . m a y p ic k p o c k e t s , b u t t h e y w i l l p ick T a y l«h i e t » .XV.1 3 9 4 - 1 4 0 0 i J .f l.C ..X X IX ,6 3 8 - 9 , S 4 ? -3 ;H a lp o le t o H e r tfo r d , Eeb ru a ry 1 5 » 1 7 5?T~T e t t o re (Te>ynbe e } , V1 , 3 - 6 5 G r e n v ille t o t h e K in g , F eb ru a ry 1 5 ,1 7 5 4 » and G r e n v i l l e ’ s D ia ry t G r e n v i l l e p a p e r s , IX , 2 6 1 - 4 , 4 9 0 - 9 1 . 45 G r e n v i l l e ’ s D iary* G r e n v ille p a p e r s , 1 1 ,4 9 1 ; s e e a l s o R. G lo v e r ,M .P ., t o O r en v ir T e T T e b r u a r y 1 6 ,1 7 6 4 ; I b id .,I X ,2 6 5 .

—164-

no mere l e e k s * * and tem ple had fa g g o ts gathered f o r two

g ia n t b o n fires to c e leb ra te the forthcom ing ev en t,

Both

s id e s r e c r u it eel t h e ir stren g th fo r t h e c r u c i a l d iv is io n , c a llin g up the sic k and a f f l i c t e d so th a t when F r id a y r o l l ­ ed around, t h e f lo d r o f t h e House, in F&Xpole ’ s fam ous w o rd s, looked *Xike the pool of Bethosda* A f t e r t h e h ig h h o p es and f e a r s r a i s e d by th e d e b a te s o f F eb ru ary 1 3 - 1 4 , t h o s e o f t h e 1 7 t h - 1 8 t h seem ed a lm o st an t i c l l m a e t i c ; G r e n v i l l e in fo r m e d t h e r i n g t h a t " «* » th e d e b a te In g e n e r a l was b u t an i n d i f f e r e n t o n e ,*

The f i r s t - few hours

w ere sp e n t m a n eu v erin g f o r p o s i t i o n , and M ered ith * s m otion was amended in su c h a manner a s t o j u s t i f y t h e a c t i o n o f m in i s t e r s In W ilk e s 's o a e e * ^

t h i s s t e p was an o b v io u s e f ­

f o r t t o s e c u r e t h e good w i l l o f C h a r le s Y ork e, and was ach la v e d n o t w ith o u t some p e t t y b u t o f f e n s i v e a l t e r c a t i o n s b e ­ tw een t h e fo rm er A t t o r n e y - g e n e r a l and P i t t ,

The G r o a t Com­

moner d id n o t r i s e t o h i s f u l l s t a t u r e d u r in g t h i s d e b a te , but d e s p i t e i l l n e s s , e x h a u s t io n and in t e r ; ain a b l e , d u l l s p e e c h e s , was s t i l l a b le t o brand t h e m i n i s t e r s an d t h e i r f o ll o w e r s a s * , , , t h ©

d is g r a c e o f th e p r e s e n t a g e , arid th e

r e p r o a c h o f p o s t e r i t y ; w ho, a f t e r s a c r i f i c i n g t h e i r own M

-

Walpole to H e r t f o r d , F eb ru ary 17C 18?3,1 7 6 4 j L e tte r s {Toyn b e e ) ,v i,I l* S ee a ls o James west t o N ew castle, Friday n ig h ic F e b r u a r y 1 ? ,1 7 6 4 3 ,9 * 3 0 n.nu s Y orks B a r d w i c k e , i l l ,363*

4?

~-------“ To th e o r ig in a l motion w,Thafc a g e n e r a l warrants * . I s not warranted by law* was a d d ed , wa l t hough s u c h w a r r a n t h a t h been issu ed according t o t h e u sa g e o f o f f i c e ; and b oth hav been freq u en tly produced t o , a n d , s o f a r as a p p ea rs t o t h i n House, the v a l i d i t y t h e r e o f hath n e v e r been d eb a ted 'n the Qourb o f king* s Bench; but t h e p a rties th ereu p o n have been freq u en tly b a ile d by t h e s a id Court**

165-

p r i v i l e g e s , h a d abandoned t h e l i b e r t y o f t h e s u b j e c t . . . * * The m i n i s t e r i a l d e f e n c e l i n e e r e c t e d 9 d ir F le t c h e r H orton r o s e t o mova an adjournm ent of t h e Q u e s t i o n f o r f o u r m onths*

B r a z e n l y r e c o g n iz in g th e p o s s i b i l i t y

o f a o f o a t and

th e a d o p tio n o f M e r e d ith ’ s m o t i o n , f o r t on d e c la r e d th?.t i n su ch a c o n tin g e n c y tth e s h o u l d

r eg a rd a r e s o l u t i o n o f t h e

members o f t h e H ouse o f Common & , n o more t h a n t h e o a th s o f s o many drunken p o r t e r s in C onvent G arden•*

For t h e p r i n c i ­

p a l law o f f i c e r o f th e Crown t o make su o li a s t a t e m e n t

{ le g ­

a l l y sound th o u g h i t m ig h t h e ) , was a c h a l l e n g e w h i c h th e o p p o s it io n c o u ld n o t t r e a t o ven w i t h c o n t e m p t #

The h e a r te

o f man who had f o ll o w e d N e w c a s t l e i n t o t h e w ild e r n e s s s w e l­ l e d w ith jo y and p r id e as C h a rles lo r k e an ewer od h i s fo rm­ e r c o lle a g u e * in t h e m ost m a s t e r ly manner p o s s i b l e * ” d i f f e r e n c e s w ere now f o r g o t t e n , a l l j e a l o u s i e s

ill

a s id e #

When X orke s a t down t h e House ech oed h i s p r a is e *

"N othing

e v e r met w it h su c h a p p la u s e # * * # ” was th e v o r d io t of Fewc a s t l e ’ s In form an t* a ll* ,

God be p r a is e d *

P i t t i s In l o v e w ith him and

bo

a re wo

I t h in k now we s h a l l , an hr* P itt,

s a id , c r u s h ou r d o m e s t ic en em ies a s we have our f o r e ig n ones#*1 C h a r le s Townshand a l s o won some o r a t o r i c a l l a u r e l s , bu t when P i t t r o s e a t t h r e e o ’ c l o c k , he was e x h a u s t e d , "vexy f a i n t and l a n g u i d , 1* and sp o k e p o o r ly * r e p ly sh o n e i n c o n t r a s t *

G r e n v l l l e *e

At f i v e o ’ c l o c k , February 13, th.

House d iv id e d an t h e q u e s t io n of adjournm ent * numbered 2 2 0 , b u t 234 members v o t e d t o

r he m in o r ity

ourn th e d e b a t e *

O p p o sitio n was d e f e a t e d , but n o t b ro k en > i t s

leaders retain ed

s u f f i c i e n t p r id e - - a n d power— t o r e j e c t a m i n i s t e r i a l o f f e r t o d e c l a r e g e n e r a l w a r r a n ts I l l e g a l , w it h c o n d itio n ® a t t a c h ­ ed*

A t t h i r t y m in u te s p a s t s e v e n , S atu rd ay m o rn in g , G eorge

S r e n v i l l e s e a t e d h im s e lf in 'Downing S t r e e t t o in fo r m H is M a jesty t h a t 0 o v e m in e n t s t o o d fir m *

hp,

The c r i t i c a l i s s u e o f g e n e r a l warrant® t r i e d t h e s p i r i t o f b o th p a r t i e s *

The s u c c e s s f u l e f f o r t ®

of Government and

O p p o sitio n t o r a i s e t h e i r num bers I n d ic a t e d a® a c c u r a te xy a s p o s s i b l e t h e i r r e l a t i v e s t r e n g t h , and an a n a l^ s ie o f th e d lv i d l o n in d ic a te ® a t l e a s t t h e l o c a t i o n of p u b lic o p in io n on t h e i s s u e *

The M in o r ity drew i t s

su p p o rt x'ren, th e co u n t­

i e s and la r g e urban c o n s t i t u e n c i e s whoso member® v o t e d de­ c i s i v e l y a g a i n s t G overnm ent*

The s m a lle r borough member©

fa v o r e d t h e m i n i s t r y , b u t i t wao th e d e l s fa and S c o t t i s h ffi@ffibere who sa v e d t h e day f o r G r e n v ille *

Tho e ig h t e e n t h

c e n tu r y e l e c t o r a l s y ste m a s s u r e d Governm ent o f a p ow erfu l i n f l u e n c e i n S c o t la n d , but in

t h i s d i v i s i o n i n w h ich R ilk e s

f ig u r e d so p ro m in e n tly ( i f i n d i r e c t l y } , a s t r o n g e r in f lu e n c e ,XXIX»645; P a r i *h i a t * ,XY,1 4 0 0 -1 4 1 3 ; Plmcs:, in c a d e te s $ f t'fae ''l i f e o f m t , I l , x 5 T f a l p o l e , L e t t e r s , V I , 9 - l i » James'* West t o $ ew cas11 e 3 : 3 0 F r id a y n ig h t tP ehrxm iy 17,1764-3* and George Onslow t o f t e w o a s t le , F eb ru ary 1 7 ,1 7 6 4 s Yorke aHardwi e k e , XII * 5 6 3 -4 : Aim o n , h a t e 4 In o r t t y , p p. 27 0 - 0 3 j P a a ie r , g tr u o tu r e of p o l l t i c a . ppT ifi?-7T P r o f .T a m lo r ha® made a d e ­ t a i l e d ’ "sfTudy o F ^ tS eT T ivi s io n On g e n e r a l w arran tb ana su r v ey s th e s o u r c e s f o r t h e d i v i s i o n f i g u r e s w ith g r e a t c a r e . The J o u r n a ls o f th e House o f Commonn, and moot older- h is to r ia n ® © its t h e fT g u r e s 2 3 2 - 2lB« " I t "sh o u ld be n o te d th a t G r e n v ille h im s e lf f i r s t u se d t h e s e f i g u r e s , but l a t e r odd d two v o te s * The l i s t o f th e m in o r ity in t h e L ate iS ln o r lty (wi th th e name o f W .Pluaar rem oved) a p p ea rs t o he c o r r e c t . ' ami or su;/s t h a t t h e d i v i s i o n to o k p la c e a t 4s 15 a .m . T it h a l l due re s.,-act, I ca n n o t a c c e p t h ia s ta te m e n t o f th e hour a® I have found n© s u b s t a n t i a t i n g e v i d e n c e , I presume i t o x l o t s , bat o i l I n d i c a t i o n s i n th e m a t e r ia ls u se d f o r t i d e s tu d y arc th a t th e d i v i s i o n t o o k p la c e a t 5 : 0 0 a .m . o r p erh ap s w u n a few m in u tes l a t e r . -

167-

The Soot® vo ted , a g a i n s t R i l k e s , r a t h e r th an

was a t work*

in su p p o r t o f G overnm ent, and

, i t vjhb n o t bo much th e

c o n d it io n o f th e k n g lls h f r a n c h i s e w hich d e f e a t e d th e Op­ p o s i t i o n on t h i s o c c a s io n a s th e r a c i a l c o n f l i c t cotw een t h e tw o k in gd om s#11^

A n oth er e x p l a n a t i o n of t h e i r d e f e a t

was o f f e r e d by th e m in o r it y l e a d e r s , h o w e v e r , Townshend, u'pon e n t e r i n g , t h e n ou se r a i d s h o u l d be in th e m a jo r it y t h a t n i g h t *

th arlce

t o H i t t t h a t th e y Ho l a t o r q u a l i f i e d

h im s e lf by s a y in g * * „ *he was c o n f i d e n t t h e y w ent i n t o t h e House a m a j o r it y ; but t h a t i H ila ries 3 L l o y d , who tar: t h e M in ister* © p r i v a t e p o c k e t b o o k , made c o n v e r t s b e f o r e t h e d i v i s i o n * 51"5^

I t s e s ^ s u n f a i r t o s u g g e s t any e x p l a n a t i o n

o f th e d iv is io n

o f F eb ru ary 1 8 , h o w ev er, w i t h o u t r.-.co g n is­

in g t h e r o le p i ay 06 by G r e n v ille *

The min i.? :to r was Pin own

o r g a n is e r o f v i c t o r y , a s t h e King d u l l y r o c o g n i z e d t h e n he prom ised G r e n v i l l e h i s p o r t r a i t ,

«1 R2 -8 7 * —



C h a rles H o y d (1 7 3 5 -7 3 ) » G r e n v ille * b p r i v a t e s e c r e t o r y , h l s b r o th e r t u t o r e d G r e n v i l l e * s s o n s and H h a r l o s r e c e i v e d p l a c e i s 1 7 6 1 ; rem oved by Rockingham in 1 7 6 5 » be b o c ^ a o d e p u t y t e l l e r o f t h e e x c h e q u e r i n 17675 a d i s t i n g u i s h e d p a m p h l e t e e r * The s t o r y ab ove r e l a t e d by Alai o n , a k © o d o te s o f P i t t , I I ,1 6 (mi n u m b e r e d , 8 ) , i e o f a k i n d w i t h t h e mure ILaoua o f f i c e a c t up by f o x an d P a r t i n t o buy t h e j v o c e o f P u r l s s u n s u b r t a n 1 1at©d and u n s u b s t a n t i a o i e* 51 G r e n v ille * s L ia ry £sab «P eP iu orv 2 6 ,1 7 6 4 )3 d r v ir v ilio pap ers 1 1 ,4 9 3 *

F eb ru ary 18 and 20, the Crown c o u n s e l? w it h Lord g a n s f l e l d ' a t a i l s t a n f i s , s e c u r e d an a l t e r a t i o n In th e reco rd o f M Ik e s *s c a s e , a ch an ge o f a t e c h n i c a l n a tu r e and of d o u b tf u l sign-* I f l o a n e e , th o u g h M ik e s web l a t e r to noire an oh o f i t *

An

a tte m p t was made to - pack th e ju ry by sr-n d ing out f a l s e n o t lo d e o f a d jo u r n m en t, and th e t r i a l came on t h e 2 1 s t o f th e month*

I h e b e e t e f f o r t s o f Glynn and r u n n in g p r e v a ile d n o t

a t a l l w ith y a n e f i o l d and th e Court o f M a g ’ s bench,

Per­

haps more e f f e c t i v e were t h e M nfX anm otory papers** w hich A t to r n e y - g e n e r a l N orton o b s e r v e d .had b een c i r c u l a t e d among th e ju r y * ^ 2

The C h ie f J u s t i c e condemned th e & ction (a s have

la w y e r s e v e r s i n c e ) and o f f e r e d t o p u n ish th e o f f e n d e r s i f th e y c o u ld pe found*

The forem an o f th e ju ry ^.oknowl edged

r e c e i v i n g p r o - M ik e s m a t e r i a l , b u t th e drown eeunreX M hopes were d e f l a t e d when a n o th e r juryman pro duo ad an e q u a lly i n ­ flam m atory paper s u p p o r tin g t h e p r o s e c u tio n *

i t i s p r e t ty

e v id e n t t h a t M i k e s *a s o l i c i t o r was b r ib e d t o c o o p e r a te w ith th e (loverniiierit1 s la w y e r s , and a v e r d i c t was fa u n a ag­ a i n s t th e d e fe n d a n t w ith l i t t l e

difficulty*

-''Glm M Ik os

was d e c la r e d g u i l t y o f r e p u b lis h in g b e r th B r lt o n * n o . 4 5 , and o f p u b lis h in g th e i s e a y on

-omim, b oth l i b e l s , and

s e n te n c e was o r d e r e d t o be g iv e n t h e f i r o t day o f n e x t term . $2

P o s t g a t e , That p e v i l M i k e s , P. 97? s a y s t h a t Luc a s - - c l e r k t o W ilk e s ’ s la w y e r Tlii 11 p p s— d is t r ib u t e d , ooMeo of tno r e ­ p o r t o f th e t r i a l of John P e te r L on ger, o f b’aw Y ork, t o th e j u r y , T h ere i s no q u e s t io n t h a t tins pr--se was usod to i n ­ f lu e n c e t h e outcom e o f t h e t r i a l ? but i t apoeo.ro h ig h ly d ou b t­ f u l i f a 2 e a g e r pam ph let was th e in str u m e n t used* m e nose r e s e n t r e p r i n t s w ere d a te d 17 5 9 and 1756? and I q u e s t io n w h eth er e i t h e r w o u ld h a ve been a v a i l a b l e in any q u a n tit y in 1764* John Aimon r e p r in t e d t h e pam phlet in 1765? but t h a t o b v io u s ly was n o t u se d in M ik e s ’ s b e h a lf*

46 he refu sed to appear to re ce iv e se n ten ce ,

. l i k e s was,

a f t e r the customary procedure, declared an out lav/, ond a l l le g a l a c tio n s in which he had a port were o n e ponded* ^ The te m p t a tio n t o r e - p r i n t th e Fo r t h g r i t on in v o lv e d two o t h e r p u b l i s h e r s in th e t o i l s

o f t h e lo w ,

w hose p u b lic a tio n © i n 1763* c l o s e l y f o llo w e d

John J l l l i a u e , (if

th ey d id

n o t p i r a t e ) t h o s e o f h i Ikes'* © p r e s s , p u b lis h e d a t h r e e volum e e d i t i o n o f th e N orth B r it o n , c o m p le te w it h th e l i b e l ­

lou s f i n a l i s s u e d u r in g t h a t summer*

G eorge h e a r c le y mas

th e o r i g i n a l p u b l i s h e r o f ho» 4 5 f m C e q u a lly s u b j e c t t o

le g a l a c t i o n ,

R ich a rd B & lfe , th e p r in te r - of e l i t e s *s pajser

esc a p ed p r o s e c u tio n *

The m in is t r y w atched B a if e c l o s e l y and

h a v in g *, ***no r e a so n t o b e l i e v e h e i s more u n d er sir, l i I k e s ’ e I n f lu e n c e th a n he o r i g i n a l l y w a s, ” g r a n te d him a f r e e The c a s e o f Rex v# t i l l l a s a

p a r d o n

was hoard a t n in e o ’ c l o c k ,

J u ly 2 6 , 1 7 6 4 , b e f o r e C ihief J u s t i c e G n n s fie id a t th e G u ild ­

h all*

The c a s e i s o f c o n s id e r a b le i n t e r e s t b e c a u s e in h is

s p e e c h , t h e c o u n s e l f o r th e d e f e n s e , John G lyn n , b o ld ly ant f u l l y r a i s e d the. q u e s t io n o f th e pow ers o f th e ju r y In e a s e s Of l i b e l | t h i s q u e s t io n was to a r i s e in ©very p r e s s c a s e g j—

S t a t e t r i a l s , XIX. 1 0 7 5 -7 ; Annual Eeg* »VI I (176 ;’ )«5 0 ? Lon­ don M a g * ,x x x iu (1 7 6 4 ) 91 0 8 i G o X Icello n o f s c a r c e t r a c t s , I , 5 5 6 -5 3 ; T c s t g a to j S i l k e n , prJ*9B-$£* 54 — ~ F«0aAebb t o G r . r v i l l o , Septem ber 1 6 ,1 7 6 3 ’ Jen3rin e o n p ap ers , p*193; in q u ir y i n t o B a l f e ’ s a c t i v i t i e s seems £o~bnve been made upon G r a n v i l l e ' s p e r s o n a l ord^r* Gal 0H g),,gxineix PI ,495? B a lf e and M s a p p r e n t ic e C h a r le s Bhaw ’^ fc io n e o ~ J a n u a r y 1 0 ,1 7 6 4 * A John V/i l l i a r n s , pr in to r , o f Old Bad. l e y , man ’p ardon­ ed a t t h e same t im e j t h i s c a n n o t be t h e John G illia m s whose 'p r o se c u tio n was c a r r ie d on t h e su a e y e a r , and I an u n a b le t o i d e n t i f y him f u r t h e r .

-1 7 0 -

,5 4

to appear I n th e court® during th e f i r s t h a l f of the reign , and w ithin s ix year® « a i to become one of the moot d a n g e r ­ ous p o l i t i c a l and le g a l iss u e s i n B r i t i s h i n t e r n a l p o lie y 9 Addressing hi® remarks to the jury* Glynn said# "'That in the m atter o f lib e l# they were th e proper judges of the law as w e ll as the f a c t ; th a t they had the f u l l rig h t to de­ termine# whether th e defendant had published the borth Briton w ith the in te n t as la id in the Att oam©y-goneral10 inform ation*8,f

Buch a d eclaration out a t the very root o f

{government *0 power to re s t r i c t criticism # fo r i t was com­ monly accepted th a t the law o ffic e r s * ex o f f io lo statement th at s paper was lib e llo u s # when supported by the presiding Justice# was a complete le g a l m t&bllsfamoit o f the a ctio n ­ able character o f the paper*

The terras fa ls e # mall clous#

ecandalous or s e d itio u s were not hold ©abject to proof# bat as the customary and necessary d esc rip tio n of a l i b e l *55 Mansfield consequently b rak e in upon a-lynn*s remarks# and ****declar©d in a very s t r o n g and menacing manner,

'T hat

i f Serjeant Glynn a sserted th a t d o ctrin e again# he#**would take the opinion of the tw elve judge© upon it * *rt The worthy Serjeant saw the snare; i f Mansfield secured the confirmat­ ion of the f u l l bench th a t the jiu y should concern i t s e l f only with the f a c t of p u b lish in g, the l i b e r a l Ideas which

5ST

^

,

___

On t h i s p o in t s e e a l s o th e I n t r o d u c t io n to t h i s stud y* E xception© t o t h e c a s e t h e r e w e r e : the- c a s e o f .Tobn Peter Zengor, o f Hew y o r k , p r o v id e d an American p r e c e d e n t f o r a Jury a s s e r t i n g i t s r i g h t t o ju d g e o f law a s w e ll at f a c t , and t h i s a t t i t u d e had been t o h e ld by C h a r le s ir & tt in K* v* Owen, 175a# a g a i n s t M a n sfie ld * s argu m ents at. th s p r o s e c u t ­ ing S e l l o l t o r - g e n e ra l* F l e t c h e r f o r t on# I n c id e n t a l l y , w, .0 a ls o a c o u n s e l f o r th e d efe n d a n t* See B ta te t r i a l s ,xv r rr # 1 2 0 3 -3 0 * — ———

-1 7 1 -

ho u p h e l d ,

bug

upon a M e h s new c o n c e p t of free d o m of t h e

pres© was t o he P a c e d , would he c r u s h e d i n t h e i r I n f a n c y , Mis argum ent had. been e x p r e s s e d ; Glynn bowed t o t h e o b v io u s d i s p l e a s u r e o f the? Court and a w a ite d a more p r o p it io u s mo­ ment In w hich t o renew t h e s t r if e ® n o t f in i s h e d *

M a n s fie ld , however# had

H ie ch a rg e t o t h e Jury .c o n s i s t e d o f & r e p ly

t o G ly n n 's argu m en t, and was % .* grounded upon and e n f o r c ­ ed by t h e moat I n f e r n a l p r i n c i p l e s w h ich e v e r d is g r a c e d any n om in al f r e e c o u n t r y ,*

The o p in io n w h ich s o h o r r i f i e d

John AX®on mm a p r e c i s e and a c c u r a t e s ta te m e n t o f th e law a s M a n s fie ld and h i s p r e d e c e s s o r s I n t e r p r e t e d i t s th e ju ry w ere ju d g e s o f th e f a c t o n ly , and I f th e y b e lie v e d th e e v id ­ e n c e t h a t HI 11 lam e s o ld t h e Worth B r it o n ® th e y m ust f in d him g u i l t y o f t h e f a c t o r bo p e r ju red *

The j u r y i n W illia m s * s c a s e was o u t f o r two hours® Aimon r e p o r te d to K arl Temple t h a t t h e forem an and one o th ­ e r ju r o r w ere s t r o n g l y f a v o r a b l e tow ard W i l l i a m s » b u t one P a g e , a t o o l o f , and p e r s o n a l l y known t o Lord B u te, was o b s t i n a t e l y and. r e s o l u t e l y b a n t on f i n d i n g t h e d e fe n d ­ ant g u i l t y * £nT t h i s s t r u g g l e he b ro u g h t o v e r n i n e o f t h e j u r y , u r g in g * **t h a t a s t h e m in o r ity had l e f t Pr* w iX kos9 th e y c e r t a i n l y lo o k e d upon t h a t p a p er a s a l i b e l , &e. S t i l l t h e forem an and t h e o t h e r man s t o o d o u t ; a t l e n ­ g th t h e y c a p i t u l a t e d and c o n s e n t e d t o m eet each o t h e r h a l f ­ way, and b r o u g h t i n a v e r d i c t i n t h e s e w o rd s , G u i l ty o f pub11 sh ifty t h e worth B r i t o n g No, 45* *

*

_

-

. „

^ M

I _

ii'i(i njm kiibi Iniin1 *w iw tii18

*******

4to im w

A f e l l o w p r i n t e r m ig h t d e c l a r e t h a t t h i s wee Hno v e r d i c t at a ll,"

b u t I t s u f f i c e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e s o f th e C h ie f

J u s t i c e ; W illia m s was g u ilty ®

K o a r s lc y f e t r i a l came on

im m e d ia te ly , and he s u f f e r e d a s i m i l a r f a t e a t t h e hands

o f M a n s fie ld and & p l i a b l e Jury* X72
*64 co n cern ed th e dl sail a s a l o f G eneral Henry Seymour Conway from h is command b eca u se o f h ie c o n s is t e n t su p p o rt o f th e o p p o s it io n th r o u g h o u t t h e w inter,-*®

Gren­

v i l l e to o k t h i s s t e p a g a in s t h ie b e t t e r judgem ent and be­ ca u se o f th e K in g ’ s i n s i s t e n c e * and. i t was not announced u n til a fte r

P a r lia m e n t r o s e in A p r i l,

th e o n ly c a s e o f t h i s

so r t*

as aonway’ s was not

r e c r im in a t io n s q u ic k ly appear­

ed a g a in s t a Governm ent w h ich Judged m il it a r y a b i l i t y by p o litic a l a f f ilia t io n .

To h i s d e f e n s e G r e n v ille c a lle d

W illiam G u th r ie , lo n g a p e n s io n e r , and w ith in a sh o r t tim e Conway was a t t a c k e d by An_ a d d r e ss t o th e p u b l i c , on the_ l a t e dis m is s ! o n o f a g e n e r a l o f f i o e r ,

Horace e a l p o l e . to whom

Conway*© p o l i t i c a l c a r e e r gave g r e a t v ic a r io u s pie-- s u r e , rushed t o h i s f r i e n d ’ s d e f e n s e .

He f e l t th a t the Government

Alaon t o W ilk e s , O ctob er 2 3 ,1 7 6 4 s B* ^ A dd .ilS S . 308 6 8 , f o i e . 1 3 6 -1 3 7 . 32 Henry Seym our Conway( 1 7 2 1 - 9 5 ) » f i e l d m a rsh a l, s e r v e d &fc^ D e t tin g e n , C u llo d e n , a t t a c h e d t o f e v o n e h ir e 1 7 5 4 , se r v e d in Germany 1 7 6 1 -6 3 5 Conway was c l o s e l y a tta c h e d to V a lp o le who p o rtra y ed him a s a h er o ; on th e c o n tr a r y , no seems a t bnat i n d e c i s i v e j h i e d e m is s io n and th e r e s u l t i n g fu r o r one aim ft p o l i t i c a l f i g u r e o f some n o te i n s p i t e o f h i s w ea k n ess.

pamphlet.

.m u st have been d ir e c t e d by G r e n v ille h im s e lf —

and i t was t e d io u s enough t o have b een ^ vritten by him t o o .* f o r g e t t i n g h i s f e a r s o f b lo o d sh ed he r a l l i e d h is cou rage and produced k c o u n te r a d d r e s s w hich was p r a is e d by h is fr ie n d s , and answ ered by G u th rie in A r e p ly t o th e c o u n te r

address* By mid-summer G o n w & y *s dismissal was debated in all

th e p a p e rs, but m ost f r e e l y in those which seemed to Con­ way h im s e lf ttto come o u t more immediately under th e p r o t e c t -

io n o f Government*®

He complained o f

this to Pel bo re tills, 54

Grenville's Secretary at War, a s k in g th a t i f

any charges

co u ld be b rou gh t against him they be brought o p e n ly ,

to

prove h i s p o in t and i l l u s t r a t e the damage to h is honour, Conway enclosed an anonymous pamphlets, the Pallet *55

i{e

received little sympathy from •£eXbore Kills: mI know n o t

t h a t any papers are under the more immediate protection o f Government, e x c e p t the Gazette; as to that anonymous p am ph let, the w a l l e t * •« • I have some good reasons to believe th a t it i e neither avow ed, approved, or protected by Gov­ ernment* *

Furthermore, remarked the Secretary at Par, "I

sh ou ld think t h a t I form ed a hard Judgement if I supposed W alp o le. M em oirs, 1 1 ,3 -5 * The D .F .B * s u g g e s t s pnb l 1c a t Ion d a te o f A u g u st'"IS, f o r W alpole *e p am phlet, b u t Almon to Tem­ p l e , A ugust 1 4 ,1 7 6 4 t G r e n v ille g a p e r s , I I , 495 » aeons t o i n d i ­ c a te an e a r l i e r d a te o f p u b lic a tio n s 34 Welbore E l l i s , 1 s t Baron g e n d lp ( 1 7 1 3 - 1 6 0 2 ) ,M• P• f o r A yles­ bury w ith W ilk e s , S e c r e ta r y a t Tar 1 752-5* T i l l s was a stau n ch su p p o r te r o f r o y a l p o lic y and u s u a lly h e l d a p r o f i t a b l e o f f ic e * 35 H.S.Gdttway t o W.Kills, July 2 2 ,1 7 6 4 : Grenville papers, I I , 4 0 3 -4 0 4 .

-194-

that the groBS n*Xbto present at Iona and s c u m t ity v. nich I frequently s e e * ..a g a in st tbs Government had the approbat­ ion and p rotection of any gentleman. *. who differs- with th© Adminl s t r a t i on. * ed;

K ills scored a d i r e c t h i t when he cor. elud­

n. . . I cannot but be sorry that you %cm\ t o a t t r i b u t e

more a u th en ticity to sc rib b lers on one sid e t h a n I th in k just to allow them on t h e o t h e r . „* #»36 The Conway ca ce f a i l e d t o c r e a t e any g r e a t r e v o lu tio n in p o l i t i c s , i n s p i t e of t h e h o p e s of t h e G e n e r a l *e p o l i t i c ­ a l f r i e n d s ; P i t t t o l d Rockingham t h a t t h e q u e s t i o n rt‘touched t o o n e a r upon p r e r o g a t i v e , #*

and XalpoXe®s a s s o c i a t e s were

fo r c e d t c w a i t u n t i l th e y were m in is t e r s to r e c t i f y t h e s i t ­ u a t i o n . ^ A more ready w hip w ith w hich to c h a s t i s e George G r e n v ille was fou nd i n t h e a t t a c k upon h i s f i s c a l m e a s u r e s . In P a r c h 1 7 6 4 , G r e n v ille Hopened i l l s s t a t e m e n t * co n cern in g n a t io n a l f i n a n c e i n t h e House o f Commons*

PUg m i n i s t e r ’ 0

s ta te m e n t, o r t h e s u b s t ^ c e o f i t , was su b se q u e n tly p u b l i s h ­ ed In Haroh 2 0 t h n ew sp a p e r s.

Here was a c a n d i d e f f o r t on

th e p art o f Admini s t r a t i on t o s e c u r e p u b l i c s u p p o r t f o r i t s pass unchalieng”?,A t h e r e t r i b u t i v e pen was t h a t o f l e v id. H a r t l e y , ••' ‘ and

m ea su res. ©d*

The o p p o s i t i o n c o u ld n o t l o t i t

he v o ic e d the o p in io n of th e followers of r ewoaablo arid. Rockingham •^

Hartley had already written at least, one

35----- ------ ------ — — _ _ _ _ _ E l l i s t o Conway, J u ly — ,1 7 6 4 ; G r e n v ille na dctb , ... ,4 0 p . 37 ~~ ~ ~ ftook ln fthcrn m em oirs, 1 , 1 7 7 -E l. 36 David HartleyC1732-1E13)s statesman,

6 .F r a n k lin ,.p o lit ic a l w r ite r . 39 C o lle c t io n of scarce t r a c t s g I, 294.

scientist, friend o«

p o l i t i c a l p a m p h le t,* 0 but i t was h i s d e t a i l e d and s p i z l t e d a t t a c k , The B u d g e t? i n s c r ib e d t o th e -:&n

tio t h in k s h im s e lf

m i n i s t e r , w h ich ap p eared in Apri 1 1 7 6 4 , th a t e s t a c l i s h e d h i s p o s i t i o n among p a rty w r it e r s * '•The im p o rta n ce and p o p u la r ity of The Budget was quick* l y d e m o n str a te d .

The l i f e o f th e t r a n s i e n t pam phlet was u s ­

u a l l y b r i e f , but in A u g u st, Almun ( H a r t le y ’ s p u b lis h e r ) adv i s e d Tem ple t h a t rtThe d u d get s t i l l k e e p s g o in g o f f , and i t Al i s a m a tin g how i t h as open ed th e e y e s of the p u b lic .* The pam phlet c o n tin u e d t o **go o f f ; 11 by 1766 i t had reached th e e le v e n t h e d i t i o n and was a g a in b ein g r e p r in t e d , presum ably s t i l l e f f e c t i v e and s t i l l p r o f i t a b l e to i t s p u b lis h e r .

It

had by t h a t d a te a t t r a c t e d t o I t s e l f a h o s t o f r e p l i e s and c o u n te r r e p l i e s w h ich p la c e d b e fo r e t h e p u b lic In g r o a t d e ­ t a i l a l l t h e argu m en ts t h a t had been u t i l i s e d in th e House o f Commons by O p p o s itio n spok esm en .

(G r e n v ille c a s t i g a t e d

th e p u b lic d i s c u s s i o n r o u sed by The B u d g et. ed b i t t e r l y

He

.in v e I Sh­

in th e House o f Commons a g a in s t su ch l i b e r t i e s ,

and p r o t e s t e d he had n e v e r been co n cern ed i»l-aX c-’W Ai

top to t h is I n c r e a sin g l i c e n t i o u s P r a c tic e , i t w i l l he ^ --------

Jenklnson oaoer$, opfl708- 9« vr — ' Jenklnson r a c e r s . o c .5 0 8 n.!?. 509 n . l . ■

Mil n i .liiii.M h

Ml TU b i- i f g JMW

^

to

*t / J

im p o s s ib le t o c a r r y on th e p u b lic B u s in e ss * ’* More t o t h e p o in t wsa t h e s e r i e s o f p am phlets w r it te n by Thomae WhateXy d u r in g th e two y e a r s f o ll o w i n g The B u d g e t s appearance*^

The f i r s t of th e a© was e n t i t l e d

Remarks on

th e B u d geti o r , a candid .ex a ra in a tio n o f t h e f a c t s and argu­ m ents o f fern, d t o th e puhl lo in t h a t pam phlet , 1765*

p u b lish e d in

H a r tle y d id n o t l o t th e o f f l e i a l c o n f u ta t io n o f h is

f ig u r e s pane u n n o tic e d *

B efo re t h e m id d le o f t h e y e a r he

had w r itte n The s t a t e o f th e n a t io n , w ith a p rel imin a r y d e­ fend© of th e B u d get* The C r i t i c s ! Review s a id o f th is, pam­ p h le t t h a t i t was a p a rty p u b l ic a t io n , o b v io u s ly , were th e r e no o th e r e v id e n c e th an H h e v e r y m odest p r lo o I t b ea rs John Almon now had two M in o rity b o a t - B e ll e r s and in 1766# th e s e r i e s was c o n tin u e d by W h a tely #b d e t a i l e d a n a ly s is o f G ren v ille* © econom ic p o lic y * p on s1d era 11opg on th e tr a d e and fin a n c e o f t h i s kingdom , and th e a©asu r e s o f a y a l n in t r a tio n w ith r e s p o et t o t h o s e g ro a t n a tio n a l o b j e c t s eljnce th e con­ c lu s io n o f th e p e a c e *

Ones raore e x t e r n a l and i n t e r n a l f i s ­

c a l p o lic y was m e t ic u lo u s ly a r r a n g e d * Income and t a x e s e s t ­ im ated and c c n o lu s l ons drawn a lo n g p a rty li n e s *

Hie whole

s e r i e s o f pam phlets Bho^B c o n s i d ©r a bTa s p i r i t H red w ith a keen i n t e r e s t In f a c t s and f i g u r e s - - a n a p p ea l to t h a t p o rtio n W~ — - — — — — — —— - — ■ An answ er t o t h e Budget* in s c r ib e d to the Co t o rin{London, 17 oq } j*~*ppr's 9h 9 » 49 Thom&e S t a t e l y (d * 1 7 ? 2 ), p o l i t i c i a n and p am p h leteer, s e c r e t ­ ary t o t h e T reasu ry 1764-5# c l o s e to d r e n v i l l s u n t i l th a t man d ie d , Wh&tely ended as an under-secretcry of state f or fo r th * 50 The p r ic e was one s h i l l i n g * B r l t i c d R e v ., XT>. (1 7 6 9 ),2 3 1 *

199-

of th e m erchant c l a s s t o whom govern m en tal econo.- v r e p r e s­ en te d i n d u s t r i a l p r o s p e r ity * The

sig n ific a n c e of s t a t i s t i c a l

c r i t i c i s m c f th e

t y p e H a r tle y w r o te i s shown by t h e a b o r t i v e plane t c sub­ m it p am p h let and a u t h o r t o t h e t e n d e r n e re l e t o f t h e lev?, {£ he Budget

o f f e r e d t o t h e lav; o f f i c e r s f o r t h e i r o p in -

i o n . a n d p ro n o un ced a l i b e l ,

h o w e v e r s o;>’y-.5.on cf f f a r e d

ong Q r a n v l l l e * s n a n - l e g a l a s s o c i a t e s * l i e v e d t h a t S i r (Jeorgo 3 a v i l e ?^

I t us.- c u r r e n t l y b e ­

a p r o m in e n t end u p r i g h t

Yorks s h l roman h i g h in t h e c o u n s e l s o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n , hod w r i t t e n f h e Bud&et, and, t h e w e ig h t o f pee row ley a g a in s t, proceeding?

was n o t j u d g e d p r u d e n t to oouvu-nou a

p r o s e c u t i o n a g a i n s t a c h a r a c t e r of such eminence; and r e s p e c t a b ility .”

r a p e d a l l y was that, t h e c a s e when he

? mem­

b e r o f t h e House of Commons, and w M l c t h e v r i v i l v v n of t h a t Hons© i n c a s e s o f l i b e l was so f r e s h l y r.■*.r-rendured T h is i n c i d e n t vi&si In many ways t y p i c a l of t h e u r o n v i l l a p r e s s p o l l ay-~a.; p o l i c y of c a u t i o u s r e p r e s s i o n

(a fte r

t h e v /ilkee C asa) t ho r o u g h ly c a r r i e d o u t w i t h due n - p e p t o ------------5T— S i r a e o r g e S e v l i e ( 1 7 2 6 - 8 4 ) , one o f t h e m o st r e s p e c t e d and a c t i v e l i b e r a l ”Th i g s in i a r i l am ent« la v l i e e a t f o r t h e co u n ty o f Y o r k e s h l r e t h r o u g h o u t h i e e ? m ; e r , end was a c t i v e i n e v e r y movement f o r r e f o r a . i n uuu p c l orf r l ® d o f D avid H a r t l e v , 52 Almon, B i o g r a p h lo a l a n e c d o t e s , 1 1 , 1 4 7 - B . T h i s c t o r y , as r e t a i l e d by Aim on X e " s u b j e c t t o coma don Du, say c Inn Budget was g iv e n t o C h a r l e s Yorke f o r h i s o p i r .1 on, out ifnTi seems r a t h e r u n l i k e l y as York© v;•:••.,? i n opvorIt, in n e'enr. th e pamphlet a p p e a r e d . I have u s e d th© e p i s o d e beonuun i t r i n g s t r u e , and tiipori t h e a c c e p t a n c e o f i t by ■;•„ „ n u t 'I r i d v ■p, l a v i d. ( B e r k e l e y , 1 9 2 6 ) , p. 2 4 3 . I t cwould bo n v U ;u 9 however, t h a t t h e e p i s o d e i s n o t t o be f o u n d in . a l o o l e ? Memoirs , 1 1 ,5 , a s B u t t r i d g e has? s u g g e s t e d ;r>.?4* -2 0 0 -

©II p o ssib le ra m ifica tio n s, and supplemented by an a c tiv e and a u th o r ita tiv e government press

I t i s u n fa ir to judge

Grenville*© r e la tio n s h ip to the prose fro® the north Briton episode alone* from X?63 to

A survey of the a c t i v i t i e s of the m inistry

1765

re v ea ls a thoroughly c o n siste n t policy*

moderate In a sense* and in keeping w ith the character of the c h ie f m inister* From th e f i r s t days of July 1763* the p erio d ica l viress was watched ca refu lly * and o f f i c i a l contributions nor© forth­ coming upon occasion*.

A& the name of the Forth Brlton did

not disappear w ith the end o f W illies4s tenure as author* min­ is t e r s kept a c lo se watch on it *

H alifax Instructed Edward

Weston to counteract a story in the North Briton of July 9 (?} concerning a pension charged m th e Ir ish establishm ent with

*.**&

short l e t t e r which

I

d e s ir e may be put tomorrow

In the london* W hitehall* $t* James’s* and other evening P osts, and***In the Fubllok A dvertiser, and the r a lly Gaz­ e tte e r o f Wednesday m o r n i n g * I h e north Briton again, came under su rv e illa n ce in August and November because of several scandalous a r t ic le s r e fle c t in g upon the la te Earl of ggremont.55 One frien d of Government* l e s s concerned in a f fa ir s of s t a te , took p hysical action ©gainst the paper*

53— -------------

In September

— --------

W«.T«£i&pradet ttffe© stamp act in B r itish p o l i t i c s , 0 H isto rica l Review* XXXV(1930)*741* P

American

H alifax to Weston, July 1 1 , 1 7 6 3 s H.il.C. 1 0 t h Report, Bari I , 3 3 8 * P o r r itt, *Th© government and t h e newspapers,* e e l*P el, -Jtly*, X II (1 8 9 7 5 ,6 6 9 . — — 53 G r e n v ille t o H a lif a x , August 2 7 ,1 7 6 3 5 G r e n v ille * s f l a r y , sub November 1 4 , 1763s G r e n v ille p a p e r s , 1 1 ,1 3 7 *

t h e Ifo rb h Brit*on h a d r e f l e c t e d upon S c o t t i c o l o n i a l gov— e i& o fe and th e l e o e n t a p p o in te e to .West F l o r i d a p ro ceed ed t o v e n t M s w ra th on th e e d i t o r , a Er* B ro o k e s, who w rote m

’ Jo h n C a e s a r W ilk e s’ *

A f t e r t h e G o v ern o r had used h i s

f i s t , s t i c k , and sword upon t h e h a p l e s s e d i t o r , B ro o keb 9 a p p lie d to t h e law f o r r e d r e s s an d th ro u g h A r th u r deardm orc i n s t i g a t e d a p r o s e c u tio n f o r a s s a u l t In t h e C ourt of Common P le a s* ^ Such a c t i v i t i e s w ere more em b a rra ssin g than advantage eous t o G overnm ent, and th e w orth B r ito n im® a llo w e d t o go i t s way u n m o lested u n t i l — "® most furious** a r t i c l e appear­ ed a s lie* 103* on June 23* 1764*

ffee A tto r n e y - g s n e r a l was

% •*d e s ir e d t© g iv e M s O p in ion w h eth er i t m y n o t ho pro-

a ecu te d as a L ib e l by I n f o r m a t i o n .* ^

The A tto r n e y -g en er­

a l r e p o r te d A ugust 3* t h a t th e paper was a c t io n a b le ,^ ® but doubts a r i s i n g as t o th e e x p e d ie n c y o f p r o s e c u tin g a t t h i s tim e , n o th in g was d on s in t h e S e c r e ta r y of s t a t e ' s o f f ic e *

D u rin g O ctober t h e St* Jam es’ s C h r o n ic le was a ls o b ein g s c r u t i n i s e d h a v in g g iv e n "much o ffe n c e " by two l e t ­ t e r s s ig n e d ’ C iv lc u s* and. *X**

The A tto rn ey and S o l i c i t o r -

g e n e r a ls re p o rted th e n e x t mearth t h a t t h e a r t ic l e 's were 5F

““--------------- ------ -—

■—

~



Qmnt*& gag* ,x x x i XI (1 763} *475-6*516? R ilk e s to tom p ie * O ctober XS,X763 s G renvl lie pa per a t l l 3 137* 57 Edward Sedgw ick to Edward ft'eston* June 2 6 ,1 7 5 4 s 11*:.:.0. 1 0 th Report, Tart I * 3 6 6 | L o v e ll Stanhope- to A tto rn ey -g en ­ e r a l, Juno 2 4 ,1 7 6 4 : 56 O al*if*Q »papers* I , 432*

19

Edward Sedgw ick t o Edward W aeton, O ctober 2 0 ,1 7 6 4 and O ct­ ober 27*1764? H*M*0* 1 0 th R e p o r t, P art 1 ,3 7 2 -3 *

-202'

derogatory to the honor of th e Crown and Parliament* an d le g a lly subject to prosecution,

They w ere o f o p in io n * how­

ever* that prosecutions would n o t bo c a r r i e d on with e f f e c t ,

and th e ir advice gees® to have been followed*^®

in each of

these cases a regular pattern o f o b s e r v a tio n * c o n s u l t a t i o n , and d ecision appears to have been followed*

The under-seo-

r e t a r t e s assumed r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r a l l but th e fin a l d e c i s ­

ions which must have been ta k e n by c a b i n e t m i n i s t e r s * The lim ita tio n of p o lit ic a l propaganda fey c o u r t act­

ion having been reduced to a minimum which was probably e s ­ ta b lis h e d by the ch an ges of p ro fita b le sue c e s s , o t h e r means*

unrecorded but quit© e ffe c tiv e * were employed*

P e rso n a l

s u g g e s tio n s o r h i n t s s u f f i c e d t o c o o l t h e a rd o r of many pub­ lis h e r s *

The Gazetteer of January 7* 1764, c a r r i e d t h e an­

nouncement that'.due to m in iste ria l o b s e r v a t i on of th e pap­ ers* the publisher was ©foiled upon to r e q u e s t t h a t " ' a l l

who honour t h is paper with t h e i r f a v o u r s w ill have a regard

for the sa fety of the p r i n t e r * * "

A sim ila r announcement

appeared In t h e ’London E vening Post the erne month*

Suoh

methods s u f f Iced, to c u r t a i l c r i t i c i s m , but n o t t o elim inate it* ^ M i n i s t e r i a l contributors wore prepared to f i l l s pace denied to O p p o sitio n w r ite r s *

Aimon declared that "the Min­

istry * . .are in d efa tig a b le in t h e i r p ro d u c tio n s both in So 61

" ' 1 — -~ H*M.d* 1 0 th R ep o rt, P a r t i *372,375; Gal* H*Q*papers , 1 ,4 6 3 .

hapr&de, "stamp act in B ritish p o lit ic s ," Am? r . H ist*Rev. , 1XKBC1930) ,7 4 4 n * 2 .

~~

-2 0 3 -

new spapers and pa.ffiph2.et b ,h snd th e of % * .t h e l i t t l e

8F a th er o f Candor* spoko

s c r a p s o f p o l i t i c s and i n t e l l i g e n c e , w hich

one now and th en fin d s in the* p a lly G a z e tte e r , and w hich th e common read er*** a t t r i b u t e s t o Jeatay Twitch or t sandw ich 3 # Cor M s se c o n d , Brm S h eb b ear© }*" ^

Horace Walpole was n ot a lo n e

In a c c u sin g G r e n v ille o f f a t h e r i n g h is own propaganda.

The

anonymous a u th o r o f £ l e t t e r t o th e g t » Hon. Geor m G r e n v ille accused, him o f b e in g th e i n s p i r a t i o n , i f not th e author o f la b o r io u s and c o n te m p tib le m in i a t © r ia l p ap er, c a l l ­ ed th e P la in D e a le r . The Lari o f Sandw ich, u s u a lly a d i f f i c u l t c o lle a g u e f o r G r e n v ille , c o n tr ib u te d h is p art to' th e propaganda e f ­ f o r t s o f th e m in istry*

A fte r dem onstrating h is t a l e n t s in

th e W ilkes a f f a i r , Sandwich n e x t i n t e r e s t e d blare If In the

Gamb rid ge U n iv e r s it y © le c tio n .*»*.L£Or3d Sandwich

&

Thomas Gray n o tic e d th a t

h i s fr ie n d s do what they can to keep

up an i n t e r e s t Jfe a b u s t le ,

her© cat Cambridge} i s a poor

S c r ib b le r , th a t he h i r e s to w r ite a weekly paper o.- l ie d th e Goru t a t o r . who by abuse of ch a ra cters d oes a l l in hi© power t o provoke p eo p le s but ©an not so much as g e t him s e l f answ er ‘d . ”

Gray ad m itted th a t the p g e r w su quit© I n s ig n i­

f i c a n t , but added th a t In view of the s i t u a t i o n , l i t t l e more was n e e d e d .^ Alaon to W ilke©, O ctob er 2 3 ,1 7 6 4 j B. .Add. ,r s.3 0 f i6&> foln® 1 3 6 -1 3 7 » E n q u iry i n t o t h e d o c t r i n e 1 a t . l y pro p r in te d , con-

Th« c o n t r ib u t io n made by Sandwich*a penman, Pr* James S c o t t , was o f g r e a t e r im portance*^®

About XT6 4 , S c o tt b e-

*aa« in tim a te w ith Sandwich., H alifax# and o th e r members of

G r e n v ille 's m in istr y and under t h e i r p a tro n a g e he w rote th e a e r ie s o f l e t t e r s s ig n e d A n tt-S e Janus which appeared in th e P u b lic A d v e r t is e r *

S c o t t p o s s e s s e d mono than m oderate a b i l ­

i t y and A n tt-S eja n u e was probably th e m ost p o p u la r w r ite r o f sh o r t a r t i c l e s betw een W ilkes and Ju n iu s,,

K® hewed t o th e

p arty lin e # a tta c k e d Hh@ fa v o r ite ® a s w e l l as t h e Roe kin gMm f h i g s , and. m a in ta in ed a high reg a rd f o r George G r e n v ille , I t has been s a id th a t S c o tt* a l e t t e r s were so popular th a t

the s a l e o f th e P u b lic A d v e r t is e r was in c r e a s e d from 1500 %o 3000 t e l l y . 66 S c o tt* a A n ti-S eJ a n u s l e t t e r s drew r e p l i e s from i/in O cca sio n a l W riter* f o r t h e Rockingham m in is tr y in 1765» and John AXmor b e lie v e d t h a t Edmund Burke,, among o t h e r r , wrote s e v e r a l r e p l i e s t o S c o t t a t about t he same t im e ,

3*he form­

er w r it e r was a t l e a s t w i l l i n g to r e c o g n is e th e e f f ic a c y o f G r e n v ille * g u se o f “e v ery c o f f e e - h o u s e and ev ery news-paper* to sway o p in io n , and S c o t t r e t i r e d to a b e n e f i c e p r o v id e d by Sandwich in 1 ? 7 I , u n d e fe a te d and unbowed, James S c o t t (1 7 3 > 1 6 X A }? p o l i t i c a l writer and popular d iv ­ in e , w rote f o r Sandwich u n d er v a r io u s pseudonyms 1765-1771* 66 H ie h o ls , L ite r a r y A necdotes * IX, 7 2 5 -2 7 ; London v:a g .,x x x iV (1765) 327-K T ^ ^ — — 67

Toward th© men But© had em ployed, th e G r e n v ille min­ i s t r y s e e me t o have adopted a p o lic y of r e t a in in g th e most v a lu a b le and d is m is s in g th e h a n g e r s -o n .

Edward Hi chard son

had worked f o r Bute in th e Oity in 1762-63* hut v,ith th e change o f m in ie tx y was prom ptly drop ped, a p p a r e n tly 'on th e p r e te x t th a t he o v e r - r a te d h i s on© rite snd em olum en ts*^ M on eth eless Hi©hardson rem ained a f r ie n d t o m in is t e r s , and in December 1763* o f fe r e d J erk in eon sound a d v ice? **if th e M in istry im a g in e th e m s e lv e s a b le t o b r in g o v er th e c i t i z e n s to th e Court by t h e m e r it o f t h e i r own admin l e t rs t io n , de­ pend upon i t , th e y a r e d e c e iv e d ..,,* *

He urged t h a t th e

f r ie n d s o f Government * . „ . have h it h e r t o .,,* b u t to o much con­ temned p o p u la r ity # w h ic h ., . i n t h i s f r e e c o u n tr y has e v e r been th e s c a f f o l d in g t o m i n i s t e r i a l b u ild in g s .

Pe have

seen a f a i r la y 'd fo u n d a tio n but © h all n ev er b eho ld i t s pro­ g r e s s w ith o u t th e a id o f y o u r c i t i z e n s p o lo s , scurvy as th ey are to rale©

I t .

*^9

Among th e many a p p l i c a n t s t o th e Treasury f o r pecun­ ia r y a id came J o s e p h C aw tho m e who rem inded JenH inson **... of th e g r e a t ex pence I had been a t by w r i t i n g a n d can s in g o th ers t o w r it e In s u p p o r t o f t h e J u st c a u s e of :ny Lord it

seems d o u b tfu l I f G r e n v ille a llo w ed him any­

thing on th a t bant s a f t e r the autumnal n e g o t i a t i o n s in

Richardson t o J e n k ln so n , A p r i l 13* 1763 ond ■p r i l 1 7 , 17^3 J©akineon p a p e r s , p p . 1 4 4 - 6 .

W

R ichardson to J er k in eon , December* 1763: Ibid.. , p p ,246-7*

-2 0 6 -

70

w hich th e E a rl played so conepieuous a p a r t* '

Jonathan

S c o t t , t h e form er p r in t e r o f th e M onitor la id h ie g r le v -

anoee b e fo r e J en k in so n about th e same tim e . n o te on h ie c a r e e r ap p ears in h ie l e t t e r *

kn in t e r e s t in g

Ho s a y s ,

.®y

imprisonment and su fferin g s have been w ith o u t an e q u a l, and th e more s u r p r is in g a t i l l th e s u f f e r in g i n b e h a lf o f th e

government**

S c o t t v.as ready to r e tu r n t o the f r a y —with

J en k in so n 4® a s s i s t a n c e — and doubted n ot * . . . t he g e t t i n g the b e t t e r o f £my e n e m ie s ]. . » ln my tu r n , and do my country s i g ­

nal s e r v i c e . *7* Svon W illiam G u th rie came t o Jenkineon com p lain in g .1 have been a b le t o g e t on ly one l e t t e r i n t o the

th a t

&a?,eteer9 and th a t t o o , under p r e te x t o f ren d erin g i t more

decent, was robbed by th e p r i n t e r of a l l i t s v i r i l i t y . * l i k e h is a d v e r s a r ie s in o p p o s it io n , G uthrie r e a lis e d t h e

need f o r a party p a p er .

*1 c a n n o t h e l p r e p e a t in g ,* he w ro te,

•that i f th e Govermaont had a w eekly paper of i t s own, i t would be a tten d ed by many pi b i l e advantages..

th e s u c c e s s

of th e l a t e t r i a l s t w hich th e Crown had l o s t in Common . l e a s 3 have made u n fa v o u ra b le im p r e s s io n s , b u t th e y a r e n o t urief f a c e able a f t e r th e p eo p le b egin t o —

76

—■——«



c o o l .

. . . .

----- - .... . .

*72 , --------- -nfirnnr *•) ft i n -m i ~i'

firi—

"" ~~

Qawtfaome t o J e n k in so n , Septem ber 3 0 ,1 7 6 3 ; I b i d . , p»199. Joseph Oawthorne, nl a t e o f ' a d e i r a , m erch an t* took bankruptcy in December 1764; no known pam phlets b e fo r e 1.768, but in 178? he defended Worth as ‘ OorioianuD * I r e c e iv e d a p en sion of £100 plus varying s m a lle r suras ou t o f t h e S e c r e t C ervice fund f o r

hie work.

7! Jonathan S c o tt to J e n k in so n , O ctober 2 8 .1 7 6 3 s 1 b l d . , pp.2 1 1 -1 2 «, 72

3*

W illiam G u th rie t o J e n k in s o n , December 22,1 7 6 3 s I b id . , pp .?4?-

-2 0 7 -

One of

few w r it e r s o f an e a r l i e r period to pros­

p er under G r e n v i l l e 1b a d m in is tr a tlo n iva? John Shebboare. Hie r i s e from p i l l o r y t o p en sio n was com p leted In 1764*,

Af­

t e r h i s unhappy e x p e r ie n c e w ith th e law under r i t t *p m in is t­ r y , ShebDeare so u g h t Bute*® s u p p o r t, o n ly to f a i l because he had once been a * a o e t n o t o r io u s S co tc h b a it e r /* was l e s s s e n s i t i v e o f h i s n o rth ern n e ig h b o r s .

G ronvlll© Cm February

29* 176 4 8 a m emorial was p resen ted to th e m in is t e r s e t t in g f o r th Shebbesre*e c o n t r ib u t io n s to th e u n o f f i c i a l government p ress s in c e 1 7 6 1 , and r e q u e s tin g G r e n v ille to s c cure h i t nan annual p e n ® io n ...t h a t he may be en ab led to pursue th a t lau d­ ab le I n c lin a t io n w hich he h as o f m a n if e s tin g h is a e a l f o r the s e r v ic e o f H is M ajesty and, h is G overnm ent.t47b

The Mcon­

s ta n t m a le v o le n t p u b lic a t io n s o f th e enem ies of the Govern­ ment* persuaded f o u r te e n gen tlem en t o s ig n tM e memo r i a l which was probably drawn up by Clr John P h i l l i p s , Pembroke bh i r e T h e

fo r

appended l i s t of pam phlets ( i f accur­

a te ) i n d ic a t e s t h a t most o f ch eb b earo*b a c t i v it y came in th e r e la t iv e ly b r i e f p erio d f o llo w in g 3u te*8 r e tir e m e n t, and a ls o su g g e sts why he w a ited u n t i l G r e n v ille seemed s e t t l e d in o f ­ f i c e and a t odds w ith th e S c o t b efo re su b m ittin g h is a p p lic a t ­ ion *75 (5

The m em orial was a c c e p te d , and G r e n v ille added B hebbeare’s WIlWmm IIUMIIIP

w iiw in n i ig»uw> n.ifrfli m .-jo* , s**er&&*h '«t*j!*!*■■■■•*.'»*»■

j»»>

Memorial t o o r . Oronvi l i e . feb ru a rv 29*1764: G r e n v ille pap| | s , I I , 270. —— I M i * , 11 *2? 1; J . Shebboar e . An answer to th e au e r i c e , c on t a in • O T a. l e t t e r to D r .sh e b b c a r o ( L o n ^ , 75775 3 ®f* Brnolie t t rr pamphloCc- erS rg foe f-hebbea r e ,MrtiLA9LVl J (1 9 4 2 ) , 1090-92; C o l l i n s , A u th ored!p , p . 20 0 . l*or in s t a n c e : I n v i n c i b l e r e a s o n & for th e •a r l of ->oU?b imr e a l ^nat io n of th e m in is t r y , A l e t t e r to tno e t . hon. o f Tgmpi‘e""on tE e ~451Th t o a o f^ t h j epoetori. ’reveren d ffr. £ . 0 Chur cHTS 1 1 » bfifi.

name t o th e p en s!o n l i s t f o r £200 y e a r l y » D r. Shebbeare m y bavo been im p lic a te d In the ra th er am using e p is o d e o f th e M oderator, a p r o je c te d w eekly p&per of November 1 9 ,1 7 6 3 .

The f i » s t number was p u b lish ed by John

W ilk ie , and a c c o r d in g to W alpole *’ •* •¥ » » so s c u r r ilo u s a g a in ­ s t th e C hief J u s t i c e o f th e Common r i o a s , th a t h is co u rt took up th e p r in ts * ',*

The w r it e r s of th e M oderator were promptly

d isc o v e r e d to be John Shebbeare and P h i lip C, .e b b . P h ilip F ra n cis n o te d on M s copy o f th e pc par t h a t w’tb e second, num­ ber was n e v e r p u b lis h e d , th e a u th o r b e in g th rea ten ed v/lth & p r o se c u ti o n .*ft

th e Court m Ci0 » » < K «n * n n * i i i i » ii i # i i-rn rM,M .i«m tii» v ,.»■■t > m * h — u taM t w w i iLrrn.............................. .......... ..

fo

«■«»■»j/w * w w w

Walpoi©, Memoirs. 1 ,2 6 2 * Pa rises and F e r lv a le , F ra n c l a , 1 ,6 7 . ^ ^ a l .R g |* . ¥ l (17^3>a i l : V lix (1 7 6 5 )» 1 7 9 . G en t’ s FagoMxFXU 77

A copy o f th e p e n sio n l i s t f o r Rio he e l mas 1763 io p rin te d in th e G r e n v ille p a p er s. I I . 2 7 2 . lo ^ s lp o le . M em oirs, I I , 5*

If ft

w imi i Miywiw

TTiH'i urn — » wm- ir* r

*

-2 0 9 -

•»J-oy©& a n n u a lly a s a r e s u l t o f Bute*® g e n e r o s it y , F r a n c is added a n o th e r £ 3 0 0 In January 1764*

*-'o wonder he co u ld ex ­

c la im t o G r e n v ille t h a t he f e l t M, , , a n h o n e st in d ig n a tio n a g a in s t t h o s e who, e i t h e r f o r i n t e r e s t o r a m b itio n , would b e tr a y o r d e s t r o y , , , , th e C o n s t it u t io n ,* ^

The means by

which t h i s a d d i t i o n a l p e n sio n w as se c u r e d a r e n o t c le a r * F r a n c is* & son d e c l a r e d t h a t when Henry F o x, Lard H o lla n d , l e f t E ng lan d f o r I t a l y i n 1763? he b e q u e a t h e d t h e e ld e r F r a n ­ c i s t o B ute who i n t u r n t r a n s f e r r e d bits t o G r e n v i l l e , and *Thro* t h i s Recommend a t i o n , he a f t e r w a r d s o b t a i n e d a i e n s i o n * ,# *f* ^

There seem s t o be n o doubt t h a t t h e Rev* F ra n ­

c i s was d i s p l e a s e d by t h e o f f - h a n d , t r e a t m e n t he had r e c e i v ­ ed from H o l la n d ,

A c c o r d in g t o n a l p o l e , F r a n c i s s e n t t o

C harles C h u r c h ill c e r t a i n p a p e r s w hich m ight b e u sed a g a in ­ s t H o llan d t o p r o v e him * , , , a s t i l l g r e a t e r v i l l a i n t h a n t h e w o rld b e l i e v e d h i m , 1* T h e s e were d i s c o v e r e d a f t e r Chur­ c h ill* s d e a t h i n November 1 7 6 4 , and b s l p o l e adds: ’’To s i l ­ ence t h a t w retch E f r a n e i s l , L o rd H ollan d s e n t bin; £500, •«* The s t o r y may have some e l e m e n t s o f t r u t h i n i t , a t b e s t su sp ect*

but i t is

F r a n c i s ’ s i n d e b t e d n e s s t o Bute i s more

F r a n c i s t o G r e n v i l l e , J a n u a r y 1754: G r e n v i l l e pa v e na g11 ,25 0 - 51 < As u s u a l , J e n k i n s o n c o n d u c te d t h e n e g o t i a t i o n s betw een m i n i s t ­ er and a u t h o r , Sec a l s o F r a n c i s t o G r e n v i l l e , January 1 9 ,1 7 6 4 | »I l f 2 5 4 -5 ? w h ic h seems t o in d ic a t e the r e c e ip t o f con­ c lu s iv e in fo r m a tio n c o n c e r n in g th e pension* 80 T h i n p F r a n c is ’ s A u t o b i o g r a p h y : J . F a r k e s and H . H e r i v a l e , Ig S b lr s o f B lr P h i l i p F r a n c is (London ,1 8 6 7 ) , 1 , 3 6 0 -6 1 , bl ,mmm “Jw^rirrnr,mT™ w™ W alpo le, m em oirs, 1 1 , 2 6 * f a l p o l e a l s o s a y s t h a t H oilend gave him **a—piac© i n Ob c l so a C o l l e g e , * F r a n c i s a c t u a l l y r e ­ ceiv ed a c h a p la in c y a t C h e ls e a H o s p i t a l I n ay 1784,

2 1 0

-

r e a d ily i l l u s t r a t e d by b i s u n s o l i c i t e d o f f e r to d efen d th e Earl from O p p o sitio n a t ta c k in a l a t t e r o f tecem b er 1 7 6 4 , t o C harles J e n k ln so n .

F r a n c is was read y t o t ke up t h i s ta sk

. i f i t be th o u g h t p rop er t o answ er. «#w ith o u t in ju r in g th e g r a titu d e which I hope 1 s h a l l e v e r p r e se r v e to Mr. oren* v ille .* # .* ^

J e n k ln so n , h im s e lf c l o s e t o Mute a s w e ll as

G r e n v ille , f e l t % . .much o b l i g e d . . . f or t h i s in s t a n c e of your a t t e n t io n to th o s e who have c o n tr ib u te d to be o f s e r v ic e to you.®

The d e c is io n la y w ith H h e p r in c ip a l p e r s o n ,H how*

e v e r , n o t w ith th e ‘Treasury s e c r e t a r y , and the p r o je c t was s h o r tly h a lt e d upon B u te ’ s d i r e c t o r d e r s ® ^

jt is d iffic u lt,

i f n o t im p o s s ib le t o say where F r a n c is 's l o y a l t i e s la y , though he was c e r t a i n l y alw ays tru e to M s own b eet in te r * ea ts. In view o f th e m u ltitu d e o f p am ph lets, l e t t e r s , and papers d e s c r ib in g t h e dangers t o t h e l i b e r t y o f th e p ress In 1763 and 1 7 6 4 , one ca se of r e p r e s s io n by act of P a r lia ­ ment stan d s o u t in s o c k - r e l i e f d in in g th e a d m in is tr a tio n o f Georgs G r e n v ille . B roit l e R o l.

This* was th e a f f a i r o f Timothy Brecknock’ s

The pam phlet appeared e a r ly In 1764, a t a

fciiae when g e n e r a l w a rr a n ts, p r i v i l e g e , and the o th e r is s u e s bound up in t h e R ilk e s c a se were a t w hite h e a t .

In to t h i s

scene came * t h ie p e s t i l e n t i a l t r e a t i s e * , .a c o l l e c t i o n from old s t a t u t e s and o b s o le t e custom s o f th e d a rk est and most lif --------------------------F ran cis t o J e n k in so n , c . December 5 ,1 7 6 4 s Jonk in son papers , Pg* 3 4 2 -3 . 83

. Jenkinson t o F r a n c is , December 5 ,1 7 6 4 and Tec ember 10,1764-: 1M & ., PP. 3 4 3 -4 .

211-

a r b it r a r y a g e s o f w h a tev er te n d e d ,* * to show and uphold th© p r e r o g a tiv e o f th e C r o w n * ”guch a c o d e , ” d e c la r e d ***** spok e f o r I t s e l f *

a lp o le ,

I t was in c e n s e l a i d on an a l t a r e r e c t ­

ed to power on w hich human s a c r i f i c e s had a lr e a d y 'been o f f e r -

e&."m The a t t e n t i o n o f th e House of Lords was c a l l e d to D r o it l e Hoi by Lord L y t t e lt o n on February 2 1 , and i t was s e v e r e ly c a s t i g a t e d by him a s a r e f l e c t i o n upon a l l th in g s sacred to th e memory o f l i b e r t y and th e R ev o lu tio n *

Loxd

D artm outh^ su p p o rte d L y t t e lt o n and, a c c o r d in g t o ft& 1pole, went even f u r t h e r In M s condem nation*

rhe m in is t r y , unable

to d efen d th e pam phlet* had th ey been w i l l i n g , cou ld do l i t ­ t l e but concur*

H a l i f a x ’ s c e n s u r e was e la b o r a t e , but he

found o c c a s io n t o com plain t h a t L y t t e lt o n had n ot inform ed him o f h i s i n t e n t i o n s *

M archm ont^ M* ..p r o p o s e d to ta c k a

compliment t o t h e King on h i s lo v e o f l i b e r t y . . , * t! to the r e s o lu t io n t h a t D r o it Xe Hoi was 11a f a l s e , m a lic io u s , and >itwHWM

HUiUltoHM

*

t r a it o r o u s l i b e l # H W ithout a d i v i s i o n th e book was conde®*bed t o be b u rn ed , t h e House o f Commons asked to jo in th e Lords’ r e s o l u t i o n , and W illia m G r if f I n o f F e t t e r Lane, th e p r in te r , o rd ered t o a tte n d a t th e b ar o f th e B ouse,

On the

....... .............j 1 ■ si . W alpole, M em oirs, I , 304* W illiam L eg g e, 2nd Karl o f Dartm outh( 1 7 3 1 - 1 6 0 2 ) ,noted f o r h is p ie t y and su p p o rt o f m ethodism , v o te d w i t h th e mu -o rity on the c i d e r b i l l , p r e s id e n t Board of tr a d e 1 7 6 5 -6 , c o lo n ia l s e c r e ta r y 1 7 7 2 - 5 , P riv y S e a l 1775-62* 86 Hugh Hume, 3rd. r a r l o f H archaont (1 7 0 8 -9 4 ) s opposed ..id p o le u n t i l c a l l e d t o t h e p e e r a g e , s u b s e q u e n tly en jo y ed a f a i r l y a c tiv e and I n s i g n i f I ca n t c a r e e r .

-212-

2 3 r d , G r i f f i n a p p e a r e d , and named T im othy B reck n ock , •*& r e t a i n e r o f t h e la w , and a hackney w r i t e r , ” a s th e a u th o r , the p rin ter* was th e n d isc h a r g e d * am i B recknock o rd ered in t o

th e k e e p in g o f th e G entlem an U sh e r ,

The House o f Commons

con cu rred w ith th e Lords t h e n e x t d a y , and on S a tu r d a y , Feb­ ruary 2 5 , t h e common hangman burned th e pam phlet a t ,.e s t a l n s t e r H a ll g a t e ,

The cerem ony was r e p e a te d on riond&y be­

f o r e th e E oyal E xch an ge,

As f o r B reck n ock , W alpole vurote,

*th a l a t t e r p a r t o f th e s e n t e n c e nobody to o k any p a in s to e x e c u t e ; rt t h e a u th o r o f D r o it l e R ol ended upon an I r i s h g a llo w s , hanged f o r murder* T h is e p is o d e was u n im p o rta n t in I t s e l f ,

it

serv ed

t o em barrass t h e m in is t r y s l i g h t l y , and a llo w e d the o ld Whigs t o c o n g r a t u la t e th e m s e lv e s f o r s a v in g the- C o n s tit u t ­ ion*

Ho e f f o r t was made t o d is c o v e r w h eth er Brecknock w rote

a t th e i n s t i g a t i o n o f m i n i s t e r s , a lth o u g h W alpole f a i t th a t th e r e wag some s i g n i f i c a n c e In hi® l a t e r atta ch m en t t o th e S a ri o f N o r t h u m b e r l a n d , I t seem s m ost l i k e l y he w rote sim ply a s a c o n t r o v e r s i a l p a m p h leteer who h op ed , by show ing a s m a tte r in g o f l e a r n i n g , t o g a r n e r a few s h i l l i n g s .

lo r e

im portant i s t h e can© o f D r o it l e Rol a s an ill.u p t r a .t io n o f wr --------- — —■ — !— ~ ~ — — — —_ _ j y k i « # x x x , 4 7 6 - 7 ,4 8 0 - 3 ; J » h . g » . x x ix , 8 7 4 -5 ; i ^ r l , W t , , x v , 1418-20; H orace W alp ole t o t h e B a r i o f H e r tfo r d , February 2 4 , 1764i W a lp o le, L e t t e r s (T oynb ee) ,VI , 2 1 ; a l doI d ,,/ omoi r s , 1 , 304506; London Mag^T x x x X iI (1764 K 1 5 7 ; Bent *s la g . , XXXIV( 1 7 6 4 ), 96 ^ •A .F a rrer, Books ooiideraned to be b arn ?(Wow Xork, £18923) ,1 8 1 ?; 0 * E * & lll® ilr; "irBu i f f 3 T 'liooMsWew l o r k , 1 9 3 2 ) *11 ■6 9 0 -3 1 • 88 — ----Hugh F oray, 1 s t puke o f o rth u m b erla n d ( 1 7 1 5 - 0 6 } ,&1 IIed to flute by m a r r ia g e , Lord L ie u te n a n t of J red and 17-53; n e g o tia te d w ith P i t t , 1 7 6 5 , and d is m is s e d ; c r e a te d Duka a t :h a t ham1s i n fllste n e e 1 7 6 6 ; a s an a n t l - f t l l k l t o Lo rd-L 4eu t er.ant of i d d l e s®x, he was q u it e u n p o p u la r .

t h e r e a d in e s s o f P a r lia m en t t o a c t i v e l y i n t e r v e n e a s t h e guardian o f p u b lic r e a d in g — an a t t i t u d e n o t l i m i t e d by p a r ­ ty and c o n s e q u e n tly Im p ortant when P a r l i a m e n t and t h e p r e s s c la sh e d more d i r e c t l y a few y e a r s l a t e r . In a d d it io n t o papers and a r t i c l e s w hich may Do d e ­ s c r ib e d as a t l e a s t s e m i - o f f i c i a l , s in c o r e w r it e r s and Im­ pecunious 'h ack s c o n tr ib u te d t o s w e ll th e pam phlet l i t e r a t ­ u re o f 1 7 6 > * 5 $ l o su p p o rt o f m i n i s t e r s *

Duoh, ap p aren tly*

was Owen R uff head *s Con, s i d e r s t 1 on & on t h e p resen t d a n g e ro u s c r is is ® ^ Which was w r it t e n d a r i n g th e summer of 176 3 .

The

pamphlet a tta c k e d a i l m in is t e r s p r e c e d in g G r e n v ille , and stru ck a t f a c t i o n a l us© of p o p u la r o ,- in ion and th e p r e s s by men l i k e Tem ple— tt. . * a n o b le L o rd , who s h o u ld degrade M s q u a lity by a p p e a r in g p u b l l c k l y . . . t o g iv e c o u n te n a n c e to such an o f fe n d e r c s e W ilkes 3» ms I f , by h is p r e s e n c e , he meant t o en cou rage and uphold, s e d i t i o n , i n open d e f i a n c e o f h ie country ** l a

w

s . H u ff head s t r u c k h a r d a t i he

current d e c l a m a t i o n upon t h e d an gers t o l i b e r t y by men l i k e W ilkes,

*3uch w r i t e r s , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e i r p a t r o n s and ad­

h er e n ts, under t h e s p e c i o u s mask of b e in g f r i e n d s , a r e in tr u th th e most d a n g e r o u s f o e s , t o freed om .

By t h e i r bound-

l e e s 11 G e n iio u s n e s s , t h e y a f f o r d , t e e o nly p l a u s i b l e p r e te x t fo r r e s t r a in in g t h e m ost vslu& bl© o f a l l r ig h t o — bn© l i b e r t y ©f th e p r e s s ,*

A g a i n s t th e a p p e a l to p u b l i c o p in io n — "to th e

Owen R uffhead ( 1 7 2 3 - 6 9 ) , m i s c e l l a n e o u s w r i t e r of t a e T o s t , opposing Fox and A rthur Murphy 1o O on-T eet; w ro te a pamphl:-i th e ap p roach in g p e a c e i n 1 7 6 0 o b l i n d ”*the f t r . t u t e s a t I*&rg® and war b u r to n ’ s lo n e . Mu) nalinaaiiJHi

pftfinions o f th e m u lti tude**— :R uff head throw th e charge *uno o n s t it u t lo n a l* *

Th© la w fu l and r ig h t c o u r se f o r f r ie n d s

t o t h e i r co u n try la y in u n if ie d s u p p o r t o f th e brown and 90 th© "young and v ir t u o u s monarch** .A r e p ly was forthcom ­ in g , and, a c c o r d in g to John Aimon, from the pen of Horace W a lp o le .^ *

4The o p p o s it io n •t\ o th e late m in is t e r vlndieafced HM M bM *

I m ■I i ^ w n MU

Ml

i.mwi

had l i t t l e t o ©ay o f n o t e .

i*»w.mh»W

miiiii i

niy-iw im rii< li' iw i i » : h

1 iro j

I t was w o ll- w r t t t o n , m oderate,

most f r ie n d ly t o th e ?~T»wo a s t le-B e v o n obi re b 'h lg e , and a t t r a c t ­ ed l i t t l e a t te n t io n * I l l u s t r a t i v e of a n o th e r c l a s s of w r ite r s and t h e ir pam­ p h le ts was John Brown *s T houghts on o iv i 1 1 o (jr t y , on l i c e n t ­ io u s n e s s . and f a c t i o n * ^

A t y p i c a l ’ church and crown® pam­

p h le t, Brown *e work was f i l l e d w ith r ig h t sous p la titu d e s * F action and c i v i l l i b e r t y were d e c la r e d to he in co m p a tib le, and th e a u th o r b ew a iled th e p r e v a le n t Im m orality o f the h igh ­ e s t and lo w e s t c l a s s e s .

H© a c u te ly remarked, however, th at

"the p eop le o f t h i s kingdom ** were n o t " th e populace of the c a p ita l" d e s p it e th e e f f o r t s of F a c tio n t o confound them by S ty lin g "the clam our o f th e populace" as "the v o le s o f the people*"

The d is s e m in a tio n of p o l i t i c ; ! rumor* and personal

calumny by "enem ies o f v i r t u e and freedom" was condemned*

^fcfiM i— — »L — ^tp-^iny■ w Jf— i.lIf.r.'t-^i.-ny.— .■ n„T *im u-nm fim i~t't».m nr-n-ir--

"He would by no Means d isc o u r a g e th e Freedom of th e i r a s a ;

Y et, s u r e , i t s Id c errtio u s 11.111>11

o

m ight seem an O bject of the 11

rr r

Ruffhe&d, C o n s id e r a tio n s on th e p resen t dangerous c r i s i s (London, 17o3T7pp*35-51 and pels aim . 91 ** Almon, 31ogr& phloal A n ecd o tes, 1 ,4 5 . I have found no eth er s u b s ia n t 1a t in g e v i d e n c e f o r Aim on1a state* jent j i t w e ll b@ e r r o n e o u s, 92 John Brown ( 1 7 1 5 -6 6 ) , a p r e - u t i l i t a r l a n A ngli can preacher, frien d o f Warburton, p r e se n te d t o a l i v i n g by Hardwlokc, but d isap p o in ted in M e h o p e s, in p a r t because of h i p. m ental in ­ s ta b ility *

-2 1 5 -

M agistrate*® R e g a r d * S u c h an a t t i t u d e , c a u tio u s and con­ s e r v a t iv e as I t w as, and a n t a g o n is t ic t o cim ages which were ta k in g p la c e , was echoed by many on Englishman who, l i k e W illiam S tra h a n , f e l t t h a t * , , , a s t o the? li b e r t y of the P r e ss, % n e v e r th ough t I t In any Danger, but from i t * s to o g r o a t

L ie e n tl ouenes© »,?^ One f i n a l a sp e c t of th e p o l i t i c a l p ress d u rin g th e se y ears d e s e r v e s t o be m en tio n ed , n o t o n ly ee i t has been h ith e r to ig n o r e d , but as a fu r th e r r e c o g n it io n of the part of th e p r e s s in p o l i t i c s *

The a n ti-S c o ttla m o f l i l k e ? and

h is f e llo w s n a t u r a lly aroused a r e a c t io n n orth of the Tweed. S c o t tis h c o n s t it u e n t s voted, la u d a to r y r e s o lu t io n s to t h e ir r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s in d e f ia n c e o f Png 11 eh sen tim en t and open antagonism*

The p u b lic a t io n o f th e s e r e s o lu t io n s was bo gun

during th e summer cf 1 7 6 3 , but h a lte d upon warning from th e manager® of A n g lo - s o o t t is h p o l i t i c ® .

S tu a rt s&ckensl© ad­

v is e d h i s f r ie n d s a g a in s t such s te p s in O ctober by s t r e s s in g th e ^immense im p ro p riety * of s t i r r i n g up g r e a te r n a tio n a l f r i c t i o n **at suoli a time.**

Those e x p ress io n s of o f f i c i a l

p u b lic o p in io n were c o n se q u e n tly ended, anc. the d e fe n se of Scotland*® honor l e f t t o th e ready pen s, to n g u e s, and v o te s o f North B r ito n s in L ondon*^ ....................—------- — --------- -— ” If" Brown, Thoughts on c i v i l l i b e r t y ^ . i a a , i 5 5 7 r s r r ...........“ —

— --- — - — —~ ~ ~ ™ (ftew castle-u n on -T yn e,17655»

W .strahan to B * F ra n k lin , August 1 8 ,1 7 6 3 s fo m fr e t," Further l e t t e r s o f W illiam S tra h a n ,* Perma0:-.-ar.*of M ist.nnd Sl o g *, U C i9 3 6 ),4 6 9 . ~ ~ “ ~

95

Bee M ackenzie t o Baron P u re,O ctob er 2 0 ,1 7 6 3 , and O ctober 28, 1763sC ald w ell paper.® , Fart II , V o l .l ,1 9 6 - 8 . T l c b h ite fo o r d *** on© o f th o s e who q u ie t ly a t a b o u t to u n d eceiv e th e pub­ l i c *a$ to th e n o t i o n . . . t h a t moat p la c e s o f T rust and i r o f i t ifc England were e n g r o s s 'd by Scotchmen* ’* h ito fo o r d to K night, February 1 5 ,1 7 6 6 $ j e h it e f o o M p a p e r s,p .1 4 3 .

-216-

George G r e n v ille may n o t have been a s ta t e s m a n o f th e v i s i o n a r y , dynamic sc h o o l o f i ' l t t , b u t he was a good, and a s u c c e s s f u l a d m in istra to rs,

At th e c o n c lu s io n of the

s e s s io n in 1 7 6 4 , B a rrin g to n w ro te: “George G r a n v i l l e has done ad m irab ly, In d eed tr iu m p h a n tly , in t h e House o f Commons.* The m in istr y had proved i t s s t r e n g t h , arid secu red * , , , i n fa v ou r o f i t s s t a b i l i t y th e p u b lic k o p i n i o n . ^6

xhe O rit-

i c a l Rev low p a ssed i t s b ia s s e d a p p r o v a l by s t a t i n g t h a t 9t h i s i s t h e f i r s t r e ig n e v e r known i n t h e B r i t i s h a n n a ls, in which w it, le a r n in g ,, r e a s o n in g , and l i t e r a r y a c oom pli shme n t s of ev­ ery k in d , were a lm o st e n t i r e l y on th e s i d e o f govern m ent,” “The a n t i- m in is t e r i a l w r it e r s s u f f e r th e m se lv e s to be sh ot a t l i k e so many h a res in t h e i r s e a t s . . , * ” iew ,

co n tin u ed th e Rev­

“T h is s i l e n c e m ight be a s c r ib e d t o th e v ry w o rst o f

a l l c a u s e s , had we n o t s e e n . . . t h e m ost v i r u l e n t l i b e l s th a t ev er were aimed a t an a d m in is tr a tio n pass unp r o se c u te d , uncensured, raid, u n p u n is h e d ,*97

por a n o th e r y e a r G r e n v i l l e h eld

h is p o s it io n a g a in s t t h e a t ta c k s o f a l l f a c t io n s and t h e e f ­ f o r t s o f h ie own m in ister© and m aster to b etra y o r forcehim from o f f i c e ,

v.hen he f e l l , n e it h e r f & r ll a m e n t a r y n o r

popular o p p o s itio n was th e v i c t o r , b u t th e one ^an in .jriglarid t o whom p u b lic o p in io n meant n o th in g , George th e T hird, B arrington t o B u c k in g h a m s h ire , v.ay 9 , 1 7 6 4 : I ian M M ., p . 250* 9 jr C r i t i c a l R eview , XVII (1 7 6 4 ), 391.

-217

I

L oth ­

I M tc

aA.i:-: For m s

J

Ul

;n: fa pu h-.rs a "t v a r i a

t

th e f a i l u r e o f th@ m i n o r i t y i.:. the mousu o f OorumonB to condemn th e u se o f a g e n e r a l w arrant a g a i nr-t t h o p r e s s forced, th e d is c u s s io n o f th e q u e e tlo n o u t -o f -d o o r o .

In

papers and pamphlet® th e argum ents were p laced b e f o r e t h e reading p u b l i c , u s u a lly In t h e 'b a sic f o m o f a d ef ■e c e of the m in is tr y o r the o p p o s it io n ,

on tho p a r t of

he m in is ­

try* an e f f o r t was made to d e m o n s t r a t e toy a compendium o f warrants i s s u e d s i n c e t h e R e s to r a tio n t h a t n o th in g contrary to custom arid u sa g e had toeon clone in

l i k e s *o ca.se, v.i,c\ th a t

the m a jo rity i n F e b r u a r y 1 7 6 4 , had s im p ly u p h eld mi a n c i e n t and honored p r a c t ic e ,^

t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a m p h leteer e sought

to d isp ro v e Dr. Johnson *s d ie turn th a t a gorier. .1 w arrant i s w«»#a m a tter ab ou t w:.-lot> t h e p e o p l e ear© p.o v= ry l i t t l e , th at were a man t o be s e n t o v e r B r i t a i n t o o f f e r t h e n an exemption from i t a t a h alfp en n y a p i e c e , v e r y few woe Id purchase 11 0"^ The ta s k o f s t a t i n g t h e e a e o f o r the; o p p o s i t i o n f e l l Upon C h a r le s Townahend*

During, t h e

D u rre r of 1764, he e,a»

ployed h is time* in w i l t i n g , and e a r l y in a u g u s t, Jo hr:

l.-on

r~ — ~ « See* f o r i n s t a n c e , > .O.Vsebs, Co p i os tak e:; i r a : ; t re r .c o r d s , • , ° f w a r r a n ts i esu ed toy C e c re t s rTerTlTf’ f t a t o , foj- • oizi-: p eroons s u s p e c t e d "of b e i n g 7 . . t h e a u t j m r r ’, " T rin tT rs v-r?d ,.;;u i. :.shg rs ofr T l'b eI'sT ». » ( bond or., 17n3 ) » The >3bovo pain t ?.ar, of cou rse, a d m i t t e d in th e C o u r t s , but not Howec in a x t a w a - ion o f t h e a c c u s e d r>ernoi;s8 2 Bosw ell ( H i l l - F o w e l l ) , T l, 73*

“ 218-

p u b lish ed h i s D efen ce o f th e M in ority In th e Mouse, of Commons, on th e q u e s tio n r e l a t i n g to g e n e r a l w a r r a n ts .

Tovsnebond’ s

pamphlet was a r e p ly t o th e numerous govern m en tal p u b lic a t ­ io n s which he a c cu sed o f m is r e p r e s e n tin g th e a t t i t u d e of th e M in ority toward g e n e r a l w a r r a n ts,

th ey w ere, s a id town s t a i d ,

opposed o n ly to th e u se o f g e n e r a l w arran ts whan is s u e d a g a in ­ s t s e d it io u s l i b e l s , a c a s e In w hich n o t o n ly tho l i b e r t y

f

th e p re ss was cor.-corned, but a l s o th e r ig h t e o f I n d iv id u a ls and s o c ie t y in g e n e r a l.

He s tr o n g ly d en ied any co n n ectio n

between th e l a t e M in o rity and John bl I k e s — th ey were n ot H ha f a c t i o u s S u it e o f any Man. 11 The pam phlet was wo 11- w r it ­ ten t but I t owed I t s fame and s u c c e s s — i t q u ic k ly went through f i v e e d i t i o n s — more t o i t s so u r c e than i t s

c o n te n t.

The d e f onee o f t h e M in or!ty came o f f Aimon1s p r e s s e s on th e 1 3 th o f A ugust.

The p u b lis h e r f orn rde g»W i.fr10’inT *—

l i t e r a l l y r e p r in te d t h e p am p h let, IT 2?

The 'magazines

and only .'lik e s among



Letter concerning l i b e l s , p p . 9 . 1 5 . 2 0 , 2 2 , 2fl-3 0 , $ 6 - 7 , 1 0 0 .

Walpole t o H e r t f o r d , December 3 , 1 ? 6 4 : a l p o l n , L e t t e r s . ( .oyn~ be e) ,V I., 154- 5 * See a l s o > ;alpole , T e m o i r a , 1 1 , 2 6 - 7 » w he rein Walpole c a l l s i t " p e r h a p s t h e a b l e s t LpamPhlut j ov«-r vu i t t e n . " as “ G-ray t o W alp ole, December 3 0 ,1 7 6 4 :(fro;/1c l e t t e r s , ! , ,5 6 -7 • 29 — u— — —^ See f o r i n s t a n c e t h e London l a g . , XXXHI (1764) ,647-50;XXXIV (1 7 6 5 ), 23—26*

229-

th a m&r® lib e r a l p o lltlo a n s ecems to have been d isp lea sed

~*-and th at because 11fcoarse w orthless follow a* t am c a lle d twice* The argument® brought forward by the Father of Candor were devastating*

His publisher described th e pamphlet as

irrefutable# and declared that wtbs m inistry did not attempt to answer t h is work,

I t was I n v i n c i b l e * M e a s u r e d by

su ccess9 the b e tte r concerning l a b e l s stood unanswered, but *».' .mW*m»

*«»>» * >

»».«B'Wnia ijB

*

«^ waft*aft»*iw i*,rrM^« i«V*gr r

G e n tle m e n ,* # se t t h e i r Minds a t r e s t s t h e i r own P r o d u ctio n s s u f f i c i e n t l y e v in c e the L ib e r ty o f t h e P r ess s t i l l e x i s t i n g In f u l l Force,**

G r e n v ille *s s e c r e t a r y r e f u s e d t o m eet Can­

dor*© argument-® , however*

On th e s a l i e n t q u e st io n o f the

r ig h t of a ju r y t o d eter m in e Lam a s w e ll rb f a c t , he ex ­ cused h im s e lf on t h e grounds th a t ”i t i e

a q u e s tio n o f to o

much D e lic a c y and Im p ortance f o r me to d e c id e * rt*'"

A more

d e t a ile d r e f u t a t i o n was a ttem p ted in th e anonym oue g o n s id o r a tio n s on t h e l e g a l i t y o f g e n e r a l w arrant a whose a u th or defended th e m in is t r y and th e King*© bench in t h e i r r e s p e c t­ iv e a d m in is t r a t iv e and ju r l& ia i& l a c t i v i t i e s ,

danger

to th e s u b j e c t # ” he a d d ed , ltX& a mere phantom o f I m a g in a tio n , "33 Wilkes t o G o t e s , Deoeiaber 1 0 ,1 7 6 4 J W ilkes o o r r * 91 1 »94-3»

31

B

--------

Aim on,

b io g r a p h ic a l a n e c d o t e s #1 , %9*

Lloyd,

««I|wWw»i nil i w i■wi»qi

D e f e n c e «o f ■■ntinmhtu**e «i>n»* m *a*B»»ww»MjwiH'wi< j o r i t yW

(ende d . ) , f p .4 8 ,5 2 - 3 »

m

CAron, 3 t Gon s id e r a t I o n s on t h e l e g a l i t y o f per, e r a l w a r r a n ts , and the p r o p r ie ty of^a* p a r 11 a men l’a S y r e aml a t x on o f ” t h e same* £© which l i added a p o s t s c r i p t on a l a t e puHgHIet c o n c e r n in g ^ j u r i e s / l i b e l s / f t o ,T 2nd e d * ; London, VlW hPP .1 0 -1 3 , 3 7 ,4 1 - 2 ,4 7 - 8 . I. y * IflM IP^wS—

Jt>l II m * iHjtflW

inlM ilrt

mm

I- r

-8 3 0 -

-*

ImlHMMwW,

"■'*»

1 -*"*-'•***

- IL l-J|l-,l- >

II■ Mill am I'd

The i d e n t i t y o f th e F a th e r o f Candor was no l e s s g h o s t1$. b u t M

b

s e n tim e n ts l e d many to s p e c u la t e P it h a ssu ra n ce

th a t do Ym. Dunning w r o t e th e L e t t e r ao n p o r n lr. ^ l i b e l s w i t h th e a id o f Lord Camden , 3 *

J o h n Aimon, t h e pualishex% d e c la r ­

ed Of th e a u th o r — "He was a n o b le p e e r , ” b u t a l s o t h a t % «, t h e r e a l a u t h o r was a l a t e m a s t e r i n c h a n c e r y ; he hod much a s s i s t a n c e from Lord Camden,"35

The two s t a t e m e n t s a r e n o t

e n t ir e ly c o n f l i c t i n g and i t h a s been s u g g e s t e d tha ;, Aim on *s ”l a t o m aster in a h a n e e r y '5 was R o b e r t P r a t t s t h e C h ie f j u s t ic e * h a lf - b r o t h e r , ^

The q u e s t io n i s academ ic; e i t h e r IXmnii-g

or Camden m ight have f a t h e r e d C andor,

I t i s p e r h a p s most

p le a sa n t t o im a g in e su n n in g i n t h e r o l e , f o r t o him, in p a rt, f e l l th e d e fe n s e of t h e p a m p h le t and i t s Court of JCing’ fl Bench u n l e a s h e d i t s

p u b lis h e r as the

"’Dogs of t h e lawfl upon

John Almon, The L e t t e r co np e w ring 1-Tbe I s s t r u c k moot liars lily a t t h e l e g a l a s p e c t s o f t h e p r e s s lv p o l i t i c s , and a n im a d v e r t­ ed d i r e c t l y upon t h e r e c e n t sta n d ta k er by L e r s fl a i d and h i s f e l l o w j u r i s t s i n t h e c a s e s o f L i l l l a an and K e rrs ley* Such c r i t i c i s m was n o t t o be t o l e r a t e d by t h e g e n t l e - i«r iri tho f u ll- b o tto m e d w igs, though I t n i g h t escape th e a t t e n t ­ io n s of mere p o l i t i c i a n s *

At to r n ey « ge? i o r a l S i r Fletche r*

:------------------------------ ---60 f e l t H orac e f t a lp o l o s L e t t e r s (Toynbeel , v i ,1 5 4 -5 ; .-.emoirs, I I , 26*7. — ~ 35 Wilkes e o r r , , I * 245 n , ; I X ,9 5 n* B io g r a p h i c a l a n s e d a t e s , I ,oOw 36 —~ B».B,tT0&n&er p a m p h lets," N o tes arid C ueries,P ncl V( 1 8 5 8 ) , U l m R obert P m t i (cl* J u l y 1 1 , l ? ? b 7 7 r ~ cornnencloc- by P i t t f o r a Seat in th e Commons, November 1763! r e t u r n e d and s a t ir two P a r lia m e n ts; a p p o in ted m aster i n c h a n c e r y 1768* pO'scribed in flcrit*s M sg.,X L V (1775) ,3 5 1 , a» c Annual ReK. . i v m U 7 7 5 ) . g l l , as Oamdexre nephew, Bee Chat ham ~c o r r . , 1 1 , 8 88 a

m

Iforton moved t h e Court f o r & w r it o f a tta ch m en t a g a in s t th e p u b lis h e r f o r con tem p t o f c o u r t#

A copy o f th e o f f ending

pam phlet had been p u rch ased from a Bsleewom&i* ir. Aimon*s shop on January 1 7 ,1 7 6 5 * and s i x day?, l a t e r , th e m otion fo r a w r it was made#

On t h e s t r e n g t h o f t ho depots i t lor, of John

B e l l , a m essen g er o f th e pro s o , t h a t he hen se c u r e d th e pamphlet from t h e p u b lis h e r , Aluon was g iv e n u n tl 1 J a n u a r y g*5 to show ca u se why a w r it sh o u ld n o t th en be i s sued a g ­ a in s t him* ^ Then th e d e f e n d a n t ’ e c o u n s e l appeared on th e 2|5tli, but one judge s a t on t h e P in g ’ s Baneb, f i r John har-clley Wllmot.,

Aim on and h i s f r i e n d s f e l t t i n t

n d e li­

cacy k ep t him from b e in g p a rty t o a gbubo .In irldch he had such a p e r s o n a l I n t e r e s t ; t h e o th e r j u s t i c e s w ere unavoid­ ab ly a b s e n t * ^

Pea p it© t h e p le a o f t h e d e fe n d a n tf b co u n sel

th a t an Im m ediate h e a r in g or a d i s m i s s a l m ight be g r a n ted , Wilmot d e c la r e d th e c a s e w orthy of a f u l l ten ch and rtto o much to ta k e upon h im s e lf

Upon th e

-\tto r a e y -g o n ©ra 1 ’ s

m otion , he bound Aim on o v er u n t i l th e n e x t term , whan a f u l l c o u r t m ight c o n v e n e * ^

In th e meantime P a rlia m en t m et, and the O p p o sitio n to o k .u p th e s t r u g g le f o r th e p r ess*

38

The q u e s t i o n of

| | S * i XX3C V (17® ),45} Aim on , M emoirs, p ,2 2 .

~

Aliaon, t e m o t r s , p«22l r a l p o l e ,m e m o i r s ,I I ,d s o jln o n cays th a t th e o ilie r "Judges were i l l ; W alpole e x p la in s t h a t ”Judge ben i s on had r e s ig n e d , end t h e rev; judge hod T.-ot taker, h is 0©at*w A c tu a lly S i r Thomas Ion ic o n r e s ig n e d b o r u u i y 11, 1T65, b e c a u se of d e c l i n in g b o r lt h , 39 W alpole, Memoirs ,1 1 ,4 8 j Alaion, d e m o ir c, p 0d j; Jug* ?

VIII(1765),P P . 177-9.

-232-

gdti&ral w a r r a n t s was

by S i r W illiam M e r e d i t h ? ana

*th@ g r e a t T r i a l o f th e O p p o sitio n * was h o ld or.; Ja n u a ry 29, whan M e re d ith o f f e r e d an u n q u a l i f i e d m otion a on ( te w in g th e tie© of a g e n e r a l w a r r a n t a g a i n s t a u t h o r s , p r i n t e r s

o r p\;b-

l i s h e r s m " n o t w a rra n te d by law., and*«*an high v i o l a t i o n of th e l i b e r t y o f t h e s u b j e c t * 11 The m in o r i t y d id t h e i r b e s t , but P i t t was a b s e n t and. Yorke 1 uko-wanc*

i l l th o o ld arg u ­

ments were b ro u g h t f o r t h once more, however th e m in i s t r y r e s t e d t h e i r d e fe n s e c h i e f l y upon t h e f a c t t h a t the q u e s t­ ion was s t i l l sub Juflioe in 'W estm inster f a l l * m aintain ed u n t i l s i x o 'c l o c k t h e n e x t morning*

r e b a t e was By t h a t

time a ..q u a lif y in g amendment had shown t h e s t r e n g t h of both p a r t i e s to be 224 and 185«

The d e c i s i v e elem ent was t h a t

middle p a r ty *, ,*w hlch f e l t th e c o u r t s needed no s tim u lu s In t h i s m a tte r*

They had amended i t i n t o o b l iv i o n in the

proceeding s e s s io n \ now t h e y d i d so a,g a i n , l* and the main q u e stio n was n e g a t i v e d * ^ &B w i n t e r p a s s e d i n t o c u r i n g and o p p o s itio n rem ain ­ ed l e a d e y l o e s and Im p o ten t, one f u r t h e r a t t e m p t van? -unde to a l l e v i a t e t h o p l i g h t o f the r r o s r ,

On iar-oh 4 , p i eh ol«

son C a lv e rt^ * moved " T h a t l e a v e b e g iv e n t o b r i n g in o t i l l -w , J*E*Ce ,.XXX,70; P a r i*h i s t * }XVI ,6 - 1 5 1 Annual Reg*,\Tf JT (1765)» 26*-3 2 jj Edward Sedgw ick t o “Edward "■•©etoh, ia n u a ry Ip and J a n ­ uary 3 1 ,1 7 6 5 ; H• . !• 0 • 1 0 th R ep o rt, f a r t T, 361-2? aA nStanley, P erson al and p a rty govern m en t, o p ,214-16*. AX K ich o lso n O a lv e r t(1 7 2 4 ? - 93)» m*j.:u f o r Tew kesbury, a stnunoh and f a i r l y l i b e r a l Whig,

*233“

f o r r e l i s t o f M s M a je sty 1e s u b j e c t s , to u c h in g inform ation* in th e K ing*s-bsnoh* by and in th e name o f h is m a je s ty *0 A tto rn e y -G en era l* *

Though w e ll- le a n in g th e m otion wan i l l -

planned ami p o o rly d ir e c te d *

I t was aimed a g a in s t th e per-

son o f A tto r n e y -g e n e r a l N orton , and a s an a tta c k upon le g ­ a l fo r m a lity was c o ld ly r e c e iv e d by th e law yers in th e house* Even f r ie n d s l i k e Conway "***h avin g ob served th a t th o s e pop­ u la r q u e s tio n s o n ly term in ated in 001if irm lng th e power th a t wan ab u sed , had v a in ly lab ou red to prevent th e m otion," Oal v e r t was seconded by S e r je a n t Mewl i t ,

**,. *but in

so c o ld a manner, t h a t the m o tio n ,**r e c e iv e d no m a te r ia l support from h is sp e e c h ,"

C a lv ert had argued t h a t th e meth­

od o f proceeding, by in fo rm a tio n allow ed punle baton t w ith out c o n v ic tio n b eca u se o f t h e heavy c o s t s borne by

he accu sed .

"Thus bad m in is te r s have i t in t h e i r power to h a rra ss any the b e s t - d e s ig n in g men w ith f r i v o lo u s and v e x a tio u s p rose­ c u t io n s , 11

Both he and H ew itt a d m itted , however, t h a t no

abuse o f the power e x is t e d ; th ey i n s i s t e d ***• *only th a t i t might be an in stru m en t of o p p ressio n in bad t i m e s . *,*" Morton to o k advantage o f h is o p e n in g s, sa y in g M, . . h e had th e e & tie fa o tlo n to know th a t he had n ev er f i l e d an i n f o ­ rmation upon w hich th e party had not, afterw ard s been con­ v ic t e d ,,* ,"

"He co u ld n o t ," he added, " consent t o s t r i p th e

Grown o f i t s j u s t p r e r o g a t iv e * ,,,"

The o p p o s itio n f a c t io n s

were f a i r l y w e ll u n ite d t h i s day as f o llo w e r s o f r e w c a s tle , P i t t and Temple sup p orted th e m otion , but C harles xorka earn* out f l a t l y a g a in s t i t .

He p a r t ic u la r ly n o tic e d ", 8*th e

many l i b e l s w hich had been p u b lis h e d , and th e l e n i t y o f th e

- 234 -

Government w ith regard t o t h e m * T h e F a th er of Candor had n o t tr e a te d th e House o f York© w ith k in d n e s s , and C harles had h i s v en g ea n ce. He ob served what s tr a n g e d o c tr in e s of law had been propag­ a te d , and amongst o t h e r s , th a t o f the jury Doing judge© of th e law as w e ll a s th e f a c t , wMoh would d ep riv e th e sub­ j e c t o f th e b e n e f it o f moving In a r r e s t of judgment and o f having th e o p in io n o f th e Judge© in p oin t o f la w , as w e ll as of th e jury in m atter of f a c t , b e fo r e he could be con­ demned. As th e su p p o rters of th e m otion cou ld show no e x c e s s iv e use of th e power t h e ir argument of p o s s ib le abuse was e a s i l y r efu te d by th e d e c la r a tio n th a t th e r e was th en no reason to l i m i t i t .

The House s a t u n t i l between ©even and. e ig h t

o * c lo c k , end th e n , by a d iv i s io n o f 2 0 4 -7 6 , r e j e c t e d th e AO m otion. I t i® an i n t e r e s t i n g commentary upon th e let© e ig h te e n th cen tu ry c o n s t i t u t io n th a t th e O p p osition which could m uster but s e v e n ty -e ig h t v o t e s on a popular is s u e in March (and d id even w orse a g a in s t th e stamp a c t ) , w ith in

th ree months d u rin g which I t underwent schism ra th er than co n ju n ctio n sh ou ld r e p la c e G-renv f i l e ' s v ic t o r io u s m in is tr y . George I I I was determ ined t o change h is s e r v a n ts ; h is cab­

in e t had n o t been stormed and he m ight ex p ect com pliance to h is w ish es among a ch a sten ed and i n e f f e c t i v e m in o r ity . He reckoned, w ith o u t h ie h o s t , how ever, fo r Cumberland *s n e g o t ia t io n s in Bay ©tumbled on th e u lock of PI11 and b is broth er Temple*

The King found h im se lf now a t th e mercy

of m in is te r s who had no ca u se t o love him and e x to r te d a -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------E a rl. h i s t . ,XVX,4 0 -4 5 ; H a Ip o le, Memoirs, I j ,6 0 ; G r e n v ille OOrr, ,1 1 1 ,8 - 1 1 , where th e d iv i s io n I s given a© 2 0 ? -7 § .

w

235“

b i t t e r revenge*

By f o r c in g George t o break h i s word in

d is m is s in g S tu a r t n a ck en aie from M s o f f i c e a s Lord -r iv y S e a l o f S c o tla n d , G r e n v ille and h ie c o lle a g u e s fr e e d th e Xing o f any v e s t i g e o f com punction in d e a lin g w ith th e min­ o r ity . A new n e g o t ia t io n w ith f i t t wab opened in Juno.

The

Great Commoner wag g iv en a f l e e hand to c o n s tr u c t u m in is t­ ry to h is own t a s t e s *

T hese d e s ig n a te d Temple a© f i r e t lo r d

of th e T rea su ry . but th e F ar! r e fu se d to come in d e s p it e every e f f o r t on th e p art o f P i t t and the K ing, and c e r ta in knowledge t h a t P i t t would n o t go on w i t h o u t him.

But one

avenue la y open to th e X ing, r e c o u r se to the g r a t h h ig lo r d s , and th e r e he turned in J u ly , welcom ing back th o se men he had driven from p la c e and power in th e f i r s t y e a r s o f h is r a i g n . ^ The m in i s t e r ia l change of 1765 had a c o n s id e r a b le e f f e c t upon th e p ress*

The advent to power of the party which haw

fou ght f o r th e l i b e r t i e s of a p o l i t i c a l p ress s in c e 1763# bespoke a t o le r a n t a t t i t u d e toward i t s own r e p r e s e n ta t iv e s who had s u ffe r e d f o r t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s , and a ls o toward th o se who might fo llo w the l a t e m in ister© in to the w ild © races of o p p o s itio n . John Aim n had w atched t h e c o u r s e of n e g o t i a t i o n s w ith care and in t e r e s t *

As

Teraple

’ © p erson al p u b lish e r he had

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------For a good euma&ry o f t h e n e g o t ia t io n s of A p r i l - Ju ly 1765, see i n s t a n l e y , P e rso n a l arid party goverauv.-nt, pp. 2 2 0 -4 1 , A d e t a ile d a cco u n t.'o f r0verirt e ac seen by i cmp ie *e fr ie r , dr. In the C ity may bo found In th e le t te r © of Humphrey 3 o tee to John R ilk e s , June 1 5 , 2 5 , and September 2 2 ,1 7 6 3 ; B. .Add. •BBS. 30666. Almost a l l monograph© and s tu d ie s of th in oerlod t r e a t th e n e g o t ia t io n s of 1763 f u l l y , but 8©e eo p©ai a l ly U-. ■. I ml ac n , "Sari Temple and th e m in is tr y o f 1765, ’* h n glip h hi r.t, l e v . , x x x {1 9 1 5 ). ~~

w

ex p ected , had th e Earl gone t o th e T r e a su ry , to have g o tte n -*a s it u a t io n ” from h ie p a tro n . @d m

In t h i s Almon was d isa p p o in t

m r e most o f T m ep le's f r ie n d s ,^ *

A. second. op p ortu n ity

f o r advancement appeared momenta i l l y when char-lee Towns nerd accepted th e o f f i c e o f paym aster w hich G r e n v ille had fo r c ­ ed Holland t o r e s i g n ,

Humphrey d o te s i nformed -'ilk o s th a t

given Almon, th e s e r v in g th e fay O ffic e

Towns bend

w ith s ta t io n a r y w a r e s , , , , rl^

Such seems to have bean th e

new Paym aster*s o r i g i n a l , o r a t l e a s t h i e seem ing i n t e n t , though I t may w e ll have been no more than & humorous j ib e a t G r e n v ille , "the p resen t nom inal m in is te r * who was even then p r o se c u tin g Alison,

The p u b lis h e r accep ted Townsaend*s

remarks s e r i o u s l y , and was c o n s id e r a b ly hurt wh-.n th ey f a i l ­ ed to m a t e r i a l i s e , ^

I t d oes n o t appear whether Aim on a c t­

u a lly r e c e iv e d t h i s plum, o r i f i t m,a o n ly a joke a t th e expense of th e o u tg o in g m ini star© . In b i s l e g a l t r i b u l a t i o n s , th e p u b lis h e r o f t h e h a tte r co n cern in & l i b e l s had reason to be g r a t e f u l f o r th e change o f m in is te r s in J u ly ,

The h ea rin g in Almon's ca se was re­

sumed b efo r e J u s t i c e s W ilmot, y a t e s , and A ston, on te d n e s day* May 1 , and c o u n se l were heard f o r both p a r t ie s ,

Again­

s t Norton and f o l i o i t o r - g e n e r a l A illia m DeGroy, Almon had secured th e s e r v i c e s of S e r je a n t Glynn and. John Dunning, The d efen ce s e iz e d th e i n i t i a t i v e and branded th e C o u rt's ^ i iiii Hm , 1

-" film

"1" II I

Almon* Memoirs,

45 46

TM'-fc* f ll.nn«i-.rl-l.l, T^ r - t- t - -,rn-nOTIrT.

p »32,

Cotes to M i k e s , Juno 1 5 ,1 7 6 5 s 3 •" • Add,■■■■?.s,30868•

Alaon t o Tempi©, June 15,1765? G r e n v llie paper©, I I I ,4 9 .

-2 3 8 -

procedure a s a b reach o f * th e in h e r e n t , th e n a t iv e , th e p ec­ u l i a r p r i v i l e g e and g lo r y o f E n g lish m en ,” t r i a l by Jury* Glynn sou gh t t o d e p r e c a te p e r so n a l an tagonism s by den ying th a t th e pamphlet r e f l e c t e d upon

. the p o r t r a it of an or­

i g i n a l CM anofiald3» i t d e v ia te d so f a r from the lik e n e s s of any c h ie f J u s t i c e , p a r t ic u la r ly tho p r e se n t ono o f th e court o f K ing1s b e n c h ,* A tto r n e y -g e n e r a l Norton d w elt a t le n g th on th e dastard l y form o f Almon*s o f f e n s e ,

he su g g e ste d th a t had Aimon

made h is su b m issio n t o th e c o u rt in January, th e c a se would have been dropped.

To th e c o n tr a r y , t h i s r a s c a lly p r in te r

had r a th e r c ir c u la t e d h is pam phlet more w id e ly ,

prom n in e

o ’c lo c k u n t i l o n e - t h ir t y th a t a ftern o o n Glynn and Dunning attem pted to d i s c r e d i t th e c a s e a g a in s t t h e ir c l ie n t *

At

th e end o f fo u r and a h a lf h o u rs, Wllmot announced th a t th e s tr e n g th o f th e arguments and the im portance o f th e ca se m erited c a r e f u l d e lib e r a t io n on th e p art of the ju d g es; the Court would n o t if y c o u n se l when ready to d e l iv e r t h e i r o p in io n * ^ J u d ic ia l s c r u tin y o f th e c a se brought t o l i g h t an amazing d is c o v e r y .

The o r i g i n a l p r o c e s s , upon which a c t­

ion fra* ta k e n , read th e King a g a in s t john v.-likes r a th e r than John -ftlmonj

Thin c l e r i c a l e r r o r , h e r e to fo r e u n n o tic e d , com­

p le t e ly n eg a ted th e p ro ceed in g s a g a in s t th e p u b lish e r o f & letter concerning, l.i.b e ls »

The Court was n o t p rep ared , how­

ev er to adm it d e f e a t arid allow Aim on to e sc a p e upon a G ent1s Pag. ,XXX(1?65) ,2 4 3 ,2 8 2 ; London hag . ,XXhlV(1765 ) ,2ml Almon, m em oirs, p. 24 iff .

t e o fc n le a l, i f m a te r ia l error*

its e a r ly a?- June 1 0 , & l m m

s e t w ith Glynn and M in in g and warned them th a t he had r e ­ c e iv e d

.undoubted in fo r m a tio n o f an in t e n t io n in th e

Court t o s h i f t th e ground o f c h a r g e . * . , **

Both m m r e p lie d ,

* . . , i t cou ld n o t b e,** *they cou ld n ev er b e lie v e th e Court would do such a t h in g and n o t a llo w , nor g iv e then n o t ic e to make a d e fe n c e a g a in s t i t . *

T h is e r r o r in judgment

n e a r ly c o s t Almaa h i s case* Between one and two o #c lo c k , th e afternoon of June 1 4 , J u s t ic e Wilmot c a l l e d f o r Almon1© c o u n se l to appear b efo re the bar Im m ed ia tely .

The d a y ’s t r a n s a c t io n s were conclud­

ed , and i t was mere chance t h a t Punning was p r e se n t at th ic c r i t i c a l Juncture*

He wan a b le t o r e c a l l C-lynn t o the Court

j u s t as th e l e t t e r was s te p p in g in t o h is coach, and t o g e th ­ er they heard t llm o t a sk f o r t h e ir co n sen t to amend the w rit from V 'llkes t o Aimon and enlarge the grounds of com­ p l a in t ,

Glynn fir m ly r e fu s e d to aoeeed to such a. demand.

Wilmot p e r s e r v e r e d , though a d m ittin g the p e c u lia r i t y of h is r e q u e s t, and * * ,* f o r n ea r an h ou r, coaxed and'bullied them by tu r n s .*

Tempers ro se as an a u d ien ce o f 200 p eo p le gath ­

ered in th e h a l l to j o in Aston *a good-natu red laughter a t h i b co ll© a g u e*c d i f f i c u l t i e s ,

In d e s p e r a t i on - 1 lmo t tu ivi­

ed to Glynn, w ith whom he was p e r s o n a lly f r i e n d l y , p.nei a sk ­ ed him, upon h is honor, to consent t o the proposed a l t e r a t ­ io n l i k e a gentlem an*

His Ira fully r o u sed , th e herj cant

c u r tly r e t o r t e d , ’’Upon hi

hon ou r,* he would nob c o n s e n t.

X a tes and Aston now in te r v e n e d to a v o id p erso n a l

-240-

recrimination between dlynn end Ailmot.

Yates supported

h is b r o th e r Judge and ©aid that the e r r o r had only come to t h e i r a t t e n t i o n th e p r e v io u s evening, end that rt***he thought th e proposed a l t e r a t i o n r ig h t and n e c e s s a r y .” med, c o n f e s s in g that what was asked th e p r a c t i c e .*

.was not a lt o g e t h e r

Alton’s counsel were not Intimldated.

moved to discharge the rule,

q u e s t.

Aston trim ­

but the Court refused

Glynn

his r e ­

A ttoi-n ey-gen er&l Norton agreed to consent to the

o r ig in a l r u le being discharged if th e err o r were cited in th e m otion , but tunning opposed this as op en in g a breach f o r further a c t io n against his cl lent.

Rebuffed, the 1ouro

demanded of the d e fe n d a n t’ s c o u n se l a rule to show why it shou ld not c o r r e c t the e rro n eo u s p r o c e ss on its own auth­ o r ity *

The charge fell upon John Punning who was defend­

in g & pamphlet he may have written, and which hold that The law is the sole sovereign of England, and tha^ law is known% and settled, on the firm b a s is of immeaorable usage, innum erable precedents.* .and upon the ptetutor of kings, lo r d s , and commons* And it is this circu m sta n ce which makes the security, the iDdepender.ce, and the preeminent felicity of Englishmen*

N early s p e e c h le s s with wrath, he refused to comply, and 48 w ith Glynn at his side, retired from th© hall* Undeterred by their Initial f a i l u r e , A.lmon's perse­

c u to r s took prompt action to recover thelr position*

The

Gourt of King's Bench discharged the original process on

June IB; Treasury solicitor Aebb at once introduced & new m

_

_

_



_

_

Almon, Memoirs, p . 26 f f *.; Letter co n cern in g l i b e l s ?p* 65; Alston t o Tem ple, June 1 5 ,l?o5T ~ Grenville papers, I I I ,4 6 -9 ; f.W h a tely t o Grenville, June 19,rl t 6 g : T S l d . . i l l .5 1 -3 *

a c c u s a tio n of contem pt an a Horton moved f o r a new w r i t of attachm ent a g a in s t th e p u b l i s h e r .

Aimon hurried t o Glynn*

r e s id e n c e and hi® c o u n s e l, now b e l i e v i n g t h e b o o k s e lle r 'a s e c r e t i n f o r m a t i o n t h a t t h e Court i n t e n d e d to commit aim u n t i l the November term , e a r n e s t l y ad vised him t o l e a v e London im m ed ia tely .

th e

o n l y means by which a long I m p r i s

oniaent m ight be a v o id ed was t o i n s u r e t h a t t h e m ess en g er s could n o t s e r v e t h e r u le i n p e r s o n . Aimor. f o l l o w e d t h i s a d v i c e .

D e s p i t e c o n s t a n t s had­

owing by o f f i c i a l m e s s e n g e r s , he s l i p p e d o u t of t h e C i t y t h a t ev e n in g .

His pr oble m s were n o t t h e r e b y s o l v e d , f o r

as be w rote Temple s h o r t l y a f t e r ,

HTo i n c r e a s e my m is fo r t­

une, my w i f e was n ex t day t a k e n i n l a b o u r , and a l l my a f ­ f a i r s thrown i n t o c o n f u s i o n .

. . . my hous e has been c o n s t ­

a n tly b e s e t w i t h Webb' & and C a r r i n g t o n ?s g a n g s . "

The min­

i s t e r i a l a g e n t s , u n a b l e t o f i n d t h e i r .'-.evi>..w,:bXIV (1901), 1 6 5 - 9 , 2 7 7 A» E, Hugh’es7*1'f’Contempt ' of c o u r t and trie p rees, w Law Q t l y * Bev * , XV1 ( 1 900 ) , 2 9 6 * be s p i t e the f a c t t h a t ilmot ‘ e Opinion was not delivered, i t was f ollowed and nc cept e d by la ter j u r i s t s e n d forma t h e fc"u:ls of the p r e s e n t s t i l o t con­ trol ovei1 the r e p o r t i n g of t r i a l s i n png la nd by th*; C our ts,

244-

w i t h o u t r e a s o n ) t h a t e r e d . i t was G r e n v ille xm c e r e , IV *20T1TT~~ *

eu*

W hetely t o firen v X11 g , Jam iary 1 *1 7 6 8 ;Grenv111 & paper s , IV * 2 xoa

Almon, Memoirs *p*4 ? . Aimers d o e s n o t I d e n t i f y -'r.S arn ard J r . biti he Vi-"..0 pro ba o ly mie u o twu Bari *a id * * wu ViijOi.i ^*n’ caster o f th e o f th© a l s o recolV ' _ uu B arnard,B aq*, was a u o se q u e n tly p la ced on th e x r is n c i v i l e s t ­ a b lish m en t f o r &400 a n n u a lly (C al.K .O *pape r s , IY , 15 9 ) , and d ied J u ly 12*1773# 8>t amen *&i con t 1s - &&* , auj. h I x. ©orgl£m

-269-

E ngland

*

Opening a s i t d id i n a b r i e f a u r a o f u n io n and fasra o n y , t h e r e ig n o f Ooorgo I I I e x p e r ie n c e d no d i f f i c u l t i e s b etw een p r e s s and P a r lia m e n t u n t i l 1752*

.By t h a t d a te

th e c o u r s e o f p o l i t i c s had been w e ll o u t l i n e d and the g r e a t f a c t i o n a l s t r u g g l e s had begun t o f o llo w one upon th e oth er*

On t h e 2 0 th o f J a n u a r y a can p l a i n t was made

in th© House o f Commons t h a t John W ilk ie h ad„ in th e bond on Ohroni c j e o f December 2 2 - 2 3 , 17*51, p r i n t e d an a c ­ count o f th© p r o c e e d in g s of th e House i n o p o n b r e a c h of th e a n c ie n t p r i v i l e g e s o f t h a t body* to a tte n d th e - f o llo w in g donday*

h lih l© was ordered

The p r in t e r appeared on

th e 2 3 t h , and e x p la in e d t h a t t h e o f f e n s i v e re p o r t had been i n s e r t e d i n h i e paper w ith o u t h is knowledge*

n o t­

w ith s ta n d in g p e r s o n a l in n o c e n c e , J l l k l e was i ound g u i l t y o f b rea ch o f p r i v i l e g e , and ord ered i n t o t h e c u stody of th e S e r j e a n t - a t - a r m s *

The n e x t day t h e c u l p r i t Ss p e t i t ­

io n f o r r e l e a s e was: r e a d .

He e x p re s s e d h im s e lf as

sen ­

s i b l e o f t h e g r e a t n e s s o f h i s s a i d o f f e n c e , and 1b ex­ trem ely so r r y f o r th e same , and w i l l n e v e r be g u i l t y o f th e l i k e f o r t h e f u t u r e * *

Bore c o g e n t was h i s argument

th a t nco n fin em en t i s o f t h e u tm ost d e t r i m e n t to . . . h i e b u s i n e s s . #* . lt charged*

A c o m p a ssio n a te house ordered J i l k i e d i s ­

He k n e l t b e fo r e th e Bar t o r e c e i v e h i s reprim ­

and on January 2 1 , and was r e le a s e d upon p a y in g h i s f e e s £

Such w ere t h e t e r r o r s o f th© House or commons* Goo p r i n t e r bad b een d e p r iv e d o f th r e e w orking d a y s , and

was p rob ab ly s e v e r a l s h i H i n g e ou t

of

pocket in f e e s and

g r a t & it le e t o sundry d o o r -k e e p e r s and p o tty o f f i c i a l s *

Hardly

Was t h e l i b e r t y o f th e p r e s s en d an gered th ereb y ?

s o r e th a n th e h on or and a u t h o r it y o f t h e House o f Commons was e&d&ngered by th e p r i n t e r ’ e In a d v o r t o n t o r r c r ,

.,o

s i n g l e e a s e , c o n s id e r e d a lo n e , o m e x p la in why th e sim p le e x te n t!o n o f th e r e c o g n is e d power, d e sc rib ed in

I l k ie fa

ca se r e s u l t e d , in l a s s th an to n y e a r s , In a p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s In which th e v e s t e d , a s w e ll as the- popular fo r c e s ©f th e d i t y o f London com bined (a m inor m ir a c le in i t s e l f ) t o a f f e c t i v e l y d e s tr o y t h a t power in th e House of Commons, The germ o f e l u c i d a t i o n 1 b to be found in th e a c t­ io n t a ken by th e House on Parch. 3rd , when numerous com­

p la in t s were made * th a t th e putiL is h e r s of newspapers had o f l a t e taken upon them to g iv e accou n ts o f th e proceed-

Inga** •and of t h e debate© pretended t o have been kid th e re ­ upon* ,l

To c l a r i f y i t s p o s i t ! on upon th in s u b je c t, the

new House of Common©, f o llo w in g th e precedent of decades, r e s o lv e d t h a t i t was !ta h ig h in d ig n it y t o , one a n o to r io u s breach o f , th e p r iv ile g e of t h i s House-'1 to p r in t any re­ p ort o f I t s a c t i v i t i e s * ^

In e f f e c t , th e d o llb o r a tio n s o f

th e so v e r e ig n l e g i s l a t i v e body were n ot th e concern o f t h e n a t io n .

Here was the e x p r essio n of Parliam entary

supremacy— n o t over th e Grown, whoso ^Irconon and supporters 5

------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------

XXIX, 206-207.

291'

sa t .in p riv ileg e d sa n c tity — bub o v e r lh e p eo p le of Eng­ land* the s o le p o lit ic a l fa c to r w h ich co u ld j e d e s c r ib e d as ou tside the w a l l s of P arliam en t* "the order of 1762*

I t has been s a id t h a t

threw down th e go,go t o t h e rew spaper

p rin ters, end was th e ord er on which wee s titu tio n a l co n test of 1771* c o r r e c t*

t

ought th e con­

T h is I s n ot s t r i c t l y

The gage o f p a rlia m e n ta r y supremacy la y b efo re

th e w h ole o f

h e E n g lis h p e o p le } a s ex p ressed in 1 7 6 2 , I t

was based upon lo n g p r e c e d e n t and u s a g e , and was in no way new or unique,, L ondon

That th e p r in te r s

m ic

,u h l,.sh ers

of

championed th e c a u se o f th e p e o p le was f o r t u it o u s

in one s e n s e , in a n o th e r q u it e u n rem a rk a b le-~ fo r in act­ in g a g a in s t th e p r e s s , th e Houses o f P a rlia m en t e x e r te d t h e ir a u th o r ity upon a v o c a l , v e s t e d fo r c e whoso primary in t e r n e t l a y in s a t i s f y i n g th e d u e lr o e of the p eo p le in whose c a u se th e s t r u g g l e was conducted* For a v e r t h i r t y y e a r s , th e

parocodings of th e lo u se s

o f P arliam en t had fou nd t h e i r way t o e a g e r rea d ers of p e r io d ic a ls and m agazines*

The Gen t l on o n *s

.agaulac hud

been a p io n e e r in th e p r a c t i c e , -rid ev,:;n hamuol Johnson had done

a

s t i n t a s a P a rlia m en ta ry rep crtu r*

:.hese e a r ly

r e p o r ts were u n s a t i s f a c t o r y t o t h e gen o r - I p u b lic f o r s e v ­ e r a l r e a s o n s; th ey were p r in te r only a f t e r a coB eion *s end, and were h ig h ly in a c c u r a t e and in s a n e ! e t c in moat

instances, and f u r t h e r , were u s u a lly d ie gu in ea to p la c e , d a t e , and w e a k e r © *

regard

The in c r e a s e in th e read in g

IS* and A .P o r r i t t , The un reform ed House o f IqpJTlg. (tfomtarl4g«, 1 9 0 3 ) , I , 3 9 2 . ™ ~~

292
jv.,rt

o f P a r i I omon t a r y p r i v i l e g e was a t t a i n ik .0 l a r g e l y a n o n - p a r t i s a n n a t t e r , and t h o s e who h ad t a n

•cc-;L crying;

g r i e v a n c e s were o f t e n t h e m ost l e n i e n t t o .n .r d t h . J r p e r ­ s e c u to rs .* A f t e r t h e Rockingham m i n i s t r y h ad r e a l an eh;

ille,

t h e l a t e m i n i s t e r s can© i n f o r n o r e t e a r a f a i r nh.-.-r0 e f RtuBe5 none more s o t h a n t h e Duke of i3odford. a g g e r a t e d c o m p l a i n t s of w r i t e r s f o r t h e

_ n- e x ­

1 ;jin s h o u ld

r e a d w i t h an q j o t o t h e P u k e ' s l o t i o r to t h e j-ri

n of

th e P u h lio ;.Q yorfcisora November 5 , 17 OS 1 The Puke o f Bedford has. ob oervod f o r eo o : n.l: e ear1 , volt, su r p r ise ^ h im s e lf marked ou t In t h e p u b lic n ew sp a p e rs.* , p a r t ic u la r ly In th e 1P u b lic uc.vorti B e r , 5 pn hi Inked ty W oodfall* He has t r e a te d t h i s I n s o le n c e w ith th e I n d i f f e r ­ ence and 0or,tempt I t h usorveel, w h ils t i t a kdh.c-d o ily to h im self* But se e in g * ...t h e name of a n o b le la d y in so r te d a t f u l l le n g t h In th e cnms pr-. agruph a 1th h ie our, he f in d s h im s e lf o b lig e d t o give.*.*R»iS.*W oodfall n o t ic e th a t he must ex p ect t o he tr e a tn d w ith th e u t r v a i sev-.rlfcy of U.n law. f o r any o f f e n c e o f t h i s kind* ..s h o u l d th e l i k e b e v e r again be r e p o ste d **•*■

I f G r e n v i l l e had a t t r a c t e d a t t e n t i o n fro:.: ,.he ^ u m l e c , Eoekingharn! b s h o r t m i n i s t r y ga v e no 1 dlon'bla: f c r s n t a t t it u d e *

of

' a i l I I a m alQk ardscev ':£' p rin ted .a

:i Gif™ ^ephlot

Bedford to n*f>*Yvoo&f a l l , wcvcmbor 5 3X?'f : Bedford corr> , I I I , 3 1 9 -2 0 . sa i» illia ie k ich a r d so n (1701~S 5) p r in t e r in none. 01;, das t i e T&rcL, Hoi b o m , nephew o f th e pr I >»to r -n ov c l 1 nt On ;uol -die « ard scn , co n n ected s i t h th o J u s e t t e e r ,

r e l a t i v e t o a b i l l depending i n t h e iieuso of L o r d s , and w as, i n June 1 7 6 6 , c a l l e d t o account f o r h i s te m e rity * . Both fdl ch ard son and h i s a u t h o r d i s c i aimed any i; t c r t to a c t co n tra ry t o th o p r iv ile g e s & of th e -lousa arc o s at pod f u r th e r a c t io n when P arliam ent m o prorogued* Chsxles hay

i

- Labett-.-er f © u n ci h.Linolf o : cc

m ore b e f o r e the ’onso of Loris, J a n u a r y 2 6 , 176Y , for

p r i n t e d ooaueirt o < t h e p r o c e e d in g s of th e Houeo in n is p ap er*

Asked

he did not

knout,

that it w ar a

Breach of irivilego to print any Thing relative to the Proceedings*»*.*•* B ay replied t h a t the material w ar. pro­ vided by an • .uncrow n poison*, and that M ' ***he uubii shod them by Lay of Arguemri; but did not thieh inerc w as any H arm in no d o ing * * *

hay shortly l e a r n e d that t hero w as

-0/i glOG of Jiiiaraf! i n h i s a c t i o n * " ' The r o c r i a d n a t a r y power of th o p r e s s soon cono to t h a p e r s e c u t e d p r i n t e r * e a id * A d v e r t ! e a r ru n a l e t t e r f r e e

On L e h r n ary 3? t h e ■-u b llo • iCJi'Oh d e c l a i m i n g uh at i}fhe

l i b e r t y of t h e press* **lias o v e r been the? sc our.-to, and t e r r o r of p r i d e and ty ra n n y * rig h t I

..lien t h e r o f o r e t h i s s a c r e d

i n v a d e d , ws m ay be s u r e t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l Lent 0*7 o f f o r t y d a y s ty r a n n y i s n t f a r removed* H° Phe n e x t d

sr~~— ~ ~ — — — ~— — J*H»C., XXL, 839,842-4* a4" ~ J * R . U , xxx , 463* 25 ™ The r e f e r e n c e h e r e i s t o Camden1s famous speech i n t h e d e b a t e s on t h e co rn embargo in which ho d efen d ed tho a c t ­ io n o f t h e ahathem m i n i s t r y (based upon r - y a l p r e r o g a t i v e } a s !,&b most b u t a f o r t y d a y s t y r a n n y * !f d o m i n g from Hamden* t h i s raiiiarl made q u i t e a s e n s a t i o n , and th e o p p o s i t i o n L ards made aaaiden pay d e a r l y f o r h i s f o r e n s i c l i c e n s e *

-3 0 0 -

day th e O agett-eer i t s e l f undertook a c a u tio u s d efen ce* Say p r in te d a l e t t e r f i ’om S kEIOUS which M aintained th a t t h e l i b e r t y o f th e p r e s s w*,* I s th e b eaten path th a t grad­ u a l l y and g e n tly lead® u s t o d e s t r u c t io n ."

I t r o o ts out

r e l i g i o n , su b v e r ts j u s t i c e , 11provoke© m a lice and ca u ses d is c o n te n t# * 1* The e d i t o r appended to t h i s d ia t r ib e a n o te o f h is owns I f th© l i b e r t y o f th e p r e ss ev er hocones L ic e n tio u sn e ss* th e r e a re s u f f i c i e n t laws in b ein g to curb and punish i t s but th e whole house need n o t be d e stro y ed b eca u se a chim­ ney smokes som etim es; — though in d eed I t i s much t o be w ished t h a t a proper l i n e was f ix e d to d iv id e th e one from th e o th e r , and a s c e r ta in what i s , and what i s n e t , th e l e g a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n s ! l i b e r t y of t h e press* With h i s own r e c e n t e x p e r ie n c e s in mind, Bay co n tin u ed , ttFor i f f i t o f t h i s c r i t e r io n men a re fr e q u e n tly drawn in to g r e a t in o o n v e n le n c ie s , and have ig n o r a n t ly , nay**«in n o c e n tl y , Incurred th e d is p le a s u r e o f t h e i r su p erior® , whom th ey have n o t had th e most d is t a n t in t e n t io n t o o ffe n d ,* * ^ The alarm ing con® latency w ith which th e peer© defend­ ed t h e i r p r i v i l e g e had aom© e f f e c t , d e s p it e the r ig h te o u s ­ n e s s o f th e p r in te r © 1 cause*

John Alraon, who had begun

in 1766 to r e p o rt sp e e ch es f o r th e bond on Evening P o s t, a d v ised W ilkes in March 1 7 6 7 J nI am n ot now concerned in any o f th© p u b lic paper# th ey are so o f te n brought b efore th© House o f Lord#, and th e r e I s bo l i t t l e f a it h among ".he 0*7 p r i n t e r s .** Such p r o se c u tio n was assum ing a more p o l i t i c a l 2M ! ■ ; ■ — ’ _ _ _ _ F r a n c is Blackburn©, Memoirs of Thomas H o llis (Loudon,1 7 8 0 } , pp. 6S&-4* 27 Almon to Wilke©, March 15*1767: B .-* A d d .v ss 30869> f o l. 106.

-3 0 1 -

a i r , and George S i w r i l l * s o t o u t to prove i t wuen he *OBtplaltt*d o f %.„& l i b e l p r in te d in Jfftorthl America as a m t t o r o f p r i v i l e g e , i t c o n ta in in g sany r e f l e c t i o n s on th e p a r lia m e n t, and in s is t e d ' t h a t th e house must r e c e iv e th e p r in te d paper a t th e t a b le w ith ou t a Question**’

Gren­

v i l l e r a is e d th e i s s u e on November 2 5 ? a c t io n was ad journ ­ ed a f t e r some d eb a te u n t i l th e 2 7 th , by which t i e th e Government le a d e r s had determ ined to s h e lv e th e i s s u e by a f u r t h e r adjournm ent o f s i x

m o n t h s ,

28

The o ld P arliam en t in d u lged in one ©ore orgy o f p r in t e r - b a it in g in i t s l a s t m onths.

The approach o f a

g en er a l e l e c t i o n le d t o w idespread c a n v a s sin g f o r a v a il­ a b le s e a ts *

In th e London C h ro n icle o f pecamber 2 9 , 1767,

and th e d a & etteo r f o r February 4 , 1768, a d v ertisem en ts war® p r in te d in b e h a lf o f p a r t ic e in t e r e s t e d in an easy and rem u n erative path i n t o th e House o f do;amone*

The r e ­

s p e c t iv e p r in t e r s , John W ilk ie and C harles Say, atten d ed th e House upon order February 9 , b i t were un able t o id e n t ­ i f y th e o ffe n d e r who o p en ly co n sid ere d a s e a t in th e Com­ mons t o be a commodity on th e p u b lic m arket,

W ilk ie was

f i n a l l y r e le a s e d on February 18, a f t e r b e in g reprimanded upon M s knee® and p ayin g th e u su a l fe e s *

C harles Say

appears to have esca p ed the vengeance o f th e House fo r once in h is chequered c a r e e r , ^ ®









— ----------

J.H »c » , XXX,4 2 7 » 4 3 2 5 M r.Charles Gray*s P ariiam en tary hoteboo'k 1 1 4 th R ep ort, Part IX, 316. 29 XXXI, 5 8 0 ,5 8 4 ,5 8 9 ,5 9 6 ,6 1 7 *

The © le o ilo n s o f th « s p r in g 1768 produced a nern f & r ll m m %

w hich,w as in ovwry way t y p ic a l o f e ig h te e n th

cen tu ry deXIfeer&tlv© hodt©**

tfa® p r ic e o f s e a t s m y have

arisen* t h e number o f new men was high? h u t i t s a t t i t u d e toward i t s own p r i v i l e g e s was determ ined by p ie c e le n t — perhaps even more th an had been th e case p re v io u s ly becau se o f i t s r e l a t i v e y o u th and in e x p e r ie n c e .3 °

The new

Parliam ent convened on May 1 0 , 1768* t o th e sound o f gun­ f i r e and an angry mob In which c r i e s of "Wo k ln g j Mo r eg a l government

were h e a rd a lo n g

t h t h e o ld slo g a n now

f r e s h ly r e v iv e d , "W ilkes and l i b e r t y ! *

Th© ya&rs 1768-

1774* were d e s tin e d to s e e s t ir r in g e v e n ts w ith in th e w a lls of P arliam ent*

On th e opening, day o f t h e s e s s io n

George I I I remarked upon " . . . t h e paper t h a t was d i s t r i b u t ­ ed to d a y , recommending t h e d r iv in g th e Commons out o f t h e ir House* v h ich th ey f o r t h e ir own s a k e s a r e bound t o ta k e n o t ic e o f

v iew n, , « th a t s tr a n g e r s should h o t be a llo w ed t o cone i n t o th e House t o hoar our d eb ates*"

He was answ ered by

Seorg© G r e n v ille , who d e c la r e d , "1 e v e r w ished t o have what Xb done h ere w e ll t o w n ,"

s i g n i f i c a n t of t h in g s to

oo®@» Lord Korth brought th e d is c u s s io n to an end by cleft® l y s h i f t i n g th e t o p i c , 32 Thus began th e *unr©ported Parliam ent" I n an attem pt t o -assure th a t p op u lar p o l i t i c a l ig n o ra n ce which t h e o r e t i ­ c a l l y d e b i l i t a t e s th e p eo p le from i n t e l l i g e n t p a r t ic ip a t ­ io n In governm ent.

T h is P arliam en t succeeded only in win­

n in g a name f o r i t s e l f ; i t m is c a lc u la te d on a t l e a s t f o u r im portant p o in t s .

Through t h e of f o r t a of S i r Henry O&v-

en& ish, th e "Hareparted Parliam ent" l a probably t h e b e e t rep orted P arliam en t o f th© l a t e e ig h te e n th cen tu ry ,^ * Those members who would have excluded s tr a n g e r s m isc a l­ c u la te d f u r t h e r in b e l i e v in g th a t s im p le ex p u lsio n would remove th e p r e ss from t h e i r m idst or- t h e i r a c tio n s from th e columns o f th e London p r e s s ,

but t h e p arliam en t

erred more c o n s c io u s ly i n regard to John 3l i k e s , duly e le c t e d a member f o r M id dlesex (though n ev er s e a t e d ) , ffoi W ilkes and h is f o llo w e r s v e r y n e a r ly d e m o n s t r a t e d the fo u rth e r r o r in th e P a r ii&iaentary a t t i t u d e , th e b a s ic W

~

:

'



— •

1

Cavendish* D e b a tes, I , 4*

33 S i r Henry O&vendish (1 7 3 ^ -1 8 0 4 ), h eld minor I r is h p o sts 1 7 7 9 -1 8 0 4 , C avendish used Guemey*n shorthand system to ta k e h ie n o te s o f d eb a tes throughout th e P arliam ent of 1 7 6 8 -7 4 , in w hich he sa t a s somber f o r L o a tw ith io l, Cornw a ll, The MSS t o t a l 48 qu arto volu m es, now in t ie B r it is h Museum, J,W righ t p u b lish ed tw o volum es of th e D e b a t e s , 1841 3# t u t h a l f o f c a v e n d ish es m a te r ia l hao n ever seen p r i n t .

-304

e r r o r of b e lie v in g th a t p o o rly e n fo rced ig n o ra n ce in ca p ­

a c ita te s th e p e o p le .

A» Morth, B a rr in g to n , and a new mem­

b e r , C h a rles James Fox were to le a r n , very n e a r ly t o t h e ir sorrow , t h e p e o p le , I f n o t a llo w e d th e p r iv ile g e of p o l i t ­ i c a l knowledge and I n t e l l i g e n c e , s t i l l r e ta in e d one pre­ r o g a tiv e and on© power1- - t h e power o f a mob t o burn, l o o t , sa c k , and d e s tr o y , even to th e very doors o f th e d e lib e r ­ a t iv e chambers t h e m s e lv e s .

In a> oh an atmosphere began

th e g r c r t s t r u g g le betw een th e p ress and p a rlia m en t, th e g r e a t f a i l u r e on th e part o f a v a r ie g a te d m in o rity to f r e e th e p r e s s in parliam ent* John W ilkes was th e man to make th e b e e t of an en fo rc­ ed- ab sence fro® th e E n g lish s o c l o - p o l i t i c a l s c e n e , b u t th e p h y sic a l d e l i g h t s o f I t a l y and I t a l i a n s could n ot c o o l h is a rd o r f o r h is n a t iv e la n d .

Having been r e b u ffe d by

Koaklngh&m, he a n t ic ip a t e d b e t t e r trea tm en t fro® th e Chat­ ham-Graf ton m in is tr y .

In O ctober 1766, t l i k e s a g a in v i s ­

it e d England and sub m itted t o G rafton a to u c h in g com pli­ mentary l e t t e r in which he s e t f o r t h "the r ig o u r s o f a lo n g unm erited e x ile " and h is hope t o "fee allow ed t o con­ tin u e in th e la n d , and among th e f r ie n d s , o f l i b e r t y . "34 G rafton , h im s e lf no f r ie n d of H i k e s , r e fe r r e d th e m atter to Chatham, and knowing th e E arl *s s e n tim e n ts , -H ik es r e ­ turned to France.*

Ar\gry and d is g r u n tle d by a i s r e c e p tio n ,

t h e p a t r io t employed h is s h a r p e st pen to produce th e c a u s tic pam phlet, A l e t t e r t o th e la k e o f G rafton . H i k e s t o G r sfto n , November 1 , 1766; B. .Add. \GS. 30866.

305-

W ilks* mads no s e c r e t of M s se n tim e n ts to w ard th© n m m in is t r y .

The &uft o f R o c h f o r d ,^ v i s i t la g P a r is in

A p ril 1 7 6 7 , a d v ise d Chatham t h a t *r*r* W ilk o o ,,.in t e n d s p u b lis h in g her© a p a m p h let,s , th e d r i f t o f w hich i s t o a tta c k your Lordship*© admIni s t r a t i on; and i f i t i s w r it ­ te n conform ably t o th e la n g u a g e ,, ,h e h o ld s , i t w i l l he b o th a b u siv e and v i o l e n t , *

Roohford su g g e sted t h a t pub­

l i c a t i o n m ight be prevented by a word to th e French gov35 raam ent, but he ©poke to o l a t e . The a u t h o r s e n t h i s pamphlet to John Almon on A p ril 7 , and i t re a c h e d oth er London p r e s s e s s h o r tly t h e r e a f t e r ,

The L o t t o r t o th e Puke

o f d r a ft on was no more t h a n a v o c if e r o u s rem inder t o i t s reader© of the t r i a l s a n d t r i b u l a t i o n s of John W ilk es, but i t had a rem arkable e f f e c t , in s t i r r i n g up sen tim en t f o r i t s author*

fh o L e t t e r a p p e a re d i n th e n ew sp ap ers

w ith o u t a t t r a c t i n g th o a t t e n t i o n

of th e Qav. mmant* but

when Almon p u b lish ed I t as a pam phlet, the* House of Com­ mons was s t i r r e d t o a c t i o n ,

Almon r e p o r t e d t h a t th e s u b ­

j e c t was *mueh t a l k e d of* on A p r il 50t h , end t l l k e o 1s b ro th e r Heaton d e c la r e d th a t w, , , M m ln i s t r a t i on w to u lid h®v© taken CAXmoni up f o r i t had n o t C ol, Onslow warmly opposed i t a s ho d e c la r e d t o thorn he w cou lld p e r s o n a l l y "zpr oppose them in t h e H o u s e ,M ‘ W illla n Henry Z u le s te in .4 th ?;,a r lo f Lochf ore? (1717 '81), envoy t o S a r d in ia 1749-54» groom o f th e s t o l e to George I I , amba-sador a t Hadrid 1763- 6 » a t P a r is 1706- 8 * se c r e ta r y o f S ta te 1 7 6 6 -7 5 , 36 Eochford to Chatham, A prl1 6 ,1 7 6 7 : Chatham c o r r ,,1 1 1 ,2 4 2 -3 * 37 — _ Almon to L i I k e s , A p ril 3 0 ,1 7 6 7 :3 . . -ad, GG,3 0 8 6 9 ,f o l . l i p ; H©atan W ilkes t o John W ilkes , f a y l l * 1767 :B, ,. .dd, : s s . 30869.

-3 0 6 -

The in c id e n t had l i t t l e e f f e c t upon Almon, whose

p r o fits had undoubtedly been g r e a t.

He encouraged Wilk­

es to b eliev e that “there Is nothing you cm print in fra n co which 1 cannot a s rea d ily got done here.

no d iffic u lty in finding p rin ters. p u b lic a tio n .*

The danger

There ie

is in th®

Aliaon then set before filkee l ho delicate

situ ation of an opposition publishers 01ve me leave t o remark t h a t your spirited letter to th® PtukeS o f 0 c r a f t on 3 would n ev er have been read by o n e - f o r t ie th p a rt of th e p erso n s who' now alm ost adore i t , and you , i f i t had n ot been reprinted. And would you have deemed me in my s e n s e s i f I had rep rin ted i t verb atim e t lit e r a t im from your oopy? C e r ta in ly n o t . And y o t c a s tr a te d even as i t was, I was In r e a l danger o f a commitment by th e Accuse] of Oomcmonal— i f one word (n ot a name) more had been in ­ s e r t e d , 1 had n o t e sc a p e d . And where i s th e p a r t y ..* t h a t is worth running a risk f o r t S i r , th e r e are n o t f iv e aei. in th e kingdom f would go a c r o s s th e way to s e r v e .

While hi Ikes wee warming him self as abortive History of England,

to new efforts

he seems to

by

have con­

sidered a scheme fo r se ttin g up & newspaper at Calais with which d a.

to

bombard the opposite shore

The proposal

thought " ...th e

t i l k i t e propagan­

was immediately scouted by

project

needless at le a st

why should you put jpoursalf without a prospect Cor© vigorous

38-----------------~

with

of

CLson who

for th e

presentj

to no much exp ana® A trouble

adequate

advantage?

action followed Alnon’s request to

~ ---------- -------- —







Almon to W ilk es, ■■'ay 1 2 ,1 7 6 7 : 3 ,





9 ■; - 0 . - U ^

J,.

9

ol* 123*

39 On W ilk e s’ s Hi a t cry o f in g la n d , o f w hi oh only an In tro ciuot io n was pu b l 1 sEeST^ee e H. R , R es, *J ohn l l m on z bo ok eeTXer “t” John W ilk e s ,* Ind ian a Q u arterly fo r Bookmen, IV(1 9 4 6 },2 0 -2 8 . Almon t o ”1 1 1 8 0 , fa y 1 2 ,1 7 6 7 : 3 . o ft'* -3 0 7 '

r>.3 0 8 6 2 ,f o i.1 2 3 .

t h e e x i l e f o r rta few o f y o u r f u g i t i v e paper© .*

About the

f i r s t o f A p r i l , W ilk es forw arded a copy o f th e le n g th y l e t t e r he had w r it t e n Xample 1 b 1762» d e s c r ib in g hi© b lood ­ l e s s d u e l w ith T a l b o t , ^

W ilk es in te n d e d i t f o r th e P o l­

i t i c a l P ie& istar, h u t Almon d e c lin e d t o p r in t i t and gave H ie r e a so n s to H eaton R ilk e s *

A nother copy o f th e l e t t e r

was s e n t t o E ich ard Baldwin* p u b lis h e r o f t h e o t » Jam es*s Q hroni-ole* and appeared on May 1 6 th , in th a t paper*

Hot

t o be o u td o n e , Almon prom ptly i n s o r te d th e a r t ! o le in th e Ajj f i r s t i s s u e o f t h e P o l i t i c a l jie & lg ter, P u b lic a tio n o f W ilk es*s l e t t e r had u n ex p ected r e p s r o u sa i eras*

Lord T al­

b o t , who had r e c e n t ly b e e n c o q u e t!n g w ith the m in o r ity , to o k umbrage a t th e l e t t e r and c h a lle n g e d Temple to deny t h a t i t was p u b lish e d w ith h ie a p p r o v a l.

Temple acknow­

le d g e d th a t th e o r i g i n a l was a d d r e sse d to him ar;d t h a t i t bad been retu rn ed t o WA lices,

* r h is a u th eu tA ca ted the

l e t t e r , & mad© Lord T a lb o t mom angry,*

,

,

H

He demanded

a sig n e d s ta te m e n t t h a t Temple had n o t a u th o r is e d th e pub­ l i c a t i o n , and the* g en ero u s temper o f t h e m a s t e r o f Stowe began to show i t s e l f * Lord-Temple r e p l i e d , ‘Hot by c o m p u ls io n ,5 Lord T a lb o t th en c a lle d out Lord dower & 'Lord H arcourt & asked them i f h is demand was n o t r e a so n a b le ? They s a id , *Po• 1 S t i l l ho was n o t s a t i s f i e d & sw ore h© would f i g h t Lord Temples th e l a t ­ t e r s a i d , fW ith a l l h i s h e a r t ,* & a c t u a lly drew h is sword.

The o r i g i n a l l e t t e r i e p u b lish e d in the l i k e s o o r r , » 111 , 28 f f , ^2 Almon to W ilk e s, J u ly 3 ,1 7 6 7 s a . , Add,"ElB. 30869, f o l,1 3 9 ; a d i f f e r e n t v e r s i o n o f t h e s t o r y i© g iv e n by i l i . e s t o Tem­ p l e , November 1 6 ,1 7 6 7 s G r e n v ille p a p e r s, IV* 1 6 8 -1 8 9 ,

-308-

Til® o th e r lo r d s p rev en ted any t h in g f u r t h e r , ex cep t Lord Tempi©*s d e c la r in g m *a* ready t o f i g h t Lord T a lb o t a t any tim e o r p l a c e , ^ f b e a f f a i r l o f t an im p ica a a n t t a s t e in t h e mouths o f a l l p a r tie s ,

H eaton Wilke© u p b r a i d e d h i s b ro th er f o r L is poor

judgem entj Almon p u b lic ly d en ied t h a t W ilkes had in ten d ed th e l e t t e r t o b© p u b lis h e d , and t o ld t h e a u t h o r , !,io u r l e t t e r to Lord Temple co n cern in g h ie B a t t le of Bagehot d id you in c r e d ib le harm*

l o u r o e s t f r i ends d i ^ a p p r o v e d ,, , , n

Temple h i m s e l f was no l & m p le a se d w i t h t h e o u tc o n e , and c e r t a in ly a c te d m r e c o o ly toward w ilk e s a f t e r t h i s t i ® * . ^ Having e f f e c t i v e l y r e c a lle d th e name of si.Ik es to E n g l is h m em o ries, t h e e x i l e cro ssed th e Channel in Feb­ ruary 1768., a r r iv in g in tim e t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n th e g e n e r ­ a l © le c tio n s in Larch and A p r il,

- l i b a c r e au d aci ty than

d iscern m en t, he s to o d fo r a se a t in t h e Connors f o r t h e C ity o f

Oil

1*

UL-L*ijtS/

»■itjjr e , »*xIkes pwoQupeti h is lo s s *

©s in t h e a d ja c e n t c o u n ty o f M id d lesex ,

'Lvllkes and l i b ­

e r ty ln and nHumber 4 5 t? became p a s s p o r t O v O Si*ji'ety i n and around t h e c a p i t a l a s on © e x u lta n t p o p u lace d e m o n s tr a te d i t s a p p rob ation o f th e n e w l y - e l e c t e d member of P arliam en t, 1110 t h r e a t o f h i s o u tla w ry s t i l l re m a in e d .

A fte r

an am using ex ch ang e of e x c u s e s , W ilkes f i n a l l y a p p e a re d in t he C ourt of icing* s Bench, A p r il 2 0 t h , arid Aiyrm ^

------

Almon to W ilk e s, J u ly 3#1767? S.'^Addy-'SS, 3 0 6 6 9 ,f o l . 1 3 9 . T h is an ecd ote p u rp orts to come d i r e c t l y from a p a r t ic ip a n t , *Almon t e l l s me he has w rote you t h e a f f a i r w c i t i h T a lb o t ^ from Temple* s own mouth.,if Heaton to John - a I k e s , J u l y 6,1767s Add,ASS 30669, 44 Heaton to John W ilk es,Ju n e 1 6 ,1 7 6 7 :8 . ..A de.v.cs 30869; Almon to Pi I k e s , J u ly 3*1767 Ad©, La 3 0 l6 5 , f o l . 1 3 9 J«ilfcm t o Temple,November 1 6 ,1 7 6 7 : O r e n v ille n o p e r s,IV ,188-9* B le a c k l©y, W ilk eg, PP*1 8 3 - 2 0 3 #d e a le a t ^ o n g n T T i t h t h e M id d lesex e l e c t i o n , -3 0 9 -

w?$ae& the irreg u la rity

eaee.

^o^rt agreed,

how evert t h a t W ilkes was n o t p ro p erly b e fo r e th e bar# and no a c t io n was taken*

On th e 2 7 th , he m s f i n a l l y brought

In on th e r e q u i s i t e w r it o f c a p ia s ntlega.turn

and commit-

t e d t o th e p r iso n In. St* O eorgo1s F ie ld s to a w ait

trial*

W hile W ilkes h e ld c o u rt f o r h is f r i on do and ad m irers, b o th h ig h and low# i n h is q u a r te r s , S t . Georg* f e F ie ld s became th e c e n t r a l r a l ly i n g p o in t of tfo e London mob which saw i n W ilkes a p o l i t i c a l v ic t im whose o p p ressio n p a r a ll­ e le d i t s own econom ic g r ie v a n c e s .

A p e e r in g , m i l l in g crowd,

a few f ir e b r a n d s , a detachm ent o f sc o tc h s o l d i e r s , and on May 1 0 , th e in e v ita b le ; c la s h o c c u r r e d . and a s c o r e of c i t i z e n s f e l l ;

A v o lle y was f ir e d

in th e p u r su it win.oh ensued,

an other man was u n n e c e s s a r ily k i l l e d .

L ublio in d ig n a tio n

so a re d , and th e mob became l e s s p le a sa n t to r e f l e c t upon a s w e ll as t o hear* In May, c o u n se l f o r W ilkes and the Crown p resen ted t h e i r c a s e s*

F in a lly on June 8 , 1 7 6 8 , M an sfield l a i d

down s le n g th y d e c is io n which over whelmed th e law yers w ith i t s e r u d it io n , but r a is e d many c r i t i c a l eyebrows in p o lit ic a l c ir c le s *

Speaking f r e e ly upon th e law and him­

s e l f M a n sfield b o a ste d h is own p u r ity of purpose, h i s la c k o f f e a r o f p op u lar a c tio n or i n s u l t ; he sought rath ­ e r "that p o p u la r ity which f o llo w s ; not t e a t which i s run after***

Almost I n c id e n t a lly he r e v e r s e d w llk c s 1s outlawry

S ta te t r i a l s , XIX, 1077-92, - 310-

on t h e grounds o f a t e c h n ic s ! e r r o r in t h e w r i t * ^ rtfh e mob'*— so c l o s e l y packed thr-t n* . .J u d g es s t u f f e d o u t w ith d i g n i t y end la m b - s k ln s ,. .n o t a b s o lu t e s p r i t e s . . . 48 had mi oh ad© t o g l i d e th rou gh t h e crowd1*— c h e e r e d W ilk es. Ilans f i e l d need n o t have w orried about an a©c e s s io n o f p o p u la r ity ,

a v i o l e n t Horth B r ito n ad d ressed th e C h ief

J u s t i c e In t e r n s f a r from la u d a to ry * and even th r e a te n e d r e b e llio n .

P r o s e c u t i o n s were ord ered a g a in s t th e p u b lish ­

e r s and ven d ors** remarked W alp ole, *anct t h e r e , I sup pose, 49 I t w i l l e n d .” S e r je a n t d lyim mad® a f i n a l e f f o r t t o f r e e h ie c l i e n t on th e 1 4 th o f June* but f o u r clays l a t e r John 11l i k e s re­ c e iv e d se n t one© from j u s t i c e Y a te s , f o r p u b lis h in g l l o r t h B r ito n * H o.45s and t h e g ssa y on Woman .

W ilkes was f i n e d

a t o t a l o f £1 0 0 0 , and s e n te n c e d t o tw en ty-tw o months im­ In a d d i t i o n he w as to f in d su r ety f o r seven bu y e a r s , h i m s e l f £1 0 0 0 , and two o t h e r s f o r £500 e a c h . p riso n m en t.

The s e n te n c e was d e s c r ib e d by M a n s f ie ld a s m oderate— **•♦.» R efinem ent in P o l i t i c s , w h ich reduo*cl t h e Scoundrel

vr







_



_

_

_

_



I b id * , XIX, 1 0 9 2 -1 1 1 7 . 4B W alpole t o Mann, J u n e 9 ,1 7 6 8 « W alp ole,L © ttors (T oyn b ee), V I I , 1 9 1 -1 9 2 . 49 ^

W MMnimn Ll. | iiiaiiiilwwtniwi,





■the s o o n e r t o

he p r i v a t e l y a d m itte d to

D avid Hum© t h a t % * , l i wa© i m p o s s i b l e f o r him t o condemn him t o t h e P i l l o r y # b e c a u s e t h e A tto rn e y ~ G u n c r a l d i d n o t 51 demand i t . w Happy o v e r s i g h t I W ilk es i n t h e p i l l o r y m ig h t w e l l h a v e f i r e d t h e mob t o g r e a t e r r a v a g e s t h a n Lord Georg© Gordon e v e r d r e a m e d o f ,

Wilke© i n p r i s o n was m erely

a b i r d i n t h e hand—»s t i l l a n u n e q u a l l e d p ro p a g a n d i s t# and ©no© a g a i n a member o f P a r li a m e n t * Few man f e a r e d H i k e s on t h e f l o o r o f th e House o f Gomsaone# and many f e l t h e would Vast r e be m ost s a f e l y ensconced*

The m i n i s t r y # th o u g h b i t t e r a g a i n s t Wilkes#

d e te r m in e d t o d e l a y any a c t i o n u n t i l t h e second s e s s i o n ©f t h e new P a r li a m e n t *

By t h a t tim e t h e law would have

d e a l t w i t h him an d tim e m ig h t ©pen new p o l i t i c a l d o o r s . M eanwhile t h e p r e s s was a c t i v e *

Wllk t?s mad© £ in©

f o d d e r f o r p a m p h le ts l i k e & oom par& tlve v l m oi

52

o f t h e c o n d u ct

Jo h n illk e s * K s a ® s a s c o n t r a s t e d w i t h t h e o p p o s i t e

■t n » ih.hh m w«

r iiin n i i■ imib

i *m *

w

mmmm

—.I

w

a

tm vV m m

•». *

*

• * * ‘^

4*

*.«#jl!W h r w i i iw ■■

m easu res d u r i n g t h e l a s t s i x y e a r s * and t h e p a t r i o t ex­ p l a i n e d h i s own p o s i t i o n i n a l e t t e r t o " t h e Gentlemen# C lergy# and F r e e h o l d e r s o f t h e County o f A id dlefiex* H T h is l a s t e p i s t l e a p p e a r e d on June 185 two d a y s l a t e r f i t . B ares# a c t i n g i n b e h a l f o f t h e A t t o r n e y - g o n u m l # moved — - ■ — — — — Hume t o F d r G i l b e r t H l i o t , J u l y" S#17fS8: G eir g. 3, Lebud’s T o f D avid Hume* I I , 18 2, ~ ™“ 52 : ’ G e r a l d H am ilto n t o Jo h n O a l c r a f t , A p r i l 10# and May 2 , 1 768: Chatham c e r r * * I I I # 32 4n*

-312-

th e c o u r t o f King*® Bench £&*

attachm ent a g a in s t th e

p r in t e r , c i t i n g t h a t th e l a t t e r “tend ed to I nflam e the Ittry* b e fo r e iM c h th e reopened ca se o f W ilkes y* H a lifa x would be heard*

The Court r e fu se d Mares*a r e c u e e t; I t

had done w ith W ilke®, I f n o t w ith p rin t era In gen eral* B n d e r -e e c r e ta r ie s were b u s ily p eru sin g new sim pers and. pam phlets f o r a c t io n a b le a r t i c l e s and e v id e n tly q u ite a b le to f in d them.* a s ev id en ced by one n o te t o Grafton, which accom panied **a p a p e r . . . o f so dangerous a n a tu r e , th a t i t seem s**.n e c e s s a r y t h a t i t Should he ta k en n o t ic e o f im m e d ia te ly * * ..?s

The m essen gers o f th e p ress were 54 busy} t h e i r r e s u l t s were p i t i f u l * The m ost n o ta b le outcome o f the violence of the press

In May 1 ? 6 $ ? was the case o f William Bing ley, co n ti nuator o f t h e Horth B r ito n , whose paoer reached the depths o f scurrility at th is- time*

On the 2 8 tb o f May, S in g le y

p u b lish ed ^o»5'0* a vicious attack upon ?Aanaf le ld *

The

Attorney -gen oral moved for a w r it o f attachm ent a g a in st Singley f o r contem pt o f court on June 3? and also against

two v e n d er s o f the p ap er, Mr* B r e tt and grs* Langford. The n e x t day an E xtraord in ary Kort h B r ito n , Bo*4, was p resen ted ,' and a c t io n s begun a g a in s t Sta.pl os e t c a r e , th e p u b lis h e r , arid John '"i 111 sms ano John i-ridden, b o o k se lle r s* *” ,u .u ,

.......4

— ~

~* —

.



~ ~ ~

~

*"

Genuine p a p e r s, p p .2 38-3 2 ; P o l l t l c a l k o r » , 171 (1 7 6 8 ),3 6 . 54' T.Bradshaw t o G ra fto n , May 31*1768t Anson, C r a fton, pp. 210-211*

On th e 7 t h , B in d ley appeared In o c u r t t o plead h lo own e a s e , and b e in g r e f u s e d , a p p ea led t o th e p u b lic B r it o n , Mo, 5 1 .

1th .Worth-

The v a r io u s r u le s were m de a b so lu te on

th e 9 t h 3 and a new go© p laint m s heard a g a in s t Mo* 5 1 , and confirm ed two d ays l a t e r ,

as i t was rumored tr.a t

B in g ley had absconded by t h i s t l me, the p u b lis h e r ll p » l l (» Cuv on u i bh , no ba t e s , jl, l O G Z s r Hoekingh&m t o Y orke, December 17 > T fo T T '^ a r r i b,

jSardw icke* 1 1 1 , 4 27- 8 * C a v en d ish , D e b a t e s , I , 1 1 1 . C o n sta n tin o rhipxxs, 2nd Baron Mul g r c v ^ (T fW ^ 9 2 ) , n a v a l o f f l o o r , ...1. f o r L in c o ln , l e d a p o la r e x p e d i t i o n 1 7 7 3 » A dm iralty l o r d 1777*

gentleman...oan mind what ©an he d is tu r b e d by a weed

% »

aaid of hits

in

the

new spapers;

t a l ten out o f "er 3 Almon*s sgr&en” 68 — th e n e t t l e s rem ained fir m ly im planted* -'hen C lx w e ll, a p u b lis h e r in S t .M art In*» L ane, brou ght o u t a pamphlet on a c-as© p ending in th e House o f L ords, he was c s l i e d up alon g w ith h is a u th o r ,

T h e ir L ord sh ip s c o n f is c a t e d r.lxv;ell*8

s to c k and di sc barged *him .

W illiam B o g l e * trio a u th o r , in ­

cr im in a ted Bdward and C harles L i l l y and John i v ilk ie , publis h e - r e , wh o w e r e s im i la r ly t r e a t e d , and th e w h o le cre w were d isc h a r g e d a f t e r b e in g reprim anded u r>on their knees 6 9

b e f o r e t h e Bar*

T h e H o u s e o f Commons a m u s e d i t s e l f p u r s u i n g t h e p u b lis h e r © o f a s p u r i o u s ns p e e c h o f O l i v e r C rom w ell a t t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e Long P a r l i a m e n t * *

th e speech,

p rin te d as a b r o a d s id e , had a t t r a c t e d th e a t t e r t i o n of C o l * Ci-eorge O n s l o w w h o p o i n t e d o u t t h a t s u c h e h r r s c a a s n , X© a r c a f a c t i o u s c r e w , a n d e n e m i e s t o a l l g o o d g o v e r n ­ m ent*.

Y g a r e a p a c k o f m e r c e n a r y w r e t c h e s , arid w o u l d * * *

s e l l y o u r c o u n try f o r a m ess o f p o t t a g e * * . c l o s e h o m e*

©t ruck too

T h e C o l o n e l h a d a p p r e h e n d e d two c u l p r i t s ,

D e n i s S h a d e a n d J o s e p h T h o r n t o n , tnI l k - a s l i e r , were o r d e re d t o a t t e n d * were t o o s t r o n g ;

Th e i m p l i c a t i o n ©

O n s l o w , n o '’enemy t o

p r e s s , ” ”a Whig i n

Ibid. , I » 68.

broadside

of th e

the l i b e r t y

of the

p r i n c i p l e , f! w&e suppoj: t e d v e h e m e n t l y by „

w

©n6 t h e y

------------------------------------

W© ■; >•A A 1 J- , J . ( p — O J

,,,0" f A » g - i - t.~ fc * , A V i

-----------LAv

~ .'.4

J ^.-' 0 i j - t j j f P g

J , l 4 o - 4 7 , N orth t o t h e K i n g , F e b r u a r y 2 Ci*;->fl , 1 ? 6 9 : F o r t e s c u e , C o r r e s p o n d e n c e , I I , 7 6 - 79* 77 Oeoiv.o I I I t o f o r t h , F ebruary 3 ,1 7 6 9s G o v t . , s e t o , J o r rw ap on d cn ce, IX , 79*

t h e p r e s e n t m o tio n was

c a p ita l in j u s t i c e , ”

ith

S t u d i e d c a lm , G r e n v i l l e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e m o tio n m ig h t alla*« b i l k e r t o he u n s e a t e d 0 . „ , a l t h o u g h t h r e e p a r t e

in

f o u r o f t h o s e who e x p e l him s h o u l d h a v e d e c l a r e d a v a l n o t fels e x p u l s i o n upon e v e r y o n e o f t h e a r t i c l e r c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s c h a rg e * .”

T h us w ould h e he o one emiuuG fey a o d o u r i t y ,

and d e s p i t e t h e lam e o f »«sagland u u n ierc-d rv ;p A "to d lj f o r a s in g l e c rim e ,

And t h e n ?

G re n v ille 2

He w i l l be r e -c ; l o o t e d , p r o p h e s i e d

I t n o t mom a d v i s a b l e , , . . t o c o n c i l i a t e

t h e h e a t e d m in d s o f men by tom per- and d i s c r e t io n , t h a n t o e n f l a s e them fey a d d i n g f r e s h f u e l t o cl iBcontont?**

? or If

11 I k e s be r e t u r n e d , you m u st r e j e c t him — d ©p r i v i n g th e e lc o to ra of r e p r e e e n ta tio n - - c p n eat a m in o rity c a n d id a te , **.. .when t h e p u b l i c d i s c o n t e n t i e fo u n d ed i n t r u t h and reason.a

s to r m may t h e n r i s e

s t i t u t i o n fey t h e r o o t s ,

wlrloh r o y t e a r up t h e co n­

and s h ak o t h e g o l a c o o f th e k In g

h im s e lf,” G r e n v i l l e n e v e r made a b e t t e r s p e e c h ; h i e

ecu re wan

J u s t , h i e l o g i c d e v a s t a t i n g , h i e o r a g r o e t I c a t 3 on a 0 c u r a t e , As G r e n v i l l e s p o k e f o r t h e p ress.

“The l a t e

of, ..th e l a s t

c o n s t i t u t i o n , .puree eph. Id t h o

hocr*—t h e c a r d i e s — a l l p u t oe In ofnei

a c t of a t r a g i -c o m e d y , p.; r*' or r-od bp ):} c " a j e e -

t y ?s s e r v cn t s , f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f d r , ex p en se o f tlx- c o n s t i t u t i o n , ”

-5 llre c err

• f te e

“T h in , ' P r g 1 U'-io Gurko

q u i e t l y , “w i l l p u t t h e l a s t hand to t h e I I ^ o r iy o f t h e p r e s s ,"

I f ever t h a t lib e r ty

s h a l l e x p ir e ., 1 fe w i l l bo in

P a r lia m e n t, f o r by law v/e have no l i b e r t y

of th e ere nr-.

E x p e l W ilk e s , and *&11 t h e c o u n t 1©© o f E n g la n d w i l l be lib e lle r s * n

11Would t o 0-o fJTohn w ilk o e ti-' A l e t t e r t o th o ftt* Hon* M e r g e BrenylXXo i n A oo-l l o o t Io n oT T S S ro® t r a c t s * 1 1 1 , M s koox wo u r e iu r x lle * 59?"*s - r S m T l^ p a p e r © , 1v *47 a *

The m oat s i g n i f i c a n t r e p ly t o G r e r w l l l e ' e s p e e c h cam© from John W ilk es w hose p r id e s u f f e r e d b e fo r e t h e s p e a k e r 's u n b en d in g l e g a l i s m ,

abou t November 4 , W ilk es

w r o te k l e t t e r t o t h e r i g h t h o n o u ra b le G eorge G r e n v ille In w h lsh he d e s c r ib e d G r e n v i l l e ' s s p e e c h an *•»,& d i r e c t a c t o f h o s t i l i t y . **a s t o th e v o t e you g a v e in p a r lia m e n t a g a i n s t h i s e x p u ls io n * he had n o t t h e o b l i g a t i o n of t h a t V o te t o Mr* G r e n v ille * ...h e had a lw a y s d e t e s t e d you a s a m i n i s t e r , tout d e s p is e d you a s a p r iv a t e man . . . . 11

lik ­

es* $ B o o m w as l a v i s h e d s i m i l a r l y upon G r e n v i l l e ' s s*in­ g e n io u s fr ie n d s '* What s ly * L lo y d , and Knox.

He s c o f f e d

a t ® the l a t e G r e n v l l l i a n fa m ily com pact * o f G r e n v i l l e , Chatham*. and te m p le * and th ou gh he so u g h t t o f l a t t e r t h e l o r d o f S to w e , t h i s pam phlet seem© t o have r e s u lt e d in *»& t o t a l a n n i h i l a t i o n 1* oa a l l commerce b etw een W ilk es and 96 Tempi©* The d i v i s i o n o f ln te ld e s t betw een t h e P a r lia m e n t­ ary and t h e p o p u la r o p p o s it io n l e a d e r s , a s Burk© n o t e d , 9T was t o have s e r i o u s r e p e r c u s s io n s . A ntagonism tow ard Government among t h e p e o p le was e x p r e s s e d in a s e r i e s o f p e t i t i o n s and i n s t r u c t i o n s which o r i g i n a t e d In t h e c o u n c i l s o f t h e w i l k l t e e In the C ity and sp r e a d th r o u g h o u t t h e n a t io n *

In t h e m e e tin g s a t u i l e -

Knd and S x e t e r C hange, t h e g en tle m en o f th e p r e s s made EJoton W llk e s a , A l e t t e r to t h e Rt* Hon» George G r e n v ille (L ondon, 1 7 6 9 ) , in ^ X co ileo C T p n o f s c a r c e t r a e t s , lT T *41"g»

96 I b i d . , I l l ,7 0 * 7 4 -5 * W ilk es o o r r * , I I I , 300* 97“'"" ~T" Burke t o R ockingham , November 6 ,1 7 6 9 : Burke c o r r . , 1 ,2 1 3 -1 4 *

-3 3 0 -

known t h e i r g r i@ ? ® o ss*

John H orae,

a o ffin g

c le r ic a l

g a rb f o r a c a p of L ib e r t y , en co u ra g ed th e f r e e h o ld e r s of M id d le sex t o i n s t r u c t t h e i r r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s w. . * t o c o r .firm o u r o l d c o n s t ! t u t lo n & l and o n ly r i g h t f u l t r i a l — by Jury*;' t o t h i s s e n tim e n t t h o ^ © e tm in ste r e l e c t o r s added th o p hrase - ‘• H e th e g e n e r a l, e x c lu s io n o f p r o c e e d in g s by in fo r m a tio n and ettt&cbm ent»*

The C ity l i v e r y ech oed t h e s e s e n tim e n ts

a t t h e d u i l d h a l l , F ebruary i n , and B r i s t o l fo llo w e d t h e n e x t month w it h th e in s t r u c t i o n s

s u it #

**.»us@ y o u r utm ost

en d e a v o u r s, t h a t a l l t r i a l s f o r l i b e l s * , * h e c a r r ie d on a g r e e a b le to th e known r u l e s o f la w , axid*»«& ealously d i s ­ co u ra g e a l l p r o c e e d in g s toy in fo r m a tio n and a tta c h m e n t, as c o n tr a r y t h e r e to * In May, t h e f r e e h o ld e r s o f M id d le se x , 1376 s tr o n g , s ig n e d a p e t i t i o n w h ich among I t s c o m p la in ts l i s t e d HtlKfSES p u n ish ed toy t h e M in istr y in th e supremo Court w ith o u t a T r i a l by t h e i r E q u a ls—-w ith ou t AEX T r ia l a t a l l . k W r itin g d e ter m in ed t o bo a L ib e l toy a Court where i t was n o t c o g n is a b le In t h e f i r s t I n s t a n c e . . . . A P erson condemned in th e s a id Court a s th e Author o f th e supposed L ib e l unheard., w ith o u t D efen ce or T r i a l P e r p e tu a l Im prisonm ent o f an Kngl istoman w ith o u t T r i a l , C o n v ic tio n , o r S e n te n c e , toy■»*».A' TACiE: : T , w herein th e same Person I s a t on ce PAETX, ACCUSER, J je g e , and jury — P a r t i a l A tta c k s on th o L ib e r ty o f th e Proas j The m ost d a r in g and p e r n i c i o u s L ib e ls a g a in s t th e g o e£ T J X jT Iel, and a g a in s t t h e L ib e r ty o f th e S u b je c t, toeing a llo w e d t o p a ss u n n o tic e d , w h i l s t t h e s l i g h t e s t L ib e l a g a in s t a MI A1ST£21 i s p u n ish ed w it h th e u tm o st R igou r— 99 W illiam B in g le y added f u e l t o th e f ir e *

R eturned t o

t h e K in g ’ s Bench p r is o n In Jan u ary, he p u b lish e d , February j j j g

- - . . . - :

r - r n ,











January 1 2 ,1 7 6 9 i Loudon Rag, , XXXVIXX (1769) ,3 1 *53*93*193. C en t1s Rap;,, XXXIX TTf&9}* 61* 99

'

London, A d d r e s se e , **A Petition of th e Freeholders of th o County o f : ' l f ® l # s a x ,,l p assim ; : n g l i s h l i b e r t y ( b o ndon , 1 7 6 9 ), X I, 2 0 6 -2 1 7 .

16* a d e c l a r a t i o n t h a t he would n o t ***&t any t im e , WITHOGf TOKfURK* an ew er t o any in t e r r o g a t ­ o ry t e n d in g t o a c c u s e h i m s e l f , o r any o t h e r p e r s o n , o f b e­ i n g a u t h o r , p r i n t e r o r p u b lis h e r o f t h e f o r t h B r ito n , a b a b o o k s e l l e r , sh o u ld e ste e m h im s e lf in fa m o u s, and d e s ­ e r v in g o f n o c r e d i t , i f he b e tr a y e d th e c o n fid e n c e o f any p erso n who s h o u ld i n s t r u c t him t o p u b l i s h o r con d u ct any work w hatever® * * *100 T h is m od est a d m issio n o f p a t r i o t i c martyrdom g a rn ered th e unhappy p r is o n e r *a handsome p ie c e o f p la t e * from an anony­ mous a d m i r e r , and B in g le y s e c u r e d Jamss T ow nsend's agree* ment t o p r o s e n t h i s p e t i t i o n f o r r e d r e s s t o P a r ila m e n t. The c a s e was d e b a te d on March 3 0 , but th e p e t i t i o n was r e f u s e d * b e c a u s e t h e Oourt had p roceed ed a g a in s t M b a g r e e ­ a b le t o cu sto m * »»»"

B u rn in g , a lth o u g h S o l i o i t o r - g e n e r a l ,

sp o k e a g a i n s t t h e u s e o f i n t e r r o g a t o r i e s , rtbut a l l a g r e e d , t h a t * * ,w h ile therms i s any co n c e r n f o r t h e d i g n i t y and a u t h i oc o r i t y o f c u r C ou rts* t h e p r a c t i c e - m ust b e u p h eld * ^ Bo B in g le y rem ained in t h e K i n g ’ s Bench p r is o n , d e s p i t e h i s e f f o r t s t o s e c u r e r e l e a s e , and t h o s e of h i s c r e d i t o r s t o 100 l3ct.raordln.ary o a s e o f #1111 am B ln g lg y , p* 81 - 92 * Annual KegTiX i'i ( l 7 6 f) 1759 i London Magt, , XXXVIII Q.76 9 ),5 2 * G•en:Cr ^^* , XXXIX (1 7 6 9 } * 5 3 H M T Wl G e n t ' s Mag®, XXXIX( 1 7 6 9 ) , 1 6 1 . 102 : The o n ly r e p o r t o f t h i s d e b a t e a p p a r e n t l y e x t a n t i s t o be fo u n d In J o h n Hope t o K a r l o f H opetcun, A p r i l 1 1 , 1769s John Hope, L e t t e r s (L ondon,1 7 7 2 ) , PP*4 2 -4 3 * A ccord­ i n g t o B l n g l e y , h e r T r s t s o u g h t t h e supp ort o f Jo h n so n * e frien d Henry T h r a le , and h i s p e t i t i o n was w ith d ra w n ( r a t h ­ e r th a n r e f u s e d ) by Tom its& n tl a t N o r th 's p e r s u a s io n : f:xtra~ X £ f W i l l i a m B lrg X e y , p p . 9 3 - 1 0 0 .

have him tr a n s fe r r e d t o t h e F

l e e t From th a t sanctum

he c o n tin u e d t o e d i t h is n o rth B rito n w ith even l e s s comp u h ction th an b efo re*

The c o u r t could do l i t t l e more t o

punish Mis and d e f e n d i t s t a r n is h e d h o n o r t h a n f o r b i d him th e b e n e f it o f th e r u le s* W ilkea a l s o tu rn ed h is c e l l in t o an e d i t o r i a l o ffic e * I sa a c F e l l , t h e p a t r io t *s c h i e f p u b l i s h e r a t t h i s p eriod * in tro d u ced him t o C uthbert Bhaw, who e d i t e d t h e M iddlesex J o u m a l w hich F e l l p rin ted *

Shaw had an eye f o r popular

t a s t e ; he b eso u g h t W ilk es1® pen f o r h is paper* «»*l f fou th e o t h e r F rien d s of £Free3dom w i l l w rit© in i t s T'1"sLipport, i t may y e t ' ’jf and t h e p r i n t e r f le d to Ire la n d * 104 Annual iy-R* , XII (1769)? 153* W3 William "S l n g l e y , pp. 111*121* 53 O uthbert Shaw t o W ilk e s , August 1769; B*'!.Add. :BB. 30870, f© l* 186* -

»333'

£J o u rn a l 3 f in d I t t u r t l e .

Wilke® had l i t t l e re a s o n to r e g r e t h i s Imprisonment* I n May, h i s o u tla w ry b e in g r e v e r s e d , t h e C ourt of Gomroon P le a s reop ened t h e e a se o f S i I k e s v . H a lifa x *

The c ase

was h e ard Wovem'ber 10, b e f o r e Chief j u s t i c e hllm ot*

sari

Tempi© t e s t i f i e d i n W i l k e s 's b e h a l f , and G ly n n 's a t t a c k was c o n d u c te d i n Ha v e r y e l e g a n t and s p i r i t e d manner** The p a t r i o t asked £20,000 com pen sation, but t h e J u r y , i n ­ s t r u c t e d by w ilm ot t o f i n d " l i b e r a l b u t n o t e x c e s s iv e dam­ a g e s ,* were n o t w ilk ite f-*

A ccording to O harles L loyd,

t h r e e j u r o r s f a v o r e d £ 1 0 0 0 , f o u r p r e f e r r e d £ 3 0 0 0 , and. £5000 seemed r e a s o n a b le t o t h e o t h e r f i v e *

A fte r th re e

d i v i s i o n s t h e y compromised on £4000 f o r th e p l a i n t i f f * The d is c r e p a n c y between W ilkes*s d e s i r e s and h i s rew ard was so u n p o p u la r w i t h t h e mob t h a t t h e ju ry found i t d i s ­ c r e e t t© le a v e th© h a l l by a r e a r door*

Knowledge t h a t

t h e Grown would s t a n d H a l i f a x e x p e n s e © d id n o th in g to p a c if y t h e c i t 1 s e n s o f London***^

------- -— “ -

53B5



-----------

W ilkes t o a-,van L loy d, O ctober 5 ,1 7 6 9 s 3* ■-.Ado. ■■-38*30970, fol*20X; se e a l s o Shaw t o h i I k e s , O c to b er 2 7 ,1 7 6 9 ’ 3 ." * Add. ^ S S » 5 0 8 7 0 , f o l * 215* The M iddlesex J o u r n a l had begun pub­ l i c a t i o n A p ril 4,1769* F e l l watTT he o r i g i n a l p u b lio h e r , b u t Sh&w weems t o have bee on;© e d i t o r no e a r l i e r th a n Aug­ u st} he h i n t s t h a t the; p a p er had done poorly p r i o r t o t h a t tim e . I t was a t r i - w e e k l y which mm backed by w illia m Beckf o r d and was known ae th e n e s t p a rt login s h e e t oi i t s day. See ^ o r is o n , E n g lis h new spaper, p *155} T n r b e r v lI I e *j ohnsotl1s England , I I , ^ 1 - 2 1‘‘I* •' *Add *MSB. 30870 ,f o l* l8 6 * 107 Annual Keg*, XI1 ( 1 7 6 9 ),1 0 5 ,1 5 0 ; Rigby to B edford, Nov­ ember 1 0 , i f $ 9 s J e d f o r d c o r r * , I I I , 409-10} Lloyd to Gren­ v i l l e , and Whate T y T V Grenvi 11 ©, toovembcr 1 4,17 6 9 t Gren­ v i l l e p a p e r s * IV, 482 and n 9 1 .

- 334-

The r a d i c a l p e r i o d i c a l p ro s e t h r iv e d on w ilk e s , W illiam BingXey had begun a t r i - w e e k l y p ap er, th e independ­

ent C h r o n i c l e , s h o r t l y b e f o r e h i s im prison m en t« w ith Ho, 9 , I t passed to t h e r e s p e c ta b le shop of George Robinson and R ob erts i n P a t e r n o s t e r Row, b u t r e t a i n e d i t s vehemence*

inR

The P o l i t i c a l R e g i s t e r m a i n t a i n e d i t s p o s i t i o n among p o l­ i t i c a l magi&zlnee*^^

and was seconded by t h o F r e e h o l d e r * s

© which p u rp o rte d t o be spo nso red "By a X-atrl otic *110 P ith pam phlets and. p e r io d !c a lc supplomenl p r iv a te co rresp o n d en ce and word of mouth, it seems in o r e d Ibl© that w ith in s i x t y m il os of London tho name of ’/.’likes was alm o st unknown*

The p a ri ©M anors a t the "remarkably

lo y a l and p ea cea b le" town o f G luey, **,had J u st heard h is name and t h a t he was in p riso n ; comparing th o Im p erfect accou nt th ey had of him with what th ey read in their B ib le s th e y took it f o r granted that a person so treated auet of n e c e s s i t y b© a minister of the G ospel and under that character they ora y©d e a r n e s tly that he s i g h t be supported and enlarged-**111 Three thousand miles away h i Ik e s was the hero of the B o sto n ­ ia n r a d i c a l s , as every r.bip c a r r ie d the l a t e s t London papers, 112

id $ ' — — Mori so n , ifrmXlsh new spap e r , p p *15>*4* 109 Bee f o r in s t a n c e Britaunicua5a letter, "To a Juryman"; P o l i t i c a l Rea*, v (1 7 6 9 )•

Q-*F*Barwick, "Some m agazines of t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y , 31 Trans* o f t h e B ib l 1 ogr& phica X Soc», X (1 9 0 d -1 9 0 9 ) ,1 2 ? » R ev, John Hewton t o th e Bari o f Dartmouth , A.ugu s t 9,17-': 9: ff.#j4*C* 1 3 th ivGport% P art x {Bf&rtiiiuutl* j.x! },Xul* 1X2 For F l i k e s 0 o r r o &pondeno © w i th t h e Boston p a t r i o t s m c B.S,Ma„-.’SS 30870, f o i e . 45-6,75-7,114,133,135-9,146-7,1545 ,160-1 ,1 6 6 ,1 7 1 -3 ,1 7 5 -8 ,1 8 8 -9 , 2 0 4 -7 ,2 1 1 - 1 2 ,2 1 9 ,3 2 2 -3 ,2 3 3 , 237! 30871, f o i e . ? , IE -2 2 ,5 1 *

-3 3 5 -

Th® power o f tho p r e s s

too

g r e a t , hut i t s Irjflu en cs was

dependent upon th o whole network o f com m unications*

U n t il

t h a t was p e r f e c t e d , th e p r e s s , W ilk es, and th e C ity was n o t m erely a n a t u r a l, but a n e c e ssa r y comoination.* W hile bloodshed, d e s t r u c t io n , and r e v o lu tio n seemed t o r i s e l i k e s p e c t e r s behind th e r a d ic a l p r e s s , moderate I n d iv id u a ls went q u ie t ly about t h e ir work,

W illiam rtrahan

p a id h ig h t r i b u t e t o th o power o f the p ress when he w rote to h is Amorloan c o r r e sp o n d e n t, The S in g u la r it y of our p resen t S itu a t io n i s t h i s , t h a t w h ile t h e r e i s a c t u a lly no N a tio n a l D i s s a t i s f a c t i o n exist­ ing*, our new spapers ar© f i l l e d w ith n o th in g but th e most d a rin g and u n p reced en ted A tta ck s upon th e M in istry and th e X ing h im s e lf #— And a l l t h i s i s in r e a l i t y th e Work of an In em std er& b l® Junto o f Men, • %*113 O thers f e l t th e s t i r r i n g o f the s o c i a l d ep ths and were

alarmed*

s i r John Jar& ley t'ilnot fe a r e d fo r Hhat sub­

ordination t o law and governm ent, which i s th e tr u e and only so u r ce o f t h e hap pin m & of a peop le * »»H4

j>sy1iWg

*hi.i i**,y«r»n*t*i ,*■»■!• i

.

*

i

«*.)*» tw

i lit*** .1

.wueciM*

nvMMtaN*-

vaww.nt*,. .-.»**-»■. ■yr..,! ■>*.'G ent ’ r: Mag. ,XLI ( 1 7 7 D , 300; L. b77"A f o r g o t t e n J o u r m lle fc , "Athenagwmf- sy 2 0 , 1 8 9 9 ).

from f u n c t i o n i n g , b u t sworn I n t e r r o g a t o r i e s , i f e n fo r c e d , e s t a b l i s h an " E n g lish i n q u i s i t i o n , "

3ingl@ y*e c a s e , d e ­

c la r e d t o e a u t h o r , had shown b o th t h e ' e v i l s and i n s u f f i c ­ i e n c i e s o f such a s y ste m . The o n l y g a i n e r was a sh ab b y p a m p h l e t - s o H e r , , .who f a t t e n ­ ed and t h r o v e upon t h e r e p u t a t i o n o f p a t r i o t i s m , * , and who , * .w as p r e t t y i n d i f f e r e n t a b o u t h i s p e r s o n a l l i b e r t y , p r o ­ v i d e d h i s p r e s s mpved f r e e l y , and f o u n d a l a r g o v e n t f o r h is p ro d u c tio n s ,* ” When P a r lia m e n t con ven ed t h e a c t i v i t i e s r e c e iv e d im m e d ia te a t t e n t i o n .

o f t h e pres®

The p a r t p la y ed by t h e "ob­

s c u r e a n d anonym ous w r i t e r o f paragraphs" d e f i e d d e f i n i t ­ io n ,

John Glynn m ig h t m a i n t a i n t h a t t h e v o i c e o f t h e p eo­

p le was e x p r e s s e d i n t h e d a i l y n e w s p a p e r s , b u t t h e m in is t ­ e r i a l bench s c o f f e d a t "a few d e s p ic a b le m e c h a n ic s .• « book­ s e l l e r s * • *tb e scum o f t h e e a r t h , t h e r e f u s e o f t h e p e o p le , "The p r e s s h a s been l o u d l y c o m p la in e d o f , " n o t e d Edmund B urke, " a s e x c i t i n g t h e p u b lic t o a, b r e a c h o f t h e i r d u t y , . , . but l e t t h e men who a b u s e d t h e l i b e r t y o f th e p r e s s on b o th s i d e s be p r o d u c e d , , , ! w i l l v e n t u r e t o a v e r , t h a t t h o s e on t h e s i d e o f a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a r e t h e w o r s t . The e x p e r i m e n t i s now t r y i n g , w h e t h e r the- l i b e r t y o f t h e p r e s s be a c u r s e -or a b l e s s i n g ; i t i s e a s y t o s e e t h a t i t ^ w i l l be d i f f e r e n t l y d e t e r m i n e d by d i f f e r e n t p a r t i e s , 3*35 By t h e end o f J a n u a r y e m o tio n s r a n h i g h .

C o l. L u t t r e l l

o p e n l y c h a r g e d G r e n v i l l e t h a t a r e c e n t l i b e l had come 133

p o l l c o t Io n o f s c a r c e t r a c t s IV ,1 2 6 -5 1 * F o r l e g a l com­ ment and a h i g h o p i n i o n o f C a n d o r ’ s rem arks on c o n t e m p t o f c o u r t and t h e p r e s s , s e e J . C . F o x , "The summary p r o c e s s t o p u n I s h c onte m p t," Law f t l y » R ev 9, XXV(1 9 0 9 ),2 5 2 * 134 D e b a te o f J a n u a r y 9 ,1 7 7 0 s P a r i , h i e t , ,XV 1 , 6 9 6 -7 0 4 . 135 D eb ate o f JJanuary 2 4 ,1 7 7 0 s I b I d . , XV1,7 0 2 .

-342'

from h i s "near r e la t io n " Lord Temple*,

G r e n v i l l e d e n ie d

t h e I m p lic a t io n , demanded an I n v e s t i g a t i n g com m ittee, and L u t t r e l l was fo r c e d t o r e c a n t even a s Temple (who may have been p r e s e n t) su b m itted h i s own r e f u t a t i o n . ^ 0 The A d m in istr a tio n was n o t h e l p l e s s .

.Marly i n J a n ­

uary a c t i o n was ta k e n a g a i n s t th e M orning C h r o n i c l e f o r "A ca tec h ism t o be l e a r n e d by e v e r y p e r s o n b e f o r e he I s brought t o be con firm ed a placem an o r p e n s i o n e r by t h e M in iste r,"

C o m p lain t was made by t h e A rc h b ish o p o f Can­

ter b u ry and t h e B ish o p o f London; t h e law o f f i c e r s q u i c k l y d e c la r e d i t a s c a n d a l o u s l i b e l , and t h e S e c r e ta r y o f S t a t e o r d e r e d them t o

p r o s e c u te *

^37

The House o f Lords t o o k th e le a d a g a i n s t t h e w i l k l t e M id d le s e x J o u r n a l on F e b r u a r y 7$ W illia m 0* Edmunds, t h e p r in t e r , was o r d e r e d t o a t t e n d t h e b a r f o r b r e a c h o f p r i v i ­ le g e in p r i n t i n g a m in o rity p r o t e s t . t o G o v ern m en t’ s o b v io u s e f f o r t t o

Richmond o b j e c t e d

c l l e n c e o p p o s i t i o n * Tem­

p l e rem in d e d Sandwich o f h i s own p r o p a g a n d i z i n g , p a s t and p r e s e n t, but p a rd o n ed t h e w r i t e r s s a y i n g , " I f a r i d i c u l e on h i s f i g u r e c o u l d g i v e a d i n n e r t o a m i s e r a b l e crew of h i r e l i n g s c r i b b l e r s , ho c o u l d n o t be d i s p l e a s e d . . . . "

The

D o o rk e e p e r s e r v e d t h e o r d e r t h a t n i g h t , b u t Edmunds f a i l e d t o a p p e a r February 9 , a s d i r e c t e d .

155------------------ -----------— '— “ --------

The G entle,man u s h e r

— ------------------ ~

D ebate o f J a n u a r y 3 1 , 177Q; I b i d . , XVI, 6 0 6 -6 0 7 .

137 Gal*H*0*p a p e r s * I I I ,

4.

had no b e t t e r buccob® In l o c a t i n g th© printer in '."arch, and n o t u n t i l May ?, d id Edmunds s u r r e n d e r h i m s e l f .

Bven

th e n he r e fu s e d t o d i v u lg e any information except t h a t he had absconded and f l e d t o France* voted M a

On th© 9 t h , t h e Lords

*g u i l t y of a high Contempt of the Authority of

t h i s House,” f in e d him flOO and sent him to Nov;gate f o r a month and f u r t h e r u n t i l the fine was p a i d , ^ ®

Edmunds

remained I d prison u n t i l July 2ft, when th e Crown paid hie

Governmental a c t i o n against the Whisperer after t h r e e numbers had been pub lish ed *

began

Upon the failure

o f a ministerial bucfc-bencher t o move t h e House o f Com­ mons t o p r o s e c u te the paper, th© Secretary of S t a t e ’ s o f ­ f i c e p roceed ed in the u su al f a s h i o n on March 6, and prose c u t io n was ordered ten day® later*

B efore then, however,

S i r William M eredith o b j e c t e d t o t h e licentiousness of th e W hisperer and broached th e subject in tho Commons* Honest disapproval of the personal libel which filled tho d a i l y papers had no p la c e in t h e House of Commons.

De­

b a te quickly turned upon party lines and the merits of Johnson and Shebbear© were a c ld u l o u a l y paraded,

hor^-h

r e fu s e d to oppose th© motion, throwing th e t a i n t of TW~~ ------ -------------“ -------“ -------------— — — P a r i ah l e t o, XVI,8 2 9 - 3 0 ; ,XXXX1,4 2 5 ,4 2 9 ,4 8 0 ,5 7 0 - 7 5 * T h e 'T o r e g o ln g narrative follows the doting of the Lord’s Journal* According to the k a r l *hist* ,the debate on Edmunds * ?ate T o o k place February 1 0, but the Journal shows that th© action upon which debate was held occurred on Friday, the 9th, and no steps with regard to the care wore taken on the 1 0 t h o

139

The Crown d id n ot pay th e f e e s due t o Black aoa, eo t h a t Edmunds1s l i b e r a t i o n depended upon h i s a b i l i t y to moot them h im s e lf* D a tin g f o l l o w s G en t8e V&g* ,X £ (1 7 7 0 ), 3.?. and Lord Vb-yor cf London* krs .Mac­ a u la y 77.es t h e out stan d in woman l i b e r a l of t he po r l od . 158 ' 0 , Macaulay, Ob s e r v a t i o n s on a pamphlet, e n t i t l e d , Thoughts on t h e cause _o?~"Vn „ 0 p r e r e n t _d i s ’c- n s l c u -t s f t or. on91770), p o l l

Ibi.ci,, pp. 12-20, 160

Ill

Burke to k , S h a k l e t o r , A u g u s tl5 ,1 7 7 0 : Burke c o n - *, l ,230. v a l p o l e a d e m o l r s , IV, 87.

162 2 i ts m s .u r ic e , Sh e l b u r n e , I 1 ,204.

-351-

"has done much hurt t o the ecu Be" by t e n t i n g to d estro y "a tru e p u b l i c - s p i r i t e d union o f a l l who w i l l n o t be 163 sla v e s." The same c r i t i c i s m occurred t o Her ee V.alp ole who saw In i t ltIM no one end but t o d e if y Lord Look! and to i n s i n u a t e t h a t Mahomet was h i a prophet *"

" It was a

co m p osition o f g r e a t m erit f o r i n g e n u i t y , e lo q u e n c e , and knowledgej though

at

once too diffuse and too rofined: it

164

tired the Informed, and wes unintelligible to the ignorant »t A b spring passed into summer the in rllawentary oppo­ sition had little basis for self-assurance.

Ailkes, at

l i b e r t y once more, was e e o r o e ly an a l l y , and !!» , ene alon e 165 had a l l the p o p u la r it y they were s t r u g g l i n g t o obtain*" "Lord Chat ban} has t a lk e d on t h e M iddlesex nobody w i l l

answer h im ,”d e c la r e d

e le c tio n t i l l

W alpole, and "in P a r lia ­

ment t h e i r numbers are shrunk t o n o th in g , and the s e s s io n 166 i s ending v e r y trium p h an tly f o r th e C o u r t .T* Rockingham and Burke had gone t o p ress with tieg l i g i b l e r e s u l t s . There remained t o be seen whether t i e p r e s s i t s e l f could change th e co u rse of p o l i t i c s *

I t c o u ld , a t any r a t e ,

m arsh a ll In I t s cause a pen more barbed than t h a t o f t i i k e s , more bom bastic than th e tongue o f Chatham, a s t y l e whose p e r i o d s put Burke t o shame, and a c o n s t i t u t i o n ­ a l ardor t h a t outshone Grenville*

Thia was J u n iu s .

C h a t h a m t o Rockingham, November 15» 1 7 7 0 s Kooklxifihuei memoir p. > 11 » 19 4. I ^ a lp o le , Hbmoir^, i v , 8 6 . l65R i£ gy t o B e d f o r d , iiay 2 1 , 1 7 7 0 : godford c o g r . , 1 1 1 ,4 13 . l 6 6 -;ai p 0i e t o Mann ,Hsy 6 ,177 0 Ltalpole , Let tax1a (Ioynbee ),V II 37B* -

352 -

OHAFTSB X Jukibe Afft l i l t ' In an ag© when anonymous n e M p p o r l e t t e r ? .uade up thcs bulk o f d a l l y p o l i t i c a l oowiient, th e nasaa o f Junlue sto o d f o r t h in u n c h a lle n g e d mafttcry o f th e f i e l d *

;?ov ehocr in *

v e c t lv © ho 1.7as u n r i v a l l e d , and 1?) th e s t y l a o f to o e i g h t e e n ­ t h .c e n tu r y , h i s opbomeral e s s a y e formed a aob ol "-hioh t h e Karl of Oimthum c o u ld recommend t o b i l l i o n rilt0^

r.o p o l i t ­

i c a l e r i t o r ttor© f r e e l y bestowed h i s e p i t h e t s in h igh p la c e s o r w ith more t e l l i n g e f f e c t , f o r Ju n iu s was acoouat& bl© t o no man#

As Johnson remarked, **J'?o him th a t knows hi? company, i t

i s n o t hard t o be c a r a a a t l c In a m a s k ,1

bhin was th e s e c r e t

o f J u n i u s ’ a pewer— &nonytalty which p r o t e c te d th e w r i t e r and s h i e l d e d h i s p u b lish er--® , shadow which hep paver boon p ie r c e d * 3 _

_

_

_

_

Von f v u v i l l e , b l t t , 111/509* 2

«f *Prc v i t ©- or ton # a p o l i t i c a l l i t e r a t u r e (1 7 S 5 - 7 5 !,* . t o J d * * a * * * * * « * ..* .« * . I n t a r o f t i n g t h o u g h t h e p o l i t i c a l m n i f i c a v . l o n e of a n L e a r s h i p would be* i t I s n o t neeoffe&ry to the e o n tr o Y -u u y of J u n i u s ’ s i d e n t i t y * A g u i d e t o t h e 1 t re Urn.- „_Wl«i*Cl*

W ■ *'Tj'. *

The

t V 1.JL

l o s t t h e o r i g i n a l n e w sp a p e r by w h i c h p u b l i c a t i o n c o u l d be proved*

h a n s f i e l d ” ***l a c o n i c a l l y re p l i ec dd ,,

f a u l t * L ^r*A ttom 41 second t r i a l * 'f

«.Vi}* , v4. ’T 'sS X , h avt *

t o r 'uli. £i 0- Sjvj(a

n o t my t

iiu en L*^ w u.*to

le g a l fees to ta lle d

about

£120 and h i s a r d o r f o r r a d i c a l

p u b l i s h i n g v e n t u r e s seems t o h a v e bean r a t h e r c o o l ther e* 42 a fte r* F o r Glynn* whose e endue t o f t h e c a s e had b een f l a w l e s s , iVood full l a t e r M# ,*ta&de a P u r c h a s e o f a sm a ll F re e h o ld a t G r e n t f o r d by way o f Q u a l i f i c a t i o n , i n o r d e r t o c o n v i n c e him , i f h e s h o u ld o f f e r h i m s e l f a t t h e n e x t 43 e l e c t i o n * 0 , t h a t I h o l d h i s S e r v i c e s i n g r a t e f u l Remembrance 1? 53

sta t

t r i a l e , . v ; , 3 1 7-2 1; Annual R e ^ . , X I I I (1770) ,164,

41

ta t-c

t* y*4 *o 1 n Li * «£»

«** £*o £

'1 V

y «*.j v 0

>7 IQjVC

w

w e

42" I b i d * , XX, 8 9 7 . 43~~ It. 2 . r o o d f a l l to J u n i u s , " a r c h 7*1773s J u n i u s , u .3 2 2 .

■374*

John Aim on appeared before the ping* s Bench,

lovem­

b e r 28, the lone publisher of Junius to be sentenced* Glynn had presented a formidable collection of affidavits in extenuat ion of Altaon1 s gui I t , o.i'Ci tijesv

0

re now road*

that of John filler showed that the defendant had objected to the use of his n a m e in the London huceuni,

'liraorL e 0 v*n

statement of his innocent absence from Piccadilly and sub­ sequent withdrawal of the paper after sixty-seven or sixtyeight of three hundred copies, had been sold vias supported by Robert Lorris,

billy vouched f o r the customary charac­

ter of this process In the trade, Adams

(Aim on *s shopman)

44 corroborated his m a s t e r 15s evidence*

The Attorney-general

was extremely harsh in condemning Alraan and hic affidavits. Both Larisfield and Aston rebuked him for hie asperity, while Glynn quietly bespoke tlie C o u r t ’s lenience,

then

there was nothing further to be heard, fansfield excused himself in order to preside at the House of L o rds, and Justice Aston delivered the sentence. John Aim on had been found

rlguilty of publishing a

most w i c k e d , seditious, and malignant libel.'1

However

his own affidavit, and that of Tiller lessened the guilt* The other b were not r cgarded— except that of Robert lor id c * M

_

---------------

Robert lo r r i s ( d * 1 7 9 4 ) ,lawyer, secretary of 3111 of Rights societyJ represented Lord Baltimore in his notorious rape case, use on dec! with hi s natural daughter, pursued by the l a w , they separated} legal adviser for *liable in 1771} died in the Last Indio s. G e n t 1e,Jag, * (1794) ,p. 963} T*. ...Md.lSS, 30871-30872, Dilly (either Edward or Charles) was a promi­ nent London bookseller* lo thing further h'u? o. ,n found to Identify Adams,

-375-

P o l i t i c a l l y obnoxious m a con f t rraed f i l k i t e , yoi rie had

maintained in h i s a f f i d a v i t t h a t J u n i u s 1a l e t t e r w*e not lib ello u s.

Anton d i g r e s s e d u n n e c e s s a r i l y t o d e c la r e that

such an o p in io n was l i t t l e to Aim on he o a l d ,

sh ort of t r e a s o n .

turning

, . t h a t tho b o o k s e l l e r s , in f u t u ie

t i m e s , might not s c re en th e m s e lv e s , by plea ding ignorance of what they s o l d , i t nos n e c e s s a r y t o r e p e a t , that tho bare f a c t of p u b l i c a t i o n was o u f f i o i e n u c o n v i c t i o n . 11 Almon was f i n e d t e n marks (£'5,1 3 s * 4 d . } and ordered, to giv e se cu r­ i t y f o r two y e a r s i n £400 h i m s e l f , with two a d d i t i o n a l s u r e t i e s of £200 each.

The f e e s of Almon1a l o y a l counsel

amounted to £139*C o * l i d , » but the s i n g u l a r i t y o f h i s con­ v i c t i o n case to h i s a i d .

John Aubrey c o l l e c t e d a pure©

o f £100 f o r the p u b l i s h e r , and though Aimon *s se ntence seemed harsh In view of tho d e l i v e r a n c e o f "o o d f a l l -and t i l l e r , i t was d i f f i c u l t t o d i s c o v e r a martyr1 in a. man who was "* ..r e c k o n e d to have made a fortune of £10,000 45 by p u b l i s h i n g and s e l l i n g 11 b e l e . * P o p u l a r i n t e r e s t i n t h e s e o a s e s e n c o u r a g e d a number

o f a u t h o r s t o e x p r e s s t h e a r g u m e n t s f o r t h o pa c l i n h e r e i n p rin t,

K a r l y i n A u g u s t , Can dor a d d r e s s e d An a t h e r 1 o t t e r

:

Gent *s . t a g , 9XL(1TT0} , 5 4 1 ; o:i;ol.r s , V" ml c , l o t (where Alia or, c l a i m e d c o s t s o f £140 plue "a g r o a t number o f i n c i d ­ e n t a l e x p e n s e s ' * ) ; ■Imon, I r i a l t p. 65; .An no o 1 T-.sg . , X11A ( 1 7 7 0 ) , 165; S t a t e t r i a l s , , XX, 8 4 iP T * and C o i l e c Cion o f * s c a r c e t r a c t s , 1 7, I P j P f , b o t h g i v e t h e r e p o r t in^r.,1 oyc.* s J h i o n l c l e , Nov­ ember 3 0 , 1 7 7 0 ; E , T e r r i s , A l e t t e r tTq f i r R ic h a r d As t o n , I n t . ( l o r d o n , 1770 } , o p . > -1 0; 'Valoolt*, remoi r e , TV , ICo, 1a Aohn Aubrey (1739-1626):^,?.*, voted wIWTKo minority in 1770, Admiralty lord 1762, Ttnseury comricsloner 17'“3-?»

-376-

'to • r * A l m o n i n m a t t e r o f l i b e l .

The p am p h let c o n ta in e r

l i t t l e n e w m a t e r i a l , r e v i e w e d t h e c a s e s o f Altvron a n d J o o d f & l l , an d w h ile r e g r e t t i n g t h e ab u se o f th e p r e s s by “t h e p r e s e n t s y s te m o f p a r t y - w r l t i n g . , n o -p o se d a n y th in g w hich m i g h t w* , #g lv e f o o t i n g t o a c o d e o f l i b e l - p o l i t y , w h i c h may h e r e a f t e r b e b u r n e d t o t h e d e s t r u c t i o n o f a l l l i b e r t y of the p r e s s , * ,

,

h a n s f i e l d r e c e i v e d hi© s i n r e o f a t t e n t ­

i o n and w a s w a r n e d t h a t " a m an m a y h a p p e n t o d i s l i k e t h e t r i a l by ^ u r y , a n d a n u n l i c e n s e d p r e s s . , , b u t i f t h e c o u r s e o f h i s p r o f e s s i o n and e x t r a o r d i n a r y t a l e n t s w ere t o b r ln Chief J u stic e o f K n g l a n d , . . h e m u st...ta k e 46 In N o v e m b e r , the t h e law o f long land a s h e f i n d s i t . . . *w s u c h a man t o b e

a u t h o r ad d ed a p o s t s c r i p t

animadverting on t h e Judgement®

in Almon *e and f O o d f & l l 10 cases b o t h o f which w er e c e n s u r e d * “The a i m i s s o evident* that i t i s h i g h time t o r i n g out t h e alarum., b o l l i n such in s id io u s

the e a rs

enem ies

of a l l m a n k i n d , t o h u n t down to e v e r y t h i n g that

Cl . e . M a n s f i e l d !

I n m o s t d e a r a n d v a l u a b l e t o i v n g l ls h in e n * a n d t o th e grand

root

out

canker-worm o f t h e s t a t e .

y o r e a c r i m o n i o u s va© R o b e r t d o r r i s ’ o L e t t e r t o d i r

The y o u n g l a w y e r f e l t t h e J u s t i c e * 8 r e m a r k s

' R ic ha rd . A s t o n • c o n c e r n i n g irif personal

M

~

a f f id a v it in

in s u lt .

-------------------

11 m e n *s c a s e t o

be a d i r e c t

He now a p p e a l e d t o t h e p u b l i c , a court ~

£ Anon 6 3 BA n o t h e r l e t t e r t o d r . Alia o n , i n m a t t e r o f l i b e l , (London,1 7 7 S T , P P » 6 7 n o f " a l s o R.r;* , nTbe C a n d o r p u - y . h l e t a , "

Notes and q u eries, 2nd oer. >vI(1454},141. *7---------------------------------------■C ollection of s c a r c e t r a c t s ,

-5 7 7 -

_

lv 9 l o o .

i n Will oil Asti on could n o t iisuoe® s i l e n c e , p h let Is c h ie f ly in t e r e s t in g o p in io n i n t h e (Jity,.

J.orri r. *s c&n-

an e x p r e s s io n o f rad l e a l

sp

The v e n d e r s of J u n i u s ' s l e t t e r

** • ♦Tsould n e v e r have s u f f e r e d a p r c e c o u ti o n , i f t h e p u b lic demand* **had n o t shown , t h a t m&nkind wer-o p l e a s e d , n o t s h o c k e d , ” w rote V o r r l s , ” * » . e x c e p t i n t h e co u rt o f l i n g ' s Benchj or t h e supreme c o u r t a t Bt* Jam es*s#" t h a t be a l i b e l which th e n a t io n p r a is e s ?

How ear

l t d how i s J.t

t h a t Mp r i n t i n g , * *&nd p u b l i s h i n g , which used t o be law f i l l t r a d e s in t h i n c o u n t r y , a r e become o f o. sudden c r i m i n a l ," v a n s f l s l d , t h e " a r b it r a r y Judge” who was ” * * *d e s ir o u s t o d r i v e th e p r i n t e r s i n t o a p e t i t i o n f o r a l i c e n s e r , !f vtaa warned l o s t t h e cry a r i s e among t h e p eo p le t o a b o l i s h 48 h i s c o u r t and p u n ish i t s Judges* g o ld e n d id th e C h ie f J u s t i c e esca p e condemnation* A lthough t h e anonymone a u th o r of A l a t t e r to t h e ju r o r s o f G reat B r i t a i n ad m itted h i s g rea t t a l e n t s end c o n t r i b u t ­ io n s t o com m ercial law *^

f h i l e l e u t h e r u s h n g lic a n u s com­

pared G & nsflold u n fa v o r a b ly with J e f f r e y s and 3 creg g s* " I t i s i m p o s s i b l e , " s a id t h e l a t t e r a u th o r ,

sp e a k in g of

Aim o n 1s c a e a , " to v i n d i c a t e t h i s s e n te n c e in any l i g h t ; and i t ou gh t t o produce a p a rlia m en ta ry ^

>

_

. . .

.

.

i n q u i r y * ♦ -

,* * 5 0 -

J e r r i s , L e t t e r to f i r IIIohard i c t o n , p p . 6 - 1 0 , 1 9 - 2 1 , 4 0 , 5 ^ ; V?alp o 1 e , V em oirs, ~7V, 15 ■?•§• 49 ~~ “ £Anon* 13 a l e t t e r to t h e ju r o r s of Great d r i t a i n (London, 1 7 7 1 ) , po.tf-Wl 50 ., , , P h i l e l e u t h c r u c A n g l i c a n u s , 1 summary ox t he 1 nr ol 3.1 bel ( London,1T71) , 9 9 . 1 1 - 1 2 , 1 2 , r e p r in t e d InU o T X e c tip n o f s q a r c s t r a c t s , IV, 1 9 7- 2 2 1 ,

«376-

The s p i r i t was i n t h e a i r *

of c r i t i c i s m * i n v e s t i g a t i o n , and c t e n g e The e f f e c t i v e v i n d i c a t i o n o f j u n i a n comment*

a r i e a and f r e e p u b l i c a t i o n by t h e t r i a l s of r i l l e r and. Ba ldwin p r e p a r e d t h e way f o r a b r o a d e r , a h i g h e r c o n s i d ­ e r a t i o n of .Tares8 law an d t h e oroes' i n p o l i t i c s *

-379'

The dependence

of

I m upon p u b l i c o p i n io n In a f r e e

s o c i e t y makes a c a p a c i t y f o r ohang© imperative- i n t h e s t a t ­ u t o r y body i f i t i s t o r e t a i n a s u b s t a n t i v e c h a r a c t e r .

In

1770 t h e r e were many who f a i t t h a t t h e d e t e r m i n a n t p o i n t had bean reached by t h e law of l i b e l a s propounded by Mans­ f i e l d and t h e Court

of

King*® Sen oh.

"The l u t e d o c t r i n e s

* ..c o n c e r n i n g t h e r i g h t s o f J u r i e s t o Judge o f Law, and F a c t » have s p r e a d u n i v e r s a l alarm , and r a i s e d t h e j u s t e s t i n d i g ­ n a t i o n . w s a i d Chatham.

"This i s l a y i n g the

r o o t w i t h a vengeanceJ

Juror© who may n o t j u d g e , e le c t o r ©

axe

t o th e

who may n o t e l e c t * . .compose a p r e t t y system o f L n g lish T 3overnm ent*fl Here was a n i s s u e , i n M a n sf ie ld a p o i n t o f a t t a c k , upon which Chatham*© t a l e n t s might f r © ly p l a y .

The old

f i r e of o p p o s i t i o n b i a s e d i n h i s h e a r t a s i t had n o t f o r t e n yea,re p a s t .

The : a c t i o n t h a t had v a i n l y t r i e d to b rin g

him i n t o open o p p o s i t i o n m

how

s c o r n e d i " . . . t h e Marquis

Eof Rockingham3 I s an hone st a nd hon o urable man," he wrote

t o h i & agent J obn Cole ra f t , " b u t . . . * mo d era t 1 c n , mod e r a t i on 1 1 i s t h e burden of t h e s o n g . . . .

For m y s o l f , I am r e s o l v e d

t o be In e a r n e s t f o r t h e p u b l i c ; and s h a l l be a s c a r e crow o f v i o l e n c e to t h e g e n t l e -w a r b l e r s of t h e g r o v e , t h e Chatham to s ta n h o p e , J u ly 9 ,1 7 7 0 s Lord Mahon, H isto r y o f England { London, 1 8 3 8 ) , V, A p p . x l i i i .

o moderate Whigs and tem perate s t a t e s m e n . ”*-

Chathamf s op in ­

i o n s soon c m e to t h e a t t e n t i o n of Burk© a n d Rockingham, I t was r ep o r te d t h a t " v e r d ic ts and J u ries" were Chatham's "most f a v o r i t e p o i n t « , . p a r t l y from p o l l t i c a l v i e w s , and p a r t ly from h i s p e r s o n a l a n im o sity to Lore: M a n e i i e l d ,tt Burke lo o k ed c o o l l y upon th e L a r i *& c r e j e c t a .

i o Rock­

ingham he d e s c r ib e d i t a s n e i t h e r d i g n i f i e d 21or r e s p e c t ­ f u l t o engage th e m s e lv e s in Chatham's cause w it h o u t duo c o n s id e r a tio n and firm d e te r m in a tio n to p e r s e v e r e in th e reform o f

a b u s e s .

^

^he "m alevolence and per.so.nal enmity"

apparent i n th e p ro p a g a n d ist c a s e f o r th e p r e s s he co u ld h on ly r e g r e t a s u n n e c e s s a r i l y p oor t a s t e * The heed of f a c t i o n co u ld not a f f o r d to in d u lg e B urke's p erso n a l I n c l i n a t i o n s ; e f f e c t i v e o p p o s i t i o n dep en d ed upon u n io n . The w i n t e r s e s s i o n of P arliam en t was s c h e d u le d t o begin November 13; on t h e preceding, S a t u r d a y Rockingham v i s i t ­ ed Chatham and f a v o r a b ly im p ressed t h e Lari w i t h h i s "upright i n t e n t i o n s * Chatham’ s own i n t e n t i o n s t o w a r d t h e p r e s s a t t h i s p o in t are n o t c l e a r . 1

On S e p t e m b e r 1 , G a l c r a f t had v i s i t e d

_

--------------

Chatham to J . Gal c r a f t , J u l y 2d* 1770 s Chatham c o m . , I I I *469. Jo hn G a l e r a f t ( 1 7 2 6 - 7 2 ) , army c o n t r a c t o r , a t t a c h e d t o r o x u n t i l 1 7 6 3 , he made a f o r t u n e a f t e r t h o manner o f b io p a t r o n , t u r n e d t o P i t t i n 176 3, a i d e d i n r e u n i t i n g Chatham and Tem­ p l e 1 7 6 0 , g . ?,fo r- R o c h e s t e r 1768-72 ,• c r e d i t e d /.I tli h a v i n g " t h e b e s t head f o r I n t r i g u e " i n Chatham’ s camp. 3 Burke t o Rockingham, September 2 3 *1770s Burke c o r n , , 1 , 2 4 1 - 2 , 4 ' ~ ~ I b i d , a? , 2 4 3 ( in R e f e r e n c e t o A n o th e r l e t t e r t o hr. A lao n * which mi g h t , Burke t h o u g h t , hTvo co;ae"~from Camden}. 5 Chatham to O a l c r a f t , November 1 0 , 1 7 7 0 ; Chatham o o r r . ,111*461.

381

L o r d T e m p le

ttg y

b a d d i s © U 6 0 Od hlSiO H fc C a s e

S t le n g th *

Apparently i t was proposed to r a i s e an i s s u e uyon the r u l ­ i n g i n A l t o n 's c a s e t h a t t h e J u ry c o u l d c o n s i d e r o nly t h e f a c t of s e l l i n g *

Sunday, hovers h e r 11, Chat hs.m e n t e r t a i n e d

S e r j e a n t Glynn— "the s p i r i t of th® c o n s t i t u t i o n i t s e l f * * — and P a r l i a m e n t a r y a c t i o n upon p r e s s case?: e a s t ha ve f orn~ ed an im portant topic* of c o n v e r s a t i o n * ‘ The a p p r o a c h i n g s e s s i o n a l s o b r o u g h t J u n i u s i n t o t h e fie ld *

On Monday he s e n t 'J o o d fa ll t h e m a n u s c r i p t of a v i o ­

l e n t l e t t e r t o Lord M ansfield which had j u s t been com pleted. He i m p l o r e d th e p r i n t e r to l o t i t a p p e a r on ..ednesclay, o r , i f he had any f e a r s , t o sand i t in s u f f i c i e n t time t o John f i l l e r t h a t i t m ig h t run In th e London ,-y o r lag r o a t s f o r “M i l l e r , I am s u r e , w i l l have no s o s u p l e f i . ! , v . ' a havo got t h e r a s c a l down, ' 5 s a i d J u n i u s , ’’l e t us s t r a n g l e him i f i t R he p o s s i b l e * n ~‘ P a r l i a m e n t met November 1 3 , o p p o s i t i o n had seldom been more s y m p a t h e tic a lly u n i t e d b o t h i n d o o r s and out* But Chatham and h i e f r i e n d s w ere a b sent from t h e f 1 r e t

se s s io n a s th e y p a i d s i l e n t t r i b u t e to t h e memory cf George G r e n v ille who d i e d t h a t d a y . t o the o p p o sitio n *

Hie l o s e was a c r u e l blow

Kot on ly would h i e i n c i s i v e g r a s p on

c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a f f . i r e be s a d ly m is s e d . h i e d e a t h removed g

_

_

_

_

---------------

O a l c r a f t t o A la o n , September 2 , 1 7 7 0 : .lmon, l o n o l r e , p . 76. Chat ham t o Cal c r a f t , November 1 1 ,1 7 7 0 : Gho. th a a co rr *,11 j. , 483 p. 6 3 * s s Alia on .Memoirs, . J u n i u e t o L o o d f a l l , November 1 2 , 1 7 7 0 ) s J u n i u o »p*306.

the o n ly e ffe c tiv e c o u n t e r p o is e between Ghatham and Rock Ingham*

without t h e i r le a d e r G ren ville’s follow ers gravit­

ated away from o p p o s it io n i n t o A d m in istra tion *

"If poor

Kr* G r e n v i l le d i e s , ” Lord George S a c k v l l l e (now Germaine } had w ritten * '*what i s to be th e o b j e c t of o p p o sitio n ?

I

hope n o t to make Lord Chatham m i n i s t e r * And among the G renvillians was Lord Temple whose i n t e r e s t and knowledge of t h e p o l i t i c s , ! press was second t o n o n e. i t i c a l c a r e e r came t o an abrupt

Temple’s p o l­

te r m in a tio n w ith h i s

b r o t h e r ’ s death and one more v o l e s was l o s t t c oppoeitlon**® This^may oxpl&ln th e fa ilu re of th e o p p o s it io n l o r d s t o

raise t h e Almon case in th e upper chamber* no love f o r

Chatham had

p u b lis h e r s and quickly d evoted h ie e f f o r t s

to another l i n e of attack; on ly Temple might have beard­ ed th e House f o r a ’b a se-b orn b o o k s e l l e r * ’

The s p i r i t of t h e tim e s was e v id e n t in th e debate on th e a d d re s s o f thanks*

I n the Commons, Gir t i l 11 am

M eredith d e c l a r e d t h a t B r i t a i n could nev«*-r f a c e a. f o r e ig n enemy u n t i l j u s t i c e had been done a t home; !*B r i t o n s , . . w i l l n ever f i g h t t o arm despotism with new power, nor s t r i k e

a blow which can only r i v e t t h e i r own c h a i n s . On Wed­ nesday* J u n iu s *c e p i s t l e to i la n s f i e l d ap pec red in the r~“ ~ ~ — — *— - ------------------- — — — —Germaine t o Gen* I r w in , October 2 5 ,17 70 ; s e e a l s o h is l e t t e r s of October 6 , 23» and 30s h .n .O . o tcp ford -L ack v i l l e i£SB* I , 1 3 1 -3 . 10 win & t an 1 c y , V,hi g o p u o s lt 1 on 9 pn* 364-7 * 11 ‘ _' P a r i . h i s t * , XVI ,1036* England was a t t h i s ti.-.e o h a lle n g ed~T5y*”Spain on t h e q u e s t io n of the Falkland *ela n d s; see h 1n s t a n l e y , Whig o p p o s i t i o n , pp*370- 9 1 .

P u b lic A d v e rtis e r-,

wQur lan g u a g e has no term of r e p r o a c h ,

t h e mind has no id e a of d e n t a t i o n , which hao not a lr e a d y been h a p p ily a p p l i e d to you, and e x h a u s t e d , w r r o t e ju n iu e * He l i k e n e d M a n sfield t o a woman, rtt i m i d , v i n d i c t i v e , and i r r e s o l u t e , ' 3 He a c c u se d him of h a y in g "a s e t t l e d p l a n to c o n t r a c t t h e l e g a l power of J u r i e s , " X o u r charg e t o t h e J u r y , i n t h e p r o s e c u t i o n a g a i n s t Almor; and l o o d f a l l , c o n tr a d ic ts th e h ig h e s t le g a l a u t h o r i t i e s , as w e ll as th e p l a i n e s t d i c t a t e s of r e a s o n ,"

th e n you in v a u c t h e pi o v in ee

o f t h e Jury i n m a t t e r of l i b e l , y o u . # , a t t a c k t i e l i b e r t y of th e p r e s s , a n d , w ith a s i n g l e s t r o k e , wound two of y our e n e m ie s .'5 J u n i u s conclu ded w i t h a ■warning to ^ber&ra how you in d u lg e t h e f i r s t am otions of y o u r r e s e n tm e n t. H *The p e r s e c u tio n o f an in n o c e n t p r i n t e r cannot a l t e r f a c t s , n o r r e f u t e a rg u m e n ts * '--la n o t f u r n i s h me w ith f a r t h e r m a te ria ls ag ain st y o u rs e lf. The

crescendo

of criticism rose another step on the

1 5 t h , whan the City of L o n d o n , in a Mhumble s d d r e s e , r e ­

monstrance,

and

p e titio n ”

to the throne, noted the

threat

t o w* . .that sacred Bulwark of English liberty, the Trial by jury* from uth© dangerous Designs of these, v/lio have

dared

o p en ly to attempt t o mutilate its lower and destroy

i t s *:f f 1 o a c y .n

Specifically,

n. . . juries forbid to judge

o f the whole Matter' i n Issue before them.

^

Tp J u n i u s , pp. 177 ~&b. According t o ^orc hampb-'-ll, I ho l i v e s o f the chief justices (Mew Y o r k , 1 8 7 3 ) , I I I , 386 , A tto rn o y -g en e r a l De Grey proposed a new prosecution for this letter but ■utnsfield refused to allow it.

C ity o f London, A d d resses, p . 26.

In th e fa c e o f t h i s e x p r e s s io n o f p u b lic o p in io n M an sfield upheld h i s v iew s in h o o d f o i l ’ s c a s e on th e 30th— " q u ite in c u r a b le o f h i s p o l i t i c a l l e p r o s y / ' Chatham ofoserve$ #l 4

clays l a t e r S i r Joseph Kawbey t o l d m in is t e r s

who c a l l e d f o r u n an im ity, "There are t h o s e who b e l i e v e t h e r e i s a rooted I n t e n t i o n t o in tr o d u c e a r b itr a r y power*" " S ir, th e r e Is a g e n e r a l f e e l i n g o f d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n a g a in ­ s t th e c o u r t s o f j u s t i c e , and a g a in s t ad m in istra tio n * * 1 Bo f r e q u e n tly was t h e treatm en t o f th e press brought up t h a t Forth was fo r c e d to speak upon I t , and r e c o g n is e th e demand fo r a c t io n though he might oppose it* ^ 5

j n th e

House o f Lord®, Chatham*s v ir u le n t a tta c k upon m in is te r ­ i a l f o r e ig n p o l i c y was heard by P h i l l i p F rancis and p r i n t ­ ed by th e M iddlesex J o u r n a l, London gv©ring P o s t, London Museum* and London Magazine as soon as th e o r i g i n a l mm16 p h le t was made a v a ila b le * The p u b lic should thereby know t h a t I t s le a d e r s were n ot s i l e n t in t h e i r b e h a lf . The f i r s t Parliam entary a c t i o n was undertaken from Chatham*® sid e *

In c o n ju n c tio n w ith Shelburne i t was t e n t ­

a t i v e l y arranged th a t C harles M* Cornwall should move th e House of Commons f o r an In q u iry In to t h e p ro ceed in g s of -

n

Chatham to C & lcra ft, November 21*1770s Chatham o o r r ,,111,495* ~ ~ — C a v en d ish ,Debates * 1 1 .6 6 -9 * 7 6 . S ir Joseph Mawbey (17509 8 ) , p o l i t i c i a n 'o f r a d ic a l i n c l i n a t i o n s during t h i s p erio d , -V.*P* for Southwark* 16 Parkee and M e r iv a le , F r a n c i s ,! ,565; L*Stephen, "Chatham, F r a n c is , and J u n iu s ,’* Lng*Hi s t *Rev, , IX1 (18 88 ) , 239 f f* 15

-385-

"the Court of King’s Bench in oases of libel,

17

Cornwall,

however, developed scruples against taking the leading part without giving prior notice to the Rockingham faction, al­ though he realised that "...any previous communication,,, might lead to insuperable difficulties,”

Chatham, sat­

isfied by Cornwall's motives, was still in need of a spokes1P man. The names of Sir William Meredith and Richard Oliver^ were mentioned, but another solution appeared over the 19 weekend. Probably on November 24, Cornwall met with Constantine Phipps and William Dowdeswell, and learned that Phipps intended to move the House November 27th for leave to bring in a bill concerning the Attorney-general's power to file informations,

Cornwall determined to use

this opening to expand the motion into a general inquiry. Dowdeswell assured them of his assistance, although Shel­ burne feared he might "... change his own notions,for the political notions of his party,

With the smoke

of battle in his nostrils, Chatham discounted the possibility SUf---------- --------------- ------------------------ ---- ---- ----------------- -----------------Charles Wolfran Cornwall(1735-89),C,Jenkinson's brotherin-law, though not attached to him at this moment, Treasugy lord 1774-80, Speaker of the House 1780-89. Richard 01iver(1734?-84), a 'West Indian,1 M,P. London 1770-80,one-time Wilkite, he opposed Wilkes in 1771» elect­ ed Sherriff 1772. 19 Chatham to Shelburne,November 25,1770; Shelburne to Chat­ ham, November 26,1770: Chatham corr.,IV,17-20, 20 Shelburne to Chatham,November $6,1770:Ibid,,IV,20-22. Walpole(Memoirs,IV, 148)provides the only account of this trans­ act! onT’ FroiT’the Rockingham side; Richmond was Walpole's in­ formant, but the story was related five months after the event, and cannot be accurately included in the n a r r a tiv e constructed from the Chatham correspondence. According to pgmggMsa-a^iSfsisi1!* !fiinBig?Se5,®lie)i do not like meetings: men are often borne down at them ag­ ainst their opinions. I will give notice of my intention without further concert,'" i-n n r

. r n" I ir u - v i m

-386-

o f a d iv i d e d o p p o s it io n * " . . . t h e w avering and the t r e a c h ­ erou s should toe brought t o th e t e s t . . . .

M.y o p in io n s t i l l 21 1 ©* t h a t a l l w i l l f o l l o w , because, th e y m ust.*1 A c c o r d in g ly *

p h lp p e

r o s e Nov ember 27, t o p r o t e s t th e

p o l i t i c a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s o f th e A t t o r m y - g e n e r a l *s power t o f i l e in fo r m a tio n s *

He av oid ed any p erso n a l a t t a c k upon

m i n i s t e r s and based h i s r e q u e s t f o r l e a v e t o in tr o d u c e **a b i l l t o e x p l a i n * amend, and ren d er more e f f e c t u a l , th e a c t * * * to p reven t m a lic io u s in fo r m a t io n s in th e Court of S i n g 1® Bench" upon c o n s t i t u t i o n a l grounds*

S ir iillia r a

Meredith seconded th e m o tio n , and , elb o ro

. : l l i s began Ad­

m i n i s t r a t i o n 4s d efen ce*

nA time o f p u b lic d is o r d e r and

c o n f u s io n ," he u rged , when envenomed s c u r r i l i t y r a g e s w ith l a w l e s s f u i y , i s n o t th e prop er moment to tamper w ith th e C o n s tit u tio n * Cornwall n ext r o s e , a cco rd in g t o th e p la n , t o p o in t o u t th e r e c e n t abuse o f th e p r e ss toy the Court of r in g *s Bench*

He d e s c r ib e d th e motion as "too p r e c i p i t a t e ;H b e­

f o r e a remedy might toe s u g g e s t e d , in q u ir y was n e c e s s a r y . "From th e f a c t s th a t w i l l th e n toe e l i c i t e d , we s h a l l too a b le t o a r r i v e a t t h e tru th * "

P h ip p s, however, defended

h i s p o l i c y a g a i n s t t h i s in c a u t i o u s attem pt at emendation* Ee&rey rushed to widen th e momentary b rea ch in o p p o s it io n ra n k s.

How cou ld h i s power toe dangerous when he had

" . . . h a rd ly been a b le t o b r in g a s i n g l e o f fe n d e r t o j u s t i c e ? " 21(jhath&m t o S h elb u rn e, November 2 6 , 1770; Ohstbam c o r r * , IV, 2 3 - 2 4 .

aiynn

followed, heartily concurring

delivering himself in the of

Man©field*©

legal

process

doctrine©

opposed by solicitor-general

in the

motion, tout,

of a sound condemnation

in libel cases*

Thurlow

He was

who baited opposition

to further discord by declaring that "rumour is not a suf­

proceeding, "

ficient ground for

recent to fill

and

AZex&nd er W e d d e r b u m , a

convert to the opposition camp and shortly destined

Thurlow*©

opposed

The lia n tly

any

palm of

office defended the conduct of the judges

rash step while supporting the motion.

debate

he characterised,

of power

in Aliaon*s

was carried off by Burke.

the

popular

discontents*

abuse

the

case, the popular reaction which freed

every other printer of Junius*© le tte r * Junius

Bril­

cobwebs of

the

law,

to range uncontroulled, unpunished, through

the

land,"

to

have broke through the

"How corxies this

and

This"great boar of the forest " has made "King, Lords, and Commons,..the sport of hie fury,"

But why,.,dwell upon Junius alone? ...numberless other 11 b e lle re.«•secure in the protection of the people.,.laugh * *.the terrors of information to scorn. All your messengers of the prose, all your tribes of informers, are as such d e s p is e d as they are detested. Hhat is the cause of this general aversion to law, this universal conspiracy against government? "The ministers are the grand criminals11 who have *»,, roused up in the nation this spirit of opposition, which tramples underfoot all law, order, and decorum."

Only an

inquiry can restore credit to government, or at least to ourselves.

-388-

Burke had c a s t i g a t e d DeG-rey f o r t h e p r o s e c u tio n a g a i n s t Alraon, tout th e Attorney*g©neraI was a b le to defend h im s e lf

a g a i n s t Burke’ s charges*

He could n o t , however, deny t h e

g r e a t o r a t o r ’ s r e b u t t a l : *L ib e ls have conquered th e law . The l i b e r t y o f th e p r e s s has run i n t o l i c e n t i o u s n e s s . . . t o o

S trong f o r t h e governm ent. trampled upon**

The law i s b eaten down, and

By t h i s time t h e motion and t h e proposed

Inq u iry were t o t a l l y c o n fu s e d ,

North h a r d ly needed t o

speak w e ll* o r do more th an r e f e r t o t h e d a i l y p r e s s teem­ in g w ith s la n d e r and d e fa m a tio n , H h e food and ra im e n t o f p r i n t e r s and b o o k s e l l e r s . 11 In v a in iQeredith p o in te d out

th e d iv e rg e n c e o f o p p o s i t i o n e f f o r t , and Cornwall sought t o h e a l th e schism h© had created* The d e b a te had l a s t e d slat h o u rs.

i n g hot*

Tempers wore becom­

Phipps had n e a r l y c ro s s e d swords w ith a lo r d o f

th e A d m iralty, and Glynn i l l l i k e d th e a p p e l l a t i o n " th is l i b e r t y boy, t h i s B i l l of Right© man."

The q u e s tio n was

c a l l e d f o r w ith "clamour and v o c i f e r a t i o n " and a t 9 :50 House d i v id e d .

th e

The motion was l o s t 164 t o 7 2 , as many

nominal o p p o s it io n member® f e l t i t was u n s a t i s f a c t o r y even 22 though i t might te n d in a d e s i r a b l e d i r e c t i o n * The d e b a te o f November 2 7 , had drawn t h e i n i t i a l l i n e of d em a rca tio n .

P h ip p s’ s o b s tin a c y and Dowdeswell *e a li e n e e

C avendish, D e b a t e s , I I ,8 9-11 6$ P ar1 . h i s t » ,XV1 ,1127-1211; Gent *s . Map.,XLI ( 1 7 7 1 ) , passim; J .H . C . , XXXIII, 28.

were ominous*

Shelburne asked Chatham f o r i n s t r u c t i o n s *

w h ile Chatham wrote C a l o r a f t , FfI t h in k a l l is rulnod**#* The tiraee a re p o ll u t i o n * in ©very q u i n t e s s e n c e ; and th e little manoeuvere i n O p p o sitio n behind the s c o r e s aro

d ep lo ra b le* ”

He would b r in g m a tte r s nto an e x p la n a t io n ,"

Burke was Chatham *s bote n o l r ; he would rtseparate from so

unorthodox a c o n g r e g a t io n ” b e f o r e he would a c c e p t t h e i r 23 v ie w s. T h is on t h e 2 8 th ; the n ex t clay he e x p r e s s e d him24 s e l f as "much s a t i s f i e d " w ith the same f a c t i o n * Chatham^ reconciliation w ith Rockingham cam n o t have been very docp*

Shelburne once again acted, as agent* Nov-

ember 30* to se c u r e the cervices of John Glynn to move f o r t h e in q u ir y Into Judicial proceeding;® which had been broach­ ed in Tuesday*s debate*

Almonds sentence was now known*

and Glynn* feeling th a t the p r i n t e r had l i t t l e t o hope from an appeal t o the House of Lords* seems to have con­ sidered the in q u ir y in the l i g h t of an appeal t o the House

25 o f Goiarrione*

On Monday* December 3* Glynn gave n o t i c e

o f h ie i n t e n t i o n t o o f f e r a motion on Thursday *

.hen a

question was r a i s e d co n cern in g the purport of the motion*

G lynn’ s s i l e n c e was defended by none other than Richard Rigby on the basis that "he did not imagine there would w ~ Shelburne t o Chatham; Chatham t o c& lcra ft* November 28* ITTOs Chatham c o r r . * IV, 3 0 -3 2 , 24 Chatham t o S h e l b u r n e , November 29*1770: I b i d # , I V , 3 4 , 25 Shelburne t o Chatham, December 1 , 1770s Ibid.* , IV*35-6#

-390-

any s u r p r i s e upon t h e Koure; f o r , l e t t h e m otion be wh at I t w o u l d » be .would be d i s a p p o i n t ad i f be e x p e c t e d t o 26 ca rry i t , 11 To such a happy tu n e th e Chathc.miteB prepared t o wage wa r upon M a n s fie ld i n s p i t e o f a m i n i s t e r i a l rnajor27 i i y an d a d i s s e n t i e n t o p p o s i t i o n . The p o l i t i c a l e r r o r i n C h a t h a m ' s p o l i c y was a l l t o o o b v io u s ,

" I t a k e i t f o r g ra n ted

P h illip F ra n c is,

w r o t e Calc r a f t ' s f r i e n d

"You a r e n o t sa n g u in e enough t o e x p e c t

th a t* w ith t h e p r e s e n t P a r lia m e n t, you w i l l be a b l e t o p u n ish Lord M a n s f i e l d , o r ev en t o reform t h e most t r i f l i n g A b u s e ,*’

I f you a t t a c k M a n s f i e l d and come t o a v o t e , d e f e a t

is certain,

"You e n c o u r a g e a t i m i d M a n , , , t o be a c t i v e In

d o in g M i s c h i e f #* ,*

you b r in g a d i s p u t e d P oin t to a D e c i s ­

i o n , w hich you know w i l l be a g a i n s t You; a n d You. confirm Me D o c tr in e s ,,,,”

And t o what end?

. . . e v e r y a tte m p t h i t h e r t o made t o i n f r i n g e t h e L i b e r t y o f t h e P r e s s h as ended In D i s g r a c e and R i d i c u l e b o th t o Gov** em inent and t o t h e Court o f K i n g ' s Bench. The p r e s s , I n s p i t e o f a l l t h e i r p r o s e c u t i o n s , i s a c t u a l l y as f r e e as i t need be f o r any good Purpose# Take c e r e how you r a i s e a dangerous Q u e stio n a b o u t I t , when p e r h a p s I t i s t h e v e r y b e s t , I f n o t t h a o n l y weapon, You hove l e f t t o d e f e n d t h e C o n stitu tio n , 2& C a v e n d i s h , D e b a t e s , I I , 121* 27 A c c o r d i n g t o W a l p o l e , Dowdeswell t r i e d t o d is s u a d e Glynn a l s o from I n d e p e n d e n t a c t i o n , b u t f a i l e d . Glynn s a v e n o t i c e on t h e 3 r d , and "on t h a t t h e Rockingham p arty determ ined t o a c t f o r th e m se lv e s* * * * " Memoirs, IV, 1 4 6 , 26 F r a n c is to C & lc r a ft, December 1 ,17 70 ? Parkes and P e r l v a l e F r a n c is , 1 , 3 9 V ? 5 s e e a l s o £ t ©phen * "Chat ham, Franc i s , an G j u n H i s t . Rev #, I I I ( 1 8 8 8 ) , 2 4 3 ; Herman Me r i v a l s , " J u n iu s, F r a n c is , and* Lord M a n s fie ld In Dec. 1 7 7 0 , "F o r tsIg .h tly Levi cw I I I , new e e r . ( 1 6 6 8 ) , 2 5 9 - 5 6 . “



_

_

_

_



_



.

The a d v ic e o f a minor o f f i c e - h o l d e r t o a p o l i t i c a l agen t o f th e g r e a t Chatham had no w e ig h t , hut i f F r a n c i s ' s words were t h o s e o f J u n iu s , t h e commentary i e more i n t e r e s t i n g f o r i t , though no more f o r c e f u l , While G ly n n 's motion was p r e p a r i n g , Chatham h im s e lf took up th e c u d g e ls i n t h e House o f L o rd s,

i f t e r a two-

hour sp e e c h , Wednesday, December 5 s on t ho T>OY.‘©P of th e Coramone to e x clu d e a chosen r e p r e s e n t a t i v e , he d i g r e s s e d ''upon t h e modern manner o f d i r e c t i n g a j u r y from the bench, and g i v i n g judgment upon p r o s e c u t i o n s f o r lib els** *

ouch

o a s e s , s a i d Chatham, were u s u a l l y p o l i t i c a l , and th e q u e s t io n o f l i b e l d e te rm in e d on p o l i t i c a l r a t h e r than l e g a l grounds *

The r e c e n t d i r e c t i o n s g iv e n by ju d g e s he d e s c r i b e d

as ’’dangerous and u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l * * , c r u e l and v i n d i c t i v e * "

T his b ro u g h t M a n sfield to h i s f e e t w ith th e remark th a t such c h a rg e s were % *.m erely a f r e s h

t u b to amuse th e

w retched whale o f p o p u l a r i t y * 11 B efo re t h e n o b le l o r d , *»a r r a i g n s ray j u d i c i a l c h a r a c t e r , he should make h i m s e l f a cq u a in ted w ith t h e f a c t s 5 th e sc u r ­ r i l i t y o f a newspaper may be good in fo rm a tio n f o r a c o f f e e ­ house p o l i t i c i a n , b u t a p eer of p a rlia m en t should always speak from h i g h e r a u t h o r i t y , , * * Unable to c h a lle n g e M a n sfield on th e la w , f o r c e d t o c o n fe ss t h a t h is in fo r m a tio n came from th e p u b lic p r i n t s , Chatham

lam ely e x p r e s s e d an e a r n e s t d e s ir e " th at a day may be ap­ p o in te d f o r exam ining i n t o th e conduct o f such ju d g es as dare t o e s t a b l i s h t h i s a n t i - c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r a c t i c e , ,.** " Carad.en came t o the re sc u e with an o f f e r t o g iv e an

-592-

o p i n i o n upon t ho d i r e c t i o n t o t h e ju r y In • ooc; f a l l *s c a s e , but d e b a te was c u t sh ort#

G rafton d e c l a r e d H h e g r e a t

crim e o f th e c a g e s i n f e s t m i n e t e r - h a l l * * #io t h e i r n o t h a v in g p r o s t i t u t e d th e p u b l i c o r d in a n c e © ,* , t o to e p u rp o ses o f s e d i t i o n , 11 and moved f o r ad journm en t. 29 c a r r i e d , 5 2 - 2 0 , f o r t h e motion*

The Q u estio n

I f t h e s i l e n c e o f Rockingham ’ s f r i e n d s In t h e House o f Lords seamed ominous on t h e 5 t h , t h e i r spokesmen in t h e lo w e r chamber c l a r i f i e d

t h e i r p o s i t i o n th e n e x t day i n t h e

d e b a te on G lyn n 1a m o tio n f o r a com m ittee H o e n q u ir e i n t o th e admirals t r a t i on o f o r i mI n a l j u e t i c e , # ,tri c a b o

b

r e 1 a t in g

t o t h e l i b e r t y o f t h e p r e s s , and t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l power and d u ty o f j u r i e s , "

The m otio n was seco n d ed by R ich a rd

O l i v e r who e x p r e s s e d t h e support o f th e " f r e e and In d e p e n ­ dent" c i t i z e n © o f London,

S i r J o sep h ifaw bey r e p r e s e n t e d

t h e i n t e r e s t o f t h e l i b e r a l e le m e n t of S u r r e y , and John Saw b r id g e added t o " t h e s e n t im e n t s o f th e g r e a t c i t y , ” C h a rles J o r k in e o n and Grey Cooper began th e Adrai n i S t ­ ra tto n * s d e f e n s e a , a l n s t t h e C h a th a m ito s.

They p o in te d

o u t t h a t t h i s was no more than a p e r s o n a l a t t a c k upon C h ief Jus tic © M a n s f i e l d , and George Onslow added, f,i t w i l l prove a s f a t a l t o t h e i r c a u s e as a c o u r t o f J u s t i c e t o a 11 b o i­ l e r , M In v a i n m ight S a v i l e p i c t u r e a d e lu g e o f "newspapers, p a m p h le ts , p u n s, and p a s q u i n a d e s , ” I f no a c t i o n i-'e ro taken * W § ’"J P a r i , h i s t , , X V I,13 02-12? /*lmon, P i t t a n e c d o t e s , Jl,3^uS Chatham c o r r . , IV, 42-44n* ~

In v a i n m i g h t G l y n n p o i n t o u t t h e w e a k n e s s o f p r o c o d e n t to

support M ansfield’s p o sitio n *

” Wb y,* . s h o u l d we h e s i t a t e

to

put a n e g a tiv e upon a q u e s tio n

w hich

a low ’th e

s p r a n g from s u c h

s o u r c e ? ” a s k e d young C h a r le s James peo p le, *

” Frosa d i r t

it

Fox,

cam e, and t o

speaking

d irt

let

it

o f

re­

turn* To t h i s and t h e

rad ical

among t h e fect

of

point

in

o ity

the

and county

o p p o sitio n

ranks,

C hatham ’ s p o l i t i c s

Burke d e fe n d e d

M ansfield,

catio n s

m otion,

of

of

the

factio u s

, ,,th e

p e o p le ,"

ru in o u s,

Ju n iu s’s l e t te r

exam ine i t s

p o in ts,

some

an x io u s

to

became

at

the

of th e

little

Is

to

the

the p e rso n a l C bath am ltes

ef­

Im p li­

”© p a r c e l

T hat m onstrous,

o f l i b e l l i n g . , , * , ” When

p o sted to

on b o t h

”,,,lo o k

the b o tto m ,”

m otion*

feelin g s,

support* i t ,

the

once a p p a r e n t , f o r

p eo p le,

behooves us it

and

heard

"no man l a m e n t s m o r e s i n c e r e l y

M ansfield

scru tin ies

confidence

B u r k e now r o s e ,

H© c a l l e d Yet

it

Chatham ’s f r i e n d s

m em bers had b e e n

and b a se crim e

to

W estm inster h a l l ,

only

He a b h o r r e d

extrem e d i s o r d e r of

sham eful,

the

d eh ate,

I

m ight hove

th at

sid es

in to

It:

” 1 was n o t i n some l i t t l e

m i g h t m ake me n o t

But I do su p p o rt i t

of

so

upon t h i s

one g ro u n d ,” BeGrey q u i c k l y speech,

' 0 1.rat at m t o S h e l b u r n e , l a r c h 2 , 1 7 7 1 s Ch at ham c c r r . * I V , 1 0 6 , 1 0 8 ,

b i l l , a s was Barra who h o a r s e ly e x c la im e d , a c c e p t by s t a t u t e , t h a t which 1® 8poke l a t e h i the debate*

my

‘ . *. I n e v e r w i l l

b i r t h r i g h t * 81

He m a in ta in ed t m t

Burke

'’j u r i e s ought

to- t a k e t h e i r law from the bench o n l y ; txit** . t h e y should h ea r n o th in g from th e bench

m t what was a g r e e a b le to th e

p r i n c i p l e s of th e c o n s t i t u t i o n . ”

to the Chatham!toe he

p o in ted out t h e h o p e l e s s n e s s o f any d e c l a r a t o r y h i l l sh o u ld i t e v e r c o s e be f o r e th e law barons in th e h o u s e o f L o m e , and d efen d ed E o w tiesw sll's e n a c t i n g measure as the o n ly p os­ s i b l e s o l u t i o n t o th e p resen t c o n t r o v e r s i e s *

a t t e n m inutes

p a st ton* t o e q u e s t i o n f o r a d j o u r n m e n t was p u t t o a v o t e and 32 c a r r i e d , 218 t o 72* a g a i n s t th e e f f o r t s o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n . The d i s c o m f i t u r e o f t h e m in o r ity was com plete* Tre&^ui.

fh©

bench liad m ain ta in ed "a dead s i l e n c e 18 w ith th e

i n s i g n i f i c a n t e x c e p t io n o f Conway*

George I I I c o n g r a t u la t e d

North, upon h i s . t a c t i c s o f l e a v i n g 58t h e whole a l t e r c a t i o n ” to the o p p o s i t i o n , and added, * * # t f g e n t l e m e n can l e t t h e i r r e a s o n g u i d e thorn to d i f f e r w i t h t h e i r f r i e n d s on vjhat t h e y might deem a populra'' q u e s t ­ i o n , i t 1b t o be hoped t h e y w i l l by t h i s be e n c o u r a g e d %o h o ld on f u t u r e o c c a s i o n s t h e came p r o p r i e t y o f c o n d u c t *53 !'You s e e ,

my

Lord.,” w r o te Barre t o Chatham, "wfc&fc a g l o r ­

i o u s day y e s t e r d a y was f o r t h e O p p o s i t i o n * * * ! under the humour of a Ywift c-r a Rabelais c m _

_



_

FotM nr do re ri be it****” .............

sUikSt. , a,aa1 X I 2 3 1 5 Qavenc -l a h, Lo.b a t o n , 1 j. , 3 b t i * 1 1ac; con­ t e m p o r a r y r e ; p o r t i n t h e .pub 11.Q A d v e r ^ ' s e r is- !"*■'■ -:l1 I f t h e Chatham c o i t * #IV, H 2 - 1 3 J r s * 7 a m e s R’a r B . c t o h r c o n , a a r c h 8 , T f f x TEalme 0 b u r y , Lo t t o r n , 1 , 2 1 9 - 00; h a w d e s r e l l 1r bi 11 i r g i v e n i n f u l l I n l u r k e d io rk a ,V X J ,127 * t h e FarX *h i n t * , >LV1 1 , 4 9 - 5 8 , I s q u i t e in c o m p le t e ; Barro t o ; h a t h cm»WtTy 0h T > T 771 *C;■;a t ham £ o r r * , I V , 1 0 9 -1 2 ; North t o th e King, Rare h. 7 #1771 : F o r te s c u e , Go r r o s ponds nee 91 1 , 2 2 6 - 7 * SkGeorgc I I I t o N orth , y&rch 8 , 1771 * F o r t o s c u e , Cor­ respondence, IX# 227*

T h l e nwiBe m e a s u r e , " lie d e c l a r e d , " h a s * p u t a n end t o 54 p a r l i a m e n t a r y attendance*** Barr© *0 p r o p h e c y was n o t Quit© bo c u r a t e » f o r a© he bad n o t e d , " o u r c i t y f r l e n d e " were a b s e n t or the 7 t h o f &i&roh, preparing a riov; bom b which w ap destined t o

secure a far m ere elgnlficart rc«

BUlt t h e n t h e heat e f f o r t *?• o f e i t h e r o f the groat f a c t lon e*

The d e p e n d e n c e o f the l i b e r t y

Ida,

o f the psn.ao

upon a j u r y whose pow er© were complete in every e v e n t was , how over* d e l a y e d f o r t w e n t y eventful y e a r s *

!PT B a r r e t o h h a t has * B areli 8 ,1 7 7 1 s ahat'xnm e o r r* * IV* 112-14,

-405

OHAm-R XIX p r e s s a r c p a r l i a m e n tt

*hk c m , i m

A c h r o n i c l e r o f th e r e ig n o f George 111 , w r i t i n g i n 1 7 7 0 , n o te d th e e a g e rn e s s w ith which f&rli&mont s t r u c k a t

any p r i n t e r who d a re d u n v e il t o th e p u b l ic th e a c t i o n s o f i n d i v i d u a l members and a p p e a le d t o hi© r e a d e r s * memories t o f u r n i s h examples*

"Under p r e te n c e o f p r i v i l e g e th ey

o v e rtu rn l i b e r t y , " he c o n c lu d e d , " f o r t h e sake o f which 1 p r i v i l e g e was g ra n te d # " The course of Parliamentary ev en ts in tbe- s e s s io n o f 1 7 7 0 -7 1 , was s u f f i c i e n t commentary upon th e statem en t,

fh e right© o f e l e c t o r s , the r ig h t s o f j u r i e s , th e l i b e r t y of tho p r e s s , a l l seemed d e s tin e d to stumble upon the block of p r i v il e g e upheld by a corrupt l e g i s l a t u r e su p in ely v o t ­ in g a t the behest o f i t s p o l i t i c a l managers and seeking to s h i e l d i t s a c tio n s from the public*

A decade of bar-1 iasaent-

ary press r e l a t i o n s h a d set t h e p a t t e r n ,

a nd on

December 10,

1770, t h e House of lo r d s took t h e f i n a l s t o p tor a r e eman­ c ip a tio n from t h e p u b lic by a s s e r t i n g i t s r ig h t to secrecy by c lo s in g the House to a l l s tr a n g e r s .

Both Tlichmond end

Chatham vehemently p r o te ste d a g a in st t h i s m i n i s t e r i a l sub­ t e r f u g e , but word overwhelmed by c r i e s of "11 our the h ou se,n Unable to secure a hearin g, some nin eteen o o p o sitl on lords withdrew from tho.1r ehambor and prepared a formal ,p r o fe e t Hobart# gacfarlane, the history of tV-.o r e i g n of Ggeu; g the T h i r d , , . t o t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f - t h e s ess ioiT ^of l u 7 l i S r T , “ ending, P a y , "X?70*Tl»ondon . i T T o l » p*. g f l .

” • * *again at t h e whole o f t h i s i r r e g u l a r co n d u ct, as ten d ­ i n g t o su p p ress th e so b e r and d i e p a s s io n a t e d e l i b e r a t i o n which ought t o guide t h e p r o c e e d in g s o f t h i s h ou se, and t o s u b s t i t u t e o l a a o u r and v i o l e n c e in t h e p la c e of reason and a rgume n t • S i x t e e n s i g n a t u r e s were appended, i n c l u d i n g t h o s e of 2

Chatham, Rockingham, 11 diamond., and S h e l b u r n e , The e x c l u s i o n o f r e p o r t e r s from tlie douse of f o r d o , and t h e p a s s i v e s u r r e n d e r of t, he l i b e r t y of tin; p r a s e t o t h e J ud ges by t h e m a j o r i t y I n t h e Hou *?© of GoaworiB d i e little

t o win t h e sympathy o f t h e trad© f o r e i t h e r h h n h h e r .

Reports c o n t i n u e d t o a p p e a r v?b a t h e r s p e e c h e s n e r e h e a r d or no t»

Jo hn Al&on*a p o l i t i c a l c o n n e c t i o n s a m b l e d n i u

t o s e c u r e a c c o u n t s of d e b a t e s f o r t h e li n d e n :t e n i a e P o s t 3 th© S t .»Jam es* s Qhr onlcX© h i r e d m

obscure r e p o r t e r , P a l l ,

t o w r it e i t s a c c o u n t o f 'Par11 amen i-ary procuoP,Pp:c, a r e 3 t h e s e r a r e c o p i e d by t h e O a ^ e t t o o r , ,.1111 ora v.'cod t h i l l , b r o t h e r of t h e P u b l i c M v p r t l a e r * s p r i n t e r , bega;.,

go

ex­

e r c i s e h i s p r o d i g i o u s memory t o b r i n y a c c u r a c y to ...a r l i a 4 m en tar y r e p o r t i n g . I n e v i t a b l y t h e p r e s s r an f o u l o f the s h o a l o f p r i v i ­ lege,

The f i r s t v a n n i n g came on F e b r u a ry 3 , when C o l,

George Cnslov.- mu; rkoe! upon t h e g e n o r e l mis re p r e s e n t a t io n o f s p e e c h e s by th e n e w s p a p e r s , n o "^n».j-j.y

novod t a n r e a d l u g o f

} ^ m .,>.1 ffl2-'ia x’Lti'l»n lsb , , aV j., 1 pi ( —au» n& !'•■ t h e r a r l . h l a t * and F o r t e e c u o , hox,r ocp-.uidepce* the c i t y wa© no o '* £ $ ~ tn T s " t i m e i n r a d i c a l haiESsy 00 R i c h a r d O l i v e r r a e th o only P* f o r London I n t h e m i n o r i t y , how ev er r r i ' r fov;i:seud* J o h n Ca m brid ge, R o b e r t B a r n a r d , and F r e d e r i c k u f a r - d a r t had , C i t y ii, t e r c e t s , 13 hr e* l-h’xc i c t o Ceueo b a r r i o , J r . , ‘la rch 1 9 1 7 7 1 " b . ls e B b u r y , L e f t o r e , I , 217*

-411

Wheble and Thompson and th e r a d i c a l s In t h e C it y , l e d by John Wilkea* i s n o t known* hut b o th were i n c o n t a c t w ith 14 if l i k e s and a c t i n g In acco rd a n ce w ith h i a In s t r u c t ions* The Deputy S e r J o a n t-a t-a r m s r e p o r te d t o t h e House# March 4 , t h a t he was u n a b le t o f i n d th e r e c a l c i t r a n t p rin t ere*

Up­

on Onslowf s motion t h e House r e s o l v e d t o r e q u e s t the icing t o i s s u e a r o y a l p ro cla m a tio n f o r th e a r r e s t o f John '.hebio and R*Thompson* w it h a reword o f f e r e d f o r i t s e x e cu tio n * H is M ajesty I s s u e d t h e p roclam ation * w ith a £50 reward a t ­ ta c h e d , on t h e 7 t h , t o become e f f e c t i v e t h e n ext d ay, and on March 9* I t was p r i n t e d i n t h e London G-aaette*.

A ll

t h a t th e House co u ld do a t t h a t p o i n t was ©wait some move 15 on th e p a rt o f the p r i n t e r s * G-eors® Onslow* how ever, was n o t i n a c t i v e *

on Tuesday,

March 1 2 , h e began t o ca rry out h i e th r e a t o f b r i n g i n g a l l t h e newspaper p r i n t e r s b e fo r e t h e House,

Having i s s u e d a

s u r r e p t i t i o u s w arning t o t h e tr a d e through John W illia m s , w ith s t r i k i n g l y poor

su c c e ss* ha demanded t h a t a c t i o n be

taken a g a i n s t W illiam W o od fall ( Morning C h r o n ic le ) , Hanry Baldw in ( s t «Jam es*6 C h r o n i c l e ) , Thomas Evans ( London Pack­ e t ) , T*Wright ( W h ite h a ll E vening P o e t ) , Samuel Bladon (g e n e r a l Evening l o s t ) , and John M i l l e r ( London Evening P o s t )*

The o p p o s i t i o n were n o t lo n g in f i n d i n g t h e i r v o i c e s ,

^wFUMorrls t o JJyillkQ e, RPThompeon t o J * W ilk es, March 1 3 , 1 771; B*&.Add* MSS*30671 *f o l s . 69-70* Thompson was i n Newgate S t , on t h i s d a t e , Robert Morris ap p ears t o have a cted as t h e m easenger between W ilkes and t h e p r i n t e r s , ^ C a v e n d i s h , D e b a t e s , I I , 3 2 3 -4 ; P a r i * h i s t , , XVII, 7 4 -7 6; J . H , q » t X X X I li;'2 2 4 ; 234*

412-

*Why hunt s i x when you*ve m l g o t tw o? ’ Onslow was asked* H¥ o u r w arran ts w i l l n o t and osnnot bo e x e c u t e d , *

The

l e g a l i t y o f the r o y a l p ro cla m a tio n was q u e s t io n e d , and Speaker F l e t c h e r Norton* d e s p i t e C on stan tine Phipps* pro­ t e s t t h a t he sh ou ld n o t i n f l u e n c e d e b a t e , assured t h e House t h a t t h e i r p r o c e e d in g s were l e g a l *

R em in iscen t o f an other

h eated d e b a t e , John Bawbrlcig© f lu n g back a t Norton#

J

lo o k upon I t as so much w aste p a p e r * * ,I f anybody apprehend­ ed t h o s e p r i n t e r s In oonsequenee o f i t , he would do an I l ­ le g a l a ct*”

N o n eth eless* W o o d fa ll’ s Maiming C h ro n icle was

d e l i v e r e d i n and read w ith

t he approval o f 140 members as

a g a i n s t 43 v o t i n g ’ Ho** and W oodfall was ordered t o a tte n d th e House on Thursday*

B ald w in ’ s St ♦Jam es’ s Shro.nl c l e was

n e x t brought up and r e c e iv e d i n a l i k e manner,

”H© I s a t ­

t a c k in g a hydra t h a t w i l l sh o o t ou t a hundred heads f o r ev ery on© he c u t s o f f , ” c r i e d one member— and s e e i n g the

evening* s e n te r ta in m e n t d e v e lo p In su ch fa sh io n # gentlem en began t o d ep a rt f o r whit©*© and Almaok’ s where t h e play was more t o th olr t a s t e . Members who k ept t h e i r

s e a t s — and a sens® o f humor—

were t r e a t e d t o a show# th e l i k e o f which W estm inster H all n ev er w it n e s s e d b e f o r e or a fte r *

One by one th e p r i n t e r s

wore ordered bo a tten d # but o n ly by the to r tu o u s p rocess of tw en ty -o n e more d i v i s i o n s *

The o p p o s it io n used every

c o n c e iv a b le d e v ic e t o wear o u t th e m ajority# and the a t ten d a n ce r a p id ly sank from about 190 t o 60 or l e s s *

-413'

Barr®, who en jo yed a s tr o n g Joke# moved "th at Jerem iah Weymouth* e s q u i r e , th e d— n o f t h i s c o u n try , i s n ot a member o f t h i s H o u se,”

He g o t t h i r t y v o t e s f o r h i s motion*

S i r W illia m M eredith prom ised to ” , * * e i t h e r put a n e g a t iv e o r move an adjournm ent upon every q u e s t i o n ,” and proceeded t o do 0 0 *

When# w ith b u t th r e e p r in t e r s out o f th e way,

Speaker Norton com p la in ed , HJ am h e a r t i l y t i r e d o f t h i s b u s in e s s , and sh ou ld be g la d t o put an end t o i t , ” Barre prom ptly moved t o a d jo u r n , and when he retu rn ed from the lo b b y , moved t h a t th e l a s t p r in t e r c o n s id e r e d , Thomas Evans, be a llo w e d a d e l a y i n a t t e n d i n g ,

Morton moaned, ”i lament

w ith a l l my s o u l , t h a t 1 am in t h i s s i t u a t i o n ; f o r I do n o t know how I am t o g o t o u t o f i t . ”

Upon which Burke pun­

n ed , "This standing, o r d er h as p u t & stan d t o tbs b u s i n e s s o f th e n a t io n * ”

When an o b j e c t i o n was r a ise d t o a m in o r ity

m otion t h a t E vans1 " co m p o sito rs, pressm en, c o r r e c t o r s , b la ck er® , and d e v i l s ” a l s o a t t e n d , a g l e e f u l Burke swore t h a t "the d e v i l 1b th e most m a te r ia l e v id en ce f o r th e d i s ­ covery o f t h e s e contem ners o f your power,"

At l e n g t h — a t

f i v e o ’ c l o c k In th e m orning— th e House ad journed.

The k in g ,

when N orth in form ed him o f the n ig h t ’ s work, remarked, "I apprehend t h e m a jo r ity must have teen much f a t i g u e d * «.b u t th e l l t l g l o u s n e c s o f t h e m in o r ity can n ot g iv e them any w e ig h t , on th e c o n tr a r y must o ffen d every moderate man*'* 16 But March was n o t a month f o r moderation* l^Cayend1 s h , D obatea, X1 , 3 7 8 - 9 2 ; P a r i . h i s t *,XVXI,7 5 -8 3 ; J *H*C* »XXXXT17£4§~5X t North to '£Ke'r,rKl n ro h 13*1774 tsfiouTd be 17713 t F o r t e s c u e , C orrespondence, ITT,7 9 ; Ping to North,March 1 3 ,1 7 7 1 : I b l c U , T l7^ g97 *414-

Wednesday* th e House o f Commons recu p erated from It© marathon s e s s io n * b u t on tb o 1 4 th , f o u r o f onelow*b h a l f d csen p rin ter© appeared*

Baldwin and isr ig h t were reprim ­

anded by the s p e a k e r a s th e y k n e l t b e fo r e th e Bar, and d isc h a r g e d upon p a y in g t h e i r fe e s *

Bladen e x p ressed *a

f ix e d R e s o lu tio n o f aeknowledging hi© o f f e n e e ” and ©soap­ ed s o o t fr e e *

Bvans r e t i r e d , b e f o r e he was © a iled up,

w it h t h e n o v e l ex cu se t h a t h io w ife had broken her le g * He was ordered to a t t e n d th e f o ll o w i n g Tuesday, but on t h a t day wrote t o th e sp e a k e r d e c lin in g t o appear u n t i l th e l e g a l a u th o r ity o f the House to c o e r c e him had been determ ined and u n t i l M,* . . i t I s u n i v e r s a l l y known whether a B r i t i s h s u b j e c t h a s , or has n o t a r i g h t t o be t r i e d 'by a J u r y , 1”

By th a t d a te th e Commons had f a r g r e a t e r prob­

lem s t o d e a l w ith th an a r e c a l c i t r a n t p r i n t e r , and -■vans ©scaped t h e i r grasp*IT W illiam w o o d f a ll d id n o t a tte n d the House of Com­ mons &5aroh 1 4 , b ecau se he was b e fo r e th e Bar of t h e House o f Lords.

His r e p o r t of th e Lords* p ro ceed in g s in th e

Moralng c h r o n i c l e o f March 8 , had a t t r a c t e d th e a t t e n t i o n o f th e

upper

chamber,

b e fo r e

them. He a d m itted

and

in due co u rse k o o d fa ll

was h aled

h i s e r r o r , pleaded the rash o f

b u s i n e s s , mid threw h im s e lf upon t h e i r Lordships* m ercies# He was

f in e d £100 and committed to ?Q©wgste f o r a month*

I f -------“ ------ ----------------- ----------------— --- -——---C avendish, D e b a te s, 1 1 ,3 9 3 -9 5 P a r i , h i s t . , XV II#83-90* J . K. O. , XXXIII,258-95 "r"Molrpiius, Hi a tory 1 ,4 8 6 ,

-4 1 5 -

h m B th a n a week l a t e r h ie p e t i t i o n f o r r e l e a s e was under-

c o n sid e r a tio n ,

wo accommodations were a v a i l a b l e , ex c e p t

among d e b t o r s or c rim in a l® .

M1 P e t i t i o n e r has th e most f a t ­

a l Consequences t o dread from th e n o x io u s E f f l u v i a o c c a s io n ­ ed by a Humber o f B o d ie s (many o f them v e r y u n c l e a n l y } # . * ,rt w ro te W o o d fa ll.

*M„ * .a few Days Imprisonment., in th e p r e s ­

en t S i t u a t i o n o f Newgate, i s

equal or mo r e in Punishment

t o an Imprisonm ent f o r th e Time o f t h e i r L ord sh ip s 0 r d s r , W o o d f a ll's p r a y e r f o r n , an im m ediate Enlargement *rt was humanely g r a n te d upon the? payment of his f l u # and fe c a ,^ ''! Col. Onslow 1® f i r s t t a s t e o f p r i n t e r s * i n k was a t beet thin,

o u t of s i x i n t e n d e d v i c t i m s , two had k n e l t

In p e n a n c e (the l a s t e v e r t o do so)', one had been r e l e a s ­ ed by t h e House whose privileges h e had damaged, another i went home ..of M s own v o l i t i o n . And a l l — t h o u g h Onslow could scarcely have been impressed— d e c l a r e d t h e popular c o n c e r n In this question,

Baldwin e& i d t h a t i f he c e a s e d

p r i n t i n g the debate© w* » , l t would be at tended w i t h t h e Ruin of h i s Paper.*

b r i g h t concurred# e x p l a i n i n g t h a t hi® r e ­

ports were printed

t h e Instance* of several a p p l i c a ­

tions f ro m hie Customers i n t h e Country, #..**

Bladon# •

d e s p i t e hi® subservience, insisted, t h a t w i t h o u t t h e d e b a t e s in t h e G e n e r a l Kvonlug, host. "He should have l o s t t h e sale th e re o f* '1

And Miller, Wh&bl©» a n d Thompson still r e m a in ­

ed a t l a r g e . .LlXXIII. lohllO.ll^-14.125-6. XXXIII, 2 5 8 - 8 5 9 .

-4 1 6 -

A f te r more than a month o f open d e f ia n c e the City and i t s f u g i t i v e printer® s e i z e d th e o f f e n s i v e .

The campaign

was mapped o u t by John VSilkos, w ith t h e a s s e n t o f th e 20 p r i n t e r s , and i n i t i a t e d on the 14th o f affarch* When h is f e l l o w s made t h e i r su b m issio n t o the Bouse o f Coma one* John Whobio sub m itted a le n g th y l e g a l b r i e f , drawn up by B obert M o rris, d en y in g the l e g a l i t y o f the s te p s tak en 21 a g a i n s t him* The n e x t day, undoubtedly by c o l l u s i o n , Wheble was a r r e s t e d by h i s own s e r v a n t Edward C arpenter, on th e s tr e n g t h o f th e r o y a l p ro cla m a tio n , mti ta k e n b e fo r e th e j u s t i c e s s i t t i n g a t th e XV11 ,9 8 - 1 0 3 1 30

, x x x iiiT ^ T T *

Chatham t o Bar re, Larch 2 1 ,17715 Chatham c o r r . , IV ,1 1 9 - 2 0 ,

Barre t o Chatham, Karoh 2 1 ,1 7 7 1 ; Gale r a f t to Chatham, March 2 4 ,1 7 7 1 s Ib id * . I V .1 2 1 .1 2 3 . xp

" l M i * » I v » l23*

-4 2 0 -

t h a t o f t h e House o f Commons was no l e s s e x a lt e d *

worth

had no d i f f i c u l t y In m a r s h a llin g h i s b ig b a t t a l i o n s and t h e governm ent*s m a jo r ity i n c r e a s e d in p ro p o rtio n t o th e p o p u la r ferm ent in th e C ity*

Richard O liv e r ysgb committed

t o t h e lo w e r , March 251 th e g o u t -r id d e n Lord Kay o r f o l l o w ­ ed two days l a t e r # ^

**• • • th e Mansion House was s e n t in

f l a n n e l s t o th e Tower/* w rote David H artley* 34 o f v i o l e n t m ea su res/*

"They t a l k

P e l l m ight th e government o f England, King, Lords, and Commons, c o n s i d e r " v i o le n t m e a s u r e s .rt

on t h e 2 7 th

th e London mob p a ss e d members i n t o th e House th rou gh a v e r ita b le g a n t le t. life ,

Lord North b a r e ly escap ed w i t h h i s

and C h a rles James Pox was r o l l e d i n th e g u t t e r . ^

The c r i e s o f t h e teob p e n e tr a te d i n t o th e chamber where t h e m in o r it y v a i n l y a ttem p ted 'to b r in g m oderation t o th e c o u n s e ls o f th e n a t io n and c h a lle n g e d t h e m in i s t e r to defend a p o l i c y w hich l e d to open c o n f l i c t between t h e p e o p le and th e P a r lia m e n t , o r t o r e t i r e , .

North spoke

q u i e t l y , s im p ly . At such a moment, when ther- i s a d i s p o s i t i o n abroad to t a k e o c c a s io n from ©very circu m sta n ce t o shake t h e gov­ ernment o f th e c o u n tr y , b eca u se i t i s a government o f law , and f o r no o t h e r r e a s o n , I t i s the bounden duty o f every man to stan d forw ard In h i s s t a t i o n # Unhappy I am, t h a t I t f i n d s me in t h i s s i t u a t i o n ; but b ein g t h e r , i t i s the

55

'

~



J *H#Q, , XXXI11,2 8 6 ,2 8 9 . 34 — P .H a r t le y t o .J .H e w e t t , March 3 0 ,1 7 7 1 : o r t , P art v (Foljamfoe VGB), o . l 4 8 . 35 W alp o le, Memoirs, IV, 201#

-4 2 1 -

' 15th Rep­

a or© Incumbent upon me t o c o n t in u e to .perform my duty , u n t i l t h e S o v ereig n who p laced me In i t , s h a l l th in k prop­ e r t o d i s m i s s me, There a re but two ways In which I can go ou t now— by t h e w i l l of my Gov©reign, which I s h a l l be ready t o o b e y , o r t h e p le a s u r e of the gentlem en now a t our d o o r s , when t h e y s h a l l be a b le t o do a l i t t l e inore than th e y have done t h i s day**® Ho more t e l l i n g a p p ea l could have been made#

f o r t h h e ld

h i e c o n t r o l o f th e m a jo r it y w ith a b s o lu t e fir m n e s s and d efen d ed t h e p r i v i l e g e of the House o f Commons. The n e x t d a y , f&rch 2 8 , a com m ittee of tw en ty-on e was e s p e c i a l l y ch o sen M# # .t o examine I n t o t h e s e v e x a l Facta and d lrcu m sta n o es r e l a t i v e to t h e l a t e O b s tr u c tio n s t o th e E x ec u tio n o f t h e Orders o f t h i s i l ouoe#**

,

vhi l e t h e

com m ittee c o l l e c t e d I t s e v i d e n c e , t h e popular and P a r l i a mentary tu m u lts c o n t in u e d , but th e c r i s i s was past# in A p r i l , Chatham *s hopes f a i l e d ,

UarXy

He could n ot rou se

Temple from h i s l e t h a r g y , he cou ld n o t stom ach Camden's d i s i n t e r e s t , n or c o u ld he i n f l u e n c e th e nockinghauis in *58 th e s l i g h t e s t . He might move an a d d r e s s to th e King t o d i s s o l v e a P a r lia m en t which sought t o p la c e " p r i v i l e g e above t h e laws of t h e l a n d , ” he co u ld carry but a handful w ith him#

The House o f Commons, h avin g v i n d i c a t e d i t ­

s e l f as f a r as p o s s i b l e a g a i n s t the p r i n t e r s she ed a ra re d i s c r e t i o n i n d e a l i n g w it h Alderman John T illie s # T h rice ord ered b e f o r e th e House, W ilkes r efu sa d t o appear --------- i-------------------------------------------------

* ------------------------------------------ , ----------—

------------------------------—

------------- ------------- -----------

Cavena1e h , I©bate s , I I , 4 ? 9 - 80# , XXXIII,2 9 5 - 6 ; Br© .H arris t o James H a r r is, Parch 29 I t T l i Malmesbury, L e t t e r s , 1 ,2 2 4 ; B .H a r tle y t o j.H u w e t t, March 3 0 ,1 7 7 1 : H# v.TT’TETth R ep ort, Fart V, p .1 4 8 . *58 ' Chat ham t o 0 e l c r a f t , Ap r i 1 7 ,1 7 7 1 : Cbatham go r r # , IV,1 4 1 -2 s e e a l s o h i s l e t t e r t o Tem ple, A p r il H ,17'fi: G r e n v i l l e my

1 ,1 7 7 0 .

r a r l . h i a t . , XVII, 221.

-4.22-

In any c h a r a c t e r e x c e p t t h a t of a d u l y e l e c t e d member* F i n a l l y th e House ordered him t o a t t e n d on A p r i l 8 , and adjourned i t s e l f Ap r i l 9#

(and t h e problem o f John . l i k e s ) u n t i l

Like George I I I , t h e y had no d e c i r e to meddle

f u r t h e r w ith " th a t d e v i l r ; i l k e s » M^ The s e c r e t com m ittee o f tw en ty -o n e made i t s r e p o r t , A p r i l 3 0 , and t h e g r e a t r e s u l t s o f i t s d e l i b e r a t i o n s wore soon shown*

Having c a t d a i l y from la r c h 28 t o A p r il 30 ,

Sunday© e x c e p t e d , th e com m ittee d e c la r e d " , ,»tfaat I t h ig h ly co n cern s t h e D ig n it y and Fewer o f the House, to m a in ta in i t s A u th o r ity i n t h i s I n s t a n c e , by r e - t a k i n g th e s a id I *H i l l e r . N o t h i n g more— and. no I n tim a tio n how i t s recommendation might be c a r r ie d i n t o e f f e c t *

The

o p p o s i t i o n g r e e t e d th e r e p o r t w it h r i d i c u l e and moved a v o t e o f thanks t o th e com m ittee In such a manner t h a t n o r t h , t o sa v e th© m i n i s t r y ’ s f a c e , moved, f o r adjournment* A

week l a t e r th e s e s s i o n end ed*

The Lord Hayor an d A ld e r -

man O l i v e r wore a t once e n la r g e d ; th e p r i n t e r s , F i l l e r , h h e b le , Thompson, hvane and VJoodfall were a t l i b e r t y i n d e f i a n c e o f t h e powers o f the House o f Commons, a n d t h e i r f e l l o w p r i n t e r s w e r e no l e s s a c t i v e than b e f o r e ,

in d eed ,

t h e B i l l of L i g h t s s o c l d t y had t a k e n c a r e t o b o l s t e r pub­ l i s h i n g c o u r a g e when i t v o t e d , tiarch 2 7 , t h e sum o f £100 t o S h a b l e , Thompson, and H i l l e r f o r h a v i n g ^

_

-

_

.appealed _

,

_

Chatham o o r r , , IV, 1 2 3 . f e e P a r i . h i s t . ,XVX'1,1 03 f f • foFUc^Torj sub seq u en t to t h e Oommoris^^oiabroilaent vrith th e 0 1 ty* 41 ‘ J . H . C . . X X X I II . 364; P a r i . h i s t . . X V I I .1 8 6 -2 1 4 ; R eports from oomral t t e e a o f th e House of Commons (R ep rin ted by ora or or t h e House, E W J 7 7 I X I .3 - 8 , Annual r o k ..X I V ( 1 7 7 1 ) .7 0 * ,1 0 1 .

-

423 -

41

t o t h e laws o f t h e i r c o u n tr y , and n o t h a v in g b e tr a y e d , by t h e i r -su b m issio n , t h e r i g h t s On A ll- F o o l*

b

ho of 'm&li shm en.'* ~

pay ©n o b s e r v a n t Irishm an had w r it t e n j

The i n d e f a t i g a b l e l i b e r t y of t h e p r e s s , , . i n d u s t r i j u s l y r e ­ v e a l e d t h e f o u l m ystery o f P a r lia m e n t; i t became n e c e s s a r y t o c o n f i n e t h e l i b e r t y o f t h e p r e s s , or the e x c l u s i o n o f th e ' p e o p le from t h e i r t r u s t e e s isas o f no s e r v i c e . P r iv i­ l e g e o f p a r lia m e n t (a m o n ster whose n a t u r e i s unknown, whose power i s u n d e f in e d , who a la r m s , o v e r b e a r s , and p er­ p l e x e s m ankind} was l e t out t h e r e f o r e , and r e s i s t e d by th e C i t y , The m otive o f th e C ity was c o n s t i t u t i o n a l , f o r i t opposed c o r r u p t io n in t h e person of p r i v i l e g e , ^3 I t derrogatus l i t t l e

from t h e fame o f t h o s e who f ought

t h i s s p o r t of p r i v i l e g e t h a t t h e i r m o tiv e s were l e e s ex­ a l t e d than t h e i r accomplishments.

A f t e r 1 7 7 1 , no c o n s i s ­

t e n t e f f o r t wac made to l i m i t t h e p o l i t i c a l p r e s s by a p ­

pealing to p arliam en tary p riv ile g e .

I f enforced at a i l ,

t h e c o m p l a i n t was m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n r a t h e r th an r e p o r t i n g , From f i n e t o time t h e g a l l ori ee of t h e Haa ses m ight be c l o s e d t o s t r a n g e r s , but t h i s was a p o o r weapon and e a s ­

i l y tu rn ed by i n d u s t r i o u s p u b l i s h e r s .

T a cit a c c e p ta n c e

o f t h e p u b l i e a t i on of d e b a t e s was in d ee d a r e v o l u t i o n a r y

s t e p g ^ i m p l y i n g a s i t d i d a c e r t a i n r e s p o n s i b i l i t y c. t h e p a r t o f members t o t h e p e o p l e ,

& s h o u ld be bo m e i n

mind, how ever, t h a t t h i s r e c o g n i t i o n was e x t o r t e d a t th e

v e ry moment ■when t ho c o n t r o l l i n g i n f l u e n c e of t h e . ; i s w and h ie m i n i s t e r had s e t t l e d l i k e a shroud e v e r th e p o l ­ i t i c a l l i f e of h n g l a n d . — ------ --------------- ------ ------- -— — — t®--------------------“Annual K e ^ , , XIV( 1 7 7 1 ) , 8 8 ; Town and mountry h a £ , , 1 1 1 ClTYl)*167.

'Henry G r a t t a n t o firoome, A p r i l 1 , 1 7 7 1 : G r a t t a n , Memoirs. I , 242-3. 44 V#,T• Laprade, "lower o f th e H n g lish p r e s s , !l bouth A t l a n t i c q t l y , , XXVII( 1 9 2 8 ) , 4 3 2 - 3 . d e s c r i b e s i t ae *almo a t ae r e v o l ­ u t i o n a r y , , . a s t h e r i s e o f t h e new spapers t h e m s e lv e s , ’* h, / ,!U Looky, H is t o r y of E n gla n d , I I I . 4 6 4 . declared:' t h i s s t e p comp a r a b l e 1in "tn e realm p o l i t i c s t o t h e advent of steaai in t e c h n o l o g y . See a l s o F . £ , S l e b e r t , U npu b lish ed v.£S. -4 2 4 -

aommsioiu

The end o f t h e Parliame-n fcary s e s s i o n i n 1 7 7 1 9 m^rke a d i s t i n c t epocYi i n t h e h i s t o r y o f t h e p r o se in p o l i t i c s . The a&mini s fc r a tlo n o f 'Lord N o rth seemed a s firm a s t h e t h r o n e o f G eorge T i l 5 t h e I m p lie d r e l a t i o n s h i p woo n o t f a r removed from r e a l i t y ,

L u rin g t h e n e x t t h r e e y o o r s

p o l i t i c s seemed t o p a s s th ro u g h an a r t i f i c i a l ch a n n el from w h ich l i t t l e

d e v i a t i o n was a l l o w e d .

The p r e s s con­

t i n u e d t o d e s c r i b e t h e ebb and f lo w of e v e n t s , orul i n no l a s s v i o l e n t te rnas than I t had u t i l i s e d decade.

But t h e s p i r i t was c h a n g e d ,

in t h e p r e c e d in g

in c r e a s in g I n te r e s t

i n American a f f a i r s nay be p a r t i a l l y a c c o u n t a b l e , so a l s o t h e u n d e r e t a n d a b io h e s i t a n c y o f governm ent t o a g g r a v a t e when t h e r e was xic n e e d , but o n ly in t h e P i t y o f London, w here John W ll k e e , John H orne, and J u n iu s l e d t h e pack d id t h e s e y e a r s seem a p a r t o f t h o c o n f l i c t - r i d d e n open­ in g o f t b s r e i g n o f Oearge t h e Third* Ever ae t b s C ity o f London d e f i e d th e power o f t h e House o f Commons9 d i v i s i o n o f I n t e r e s t was ap p a ren t among i t s le a d e r s,

N ilk en * s r i s e t o p o l i t i c a l prom inence in t h e

C ity won him en e m ie s a s w e l l &e f r i e n d s , and h i s I n s i s t e n t c a r e f o r t h e p e r s o n a l i n t e r e s t s of John wi 1 kc s — p a r t i c u l a r l y where money was c on e e r ned - - s.l l e n a t od many o f t h e l a t t e r . The f i r s t s e r i o u s b r e a c h o c c u r r e d when John Horne proposed

-4 2 5 -

t h a t t h e B i l l o f Right© s o c i e t y s h o u l d s u b s i d i s e t h e m artyred p r i n t e r W i l l i a m Bin&ley#

w ilkee, already per­

s o n a l l y a t od ds w i t h t h e B r e n t f o r d p ar© on, i n s i s t e d t h a t h i s own need© s h o u l d b© taut by t h e s o c i e t y b e fo r e i t en­ l a r g e d i t s a c t i v i t i e s , and won t h e m a j o r i t y of t h e member© to h i s cause#

Horne t h e r e f o r © a t t e m p t e d t o d i s s o l v e t h e

B i l l o f R i g h t s , and f a l l i n g t h i s , w i t h d r e w t o e s t a b l i s h t h e S o c i e t y f o r C o n s t i t u t i o n a l i n f o r m a t i o n whoa© member­ s h i p I n c l u d e d .& l& is>men Jame s Townsend, J o h n Saw b r i d g e , and 1 E l oha r d 01 i ve r* Tim champions had been c or re s ponding t h r o u g h t h e

columns o f th© P u b lic A d v e r t l e e r and t h e G a z e t t e e r s in c e O ctober 3 1 , 1TT0J by t h e s p r in g o f 1 7 7 1 , t h e i r l e t t e r s had become somewhat acrim oniou® .

Th© s i t u a t i o n was i n no way

e a s e d by t h e ap p eara n ce o f m op on sch ism upon t a e o f f i c i a l l e v e l o f C ity p o l i t i c © between hiIke© and O liv er *

By

May the p o l i t i c a l l e t t o r e In th© London paper© f a i r l y smoked a s h i l k e e , Borne, and t h e i r f r i e n d s exchanged sh o ts* Th© p r i n t e r s o f th e l e a d i n g papers were f o r c e d t o walk a narrow l i n e between th e a n ta g o n is t© i n o r d e r t o a v o id

Annual Reg. ,X1V (17 71) , 9 3 - 4 ! London :-ag. »x,‘ L1771), " 3 0 - 3 1 I Town and Count r y 7 ^ * , I I I (17717 s221 f h i o ] - h e n s , Jo ha Lor no Took eTTTl S $ - ? 3 ; Y a rborough, John Horne T o o k e , pp«55 - 7 1 » BfngXoy1© s i d e o f t h e arguw©ifETmsy be "fou r t f i n Case o f W i l l i a m B i n g l o y , p#129? Rxtr a o r d i n a r y c a s e of .■1 JLllaia ITlqgley, pp# 1 0 1 - 1 0 8 ; and Jk s k e t c h of h n g l l s h 11 ber-ty I 2 O l i v e r t o R i l k e s , Ao r 11 1 1 ,1 7 7 1 , and v .ilk ea t c O l i v e r , A p r il 1 2 ,1 7 7 1 : B#R. Add# * 77771, f o lp # 7 * -7 p « -A 26-

d i s a s t r o u s e f f e c t s upon t h e i r ch r e a l a i l on.

3

John Horne was a v i g o r o u s com b a ta n t, out- ho f o i l far s h o r t o f Wl i k e s *s p o l l shod 3 p r a c t i c e d f i r c x m s arCi h i s o p p o sitio n , t o H i k e s made him v u l n o r a b l n t o th - eh u r g e o f d e f e c t i o n fro m t ha p u b l i c c a u s e ,

ra