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Tj^^fr. lSSS.] THlE< . HABHtK.. 2EE ,
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.T.WO NOVELS. MUilxxUs, or *e Nev,E*is«n...
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Ai-Ihstory, O£ Enolasfn During Tiir.Rjei...
M « atb 6 nrweceJSoX ,. Murray , aadHtt . Eox * says Mr . Masa ^ wiih . sin SS a ^ as our- cyrocall ^ Hticians mm > -apply to Lord Derby , W ; pnfe ; S ^ wupffwu * be cause , ia a . corrupt ; age , he . showed a pre-emin « Bt coa-Smpt for ' Sbdia virtue .. But Maxrray ( Maosfield ) he worsmfK-witfa ^* S ^ u aS ^ e ofctteEnglfch ce ^ titutzoaal lznjvr-fov his mtellec ^ SSreEBce ta H * moralsv Pitt , he adores ,. too : and as ^ h ^ oharaoter S ^ pTe SlnSShman : ^ the moat fished the volmne , we give- the iipctrnitatJengthf ::. . WiBiam Eitt -was a genius for brilliant achievements ^ for - extraordinary emergence fan the aaixataon of a . country . Ab a ^ tatesmanj . Pitt can enduro comparisoirwitb t ^ ieA ^ SSSog - ™^^ ^^ - ^ Xim ^ es or Sully * Riehelaau o * de Witt , Asan . oratoprheiayet unrivalled * and to find , his , equal , we must ascend ; to the great mastezsof af ttiquity . ' .
.- _ , . , _ . , _ Such panegyrics -may-seem loose and extravagant .. I . propose to justify the first . hy a faithful narrative of the- political achievements of Ghathnm ; . . his unfinished : designs * and , lastly , of his-opposition to the rash and shallow policy of- the inferior men who supplanted or succeeded him . His fame , indeed , as a master of eloquence I can vindicate but imperfectly . I may quote passages , grand , affecting , and sublime- thesei perhaps , can-be matched in oratorical essays , which fell flat upon thfeir audie ' nce i but who shall attempt to do justice to those qualities which constitute th « - essence-of ' osatory—countenance , voice , gesture—all that- the Greek calls-Action / "Yiet these were-caairied by Chatham : to a transcendant excellence . which consiatent
I ? itfcfschw « eterhadiBkany faults , a « d on ^ abow * all * , , is . hacdl ^ with true gyeataiess . A vile affectation pervaded * - his whole ; cond * u }< s , and marred bia real virtues . Contempt of pelf -waa one of the traits which , distinguished Mm in a corrupt and venal age . But not content with foregoing official perquisites which would have made his fortune ,, and appropriating . only . the . salary which was his due , he must go down to the House-of . Comau > ns and vaunt in ., tragic style how " those hands were clean . " On resigning office after . . first great . administration , he could . not retfrewith his fame , but must convert a situation full ' of'dignity and interest into a vulgar-scene by * the ostentatious sale of his-state equipages . Sometime ^ to produce , an effect , he would seclude * himself from public business , g * yrag > rare a » dience . to a . colleague , or somsdignjfifld emissary of the Court . Then ? , after due attendance * the doors were thrown-openr and the visitor was-ushered into a chamber , carefully prepared , where the Great Commoner himself sat with , tbe-robfr of ^ ictiass . 'artfully disposed around him . Occasionally , after a long , absence , he would go down . to . the House in an imposing , panoply of gout , make . a _ great speecVaftd
withdraw . At . a-later period , he affected almost regal state . His colleagues in office , including members of the . great nobility , were expected to wait upon him ; , at one time , he did not even- deign to grant them audience , and went so far as to talk of communicating his pplicy-to the House of Commons through a special agent of his own unconnected , with . the . responsible Government . The under-secretaries of his department , men of considerable official position * and sometimes proximate ministers , were expected to ronaw steading i »; his presence . When he . weat abroad h » was attended by axgreftt ; retinue } when he stopped at an inn he requirediall the servants of the eatabliahmea ^ to wear hia . livery . _ _ for the
Yet all this pride tumbled into the dust before royalty . His reyerence , sovereign was Oriental rather than . English . After every allowance for , the exagge ration of his style , it is still unpleasant to witness the self-abasement of such a spirit before George the Second and his successor . " The weight of irremovable royal displeasure , ? said he , "is a load too great to move under ; it must-crush . any man ; it has sunk-and broke me . I succumb , and wish for nothing but a decent- andinnocent retreat / . ' At the time i . when Pitt indited these shameful words , he was the most considerable man ift England , and on-the-eve of an > administration that carried the power . aad glory , ofEngland . to a height which it had neves approached since the daya-ofithe Proteotor .- _ _
If it weregust to resolve the character of such a man into detail , it would be easy t * collect passages , from the life of : Chatham which should prove him a . time-rserver , a . trimmer , an apostate , a bully ,, a servile flatterer , an insolent contemner of royalty . AIL these elements are to be found in the composition , as poisons are to be detected in the finest bodies . But taken as . a whole , a ( candid judgment must pronounce the character oCCRathamto beone ~ of striking grandeur r exhibiting ; i \ i / Any of-the noblest qualitiea ^ of . the patriot , the statesman , and the orator . Newcastle -whom Mr . Massey considers was not loth knave and fool , but simply , kjaaye—a . vindication which , must be gratifying to the House of PelSajn . —had to- decide between . the three pretensions ; and he offered tho lead . to Fox , But the " negotiations ' to induce Fox to "join" were delicate . The duke , who was tenacious of his " management" of members , insisted on retaining his hold on the secret service money . " Fox , " says Mi * . Massey , " pointed out , with strong sense ,. inconvenience of such a reserve . " How , nsked Fox , not intending the , least : satire on lUa oountry , " how was he to
manage the House of Commons , unless he knew who had been bribed and \ f \\ O had . not ? " In our day no man would undertake to lead the House in such ignorance ,, or , otherwise , without large powers iu council ; aaddoubtlessen , thci recent refusal of . Lord . P . almerston to join Lord Derby , and in the retirement of the Peelitos from , Lord . Paunerston . there , were , soiw such motiyeskoif . self-respect operating upon patriotisnu . Sir . Thomas liobinson . got the post . Asia . rule , the , House of Commons haa not . been , led , by its bestnwji * , but Sir- Thomas llobioson was the least respectable leader it ever liad '; lie was- a silver-stick * and the " wits- " laughod . at the Duke of Newcastle for appointing sueh a man , just as thB wits-would toave laughed at Lord ijjerby had Lord Derby got his House of Commons led by a braeo of frtsliionable novelists . By-and-by Pitt and Fox coalesced ; Fox forced his wayj into the Cabinet ; Pitt and ( STejmUc were chicaned out of . office ; and thus' was , EJngJ and govcrned ' wben war came on— 'France thr / oatening . invision . Thor . e "was a shocking' series of ., imbecilities : hesitation ,, tiiworous-JXiWWk a >» d . fw & leness . Kngland had no navy and no army ; the Court waa tbittfcing : eKoluairoly of Hanover . Hessians were . hired ,, a -vweatow squadron A » ft « . Bent oil : and a . notbtillixmt yoan was couucluded . by , iMuiaing . tw adwu'ul : ¦
which was then , the fashion , though in , our time wo merely "• cut ? ' a foiled ¦ conn »» nder-iit- ohieft Tfte utter-ftbilur © of our arms-was compensated for by the brilliancy of oup . diplomacy .. Hhigland had been for ten years abusing Prussin , just' as in tjtdi lbili ten years she . has been abusing . Austria , But ofrcumstanceg requimd"inconsistency ; . ; wo hated the great Fredei'ick , but we becamo his aU 3 f , aadL carried , liini th >; ou « li- tho . seven years' war , and . tlm country , wji ^ cangr ^ iulated . by tho Ministers , just as Ministers now congratulate theuwflivHOkOR-ithe adhesion of Austwa . But thq efront . tp dogrudia tUev njrtjaat -mm toamuch fw a , feabte , aduunistration .: bi $ sucoawful . dipla * .
macy ; ruined Newcastle just- as- successfol diplomacjr auiunilated Lord ! Aberdeen ; Pitt was the Paknerston of the movement , - and Pitt-came in almost unconditionally strong : —it sufficed that be undertook to carry on the war with , vigour . His first act was to discharge the Hessians , and to organise a Militia ; and he extinguished the cause of the-Pretender in Scotland ; and * therefore , in Great Britain , by engaging the Highland clans as soldiers— those passionately . loyal people , ii would appear , onlj > requii * ingpay to be practical . Pitt also at once recklessly , profusely—but that wasvigour—increased the forees 4 , and he grew so popular that all the court * and corrupt cabals . against him failed ; and though Newcastle got in again , alongside him , it was without real power , and the great commoner reigned now with absolute sway . The state of affairs , when he began , was awful .
In America ; and in the Mediterranean we had been beaten by the admirals ^ and generals of our " natural enemy ; " in Germany , Frederick had lost th & battle of . Kolin ; and , af home , the- peoplej says Mr . Massey , seeing these sudden vicissitudes in party politics , no change altering , the dead-lock of administration , came to the conclusion that all the- politicians were self * , seekers , and believed ' that- the interests of- the country were perpetually sacrificed to the foreign : interests of the reigning family . Pitt ' s first affair was the siege of Bochefort , and that was a failure , for , instead of- trying a coup de main , the general , like Lord Raglan , resorted to an investment ; and there was a- , bui'st : of popular indignation at the disaeter : the ribald press insisting timt Mordaunt and Hawke had had secret orders ' to failwhich appears to have been- a fact . Mr . Massey says : —
Tfee-failure of the- Rochefort expedition may well be ascribed to the evils of a divided command ; But- there were other-causes , which had long depreassed the tone oftBilitary intelligence and energy . - The system of promotion by seniority , which then obtained in the British service , was not calculated to bring forwardimerit ; and the-evasion of responsibility , which . characterised the feeble plans and . unhesitating orders-o £ the , government ,. ha . dAaught . the routine leaders , of . our fleets and . armies to consult . their © wn .. safety , by a . cautious adherence to the .. striet : line of . duty , rather thau the pride of their profession and the glory of their , country , by a . more ^ daring course . But the fortunes of the empire were now guided by a statesman " who sought for merit wherever it was to be fbund , " and to whose favour or indulgence jthe only recommendations , were zeal and enterprise in the public service ^ Yet what was obvious then was an evil of which , the ribald press is complaining to a practical ' public to this hour . T >} t + » c TrirtntTf was en I ' n + pnsfi n « to bp . somewhat danirerous . To cret back Pitt's vi was so intense as to be . somewhat dangerous . Xo get back
gour Minorca , then our only Mediterranean port ,, he offered Spain Gibraltar , but fortunately for our . ' * Indian Empire , " then not a consideration , he did not succeed . But on the whole , he did wonders . By subsidising-Frederick and reorganising the Hanoverian army , under the Duke of . Cumberland ,, he got inTb . the field a . force sufBcient to intimidate France out of the . idea . of invasion ; and ,, by selecting his generals for merit and capacity , lie gpt on avcII in the froiitier . war in North America . He conveyed his own mind and will ! into , the whole nation and into the two services ; and genius ruled England . But every day his popularity was in danger ; the slightest failure , or the least . pause , and . tjie * public was . savage . We have seen , within these few weeks * how a Minister of War . had to suffer for the faibire-of a general ; and Pitt was often near , a catastrophe . In Wolfe's case he ran the greatest risk . Two sets of despatches arrived from Wolfe , who was besieging Quebec ,, within three days .- of one another . In the first set he wrote in a tone of
despair , ajnd seemed to prepare his countrymen for the worst ; and there was ( Abom and fury in Cheapside . The next set announced the , success of his , gallant enterprise ; Wolfe was a hero , worthy , of Westminster Abbey ; Pitt was the select of Great Britain ' s Providence ' .. Wolfe ' s coup was followed by Hawkes ( Hawkes , who , like Pitt , left his " mark" in the peerage—Wolfe fell too soon—was , like Pitt-and like Wolfe , of thorough plebeian origin ) at Belleisle , and then Englishmen were proud of their country , and had Pitt cHosen , The could" tb ; enrhave taken Gromwell'fr p lace . -But -hewas ^ loyal , rather mad ; and'never passed a week without thinking of resigning . When George III . succeeded to the-throne , at the death of the careless George II . " —George III , with a bate of Wbig supremacy , and a crafty Earl of Bute to work out his plans—lie did resign , in a " pet , " and went into retirement . Peace— " honourable and lasting , " of course—was patched up ; all the blood and treasure , and all ' those great victories , which made England the foremost nation in the world , had been lavished and gained in vain .
" But mediocrity and intrigue , " says the astute Mr . Massey , " had obtained ascendancy in the British councils . " But the Grenvilles were soon glad that peace had been secured . For , having got the House of Bourbon quieted , they had leisure and opportunity to carry on the war with the North American colonies . How our aristocracy contrived in that matter is a matter of peculiarly painful history to those numerous poraons who are at once Englishmen and Liberals . ¦ ,-, <•• Thcso were , two great wars in which th . o British aristocracy had _ a lair chance—tho country perfectly calm at home—of proving their worthiness of the government of England .. They failed lamentably . But then they were consistent . They failed in all the wars subsequently until , after innumerable disasters , bringing us to the verge of ruin , men of genius presented themselves . Supposing that now the man of genius does not turn up ? Let ua always remember that in the war with the American colonies the manot . genius was not on our side .
Tj^^Fr. Lsss.] Thle< . Habhtk.. 2ee ,
Tj ^^ fr . lSSS . ] THlE < . HABHtK .. 2 EE ,
.T.Wo Novels. Muilxxus, Or *E Nev,E*Is«N...
. T . WO NOVELS . MUilxxUs , or * e Nev , E * is « n < e . By a . Clargymu ,, g «* and Bluckott Mammon . By Mrs . Gore . "u *< u . »*«* We . had soiuo Lopd . Chamberlainish diflicult . es as to whether to should . tssss ^^^ A' ^ t ^ ^^^^^ S ^ Uxiptum and oxooutiou , i » iu 1 >™}< 1 « " fW ' " ^ ' ^^!^' A ^ i z &^ ^^^^ % ™^ fefe ^^^^
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), March 3, 1855, page 19, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_03031855/page/19/
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