The people hang

Porteous.

CHAP. V.

family; one of the rioters undertook the part of clergyman and offered him spiritual exhortations, a coil of ropes was bought at a dealer's booth for a guinea, and this being fastened round his neck, he was strung up to a dyer's pole, and so hanged. His dying struggles were long and terrible, but the multitude calmly stood by till life was extinct, and then quietly dispersed. The arms which they had taken from the City Guards were flung away, the streets were left perfectly quiet, and at daybreak, the scattered weapons and the suspended body formed the only tokens of the dreadful deed of that night. The leaders were never discovered, after the most rigid invesGovernment tigation. Duncan Forbes, the Lord Advocate, who into the riot. conducted an inquiry, could fix upon no leader; General Wade, who assisted him, reported that he never saw, or heard of any military disposition better laid down, or more resolutely executed; while others combated the notion of any one above the lowest class of the people being concerned in it, and attributed it to the enthusiasm of the Scottish character.

Results of

inquiries

But although none of the offenders could thus be discovered, the Ministry was not inclined to overlook the apparent neglect of the magistracy of Edinburgh. A Bill was brought in, in 1737, for imprisoning the Lord Provost, and disabling him for ever from holding office; for abolishing the City Guard; and for taking away the gates of the Netherbow port. The Scottish peers and commoners fired up at this assault upon their national honour; the debate in both Houses assumed the character of a national controversy; and in the end the Bill dwindled into an Act for simply disabling the Lord Provost, and imposing a fine of £2,000 on the city for the benefit of Porteous's widow.*

7. Division in the Royal Family and Death of the Queen.-The

The King and Queen unpopular.

state of popular feeling in this year towards the King and Queen was very unsatisfactory. George had remained abroad during the whole summer and autumn, while Her Majesty lived a retired life at Kensington, which was then quite apart from London, and not very accessible on account of the bad roads.

On the other hand, the Prince of Wales was a favourite with the people, while his disagreements with his father and mother Popularity of served to increase his popularity. Prince Frederick was of a stubborn nature; weak and vain, and easily led by

the Prince

of Wales.

* Knight's Popular History, VI., 79-84; Stanhope's England, II., 188-198; Burton's Scotland, VIII., 361-367; Scott's Tales of a Grandfather.

1736

flatterers. He affected a love of literature and a patronage of men of talent, partly out of opposition to the King, who cared nothing for either. It thus happened, that nearly all the wit and genius of the day were ranged on his side and that of the Opposition, which he now openly joined. To these men the Prince's residence was always open; Pulteney, Chesterfield, Wyndham, Carteret and Cobham became his familiar friends; and it was with a view to his future reign, and as an indirect satire on his father's, that the fine essay of Bolingbroke, the "Patriot King," was composed. The rising statesmen also (Pitt and Lyttelton especially) were taken into his confidence, and afterwards into his household. It had been intended at one time that Frederick should marry his cousin Frederica Wilhelmina, daughter of the King of Prussia, for whom he entertained an attachment. But the union

was broken off, and at the instigation of his father he His marriage. married, in April, 1736, Augusta of Saxe Gotha. The marriage did not restore peace to the Royal Family, and the difference between father and son presently came to an open rupture. The Prince was ordered to leave St. James's; he then took up his residence at Norfolk House, in St. James's Square, which immediately became the centre of all the political intrigues of the Opposition. In the midst of these unseemly exhibitions the Queen. the Queen was taken dangerously ill, and died on Sunday, the 20th. Her death, and the support which the Prince of Wales gave to the "Patriots," were serious blows to Walpole's administration; the country also was growing wearied with its monotonous peace and prosperity; and the war with Spain, which now followed, eventually put an end to the great peace Minister's tenure of power.

2.-THE WAR WITH SPAIN.

Death of

8. Commercial Disputes with Spain. The right of trading with her American colonies had always been maintained by Spain, for the benefit of her own people. But since the profits of this trade were immense, and the facilities for smuggling numerous, the Spaniards failed to keep strangers out entirely. Their commercial relations with England had been regulated by treaties in 1667 and 1670.

The first of these distinctly admitted the right of each nation to seize contraband goods, and search merchant vessels which intruded into * See Carlyle's Frederick the Great; Knight's Pop. Hist., VI., 84-88. + Stanhope's England, II., 199-203.

CHAP. V.

their respective waters. It was afterwards contended that this right did. not apply to the colonies of either country; yet it was constantly exercised by the Spanish coastguard ships in the West

Commercial

treaties with Indies.

Spain.

English smugglers on the Spanish Main.

By the second treaty Spain recognised the British colonies in North America, and provided that British ships should not approach the coasts of the Spanish Main, except from stress of weather, or with a license to trade. It was expected that the Treaty of Utrecht would have opened out the trade to English merchants, but only one ship was allowed to be sent annually; and this restriction was not relaxed by the Treaty of Seville in 1729, which only professed to replace the American trade on its former footing. The development of British commerce, and the rapidly increasing importance of the North American colonies, rendered it impossible, however, to continue this exclusive policy, and British adventurers used every artifice to break through it. The annual South Sea Ship not only disposed of its own cargo, but also became the medium of disposing of the cargoes of other vessels, which accompanied it for that purpose. Ships in large numbers, also put into the Spanish ports, under various pretences, and by these means poured English goods into the Spanish colonies, to the great injury of the revenue, and of the annual fair at Panama. Incensed at this illegal traffic, the Spanish authorities committed many outrages in their attempts to suppress it; exaggerated reports of which reached England, and highly inflamed the national resentment. The refusal of the Spaniards to acknowledge our claim to cut logwood in the Bay of Campeachya practice of old standing and just right,-together with some disputes regarding the southern boundary of Georgia, still further tended to widen the breach between the two countries.*

9. The Proceedings which urged on the War.-These grievances of the British merchants were embodied in angry petitions, and laid before Parliament at the instigation of the Opposition leaders. But the tale which produced the greatest effect on the House, and found the loudest echo in the country was that which Burke afterwards styled, "the Fable of Jenkins' ears.'

"The Fable of Jenkins' ears."

Captain Robert Jenkins, master of a trading sloop from Jamaica, pretended that when his vessel had been searched seven years before, the Spaniards cut off one of his ears in a cruel manner, and bid him carry it to the King with the message, that they would do the same to His Majesty, if he were present. The Ministerial supporters insinuated that Jenkins had lost his ear in the pillory, but his tale was readily admitted without any proof, and a spirited answer which he gave, enhanced the popular effect. Being asked by a member, what were his feelings when he found himself in the hands of such barbarians, he

Stanhope's England, II., 262-267.

1738

replied, "I recommended my soul to God and my cause to my country." These words rapidly flew from mouth to mouth, and added fuel to the general flame. "We have no need of allies to enable us to command justice," cried Pulteney; "the story of Jenkins will raise Volunteers."

"Convention

of the

Walpole found himself obliged to yield, in some degree, to all this popular clamour, and he made a show of warlike demonstration, which induced the Spaniards to restore some of the captured vessels and their crews. But he clung to his pacific policy, and carried on negotiations with the Court of Madrid, which led at the end of the year (1738) to the "Convention of Pardo." the Pardo," stipulating for the release of some prizes, and the payment of a certain sum of money for the damages claimed by English merchants. The Convention was understood, however, to be merely a preliminary to a subsequent treaty; it omitted all mention of the Right of Search, and reserved the most intricate matters for future arrangement.

opposition

A large body of the Opposition secedes

ment.

Such a transaction did not coincide with the views of the Opposition, and they openly accused the Minister of sacrificing the interests of his country, for the sole purpose of keeping his place. It was on this occasion that William Pitt first distinguished himself in the ranks of the Opposition. Walpole, however, carried Increasing the day, though his majorities were considerably reduced; to Walpole's but many of his colleagues advocated war, and the King pacific policy. was inclined to the same views. Walpole's position was thus beset with difficulties; but the foolish policy of the Opposition brought him some relief. On the plea that a paid and standing majority rendered all reason and argument on their side useless, about sixty of the leading "Patriots seceded in a body from the House, in the hope that by this from Parlia unusual proceeding, they would excite such a ferment as would drive the Minister from office. But the movement signally failed in this respect; and Walpole declared that no event in his whole career had freed him from so much embarrassment. But although the rest of the Session passed with unusual tranquillity, the Minister's troubles were not over. The Spaniards had been incensed by the Parliamentary denunciators of their conduct, and by the despatch of a British fleet to Gibraltar; and they refused to proceed to any further negotiations, unless their Right of Search was fully admitted. This was a demand which Walpole would not dare to concede; the nation moreover was now too highly irritated to listen to any compromise; the King also had begun to be impatient for vigorous measures; and the Minister was his will.

Walpole is

forced into

the war

against

CHAP. V.

reduced to the plain alternative-war or retirement from office. He chose the former, against his own convictions, and was thus guilty of a grave political error. By yielding to the clamour of his political enemies, he did not propitiate them, and by not standing to his own principles and resigning with honour, he brought upon himself a speedy fall and signal disgrace.*

The Prince of Wales

On the 19th of October, 1739, the declaration of war was proclaimed in London; the Prince of Wales and a body of the Opposition leaders, accompanied the heralds ; and the former stood up before the Rose Tavern at Temple Bar, and drank success to the war, amid the huzzas of the crowd.t

drinks success

to the war.

10. Compact between France and Spain against the Maritime Power of England.-Walpole's peace policy rested on the alliance with Holland and France, which he considered to be the only safeguard against the war which threatened to disturb Europe on the death of the Emperor. But the temporary hostility excited by the disputes over the succession between Philip and the House of Orleans, had passed away with the birth of children to Louis XV., and as early as November, 1733, the two Bourbon Courts had concluded & family compact, against the maritime and colonial power of England. Spain bound herself to deprive England gradually of her commercial privileges in America, and to transfer her trade to France; and the latter engaged to support her ally with a naval force, and assist her in the recovery of Gibraltar.

This compact, although suspected, was unknown to Walpole and England; but when hostilities actually broke out, Cardinal Fleury, who had succeeded Dubois in the direction of French affairs, gradually estranged himself from the English alliance, and prevailed upon Holland to remain neutral, notwithstanding her treaties with England. Great Britain was thus left to fight singlehanded, with a small army and an ill-manned fleet; and with a Parliamentary opposition which contested every proposal of supply.‡

11. Anson's Expedition to the South Sea.-The first exertions of the Government were directed against the South American colonies, whose weakness, it was thought, would afford an easy conquest, and their wealth a rich booty. Two squadrons were accordingly equipped; one, under Commodore Anson, to sail round Cape Horn, and rifle, the shores of Peru; the other, under Admiral Vernon, to attack Porto Bello and the eastern coast. The ships selected for * Knight's Pop. Hist., VI., 92. + Stanhope's England, II., 267-284. Dyer's Modern Europe, III., 336, 337.