THREE:The indisposition of Parliament to attend to the ordinary business of the legislature, however important and pressing any portion of it might be considered in other circumstances, may be easily accounted for. One subject engrossed the minds of all men at this time, and agitated the nation to a depth and extent altogether unprecedented in our history. The story of Caroline of Brunswick is one of the saddest and most romantic in the annals of the Queens of England. When the Prince Regent became king, his wife, as a matter of course, became the rightful Queen of[206] England. But her husband had resolved that she should not be queen; and, rather than not have his way in this, he was ready to imperil his throne. She was as fully entitled to enjoy the well-defined rank and position that devolved upon her by the laws of the country, as he was to wear his crown, without regard to personal character. He would break the marriage tie, if he could; but, failing that, he was determined to degrade the queen by bringing against her the foulest charges of immorality. She might, indeed, have escaped a trial on these charges if she had consented to remain abroad, and had agreed to forego any title that would have connected her with the Royal Family of England. Till the death of George III., who had always been her steady friend, she had been prayed for in the liturgy as the Princess of Wales. There was now no Princess of Wales, and the king insisted that she should not be prayed for at all. His Ministers, against their own convictionsagainst what they well knew to be the almost unanimous feeling of the nationweakly yielded to the arbitrary will of their licentious Sovereign. They and their apologists attempted to uphold this conduct by alleging that she was prayed for under the words, "the rest of the Royal Family." But Mr. Denman, who defended her, afterwards observed with more truth that the general prayer in which she was embraced was, "For all that are desolate and oppressed." The moment the news of this outrage reached the queen, she resolved, with characteristic spirit and determination, to come at once to England and assert her rights in person. The Ministers flattered themselves that this was a vain boast, and that, conscious of guilt, her courage would fail her.
FORE:'Purpurea tollant aul?a Britanni;'The number of places in which the inquiries under the commission were carried on was 237, having a population of 2,028,513. In twenty-five places the number of corporators was not ascertained; in the others (212) they amounted to 88,509. The governing body was self-elected in 186 boroughs. This body elected the mayor in 131 boroughs, appointed the recorder in 136, and the town-clerk in 135. The number of corporators exercising magisterial functions was 1,086, in 188 boroughs. In 112 boroughs the corporations had exclusive criminal jurisdiction, extending to the trial of various descriptions of offences, and in forty-two their jurisdiction was not exclusive. Seventeen boroughs did not enjoy any income whatever; in eight the precise amount could not be obtained. The total income of 212 boroughs amounted to 366,948; their expenditure to 377,027. 103 were involved in debts amounting to 1,855,371, and were besides burdened with annuities amounting to 4,463. In twenty-eight boroughs only were the accounts published; in fifteen the annual income was under 20; in eleven it was between 2,000 and 3,000; in five, 3,000, and under 4,000; in one, 4,000, and under 5,000; in four, 5,000, and under 7,500; in five, 10,000, and under 12,500; in one, 12,500, and under 15,000; in one, 15,000, and under 20,000; and in one, 91,000.
THREE:WILLIAM IV.
FORE: Effects of Walpole's AdministrationFormation of the new MinistryAttitude of the MalcontentsCommittee of Inquiry into Walpole's AdministrationWalpole's ProtectorsMinisterial MeasuresProrogation of ParliamentDisasters of the FrenchBritish Division in the NetherlandsOpening of ParliamentThe German MercenariesAmendment of the Gin ActGeorge goes to GermanyStair and De Noailles in FranconiaStair in a TrapBold Resolution of King GeorgeThe Battle of DettingenResignation of StairRetreat of the FrenchNegotiations for PeaceTreaty of WormsPelham becomes Prime MinisterThe Attacks of Pitt on CarteretAttempted Invasion of EnglandIts FailureProgress of the French ArmsFrederick II. invades BohemiaHis RetirementResignation of CarteretPelham strengthens his MinistryDeath of the EmperorCampaign in FlandersBattle of FontenoyCampaign of Frederick II.The Young Pretender's PreparationsLoss of the ElizabethLanding in the HebridesThe Highland Clans join himThe First BrushRaising of the StandardCope's MistakeHe turns aside at DalwhinnieCharles makes a Dash for EdinburghThe March to StirlingRight of the DragoonsThe "Canter of Coltbridge"Edinburgh surprised by the HighlandersCharles marching against CopeBattle of PrestonpansDelay in marching SouthDiscontent of the Highland ChiefsThe StartPreparations in EnglandApathy of the AristocracyArrival of the Duke of CumberlandCharles crosses the BorderCapture of CarlisleThe March to DerbyResolution to retreat"Black Friday"The RetreatRecapture of CarlisleSiege of StirlingBattle of FalkirkRetreat to the HighlandsCumberland's PursuitGradual Collapse of the HighlandersBattle of CullodenTermination of the RebellionCruelty of the Duke of CumberlandAdventures of the Young PretenderTrials and ExecutionsMinisterial Crisis.
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THREE:
FORE:The other measures of Parliament during this Session were these:In the House of Lords Lord Holland, and in the Commons Henry Brougham, moved for addresses to his Majesty, exhorting him to persevere in his efforts to induce the Governments of other nations to co-operate in the abolition of the slave trade, and to take measures for putting a stop to the clandestine practice of British subjects yet carrying on this trade in a fraudulent manner, as well as to adopt plans for preventing other evasions of Mr. Wilberforce's Act. Mr. Bankes introduced a motion for rendering perpetual his Bill to prevent the grant of offices in reversion, and such a Bill was passed in the Commons, but rejected in the Lords.
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THREE:Paine, in his "Rights of Man," was far from restricting himself to the courtesies of life in attacking Burke. He had been most hospitably received by Burke on many occasions at his house, and had corresponded with him, and must therefore have seen sufficient of him to know that, though he might become extremely enthusiastic in his championship of certain views, he could never become mean or dishonest. Yet Paine did not hesitate to attribute to him the basest and most sordid motives. He branded him as the vilest and most venal of apostates. Paine had, in fact, become a monomaniac in Republicanism. He had been engaged to the last in the American Revolution, and was now living in Paris, and constantly attending the Jacobin club. He was hand-in-hand with the most rabid of the Republicans, and was fast imbibing their anti-Christian tenets. Paine fully believed that the French were inaugurating something much finer than any millennium; that they were going to establish the most delightful liberty, equality, and fraternity, not simply throughout France but throughout the world. Before the doctrines of the French clubbists and journalists, all superstition, all despotism, all unkindness were to vanish from amongst mankind, and a paradisiacal age of love and felicity was to commence. To those who pointed to the blood and fury already too prominently conspicuous in this business, he replied that these were but the dregs of corrupt humanity, which were working off in the great fermentation, and all would become clear and harmonious.
FORE:[313]
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