ONE:Parliament was prorogued on the 18th of April, and the king soon after set out for his German dominions, taking Stanhope along with him, and his mistress, the Duchess of Kendal. In appointing the Regency to administer affairs in the king's absence, the Prince of Wales was entirely passed over, to his great indignation; nor were he and the Princess allowed to hold levees, that duty being assigned to the young princesses, to the great scandal of the public, and further exposure of the discord raging in the Royal family. Even during the session the ministers had brought in a Bill to "settle and limit the Peerage in such a manner that the number of English peers should not be enlarged beyond six of the present number (178), which, upon failure of male issue, might be supplied by new creations; that, instead of the sixteen elective peers of Scotland, twenty-five should be made hereditary on the part of that kingdom; and that this number, upon failure of heirs male, should be supplied from the other members of the Scottish Peerage." Both the king and ministers flattered themselves that they should carry this Bill, and thus fetter the Prince of Wales when he came to the throne. The king was desirous to do this out of sheer jealousy and hatred of his own son, and the ministers, Sunderland in particular, out of dread of his vengeance in that case; for, if he created a dozen peers at a time, as Anne had done, he could easily swamp the Whigs and put the present ministers in peril of impeachment. But though the Whigs had been clamorous against the act of Anne, some of them now, Cowper and Townshend at their head, as vehemently denounced this measure as a gross infringement of the royal prerogative. The debate became very bitter, and many friendships were broken up by it, amongst others that of Addison and Steele, who took different sides; but the Bill was finally dropped, through the vigorous opposition offered to it by Walpole.Before Buonaparte quitted Erfurt he learned that his late allies, the Bavarians, with a body of Austrians under General Wrede, were marching to cut off his line of retreat to the Rhine, and that another body of Austrians and Prussians were marching from near Weimar, on the same point, with the same object. He left Erfurt on the 25th of October, amid the most tempestuous weather, and his rear incessantly harassed by the Cossacks. He met Wrede posted at Hanau, but with only forty-five thousand men, so that he was able to force his way, but with a loss of six thousand, inflicting a still greater loss on the Austro-Bavarians, of nearly ten thousand. On the 30th of October Napoleon reached Frankfort, and was at Mainz the next day, where he saw his army cross, and on the 7th of November he left for Paris, where he arrived on the 9th. His reception there was by no means encouraging. In addition to the enormous destruction of life in the Russian campaign, the French public nowinstead of the reality of those victories which his lying bulletins had announcedsaw him once more arrive alone.
TWO:[573]
ONE:Such being the state of our relations with America, Sir Robert Peel's Government determined to send to Washington a special ambassador who should be clothed with full powers to effect an amicable adjustment of all the causes of dispute. The gentleman selected for this purpose was Lord Ashburton. A more judicious selection could not possibly have been made. Mr. Alexander Baring, who had been raised to the peerage in 1835, having been previously President of the Board of Trade and Master of the Mint, was known throughout the world as one of our merchant princes, and was the husband of an American lady, the daughter of Mr. William Bingham, of Philadelphia, a senator of the United States. The hopes which his mission excited were not disappointed. He sailed from England in February, 1842, and after a tedious and stormy passage, arrived at New York on the 1st of April. He immediately entered upon negotiations with Mr. Webster. They continued till the month of August, when a treaty was agreed upon and signed at Washington by the two plenipotentiaries, the mutual exchange of ratifications to take place[493] in London within six months of that date. By that treaty the line of the north-eastern boundary was settled, concession on the St. John being purchased by the surrender of a strip of land to the States of New York and Vermont. It was stipulated that Great Britain and America should each maintain a sufficient squadron or naval force, carrying not less than eighty guns, for the purpose of enforcing, separately and respectively, the laws, rights, and obligations of each of the two countries for the suppression of the slave trade, and should use their joint influence for suppressing the slave markets. It also provided for the mutual delivery to justice of all persons charged with murder, or assault with intent to murder, or with piracy, robbery, forgery, and arson committed within the jurisdiction of either country, should they be found within the territories of the other; but the evidence of criminality should be sufficient to warrant the committal for trial of the fugitive according to the laws of the country in which he was apprehended. This was a distinct withdrawal of Lord Palmerston's pretensions with regard to the McLeod affair. The mission was thus eminently successful, but Lord Palmerston was of another opinion, and declaimed in the House of Commons against the "Ashburton surrender." But the Commons were unprepared to condemn the work, and the debate ended in a count-out. The House of Lords, on the motion of Brougham, passed a vote of thanks to Lord Ashburton.Hon. B. Stratford, 7,500, as half compensation for Baltinglass.
TWO:
ONE:Under Sir Joshua Reynolds a perfect revolution in the art of painting, as practised in England, was effected. He threw aside past traditional fashions, and returned to nature; and his portraits at once excited the consternation of the painters of the day, and placed him in the very first rank of artists. In 1768 was established the Royal Academy, and amongst its foreign members were Benjamin West and Angelica Kauffmann. West produced all his great works in England, and, however much they may now be criticised, they showed an advance on past art in England, and had the merit of introducing modern costume for modern heroes, as in the "Death of General Wolfe," contrary to the advice of even Reynolds himself. Barry made a spasmodic attempt to lead the public back to what he deemed the classical, but in vain; and the successive appearance of Wilson, Gainsborough, and Opie, in different styles, but all genuinely English, established the public in its attachment to the true English school. Wilson, during his lifetime, indeed, was neglected, and died in poverty; but the next generation made the amende to his fame, though too late for his own enjoyment of it. To[202] Paul Sandby we owe the origin of the water-colour school, which afterwards grew so extensive and so rich in production. Amongst eminent painters of this portion of the reign we must mention Wright of Derby, Mortimer, Stubbs and Sawrey, animal painters, and Copley, who, though an American by birth, produced most of his works in England.
TWO: The Congress at ViennaNapoleon's Escape from ElbaMilitary PreparationsEngland supplies the MoneyWellington organises his ArmyNapoleon's Journey through FranceHis Entry into ParisThe Enemy gathers round himNapoleon's PreparationsThe New ConstitutionPositions of Wellington and BlucherThe Duchess of Richmond's BallBattles of Ligny and Quatre BrasBlucher's RetreatThe Field of WaterlooThe BattleCharge of the Old GuardArrival of the PrussiansThe RetreatFrench Assertions about the Battle refutedNapoleon's AbdicationThe Allies march on ParisEnd of the Hundred DaysThe Emperor is sent to St. HelenaThe War in AmericaEvents on the Canadian FrontierRepeated Incapacity of Sir George PrevostHis RecallFailure of American Designs on CanadaCapture of Washington by the BritishOther ExpeditionsFailure of the Expedition to New OrleansAnxiety of the United States for PeaceMediation of the CzarTreaty of GhentExecution of Ney and LabdoyreInability of Wellington to interfereMurat's Attempt on NaplesHis ExecutionThe Second Treaty of ParisFinal Conditions between France and the AlliesRemainder of the Third George's ReignCorn Law of 1815General DistressRiots and Political MeetingsThe Storming of AlgiersRepressive Measures in ParliamentSuspension of the Habeas Corpus ActSecret Meetings in LancashireThe Spy OliverThe Derbyshire InsurrectionRefusal of Juries to convictSuppression of seditious WritingsCircular to Lords-LieutenantThe Flight of CobbettFirst Trial of HoneThe Trials before Lord EllenboroughBill for the Abolition of SinecuresDeath of the Princess CharlotteOpening of the Session of 1818Repeal of the Suspension ActOperation of the Corn LawThe Indemnity BillIts Passage through ParliamentAttempts at ReformMarriages of the Dukes of Clarence, Cambridge, and KentRenewal of the Alien ActDissolution of Parliament and General ElectionStrike in ManchesterCongress of Aix-la-ChapelleRaids of the PindarreesLord Hastings determines to suppress themMalcolm's CampaignOutbreak of CholeraCampaign against the PeishwaPacification of the Mahratta DistrictApparent Prosperity of Great Britain in 1819Opening of ParliamentDebates on the Royal ExpenditureResumption of Cash PaymentsThe BudgetSocial ReformsThe Scottish BurghsRoman Catholic Emancipation rejectedWeakness of the GovernmentMeeting at ManchesterThe Peterloo MassacreThe Six ActsThe Cato Street ConspiracyAttempted Insurrection in ScotlandTrials of Hunt and his AssociatesDeath of George III.The history of Hume was much over-estimated in his own time, in spite of the despotic notions which abound in it. It was held up as a marvel of eloquence and acuteness. But after times always correct the enthusiasm of contemporaries, and Hume's history has been found not in every case trustworthy. When we now, indeed, take up Hume, we are surprised to find it a very plain, clear narrative of events, with many oversights and perversions, and nothing more. We wonder where are the transcendent beauties which threw our readers of the eighteenth century into raptures for which language scarcely gave expression. Whoever will read the correspondence of contemporaries with Hume, will find him eulogised rather as a demi-god than a man, and his works described in extravagant strains of praise.
