CHAPTER CXXXVI. CONTINUATION OF THE LIFE OF LORD HARDWICKE TILL THE CHAP. A.D. 1756. an Ex LORD HARDWICKE after his resignation continued to possess in a high degree the respect of all classes and of all CXXXVI. parties. Lord Waldegrave, rather disposed to depreciate him, says that he resigned the Great Seal much to the Lord regret of all dispassionate men, and indeed of the whole Hardwicke nation. He had been Chancellor near twenty years, and was chancellor. inferior to few who had gone before him, having executed that high office with integrity, diligence, and uncommon abilities. The statesman might, perhaps, in some particular be the reverse of the judge; yet even in that capacity he had been the chief support of the Duke of Newcastle's administration."* fortune, He had no retired allowance, but besides his own immense His fortune, not only his sons, but all his kith, kin, and depend- and proants, were saturated with places, pensions, and reversions. If vision by he had been required to sacrifice the patronage which enabled office for him to confer such appanages upon them, he would have looked with contempt upon the retired allowance of a modern Chancellor. his family. at the an Ex It is a curious fact, that although George II. had taken His first leave of him very tenderly, and had pressed him to come fre- appearance quently to Court, when he presented himself a few days King's after at the levee in a plain suit of black velvet with a bag levee as and sword, he was allowed to make his bow in the crowd chancellor. without the slightest mark of royal recognition. But as he was retreating surprised, and mortified, he was called back by the Lord in waiting: the King apologised for not having known him when he first appeared without his full bottom, his robes, and the purse with the Great Seal in his hand, and * Lord Wald, Mem. 1756, p. 84. CHAP. CXXXVI. Lord wicke's be of office. renewed to him the assurance that his great services to the Crown were well known and remembered." His conduct as an Ex-chancellor deserves great commendation. He now resided more than he had formerly been haviour out permitted to do at Wimple, but instead of torpidly wasting his days there, he tried to find pleasure in literature; he took a lively interest in public affairs, and he carried on a frequent correspondence with his political friends. Always when parliament was sitting, and at other times when his presence in London could be serviceable to his party or the public, he was to be found at his town house in Grosvenor Square. He attended as sedulously as ever to the judicial business of the House of Lords, the judgments being moved and dictated by him, his successors not being a Peer, and being sometimes obliged to put the question for reversing his own decrees without being at liberty to say a word in their defence. Lord Hardwicke also diligently attended at the Council Board when juridical cases came before that tribunal. Although the common opinion is that he considered himself as having bid a final adieu to office, I cannot but suspect that he contemplated the chance of his being again Chancellor, and that with this view he was anxious to keep himself before the public, and from time to time to burnish up his legal ar He opposes the bill for releasing the mem bers of the court mour. The first occasion of his taking any open part in politics after his resignation, was respecting the condemnation of Admiral Byng. A bill had passed the House of Commons to release the members of the court-martial, who had sentenced him to death, from their oath of secrecy, so that they Byng from might disclose the consultations which took place among themselves when deliberating upon his sentence. In the House of Lords its fate depended entirely upon Lord Hard martial on Admiral their oath of secrecy. Had he worn such a uniform as that invented by George IV. for Exchancellors (very much like a Field Marshal), he could not have been mistaken for a common man. No one contended that parliament, like the Pope, might dispense with oaths. The statute for the discipline of the navy required the members of naval courts-martial to take an oath "not to disclose or discover the vote or opinion of any particular member, unless thereunto required by act of parlia ment." wicke, and he opposed it. For its rejection he was very CHAP. severely blamed, and a cry was raised that "he wished Ad- CXXXVI. miral Byng to be shot to screen the late administration,”— the multitude being misled by the unfeeling words blurted out by the Duke of Newcastle, when a deputation waited upon him from the City, complaining that Minorca had been abandoned: "It is the fault of the Admiral, he shall be tried immediately, he shall be hanged directly." The sentence of death upon Byng was erroneous, the Court, acquitting him of treachery and cowardice, having only found that "he had not done his utmost to relieve St. Philip's Castle, or to defeat the French fleet from mistake of judgment;" and the government was highly to be censured for carrying it into effect, -particularly after the unanimous recommendation to mercy from the members of the court-martial. Nevertheless, I think that the bill rested on no principle, and that Lord Hardwicke would have been liable to severe censure if he had assisted in establishing a dangerous precedent by sanctioning it. In the course he took, he was warmly supported by Lord Mansfield, who now began to show the rare example of a lawyer having great success in both Houses of parliament, and who was destined to contest the palm of eloquence with the Earl of Chatham, as he had done with Mr. W. Pitt. They treated the subject with judicial accuracy and precision, showing that criminal justice could not be administered satisfactorily by any tribunal in the world if there were to be a public disclosure of the reasonings and observations of those who are to pronounce the verdict or judgment while they are consulting together. They therefore framed two questions to be put to the members of the court-martial, all of whom were examined at the bar while the bill was pending. 1. "Do you know any matter that passed previous to the sentence upon Admiral Byng which may show that sentence to have been unjust?" 2. "Do you know any matter that passed previous to the said sentence which may show that sentence to have been given through any undue practice or motive?" All (including Captain Keppel, at whose request the bill had been introduced) answered both questions in the negative. Lord Hardwicke then animadverted in a tone of CHAP. CXXXVI. April, 1757. Formation of Mr. Pitt's first administration. Letters from Lord the highest scorn upon the haste and heedlessness with which the bill had passed in the House of Commons, and on his motion it was rejected without a decision."* As every one had foreseen, the administration formed in the autumn of 1756 soon crumbled to pieces, and after the dismissal of Pitt and Lord Temple, for nearly three months the country was without a government, although a foreign war was raging, and dangerous discontent began to be engendered among the people. But, in the midst of disgrace and despondency, the nation was on the point of seeing the most glorious period of its annals; for now, instead of a single victory in a European campaign, the flag of England was to ride triumphant on every sea, and territories to which the island of Great Britain was a mere speck on the globe, were to be added to her dominion. This state of things was brought about by a coalition between the greatest and the meanest of statesmen, Pitt and the Duke of Newcastle, which was arranged chiefly under the auspices of Lord Hardwicke.† The first personal interview was brought about by the following letter from him to Mr. Pitt: -- "Sir, Wednesday, May 25. 1757. "I have seen the Duke of Newcastle this morning, who is Hardwicke extremely willing and desirous to have a conference with you, to Mr. Pitt. and thinks it may be most useful to have a meeting first with yourself, before that which he will also be proud of having with my Lord Bute. He therefore proposes that his Grace and you should meet this evening at Lord Royston's, in St. James's Square, where I may attend you. The family is out of town, and that place will be better than any of our houses, and you (if you approve it) may come so far in your chair without hazard. I should think between eight and 15 Parl. Hist. 803-822.; Hor. Walp. Mem. Geo. 2., vol. ii. 687. The House of Lords, in this instance, instead of forbidding the publication of their proceedings, themselves very wisely made an order" that all the proceedings on the bill, with the evidence of the witnesses, should be printed and published under the authority of the House."— Lords' Journ. 1757. + Lord Mansfield had previously tried his hand at mediating between the parties, but in vain. CXXXVI. nine o'clock would be a proper time, unless you have any CHAP. objection to it — and then any other hour you shall name. I beg you will send me notice to Powis House as soon as you can." In a subsequent stage of the negotiation we find that, while Leicester House was still a party to it, Lord Hardwicke thus addressed Mr. Pitt: : "Sir, "Powis House, 16th June, 1757. "I am to desire, in the Duke of Newcastle's name as well as my own, that we may have the honour of meeting you and my Lord Bute at your house this evening a little before nine. I have in like manner sent notice to Lord Bute. I found the Duke of Newcastle pleased, in the highest degree, with your visit and conversation this forenoon." disposal of the Great Seal. The great difficulty in the way of a satisfactory settlement Difficulty was the disposal of the Great Seal. The Duke of Newcastle about the was naturally eager to see Lord Hardwicke again Chancellor, that he might have his powerful support in that office, and Lord Hardwicke, himself professing to be tired of public life, would not have been unwilling to have resumed his labours, with the prospect now opening of a powerful government. They felt their way by at first proposing that he should have a seat in the cabinet, but conditions were annexed even to this concession, which showed the main object to be utterly impracticable. The fact was, that "the Great Commoner" and the Ex-premier, in the midst of much politeness and courtesy, thoroughly knew each other. The former determined to have all the power in his own hands, that he might pursue unchecked his vast plans for the nation's pre-eminence and glory, while he was willing to throw to others all jobbing patronage, he could not bear the thought of seeing in high office, a man of character and weight, who, from ancient associations, would be disposed to stand by the sordid and meddling Duke.- Lord Hardwicke behaved exceedingly well upon this occasion. He did not allow his disappointment to be known to the world, and although he plainly saw that he could gain nothing for himself,— out of regard to his |