CHAP. Lord ton resigns Lord Northington went through the formal ceremony of resigning the Great Seal into his Majesty's hands, at St. James's Palace, on Wednesday, the 30th of July, 1766, and was at the same time declared by his Majesty PRESIDENT OF THE COUNCIL, with many gracious acknowledgments of of his faithful services. cabinet was to originate nothing, and to oppose every thing. The commercial treaty with Russia, a measure of unquestionable benefit, nearly fell to the ground owing to his unreasonable and obstinate opposition. He would rarely listen to remonstrances from his colleagues; and was on such cold terms with them, as probably justified him in his own mind in breaking up the cabinet so unceremoniously. He was too fearless to stoop to intrigue; and there was no necessity for it on this occasion." CHAPTER CXLI. CONCLUSION OF THE LIFE OF LORD NORTHINGTON. CHAP. Lord My Lord President and Ex-chancellor Northington, while labouring for the public good,-in the new arrangements was not forgetful of what was due to himself. As an indemnity Pension, for his sacrifice of the Great Seal, it was agreed that, in ad- &c., to dition to the salary of his present office, he should receive an Northingimmediate pension of 2000l. a year; that on his resignation ton. of this office the pension should be raised to 40007. a year; and that he should have a reversionary grant of the office of clerk of the Hanaper in Chancery for two lives, after the death of the Duke of Chandos. Although Lord Northington held a high appointment at the commencement of this motley administration, his connection with it was fleeting, and this is not the place to tell of the mortification, failure, and eclipsed fame of the "Great Commoner," become Earl of Chatham,- when he found himself, from physical and mental infirmity, unable to control the discordant materials of which he had thought fit to compound his new Cabinet.* The only measure of the government in which Lord Northington took any part, was the embargo to prohibit the exportation of corn; and here he exhibited his characteristic rashness and recklessness,-which seemed to be aggravated by age and experience. On account of the almost unprecedented succession of wet weather in the summer and autumn of 1766, the harvest had • Lord Northington, from the time of his appointment as Lord President, frequently corresponded with the Duke of Grafton, who was at the head of the Treasury. Being at the Grange in September, 1766, he writes to him: "I have not spent my time here without regard to my new employment, having perused the papers which I brought down here, and which have been long in arrear. I am sorry Lord Chatham is laid up; and shall only add, that I think no journey inconvenient which tends to the King's service, or to express the great personal regard with which I am,- My dear Lord," &c. Order in Council against the exportation of corn. CXLI. CHAP. failed in many parts of England, the price of bread had risen alarmingly, and a famine was apprehended. A foolish proclamation was issued against "forestallers and regraters," which not increasing the quantity of corn, nor lessening the demand for it,- in as far as it had any operation, aggravated the evil by interfering with the operations of commerce. An order was then made by the King in Council, in which Lord Chatham, though absent, concurred, prohibiting the exportation of corn, and laying an embargo on ships loaded with cargoes of corn about to sail for foreign countries, where the scarcity was still more severe. Although it probably would have been wiser to have left the trade in food entirely free, without duty or bounty, the measure was generally approved of, and the government was actuated by the best motives in resorting to it. Still it was contrary to law; for there was no statute to prevent the exportation of any sort of grain, however high the price might be, or to authorize the Crown to interfere on such an occasion. Those concerned in the embargo were therefore liable to actions, and required to be indemnified. This was the rational view of the subject taken by Lord Chatham himself in his maiden speech in the Nov. 1766. House of Lords, on the first day of the ensuing session. He said, "it was an act of power which, during the recess of Parliament was justifiable on the ground of necessity;" and he read a passage from Locke on Government, to show that, "although not strictly speaking legal, the measure was right in the opinion of that great friend of liberty, that constitutional philosopher, and that liberal statesman." Upon this footing a bill of indemnity would have passed without difficulty. But Lord Northington, for some unintelligible reason, contended that the measure was strictly legal, and that no indemnity was necessary. He went so far as to maintain Lord Northing ton con tends that ** The inconsiderate manner in which he had originally agreed to the measure, may be learned from an extract of his letter to the Duke of Grafton, dated 31st August, 1766. "I come now to that part of your Grace's letter which more immediately relates to my office; the revival of the prohibition of the exportation of corn, by order of council, pursuant to the late act — which I have not here. And I am of opinion, that it is absolutely fit and necessary, as I stand at present informed." In truth, the order was directly contrary to the late act; and the President of the Council advises an order, supposed to be framed on an act which he does not see, and with which he is wholly unacquainted! Surely, we are less slovenly nowadays in our mode of transacting public business. CXLI. this was lawful, and that the Crown had a right to interfere even against a positive CHAP. act of parliament, and that proof of the necessity amounted to a legal justification. Seemingly unconscious that he was standing up for a power in the Crown to suspend or dispense with all laws, he defied any lawyer to contradict him, and saying "he was no patron of the people," he even went on nity was to throw out a sarcasm against the noble Earl, now at the head of the government, for his past popular courses. that a bill of indem unneces sary. Mansfield refutes Lord Mansfield, never displeased with an opportunity of Lord chastising Lord Northington, clearly showed that the power he claimed for the Crown was utterly inconsistent with the con- him. stitution, and if it ever in any degree existed, was entirely at variance both with the letter and the spirit of the Bill of Rights.* retiring. The Ex-chancellor, though, to the amazement of mankind, Lord Northingcountenanced by a great constitutional lawyer, who was ex- ton depected to scout such absurd doctrine, never seems to have sirous of rallied from this downset. I cannot discover that he again opened his mouth in parliament, although he continued sulkily in office till the close of the following year. Finding that, in the absence of Lord Chatham, there were dreadful distractions in the cabinet, and that he had no weight there, he soon became desirous of retreating to the quiet enjoyment of his pensions and his sinecures. Duke of and Lord Northing Grafton He communicated his wish to resign to the Duke of Joint reGrafton, and they sent a joint representation to Lord Chat-ion of the ham, pointing out "the present state of the King's affairs from the want of his Lordship's support and influence, and from the unfortunate situation of his Lordship's health, the administration having been rested, ab initio, on his Lordship's Chatham, weight and abilities." They seem to have received a very rough answer from him, as we may conjecture from the following note, addressed by Lord Northington to the Duke of Grafton: "My dear Lord, ton to Lord May 29. 1767. Lord "I have the properest sense of your Grace's communication of a letter, most extraordinary, and, as relative to our- Northing 16 Parl. Hist. 245-313. CHAP. selves, most absurd as well as dangerous. My sentiments must remain as they were, in justice to my own honour, my ton to the duty to the King and the public, and the peace and quiet of my own mind. I have the honour to be, with the greatest expressing respect," &c. Duke of intention to retire. June 11. 1767. Same to same, giving an a visit to While Lord Northington's resignation was under consideration, he paid his respects at St. James's, and then sent to the Duke the following account of his reception : "My dear Lord, "I was this morning at Court, and had the honour of speaking to at the drawing-room, but as he had no commands for me, and several persons of ministry going in, I account of did not trouble the closet. But I thought it fit to signify to St. James's your Grace, that I am convinced, from circumstances, that it is wished by many to pause till after the session is up. And I could perceive, by the discourse of a noble neighbour of mine, that the thing you are inquiring after is as extensive as I thought it, and too large for your reception. The many alluded to above are not of our friends, and it being my permanent opinion that we should penetrate through the present cloud, I send this for your better and cooler judgment. "The S was beginning a long account of the state of America, &c. &c. But in the midst of this hurlothumbo they were called both in, staid a long time in the closet, and I left them therc. . . . My Lord, the affection I bear to your Grace's sentiments, honour, and abilities (and you know I can speak on this occasion only from truth), has induced me to suggest every material circumstance relative to your Grace's conduct in this nice and important crisis, and if my friendship outruns my judgment, I am confident that I shall not only receive your pardon, but thanks for my warmth in endeavouring to express myself,- My dear Lord, "Your Grace's," &c. Lord Northington was induced to delay his resignation, and to retreat into the country,-whence he wrote a letter to * Word illegible. |