The History of England, from the Accession of James II Volume III Part 36

[Footnote 543: Commons' Journals, Oct. 26. 1689; Wood's Athenae Oxonienses; Dod's Church History, VIII. ii. 3.]

[Footnote 544: Commons' Journals, October 28. 5689. The proceedings will be found in the collection of State Trials.]

[Footnote 545: Lords' Journals, Nov. 2. and 6. 1689.]

[Footnote 546: Lords' Journals, Dec. 20. 1689; Life of Dudley North.]

[Footnote 547: The report is in the Lords' Journals, Dec. 20. 1689.

Hampden's examination was on the 18th of November.]

[Footnote 548: This, I think, is clear from a letter of Lady Montague to Lady Russell, dated Dec. 23. 1689, three days after the Committee of Murder had reported.]

[Footnote 549: Commons' Journals, Dec. 14. 1689; Grey's Debates; Boyer's Life of William.]

[Footnote 550: Commons' Journals, Dec. 21.; Grey's Debates; Oldmixon.]

[Footnote 551: Commons' Journals, Jan. 2. 1689/90]

[Footnote 552: Thus, I think, must be understood some remarkable words in a letter written by William to Portland, on the day after Sacheverell's bold and unexpected move. William calculates the amount of the supplies, and then says: "S'ils n'y mettent des conditions que vous savez, c'est une bonne affaire: mais les Wigges sont si glorieux d'avoir vaincu qu'ils entreprendront tout."]

[Footnote 553: "The authority of the chair, the awe and reverence to order, and the due method of debates being irrecoverably lost by the disorder and tumultuousness of the House."--Sir J. Trevor to the King, Appendix to Dalrymple's Memoirs, Part ii. Book 4.]

[Footnote 554: Commons' Journals, Jan. 10. 1689/90 I have done my best to frame an account of this contest out of very defective materials.

Burnet's narrative contains more blunders than lines. He evidently trusted to his memory, and was completely deceived by it. My chief authorities are the Journals; Grey's Debates; William's Letters to Portland; the Despatches of Van Citters; a Letter concerning the Disabling Clauses, lately offered to the House of Commons, for regulating Corporations, 1690; The True Friends to Corporations vindicated, in an answer to a letter concerning the Disabling Clauses, 1690; and Some Queries concerning the Election of Members for the ensuing Parliament, 1690. To this last pamphlet is appended a list of those who voted for the Sacheverell Clause. See also Clarendon's Diary, Jan. 10. 1689/90, and the Third Part of the Caveat against the Whigs, 1712. William's Letter of the 10th of January ends thus. The news of the first division only had reached Kensington. "Il est a present onze eures de nuit, et dix eures la Chambre Ba.s.se estoit encore ensemble. Ainsi je ne vous puis escrire par cette ordinaire l'issue de l'affaire. Les previos questions les Tories l'ont emporte de cinq vois. Ainsi vous pouvez voir que la chose est bien disputee. J'ay si grand somiel, et mon toux m'incomode que je ne vous en saurez dire davantage. Josques a mourir a vous."

On the same night Van Citters wrote to the States General. The debate he said, had been very sharp. The design of the Whigs, whom he calls the Presbyterians, had been nothing less than to exclude their opponents from all offices, and to obtain for themselves the exclusive possession of power.]

[Footnote 555: Commons' Journals, Jan. 11 1689/90.]

[Footnote 556: Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, Jan. 16. 1690; Van Citters to the States General, Jan. 21/31]

[Footnote 557: Commons' Journals, Jan. 16. 1689/90]

[Footnote 558: Roger North's Life of Guildford.]

[Footnote 559: See the account of the proceedings in the collection of State Trials.]

[Footnote 560: Commons' Journals, Jan. 20. 1689/90; Grey's Debates, Jan.

18. and 20.]

[Footnote 561: Commons' Journals, Jan. 21. 1689/90 On the same day William wrote thus from Kensington to Portland: "C'est aujourd'hui le grand jour l'eguard du Bill of Indemnite. Selon tout ce que is puis aprendre, il y aura beaucoup de chaleur, et rien determiner; et de la maniere que la chose est entourre, il n'y a point d'aparence que cette affaire viene a aucune conclusion. Et ainsi il se pouroit que la cession fust fort courts; n'ayant plus dargent a esperer; et les esprits s'aigrissent ton contre l'autre de plus en plus." Three days later Van Citters informed the States General that the excitement about the Bill of Indemnity was extreme.]

[Footnote 562: Burnet, ii. 39.; MS. Memoir written by the first Lord Lonsdale in the Mackintosh Papers.]

[Footnote 563: Burnet, ii. 40.]

[Footnote 564: Narcissus Luttrell's Diary, January and February.]

[Footnote 565: William to Portland, Jan. 10/20 1690. "Les Wiges ont peur de me perdre trop tost, avant qu'ils n'ayent fait avec moy ce qu'ils veulent: car, pour leur amitie, vous savez ce qu'il y a a compter ladessus en ce pays icy." Jan. 14/24 "Me voila le plus embara.s.se du monde, ne sachant quel parti prendre, estant toujours persuade que, sans que j'aille en Irlande, l'on n'y faira rien qui vaille. Pour avoir du conseil en cette affaire, je n'en ay point a attendre, personne n'ausant dire ses sentimens. Et l'on commence deja a dire ouvertement que ce sont des traitres qui m'ont conseille de preudre cette resolution." Jan.

21/31 "Je nay encore rien dit,"--he means to the Parliament,--"de mon voyage pour l'Irlande. Et je ne suis point encore determine si j'en parlerez: mais je crains que non.o.bstant j'aurez une adresse pour n'y point aller ce qui m'embara.s.sera beaucoup, puis que c'est une necssite absolue que j'y aille."]

[Footnote 566: William to Portland, Jan 28/Feb 7 1690; Van Citters to the States General, same date; Evelyn's Diary; Lords' Journals, Jan. 27.

I will quote William's own words. "Vous voirez mon harangue imprimee: ainsi je ne vous en direz rien. Et pour les raisone qui m'y ont oblige, je les reserverez a vous les dire jusques a vostre retour. Il semble que les Toris en sont bien aise, male point les Wiggs. Ils estoient tous fort surpris quand je leur parlois, n'ayant communique mon dessin qu'a une seule personne. Je vie des visages long comme un aune, change de couleur vingt fois pendant que je parlois. Tous ces particularites jusques a vostre heureux retour."]

[Footnote 567: Evelyn's Diary; Clarendon's Diary, Feb. 9. 1690; Van Citters to the States General, Jan 31/Feb 10.; Lonsdale MS. quoted by Dalrymple.]

[Footnote 568: Narcissus Luttrell's Diary]

[Footnote 569: Clarendon's Diary, Feb. 11. 1690.]

[Footnote 570: Van Citters to the States General, February 14/24. 1690; Evelyn's Diary.]

[Footnote 571: William to Portland, Feb 28/March 10 29. 1690; Van Citters to the States General, March 4/14; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary.]

[Footnote 572: Van Citters, March 11/21 1689/90; Narcissus Luttrell's Diary.]

[Footnote 573: Van Citters to the States General, March 11/21 1690.]

[Footnote 574: The votes were for Sawyer 165, for Finch 141, for Bennet, whom I suppose to have been a Whig, 87. At the University every voter delivers his vote in writing. One of the votes given on this occasion is in the following words, "Henricus Jenkes, ex amore just.i.tiae, eligit virum consultissimum Robertum Sawyer."]

[Footnote 575: Van Citters to the States General, March 18/28 1690.]

[Footnote 576: It is amusing to see how absurdly foreign pamphleteers, ignorant of the real state of things in England, exaggerated the importance of John Hampden, whose name they could not spell. In a French Dialogue between William and the Ghost of Monmouth, William says, "Entre ces membres de la Chambre Ba.s.se etoit un certain homme hardy, opiniatre, et zele a l'exces pour sa creance; on l'appelle Embden, egalement dangereux par son esprit et par son credit.... je ne trouvay point de chemin plus court pour me delivrer de cette traverse que de ca.s.ser le parlement, en convoquer un autre, et empescher que cet homme, qui me faisoit tant d'ombrages, ne fust nomme pour un des deputez au nouvel parlement." "Ainsi," says the Ghost, "cette ca.s.sation de parlement qui a fait tant de bruit, et a produit tant de raisonnemens et de speculations, n'estoit que pour exclure Embden. Mais s'il estoit si adroit et si zele, comment as-tu pu trouver le moyen de le faire exclure du nombre des deputez?" To this very sensible question the King answers, "Il m'a fallu faire d'etranges manoeuvres pour en venir a bout."--L'Ombre de Monmouth, 1690.]

[Footnote 577: "A present tout dependra d'un bon succes en Irlande; et a quoy il faut que je m'aplique entierement pour regler le mieux que je puis toutte chose.... je vous a.s.seure que je n'ay pas peu sur les bras, estant aussi mal a.s.siste que je suis."-William to Portland, Jan 28/Feb 7 1690.]

[Footnote 578: Van Citters, Feb. 14/24 1689/90; Memoir of the Earl of Chesterfield by himself; Halifax to Chesterfield, Feb. 6.; Chesterfield to Halifax, Feb 8. The editor of the letters of the second Earl of Chesterfield, not allowing for the change of style, has misplaced this correspondence by a year.]

[Footnote 579: Van Citters to the States General, Feb. 11/21 1690.]

[Footnote 580: A strange peculiarity of his const.i.tution is mentioned in an account of him which was published a few months after his death.

See the volume ent.i.tled "Lives and Characters of the most Ill.u.s.trious Persons, British and Foreign, who died in the year 1712."]

[Footnote 581: Monmouth's pension and the good understanding between him and the Court are mentioned in a letter from a Jacobite agent in England, which is in the Archives of the French War Office. The date is April 8/18 1690.]

[Footnote 582: The grants of land obtained by Delamere are mentioned by Narcissus Luttrell. It appears from the Treasury Letter Book of 1690 that Delamere continued to dim the government for money after his retirement. As to his general character it would not be safe to trust the representations of satirists. But his own writings, and the admissions of the divine who preached his funeral sermon, show that his temper was not the most gentle. Clarendon remarks (Dec. 17. 1688) that a little thing sufficed to put Lord Delamere into a pa.s.sion. In the poem ent.i.tled the King of Hearts, Delamere is described as--

"A restless malecontent even when preferred."

His countenance furnished a subject for satire:

"His boding looks a mind distracted show; And envy sits engraved upon his brow."]

[Footnote 583: My notion of Lowther's character has been chiefly formed from two papers written by himself, one of which has been printed, though I believe not published. A copy of the other is among the Mackintosh MSS. Something I have taken from contemporary satires.

That Lowther was too ready to expose his life in private encounters is sufficiently proved by the fact that, when he was First Lord of the Treasury, he accepted a challenge from a custom house officer whom he had dismissed. There was a duel; and Lowther was severely wounded. This event is mentioned in Luttrell's Diary, April 1690.]

[Footnote 584: Burnet, ii. 76]

[Footnote 585: Roger North's Life of Guildford.]