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CRITICAL ENQUIRY 
 
 INTO TRS 
 
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 The Public are respectfully informed, 
 that this is the work announced for pub- 
 LICATION BY Mr. Murray, in November last. 
 
 F^iOCiRdA 
 
DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. 
 
 Portrait to face Title-Page. 
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 Table to face Page 256. 
 
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PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 The Letters of Junius are to be found in al- 
 most every gentleman's library in the kingdom. 
 Their intrinsic ability, their fine flow of lan- 
 guage, their disclosure of public events, the 
 boldness with which they were written and 
 ushered into the world ; all combine to stamp 
 upon them that eulogium which Junius himself, 
 without vanity, has inserted in his Dedication 
 to the English Nation : — 
 
 " When Kings and Ministers are forgotten, 
 when the force and direction of personal satire is 
 no longer understood, and when measures are 
 only felt in their remotest consequences, this 
 book will, 1 believe, be found to contain prin- 
 ciples worthy to be transmitted to posterity.** 
 
 No other writings have afforded so fine a scope 
 for literary discussion, or have been the theme of 
 so much animadversion. The secrecy preserved 
 by the Autiior has hitherto eluded all research, 
 and greater mystery is attached to his writings 
 than to the **F.IKnN BAIIAFKH" written in the 
 
 4 
 
11 PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 time of Charles the First. Like the sacred 
 mysteries of Eleusis, the Great Unknown has 
 been enveloped in darkness, which Junius de- 
 clared to Mr. Wilkes was one source of the sub- 
 lime. Remove the veil from the former, you 
 discover that the mind has been credulously im- 
 posed upon ; but the veil removed from Junius 
 will never lessen the intrinsic merit of his work. 
 It is a solid fabric of human intellect which will 
 for ever stand the test of criticism ; a fabric, the 
 longer we gaze upon the greater is our admira- 
 tion. 
 
 Numerous have been the claimants on behalf 
 of different individuals for this literary trophy, 
 none of whom down to the present hour have so 
 borne the test of criticism as to merit the unfad- 
 ing laurel. The present Enquiry is submitted to 
 the public, with full assurance that the Noble- 
 man in question is entitled to that honour. Sel- 
 dom, if ever, do the living reap the reward of 
 their labours : when death has fixed his seal to 
 their writings it remains with posterity to bestow 
 the eulogium. Hence a costly monument is the 
 common tribute that is paid to departed worth 
 and genius. 
 
 This testimonial of a nation's gratitude is 
 too often bestowed on names which would 
 long ago have been forgotten, were we not oc- 
 casionally reminded of them by a splendid ap- 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. Ill 
 
 peal to the understanding ; while the remains of 
 Algernon Sydney and Lord Viscount Sackville 
 lie to this hour in obscurity, with not a stone to 
 mark the place of sanctuary. But the words, 
 actions, and writings of such men as these will 
 find a lasting monument in every cultivated mind, 
 when the perishable tablet of marble is mingled 
 with the dust. It would far exceed the limits of 
 my pen, and would swell the present volume to 
 an unnecessary size, were I to enter into the 
 claims of those who have been brought forward 
 as candidates for the authorship of the Letters in 
 question ; they have all been ably refuted by 
 men of far keener observation than myself. 
 
 I have carefully perused the whole of the vo- 
 luminous controversy that has taken place at 
 different periods on this interesting subject, 
 wherein the claims of Thomas Hollis, William 
 Henry Cavendish Bentick, John Roberts, J. Pi 
 de Lolme, John Hornc Tooke, Charles Lloyd, 
 Dr. Wilmot, Lord Shelburne, Samuel Dyer, 
 Colonel Barre, Bishop ButLcr, Edmund Burke^ 
 Dr. (filbert Stuart, Hugh Macauley Boyd, 
 Counsellor Dunning, William Greatreakes, Rich- 
 ard Glover, W. G. Hamilton, Rev. P. Rosen- 
 hagcn, Sir William Jones, General Lee, John 
 Wilkes, Edward Gibbon, and Sir PhiHp Francis 
 have been brought forward and critically cxa- 
 mineil. On behalf of some of these individuak 
 
 a ^ 
 
IV PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 strong presumptive evidence has been adduced, 
 but which evidence has ultimately failed in many 
 of the most material points. I shall therefore 
 pass them over in silence, except the name of 
 Sir Philip Francis, which I shall have occasion 
 to notice further in the first Chapter. 
 
 There are also two other noble characters who 
 have at times excited suspicion, but whose names 
 are not inserted in the foregoing catalogue. I 
 allude to the Earl of Chesterfield and Horace 
 Walpole, Earl of Orford. With regard to the 
 former we need only observe, that though his 
 abilities had been unquestionably equal to the 
 undertaking, yet at the advanced age of 74, and 
 uninfluenced by any motive of personal animo- 
 sity for engaging in such a task, we may rest per- 
 fectly satisfied that that suspicion was groundless. 
 His Lordship's health was decHning when Junius 
 was in full possession of his bodily and mental fa- 
 culties, and he expired in the 80th year of his 
 age, a short time before Mr. Woodfall and Junius 
 concluded their correspondence. 
 
 Lord Orford s claims are more worthy of at- 
 tention. He was a man of verv acute observa- 
 tion, was in the meridian of life, and was person- 
 ally known to most of the leading characters 
 ,of that day. On these accounts some have ven- 
 tured to infer that he might be the author ; but 
 iheir style of writing is so dissimilar, their politi- 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. V 
 
 cal creeds so entirely at variance in many in- 
 stances, and the circle of his friends so opposite 
 to that of Junius, that on an attentive perusal of 
 his " Memoirs and Correspondence", sufficient 
 evidence appears to set the question at rest. 
 These Memoirs extend to the close of the reign 
 of George the Second, after which period he 
 led a retired life at his favourite villa, Straw- 
 berry Hill, varying it, however, with occasional 
 excursions to neighbouring counties and the 
 Continent. In 1758, being then in the 452d year 
 of his age, he says — ** Arts, books, painting, ar- 
 chitecture, antiquities, and those amiable em- 
 ployments of a tranquil life, to which in the 
 warmest of his political Iiours he had been fondly 
 addicted, assumed an entire empire over him. 
 The circumstances too of the times contributed 
 to make him withdraw from the scene of busi- 
 ness." This resolution he strictly adhered to, 
 for we find that he neither came forward in any 
 public capacity, or united in any administration 
 afterwards. Had he even attempted to alter this 
 resolution, and had he been disappointed, a dif- 
 ferent class of men would certainly have fallen 
 under his censure ; for he lived on intinlatc 
 terms with, and invariably speaks well of the 
 Duke of Bedford, Lord Trentham, theGraftons, 
 Lord Hertford, and others, against whom the 
 pen of Junius is so freely exercised. On the 
 
VI PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 contrary, Sir Jeffery Amherst, George Grenville, 
 and others, who are warmly applauded by Junius, 
 are mentioned by his Lordship in terms of op- 
 probrium and contempt. On referring to his 
 correspondence with George Montague, Esq. 
 General Conway, the Rev. Dr. Cole, &c. we find 
 that during the period when Junius was so 
 closely occupied in writing against the Govern- 
 ment, Lord Orford's engagements were of a very 
 different nature. His society was much sought 
 after, for he possessed an infinite fund of anec- 
 dote, and was a great favourite with some old 
 ladies residing at Richmond and its vicinity. 
 He informs his correspondents of his various 
 movements, so that we can with facility collect 
 how and where he passed his time. He made 
 several excursions to France, and the way in 
 which he describes his adventures is highly 
 amusing. Sept. 11, I765, he wTites to his friend 
 General Conway from Amiens. He was then 
 proceeding to Paris, on a visit to his friend Lord 
 Hertford, who is treated by Junius with great 
 severity. Lord Orford remained in France 
 twelve months. Oct. % I766, he informs Gene- 
 ral Conway that he is just returned. A fort- 
 night afterwards we find him at Bath. March 
 12, 1768, he writes to George Montague, Esq., 
 and in this letter takes an opportunity of ap- 
 plauding Lord Chatham and Charles Towns- 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. Vll 
 
 hend ; but of George Grenville he says, " Will 
 George Grenville cease to be the most tiresome 
 of beings ? Will he not be constantly whining 
 and droning, and interrupting ?" Very different 
 was the language of Junius, who just before 
 had been satirizing the two former, and as 
 warmly supporting the latter. Dec. 1, I768, 
 Lord Orford says, "Oh, how delightful and 
 comfortable to be sitting quietly here and scrib- 
 bling to you, perfectly indifferent about both 
 Houses !" From June 20 to July 15, I769, we 
 find him on a tour in Cambridgeshire. August 
 18, 1769, he writes from Calais, " I think it 
 conscientiously right to inform you that I am 
 not in Arlington-street, nor at Strawberry Hill, 
 nor even in Middlesex ; nay, not in England. 
 I am — I am — guess where ? Not in Corsica, nor 
 at Spa. Stay — I am not at Paris yet, but I hope 
 to be there in two days. In short, I am at Ca- 
 lais, having landed about two hours ago, afler 
 a tedious passage of nine hours." He remained 
 in Paris about a month, and reached home Oct. 
 13, 1769, having been absent nearly two months. 
 During this period the controversy between Sir 
 W. Draper and Junius took place. June 1 1 , 
 1770, he tells his friend not to expect long let- 
 ters from him, being very busily engaged in pre- 
 paring his last volume of Painters. From July 
 1 to July 7, 1770, he was on a visit in Bucking- 
 
Vlll PEEFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 hamshire. Nov. ^0, 1770, he writes, " My last 
 volume of Painters begins to print this week." 
 From July 30, 1771, to Sept. 7, 1771, he was 
 again in Paris. During this period the contro- 
 versy between Junius and the Rev. Mr. Home 
 took place. 
 
 By this statement we clearly prove that the 
 suspicions entertained that Lord Orford was 
 Junius are totally unfounded. He was one of 
 the last men who would be likely to undertake 
 so arduous a task, having various other literary 
 subjects constantly engaging his attention. For 
 the satisfaction of those who lay any stress upon 
 handwriting we may also add, that that of Lord 
 Orford and Junius were totally dissimilar. 
 
 During my research I have observed hints 
 suggested in favour of the present claimant, with 
 remarks of his having been strongly suspected ; 
 but in no one instance have I ever met with an 
 investigation of those claims, or an attempt to 
 disprove those suspicions, further than from ge- 
 neral surmise. These have invariably died away, 
 so that the present Enquiry, as it is the only one 
 which has ever been systematically entered into, 
 will afford full scope for fair criticism and inves- 
 tigation. 
 
 The reader who may still be biassed in favour 
 of any of the foregoing names, can compare 
 such pretensions with the result of my Enquiry, 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. IX 
 
 on an attentive perusal of the Letters : from 
 which I deduce this opinion ; 
 
 That no one has any claim to the authorship 
 of the Letters of Junius, of whom the following 
 testimonials cannot be produced : 
 
 I. That he was an Englishman. 
 
 IL That he was a man of rank, and of in- 
 dependent fortune. 
 
 IIL That he was a man of highly cultivated 
 talents, and of superior education ; that he had 
 successfully studied the language, the law, the 
 constitution, and the history of his native coun- 
 try ; but that he was neither a lawyer nor a cler- 
 gyman. 
 
 IV. That he either was, at the time of writing 
 the Letters, or had previously been in the army, 
 is evident from his practical Jcncmledge of militarif 
 affairs, 
 
 V. That he moved in the immediate circle of 
 the Court. 
 
 VI. That he was a member of the establislied 
 church. 
 
 VII. That he was a member of the House of 
 Commons. 
 
 VI IL That from the early information Junius 
 obtained on Government affairs, it is evident he 
 was connected with some persons in administra- 
 tion. 
 
% PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 IX. That he was a firm friend to Sir Jeffery 
 [afterwards Lord] Amherst. 
 
 X. That he was a friend to Colonel Cunning- 
 hame. 
 
 XL That he was an admirer of Mr. Grenville. 
 
 XII. That he was a strong advocate for the 
 Stamp Act in America. 
 
 XIII. That he was in favour of repealing the 
 duty on tea in America. 
 
 XIV. That he was an advocate for triennial 
 parliaments. 
 
 XV. 1'hat he considered the impeachment of 
 Lord Mansfield as indispensable. 
 
 XVI. That from the manner in which he up- 
 holds rotten boroughs, it is highly probable they 
 either constituted part of his property, or that 
 he was in some way connected with them. 
 
 XVII. That he considered a strict regard 
 should be paid to the public expenditure, that 
 the national debt might not be increased. 
 
 XVIII. That he was against disbanding the 
 army, although a firm friend to the marching 
 regiments ; he was also in favour of impressing 
 seamen. 
 
 XIX. That he must have had an antipathy to 
 Sir Fletcher Norton, the Speaker of the House 
 of Commons, from the contempt with which he 
 speaks of him. 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. Itl 
 
 XX. That he was necessarily a friend to his 
 printer, Mr. Woodfall. 
 
 XXI. That he must have resided almost wholly 
 in London, from his correspondence with Mr. 
 Woodfall, to whom he gives notice when he oc- 
 casionally goes into the country. One of his 
 letters being dated Pall Mall, we may fairly pre- 
 sume his town house was in that street. 
 
 XXII. That from his remembrance of the 
 Walpolean battles, his seeing the Jesuitical books 
 burnt in Paris, and his avowal of a long experi- 
 ence of the world, as well as from other circum- 
 stances mentioned in his correspondence with 
 Mr. Wilkes, he could not be less than fifty years 
 of age at the time of writing these Letters. 
 
 XXIII. That from the hints given to his print- 
 er, Mr. Woodfall, we may infer arrangements 
 had been made for his coming into office ; which 
 though not accepted by him at the time, were 
 sufficiently important to induce him to write no 
 more. 
 
 XXIV. Finally, that so powerful an attack 
 on the private character of persons of such high 
 rank, being inconsistent with the pen of political 
 writers, in general, who condemn measures, and 
 not character ; we may reasonably conclude, 
 that they proceeded from the pen of one who 
 had received a severe wound from some of those 
 individuals who formed part of the existing ad- 
 ministration. 
 
Xll PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 From these articles we may, at one view, col- 
 lect the leading principles of Junius, which Home 
 Tooke candidly informed him would suit no form 
 of government ; indeed many of them appear 
 highly inconsistent with so popular a writer ;— 
 nevertheless, all which testimonials I have proved 
 are united in the person of Lord Viscount Sack- 
 ville, with many other documents connected 
 with the life of that extraordinary man, as ex- 
 planatory of the causes which occupied his pen 
 for upwards of four years in one continued strain 
 of personal satire and invective against the par- 
 ties who censured his conduct at Minden, in 
 Germany, and who were accessory to his second 
 dismissal in I766. His interview also with Lord 
 Mansfield, a few days previous to his death, is 
 another extraordinary circumstance, which can- 
 not be accounted for on any other supposition 
 than the sense he entertained of the injury his 
 pen had inflicted on that nobleman, and his un- 
 willingness to leave the world without making 
 him some acknowledgment. 
 
 I therefore submit my Enquiry to the public, 
 with confidence that this grand literary deside- 
 ratum is now fully established ; the mystery un- 
 ravelled ; and that the veil which has so long 
 obscured the person of this illustrious writer, is 
 removed for ever. 
 
 During my investigation, a book was put into 
 my hands, written with sound judgment and 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. Xlll 
 
 great ability, by Charles Butler, Esq. of Lincoln's 
 Inn, which contains an interesting Enquiry as to 
 the Author of Junius, undertaken in unison 
 with Mr. Wilkes. The result of their labours 
 amounted to nothing conclusive. The author 
 afterwards touches upon the claims of Mr. Burke, 
 Mr. Glover, Sir P. Francis, and Lord George 
 Sackville, of whom he says : — 
 
 " The reminiscent well remembers that his 
 Lordship was the person to whom the Letters 
 were first attributed, and that his Lordship had 
 the reputation of possessing Hterary talents and 
 habits. It is known that Sir WiUiam Draper at 
 first divided his suspicions of the authorship of 
 Junius between Burke and Lord George, and 
 that, on Burke's unequivocal denial of it, he 
 transferred them wholly to his Lordship. 
 
 ** There certainly was an event in his Lord- 
 ship's life which would sour him against man- 
 kind, and fill his soul with bitter hatred against 
 the King in whose reign it happened, and his im- 
 mediate successor on the throne ; against Lord 
 Mansfield, their secret and confidential adviser 
 in all state prosecutions ; and against the Duke 
 of Grafton, the brother of Lord Southampton, a 
 strong witness against Lord George in the court- 
 martial which was held upon him. Something 
 or other might easily have occurred which would 
 have extended this hatred to the Duke of Bed- 
 ford. 
 
XIV PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 " The event to which we have referred would 
 render concealment necessary ; and after Lord 
 George had taken an office in Lord North's ad- 
 ministration, and accepted a peerage from the 
 King, it must, if he had any feelings of honour, 
 have made him desire that his authorship of the 
 Letters of Junius, if he were the author of them, 
 should be buried in eternal oblivion. 
 
 " To all arguments which may be suggested 
 in favour of Lord George, the author of the in- 
 genious Essay prefixed to Woodfall's edition of 
 the Letters of Junius, objects an expression in a 
 political squib, attributed to Junius, in which he 
 alludes to the supposed tergiversation of Lord 
 George at the battle of Minden. This may be 
 thought a strong, but it evidently is not a de- 
 cisive argument, particularly if we suppose, what 
 certainly is not impossible, that Lord George 
 had, upon this subject, all the pride of conscious 
 innocence. It must also be observed, that it is 
 by coiyecture only, that the jeu d*esprit, in which 
 this expression is found, is imputed to Junius." 
 
 The latter part of the above sentence will be 
 found in unison with my own opinion, expressed 
 hereafter, where 1 have given evident demonstra- 
 tion that the jeu d'esprit alluded to did not pro- 
 ceed from the pen of Junius. I do not offer this 
 extract, containing Mr. Butler's private opinion, 
 as any demonstration in support of his Lordship's 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. XV 
 
 claims, althougli it is in itself much to the point. 
 No proofs are adduced by him. Private opinion, 
 on a subject of so much intricacy, avails but 
 little, unless substantiated by corroborating cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Home Tooke says, in his answer to Junius, 
 " You have disappointed me. When I told you 
 that surmise^ in however elegant language, ought 
 not to pass for ^oof, I evidently hinted at the 
 reply which I expected.'* And to this principle 
 it has been my endeavour to adhere, that the 
 same language might not be advanced against 
 the contents of this volume. 
 
 I now take this opportunity of offering my 
 acknowledgment of thanks to my friend Wil- 
 liam Little, Esq. of Richmond, for his liberality 
 in granting me the loan of many valuable books 
 connected with the subject, and for his readiness 
 in obtaining information for me, necessary to 
 the furtherance of the present undertaking; 
 also for granting me a fac-simile of his Lordship's 
 hand-writing when Secretary of State, which is 
 affixed to an official document preserved among 
 his valuable collection of Autographs. 
 
 To Mr. G. Woodfall I have also to present 
 my thanks for his politeness in answering my 
 enquiries on the subject ; and for the readiness 
 he evinced to shew me the original letters in his 
 possession. Several were sent by the |)€nny- 
 
XVI PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 post, and others were dropped into the letter-box 
 in the window of the office. They were folded 
 small and enclosed in an envelope. This was the 
 invariable custom of Lord Viscount Sackville. 
 The one that I noticed most particularly, was that 
 sealed with a coat of arms, of which a fac-simile 
 is already given by Mr. Woodfall, but no farther 
 trace of such arms could be made out than what 
 is already engraved. I asked him, candidly 
 to inform me, whether he believed his father 
 was acquainted with the name of his correspond- 
 ent : to which he replied, " that to a certainty, 
 he was not, although his father, at times, suspect- 
 ed Lord George Sackville." 
 
 He admitted, after all, that it was only matter 
 of surmise, as both himself and his father had no 
 farther means of ascertaining who the writer was 
 than any other private individuals He assured me 
 that he was ready and willing at all times to give 
 any information that lay in his power, it being a 
 curious question which he should feel much 
 pleasure in seeing correctly ascertained. There 
 was nothing disguised in his remarks, nor did he 
 evince any hesitation to shew me the documents 
 in his possession : he behaved in the most gen- 
 tlemanly manner, and has my acknowledgments 
 for his readiness to assist me. 
 
 The signature of the noble Lord, when Secre- 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. XVU 
 
 tary of State (at which period he was Lord 
 George Germain), I did not consider a sufficient 
 specimen of his autography to affix to the pub- 
 lication, although it corresponds exactly with 
 the description of Junius's hand-writing given 
 by Charles Butler, Esq. of Lincoln's Inn : — 
 
 " It is like that which well educated ladies 
 wrote about the beginning of the century : a 
 large open hand, regular, approaching to the 
 Italian." 
 
 I may just remark that this description varies 
 considerably from the specimens given by Mr. 
 Woodfall, some of which are particularly small. 
 Tliis peculiarity of difference of size is also strik- 
 ingly observable in Lord Sackville's autography. 
 I have lately seen some of his letters written in 
 a small hand, others full twice the size. 
 
 Understanding that the family still possessed 
 documents of great interest, and considering the 
 political ferment of the day too long subsided to 
 awaken any unpleasant feelings, I resolved to 
 write candidly to the Duke of Dorset on the 
 subject. 
 
 I stated to his Grace, that I was engaged iu 
 a literary enquiry, with which his illustrious fa- 
 ther was intimately connected, and should feel 
 particularly obliged by his permitting me to see 
 the letters which were written by Lord George 
 from CuUoden and Minden ; lioping that tlie 
 
 b 
 
XVIU PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 liberality which so conspicuously characterizes 
 the nobility of the present day, in elucidation of 
 any literary pursuit, would plead as an excuse 
 for my freedom in thus addressing him. It is 
 from such authentic sources alone, that we have 
 an opportunity of gaining a correct account of 
 interesting events, upon which history is too 
 often silent, or of which it merely records the 
 dates and a few leading facts. The world at 
 large is, in general, guided by the statements 
 of biographers or historians ; and we know that 
 particular circumstances are often misrepresent- 
 ed, which evidence of this nature would satis- 
 factorily explain. This was the object I had in 
 view. 
 
 I subsequently waited on his Grace by ap- 
 pointment. He received me in the most polite 
 manner, but told me it was out of his power to 
 render me assistance, not having any of his fa- 
 ther's letters in his possession. Upon the whole 
 he considered, that as the affair in question was 
 now at rest, it would be as well not to revive it, 
 lest animadversions should be made that would 
 tend to recall past events. His Grace more 
 than once observed during the interview, that 
 his father was an injured man ; but he believed 
 there never existed one who naturally possessed 
 a better or more susceptible heart. I told him 
 that this was my firm belief, and that the En- 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. XIX 
 
 quiry in which I was engaged, would not, in the 
 sHghtest degree, tend to alter that opinion. 
 
 It is a fair field for literary investigation, 
 which has been entered by many other compe- 
 titors, so that I cannot see any necessity for 
 withholding from the public the result of my la- 
 bours, which has been accomplished with so 
 great a share of time, expense, and trouble ; ne- 
 vertheless, I should be extremely sorry to 
 wound the feelings of any one, could I for a mo- 
 ment suppose, that the present disclosure would 
 have that effect : on the contrary, I consider 
 that it will operate in every way the reverse j 
 and that the name of Lord Viscount Sackville, 
 which at present lies buried in comparative ob- 
 scurity, will be handed down to posterity with 
 as much dignity and splendour as other branches 
 of his noble family, who stand pre-eminent in 
 the literary world, for their talents, learning, 
 and sound judgment. 
 
 I aflerwards succeeded in obtaining a letter 
 written by Lord George to the Secretary at War, 
 Lord Barrington, on his dismissal from his Ma- 
 jesty's service. It was written jyj^etiouslj/ to his 
 trial, and I have inserted it in the summary of 
 his life, to shew his connexion with Lord Bar- 
 rington, who waited on him on the occasion of 
 his delivering up his commissions. Other mo- 
 tives of personal dislike occurred aflerAvards, 
 
 b2 
 
XX PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 which were aggravated by the result of his trial. 
 It also tends to shew that his disgust to the Go- 
 vernment was not without cause, as his dismissal 
 from all his emoluments took place before he 
 had an opportunity of clearing his character from 
 the false imputations which had been so mali- 
 ciously raised against it. This original letter is 
 deposited in the War Office. I am indebted for 
 a copy of it to the politeness of Lord Palmer- 
 ston, and to Mr. Coleman, who interested him- 
 self on my behalf. 
 
 A few days after the date of this letter. Lord 
 George wrote to his brother-in-law, Lord Vis- 
 count Bateman, complaining of so wanton an 
 exercise of the prerogative, in dismissing him 
 from the army before trial. He writes with all 
 the feelings of an injured man, conscious of his 
 own innocence ; and concludes by hoping that 
 so dangerous a precedent "may not excite 
 alarm." The original letter (of which a true 
 copy is inserted in the summary of his Lord- 
 ship's life) is in the possession of W. Little, Esq. 
 Other familiar letters, previous to this unfortu- 
 nate affair, will also be read with interest. They 
 were written to his intimate friend Major Younge, 
 during the Rebellion in Scotland, and throw some 
 light on his antipathy to that nation. In one of 
 them, dated from Perth, he even goes so far as to 
 avow that nothing but another rebellion would 
 
PREFATORY REMARKS. Xrf 
 
 ever tempt him to take up his quarters in Scot- 
 land again ; so that in after years, when faction 
 prevailed, and many leading families of that 
 country were avowedly his enemies, we cease to 
 wonder that this antipathy was increased to ex- 
 treme aversion and disgust. The fac-simile of 
 his Lordship's handwriting annexed to this vo- 
 lume, is also taken from a letter to Major Younge. 
 The reader will perceive, on a comparison with 
 Mr. Woodfall's specimens, that there is a strik- 
 ing resemblance, the same pecuHarities existing 
 in each. It is proper, however, to observe, that 
 Junius lays great stress on the pains he took in 
 correcting and transcribing. In a private letter 
 to Mr. Woodfall, No. 9., he says, " You shall 
 have it some time to-morrow night : it cannot 
 be corrected and copied sooner." Again, No. 
 24., " The inclosed, though begun within these 
 few days, has been greatly laboured. It is very 
 correctly copied." 
 
 Several other instances might be adduced, but 
 these are sufficient to shew that a very close re- 
 semblance can hardly be expected between 
 them ; one being written in a famiUar, careless 
 manner, and the others, both with regard to style 
 and writing, greatly laboured. 
 
 Nevertheless, most of the words wliich I have 
 selected to compare with those of Junius bear 
 so close a resemblance, particularly where there 
 
kxii PREFATORY REMARKS. 
 
 is any peculiarity, that the reader will probably 
 be convinced they were written by one and the 
 same person. 
 
 Lastly, we may observe, that the handwriting 
 is but a secondary object. We are not so much 
 labouring to establish the autography as the au- 
 thorship of the Letters, which is, I presume, suf- 
 ficiently proved by the internal evidence, with- 
 out this additional testimony. 
 
 Wandsworth Common, 1825. , 
 
CRITICAL ENQUIRY 
 
 INTO THE 
 
 LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 
 
ENQUIRY, 
 
 ETC. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 It was an accidental circumstance which in- 
 duced me to enter into the present enquiry. 
 One evening in company, the conversation 
 turned on Voltaire's Siecle de Louis XIV. et 
 XV., more particularly on those parts of the 
 work, where that elegant historian so pathetically 
 describes the hardships, sufferings, and obstacles 
 of the Pretender. " Que les hommes prives," 
 he observes, " qui se plaignent de leurs petites 
 infortunes, jettent les yeux sur ce prince et ses 
 ancetres." — Comments were also made on the 
 war in America and Germany, during the reign 
 of George the Second. Finally, on Voltaire's 
 candid confession that "La bataille que les 
 Fran9ois perdirent aupres de Minden en 1759, 
 et les autres 6checs qu'ils essuyerent, les firent 
 retrograder." 
 
 The affair at Minden and its subsequent con- 
 sequences convinced me that Lord George Sack- 
 ville was the author of the Letters of Junius j 
 
 B 
 
2 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 as it is an axiom in philosophy that effects are 
 produced by antecedent causes. I noted down 
 all the particulars I could collect, connected 
 with this extraordinary event, and shall state 
 them as briefly as possible, as the foundation on 
 which our theory is established. 
 
 The Marquis of Granby, at the head of six 
 regiments of British infantry, assisted by only 
 two regiments of Hanoverian guards, undertook 
 to charge the enemy's centre, composed of sixty 
 squadrons of cavalry : and, to the honour of this 
 little corps, they drove the enemy from the field, 
 without any other assistance than what they re- 
 ceived from the artillery of their own country. 
 The whole of the allied army was under the 
 command of Prince Ferdinand; the British 
 forces under Lord George Sackville, whose in- 
 structions from his government were, to obey 
 the orders of the prince, as commander-in-chief. 
 
 Either from the confused statements of two 
 of Prince Ferdinand's aids-de-camp (the Hon. 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzroy, brother to the Duke 
 of Grafton, and Lieutenant-Colonel Edward 
 Ligonier), or from some misunderstanding be- 
 tween Lord George Sackville, the Marquis of 
 Granby, and Prince Ferdinand, previous to the 
 battle; the British cavalry, commanded by Lord 
 George, was not brought into action. There 
 were some expressions in the orders for rejoicing 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 3 
 
 after the victory, which were supposed to con- 
 vey a very severe censure on Lord George, for 
 disobedience of orders. Prince Ferdinand, in 
 an emphatical manner, desired that his orders, 
 for the future, might be more particularly 
 obeyed. He also observed, " I regret that the 
 Marquis of Granby had not the command of the 
 British cavalry. Had he commanded, I make 
 no doubt the success of the day had been much 
 more complete and brilliant." 
 
 This severe reflection, the high spirit of Lord 
 George, who had been twenty-two years in the 
 army, could not brook, and a violent quarrel 
 ensued between the parties. His contempt for 
 Prince Ferdinand, his jealousy of the Marquis of 
 Granby's fame, his detestation of the Graftons, 
 made so deep an impression upon him, that he 
 left the continent and returned home, where he 
 found his character already sullied, and himself 
 stamped with opprobrium as a coward and a 
 dishonour to his country. Conscious of his own 
 innocence, he wrote a short address, requesting 
 the public to suspend its judgement until he 
 had an opportunity of defending himself. 
 
 ** The various reports that have been propa- 
 gated to my disadvantage, and the many false- 
 hoods which have been asserted to ruin my cha- 
 racter, lay me under the necessity of ren^aining 
 not entirely silent ; though I am debarred at 
 
 / B « 
 
4 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 present from stating my case to the public, as I 
 should have done, had I not had assurances of 
 obtaining a court-martial for my trial, the only 
 legal and effectual method of convincing the 
 world how little foundation there has been for 
 the torrent of calumny and abuse which has 
 been so maliciously thrown out against me. 
 
 " I had rather, upon this occasion, submit my- 
 self to all the inconveniences that may arise 
 from the want of style, than borrow assistance 
 from the pen of others, as I can have no hopes 
 of establishing my character, but from the force 
 of truth. I shall, therefore, as plainly and as dis- 
 tinctly as possible, relate a few circumstances, 
 which will at least shew that no one could be 
 more desirous than I was to bring truth to light, 
 and subject my conduct to the strictest scrutiny. 
 
 " The instant I found, by the implied censure 
 given out in orders the 2d of August, that my 
 conduct had appeared in an unfavourable light to 
 Prince Ferdinand on the day of action, I endea- 
 voured to inform myself in what particular I 
 had either failed or neglected my duty. I 
 heard, in general, of disobedience of orders ; but 
 I could fix no certain period of time to my sup- 
 posed crime, till Colonel Fitzroy acquainted me 
 with what had passed between his Serene High- 
 ness and himself, in regard to the orders deli- 
 vered to me by Colonel Fitzroy that day. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. O 
 
 ** Whenever my trial comes, I shall endeavour 
 to clear up that point to the satisfaction of the 
 public : my own assertions may have little 
 weight, but the oaths of witnesses, whose vera- 
 city cannot be called in question, will, I trust, 
 prove my innocence beyond the possibility of a 
 doubt. 
 
 " Under these circumstances, I immediately 
 applied for his Majesty's permission to return to 
 England, that I might answer any accusation 
 that should be brought against me. For as 
 commander-in-chief of the British forces in 
 Germany, no person there could order a court- 
 martial for my trial, had there been any accu- 
 sation laid : the power of summoning courts- 
 martial, and approving their sentences, being 
 vested in me by my commission : and no British 
 officer or soldier could be tried by any other au- 
 thority. As soon as I arrived in London on 
 Friday evening, the 7th, I instantly wrote the 
 following letter to the Secretary of State : 
 
 * MY LORD, 
 
 * I HAVE the honour of acquainting your lord- 
 ship with my arrival in England, in pursuance 
 of his Majesty's permission sent to me, at my 
 request, by your lordship. 
 
 * I thought myself much injured abroad by 
 an implied censure upon my conduct : I (ind I 
 
D A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 am Still more unfortunate at home, by being 
 publicly represented as having neglected my 
 duty by disobeying the positive orders of his 
 Serene Highness Prince Ferdinand. As I am 
 conscious of neither neglect nor disobedience 
 of orders ; as I am certain I did my duty to the 
 best of my abilities ; and as I am persuaded 
 that the prince himself would have found that 
 he had no just cause of complaint against me, 
 had he condescended to have enquired into my 
 conduct, before he had expressed his disappro- 
 bation of it from the partial representation of 
 others : I therefore most humbly request that I 
 may at least have a public opportunity given me 
 of attempting to justify myself to his Majesty 
 and to my country, by a court-martial being ap- 
 pointed ; that, if I am guilty, I may suffer such 
 punishment as I may have deserved 5 and if in- 
 nocent, that I may stand acquitted in the opi- 
 nion of the world. But it is really too severe 
 to have been censured unheard, to have been 
 condemned before I was tried, and to be in- 
 formed neither of my crime nor of my ac- 
 cusers. 
 
 « I am, my Lord, 
 
 * &c. &c. &c. 
 * George Sackville.* 
 
 ' To Lord Holdernesse.' 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 7 
 
 ** I received an answer to this letter on Mon- 
 day the 10th, in which I was assured, that a 
 court-martial would be granted, as soon as the 
 officers capable of giving evidence could leave 
 their posts, but previously to the receipt of that 
 letter J I was dismissed from all my military em- 
 ployments. Notwithstanding which dismission, 
 I still hope and am informed that I may have 
 the advantage of a legal trial. 
 
 " In the mean time, the only indulgence I have 
 to ask is, that the public will suspend its judge- 
 ment till such facts can be produced, from which 
 alone tlie truth can appear. But if plans of a 
 battle are to be referred to, which can give no 
 just idea of it ; if dispositions of the cavalry 
 and the infantry are supposed which never ex- 
 isted ; if orders for attacks and pursuits are 
 quoted which never were delivered ; and if dis- 
 obedience to those imaginary orders are asserted 
 as a crime : what can an injured officer, under 
 such circumstances, have recourse to, but claim- 
 ing that justice which is due to every English- 
 man, of being heard before he is condemned ? 
 The sooner that happens, the happier 1 shall be; 
 as I am conscious my innocence must appear, 
 when real lacts are truly stated and fully proved. 
 •* George Sackville." 
 
 Previous to his leaving the contiiunt, he 
 
8 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 wrote a letter to Colonel Fitzroy, demanding an 
 explanation, why his name was omitted in the 
 orders for rejoicing j to which the colonel re- 
 turned the following answer: 
 
 " Mlnden, Aug. .% 1759. 
 " MY LORD, 
 
 " His Serene Highness, upon some report 
 made to him by the Duke of Richmond of the si- 
 tuation of the enemy, sent Captain Ligonier and 
 myself with orders for the British cavalry to ad- 
 vance. His Serene Highness was at this instant 
 one or two brigades beyond the English in- 
 fantry, towards the left. Upon my arrival on 
 the right of the cavalry, I found Captain Ligo- 
 nier with your lordship. Notwithstanding, I 
 declared his Serene Highness's orders to you ; 
 upon which you desired I would not be in a 
 hurry : I made answer, that galloping had put 
 me out of breath, which made me speak very 
 quick. I then repeated the orders for the Bri- 
 tish cavalry to advance toward the left, and at 
 the same time, mentioning the circumstance that 
 occasioned the orders, added, * That it was a 
 glorious opportunity for the English to distin- 
 guish themselves, and that your lordship, by 
 leading them on, would gain immortal honour.' 
 You yet expressed your surprise at tlie orders 
 (as they differed so materially from "uohat Captain 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 9 
 
 Ligonier had just brought J, saying, it was im- 
 possible the duke could mean to break the line. 
 My answer was, that I delivered his Serene 
 Highnesses orders, word for word as he gave 
 them. Upon which you asked which way the 
 cavalry was to march and who was to be their 
 guide. I undertook to lead them towards the 
 left, round the little wood on their left, as they 
 were then drawn up, where they might be little 
 exposed to the enemy's cannonade. Your lord- 
 ship continued to think my orders neither clear 
 nor exactly deHvered ; and, expressing your de- 
 sire to see Prince Ferdinand, ordered me to 
 lead you to him ; wliich order 1 was obeying, 
 when we met his Serene Highness. During this 
 time I did not see the cavalry advance. Cap- 
 tain Smith, one of your aids-de-camp, once or 
 twice made me repeat the orders I had before 
 delivered to your lordship, and I hope he will 
 do me the justice to say they were clear and ex- 
 act. He went up to you whilst we were going 
 to find the duke, as I imagine, being sensible of 
 the clearness of my orders and the necessity of 
 their being immediately obeyed. I heard your 
 lordship give him some orders. What they 
 were I cannot say : but he immediately rode 
 back towards the cavalry. Upon my joining the 
 duke, I rc|)cated to him the orders I had deli- 
 vered to you ; and, appealing to liis Serene High- 
 
10 A CniTICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 ness to know whether they were the same he 
 had honoured me with, I had the satisfaction to 
 hear him declare they were very exact. His 
 Serene Highness immediately asked where the 
 cavalry was ; and upon my making answer that 
 Lord George did not understand the orders, but 
 was coming to speak to his Serene Highness, he 
 expressed his surprise strongly. 
 
 ** I hope your lordship will think I did nothing 
 but my duty as aid-de-camp, in mentioning to 
 his Serene Highness my orders being so much 
 questioned by your lordship. 
 
 " I am, &c. &c. &c. 
 
 " FiTZROY." 
 
 To this letter, we may remark that Lord 
 George was not present when the conversation 
 took place between Colonel Fitzroy and Prince 
 Ferdinand ; Fitzroy having rode on before, to 
 say Lord George was coming. He was con- 
 scious on his arrival that the prince, the Mar- 
 quis of Granby, and Colonel Fitzroy had endea- 
 voured to mislead him. 
 
 From the misunderstanding on this occasion, 
 •connected with other circumstances in the ca- 
 binet, may be attributed his virulent animosity 
 towards the parties, which was afterwards so 
 strongly manifested. Nothing so fully corrobo- 
 rates this statement as the circumstance of his 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. If 
 
 being deprived of all his military honours, as 
 well as other situations which he held under go- 
 vernment, previous to any examination into his 
 conduct or granting him a legal trial. 
 
 On Friday the 7th of March, I76O, on the 
 return of the troops from Germany, a court- 
 martial was held, agreeably to the Secretary of 
 State's promise. It consisted of sixteen officers, 
 and the deputy judge-advocate-general. Ten out 
 of this number were Scotchmen, as well as seve- 
 ral of the officers who gave their evidence against 
 him. This may partly account for his antipa- 
 thy to that nation, to which the pen of Junius 
 gives no quarter, but satirises with the keenest 
 invective and acrimony. Nor did it require this 
 instance of personal bias. His residence in 
 Scotland for twelve months, when fighting under 
 the Duke of Cumberland against the rebels, was 
 a sufficient cause of enmity on both sides. It 
 was during this campaign that he was witness 
 to Lord Ravensworth's assertion of Lord Mans- 
 field having drank the Pretender's health on his 
 knees ; with other circumstances alluded to 
 by Junius, which it was utterly impossible any 
 one could have been acquainted with, who had 
 not fought against tlie Pretender. Lord Ravens- 
 worth's testimony afterwards, in 1753, before 
 the privy council, convicted Andrew Stone, 
 brother to the primate of Ireland, as well as 
 
12 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Lord Mansfield. Now the primate was well 
 known to Lord George, and might have con- 
 firmed this testimony. The examination of these 
 Jacobites forms a conspicuous event in Lord 
 Orford's Memoirs. 
 
 The most important witnesses on his trial were 
 the Marquis of Granby, Lieutenant-Colonel 
 Fitzroy, brother to the Duke of Grafton, and 
 Lieut.-Colonel William Augustus Pitt. These 
 families stand pre-eminent in Junius's letters. 
 A careful perusal of the trial, and a know- 
 ledge of the parties connected with it, must 
 convince every reader that the pen of a dis- 
 graced soldier was afterwards exercised in re- 
 taliation 5 not one family being spared who had 
 any share in the transaction 5 and what is parti- 
 cularly worthy of notice, nearly the whole of the 
 names on whom Junius is most severe, were mi- 
 litary characters, or connected with the army in 
 one way or another. Lord Mansfield is however 
 one of the exceptions. Party spirit then ran 
 very high, and any imprudent interference of 
 that nobleman might easily have verified the 
 truth of Junius's assertion, viz. *« I see through 
 your whole life one uniform plan to enlarge the 
 power of the crown, at the expense of the liberty 
 of the subject. To this object, your thoughts, 
 words, and actions have been constantly direct- 
 ed." — Letter xli. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. IS 
 
 The press at this time teemed with the most 
 vindictive pamphlets ; during which period Lord 
 George liimself was not idle. He wrote several 
 letters to the Secretary of State, and other mem- 
 bers of the privy council. I have seen a book 
 wherein the government is more severely sati- 
 rised, if possible, than in any of the letters of 
 Junius. Similar allusions induce me to believe 
 it proceeded from the same source. So severe 
 were many of the passages, that Lord Mansfield 
 endeavoured to lay further restrictions on the 
 press, but the ingenuity of the writer baffled all 
 attempts at discovery, and he came off victorious. 
 
 On what occasion Lord Mansfield first gave 
 offence to Lord George Sackville, we have no 
 means of ascertaining, except the disappoint- 
 ment he felt when his sentence was pronounced, 
 Lord '■ Mansfield having assured him previously 
 to his trial, that he could not be convicted. 
 This circumstance would naturally lower Lord 
 Mansfield in his esteem, as I have never been 
 able to trace any friendship (which Lord Orford 
 mentions previous to his trial) subsisting be- 
 tween Lord George and Lord Mansfield afler 
 this event ; on the contrary, afler Lord Mans- 
 field's charge to the jury on Wootlfall's trial, 
 we find Junius's severe letter to that nobleman, 
 and at the same time a most violent and satiri- 
 cal speech of Lord George in the House of Com- 
 
14 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 mons, considering it indispensably necessary 
 that his conduct should be enquired into. 
 
 The tenor of that speech proves that no friend- 
 ship subsisted between them at that time. Ne- 
 vertheless, conscious that he had carried his re- 
 sentment to too great a height, we find Lord 
 George, previous to his death, sending Mr. 
 Cumberland expressly for Lord Mansfield, that 
 he might not leave the world without asking his 
 forgiveness. 
 
 I said his trial came on March 7, I76O. Lord 
 George conducted his defence himself, and re- 
 futed in the most able manner the aspersions 
 that had been urged against him 5 concluding 
 with these memorable words : — 
 
 " If there are contradictions in the evidence, 
 that imputation must fall somewhere ; let it fall 
 where it ought. Let those who have sworn 
 falsely, feel it in their breasts. Let them remem- 
 ber they have sworn wrong : let them feel the 
 effects of it : this is punishment. A guilty and 
 a disturbed conscience will inflict that punish- 
 ment, without any other resort. Let it light 
 where it is due. Let them examine their hearts, 
 whether they have given their evidence as they 
 ought : Let them, if they can, spend their lives 
 mthout being punished,^' 
 
 The result of the trial was as follows. 
 
 " This Court, upon due consideration of the 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 15 
 
 whole matter before them, is of opinion that Lord 
 George Sackville is guilty of having disobeyed 
 the orders of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, 
 whom he was, by his commission and instructions, 
 directed to obey as commander-in-chief, ac- 
 cording to the rules of war ; and it is the farther 
 opinion of this court, that the said Lord George 
 Sackville is, and he is hereby adjudged, unfit to 
 serve his Majesty in any military capacity what- 
 ever." 
 
 Which sentence was confirmed by the king : 
 " It is his Majesty's pleasure that the above 
 sentence be given out in public orders, that of- 
 ficers, being convinced that neither high birth 
 nor great employments can shelter offences of 
 such a nature ; and that seeing they are subject 
 to censures much worse than death, to a man 
 who has any sense of honour, they may avoid the 
 fatal consequences arising from disobedience of 
 orders." 
 
 This addition to his sentence by the executive 
 power, was considered by Lord George as a 
 measure highly derogatory to the king, and re- 
 prehensible on the part of ministers, who advised 
 it. It fully tended to convince him there was 
 a secret intrigue in the cabinet, to ruin his cha- 
 racter for ever. The sentence in itself, amount- 
 ed to no more than the verdict of the jury in the 
 case of Junius's letter to the king: yet how 
 widely different the result! In the former, no 
 
l6 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 act of cowardice is proved, nor any unwilling- 
 ness displayed to share in the combat. In the 
 latter, no libellous matter is proved, merely 
 guilty of printing and publishing. Woodfall's 
 sentence was nominal. But in the case of Lord 
 George, his name was erased from the privy 
 council list, he was stripped of all his emolu- 
 ments under government, and declared incapa- 
 ble of serving his Majesty in any military capa- 
 city whatever. His enemies did not even wait 
 till the result of his trial was known, but deputed 
 the Honourable John Barrington to signify to 
 him that his services were no longer required ; 
 so that, in fact, the law was arbitrarily infringed 
 upon to gratify private resentment. The places 
 held by Lord George were bestowed by the 
 king on those very men who had given evi- 
 dence against him. The Marquis of Granby 
 was appointed commander-in-chief and master- 
 general of the ordnance. Lord Townshend, 
 lieutenant-general of the ordnance. The Ho- 
 nourable Colonel Fitzroy was appointed aid- 
 de-camp to the king, and one of the grooms of 
 the bed-chamber, in conjunction with the Earl 
 of Chatham and Lord North. Lord Charles 
 Manners and the Honourable John Barrington, 
 were promoted at the same time ; as well as the 
 Duke of Bedford, who was made a lieutenant- 
 general in the army, and deputy-ranger of the 
 Phoenix Park, Dubhn, which had been Lord 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 17 
 
 George's sinecure for many years. Johnston, 
 Elliot, and many other officers, were promoted, 
 whom Junius mentions with the highest con- 
 tempt. In fine, as I observed before, not one 
 man connected with Lord George's trial escaped 
 retaliation and personal censure afterwards. 
 
 The reader will observe that Lord Barringtonof 
 the War Office, had also written to Lord George, 
 signifying that his Majesty had no further occa- 
 sion for his services as lieutenant-general and 
 colonel of dragoon guards, which communica- 
 tion Lord George acknowledged by the following 
 letter. 
 
 "PaU-Mall, September 11, 1759. 
 " MY LORD, 
 
 ** I HAVE received the honor of your lordship's 
 letter, signifying to me his Majesty has no further 
 occasion for my service, as lieutenant-general 
 and colonel of dragoon guards. 
 
 " If I were conscious of having deserved this 
 mark of his Majesty's displeasure I should be 
 most unhappy ; as it is, I only regret that I shall 
 have no further opportunity of exerting my zeal 
 in the service of my king and country. 
 
 *• I am, my lord, &c. &c. 
 " George Sackville." 
 
 " To Lord Barrington." 
 
18 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 The name of Barrington stands conspicuous 
 among the catalogue of Junius's enemies. He 
 served on the continent with Lord George, and 
 was afterwards appointed to the War Office, a 
 situation which was offered to Lord George him- 
 self previous to his disgrace. 
 
 Junius says, " poor B — ch for many years was 
 his nickname. His time-serving duphcity is now 
 so well known, that he seldom speaks without 
 being laughed at. Sometimes his folly exceeds 
 all bounds ; as for instance, when he traduced 
 the whole body of general officers, which, I pre- 
 sume, they will not readily forget." — Miscel. 
 Letter cxiii. 
 
 " I desire you will inform the pubHc that the 
 worthy Lord Barrington, not contented with 
 having driven Mr.D'Oyley out of the War Office, 
 has at last contrived to expel Mr. Francis*" — 
 Letter ex. 23 March^ 177^. 
 
 It is highly probable that they both unguard- 
 edly gave information to Lord George, which 
 was useful to him in his character of Junius, and 
 which in an indirect manner might have been 
 the cause of their removal from the War Office. 
 In confirmation of this opinion, we find, that Mr. 
 D'Oyley was afterwards private secretary to Lord 
 George, and Sir Philip Francis obtained an ap- 
 pointment in India. 
 
 I have stated in the preface, that it was not 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 19 
 
 my intention to enter into the claims of others. 
 They have all been ably refuted, excepting the 
 last candidate, Sir Philip Francis, whose claims 
 have only been noticed by the Edinburgh Re- 
 viewers. Those learned critics have not gone 
 systematically into the question, but have been 
 guided by the ingenuity of the volume laid be- 
 fore them. As they have not come to any sa- 
 tisfactory conclusion, I shall merely state a few 
 facts here, which will at once shew, that it is idle 
 for a moment to suppose that Sir Philip had 
 any claim whatever to the authorship of the let- 
 ters, more than Mr. D'Oyley, or any other per- 
 son whom Junius may have casually mentioned. 
 
 Sir Philip Francis was patronized and encou- 
 raged by the Earl of Chatham, and it was 
 through his patronage that Sir Philip became 
 secretary to General Bligh. By the same re- 
 commendation he was afterwards appointed se- 
 cretary to the Earl of Kinnoul, ambassador to 
 Lisbon. Let us hear the opinion which Junius 
 entertained of the Earl of Chatham. 
 
 Vol. I. p. 213, private letter to Mr. Wood- 
 fall,— 
 
 (private.) " Friday Morning, Oct. 19, 1770.^ 
 
 " By your affected silence, you encourage an 
 idle opinion that I am the author of the Whig, 
 &c. thougfi you very well know the contrary. / 
 
 c 2 
 
20 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 neither admire the "writer nor his idol." \_The Earl 
 of Chatham.'] — No. 23. 
 
 Vol. II. p. 452. — ** Without any uncommon 
 depravity of mind, a man so trusted might lose 
 all ideas of public principle or gratitude, and 
 not unreasonably exert himself to perpetuate a 
 power, which he saw his fellow-citizens weak and 
 abject enough to surrender to him. But if, in- 
 stead of a man of a common mixed character, 
 whose vices might be redeemed by some appear- 
 ance of virtue and generosity, it should have un- 
 fortunately happened that a nation had placed 
 all their confidence in a man purely and perfectly 
 bad ; if a great and good prince, by some fatal 
 delusion had made choice of such a man for his 
 first minister, and had delegated all his authority 
 to him, what security would that nation have for 
 its freedom, or that prince for his crown ? The 
 history of every nation, that once had a claim 
 to liberty, will tell us what would be the pro- 
 gress of such a traitor [the Earl of Chatham], 
 and what the probable event of his crimes. 
 
 "Let us suppose him arrived at that moment, 
 at which he might see himself within reach of 
 the great object to which all the artifices^ the in- 
 trigues, the hypocrisy and the impudence of his 
 past life were directed. On the point of having 
 the whole power of the crown committed to him, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 21 
 
 what would be his conduct? An affectation of 
 prostrate humility in the closet, but a lordly dic- 
 tation of terms to the people, by whose interest 
 he had been supported, by whose fortunes he had 
 subsisted. Has he a brother ? that brother must 
 be sacrificed. Has he a rancorous enemy? tliat 
 enemy must be promoted. Have years of his 
 life been spent in declaiming against the perni- 
 cious influence of a favourite? that favourite must 
 be taken to his bosom, and made the only partner 
 of his power. But it is in the natural course of 
 things, that a despotic power, which of itself 
 violates every principle of a free constitution 
 should be acquired by means, which equally 
 violate every principle of honour and morality. 
 The office of a grand vizir is inconsistent with a 
 limited monarchy, and can never subsist long, 
 but by its destruction. The same measures by 
 which an abandoned profligate is advanced to 
 power, must be observed to maintain him in it. 
 TJie prhmpal nobilUi/y who might disdain to sidy- 
 mit to the upstart insolence of a dictator, must Ite 
 removed from every post qf honour and autho- 
 rity,'' &c. 
 
 Vol. II. p. 510. — ** I will not suppose that the 
 bulk of the British people is sunk into so criminal 
 a state of stupidity : that there does exist a par- 
 ticular set of men, base and treacherous enough 
 to have enlisted under the banners of a lunatic 
 
22 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 [the Earl of Chatham], to whom they sacrificed 
 their honour, their conscience, and their country, 
 in order to carry a point of party, and to gratify 
 a personal rancour, is a truth too melancholy 
 and too certain for Great Britain. These were 
 the wretched ministers, who served at the altar, 
 whilst the high priest himself, with more than 
 frantic fury offered up his bleeding country a 
 victim to America." 
 
 Letter xi. Dec. S2, 1767, p. 515, is also in 
 the same strain. 
 
 Vol. III. p. 1 08. — " I think I have now named 
 all the cabinet but the Earl of Chatham. His 
 infirmities have forced him into a retirement 
 where I presume he is ready to suffer, with a sul- 
 len submission^ every insult and disgrace that can 
 he heaped upo7i a miserable, decrepid, worn out 
 old man. But it is impossible he should be so 
 far active in his own dishonour, as to advise the 
 taking away an employment, given as a reward 
 for the first military success that distinguished 
 his entrance into administration. He is indeed 
 a compound of contradictions, but his letter to Sir 
 Jeffery Amherst stands upon record, and is not 
 to be explained away. You know, my Lord, that 
 Mr. Pitt therein assured Sir Jeffery Amherst, 
 that the government of Virginia was given him 
 merely as a reward, and solemnly pledged the 
 royal faith that his residence should never be re- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 23 
 
 quired. Lost as he is, he would not dare to con* 
 tradict this letter. If he did, it would be some- 
 thing more than madness. Tiie disorder must 
 have quitted his head, and fixed itsdf in his 
 heart." 
 
 Vol. III. p. 174.— "The Earl of Chatham— 
 1 had much to say, but it were inhuman to per- 
 secute, when Providence has marked out the 
 example to mankind ! *' 
 
 These extracts are sufficient to shew that Sir 
 Philip Francis and Junius were two distinct per- 
 sons. Could Sir Philip Francis have made use 
 of such language against the very man who had 
 brought him forward in the world ? It is con- 
 trary to reason and common sense. 
 
 The writer of the article in the Edinburgli 
 Review for November 1817, has blended Sir 
 Philij) Francis with the speeches of the Earl oi 
 Chatham, which have nothing whatever to do 
 with the question, any furtlior than that Junius 
 may have borrowed some of his ideas from Lord 
 Chathiun's eloquence, as he evidently did from 
 other distinguished characters. The line of po- 
 litics pursued by Junius and the Earl of Chat- 
 ham, was totally different on American taxation, 
 which of itself shews there was no connexion 
 between them. 
 
 Sir Philip Francis, on the contrary, was an en- 
 thusiastic admirer of the Earl of Chatham. Oil 
 
24 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the decease of that nobleman, he passed a high 
 eulogium on his character, and observed that he 
 had left no one behind him that bore any re- 
 semblance to him. Sir Philip had just cause 
 for this opinion, having been raised to the sta- 
 tion he then held in society through that noble- 
 man's interest. 
 
 Junius had cause for his invective against the 
 Earl of Chatham. The prominent part which 
 he (when Mr. Pitt) took against Lord George 
 Sackville after the unfortunate affair at Minden, 
 would naturally sour him against that distin- 
 guished statesman, however highly he might ad- 
 mire his abilities, Junius admired the abilities 
 of Lord Mansfield, but he detested the man. 
 
 On Sir Philip Francis's return from Lisbon, he 
 was recommended to the notice of Welbore Ellis, 
 afterwards Lord Mendip, who was at that time 
 secretary at war. This gentleman also warmly 
 patronized him, and gave him an important situa- 
 tion in his office. Junius invariably speaks of 
 Welbore Ellis with the utmost contempt. — 
 Vol. II. p. 128.—" The little dignity of Mr. El- 
 lis has been committed; the mine was sunk, 
 combustibles provided, and Welbore Ellis, the 
 Guy Faux of the fable, waited only for the sig- 
 nal of command. All of a sudden the country 
 gentlemen discover how grossly they have been 
 deceived; the minister's heart fails him, the 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS, 25 
 
 grand plot is defeated in a moment, and poor 
 Mr. Ellis and his motion taken into custody. 
 From the event of Friday last, one would imagine 
 that some fatality hung over this gentleman. 
 Whether he makes or suppresses a motion, he is 
 equally sure of his disgrace. But the complexion 
 of the times will suffer no man to be vice-trea- 
 surer of Ireland with impunity." 
 
 " About this time the courtiers talked of no- 
 thing but a bill of pains and penalties against 
 the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, or impeachment 
 at the least. Little Mannikin Ellis told the 
 king, that if the business were left to his ma- 
 nagement he would engage to do wonders. It 
 was thought very odd, that a motion of so much 
 importance should be entrusted to the most con- 
 temptible little piece of machinery in the whole 
 kingdom. His honest zeal however was disap- 
 pointed. The minister took fright, and at the 
 very instant that little Ellis was going to open, 
 sent him an order to sit down.*' 
 
 Again, Vol. ii. p. 239,—" Welbore Ellis, what 
 say you ? Is this the law of parliament, or is it 
 not? I am a plain man, sir, and cannot follow 
 you through the phlegmatic forms of an oration. 
 Speak out Grildrig, — say yes, or no." 
 
 Is this the language of one who was under 
 personal obligations to his friend? 
 
 Junius had ceased writing under that sigiMU 
 
!38 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 ture when the name of Sir PhiUp Francis was 
 mentioned by him. January 25, 177^, Junius 
 informs Mr. Woodfall, " having nothing better 
 to do, I propose to entertain myself and the pub- 
 lic with torturing that Barrington." Three 
 days afterwards, a severe invective against that 
 nobleman followed, which was two months be- 
 fore the public were apprised of the dismissal of 
 Sir Philip Francis ; and after this dismissal we 
 have a long account of Lord Barrington's life ; 
 an attentive perusal of which must convince 
 every reader, that such a narrative proceeded 
 from a very different quarter than from the pen 
 of Sir Philip Francis. 
 
 Events are referred to which happened before 
 Sir Philip Francis was born, but of which Junius 
 had a thorough knowledge : he confesses " Lord 
 Harrington and he were old acquaintance," and 
 in taking " a short review of him from his poli- 
 tical birth,'' comments on many subjects which 
 could only have been known to one who moved 
 in a very different circle to Sir Philip Francis. 
 Lord Barrington had become unpopular in con- 
 ■sequence of having discharged Sir Philip Francis 
 from his office without just cause. He after- 
 wards endeavoured to clear his character from 
 Junius's imputations, and in furtherance of this 
 measure he took an early opportunity of apply- 
 ing to Lord North on Sir Philip Francis' behalf, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. Wf 
 
 when he found he had arrived in England from 
 his tour. Lord North accordingly gave him an 
 appointment in India. If Lord Barrington had 
 had the most distant idea that Sir Philip Francis 
 was in any way concerned in the authorship of 
 the letters, would he thus generously have re- 
 commended him to the notice of Lord North ? 
 
 The family of Sir Philip Francis lived on in- 
 timate terms with David Garrick, for whom they 
 entertained the highest esteem. The tenor of 
 the correspondence between Junius and Mr. 
 Woodfall, proves that Junius had no regard for 
 Mr. Garrick whatever. 
 
 There was nothing extraordinary in Sir Philip 
 Francis taking a tour to France after his dis- 
 missal from the War Office, where he had been 
 so closely confined to business. He had no 
 other employment to attend to, and having never 
 been in France before, it was a novelty. Whereas 
 Junius, expressly states a circumstance which he 
 saw with his own eyes, before Sir Phihp was born, 
 viz.—** The Jesuitical books burnt in Paris by 
 the common hangman," 
 
 Sir Phihp Francis was an Irishman. It i« 
 proved by incontrovertible evidence that Junius 
 was an Englishman. 
 
 Sir Philip Francis wrote to Sir Richard 
 Phillips, stating, that it was a ** maligyupii Jhlse* 
 hood*' to attribute the authorship of the letters 
 
28 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to him. What language could be stronger or 
 more to the point ? Upon the receipt of this com- 
 munication, Sir Richard Phillips immediately 
 abandoned any further enquiry, perceiving the 
 theory was built on an erroneous supposition. 
 It would have been well for the reputation of 
 other literary critics, had they followed so wise 
 an example. 
 
 To return from our digression : respecting 
 Lord Barrington, Junius further adds — " those 
 who know but little of his history may perhaps 
 be inclined to pity him : but he and I have been 
 old acquaintance, and, considering the size of his 
 understanding, I believe I shall be able to prove 
 that no man in the kingdom ever sold himself 
 and his services to better advantage than Lord 
 Barrington. Let us take a review of him from 
 his political birth. 
 
 " On his entrance into the House of Commons 
 he declared himself a patriot ; but he soon found 
 means to dispose of his patriotism for a seat at 
 the Admiralty-board. This worthy man, before 
 he obtained his price, was as deeply engaged in 
 opposition to government, as any member of the 
 Fountain Club, to which he belonged. He then 
 thought it no sin to run dow^n Sir Robert Walpole, 
 though now he has altered his tone." — Miscel. 
 Letter cxiii. 12 May, 1772. 
 
 Sir Robert Walpole, Lord George Sackville, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 29 
 
 and Lord Barrington, were members of the House 
 of Commons in the same session of parliament. 
 A recollection of the political squabbles of that 
 day induces Junius to exclaim in another letter — 
 " I remember the great Walpolean battles.'* 
 
 Let us now proceed to the most striking ob- 
 ject of Junius's attack, the Marquis of Granby, 
 who received the thanks of Prince Ferdinand, 
 the thanks of the King, was promoted to the sta- 
 tion of commander-in-chief, master-general of 
 the ordnance, a member of the privy council, 
 a governor of Christ's Hospital, with other im- 
 portant places, previously held by Lord George 
 Sackville Jiimself. 
 
 In his first letter he says, " It has lately been 
 a fashion to pay a compliment to the bravery 
 and generosity of the commander-in-chief, at 
 the expense of his understanding.'* 
 
 Would any one, I ask, who had no personal 
 enmity against the Marquis, make use of so 
 frivolous a pretext for introducing his name, and 
 stating to the public what is totally contrary to 
 sense and reason? This was so pointed that a 
 gentleman under the signature of Titus, who 
 endeavoured to exculpate his friend's character, 
 says — 
 
 " It is true, his talents as commander-in-chief 
 have never been tried in the field: but if we may 
 be allowed to judge from the whole of his con- 
 
SOf A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 duct in Germany during the late war, when the 
 execution of many important enterprises were 
 entrusted to him by one of the greatest generals, 
 and one of the best judges of military merit in 
 Europe, we may form great expectations with 
 the highest probability of not being disappointed. 
 He knows how to ohey : he knows that a good 
 soldier never disputes the commands of his supe- 
 nor." 
 
 This evidently alludes to Lord George, whom 
 he suspected was the author of the attack in 
 question, and concludes an able letter by saying 
 — **It matters not whether the malicious dart be 
 pointed from the closet of a disgraced soldier," &c. 
 
 Sir William Draper also suspected him, al- 
 though he makes no personal allusions in his 
 answers — but plainly calls upon him to follow his 
 example by laying his name before the public. 
 Junius knew better. He had a rod hi reserve 
 for so many others, that his object would have 
 been frustrated. Sir William's answer only add- 
 ed fuel to the flame. Junius replies with all the 
 jealousy a discarded officer would naturally feel 
 at the recollection of the places he had formerly 
 held, and which were now transferred to the 
 Marquis. 
 
 " Without disputing Lord Granby's courage," 
 says he, " we are yet to learn in what articles of 
 military knowledge Nature has been so very li- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. Si 
 
 beral to his mind. Jfyou have served with him 
 [as much as to say / have"], you ought to have 
 pointed out some instance of able disposition 
 and well concerted enterprise, which might fairly 
 be attributed to his capacity as a general. — It is 
 you, Sir William, who make your friend appear 
 ridiculous, by giving him a laced suit of tawdry 
 qualifications, which Nature never intended him 
 to wear. You say he has acquired nothing but 
 honour in the field. Is the ordnance nothing ? 
 Are the Blues nothing ? Is the command of the 
 army, witli all the patronage annexed to it, no- 
 thing ? Where he got these nothings, I know 
 not : but you at least ought to have told us where 
 he deserved them." 
 
 Other personal allusions to the Marquis may 
 be found on a careful perusal of Junius ; for in- 
 stance, " You may give us a commander-in-chief 
 [the Marquis of Granby], and a secretary at war 
 [Lord Barrington], seeming to pull at two ends 
 of a rope : while a slip-knot in the middle, may 
 really strangle three fourths of the army.** 
 
 Again, May 6, 1769*. — 
 
 •*TO THE MARQUIS OF GRANBY. 
 
 ** You were once the favourite of the public. 
 As a brave man you were admired by the army : 
 as a generous man you were beloved. The 8cei>e 
 is altered, and even your immediate dependants, 
 
si A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 who have profited most by your good-nature, 
 cannot conceal from you how much you have 
 lost both in the affections of your fellow- soldiers, 
 and the esteem of your country. Your charac- 
 ter, once spotless, once irreproachable, has been 
 drawn into a public question : attacked with se- 
 verity, defended with imprudence, and, like the 
 seat of war, ruined by the contention." 
 
 Junius here admits the Marquis was once a 
 brave man ; but his bravery appears to have died 
 away after the battle of Minden, where he dis- 
 tinguished himself more than at any other period. 
 He had no opportunity afterwards of displaying 
 his courage, the seat of war having been trans- 
 ferred to America -, so that it was next to im- 
 possible that he could lose the confidence of the 
 public or the affections of his fellow-soldiers > 
 Out of the many private letters that were writ- 
 ten in answer to Junius, not one appeared, but 
 spoke well of him — had he lost the affections of 
 his country, one anonymous writer might surely 
 have been found to side with Junius. But no : 
 the only fellow-soldier Junius speaks of, ap- 
 pears to have been himself 
 
 Aug. S5, 1767.— Of Lord Townshend and his 
 brother the hon. Charles Townshend, the former 
 lord-lieutenant of Ireland, and the latter chan- 
 cellor of the exchequer, Junius says, — " I am 
 not a stranger to this par nohile fratrum, I have 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 33 
 
 served under the one, and have been forty times 
 promised to be served by the other.'* This 
 assertion comes closely home to some officer. 
 Facts are stubborn things. Now I know it to be 
 an undeniable fact that Lord George served with 
 Lord Townshend at Dettingen u?ider the Duke 
 of Cumberland ; Lord Granby was also present. 
 An event occurred which was much talked of at 
 the time. The occurrence was as follows. 
 
 " In the very heat of the carnage of that day, 
 and amidst the horrors of almost universal deso- 
 lation, a soldier fighting near Lord Townshend's 
 side, was killed by a cannon ball : part of his 
 brains flew out ; some on his Lordship's clothes 
 
 and in his face. The brave General G , 
 
 being near him, said * My Lord, this is terrible 
 work to-day:* *So it is,' replied his Lordship, 
 wiping himself with great calmness ; * but one 
 would imagine. General, this man had too much 
 brains to be here ;' at the same time, tears of 
 manly pity filled his compassionate eyes." 
 
 Not content with reading this plain unvar- 
 nished anecdote in the paper afterwards, Junius 
 takes occasion in Letter vi. 12 Oct. 1767> to 
 comment upon it, in a satirical manner, wherein 
 he intimates that Lord Townshend betrayed 
 symptoms of cowardice. " Reader," observes 
 Junius, "remark this, and if you doubt of his 
 Lordship's humanity, you are infidel enough to 
 
 / D 
 
34 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 doubt of his courage. Well, he burst into 
 tears : and who could choose but weep at a 
 sentiment of such tender, compassionate and 
 sympathizing humanity ? No one that I know 
 of can suppose those tears shed from that de- 
 pression of spirits which the extremity of fear 
 sometimes causes, and which finds some ease 
 from an involuntary overflow at the eyes." 
 
 At the period when this was written. Lord 
 Townshend had been promoted to the station of 
 lieutenant-general of the ordnance, a situation 
 formerly held by Lord George himself. 
 
 His appointment to the lord lieutenancy of 
 Ireland, Junius considered equally reprehensible 
 on the part of government, thinking him not 
 qualified to fill that high station. There must 
 have been some private offence given, to ac- 
 count for the manner in which Junius pursues 
 him. This is a very important part of our en- 
 quiry. Soon after the unfortunate misunder- 
 standing at Minden, Lord George Townshend 
 (who had formerly been on friendly terms with 
 Lord George Sackville, particularly at the battle 
 of Dettingen) joined with the court party in pub- 
 licly censuring his conduct. He had an ingeni- 
 ous turn for drawing, and he even went so far as 
 to caricature Lord George flying from Minden> 
 which with many others he privately circulated 
 among his friends. This book of caricatures. 
 
mf 
 
 ■^ 
 
Tie MistaJte neax Mmien in. Germairy 1759. 
 
 
 
 Wio fliewdliis Rear at Minden 17 59 . 
 
 
 Nrr/t i-SuMrv sr.iSi 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 35 
 
 bearing date from 1756 to I762, is extremely 
 curious. As they were privately distributed, 
 they are of course seldom to be met with. I 
 never saw but one complete set, now in the 
 possession of W. Little, esq. of Richmond, who 
 has obligingly allowed me to copy the one in 
 question, which is submitted to the reader's in- 
 spection. We have Lord Orford's testimony to 
 prove that this book was the production of Lord 
 George Townshend. Lord Orford has described 
 the first of the series. Vol. 11. p. 68, ** A new 
 species of this manufacture now first appeared, 
 invented by Lord George Townshend ; they were 
 caricatures on cards. The original one, which 
 had amazing vent, was of Newcastle and Fox, 
 looking at each other, and crying, with Peachum 
 in the Beggar's Opera, * B?'other, brother, xve are 
 both in the wrong.' On the Royal Exchange 
 a paper was affixed, advertising 'Three king- 
 doms to be let: enquire of Andrew Stone, 
 broker, in Lincoln's Inn Fields.' " 
 
 The whole series forms a curious coUectioQ. 
 Those on Lord George Sackville were very severe. 
 In return for so gross a breach of decorum in tri- 
 umphing over a fallen friend, Junius takes occa- 
 sion to retaliate, by charging Lord Townshend 
 with cowardice at the battle of Dettincron, and 
 in the next letter points out a few public cha. 
 
 D 2 
 
S6 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 racters to his notice, as suitable subjects for his 
 ingenuity. 
 
 Sept. 16, 1767, he says, — *« His Excellency 
 the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland is said to have a 
 singular turn for portrait painting, which he will- 
 ingly employs in the service of his friends. He 
 performs gratis, and seldom gives them the trou- 
 ble of sitting for their pictures. But I believe 
 the talents of this ingenious nobleman never had 
 so fair an occasion of behig employed to advan- 
 tage as at present. It happens very fortunately 
 for him that he has now a set of friends, who 
 seem intended by nature for the subjects of such 
 a pencil. In delineating their features to the 
 public, he will have an equal opportunity of dis- 
 playing the delicacy of his hand, and, upon which 
 he chiefly piques himself, the benevolence of his 
 heart. But considering the importance of his 
 present cares, I would fain endeavour to save him 
 the labour of the design, in hopes that he will 
 bestow a few moments more upon the execution. 
 Yet I will not presume to claim the merit of in- 
 vention. The blindness of chance has done 
 more for the painter than the warmest fancy 
 could have imagined, and has brought together 
 such a group of figures, as I believe never ap- 
 peared in real life or upon canvass before. 
 '« Your principal character, my Lord, is ayoung 
 
' THK 4-ETTliIlS OF JUNIUS. 87. 
 
 duke [the Duke of Grafton] mounted upon a 
 lofty phaeton, his head grows giddy, his horses 
 carry him violently down a precipice, and a 
 bloody carcase, the fatal emblem of Britannia, 
 lies mangled under his wheels. By the side of this 
 furious charioteer, sits Caution without Fore-^ 
 sight [Mr. Conway], a motley thing, half mili- 
 taiy, scarce civil. He too would guide, but, let 
 who will drive, is determined to have a seat in 
 the carriage. If it be possible, my Lord, give him 
 to us in the attitude of an orator eating the end 
 of a period, which may begin with, / did not say 
 I would pledge my self. The rest he eats. Your 
 next figure must bear the port and habit of a 
 judge [Lord Camden] ; the laws of England 
 under his feet, and before his distorted vision a 
 dagger, which he calls the law of nature, and 
 which marshalls him the way to the murder of 
 the constitution. In sucli good company, the 
 respectable president of the council [Lord North- 
 iiigton] cannot possibly be omitted : a reason- 
 able number of decrees must be piled up behind 
 him, with the word REVERSED in capital let- 
 ters upon each of tliem, and out of his decent 
 lips a compliment a la tilbury. * ♦ • » 
 
 ** There is still a young man, my Lord, who, I 
 think, will make a capital figure in the piece: 
 his features are too happily marked to be mis- 
 taken ; a single line of his lace will be sufficient 
 
38 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to give US the heir apparent of Loyola and all 
 the College. A httle more of the devil, my Lord, 
 if you please, about the eye-brows: that's enough, 
 a perfect Malagrida I protest [Lord Shelburne]. 
 So much for his person : and, as for his mind, a 
 blinking bull-dog placed near him, will form a 
 very natural type of all his good qualities. These 
 are the figures, which are to come forward to the 
 front of the piece. Your friendship for the Earl 
 of Bute will naturally secure a corner in the re« 
 tirement for him and his curtain, provided you 
 discover him * * • *, 
 
 ** If there be still any vacancies in the canvass, 
 you will easily fill them up with fixtures or still 
 life. You may show us half a paymaster, for in- 
 stance [Lord North*], with a paper stuck upon 
 the globe of his eye, and a label out of his mouth, 
 no sir, I am of f other side, sir. How I lament 
 that sounds cannot be conveyed to the eye ! 
 You may give us a commander-in-chief [Mar- 
 quis of Granby], and a secretary at war [Lord 
 Barrington], seeming to pull at two ends of a 
 rope ; while a slip-knot in the middle may really 
 strangle three fourths of the army : or a lunatic 
 brandishing a crutch [Lord Chatham], or bawling 
 through a grate, or writing with desperate char- 
 
 * Lord North and Sir G. Cooke were joint paymasters-ge- 
 neral at this period. Lord North is the person alluded to. 
 
THE LETTEHS of JUNIUS* W§ 
 
 coal a letter to North America ; or a Scotch 
 secretary [Sir Gilbert Elliot], teaching the Irish 
 people the true pronunciation of the Irish lan- 
 guage. That barbarous people are but little ac- 
 customed to figures of oratory, so that you may 
 represent him in any attitude you think proper, 
 from that of Sir Gilbert Elliot down to Governor 
 Johnstone. These however are but the slighter 
 ornaments of composition, and so I leave them 
 to the choice of your own luxurious fancy. 
 
 " The back-ground may be shadowed with the 
 natural obscurity of Scotch clerks and Scotch 
 secretaries, who may be itched out to the life, 
 with one hand grasping a pen, the other riveted 
 in their respective ******•♦*, Your 
 southern writers are apt to rub their foreheads 
 in the agony of composition j but with Scotch- 
 men the seat of inspiration lies in a lower place, 
 which, while the furor is upon them they lace- 
 rate without mercy. 
 
 " But amidst all the license of your wit, my 
 Lord, I must entreat you to remember that there 
 is one character too high and too sacred even 
 for the pencil of a peer, though your Lordship 
 has fornierhj doiic business for the family. Be- 
 sides, the attempt would be unnecessary. The 
 true character of tliat great person* is engraven 
 
 • Junius here alludes to his father Lionel, Duke of Dorset, 
 who was several years lord lieutenant of Irehind. No one oin 
 %valk up and down that fino street, Sackville >tre«t, without 
 
40 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 on the hearts of the Irish nation : and as to a 
 false one, they need only take a survey of the 
 person and manners of their chief governor, if 
 in the midst of their distresses they can laugh at 
 the perfect caricature of a king. 
 
 " CORREGIO." 
 
 This letter gave such great offence to the par- 
 ties, that they made every investigation to dis- 
 cover the author. Suspicions ultimately fell on 
 Lord George Sackville, though there was no pos- 
 sible means of ascertaining the fact to a cer- 
 tainty. A consultation was held and a satirical 
 dialogue was drawn up taxing him with it; and 
 if we substitute the character of Lord George 
 Sackville for that of Lord Shelburne, the pas- 
 sages will bear out this conjecture. 
 
 Letter vii., 22 Oct., I767, terminates as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " Malagrida [Lord George Sackville]. Won't 
 you hear me my lord ? 
 
 " Sulky [LordTownshend]. It is unnecessary, 
 my dear Lord. I see your meaning written in 
 your face. (Aside) What the devil shall I do 
 now ? A sick man might as well be cured by 
 a consultation of quack doctors j they talk, and 
 debate, and wrangle, and the patient expires. 
 However, I shall at least have the satisfaction of 
 
 being reminded of the duke's popular administration in that 
 country. Lord George was his secretary. / 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 4*1 
 
 drawing their pictures. I believe the best thing 
 I can do, will be to consult with my Lord George 
 Sackville. His character is known and respected 
 in Ireland as much as it is here, and I know he 
 loves to be stationed in the rear as well as my- 
 
 " Malagrida [Lord George], solm (The 
 others are represented as having gone out one 
 by one, after making their remarks). What a 
 negro's skin must I have, if this shallow fellow 
 could see my meaning in my face ! Now will 
 
 I skulk away to , where I will betray or 
 
 misrepresent every syllable I have heard, ridicule 
 their persons, blacken their characters, and fawn 
 upon the man who hears me, until I have an op- 
 portunity of biting him even to the heart." — Exit. 
 
 Lord George Sackville, being a Privy Coun- 
 sellor, was suspected of having satirized and 
 exposed the affairs of government, as well as the 
 members of administration; but it was a question 
 of too delicate a nature, to charge him direct 
 with having betrayed the trust confided in him. 
 The parties, therefore, took this opportunity of 
 letting him know, by the lampoon from which 
 the above quotation is taken, that they had 
 grounds for their suspicions, and Mr. Woodfall 
 has, I think, been mistaken in his conjecture, 
 that this is a production of the pen of Junius ; 
 though it requires but little foresight to detect 
 the error. The tenor of the dialogue is to show. 
 
42 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 that no business could be transacted while 
 a Malagrida was among them. Therefore, to 
 read it as the production of Junius's pen would 
 be improper. I have every reason to believe 
 Mr. Butler is of the same opinion. Allusions 
 are made to some remarks of Junius in prior 
 letters — such as, a provision for those sweet 
 blooded children, the Scotch — the lord lieu- 
 tenant's talent for portrait painting — the charge 
 against him of cowardice at Dettingen — and the 
 barbarity of the Irish ; all w^hich circumstances 
 had been previously mentioned by Junius. The 
 dialogue in question was shortly after attributed 
 to Burke, who never disclaimed it. 
 
 Taking it in another point of view, we must 
 be certain that it could not proceed from the 
 pen of Junius, as Junius in his private letter to 
 Mr. Woodfall was very angry that Swinney 
 should presume to call on Lord George, taxing 
 him with writing the letters. Had he not been 
 friendly to Lord George, he would not have been 
 so anxious that he should escape suspicion. In 
 proof of this assertion we do not find his name 
 mentioned elsewhere, or any other allusion to 
 him in the letters ; whereas, had Junius been an 
 enemy to Lord George, it is not likely his cha- 
 racter would have been spared, especially as 
 there are so many allusions to officers about that 
 time, whose conduct appeared to him highly 
 reprehensible. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 43 
 
 We now proceed to explain the causes of his 
 animosity to the Duke of Bedford. 
 
 A few weeks after the battle of Minden, be- 
 fore Lord George had time to defend his con- 
 duct, the Duke of Bedford was appointed lord- 
 lieutcnant of Ireland, and deputy ranger of the 
 PluenLv Park, Dublin, in the room of Lord 
 George Sackville. 
 
 Here lies the mystery of Junius's antipathy 
 and resentment. He writes down this nobleman 
 without mercy : tells him what an lionourable 
 character he has sullied by leaving his own coun- 
 try ; how unpopular he was in Ireland ; states 
 his unfortunate embassy to Versailles; and that 
 he is the last man government ought to have 
 trusted. 
 
 Letter xxiii. 19 Sept. I769, concludes 
 thus : — 
 
 " Your friends will ask, perhaps, whither shall 
 tliis unhappy old man retire ? Can he remain in 
 the metropolis, where his life has been so often 
 threatened, and his pahice so often attacked? If 
 he returns to Wobum, scorn and mockery 
 await him. He must create a solitude round his 
 estate, if he would avoid the face of reproach 
 and derision. At Plymouth, his destruction 
 would be more than probable ; at Exeter, in- 
 evitable. No honest Englishman will ever forget 
 his attachment, nor any honest Scotchman for- 
 give his treachery to Lord Bute. At every town 
 
4# A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 he enters, he must change his liveries and his 
 name. Whichever way he flies, the hue and cry 
 of the country pursues him. 
 
 " In another kingdom, indeed^ the blessings of 
 his administration have been more severeljj felt : 
 his virtues better understood : or, at worst, they 
 mil not for him alone, forget their hospitality. As 
 well might Verres have returned to Sicily. You 
 have twice escaped, my Lord ; beware of a third 
 ea^periment. The indignation of a whole people, 
 plundered, insulted, and oppressed as they have 
 been, will not always be disappointed. It is in 
 vain therefore to shift the scene. You can no 
 more fly from your enemies, than from yourself. 
 Persecuted abroad, you look into your own heart 
 for consolation, and find nothing but reproaches 
 and despair. But, my Lord, you may quit the 
 field of business, though not the field of danger; 
 and though you cannot be safe, you may cease 
 to be ridiculous. I fear you have listened too 
 long to the advice of those pernicious friends, 
 with whose interests you have sordidly united your 
 own, and for whom you have sacrificed every thing 
 that ought to be dear to a man of honour. They 
 are still base enough to encourage the follies of 
 your age, as they once did the vices of your 
 youth. As little acquainted with the rules of de* 
 corum, as with the laws of morality, they will not 
 suffer you to profit by experience, nor even'4;o con- 
 sult the propriety of a bad character. Even now 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 45 
 
 they tell you, that life is no more than a dramatic 
 scene, in which the hero should preserve his con- 
 sistency to the last, and that as you lived without 
 virtue, you should die without repentance." 
 
 Lord George considered it unmanly, ungen- 
 tlemanly, and dishonourable in the duke, to ac- 
 cept of an appointment as deputy ranger of the 
 Phoenix Park, until his conduct in Germany had 
 been fairly tried and defended : whereas the duke 
 took possession of the emolument arising from 
 it, sans ceremoiiie. 
 
 Junius must have been more than a common 
 political enemy to the duke, or he would not 
 have taken such infinite pains to collect a cata- 
 logue of the various indignities that had been 
 offered to him : he writes to his printer more 
 than once, to obtain for him the information, 
 when the duke was flogged by Humphrey : — 
 not satisfied with this, he relates anecdotes of the 
 duchess, which might easily have been obtained 
 from Lord Chesterfield, with whom Lord George 
 was on intimate terms. Another anecdote re- 
 specting the duke's chastisement evidently came 
 from that quarter. " Mr. Heston Humplurey, 
 a country attorney, horsewhipped the duke with 
 equal justice, severity, and perseverance, on the 
 course at Litchfield. Rigby and lord Trentha ra* 
 
 ♦ Characters well known to Lord George. Sec Lord Or- 
 fordVMomoini. 
 
46 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 were also cudgelled in a most exemplary man- 
 ner. This gave rise to the following story: 
 * When the late King heard that Sir Edward 
 Hawke had given the French a drubbing, his 
 Majesty, who had never received that kind of 
 chastisement, was pleased to ask Lord Chester- 
 field the meaning of the word. *Sir,' says Lord 
 Chesterfield, *the meaning of the word — but 
 here comes the Duke of Bedford, who is better 
 able to explain it to your Majesty than I am.' '* 
 
 In confirmation that Lord George and Lord 
 Chesterfield were personally acquainted, we need 
 only refer to Mr. Stockdale*s Memoirs, who re- 
 lates the following anecdote. 
 
 "One day when I dined with Lord George at 
 Chatham, an officer who was in company asked 
 him what he thought of Lord Tyrawley as a bel 
 esprit ? * The first time,' replied he, * that I 
 heard him converse, I thought him very inter- 
 esting j the second time, very well ; and the 
 third time very indifferent. That is not the ^way^* 
 ^dded he, ' with my Lord Chesterfield ; he never 
 fiags.'" 
 
 The allusion which Junius makes to Verres, 
 contrasted with the Duke of Bedford ; "as well 
 tnight Verres have returned to Sicily," reminds 
 us of Swift's satirical description of the Duke of 
 Wharton's lord lieutenancy under that charac- 
 ter. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS, 47 
 
 In the Gentleman's Magazine for September 
 1785, is the following paragraph, which is in 
 accordance with the expression of Junius. 
 
 " The late Lord Sackville, who was a man of 
 extraordinary talents, wrote a beautiful eulogy 
 on the late Princess of Orange, but which never 
 graced the press. The genius, learning, and 
 exalted virtues of the Princess, were the theme 
 of his Lordship's all-powerful pen. 
 
 " The above noble Lord, and his illustrious re- 
 lation Lady Betty Germain, had the art of paint- 
 ing in words to a very eminent degree, and which 
 afforded the finest ornaments in either poetry, 
 history, or elocution. The very animated and 
 beautiful imagery of Cicero, in which he paints 
 the cruelty of Verres, is spoken of with rapture 
 by her Ladyship in some of her letters to Dean 
 Swift. It was in a letter to the above lady that 
 Dean Swift styled Ireland the Isle of Saints." 
 
 The Graftons next claim our attention. His 
 hatred to this family continued unabated to the 
 last. He considered the minister's brother, Lieu- 
 tenant-colonel Fitzroj, as the primary cause of 
 all his disgrace, and that the family had conp 
 spired against him for personal emolument. No 
 epithet, no satire, no words, can express his utter 
 abhorrence of this family. They are all stamped 
 with ignominy. ? 
 
 " There are some hereditary strokes of charac- 
 ter,*' says Junius, •• by which a family may be as 
 
4* A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 clearly distinguished as by the blackest features 
 of the human face." 
 
 But it was the prime minister on whoin Junius 
 fastened like a vulture. 
 
 " If there be not a fatality attending every 
 measure you are concerned in, by what treachery 
 or by what excess of folly has it happened, that 
 those ungracious acts, which have distinguished 
 your adminstration, and which I doubt not were 
 entirely your own, should carry with them a 
 strong appearance of 'personal interest and even 
 of personal enmity ^ in a quarter *where no such 
 interest or enmity can be supposed to exist, without 
 the highest injustice and the highest dishonour V^ 
 —-Letter viii., 18 March, I769. 
 
 " If I were personally your enemy, I might 
 pity and forgive you. You have every claim to 
 compassion, that can arise from misery and dis- 
 tress ; the condition you are reduced to, would 
 disarm a private enemy of his resentment, and 
 leave no consolation to the most vindictive spirit, 
 but that such an object as you are, would dis- 
 grace the dignity of revenge. But in the rela- 
 tion you have borne to this country, you have 
 no title to indulgence ; and if I had followed the 
 dictates of my own opinion, I never should have 
 allowed you the respite of a moment. In your 
 public character, you have injured every subject 
 of the empire; and though an individual is 
 :not authorized to forgive the injuries done to so- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 49 
 
 ciety, he is called upon to assert his separate 
 share in the public resentment. / submitted 
 Jioxvever to the judgement of men, more moderate, 
 perhaps more candid than myself. For my own 
 part, I do not pretend to understand those pt^udent 
 forms of decorum, those gentle rules of discretion, 
 which some men endeavour to unite with the con- 
 duct of the greatest and most hazardous affairs,^* 
 — Letter xxxvi., 14 Feb., 1770. 
 
 The former part of this personal remark al- 
 ludes to the erasure of his name from the Privy- 
 Council list, which the Duke, in conjunction 
 with Lord Chatham, advised the king immedi- 
 ately to enforce. The latter, to the disposal of 
 liis troops at Minden, where he considered his 
 judgement equal to that of Prince Ferdinand, 
 and which opinion he maintained on his trial. 
 
 Lord Chatham next claims our attention. 
 This nobleman had attained the zenith of his 
 power at the time of Lord George's trial, and 
 sided with the King and Prince Ferdinand in 
 contributing to his disgrace. His influence at 
 Court continued, and although it may be matter 
 of opinion at the present day, whether he used 
 it impartially or not — it is evident that Junius 
 watched him with a jealous eye, and freely com- 
 mented on his public conduct. 
 
 " The siime measures, by which an abandoned 
 ])rofligate is advanced to power, must be observed 
 
50 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to maintain him in it. The principal nobility, who 
 might disdain to submit to the upstart insolence 
 of a dictator, must be removed from every post of 
 honour and authority ; all public employments 
 must be filled with a despicable set of creatures, 
 who having neither experience nor capacity, nor 
 any weight or respect in their own persons, will 
 necessarily derive all their little busy importance 
 from him."— Miscel. Letter i., 28 April, I767. 
 
 To the Earl of Chatham, Junius attributed 
 the great increase of the national debt, which 
 he predicted the country would never be able to 
 repay. 
 
 *• Your correspondent of yesterday, in his ac- 
 count of the new ministerial arrangements, has 
 thrust in a laboured bombast panegyric on the 
 Earl of Chatham : in which he tells us, that this 
 country owes more to him than it can ever 
 repay. Now Mr. Woodfall, I entirely agree 
 with Mr. Macaroni, that this country does owe 
 more to Lord Chatham than it can ever repay : 
 for to him we owe the greatest part of our na- 
 tional debt ; and that I am sure we never can 
 repay." — Letter xi., 22 Dec, I767. 
 
 His introducing the Duke of Grafton into ad- 
 ministration, his opposition to Mr. Grenville, 
 (whose principles Lord George greatly admired), 
 his decided opposition to the American Stamp 
 Act, his advice to the king respecting the erasure 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 51 
 
 of his name from the Privy Council list, and the 
 comments he made when Lord George appeared 
 at court on the accession of George the Third, 
 all combined, tended more than to counter- 
 balance the favourable opinion which Junius en- 
 tertained of his abilities as a senator, and well 
 wisher to his country. Nor was it until he made 
 so able a speech against the judgement of Lord 
 Mansfield on WoodfalPs trial, for publishing 
 Junius's Letter to the King, that he had the 
 candour to reverse his opinion of him. 
 
 The next on our list is Henry Frederick, Duke 
 of Cumberland, a younger brother of George tlie 
 Third, who appears to have come under the no- 
 tice of Junius in consequence of his marriage 
 into the Luttrell family, and who may be sup- 
 posed to have sided with the Court party, which 
 at this period was known to be obnoxious to 
 Lord George Sackville. 
 
 TO HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE DUKE OF 
 CUMBERLAND. 
 «* SIR, 
 
 " I BEG your royal Highncss's acceptance of 
 my sincere compliments of congratulation upon 
 your auspicious union with the daughter of Lord 
 Imham, and the sister of Colonel Luttrell. For 
 the present you will have so few of these com- 
 pliments paid you, that mine perliaps may be 
 
 e2 
 
5^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 thought worthy your attention. I do assure 
 your highness, with great sincerity, that, when 
 I consider the various excellencies which adorn 
 or constitute your personal character, — your 
 natural parts — ^your affable, benevolent, gene- 
 rous temper — ^your good sense, so singularly 
 improved by experience — and, above all the 
 rest, the uncommon education which your vene- 
 rable mother took care to give you, — I do not 
 think it possible to have found a more suitable 
 match for you than that which you have so dis- 
 creetly provided for yourself. What you have 
 done, will, I am sure, be no disgrace to yourself 
 nor to any of your relations. Yet I must confess, 
 partial as I am to you for the sake of that good 
 prince, of whose resemblance you carry some 
 cutting traces about you, I could wish you did 
 not stand quite so near as you do, to the regency 
 and crown of England.— God forbid I should 
 ever hear your royal nephews say, as Edward 
 the Fifth does in the play. But why to the Tower, 
 uncle ! Or why should you lock us up, aunt I I 
 mean, their uncle Luttrell and aunt Horton. 
 
 " But, my good youth, let no considerations 
 of this sort interrupt your pleasures. Your 
 amiable spouse is as much Duchess of Cumber- 
 land, as our gracious queen, is Queen of Great 
 Britain ; and of course she is the second woman 
 in the kingdom. Your papa Irnham must at 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 53 
 
 least take rank of Lord Mansfield ; your brother 
 Henry, of the Princes of Mecklenburgh, and 
 your sister Miss Luttrell, of Madam Swellem- 
 burgh. As to the king's not acknowledging 
 the duchess, or forbidding her the Court, it sig- 
 nifies nothing. Her marriage is good in law, 
 and her children will be legitimate. She may 
 order plays, keep a court of her own, and set 
 the Princess Dowager at defiance. But you need 
 have no fear of being ill used. Your brother 
 Harry [Luttrell] has a dagger at the throat of a 
 certain person, and swears he will let the cat 
 out of the bag about the Middlesex election. 
 So far from offending Harry, I should not won- 
 der to see him aid-de-camp to tlie King, and in 
 a little time commander-in-chief,'* — Letter cii., 
 13 Nov. 1771. 
 
 The subject of the Duke of Cumberland's 
 marriage could not possibly interest any political 
 writer who had not some personal pique, eitlier 
 against the duke, or Colonel Luttrell's family. 
 Lord George's animosity extended to both. It 
 is well known that Lord Bute, who had espoused 
 Prince Ferdinand's cause, had also exerted 
 great influence over the Princess Dowager and 
 her family, and who had been induced through 
 that influence so far to slight Lord George, as 
 to forbid his appearance at Court ; and we have 
 tlic authority of the debates in Uic Houbc of 
 
iit A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Commons to prove the contempt Lord George 
 entertained for the name of Luttrell. His ani- 
 mosity was carried to so great a height during 
 " the debate on Mr. Vyner's motion for an en- 
 quiry into the Convention of Saratoga," that a 
 duel had well nigh taken place between the par- 
 ties. The particulars are too important and too 
 closely connected with our enquiry to be passed 
 over in silence. 
 
 In the course of the debate, — 
 
 " Mr. Temple Luttrell drew a comparison 
 between the conduct of the officer and his mi- 
 nister. * In former times,' he said, * it had been 
 the custom of Britons to give praise and thanks 
 to such of their officers and servants as exerted 
 their strenuous and zealous effiDrts for the public 
 weal, even if those effiDrts were not crowned with 
 success : but now-a-days they bestowed praise 
 only in proportion to the listlessness and inat- 
 tention with which those servants performed 
 their duty. The noble lord, said he, in the blue 
 riband [Lord North], disclaims being dictator 
 whenever the mismanagement of government 
 comes under the consideration of parliament. 
 Whether Great Britain is prosperous or de- 
 feated, it is none of his plan, none of his act. 
 In every thing essential to the greatness or hap- 
 piness of the nation, we find the noble lord 
 timid ; he is not the first minister, he is only 
 the instrument of the Privy Council : he has but 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 55 
 
 one humble vote there, and cannot be account- 
 able to the nation for the folly of the plans he 
 undertakes to recommend to his sovereign. And 
 should the plan strike at the liberties of the 
 country, at the very root of the constitution, he 
 is tlien but the echo of parliament. In what is 
 the noble lord daring and enterprising? He 
 prides himself but on one act founded on his own 
 resolutions, judgement, and integrity ; he asks 
 credit in parliament but for one ornament added 
 to the crown, one benefit to the state : that act 
 of his own, consists in having fixed on a crisis of 
 impending ruin and calamity unknown in the 
 annals of our history before, and which the 
 firm spirit and exalted wisdom of a Chatham 
 might have found difficult to cope with ; then 
 did he seize the glorious opportunity to recom- 
 mend to his sovereign a war minister [Lord 
 George Germain] whose public incapacities for 
 every vigorous exertion of mind, whose dis- 
 grace at the Court of George the Second was 
 founded on the most decisive censure of a court- 
 martial ; whose loss of the nation's confidence 
 and his own character, is on public record. 
 What had the nation to expect from his coun- 
 cils ? What plan of his, since in his office, dare 
 he expose to the public eye, and say it has suc- 
 ceeded ? Why then should we give him a partial 
 acquittal to the prejudice of a gallant officer 
 
56 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 [General Burgoyne], whose only crime has been 
 avowedly that he was too zealous, too brave, too 
 enterprising, too anxious for the good of his 
 country ; had strictly obeyed his orders ; and 
 done all that British valour was capable of, to 
 carry the minister's plan into execution. Had 
 he, instead of that, receded from his colours, 
 disobeyed the commands of his superiors, and 
 hid himself from danger, he might have had pre- 
 tensions to one noble lord's patronage [Lord 
 North], and to the other's [Lord George Ger- 
 main] dignities and emoluments. General Bur- 
 goyne asks a fair and open trial ; the man who 
 shrinks from it and avails himself of an unjust 
 partial acquittal, must be guilty. 
 
 " Lord George Germain said, * that he never 
 was personal in the House to any one ; never 
 by any conduct of his, merited such an attack ; 
 he despised that honourable member, but *would 
 level himself with his 'wretched character and ma- 
 lice ; old as he was, he would meet that Jighting 
 gentleman and be revenged.' 
 
 " (Here he was interrupted by a cry of order 
 in the House, and general confusion.) 
 
 " The Speaker said, if the House would sup- 
 port him, he w^ould keep order (a cry of Chair, 
 chair !) 
 
 " Lord North admitted, that Lord George 
 Germain had been out of order j what fell from 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 5^ 
 
 liim had nothing to do with the question. It 
 was a personal attack on an individual, and 
 therefore out of order. 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell said he would not be bullied out 
 of the privilege of a member of that House ; he 
 had a right to speak his sentiments publicly and 
 fully on a public character. The sentence of the 
 court-martial in the reign of George the Second 
 was a public record, relative to a man in a public 
 post of trust, which required spirit, zeal, abilities 
 and integrity, and many essential qualities as re- 
 quisite in a war minister as in a general. He had 
 not alluded to the noble lord's private vices or 
 virtues, and if he could be conceived out of order 
 as to the question, it could not imply that public 
 charge of the minister w3ls a, private personalih/." 
 
 Mr. Luttrell took an opportunity in the con- 
 fusion of debate to get out of the House, to 
 avoid being compelled not to resent Lord George 
 Germain's personal abuse of him ; but the 
 Speaker gave orders to the Sergeant at Arms to 
 stop Mr. Luttrell and bring him to his seat. 
 
 " The Speaker then said, that words of heat 
 having dropped from two honourable members 
 in the course of the debate, he must require 
 them to stand up in their places and give the 
 House an assurance that the matter should go 
 no further. 
 
 " Lord George Germain said, if any words 
 
58' A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 had been used by him that were improper to be 
 said in the House, he was sorry for it, and hoped 
 the House would excuse it. He acknowledged 
 he was out of order. 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell was then called upon. — He said, 
 * if after being insulted for doing his duty, he was 
 to be committed for delivering the sentence of 
 George the Second, he should prefer being com- 
 mitted, to giving up the privilege of parliament 
 and promising to take no notice of a personal 
 attack — not founded upon public opinion, upon 
 any motive, upon any trial — and hearing epithets 
 made use of against him which were almost as 
 personal as they appeared : he should give no 
 other answer, and abide by the decision of the 
 House.' *' Several members rose, and a dispute 
 ensued, whether Lord George had made suf- 
 ficient apologies or not, and a motion was made 
 about eleven o'clock by Mr. Butler — 
 
 "' That the Hon. Temple Luttrell, be imme- 
 diately taken into the custody of the sergeant-at- 
 arms.'" 
 
 Disputes continued till past twelve, in which 
 Sir James Lowther, Sir G. Yonge, Mr. Howard, 
 and others were of opinion that the privilege of 
 parliament would suffer, if Mr. Luttrell were com- 
 mitted upon the present facts before the House, 
 and drew a distinction between public and pri- 
 vate chai'ges. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 69 
 
 Mr. Butler, Mr. Onslow, and many members 
 on that side, thought Lord George could not in 
 honour make further apologies, and were there- 
 fore for committing Mr. Luttrell. 
 
 ** Mr. Luttrell stood up and said, * that being 
 again informed by the oldest members of parlia- 
 ment from every quarter of the House, that no 
 public business whatever could go on till this 
 altercation was settled, and being resolved to 
 abide at all events by his privilege of parlia- 
 ment, he should beg leave to second the motion 
 for his immediate commitment ; that by his ab- 
 sence tlie house might proceed on a question of 
 great importance to every military man and to 
 the wliole nation : and that as parliament had 
 but a few days more to sit before its proroga- 
 tion, and still more weighty affairs of state re- 
 mained for their discussion, it was necessary to 
 discharge this dispute : he would make no apo- 
 logy for public severity of language, but an apo- 
 logy he must seek for personal insult to himself.^ 
 Upon this, Mr. Luttrell was, between twelve and 
 one o'clock in the morning going to be taken 
 into the custody of the sergeant-at-arms, when 
 
 " Lord George Germain rose to make a second 
 reply, which was fairly and particularly addressed 
 to the honorable gentleman for certain improper 
 words which the noble lord had addressed to him 
 
66^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 in the warmth of debate, and from feeHng him- 
 self hurt by the charges stated against him. 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell then said, that * now the House 
 was satisfied that sufficient apology was made 
 for the personality they had heard spoken against 
 him, he should out of respect to the House com- 
 ply with their injunctions that it should go no 
 further : and begged leave once more to observe 
 that, what was said by him of the noble lord 
 was meant as public matter, not as private abuse 
 or enmity.'" — Here the affair ended. 
 
 However ill timed, out of place, or unsuitable 
 to the debate in question, Mr. Luttrell's re- 
 marks on the conduct of Lord George might 
 have been ; the latter evidently betrayed an un- 
 warrantable warmth of temper in his reply. 
 The animosity that subsisted between them 
 may account for the feelings of Lord George 
 having been so wrought upon, as to induce 
 him to make use of expressions, highly indignant 
 and reprehensible. His private character, al- 
 though adorned with many valuable qualifica- 
 tions, was known to possess this failing. 
 
 And here we can but notice the same indivi- 
 dual enmity which is peculiar to Junius when 
 he has been offended. 
 
 In his private letter to Mr. Woodfall, he says 
 " That Swinney, is a wretchedy but a dangerous 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 6l* 
 
 fool." In the instance before us, Lord George 
 publicly remarked, ** that he despised that hon- 
 ourable member ; but would level himself with 
 his wretched character and malice." 
 
 This involuntary instance of disdain, hauteur, 
 and contempt towards a member of the House 
 of Commons, while it betrays the weakness of 
 human nature, tends to depicture a certain cha- 
 racteristic which prevails throughout Junius : — 
 nor is it possible to contrast the two expres- 
 sions without being forcibly struck with the 
 truth of this observation. 
 
 We may also observe that the same spirit dis- 
 played by Junius against General Burgoyne 
 (Letter xxxiv., 12th Dec. 17^9), is exemplified 
 in the case before us, where Mr. Temple Luttrell 
 warmly espouses his cause, and Lord George as 
 warmly refers it to a court-martial. But in the 
 case of Sir Jeffery Amherst who was placed in a 
 similar situation to General Burgoyne some 
 years before ; Junius employs many pages of 
 his eloquence in censuring ministers and pro- 
 tecting his friend, in which he was ultimately 
 successful. Ministers became tired of his fre- 
 quent appeals to the public, and although they 
 had deprived Sir Jeffery of his command in 
 America in the first instance, they were ulti- 
 mately obliged to concede to his terms, as Junius 
 had foretold. 
 
6^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 In Miscellaneous Letter, xliv., 20th Sept. 
 1768, he observes, — 
 
 ** When you, my Lord [Hillsborough], and 
 Mr. Ford are forgotten, this country will remem- 
 ber with gratitude, that Sir Jeffery Amherst had 
 the honour of making sixteen French battalions 
 prisoners of war ; that he carried on the whole 
 war in America at an expense less than the for- 
 tunes which some individuals had acquired by 
 contracts and management in Germany ; and that 
 he did not put the savings into his own pocket. 
 
 " Here I shall conclude. You have sent Sir 
 Jeffery Amherst to the plough. You have left 
 him poor in every article of which a false fawn- 
 ing minister could deprive him ; but you have 
 left him rich in the esteem, the love, and venera- 
 tion of his country. You cannot now recal him 
 by any offer of wealth or honours. Yet I foretel 
 that a time will come, when you yourself will be 
 the cause of his return. Proceed, my Lord, as 
 you have begun, and you will soon reduce this 
 country to an extremity, in which the wisest 
 and best subjects must be called upon, and must 
 be employed. Till then enjoy your triumph." 
 
 Now it is well known that Lord Amherst and 
 Lord George Sackville had always lived on the 
 most intimate terms from childhood. Sir Jeffery 
 was born within a mile of Knowle Park, Lord 
 George's paternal residence, and it was to Lionel, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 6S 
 
 Duke of Dorset, that he owed his first appoint- 
 ment in the army. At the time when the Duke 
 of Dorset was lord lieutenant of Ireland and his 
 son. Lord George Sackville was his Secretary, 
 Sir JefTery Amherst formed part of the house- 
 hold ; which circumstance was mentioned by 
 Lord George to the King on the occasion of liis 
 being created a Viscount. Sir JefTery was a 
 constant visitor at his Lordship's town residence 
 in Pall-Mail : and was consulted by him on all 
 occasions. 
 
 When Lord George became secretary of state 
 for the American colonies, Sir Jeffery Amherst 
 was made a member of the cabinet : and through 
 Lord George's influence, he was also appointed 
 commander-in-chief of his majesty's forces, and 
 created a Baron. 
 
 The same enthusiasm is displayed by Junius 
 when speaking of Mr. Grenville, as of his friend 
 Sir JefTery Amherst. 
 
 Miscellaneous Letter x., 19 December, I767, 
 on the subject of the American colonies, Junius 
 says — 
 
 " There was indeed one man, [George Gren- 
 ville,] who wisely foresaw every circumstance 
 which has since liappened, and who, with a pa- 
 triot's spirit, opposed liimself to tlie torrent. 
 He told us, that, if wc thought the loss of out- 
 standing debts, and of our American trade, a 
 mischief of the first magnitude, such an injudi- 
 
64 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 cious compliance with the terms dictated by the 
 colonies, was the way to make it sure and un- 
 avoidable. It was ne moriare mori. We see 
 the prophecy verified in every particular, and if 
 this great and good man was mistaken in any one 
 instance, it was, perhaps, that he did not expect 
 his predictions to be fulfilled so soon as they 
 have been." 
 
 Again — 15 Dec. I768 — To the right honour- 
 able George Grenville — concludes with this fine 
 eulogium on his character : — 
 
 " Your weight and authority in parliament, 
 are acknowledged by the submission of your op- 
 ponents. Your credit with the public is equally 
 extensive and secure, because it is founded on 
 a system of conduct wisely adopted and firmly 
 maintained. You have invariably adhered to 
 one cause, one language, and when your friends 
 deserted that cause, they deserted you. They 
 who dispute the rectitude of your opinions, ad- 
 mit that your conduct has been uniform, manly, 
 and consistent. While Parliament preserves its 
 constitutional authority, you will preserve yours. 
 As long as there is a real representation of the 
 people, you will be heard in that great assembly 
 with attention, deference, and respect ; and if 
 fatally for England, the designs of the present 
 ministry should at last succeed, you will have 
 the consolation to reflect that your voice was 
 heard, until the voice of truth and reason was 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUSi 66 
 
 drowned in the dih of arms; and that your in- 
 fluence in parliament was irresistible, until every 
 question was decided by the sword.** 
 
 The same admiration of his talents as a states- 
 man, and his character as an individual, was pub- 
 licly expressed by Lord George in the House of 
 Commons, the 25th Feb. lyT^*; on a motion for 
 making the " Grenville Act** perpetual — he said, 
 
 ** The author of this bill, Mr. Grenville, had 
 preserved a good name while in office, and when 
 out : and he sincerely hoped, the noble Lord 
 would endeavour, /o have his name Jianded down 
 to posterity with the same honour as Mr. Gren- 
 ville had,** 
 
 He coincided with Mr. Grenville in the house, 
 on several other occasions, particularly by his 
 strenuous support of the Stamp Act, which will 
 be mentioned in its proper place. 
 
 In 17«57> an administration was attempted to 
 be formed, including Lord G. Sackville as secre- 
 tary at war, and George Grenville, as Chancellor 
 of the Exchequer; this was, however, abandoned. 
 From that period down to the time of Junius, 
 although they continued members in successive 
 parliaments, and coincided in every respect in 
 politics, yet I have never been able to find that 
 they were on terms of personal acquaintance, 
 which accords with the expression of Junius in 
 Letter xviii, ^ July, 17(39: " I have not the ho- 
 nour of being personally known to liim." But it 
 
 F 
 
66 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 is evident by Lord George's eulogium on his 
 character after his decease, that he continued a 
 warm admirer of his talents as a statesman. 
 
 The reader is particularly referred to a most 
 interesting work, entitled " Memoirs of the last 
 ten years of the reign of George the Second, by 
 Horace Walpole, earl of Orford," which fully 
 proves Lord George's personal knowledge of 
 Lord Hertford, Sir Edward Hawke,Lord Gower, 
 Mr. Rigby, Peg Trentham, George Selwyn, the 
 Princess Dowager, Mannikin Ellis, Mr. Conway, 
 Mr. Calcraft, the Duchess of Bedford, the Earl 
 of Dunbar, brother to Lord Mansfield, Sir James 
 Lowther, Mr. Legge, Lord Egremont, and Lord 
 Eglintoun, who are slightly alluded to by Ju- 
 nius. It is unnecessary to particularize them 
 here. I shall conclude this preliminary detail, 
 by extracting such parts of the work as more 
 particularly refer to Lord George's political con- 
 duct in early life, and his subsequent disgrace 
 at court, which still further elucidate the causes 
 of his animosity against the King, the Duke of 
 Bedford, Lord Mansfield, the Earl of Chatham, 
 the Duke of Cumberland, Lord Bute, and other 
 branches of the ministry so personally alluded 
 to by Junius. 
 
 Feb. 1751, Lord George opposes the Duke of 
 Cumberland's Mutiny Bill, in conjunction with 
 Mr. Fox and Colonel Henry Seymour Conway, 
 brother to Lord Hertford : with whom he quar- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 67 
 
 relied afterwards : both Conway and Hertford 
 fall under a share of Junius's satire. — The for- 
 mer in Miscellaneous Letter v. 16 Sept. I767, is 
 styled " Caution without Foresight, a motley 
 thing, half military, scarce civil "; of the latter. 
 Letter lxix. he says, " the indigent circum- 
 stances of Lord Hertford's family account for 
 and justify their conduct," &c. 
 
 24 April 1751, Vol. i. p. 91.—- In the case of 
 General Anstruther, Lord George Sackville said, 
 " The officers were concerned to have this affair 
 enquired into ; that if the general did not dis- 
 culpate himself, could officers with honour serve 
 under him ? that he was sensible of the difficulty 
 of not being able to punish him ; and therefore 
 would give his negative to calling in Ofarel, but 
 proposed to have Anstruther tried by a board of 
 general officers.'* His severity in this instance, 
 as well as towards general Burgoyne, and the 
 affair at Rochfort, gained him many enemies. 
 
 In 1752, Vol. I. p. 244, factions prevailed in 
 Ireland, wherein Lord George forms a conspi- 
 cuous figure. 
 
 Lord Harrington was succeeded in the Lord- 
 Lieutenancy, by ** Lionel, Duke of Dorset, who 
 was a man of caution, dignity and plausibility, 
 and who had formerly ruled Ireland to their uni- 
 versal satisfaction. But he then acted from him- 
 self j he was now in the hands of two men mo^t 
 
 k' <% 
 
i68 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 unlike himself, his youngest son, Lord George 
 Sackville, and Dr. George Stone, the primate of 
 Ireland. The former, a man, of very sound 
 parts, of distinguished bravery, and of as honour- 
 able eloquence, but hot, haughty, ambitious and 
 obstinate. The primate, a man of fair appear- 
 ance, if not inferior parts, more insinuating, but 
 by no means less ambitious, had with no preten- 
 sions in the world, but by being attached to the 
 house of Dorset, and by being brother of Mr. 
 Stone, been hurried through two or three Irish 
 bishopricks up to the very primacy of the king- 
 dom, not only unwarrantably young, but without 
 even the graver excuses of learning or sanc- 
 timony. Instead of attempting to conciliate 
 the affections of a nation offended at his pro- 
 motion, he thought of nothing but governing by 
 the same influence by which he had been raised. 
 Lord George, as little disposed to be controuled, 
 would not stoop to the usual management for 
 Mr. Boyle : and he was not likely to be per- 
 suaded to observe any attentions by the primate, 
 who had shaken them off himself. The speaker 
 who had not lost his taste for power, by being 
 accustomed to it, was soon alarmed, and had an 
 opportunity of revenge offered to him almost as 
 ' soon as the offence. 
 
 " Lord George's measures were apt to be ab- 
 rupt : he directly offered the Speaker a peerage, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 6S 
 
 and a pension of 1500/. a year. The Speaker 
 replied, ' If I had a peerage, I should not think 
 myself greater than now that I am Mr. Boyle : 
 for t'other thing, I despise it as much as the per- 
 son who offers it.' This, and some indirect 
 threats equally miscarrying, and the Castle find- 
 ing that their creature Jones must be the first 
 victim, endeavoured to defer what they could 
 not prevent. The Speaker's party moved for a 
 call of the house for that day three weeks ; 
 Lord George Sackville moved to have it that day 
 six weeks — and was beaten ! Whoever has seen 
 the tide first turn in favour of an opposition, may 
 judge of the riotous triumphs occasioned by this 
 victory. The ladies made balls, the mob bon- 
 fires, the poets pasquinades. The address that 
 was soon after sent over to the King, applied 
 directly to Lord George, and not as was usual to 
 the Lord Lieutenant ; and they told his majesty, 
 in plain terms, that it was from apprehension 
 of being misrepresented. " 
 
 This circumstance may fairly account for that 
 satirical passage in Junius's Miscellaneous Let- 
 ter V. 15 Sept. I7G7, where he ridicules " a Scotch 
 Secretary teaching the Irish people the true pro- 
 nunciation of the English language. That bar- 
 barous .people are but little accustomed to figures 
 of oratory." 
 
 Dec. 1753, Vol. I. p. 31<J. The heats in Ireland 
 increased with the success of the opposition. 
 
70 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 The Speaker was adored by the mob ; they wor- 
 shipped him under the name of Roger. They 
 made bonfires of reproach before the door of the 
 primate ; they stopped coaches, and made them 
 declare for England or Ireland. The hackney 
 chairmen distinguished their patriotism by refus- 
 ing to carry any fare to the Castle. A Dr. An- 
 drews of the Castle faction, reproaching a Mr. 
 Lambert at the door of the House of Commons, 
 with forfeiting a promise of bringing him into 
 parliament, and proceeding to a challenge, Lam- 
 bert said, * I will first go into the house and 
 vote against that rascal Neville Jones.' Dr. 
 Andrews repeating the insult, Lambert went in 
 and complained, and Andrews was ordered into 
 custody ; Carter, Master of the Rolls, saying, 
 * What ! would that man force himself into a 
 seat here ! And for what ? Only to prostitute his 
 vote to a man [Lord George Sackville] the 
 known enemy of this country !' " 
 
 It was in allusion to this era, that a political 
 writer in Miscellaneous Letter vii. 22 Oct. I767 
 (erroneously attributed to Junius), says — 
 
 " I believe the best thing I can do will be to 
 consult with my Lord George Sackville. His cha- 
 racter is known and respected in Ireland as 
 much as it is here." 
 
 March 1754, Vol. 1. p. 338, Lord Orford 
 continues : 
 
 " The castle wore so little a spirit of pacifica- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 71 
 
 tion, that the Duke of Dorset wrote to press the 
 disgrace of the Speaker : but the English ministry 
 would have conjured down the storm by pressing 
 the Earl of Hertford to go lord deputy, when the 
 Duke of Dorset should return, which would have 
 avoided the ungracious removal of the primate's 
 share in the regency. But this was a most un- 
 welcome measure, not to that prelate only ; 
 Lord George Sackville foresaw that Mr. Conway, 
 a kind of cotemporary rival, and brother of Lord 
 Hertford, would necessarily share the popular 
 merit of restoring tranquillity ; and accordingly 
 as was supposed, instigated the Irish chancellor 
 to write to England, that, if he was to carry the 
 seals before Lord Hertford, he should desire to 
 come to England during that period. Not con- 
 tent with this, the Duke himself wrote to prevent 
 having Lord Hertford for deputy." 
 
 I have already mentioned in what manner Ju- 
 nius speaks of Mr. Conway and Lord Hertford, 
 which the reader must observe will equally apply 
 in the instance before us. 
 
 Feb. 1755, Vol. I. p. 374. " Tlie Chancellor and 
 Newcastle acquainted tlie Duke of Dorset that 
 he was to return no more to Ireland. He bore 
 the notification ill, and produced a letter from 
 the primate, which announced a calmer posture 
 of affairs, and mentioned a meeting of the op- 
 position, at which no offensive healths liad been 
 
7^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 suffered. Lord George Sackvilie, who was pre- 
 sent, had more command of himself, and owned 
 that one temperate meeting did not afford suf- 
 ficient grounds to say that animosities were com- 
 posed ; and he agreed to the prudential measure 
 of their not going over again." 
 
 This result was strictly adhered to : the family 
 never went over afterwards. The Duke retired 
 with a pension of 3000/. a year, added to his ward- 
 enship of the Cinque Ports. Lord George Sack- 
 vilie retained the sinecure in Ireland, of Deputy 
 Ranger of the Phoenix Park, which was after- 
 wards taken from him, with many other emolu- 
 ments, and given to the Duke of Bedford, with 
 whom the family w^ere on bad terms. See voL 
 H. 415. 
 
 17^5, Vol. I. p. 489. Lord Orford, on a 
 retrospection of the parliamentary orators of that 
 day, observes, " Lord George Sackvilie in- 
 formed and convinced ; he spoke, because he 
 knew that others misled, or were misled ; with a 
 frankness in his speech, there w^as a mystery in 
 his conduct, which was far from inviting." 
 
 1756, Vol. II. p. 57. " In the Antelope, a 
 little cargo of courage, as it was called, were 
 sent at the same time Lord Tyrawley and Lord 
 Panmure, to supersede General Fowke, and take 
 the government of Gibraltar." 
 
 Lord George was friendly to General Fowke, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. JS 
 
 who was afterwards tried by a court martial, 
 p. 69, and broken by the king. In allusion to 
 tliis circumstance, Junius says, in Miscellaneous 
 Letter cvii. I7 Feb. 1772, to Lord Barrington 
 (sixteen years after the event took place) — 
 " After ruining that brave and worthy man. Ge- 
 neral Fowkey under the auspices of the Duke of 
 Newcastle, who saved you from destruction, you 
 deserted to Mr. Pitt, the moment he came into 
 power." 
 
 Lord George's friendship for General Fowke 
 drew him into a squabble with Lord Tyrawley af- 
 terwards, whom he roundly censured for extrava- 
 gance on his station, in dissipating the public 
 money. 
 
 1758, Vol. II. p. 290. " Lord George Sackville 
 was now rising to a principal figure. His abili- 
 ties in the House of Commons, and his interest 
 with Pitt gave him great weight in government, 
 and every thing seemed to promise him the first 
 rank in the army, where, since the depression 
 of Conway, he stood without a rival. Tlie Duke 
 [of Cumberland] who hated him, was removed; 
 Marshal Ligonier was very old, and was go- 
 verned by him ; and by his seat in the Ord-^ 
 nance, and his own address, he began to balance 
 Fox in the direction of the Duke of Marlbo- 
 rough. But his imperious temper was not to be 
 restrained ; and at this very period, he wantonly 
 
74 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 started an enemy, under whose lash he had 
 reason afterwards to wish he had not fallen. A 
 considerable officer was Lord Tyrawley, too old 
 to give jealousy to Lord George, and who, hav- 
 ing been neglected by the Duke of Newcastle, 
 had treated the latter with a contempt, which, 
 beside attaching himself to Fox, had assured an 
 entire stop to his own farther advancement. 
 Lord Tyrawley had a thorough knowledge of 
 the world, though less of his own country than 
 of others 5 he had long been minister in Portu- 
 gal, where he grew into such favour, that the 
 late king, to keep him there, would have ap- 
 pointed him his general. He had a great deal 
 of humour and occasional good breeding, but 
 not to the prejudice of his natural temper, which 
 was imperiously blunt, haughty and contemp- 
 tuous, with an undaunted portion of spirit. Ac- 
 customed to the despotism of Portugal, Muscovy, 
 and the army, he had little reverence for parlia- 
 ments, and always spoke of them as the French 
 do of the long robe ; he even affectednot to 
 know where the House of Commons was. He 
 was just returned from Gibraltar, where he had 
 ordered great additions to the works, with no 
 more economy than governors are apt to do who 
 think themselves above being responsible. Lord 
 George Sackville caught at this dissipation, and 
 privately instigated Sir John Philipps to censure 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 7^ 
 
 the expense. To their great surprise Lord Ty- 
 rawley demanded to be heard at the bar of the 
 House of Commons, in his own defence. A day 
 was named. Lord Tyrawley drew up a memo- 
 rial which he proposed to read to the House ; 
 and which in the meantime he did read to every 
 body else. It was conceived in bitter terms 
 against Lord George, and attacked him roundly 
 on having avoided all foreign command. This 
 alarmed Lord George, who got the day of hear- 
 ing adjourned for near a fortnight: but Lord 
 Tyrawley was not a man to recede from his 
 point : and Lord George having underhand 
 procured the report of Skinner, who surveyed 
 the works at Gibraltar, to be brought before the 
 House, without mentioning what it was, Mr. 
 Fox laid open the unhandsome darkness of this 
 conduct, and Lord Tyrawley himself appeared 
 at the bar. As the hearing was before the com- 
 mittee, high words were avoided, which must 
 have ensued, had the Speaker, who was not wont 
 to suffer disrepect to the House, been in the 
 chair, for Lord Tyrawley made good by his be- 
 haviour all that had been taken for vapour be- 
 fore he appeared there. He treated the House 
 with great freedom, their forms with still greater; 
 and leaning on the bar (though he was allowed 
 a chair) he browbeat Skinner his censor, who 
 stood on his left hand, with such arrogant 
 
76 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 humour, that the very lawyers thought them- 
 selves outdone in their own style of worrying a 
 culprit. He read his memorial, which was well 
 drawn and somewhat softened, with great art 
 and frankness, and assumed more merit to him- 
 self than he had been charged with blame. Such 
 tough g ame tempted few hunters Lord George 
 was glad to wave the sport ; and the House dis- 
 missed the affair with perfect satisfaction in the 
 innocence of a man who dared to do wrong 
 more than they dared to censure him." 
 
 I do not wish to extend these quotations to 
 an unnecessary length, otherwise, I could point 
 out the influence Lord George possessed in 
 arranging different administrations, particularly 
 Vol. II. p. 142, 210, 222, to which the reader is 
 referred ; which enter minutely into the ca- 
 binet differences between Lord Bute, the Duke 
 of Bedford, the Earl of Chatham, &c. Lord 
 George is by far the most prominent character 
 of the day ; without whose advice or know- 
 ledge, it seemed impossible for the ministry to 
 act on any important occasion ; so that we cease 
 to wonder at the intelligence Junius evinces 
 on all affairs connected with the court, when 
 we become better acquainted with the high po- 
 litical station he once moved in. Neither can 
 we w-onder at his acrimony and invective 
 against, those very men who once looked up to 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 77 
 
 him for advice, when they afterwards so un- 
 generously united in aiding his downfall. And 
 however sacred the middle classes of society, 
 who know but httle of political intrigue and the 
 voice of faction, may hold the character of each 
 other ; and however unwarrantable they may 
 conceive it for any one to contaminate that cha- 
 racter by public exposure, yet we are to bear in 
 mind that the fall of Lord George, naturally 
 endowed with a high spirit, was sufficient to 
 overcome the best intentions, and to induce him 
 to expose to the world those measures which 
 were withheld from the public eye, and which he 
 had not an opportunity privately of censuring 
 with sufficient severity. It is not my province 
 to condemn or speak in favour of such a mea- 
 sure. The letters were written, and no doubt 
 were productive of good to the country at large, 
 however vindictive the intentions of the writer 
 may have been. No one can read those letters 
 without full confidence of an existing cause. 
 That cause we are now investigating, which 
 will be brought more fully to our notice in the 
 concluding extracts. 
 
 " Mr. Pitt, no less enterprizing than Frederic, 
 but a little less informed, and a good deal less 
 disposed to listen to information, determined to 
 strike some mighty stroke on his part, that 
 might combine Ins name with the glory of thM 
 
78 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 King, and cement and justify their harmony. 
 Unfortunately, his mind was not purged of its 
 vision of Rochfort, and he again chose the coast 
 of France for the scene of his romance. A 
 strong fleet was equipped of eighteen ships of 
 the Hne, thirteen frigates, three sloops, four fire 
 ships, and two bomb-ketches, and carrying an 
 army of fourteen thousand landsmen and six 
 thousand marines. The Duke of Marlborough, 
 on whom Lord George Sackville could not avoid 
 attending, was appointed General. Commodore 
 Howe was destined to lead the fleet ; on which 
 Sir Edmund Hawke struck his flag ; but, being 
 persuaded to resume it, accompanied Lord 
 Anson, who took the command himself. The 
 mode of volunteers, which the Duke had always 
 discouraged, now revived ; Sir James Low^ther, 
 master of 40,000/. a-year. Lord Doune, Sir 
 John Armitage, and others, embarked with the 
 expedition. Lord Granby at the same time 
 came into the service, and was appointedColonel 
 of the Blues ; and George Townshend, now 
 there was no more question of the Duke, re- 
 turned to the army and was restored on the 
 foot of his former rank. The armament sailed 
 on the first of June. Lord Anson, with the 
 larger ships, kept out at sea ; Howe led the 
 transports, which for some days were kept back 
 by contrary winds, but anchored on the fifth in 
 
THR LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 79 
 
 Cancale Bay, near St. Malocs. The troops landed 
 without opposition ; when tlic connnantlors (as 
 in former expeditions) seeming dispatched, so 
 scanty \vas their intelligence, to discover tlic 
 coast of France, rather than to master it, soon 
 discovered that the town was so strongly situated, 
 anil approachable only by a narrow causeway, 
 that, aller burning a parcel of smaller vessels, 
 tiiey returned to their ships j and the French 
 learned that tiiey were not to be conquered by 
 every Duke of Marlborough. The Duke himseil' 
 was personally brave, and was eager to land on 
 the first possibility ; but he had neither experi- 
 ence nor information, nor probability on his side 
 adi quate to such a bravado. However it was 
 well for him that his miscarriage happened 
 uniler the auspices of Pitt, not of Fox. Here, 
 it was said, his Grace and his troops remarked 
 that Lord George Sackville w^as not among the 
 rtrst to court danger ; and Howe, who never 
 made a friendship but at the mouth of a cannon, 
 had conceived and expressed strong aversion to 
 iiim. It is certain, that both the Duke and 
 Lord (icorge were so sick of naval expeditions, 
 that after parading before (iranville and Ciier- 
 burg, they returned with the fleet to St. Helen's, 
 and set out for the army in Germany, where 
 the Duke took the command of the English 
 forces. — The King would have hiuilercd Lord 
 
80 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 George from going to Germany ; but he pre- 
 ferred it to expeditions, and would go ; and did, 
 even without kissing the King's hand. He had 
 also offended Mr. Pitt, afterwards Earl of 
 Chatham. Pitt had offered him the command 
 of the expedition to St. Cas. Lord George 
 replied, ' lie was tired of bicccaneering,' It was 
 to avoid that service that he had insisted on 
 going to Germany — but Pitt did not forget the 
 sarcasm on his expeditions.'* — 1758, Vol. ii. p. 
 304. Expedition to St. Maloes. 
 
 From this statement, we find Lord George 
 had many enemies among those who were after- 
 wards noticed by Junius. With Lord Howe he 
 was avowedly on bad terms. The King he had 
 offended. Pitt he had offended : and with re- 
 spect to Sir James Lowther and Sir Edward 
 Hawke, they might easily have said something 
 to incur his displeasure. Lord Howe being a 
 naval officer, had nothing to do with the affiiir 
 at Minden — he is therefore only alluded to by 
 Junius in general terms. Of Sir James Lowther, 
 Junius says in Letter lvii. 
 
 "to his grace the duke of GRAFTON. 
 
 " Your Lordship, perhaps, could see with plea- 
 sure the miseries of that devoted country [West- 
 moreland] ; you could, perhaps, contemplate 
 with inward satisfaction, the glorious and exalt- 
 
tHE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 81 
 
 cd figure of Sir James Lowther, while you beheld 
 him with an air of triumphant dignity, ride in the 
 whirlwind and direct the storm." 
 
 Of Sir Edward Hawke, Miscellaneous Letter 
 Lxviii., Junius says — 
 
 " To what a poor insignificant condition has 
 he now reduced himself! Behold him at such a 
 conjuncture as the present, meanly keeping pos- 
 session of an office which he owes to Lord Chat- 
 ham's friendship, and distinguished as the only 
 surviving minister who supports the present ad- 
 nistration.** 
 
 Of the Earl of Chatham, Miscellaneous Let- 
 ter, XI. — 
 
 ** I cannot admit, that because Mr. Pitt was 
 respected and honoured a few years ago, the 
 Earl of Chatham therefore deserves to be so now; 
 or that a description which might have suited 
 him at one part of his life, must of necessity be 
 the only one applicable to him at another. It 
 is barely possible, that a very honest commoner 
 may become a very corrupt and worthless peer." 
 1758, Vol. II. p. 323, Lord Orford continues — 
 "While our army in Germany lay on the de- 
 fensive, the fatal distempers incident to a camp 
 raged there, and, in particular, carried off the 
 Duke of Marlborough. The command of the 
 English devolved on Lord George Sackville, 
 between whom and Prince Ferdinand tiiere was 
 
 I 
 
82 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 by no means any cordiality. Both liked to go- 
 vern, neither was disposed to be governed. Prince 
 Ferdinand had gained an ascendant over the 
 Duke of Marlborough, and Lord George had 
 lost it; sufficient ground -work for their enmity. 
 Lord Granby, the next in rank to Lord George, 
 was an honest, open hearted young man, of un- 
 daunted spirit, and no capacity ; and if he want- 
 ed any other recommendation to Prince Ferdi- 
 nand, besides these ductile quaUties, he drank 
 as profusely as a German. Lord George's 
 haughtiness lost this young man, as he had the 
 Duke of Marlborough ; Prince Ferdinand knew 
 better how to bend in order to domineer.'* 
 
 I have already noticed Junius's pointed attack 
 on Lord Granby ; I therefore merely quote a pa- 
 ragraph here, in unison with Lord Orford's tes- 
 timony of his inclination for the bottle, which 
 Lord George had frequent opportunities of wit- 
 nessing. 
 
 Letter in. To Sir William Draper. — 
 " I desire it may be remembered, that I ne- 
 ver descended to the indecency of inquiring into 
 his convivial hours. It is you, Sir William, who 
 have taken pains to represent your friend in the 
 character of a drunken landlord, who deals out 
 his promises as liberally as his liquor, and will 
 suffer no man to leave his table either sorrowful 
 or sober. None but an intimate friend, who 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 83 
 
 must frequently have seen him in these unhappy, 
 disgraceful moments, could have described him 
 so well** 
 
 An interesting account of the battle of Min- 
 den follows, which is too long for insertion here, 
 the principal circumstances having been already 
 detailed. 
 
 Lord Orford, Vol. ii. p. 379, mentions Lord 
 George's arrival in England. — 
 
 " He immediately wrote to Lord Holderness 
 to demand a court-martial. The demand was 
 evaded for the present. He was told, the officers 
 necessary were employed abroad. Lord Ligonier, 
 the commander-in-chief, and Lord Barrifigton, 
 Secretary at War, ivere more ejcplicit, and iTtform- 
 ed him tJmt if lie desired a court-martial, he must 
 seek it in Germany, This was followed by a mes- 
 sage, delivered by the latter, acquainting Lord 
 George, that not only the command of his regi- 
 ment would be taken from him, but that he 
 would be dismissed from his rank of general, 
 and from his post of lieutenant-general of the 
 ordnance ; and Lord Harrington asked civilly if 
 his Lordship chose to receive that notification 
 then from his mouth, or in writing ! Lord George 
 preferred the latter. * That', replied Lord Bar- 
 rington, * will be easy ; for I know but one pre- 
 cedent, that of the late Lord Cobham : I will 
 send your Lordship the same.' Lord George 
 
 G 2 
 
8^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 smiled, and replied, * I hope your Lordship will 
 send me a copy of Lord Cobham's answer too.' " 
 
 Of Lord Ligonier, but little is said by Junius 
 — merely a declaration of his knowledge, that 
 the command of the army was taken from him 
 contrary to his inclination. 
 
 Letter iii. 7 July 17 67* — • 
 
 " Lord Ligonier did not deliver the army 
 (which you, in classical language, are pleased to 
 call a palladium) into Lord Granby's hands. It 
 was taken from him, much against his inclination, 
 some two or three years before Lord Granby was 
 commander-in-chief. As to the state of the ar- 
 my, I should be glad to know where you have 
 received your intelligence." 
 
 Lord Barrington was the principal actor 
 in the business ; no fewer than thirty pages 
 of the pen of Junius are employed in exposing 
 his conduct. We need only refer to the inter- 
 nal evidence of those letters, to prove they were 
 written by a military man. One instance will 
 suffice, connected with the subject before us. 
 
 Letter cviii. — 
 
 " After treating the most po'werful people in 
 the army with so much unprovoked insolence, it is 
 not to be supposed that field-officers, captains, 
 and subalterns, have any chance of justice at 
 your hands." 
 
 The last letter but one that Junius ever wrote. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 85 
 
 is dated May 8th, I772 ; and near the signature 
 is written Pall Mall, which, the reader will ob- 
 serve, is in unison with Lord George's letter to 
 Lord Barrington, dated from thence, Sept. 17^9, 
 of which a copy is prefixed to this work — This 
 inadvertency is no where else to be found in any 
 one of the letters. 
 
 We now proceed to the conduct of the Earl 
 of Chatham, on this occasion. 
 
 Lord Orford, Vol. 11. p. 380. "This behaviour 
 of the court was not very intelligible ; many even 
 thought it had been concerted, as the gentlest 
 way of letting Lord George escape. Certain it 
 is, that their avoiding to call him to a trial, made 
 liim presume on his cause, and resolve to try 
 to correct the severity of his fortune. On the 
 other hand, the punishment seemed too rigid 
 to a man untried, uncondcmned, who asked a 
 ti'ial, and against whom no complaint was pre- 
 ferred in form. He had even, a fortnight after 
 his disgrace, written to Prince Ferdinand, to 
 know his charge. The latter protested he had 
 no complaint against himy nor had 'written a xcord 
 in his disfavour, till on liearing the discourses in 
 the camp.** 
 
 '* Tenderness to so old a servant as the Duke 
 of Dorset, perhaps, made the King willing to 
 avoid the last severity, which, should Lord 
 George be condemned, would be diflicult to 
 
86 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 avoid. The officers of the fleet, who had seen 
 an example made in their profession, would ex- 
 claim against partiality to a land-ofiicer, the 
 greatness of whose birth would be the obvious 
 cause of such lenity. Mr. Pitt, too, was of no 
 sanguinary complexion, though a rigid exactor 
 of obedience. From the first moment of Lord 
 George's disgrace^ Mr, Pitt warmly adopted the 
 sentiments of Prince Ferdinand, whom he was 
 determined heartily to support. Though he 
 went to visit Lord George in form, he by no 
 means meant to protect him. He would not, he 
 said, condemn any man unheard. But he was 
 sworn to the German cause, and to the heroes, 
 whose success reflected such lustre on his own 
 administration, and concurred so much to give 
 it stability. When Fitzroy returned to the 
 army, Mr. Pitt charged him with the strongest 
 assurances to Prince Ferdinand (as Fitzroy told 
 Mr. Conway) ; ' Tell him,' said Mr. Pitt, * he 
 shall have what reinforcements, what ammuni- 
 tion he pleases — tell him, I will stand or fall with 
 him' Hearing, too, that Lord Mansfield was con- 
 nected with Lord George, and the law intended 
 to support him, *The law', said Pitt, *has nothing 
 to do with that question.' Lord Granby suc- 
 ceeded Lord George Sackville in the ordnance, 
 and General Waldegrave in the regiment." 
 From this statement it plainly appears, that 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 87 
 
 the Earl of Chatham, by his partial conduct, gave 
 sufficient cause for Lord George's resentment. 
 
 1760, Lord Orford, Vol. 11. p. 413. The 
 following paragraph further explains the cause 
 of his animosity to the House of Bedford. 
 
 " Lord George Sackville, having waited till 
 the officers returned from Germany, had written 
 at the end of the year to Lord Holderness, 
 demanding a court-martial. He received for 
 answer, that it would be referred to the judges; a 
 question having arisen, whether he could legal- 
 ly be tried, the orders he had disobeyed having 
 being given by a foreigner. The attorney and 
 solicitor-generals, however, not the judges, were 
 the persons consulted, and they gave their opi- 
 nions that he might have a court-martial. An- 
 other doubt had been started, whether, having 
 been dismissed from the service, his lordship 
 could yet be subject to military law ; but this 
 was then passed over ; and, January 18th, Lord 
 Holderness notified the opinion of the attorney 
 and soHcitor to Lord George, adding, that his 
 Majesty desired to know how his lordship wish- 
 ed to have the proceeding, as there was no 
 specific charge against him. This disculpation, 
 under the hand of a Secretary of State, was 
 remarkable. Some surmised that it had been 
 contrived by Lord Mansfield, (at that time) a 
 friend to Lord George. It was palpable, at least. 
 
88 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 that the court had gone even this length, in 
 order to hold out to Lord George an opportunity 
 of not pushing the matter any further. He, 
 notwithstanding, assuming to himself such a 
 conviction of innocence, that he declared he 
 would even accept of Lord Tyrawley (a brutal 
 man, and one of his bitterest foes on that and 
 former occasions,) for president of the court- 
 martial, wrote in reply to Lord Holderness, 
 * That he had no business to accuse himself, 
 nor had he been guilty of any fault ; but that 
 he concluded Prince Ferdinand must have ex- 
 hibited some charge against him ; otherwise, 
 undoubtedly his Majesty would not have stripped 
 him of every thing in so ignominious a manner ; 
 he therefore repeated his petition for a court- 
 martial, and would abide the event.' Intimations 
 at the same time were privately given to Lord 
 George, that if he would desist from prosecut- 
 ing the affair, the court would also. On the 
 other hand, he was told, that be the consequence 
 how severe soever, the King was firm to Jet the 
 law take its course, should the court-martial 
 once proceed. With any mitigation of his fate, 
 if the event was sinister. Lord George could not 
 flatter himself. He had too many and too 
 powerful enemies to expect any remission. The 
 King hated him, and hated those who favoured 
 him, the Prince's faction. The Duke was as 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 89 
 
 ill-inclined to him. Fox, from private resent- 
 ments, was his enemy. The army, whether the 
 officers were attached to the Duke, to Prince 
 Ferdinand, or to Lord Granby, were equally 
 averse to him. Mr. Pitt, though no bitter eiiemy^ 
 had adopted Prince Ferdinand's cause. The 
 people, too, who, in a free country, are reckoned 
 for something, were prepossessed against him. In 
 his own profession he had disgusted many, both 
 of superior and inferior rank. Newcastle, who 
 never felt for a powerless friend, had abandoned 
 him. The House of Bedford^ from reasons of 
 family, were not his well-wishers. The sister 
 qf the Duchess of Bedford had married Lord 
 John Sac/cville and had quarrelled with Lord 
 George." 
 
 This was the state of things previous to his 
 trial. Faction and clamour prevailed against 
 him. Is it possible, in the annals of history, 
 to point out such another remai'kable instance 
 of the deceitfulness of fortune's favours ? Here 
 we find a man of first rate talents, of high rank 
 in life, suddenly shunned by all the Court, to 
 gratify the jealousy of a foreign Prince, to whom 
 he would not stoop, to gain those favours which 
 were lavislied on the Maiquis of Granby and 
 the Duke of Grafton's brother. Nor was this 
 all. Party spirit at that time ran so high, that 
 families allied by marriage joined in tlic univer^ 
 
90 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 sal censure. The origin of Junius's animosity- 
 is at once explained ; even domestic affairs, un- 
 connected with politics, being at times the 
 subject of his pen. 
 
 In Letter xxix. he says — 
 
 " Let the friends of the Duke of Bedford 
 observe that humble silence which becomes 
 theu' situation. They should recollect, that 
 there are still some facts in store, at which human 
 nature would shudder. I shall he understood 
 hy those whom it concerns when I say, that these 
 facts go farther than to the Duke J** 
 
 Lord Orford continues — 
 
 " On the ^3d of January, I76O, he was ac- 
 quainted that he should have a court-martial. It 
 was appointed, and General Onslow constituted 
 president. A messenger was despatched to Prince 
 Ferdinand to send over evidence. To General 
 Balfour, nominated one of his judges. Lord 
 George objected, on the score of former enmity 
 between them. 
 
 " On the 28th of February, Lord Barrington 
 acquainted the House of Commons, that Lord 
 George Sackville had been put under arrest for 
 disobedience of orders. The Speaker had been 
 much averse to the trial of a member, who was 
 no longer in the army, and hoped it would be 
 opposed : but it was not. Lord Milton, brother- 
 in-law of Lord George, was empowered by him 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 91 
 
 to say, that the trial was what he earnestly 
 desired. Lord Barrington then moved an ad- 
 dress of thanks to the King for the communica- 
 tion, and for his Majesty's tenderness of the 
 privileges of the House. This being readily 
 agreed to, Lord Barrington said it was nemine 
 contradicente : but Doddington had faintly said 
 no, and the Speaker said there had been a ne- 
 gative. Sir Francis Dashwood then said, that 
 he had not opposed the address, as Lord George 
 wished the trial ; but he hoped the measure 
 would be considered hereafter in some mutiny 
 bill, and that the time might be limited how 
 long persons who had quitted the army should 
 be liable to martial law. Doddington added, 
 * That every body seemed to agree it ought not 
 to remain law ; that he did not think it law ; 
 nay, that Lord George might have been tried 
 while he was a military man. Martial law was 
 growing upon us, would eat up the banks and 
 overflow the whole. The mutiny-bill fell to the 
 ground every year, but, like the giant, recovered 
 new strength on touching it.' Sir John Rushout 
 added, that were he in the army, he would not 
 sit on the trial of any man out of it. Sir Francis 
 Dashwood promised to call for a revisal of the 
 mutiny-bill, if nobody else did. 
 
 ** The next day the court-martial met. "When 
 Lord George Sackville appeared before it, seeing 
 
9^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 General Balfour on the bench, he said, *he 
 thought that officer had not been to sit on him, 
 he having made his exceptions, and having been 
 told Balfour should not be of the court.* Balfour 
 said, * he came not to be a judge, nor desired to 
 be, but to know the exception, which he thought 
 touched his honour' — a strong proof how disso- 
 nant courts-martial are from the spirit of the 
 English constitution, which does not understand 
 that persons accused are to be awed by points 
 of romantic honour from excepting against their 
 jury, if suspected of enmity or partiality. Lord 
 George pleaded in opposition, that Balfour had 
 exercised against him in the Ordnance, The 
 court-martial voted that reason insufficient, but 
 told Balfour they would excuse his attendance 
 if he desired it — which he did. They had no such 
 power either of voting the exception invalid, or 
 of excusing him. The King had appointed 
 him, and had allowed the exception. Their 
 next step was more respectful to the laws, and 
 came from a quarter which was not suspected 
 of much tenderness to the prisoner. Lord 
 Albemarle asked him if he was in the army ? 
 the judge-advocate, for the prisoner, answered. 
 No. The court then was cleared, and adjourned 
 to the following Thursday, desiring to have the 
 opinion of the Judges, whether a man no longer 
 m the (irmy was subject to martial law. The 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 95 
 
 attorney and solicitor-generals had determined 
 in the affirmative, grounding their sentiment on 
 those words of the mutiny-bill, ' All persons 
 being officers on the ^5th of March, and conu 
 mitting such and such faults within the course of 
 the year, <§r.' These words being in force as 
 long as the bill, they thought comprehended 
 such persons for the same period. 
 
 " Lord Albemarle had gone farther ; he had 
 asked if the court was empowered to inflict any 
 punishment under capital on the delinquent. 
 This provision of tenderness was not expected 
 from the favourite of the Duke of Cumberland, 
 or from one who had expressed himself warmly 
 enough against Lord George. Private reasons 
 were sought for this conduct by those who 
 would not suppose that in that trial any motives 
 hut those of passion or interest would he hearkened 
 to. They who canvassed Lord Albemarle's 
 behaviour under such prejudice accounted for 
 it by the Duke's envy of Prince Ferdinand, and 
 desire of rescuing even that hated criminal ^Tom 
 his vengeance — yet were those but surmises, not 
 corroborated by any appearance of acrimony in 
 the complexion or conduct of the judges. So ill, 
 however, was Lord Albemarle's obstruction of 
 tlie proceedings accepted by the King, xvho nam 
 pushed on the trial angrily and indecently, that 
 his mother, Lady Albemarle, was omitted in the 
 
94 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 private nightly parties at the Court, and not 
 spoken to in the morning drawing-room. The 
 King went further ; Prince Ferdinand was im- 
 patient for the return of the officers ; General 
 Onslow, president of the court-martial, was 
 member of another on Lord Charles Hay, a 
 brave but mad officer, who having in America 
 reflected on the dilatoriness of Lord Loudon, 
 had been put under arrest by him. Onslow at 
 that trial was seized with an apoplectic fit and 
 died. 
 
 " The King was so impatient of any delay on 
 Lord George Sackville's case, that the Duke of 
 Newcastle, at four in the afternoon, was order- 
 ed to send to the Secretary of War (Lord Bar- 
 rington), then in the House of Commons, di- 
 rections to have a new commission made out 
 that very evening, that not a day might be lost. 
 Four more members too were added to the 
 Court, to guard against any deficiency, the law 
 allowing not a greater number than twenty-one, 
 nor less than thirteen. 
 
 ** Ten Judges (the other two, Bathurst and 
 Clive, of which the former held Lord George's 
 trial illegal, being absent on the Circuit,) gave 
 their opinions, that, as far as they could then 
 see, he might be tried ; but they reserved to 
 themselves a further consideration, if any ap- 
 peal should be made from the sentence. On 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 95 
 
 the very day on which they were to deliver 
 their opinion, arrived the account of Thurot's 
 defeat and death. There was a great Court to 
 congratulate the King ; yet so impatient was he 
 to learn the decision of the bench, that he scarce 
 staid a moment in the drawing-room. In pri- 
 vate he expressed without decency ^ his apprehen- 
 sions of what the German Princes would think of 
 his want of power ^ should he not be able to obtain 
 Lord George*s trial and condemnation. The 
 moment he was certified that the trial might 
 proceed, he named General Pulteney president 
 of the court in the room of Onslow ; and Pul- 
 teney excusing himself. Sir Charles Howard was 
 appointed. March 7th, the trial re-commenced. 
 Lord George, who treated his adversaries with 
 little management, desired the judge-advocate 
 to explain to Wintzenrode, Prince Ferdinand's 
 aid-de-camp, the nature of peijury ; the German 
 replied handsomely, that he understoood it both 
 from religion and honour, and supposed it was 
 the same in all countries." 
 
 The trial being in print it is not necessary to 
 recapitulate. 
 
 " Lord George's own behaviour was most ex- 
 traordinary. He had, undoubtedly, trusted to 
 the superiority of his parts for extricating him. 
 Most men, in his situation, would have adapted 
 such parts to the conciliating the favour of lus 
 
96 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 judges, to drawing the witnesses into contradic- 
 tions, to misleading and bewildering the court, 
 and to throwing the most specious colours on 
 his own conduct, without offending the parties 
 declared against him. Very different was the 
 conduct of Lord George. From the outset, and 
 during the whole process, he assumed a dictato- 
 rial style to the court, and treated the inferiority 
 of their capacities as he would have done if sit- 
 ting among them. He browbeat the witnesses, 
 gave the lie to Sloper, and used the judge-advo- 
 cate (a Scotchman), though a very clever man, 
 with contempt. Nothing was timid, nothing 
 humble in his behaviour. His replies were quick 
 and spirited. He prescribed to the court, and 
 they acquiesced. An instance of such resolu- 
 tion at Minden, had established his character 
 for ever. 
 
 "The trial had lasted longer than was expected. 
 The Mutiny-bill expired ; a new warrant was 
 forced to be made out, and the depositions were 
 read over to the witnesses. It was the third of 
 April before the whole proceeding was closed: 
 the event different from what Lord George had 
 presumed, and yet short of what he had reason 
 to expect. The court-martial pronounced him 
 guilty of having disobeyed Prince Ferdinand's 
 orders, whom, by his commission and instruc- 
 tions, he was ordered to obey : and declared it 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 97 
 
 tlieir opinion that he was unfit to serve his Ma- 
 jesty in any miUtary capacity whatever. 
 
 " The King confirmed the sentence, but, dis- 
 satisfied that it had gone no farther, he could not 
 resist the ungenerous impulse of loading it witli 
 every insult in his power : impotent, as circum- 
 scribed in narrower limits than his wishes ; and 
 unjust, as exceeding the bounds of a just trial ; 
 since no man ought to be punished beyond his 
 sentence. The court-martial's decision was di- 
 rected to be given out in public orders to the 
 army, declaring the sentence worse than death, 
 
 " The King struck Lord George's name out of 
 the council-book, and forbad his appearance at 
 court. The Lord Chamberlain too was ordered 
 to hotify that prohibition to the Prince of Wales, 
 and the Princess Dowager j and lest that should 
 not be sufficient, the Vice Chamberlain was sent 
 to acquaint Lord Bute with it, who said, to be sure 
 tite Prince would not think of seeing Lord George 
 while it was disagreeable to his Mqjestj/. Lord 
 Geoi^e's witnesses and friends were threatened 
 with no less cruelty. Hugo, a Hanoverian, was 
 dismissed on his return to the army. John Smith*, 
 was obhged to quit it here ; and Cunningham 
 was sent to America, though he had been there 
 three times already. Yet not a murmur follow- 
 ed ; as the object was obnoxious, dven the dan- 
 • Fttthcr to Sir Sidney Smith. 
 
 II 
 
98 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 gerous precedent of persecuting witnesses who 
 had thwarted the inclinations of the court, made 
 no impression — so much do liberty and power 
 depend on circumstances and seasons." 
 
 Here we may particularly notice what Lord 
 Orford says respecting the Princess Dowager and 
 Lord Bute ; both of whom prohibited the young 
 Prince from seeing Lord George, after his dis- 
 grace : previous to this event they were on so- 
 ciable terms. 
 
 Junius, in Letter xxxv., 19 Dec. I769, says: — 
 " The plan of tutelage and future dominion 
 over the heir apparent, laid many years ago at 
 Carlton-house, between the Princess Dowager 
 and her favourite, the Earl of Bute, was as gross 
 and palpable as that which was concerted be- 
 tween Anne of Austria and Cardinal Mazarin, 
 to govern Louis the Fourteenth, and, in effect, 
 to prolong his minority until the end of their 
 lives. That prince had strong natural parts, and 
 used frequently to blush for his own ignorance 
 and want of education, which had been wilfully 
 neglected by his mother and her minion. A lit- 
 tle experience, however, soon shewed him how 
 shamefully he had been treated, and for what in- 
 famous purposes he had been kept in ignorance. 
 Our great Edward too, at an early period, had 
 sense enough to understand the nature of the 
 connection between his abandoned mother and 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 99 
 
 the detested Mortimer. But since that time, 
 human nature, we may observe, is greatly alter- 
 ed for the better. Dowagers may be chaste and 
 minions may be honest. When it was proposed 
 to settle the present King's household, as Prince 
 of Wales, it is well known that the Earl of Bute 
 was forced into it, in direct contradiction to the 
 late King's inclination. That was the salient 
 point from which all the mischiefs and disgraces 
 of the present reign took life and motion. From 
 that moment. Lord Bute never suffered the Prince 
 of Wales to be an instant out of his sight. We 
 need not look farther." 
 
 This is in unison v/ith I^ordOrford's testimony : 
 and Lord George, in his character of Junius, 
 had cause to remember the events alluded to. 
 He had also an opportunity of knowing the dis- 
 position, talents, and character of the young 
 King, from having been so much in his com- 
 pany previous to his disgrace ; which accounts 
 for the positive assertion of Junius, in his letter 
 to the Reverend Mr. Home, 24 July 1771, — 
 
 " I know that man much better than any of you. 
 Nature intended him only for a good-humoured 
 ••*• ; a systematical education with long prac- 
 tice has made him a consummate hypocrite." 
 
 We now return to the conduct of George the 
 Second. Such a wanton exercise of the prero- 
 gative was sufl&cient to inflame the mind of any 
 
 H 2 
 
100 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 man, who possessed a spark of fine feeling. 
 This one act was sufficient to tarnish the reign 
 of George the Second, had he previously been 
 ever so popular. It was an act of gross injus- 
 tice, which in our times would undoubtedly 
 have called aloud for redress, and which would 
 have been obtained. Not so under that admi- 
 nistration, the greater part of whom were more 
 or less elevated by the result ; and Lord George 
 himself, calumniated, persecuted, condemned, 
 and deprived of all his emoluments, sought in 
 retirement a refuge from the sneers of the 
 world, and probably meditated those powerful 
 attacks, which, in after years, were destined to 
 make so deep an impression on his countrymen 
 in general, and on those in particular who con- 
 tributed in any way to his disgrace. 
 
 It is not for us to judge, far less to condemn, 
 his mode of retaliation, otherwise we might per- 
 haps call it ungenerous and unmanly. It is suf- 
 ficient for us to prove, that time had not obli- 
 terated the keenest sense of his wrongs, and 
 that, no longer called upon to act, he still suf- 
 fered for himself and his country. 
 
 Having now given a full, fair, and, we trust, 
 an impartial account of the causes, natural and 
 political, which contributed to Lord George 
 Sackville's decline and fall, our next endeavour 
 will be to prove those qualifications, which, in 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 101 
 
 the Preface, we mentioned as essential to the 
 character of Junius ; and finally, that such 
 qualifications actually centered in him. 
 
 As we advance in our enquiry, the facts pre- 
 sented to our notice are so clear, the arguments 
 so unanswerable, and the inferences so conclu- 
 sive, that we are persuaded every candid reader 
 must allow that our endeavours to throw light 
 on this hitherto obscure, but interesting subject, 
 have not been in vain : on the contrary, that 
 the shades of doubt are dispelled, events hitherto 
 withheld from the world, are made perfectly in- 
 telligible, and the object which the writer had 
 in view of setting this question at rest for ever, 
 satisfactorily accomplished. 
 
102 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 The first testimonial which we have to adduce 
 as characteristic of Junius, is 
 
 Article I. — That Junius was an Englishman. 
 
 In the dedication of his Letters to the English 
 nation he says, " Let it be impressed upon your 
 minds, let it be instilled into your children, that 
 the liberty of the press is the palladium of all 
 the civil, political, and religious rights of an 
 Englishman, and that the right of juries to re- 
 turn a general verdict, in all cases whatsoever, 
 is an essential part of our Constitution, not to be 
 controuled or limited by the judges, nor in any 
 shape questionable by the legislature." 
 
 In the preface, — " I am no lawyer by profes- 
 sion, nor do I pretend to be more deeply read 
 than every English gentleman should be in the 
 laws of his country." 
 
 Again, — " 1 am far from meaning to impeach 
 the Articles of the Union. If the true spirit of 
 those articles were religiously adhered to, we 
 should not see such a multitude of Scotch com- 
 moners in the lower House, as representatives 
 
A CRITICAL ENQUIRY, ETC. 103 
 
 of English boroughs, while not a single Scotch 
 borough is ever represented by an Englishman. 
 We should not see English peerages given to 
 Scotch ladies, or to the elder sons of Scotch 
 peers, and the number of sixteen doubled and 
 trebled by a scandalous evasion of the Act of 
 Union. If it should ever be thought advisable 
 to dissolve an act, the violation or observance of 
 which is unvariably directed by the advantage 
 and interest of the Scots, 1 shall say, very sin- 
 cerely, with Sir Edward Coke, * When poor 
 England stood alone, and had not the access of 
 another kingdom, and yet had more and as 
 potent enemies as it now hath, yet the King of 
 England prevailed.' " 
 
 ** The political freedom of the English Con- 
 stitution was once the pride and honour of an 
 Englishman. The civil equality of the laws 
 preserved the property, and defended the safety 
 of the subject. Are these glorious privileges, 
 the birth-right of the people, or are we only 
 tenants, at the will of the ministry ? But that 
 I know there is a spirit of resistance in the 
 hearts of my countrymeny that they value life, 
 not by its conveniences, but by the indepen- 
 dance and dignity of their condition, I should, 
 at this moment, appeal only to their discretion. 
 I should persuade them to banish from their 
 minds all memory of what we were j I should 
 
104f A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 tell them, this is not a time to remember that 
 tjve were Englishmen ; and give it as my last ad- 
 vice, to make some early agreement with the 
 minister, that since it has pleased him to rob us 
 of those political rights which once distinguish- 
 ed the inhabitants of a country where honour 
 was happiness, he would leave us, at least, the 
 humble, obedient security of citizens, and gra- 
 ciously condescend to protect us in our submis- 
 sion." — Letter xxx., 17th October I769. 
 
 ** At such a moment no honest man will re- 
 main silent or inactive. However distinguished 
 by rank or property, in the rights of freedom, 
 we are all equal. As we are Englishmen^ the 
 least considerable man among us has an interest 
 equal to the proudest nobleman in the laws and 
 constitution of his country, and is equally called 
 upon to make a generous contribution in sup- 
 port of them ; whether it be the heart to con- 
 ceive, the understanding to direct, or the hand 
 to execute." — Letter xxxvii., 19 March I77O. 
 
 " The people of England are by nature some- 
 what phlegmatic. This complexional character 
 is extremely striking, when contrasted with the 
 suddenness and vivacity of many of our neigh- 
 bours on the Continent. It even appears re- 
 markable among the several kindred tribes, 
 which compose the great mass of the British 
 Empire. The heat of the Welch, the impetuo- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 105 
 
 sity of the Irish, the acrimony of the Scotch, 
 and the headlong violence of the Creolians, are 
 national temperaments very different from that 
 of the native genuine English. 
 
 " This slowness of feeling is, in some respects, 
 inconvenient ; but, on the whole view of life, 
 it has, I think, the advantage clearly on its side. 
 Our countrymen derive from thence a firmness, 
 an uniformity, and a perseverance in their de- 
 signs, which enables them to conquer the great- 
 €st difficulties, and to arrive at the ultimate 
 point of perfection in almost every thing they 
 undertake." — Miscellaneous Letter xiii., 24 
 Feb. 1768. 
 
 In his dedication to the ** English Nation*\ 
 lie begins by saying, ** I dedicate to you a col- 
 lection of Letters, written by one of yourselves^ 
 for tlie common benefit of us all." 
 
 Bishop Berkley in his Five Hundred Queries 
 has not inserted the following: 
 
 " Whether Scotland and Ireland constitute a 
 part of the English nation ?" — I think not, but 
 it is easy to prove that Junius belonged to nei- 
 ther of those countries, if the miscellaneous 
 letter should be thought insufficient. 
 
 First — That he was not an Irishman. 
 
 " I beg you will convey to your gracious 
 Master my humble congratulations, upon the 
 glorious success of peerages and pensions, so 
 
106 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 lavishly distributed as the rewards of Irish vir- 
 tue."— Letter Lxvii., Nov. 27, 1771. 
 
 " Or a Scotch secretary teaching the Irish 
 people the true pronunciation of the English lan- 
 guage. That barbarous people are but little ac- 
 customed to figures of oratory, &c." — Miscella- 
 neous Letter v., 16 Sept. I767. 
 
 "Void as you are of every shame, can you 
 without a blush, but a blush seldom tinges those 
 happy countenances which have been bathed in the 
 Liffey, can you recommend to the people of En- 
 gland, as ministers, men whose weakness or vil- 
 lainy they have already experienced in office ?" 
 — Letter lvii., 16 June I769. 
 
 Secondly — That he was not a Scotchman ; from 
 his violent antipathy to that nation, which is 
 evident throughout his Letters. I shall insert a 
 few extracts only. 
 
 In the preface. " We must be conversant 
 with the Scots in private life, and observe their 
 principles of acting to us and to each other; the 
 characteristic prudence, the selfish nationality, 
 the indefatigable smile, the persevering assiduity, 
 the everlasting profession of a discreet and mo- 
 derate resentment. If the instance were not 
 too important for an experiment, it might not 
 be amiss to confide a little in their integrity. 
 Without any abstract reasoning upon causes and 
 effects, we shall soon be convinced by experience, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 107 
 
 that the Scots, transplanted from their own 
 country, are always a distinct and separate body 
 from the people who received them. In other 
 settlements they only love themselves : in En- 
 gland they cordially love themselves, and as cor- 
 dially hate their neighbours." 
 
 '* When the loyalty of Tories, Jacobites, and 
 Scotchmen has once taken possession of an un- 
 happy Prince, it seldom leaves him without ac- 
 complishing his destruction." — Letter xxxviii., 
 3 April 1770. 
 
 " Permit me to begin with paying a just tribute 
 to Scotch sincerity wherever I find it. I own 
 I am not apt to confide in the professions of gen- 
 tlemen of that country ; and when they smile, 
 I feel an involuntary emotion to guard myself 
 against mischief." — Letter xli., Nov. 14, I77O. 
 
 " Is there no room at St. James's but for 
 Scotchmen and Jacobites ?" — Letter l., July 9, 
 
 177L 
 
 " The cunning Scotchman never speaks truth 
 without a fraudulent design." — Letter tix., 
 Oct. 5, 1771. . 
 
 It is evident there must have been a cause 
 for the great antipathy invariably displayed by 
 Junius against the whole Scotch nation. What- 
 ever private oj)inions individuals may evince on 
 this subject, sucii opinions are generally confined 
 
108 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to a narrow circle 5 but in the instance before 
 us, we are confident some wound must have been 
 inflicted on Junius, to account for his satirizing 
 them with such marked contempt. 
 
 Lord Orford entertained the opinion that be- 
 cause Lord George Sackville was on familiar 
 terms with a few Scotch officers previous to his 
 disgrace^ that the Scotch nation was favourable to 
 hia cause. In this instance, however, his ideas are 
 founded on false principles. Lord George de- 
 tested Scotland, which is clearly proved by one of 
 his own letters from Perth during the Rebellion. 
 Had the Scotch been favourable to him, he 
 must, according to the nature of things, have 
 been acquitted on his trial, whereas, the whole 
 of the Scotch officers (being, in point of number, 
 more than one half who presided at the court- 
 martial) declared against him. Nor is this a 
 solitary instance. We have evidence to prove, 
 that, previous to his trial, the pen of slander was 
 freely exercised in a certain quarter, in con- 
 demning his conduct at Minden. The press at 
 Edinburgh was not backward in this respect. I 
 have selected the following letter as a specimen 
 of the freedom of that press at this important 
 era. The most philosophic mind could never 
 forget such a torrent of calumny and abuse, 
 couched in language galling to the feelings of 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 109 
 
 any private individual, much more so to a noble- 
 man whose life was at stake. Without seeking 
 further, it is sufficient to convince us, that the 
 whole nation afterwards smarted for so gross an 
 act of injustice, which was so widely circulated. 
 To this subject Junius evidently alludes in his 
 description of the seat of inspiration in Northern 
 writers, Miscellaneous Letter v. 
 
 It is much to be regretted that there is no 
 possibility now of tracing the party who wi'ote 
 the letter, it having been circulated anonymously. 
 Lord George threatened the printers with a pro- 
 secution, which he afterwards abandoned. He 
 however wrote a pamphlet in defence of the in- 
 sinuations thrown out against his character, and 
 employed Mr. Woodfall to print it. This pam- 
 phlet I have tried to procure, but in vain. 
 
 The following is a copy of the Scotch Letter 
 alluded to, and which was printed at Edinburgh 
 for Sands, Donaldson, Murray, and Cochran, in 
 1759. 
 
 A LETTER TO A LATE NOBLE COMMANDER OP 
 THE BRITISH FORCES IN GERMANY. 
 
 ** MY LORD, 
 
 " I SHALL make no apology for addressing you 
 in this public manner. In a free nation, every 
 man who fills a post of trust and importance, 
 is accountable to his fcllow*citizens for the just 
 discharge of his duty. Every one is deeply in- 
 
110 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 terested in his behaviour ; every one, therefore, 
 has a right to scrutinize his conduct ; every one 
 has the privilege of expostulating with him on 
 the merits of his actions. 
 
 " I am moved by no personal animosity, heated 
 by no party, instigated by no faction. Though 
 I mourn principally for the public, I nevertheless 
 feel for you in particular. I do not mean to add 
 insult to misfortune. I do not endeavour to 
 raise a fatal prejudice against you, and anticipate 
 public judgment before you are legally convict- 
 ed of public offence. I am sensible of the danger 
 of influencing the multitude under a free govern- 
 ment. When a popular tumult has been indus- 
 triously raised, I know that justice has been too 
 often sacrificed to appease it. 
 
 " No one can be ignorant of the cruel means 
 which were used to inflame the public against 
 a late unhappy delinquent, and chief commander 
 at sea [Admiral Byng]. Before he had set his 
 foot on shore, papers and pamphlets pronounced 
 his condemnation : he was borne along the streets 
 by the mob as a spectacle of infamy, and hung 
 in effigy. 
 
 " During his trial, every article of examination 
 underwent the severest comment- The charges 
 against him fell under the heads of cowardice, 
 negligence^ or disaffection. His judges unani- 
 mously acquitted him of the^^r^^ and hsL He 
 died — ^for his negligence. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. Ill 
 
 " If justice obliged them to condemn him, yet 
 his negligence was not thought so capital as to 
 exclude him from mercy. His judges unani- 
 mously and warmly recommended him as a fit 
 object of royal clemency. The clamour which 
 this recommendation occasioned, is recent in 
 every one's ears. The demands of justice were 
 loud from every quarter; the walls in every street 
 were defaced with scrolls, which called for ven- 
 geance ; majesty itself was threatened, and po- 
 pular rage dared to interfere with the exercise 
 of the most noble prerogative of the crown. I 
 do not mean however, to insinuate that public 
 clamour influenced the royal determination. Our 
 Sovereign has not only the disposition, but the 
 fortitude, to be just. Had it been a time for 
 clemency, the deUnquent had not fallen a victim 
 to the rigour of his sentence. 
 
 ** The occasion called for severity. The of- 
 fence was proved : the law declared the punish- 
 ment : the nation demanded execution: and the 
 Sovereign approved of it. Justice had its free 
 course, and established an example, to the terror 
 of future offenders. 
 
 " You, my Lord, are supposed to have been 
 zealous in promoting this example. Prompted, 
 no doubt, by the principle which actuates every 
 generous mind, you paid no regard to the wealth 
 of the delinquent, to his uobic alliances, or high 
 
11? A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 rank in the navy. You considered an individual, 
 however great, to be of little importance, when 
 placed in competition with the public. These 
 considerations, it is presumed, influenced you 
 to urge his doom. You had the nation on your 
 side. You had more ; you had justice to sup- 
 port your conduct. 
 
 " No one can condemn the zeal which inspires 
 us with resentment against delinquents who be- 
 tray their honour, and abandon the interests of 
 their country. The principle is noble ; but we 
 certainly ought to be careful in what manner we 
 direct it. Our indignation should not transport 
 us so far as to take facts for granted before they 
 are proved in a course of legal examination. '^* | 
 
 " This caution I mean to observe in examin- 
 ing the circumstances of your supposed crimi- 
 nality. I would not hire a mob to bear you aloft 
 as an object of hatred or derision : I would not 
 bribe them to hang you in eiSigy ; neither shall 
 my pen proclaim you either cowardly, negligent, 
 or disaffected, before you have been heard in 
 your own vindication. 
 
 " Whether it be adviseable or not to send the 
 forces of Great Britain to fight in Germany, is 
 a subject which has been much controverted, 
 and is quite foreign from my discussion. It is 
 sufficient for the present purpose that it was 
 thought expedient by those whose influence 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 113 
 
 caused them to be transported : and whatever 
 might be the sentiments of particulars, it is cer- 
 tain, that the approbation of the kingdom in 
 general gave a sanction to the measure. 
 
 " No troops were ever animated with more 
 distinguished ardour. Commanders among the 
 first rank in nobility, volunteers of fashion and 
 fortune, all nursed in the downy lap of ease, 
 forsook at once the pomp of a court, the joys 
 of a new-wedded love, with all the pleasures of 
 a luxurious town, and crowded to the German 
 shore, to experience hardships, brave dangers, 
 and stand in the front of death. 
 
 ** The common men were worthy of their 
 leaders. They were picked and culled from the 
 flower of the British army. Strength, spirit, and 
 comeliness, were their characteristics. The com- 
 mand of those brave bands devolved upon your 
 Lordship. 
 
 ** Had the public choice directed the appoint- 
 ment, perhaps no one could have been found 
 more likely to discharge the important duty with 
 honour, skill, and fidelity. Descended from one 
 of the noblest stocks in the kingdom, one emi- 
 nently distinguished for loyalty, and yourself 
 honoured with the confidence of your Sovereign, 
 who would suspect you of disaffection ? Having 
 been tried in action, and your firmness extolled, 
 who could doubt your courage ? of which you 
 
 I 
 
114 4 CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 are said to bear honourable marks, where it is 
 a soldier's pride to shew them — in your breast. 
 From the proofs you had given of your abihties 
 here, and in a neighbouring kingdom more es- 
 pecially, who could question your capacity ? 
 
 " With these impressions in your favour, you 
 entered upon a command of such high conse- 
 quence to your country, and such distinguished 
 honour to yourself. Noble from your birth, 
 great in your endowments, every thing great 
 and noble was expected from your conduct. 
 
 " To your country'' s detriment, and your o^n 
 disJionour^ the expectations of the public are disr 
 appointed. We looked for a commander^ and'we 
 find a commentator. We depended upon an ac^ 
 tive warrior, and we meet with an idle disputant; 
 one who, in thefield of battle, debates upon orders 
 with all the phlegm of an academic, when he ought 
 to execute them with all the 'vigor and intrepidity 
 of an hero. 
 
 " It has too long been a reproach to Great 
 Britain, that her generals were unworthy to lead 
 the men they commanded. The strength and 
 bravery of our soldiers has been highly extolled, 
 but the skill and prowess of our officers has been 
 held in slight estimation. 
 
 Our enemies, on the contrary, have been re- 
 marked for the conduct and intrepidity of their 
 commanders, but their men have always been 
 
 1 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 115 
 
 Stigmatized as weak and pusillanimous ; furious 
 at the first onset, but suddenly disheartened by 
 a repulse. 
 
 " The British commanders, it is true, have, 
 by their gallant behaviour in the late action, 
 effaced this impression to their disadvantage. 
 The several noble names which stand distin- 
 guished in the list of those who received the 
 thanks of their general, are so many shining 
 testimonies, that the officers of Great Britain 
 are not ignorant of discipline, or regardless of 
 glory. But though this stigma is removed, it 
 is not wiped off* by you, my Lord. It was for 
 you to clear the staff* from the stains of reproach, 
 that it might no longer be said, that English 
 soldiers only wanted French officers, to be a 
 match for the combined force of Europe. In 
 short, you had every thing great and glorious 
 in prospect : you had nothing to lose — but your 
 honour ; for a soldier's life cannot be properly 
 called his own. 
 
 " A commander, when he receives his com- 
 mission, devotes his life to his country. He un- 
 dertakes to be vaHant ; and, in consideration 
 of that engagement, he hokls an eminent rank 
 in society, and is honourably supported at the 
 pubUc expence. 
 
 ** Why do thousands obey the nod of ont 
 man, but because his conduct is to guide, his 
 
 I 2 
 
116 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 example to animate them, in the pursuit of 
 glory ? In the day of enterprise he is to repay 
 his countrymen the obligations which he owes 
 them, for the hours of honourable ease which, 
 at their cost, he enjoyed in time of peace.. 
 
 " You, my Lord, have too much reflection to 
 have suffered these considerations to escape 
 your notice. You must know what was ex- 
 pected from you : you must be sensible what 
 you owed to your own character, and what was 
 due to your country. How comes it then that 
 the busy voice of Fame makes bold with your 
 reputation, and proclaims your behaviour on 
 the day of battle to have been such as is totally 
 inconsistent with every motive which can in- 
 fluence a wise man, or determine a brave com- 
 mander ? 
 
 " Public rumour begets public prejudices. It 
 is fit that you should be acquainted with the re- 
 ports that are propagated relating to your con- 
 duct. It is friendship to repeat them. Know- 
 ing them, you may, and I wish that you may, 
 be able to remove them. Thus then the tongue 
 of public report tells the black tale against you. 
 
 ** It is said, that on the 1st of August, when 
 the confederate army was drawn up against the 
 forces of France and her aUies, when the imme- 
 diate security of his Majesty's German domi- 
 nions, when the honour and interest of your 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 117 
 
 king and country, together with your own re- 
 putation, depended on the decision of the field ; 
 on that signal day, when the action grew warm, 
 and became worthy of your interposition, it is 
 said that his Highness Prince Ferdinand, the 
 commander-in-chief, dispatched one of his aid- 
 de-camps to you, with orders for you immediately 
 to attack a particular body of the enemy's 
 troops. 
 
 " Instead of an instant compliance with these 
 orders, it is reported that you hesitated, and at 
 length intimated that there must be some mis- 
 take in the delivery or the injunction of those 
 orders. On the aid-de-camp's persisting to re- 
 peat them, it is said (which, I own, is scarce cre- 
 dible), that your confusion carried you so far, 
 that you inconsiderately asked the aid-de-camp, 
 whether the orders he brought were in writing ? 
 Upon his answering, with some surprise, in the 
 negative, you are further reported to have added, 
 * that you would speak to the Prince yourself.* 
 Before you could find an opportunity of address- 
 ing yourself to his Highness, however, the occa- 
 sion for which your service was required is said 
 to have been irretrievably lost: a consequence 
 which might reasonably have been expected from 
 such delay. 
 
 " A consequence nevertheless extremely fatal, 
 and which renders your supposed failure more 
 
118 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 grievous and unpardonable, if it is true, which 
 many affirm, that the greatest part of a whole re- 
 giment of bold and gallant Britons were cut to 
 pieces, for want of being supported by the at- 
 tack which you were ordered to make. Highly 
 culpable as, from such behaviour, you are sup- 
 posed to have been, a further opportunity yet of- 
 fered, as it is said, which had you embraced it 
 with vigour, would, in some degree, have restored 
 your credit, and made some reparation for the 
 calamitous effects occasioned by your former un- 
 accountable failure. 
 
 " When the conduct and valour of the confe- 
 derate army, though not seconded by your en- 
 deavours, had repulsed the enemy, and routed 
 their forces, his Highness, we are told, again sent 
 to you, by another of his aid-de-camps, and or- 
 dered you to pursue a flying party of the enemy. 
 
 " To these orders likewise you are supposed to 
 have refused obedience. The reasons affirmed 
 to have been given by you, in justification of 
 your refusal, no less disgrace your capacity, than 
 the refusal itself seems to dishonour your cou- 
 rage or your integrity. 
 
 " You are said to have answered the aid-de- 
 camp who brought your orders for the pursuit, 
 * That you were a stranger to the road, and un- 
 acquainted with the passes.' Had this weak an- 
 swer contained the least apology for your disobe- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 119 
 
 dience, yet the supposed reply of the aid-de-camp 
 stripped you even of the shadow of an excuse. 
 It is asserted, that he offered * to shew you the 
 way himself, and conduct you with safety.' 
 Thus driven to extremity, and left without the 
 slightest pretence for disobeying the orders you 
 had received, is it to be believed that you still 
 demurred, and pushed your expostulations to 
 the verge of mutiny ? The answer which public 
 rumour has put into your mouth, is indeed 
 incredible. It is just that you should know it 
 It is affirmed, that, persisting in your disobedi- 
 ence, after long hesitation, you declared, * That 
 you did not think it adviseable to hazard his 
 Majesty's troops.' 
 
 " Such is the shocking and dismal light in 
 which your conduct is represented. The colour- 
 ing is truly hideous : at present, however, we 
 only see the dark side of the picture. It re- 
 mains for you to exhibit the bright one in your 
 own vindication, 
 
 '* It is difficult for men in public stations to 
 avoid creating enemies. Enmity and malice 
 will aggravate venial omissions into capital fail* 
 ings. We ought not therefore to conclude you 
 guilty of such glaring absurdity and unpardon- 
 able delinquency, till you have been heard ia 
 your defence. 
 
 *<If, however, it should be found timt yoa 
 
120 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 have wilfully disobeyed the orders you received : 
 if you should have no valid plea to offer in jus- 
 tification of such disobedience ; if you should 
 attempt to avail yourself of such sorry pretences 
 as you are supposed to have urged in excuse for 
 non-compliance, I tremble for your fate. 
 
 " Think on the demands of justice, which will 
 be prosecuted against you by your injured, dis- 
 honoured, and enraged country. Reflect on 
 the severe doom of a late unfortunate admiral, 
 who atoned for his negligence with his life. — 
 A punishment, in your own opinion, not too ri- 
 gorous for an offence by which the public re- 
 ceived prejudice. Think likewise how far the 
 measure of his delinquency is exceeded by your 
 own. He drew up his force, and actually en- 
 gaged the enemy. It appeared however, that 
 he did not engage with sufficient vigour and for- 
 wardness. He endeavoured to prove, that a near- 
 er approximation was impracticable. His plea 
 was found insufficient : he was doomed to die. 
 But the sentence which adjudged him to death, 
 was accompanied by a recommendation of the 
 delinquent to mercy, as one who erred from de- 
 fect of judgment. Notwithstanding this, not- 
 withstanding the importunate petitions of noble 
 relations, notwithstanding the pressing solicita- 
 tions of powerful friends, yet — he obtained no 
 reprieve. If then you should be found guilty 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 1^ 
 
 of the charge imputed to you, what title can you 
 pretend to clemency ? You cannot plead error 
 of judgment m excuse of your delinquency. It 
 was not a time to exercise your judgment, but to 
 testify your obedience. But you are supposed to 
 have conceived some mistake in the orders. Were 
 they then wanting in perspicuity, or were you de- 
 ficient in apprehension? They who are acquaint- 
 ed with your talents, will not suspect the latter : 
 the world, which bears witness to his Highness's 
 capacity, will not believe the former. 
 
 " I will not suppose, that to cover a wilful 
 disobedience you taxed the orders with obscurity 
 or ambiguity, which were nevertheless clear to 
 your conception ; that would be such an aggra- 
 vating circumstance, as would not only render 
 the ears of mercy deaf to your supplications, 
 but steel the heart of humanity against your 
 sufferings. 
 
 " To place your conduct in every candid light 
 it seems to admit of, let us grant, that you really 
 thought the commander-in-chief to have been 
 mistaken in his orders, and that it was inexpe- 
 dient and unadviseable to carry them into exe- 
 cution, yet remember, that they were orders for 
 an attack. You did not approve of the mode 
 prescribed, it was nevertheless your duty to 
 pursue the substance of his directions. 
 
 ** If you were under strong conviction tliat 
 
122 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the plan of operation enjoined by the orders was 
 injudicious and ineffectual, you had certainly 
 better have disobeyed them by altering the 
 scheme, and leading your men to action in a 
 manner more conformable to your own judg- 
 ment, you would have incurred less danger, and 
 sustained less dishonour, by an attack inconsist- 
 ent with your orders, than by an inglorious in- 
 activity. 
 
 " If you received orders to make an attack, 
 that word at least must have been explicit. How 
 then could you remain in inactivity ? How could 
 you spend the irrecoverable moments in com- 
 mentating on your orders, and waiting for an 
 explanation from your superior ? But, above all, 
 how could you stand an unmoved spectator, of 
 the carnage before your eyes ? How could you 
 see your countrymen and fellow-soldiers, whom 
 you was ordered to support, slaughtered within 
 your view, and yet withhold your assistance ? 
 
 " This was adding inhumanity to disobedience* 
 If you have feeling, mourn the loss of those 
 gallant fellows, who will hereafter rise up in 
 judgment against you. Their blood will ^x 
 indelible stains on your conscience never to be 
 effaced. 
 
 " Not only the lives of those immediately lost 
 for want of your support, but of those who may 
 hereafter fall in future actions, which might have 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 123 
 
 been prevented by having made this more com- 
 plete and decisive, will be placed to your ac- 
 count, as victims to your disobedience. 
 
 ** Admitting that your orders were worded 
 ambiguously, yet the word attack made tlie sub- 
 stance of them clear. Had you directed your 
 attack to a wrong place, or in a wrong manner, 
 the plea of misapprehension might have availed 
 you ; at present it is of no weight ; for it is no 
 where pretended that you received orders — to 
 stand still, 
 
 " In an army such as his Highness commands, 
 the rigour of discipline ought to be particularly 
 observed. They have more than a common 
 stake to lose. They fight j!?ro aris etjbcis ; and 
 every one should be made sensible, that all their 
 hopes depend on their own good conduct and 
 intrepidity. 
 
 " We have an evidence in M. Belleisle's let- 
 ter to M. Contades, of the sanguine and inhu- 
 man designs of the enemy. We find that large 
 contributions were to have been exacted, and 
 that Hanover was to have been made a down- 
 right desert. 
 
 " Such were the barbarous intentions of a 
 people who boast of being polished ! Such were 
 the savage injunctions of a people who call them- 
 selves Christians ! A barbarity, too, directed to 
 have been exercised against an innoceut natioUy 
 
1^4 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 which, strictly speaking, is no party in the 
 quarrel, and has done nothing to provoke such 
 cruelty. 
 
 " We may learn from their purposed inhu- 
 manity towards that Electorate, what treatment 
 we are to expect should they ever gain footing 
 on the English coast. O ! what a reproach it 
 is to human nature, that men in collective bodies 
 should be guilty of shocking instances of injus- 
 tice and brutality, for which, were they to act 
 as individuals, each would condemn the other 
 as an object of universal abhorrence and detest- 
 ation, and pursue him as a savage monster, who 
 ought to suffer death with the utmost severity 
 of torture ! 
 
 " Can the number of offenders, then, change 
 the nature of the offence ? Is not that which 
 would be a crime in one man, a multiplied crime 
 in a million ? Reason answers in the affirmative : 
 and however casuists may urge the plea of poli- 
 tical necessity, it will always be found eventually, 
 that barbarous injustice is as contrary to politi- 
 cal interest, as it is opposite to moral goodness. 
 
 " But I forget that you have not been heard 
 in your defence. Your country waits for an ex- 
 planation : and every man of candour and im- 
 partiality wishes that your vindication may prove 
 satisfactory. 
 
 " In the meantime, I cannot forbear express- 
 
 I 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 125 
 
 ing my concern, that your unfortunate situation 
 should affect an aged father and venerable peer, 
 who has grown old by the side of his Sovereign, 
 and, by a long life of loyalty and good services, 
 has preserved the favour of his royal Master, 
 without forfeiting the esteem of his fellow-citi- 
 zens — a father, who deserved a better fate, than 
 to have even a suspicion of dishonour light on 
 so near a branch of his family. But though we 
 lament his feelings, we admire his fortitude. 
 Moved with the affection of a tender parent, 
 he adheres to justice with a Roman vigour, and 
 nobly scorns to interpose between an offending 
 son and an injured country." 
 
 Article II. — That Junius was a man of rank, 
 and of independent fortune. 
 
 ** My letter of Monday will, I hope, convince 
 the author that I am neither a partisan of Mr. 
 Wilkes, nor yet bought off by the ministry. It 
 is true I have refused offers, which a more pru- 
 dent or a more interested man would have ac- 
 cepted. Whether it be simplicity or virtue in 
 me, I can only affirm, that I am in earnest ; be- 
 cause I am convinced, as far as my understand- 
 ing is capable of judging, that the present mi- 
 nistry are driving this country to destruction ; 
 and you, I think, Sir, may be satisfied that my 
 rank and fortune place me above a common 
 
126 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 bribe." — Miscellaneous Letter liv., 12 April, 
 
 1769. 
 
 " I should have hoped that even my name 
 might carry some authority with it, if I had not 
 seen how very little weight or consideration a 
 printed paper receives, even from the respecta- 
 ble signature of Sir William Draper." — Letter 
 III., Feb. 7, 1769. 
 
 " If any coarse expressions have escaped me, 
 I am ready to agree, that they are unfit for 
 Junius to make use of." — Letter liv., Aug. 15, 
 
 1771. 
 
 In the Preface he says, — " I undertake this 
 troublesome task, merely to serve a man, who 
 has deserved well of me and of the public ; and 
 who, on my account, has been exposed to an 
 expensive, tyrannical prosecution." 
 
 " My own works, you shall constantly have, 
 and in point of money, be assured you shall 
 never suffer." — Private Letter to Mr. Woodfall, 
 No. 6. 
 
 " If your affair should come to a trial, and 
 you should be found guilty, you will then let 
 me know what expense falls particularly on 
 yourself: for I understand you are engaged 
 with other proprietors. Some way or other you 
 shall be reimbursed." — No. 59, Feb. I77O. 
 
 " What you say about the profits is very hand- 
 some. I like to deal with such men. As for 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. IS? 
 
 TTit/self, be assured that I am Jar above all pecti- 
 niary views, and no other person, I think, has any 
 claim to share with you. Make the most of it, 
 therefore, and let all your views in life be direct- 
 ed to a solid, however moderate, independance. 
 Without it no man can be happy, nor even 
 honest."— No. 59, March 5, 1772. 
 
 " When I desired to have two sets sewed and 
 one bound in vellum, it was not from a principle 
 of economy. I despise such little savings, and 
 shall still be a purchaser. If I were to buy as 
 many sets as I want, it would be remarked." — 
 No. 58, March 3, 1772. 
 
 " The greatest part of my property having 
 been invested in the Funds, I could not help 
 paying some attention to rumours or events, by 
 which my fortune may be affected ; yet I never 
 lay in wait to take advantage of a sudden fluc- 
 tuation, much less would I make myself a bubble 
 to bulls and bears, or a dupe to the pernicious 
 arts practised in the Alley. I tJiought a pru- 
 dent man, who had any thing to lose, and really 
 meant to do the best for himself and his family ♦, 
 ought to consider of the state of things at 
 large, of the prospect before him, and tlic pro- 
 bability of particular events. A letter which 
 appeared some days ago in the Public Adver- 
 tiser, revived many serious reflections of tliis 
 
 * This proTes Juoiuv to have been a narrie^l qkiii. 
 
1^8 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 sort in my mind, because it seemed to be written 
 with candour and judgment. The effect of 
 those reflections was, that I did not hesitate to 
 alter the situation of my property. I owe my 
 thanks to that writer that I am safely landed 
 from a troubled ocean of fear and anxiety, on 
 which I think I never will venture my fortune 
 and my happiness again." — Miscellaneous Let- 
 ter, 19 August 1768. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that Lord George 
 Sackville sold property out of the Funds about 
 this time; by a decree of the Court of Chancery, 
 Bolebrook, which is contiguous to the family 
 estate of Buckhurst, was at this period ordered to 
 be sold, and Lord George became the purchaser. 
 
 Article III. — That Junius was a man of highly 
 cultivated talents, and of superior education ; 
 that he had successfully studied the language, 
 the law, the constitution, and the history of his 
 native country ; but that he was neither a 
 lawyer nor a clergyman. 
 
 It is impossible to read the Letters without 
 being convinced of the truth of the former part 
 of this Article ; and, secondly, that he was not 
 a lawyer, I have already given one decided in- 
 stance, the following are conclusive : — 
 
 *' As to lawyers, their profession is supported 
 by the indiscriminate defence of right and 
 wrong J and, I confess, I have not that opinion 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 129 
 
 of their knowledge or integrity, to think it ne- 
 cessary that they should decide for me upon a 
 plain constitutional question." — Letter xiv., 
 June 22, 1767. 
 
 "You are a lawyer, sir, and know better 
 than I do, upon what particular occasions a 
 talent for misrepresentation may be fairly exert- 
 ed ; but to punish a man a second time when 
 he has been once sufficiently chastised, is rather 
 too severe." — Letter xviii., July 29, 17^9. To 
 Sir William Blackstone. 
 
 " Supported, as I am, by the whole body of 
 the criminal law of England, I have no doubt of 
 establishing my chaige. If, on your part, you 
 shall have no plain substantial defence, but 
 should endeavour to shelter yourself under the 
 quirk and evasion of a practising lawyer^ or under 
 the mere insulting assertion of power, without 
 right, the reputation you pretend to, is gone for 
 ever." — Letter lxviii., Jan. 21, 1772« To Lord 
 Mansfield. 
 
 " Though I use the terms of art, do not injure 
 me so much as to suspect I am a lawyer, — I 
 had as lief be a Scotchman. It is the encou- 
 ragement given to disputes about titles, which 
 has supported that iniquitous profession, at the 
 expense of the community." — To Mr. Wilkes, 
 18 Sep., 177L 
 
 " The city of London have expressed their 
 
130 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 sentiments with freedom and firmness ; they 
 have spoken truth boldly ; and in whatever light 
 their remonstrance may be represented by cour- 
 tiers, / defy the most subtle lawyer in this country 
 to point out a single instance in which they have 
 exceeded the truth." — Letter xxxvii., March 
 19, 1769. 
 
 Thirdly, — That Junius was not a clergyman. 
 
 " The unfortunate success of the Rev. Mr. 
 Home's endeavours, in support of the minis- 
 terial nomination of sheriffs, will I fear obstruct 
 his preferment. Permit me to recommend him 
 to your Grace's protection. You will find him 
 copiously gifted with those qualities of the 
 heart, which usually direct you in the choice of 
 your friendships. He too was Mr. Wilkes's 
 friend, and as incapable as you are of the liberal 
 resentment of a gentleman. No, my Lord, it 
 was the solitary, vindictive malice of a monk, 
 brooding over the infirmities of his friend, until 
 he thought they quickened into public life, and 
 feasting with a rancorous rupture, upon the 
 sordid catalogue of his distresses. Noiso let him 
 go hack to his cloister. The church is a proper 
 retreat for him. In his principles he is already 
 a bishop." 
 
 "I quote his words, and conclude from them, 
 that he is a true and hearty Christian m 5z^Z>- 
 stancCf not in ceremony ; though possibly he may 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIL^S. 131 
 
 not agree with my Reverend Lords the Bishops^ 
 or with the head of the Church, that prayers are 
 morality, or that kneeling is religion." — Letter 
 Lv., 26 Aug., 1771. 
 
 " His Majesty's predecessors had some gene- 
 rous qualities in their composition, with vices, 
 I confess, or frailties in abundance. They were 
 Kings or gentlemen, not hypocrites or priests. 
 They were at the head of the Church, but did 
 not know the value of their office. They said 
 their prayers without ceremony, and had too 
 little priestcraft in their understanding to re- 
 concile the sanctimonious forms of religion with 
 the utter destruction of the morality of their 
 people." — Letter lvii., 28 Sep. 1771. 
 
 Oct. 5, 1771 — The fundamental principles of 
 Christianity may still be preserved, though every 
 zealous sectary adheres to his own exclusive 
 doctrine, and pious ecclesiastics make it a part of 
 their religion to persecute one another J ^ 
 
 Aug. iS, 1771 — " Tlie resentment of a priest 
 is implacable, no sufferings can soften, no peni- 
 tence can appease him." 
 
 28 Sep. 1771 — **Our religious, benevolent, ge- 
 nerous Sovereign, has no objection to selling 
 his own timber to his own admiralty, to repair 
 his own ships, nor to putting the money into his 
 own pocket. People of a religious turn natu- 
 rally adhere to the principles of tlie Church. 
 
 K 2 
 
132 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Whatever they acquire falls into mortmain." 
 Finally, — A clergyman and Junius are totally 
 dissonant from each other, owing to the incapa- 
 city of the former to hold a seat in the House 
 of Commons. 
 
 On this subject he says, — "We are enquiring 
 whether incapacity be or be not created by ex- 
 pulsion. In the cases of Bedford and Maiden, 
 the incapacity of the persons returned was mat- 
 ter of public notoriety, for it was created by act 
 of parliament. But, really. Sir, my honest 
 friend's suppositions are as unfavourable to him 
 as his facts. He well knows that the clergy, 
 besides that they are represented in common with 
 their fellow subjects, have also a separate parlia- 
 ment of their own ; that their incapacity to sit in 
 the House of Commons has been confirmed by 
 repeated decisions of the House, and that the 
 law of Parliament, declared by those decisions, 
 has been for above two centuries notorious and 
 indisputed." — Letter xx., 8 Aug, 1799. 
 
 Article IV. — That Junius either was, at the 
 time of writing the letters, or had previously been 
 in the army, is evident, from his practical know- 
 ledge of military affairs. 
 
 April 21, 1769— "It seems you are also a 
 
 volunteer with the stipend of twenty commissions,^' 
 
 July 8, 1769 — " A submissive administration 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 133 
 
 was at last gradually collected from the deserters 
 of all parties, interests and connexions ; and 
 nothing remained but to find a leader for these 
 gallant J well disciplined troops,''^ 
 
 Feb. 7, 1769 — " As if an appeal to the pub- 
 lic were no more than a military coup-de-main, 
 where a brave man has no rules to follow but 
 the dictates of his courage." 
 
 Sept. 19, 1769 — "His palace is besieged-, the 
 lines of circumvallation are drawing round him." 
 
 Feb. 14, 1770 — " Neither the abject submis- 
 sion of deserting his post in the hour of danger^ 
 nor even the sacred shield of cowardice should 
 protect him." 
 
 Feb. 6, 1771 — " Not daring to attack the main 
 body of Junius's last letter, he triumphs in 
 having, as he thinks, surprised an out-post and 
 cut off a detached argument, a mere straggling 
 proposition. But even in this petty xvarfare, he 
 shall find himself defeated*^ 
 
 April 22, 1771 — " / ^nay quit tJie service^ but 
 it would be absurd to suspect me of desertion.** 
 
 ** We cannot hinder their desertion, but we 
 can prevent their carrying over their arms to 
 the sen ice qf the enemy.** 
 
 June 22, 1771 — " The profound respect I 
 bear to the gracious Prince who governs this 
 country, with no less lionour to himself than 
 
134) A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 satisfaction to his subjects, and who restores you 
 to your rank under his standard, will save you 
 from a multitude of reproaches." 
 
 Again, at the termination of the letter : — 
 
 " You know the privy seal was intended for 
 him ; and if you consider the dignity of the 
 post he deserted^ you will hardly think it decent 
 to quarter him on Mr. Rigby." 
 
 Aug. 15, 1771 — " Mr. Home enlarges with 
 rapture upon the importance of his services ; 
 the dreadful battles which he might have been en- 
 gaged in, and the dangers he has escaped,"^* 
 
 Again, — " Thanhs are undoubtedly due to 
 every man who does his duty in the engagement, 
 but it is the wounded soldier who deserves the 
 reward." 
 
 Sept. 28, 1771 — " Corruption glitters in the 
 van, collects and maintains a standing army of 
 mercenaries, and at the same moment, impove- 
 rishes and enslaves the country." This alludes 
 to the German troops. 
 
 Oct. 5. 1771—" The favour of his country 
 constitutes the shield which defends him against 
 a thousand daggers. Desertion would disarm him'' 
 
 Speaking of Mr. Calcraft, an army agent : — 
 
 " Let us profit by the assistance of such men 
 while they are with us, and place them, if it be 
 possible, in the post of danger, to prevent deser- 
 
 I 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 135 
 
 tion. The wary Wedderburne, the pompous 
 Suffolk, Tiever threw aruoay the scahhard^ nor ever 
 went upon a forlorn hope J* 
 
 Wedderburne, Lord Loughborough, was af- 
 terwards Lord George's legal adviser. 
 
 Oct. 5, 1771—" What ! though he [Mr. Cal- 
 craft] riots in the plunder of the army ; and has 
 only determined to be a patriot when he could 
 not be a peer." 
 
 Lord Orford says that Mr. Calcraft applied to 
 Lord George to be agent for his regiment, but 
 he refused him. 
 
 Feb. 21, 1769 — " It were unworthy of me to 
 press you further. The contempt with which the 
 whole army heard of tJie manner of your retreat^ 
 assures me, that, as your conduct was not justi- 
 fied by precedent, it will never be thought an 
 example for imitation." 
 
 Who but a military man would trouble his 
 head about Sir William Draper^s disposal of his 
 commission ? 
 
 Oct. 17, 17f)9— "Farbe it from me to in- 
 sinuate the most distant reflection upon the army. 
 On the contrary, / honour and esteem the pro* 
 fession: and if these gentlemen were better 
 soldiers, I am sure they would be better sub- 
 jects. It is not that there is any internal vice 
 or defect in the profession itself, as regulated in 
 this country, but that it is the spirit of tills 
 
136 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 particular corps to despise their profession : and 
 that while they vainly assume the lead of the 
 army, they make it matter of pertinent com- 
 parison, and triumph over the bravest troops in 
 the world, I mean our marching regiments, 
 that they indeed stand upon higher ground, and 
 are privileged to neglect the laborious forms of 
 military discipline and duty. Without dwelling 
 longer upon a most invidious subject, / shall 
 leave it to military men, wJio have seen a service 
 more active than the parade, to determine whether 
 or no I speak truth.** 
 
 Would a lawyer ? would a clergyman ? would 
 any private gentleman ? or any political writer, 
 concern himself about a disturbance among a 
 few officers at the horse-guards? No, — but 
 Junius would — his conduct at Minden had been 
 severely censured by tliree officers belonging to 
 this corps, which is confirmed by his allusion 
 again to the subject — 15 Nov. I769. "And 
 leave it to them to determine, whether / am 
 moved hy a personal malevolence to three pri- 
 vate gentlemen, or merely by a hope of perplex- 
 ing the ministry." 
 
 Aug. 22, 1770—" He [Mr. Luttrell, with 
 whom Lord George was not on the most friendly 
 terms] now says, that his great object is the 
 rank of colonel, and that he will have it." 
 
 Whether he procured it, or not, would signify 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. IS? 
 
 but little to a disinterested writer, but with 
 military men, such changes are constantly the 
 topic of conversation. Again : — 
 
 " The insult offered to the army in generaly 
 is as gross as the outrage intended to the peo- 
 ple of England. What!" Junius exclaims, 
 " Lieutenant Colonel Luttrell adjutant general 
 of an army of sixteen thousand men ?" 
 
 16 Oct. 1771— to Mr. Wilkes— "I thought 
 your letter about the military ^ very proper, and 
 well drawn." 
 
 6 Nov. 1771 — " Au reste— I see no use in 
 Jighting this question in the newspapers, nor 
 have I time." 
 
 Oct. 12, 1767—" This is the kind of combat 
 usually fought on, and indeed, the only one 
 adapted to the feld of a public paper." 
 
 Again — '* Thus circumstanced, I will not 
 take either part, but offer myself as a friend to 
 both, to measure the ground, give the word, and 
 carry off the body of ivhich-ever shall fall in the 
 field of honour.'* 
 
 March 4*, 1768—" It remained like an old 
 piece of cannon I have heard of somewhere of 
 an enormous size, which stood upon a ruinous 
 bastion, and which was seldom or never fired, 
 for fear of bringing down the fortification, for 
 whose defence it was intended." 
 
 Aug. ^^y, 1768 — "You will not venture to in« 
 
138 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 sinuate, that Sir Jeffery Amherst was dismissed 
 by the advice of Lord Granby, or Sir Edward 
 Hawke. — Military men have a sense of honour, 
 which your Lordship [Lord Hillsborough] has 
 no notion of. They feel for a gallant officer 
 who had his full share in the toils and honour, 
 and had some right to share in the profits of the 
 war. They feel for the army and the navy. 
 Lord Granhy has some emoluments besides his 
 power, and Sir Edward Hawke has his pension ; 
 nobly earned I confess, but not better deserved 
 than by the labours which conquered America, 
 in America. Besides, my Lord, the commander 
 in chief is the patron of the army. It was a 
 common cause which he could not desert with- 
 out infamy and reproach. Lord Granby is not a 
 man to take his tone from any minister. When his 
 honour is concerned, he scorns to adopt an hum- 
 ble ministerial language: he never would say, that 
 indeed Sir Jeffery Amherst was rather unreason- 
 able — that his terms were exorbitant, that he 
 had still two regiments left, and might well be 
 contented. This is a language it is impossible 
 he should hold, while he himself is master-gene- 
 ral of the ordnance, colonel of the Blues, with a 
 whole family upon the staff. He knows the value, 
 and could not be sensible of the loss of those 
 honourable rewards, which his distijiguished 
 capacity f his care of the public money, and his 
 
 I 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. ISO 
 
 able conduct in Germany^ had justly intitled him 
 to:* 
 
 This is a very important extract, not only as it 
 concerns his jealousy for Lord Granby's emolu- 
 ments, but as it shews the pains he took to 
 befriend Sir Jeffrey Amherst, whom I have pre- 
 viously mentioned as one of Lord George's most 
 intimate friends. 
 
 4 March, I768 — " It seems they had hoarded 
 
 up those unmeaning powers of the crown, as a 
 
 grand military magazine, towards breaking the 
 
 fortunes and depressing the spirit of the nobility J* 
 
 10 Sep. 1768 — "You set out with asserting, 
 that the crown has an indisputable power of 
 dismissing its officers without assigning a catise. 
 Not quite indisputable, my Lord ; for I have 
 heard of addresses from parliament, to know 
 who advised the dismission of particular officers. 
 / have heard of impeachments attending a xvanton 
 exertion of the prerogative, and you perhaps 
 may live to hear of them likewise.** 
 
 It is scarcely necessary to remind the reader, 
 how closely this applies to Lord George himself. 
 
 20 Sep. I7G8 — " I am not a soldier, my Lord, 
 nor will I pretend to determine, what share of 
 honour a general is entitled to for success, who 
 must have borne the whole blame and disgrace^ 
 if he had failed. Had the event been unfavour- 
 able, his officers, I dare say, would have been 
 
140 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 willing enough to yield their concern in it to 
 the commander-in-chief. As to the rest, I have 
 heard from military men, that the judgment 
 and capacity which make resistance useless or 
 impracticable, are rated much higher than even 
 the resolution which overcomes it/' 
 
 At the time of writing this letter, Lord George 
 had been dismissed the service eight years. So 
 that he might with truth say he was not a 
 soldier. 
 
 SO Aug. 1768 — " The dismission of an ex- 
 perienced and deserving commander requires 
 some attention." 
 
 This alludes to Sir Jeffery Amherst, the friend 
 of Lord George. 
 
 21 Feb. 1770— " Instead of attempting to 
 answer what I really do not understand, permit 
 me to explain to the public what I really know. 
 In exchange for your regiment you accepted of 
 a colonels half-pay (at least two hundred and 
 twenty pounds a year), and an annuity of two 
 hundred pounds for your own and Lady Dra- 
 per s life jointly." 
 
 7 Feb. 1769 — ''As to the state of the army, I 
 should be glad to know where you have receiv- 
 ed your intelligence. Was it in the rooms at 
 Bath, or at your retreat at Clifton ? The reports 
 of reviewing generals, comprehend only a few 
 regiments in England, which as they are imme- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 141 
 
 diately under the royal inspection, are perhaps 
 in some tolerable order. But do you know any 
 thing of the troops in the West Indies, tJie Medi- 
 terranean, and North America ? " 
 
 This was a question which Lord George could 
 put with confidence, and answer with precision. 
 The first from his friend General Clavering, 
 who went over to Guadaloupe the same year 
 that he went to Germany — the second from 
 General Fowke, who was recalled from Gibral- 
 tar — the third from Lord Amherst, who was a 
 considerable time at Montreal. 
 
 19 Oct. 1768—" His Grace had honourably 
 Jlesht his maiden sword in the field of opposition, 
 
 and had gone through all the discipline of the 
 minority with credit." 
 
 20 Nov. 1769—" If Captain Garth did not 
 wilfully abandon his guard, why does he not 
 demand a court-martial to clear his character ? 
 
 After the aspersions which had been thrown 
 out against Lord George's character, he did 
 demand a court-martial, and obtained it. 
 
 19 Nov. 1770 — "I don't so much question 
 Mr. Hervey's being able to give good advice, 
 as that other little man's being either willing or 
 able to follow it ; but I should be glad to know 
 which of them is to be responsible to the coun- 
 try for tlie management qf the army, or whether 
 they are invested with equal powers ? Is Lord 
 
142 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Barrington the marksman, and General Hervey 
 only the stalking horse ? Or does the latter com- 
 mand, and that other do only as he is bid ? This 
 point I think ought to be explained ; for if we 
 don't know who commands the army, and any 
 mischief should happen, the secretary-at-war 
 and adjutant general will of course lay the 
 blame on each other, and the nation never know 
 which of them ought to be punished." 
 
 £4 Nov. 1770 — ** Far be it from me to im- 
 peach his Majesty's judgment in military matters. 
 Our gracious Sovereign cannot possibly have a 
 meaner opinion of his general officers than I have. 
 Yet, I own, there is one circumstance that a 
 little surprises me. These poor creatures, it is 
 agreed on all hands, have neither capacity nor 
 experience ; but one would think, that as sol- 
 diers and gentlemen, they might she*w a little 
 spirit when they are insulted. What ! will they 
 go to court again, to bow and cringe, — and fawn 
 upon * * * =»«= * who orders his official servant to 
 point them out to their country, as a knot of 
 asses !" 
 
 "On the very next day after the Accession of 
 George the Third, and while the late King lay 
 dead in his palace. Lord George Sackville made 
 his appearance at St. James's, and was admitted 
 to kiss the King's hand. This was looked 
 upon as such an outrage on the memory of 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 145 
 
 the late King, and on the honour of those mi- 
 nisters who had the conduct of the German 
 war, that tliey were perfectly astonished at it. 
 They remonstrated strongly, and Lord George 
 did not make his appearance at St James's dur- 
 ing the remainder of that administration." — 
 Court Anecdotes. 
 
 Tliis is a fact, so that we cannot wonder at 
 the writer's precautionary remark. 
 
 28 Jan. 1772 — " It is unlucky for the army 
 tliat you should be so thoroughly convinced as 
 you are, how extremely low you stand in their 
 opinion. The consciousness that you are de- 
 spised and detested by every individual in it, 
 from the drummer ^ whose discipline might he of 
 service to yoUy to the general officer, makes you 
 desperate about your conduct and character. 
 You think you are arrived at a state of security, 
 and that being plunged to the very heels in in- 
 famy, the dipping has made you invulnerable.** 
 Again — ** My Lord, the rest of the world 
 laugh at your choice ; but we soldiers feel it as 
 an indignity to the whole army, and be assured 
 we shall resent it accordingly. Not that I think 
 you pay much regard to the sensations of any 
 thing under the degree of a general officer, and 
 even that rank you have publicly stigmatized in 
 the most opprobrious terms. Yet some of them, 
 though, in your wise opinion, fiot qualifcd lo 
 
144i A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 command, are entitled to respect. Let us suppose 
 a case, which every man acquainted with the 
 War-Office will admit to be very probable. 
 Suppose a lieutenant-general, who perhaps 7nay 
 he a peer, or a member of the House of Commoiis, 
 does you the honour to wait upon you for in- 
 structions relative to his regiment, &c." 
 
 Lord George having been dismissed from the 
 army, was not qualified to command, yet he con- 
 sidered himself entitled to respect. He had 
 been a lieutenant-general, and commander-in- 
 chief, was the son of a peer, also a member of 
 the House of Commons. This paragraph merits 
 particular notice in connection with Lord Bar- 
 rington's influence with the King at the time of 
 his dismissal. 
 
 10 March 1772—" Pray, my Lord, will you 
 be so good as to explain to us, of what nature 
 were those services which he first rendered to 
 your Lordship ? Was he mnged like a messen- 
 ger? or stationary like a centinelF" 
 
 Again — ** His zeal in the execution of this 
 honourable office promoted him to another door, 
 where he also stands centry." 
 
 23 March I772 — " The army indeed is come 
 to a fine pass, with a gambling broker at the 
 head of it !" 
 
 17 Feb. 1772—" That stern and insolent mi- 
 nister at the War-office is pointed out to univer- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 11-5 
 
 sal contempt and detestation ; you smile, indeed, 
 but the last agonies of the hysteric passion are 
 painted in your countenance. Your cheek be- 
 trays what passes within you, and your whole 
 frame is in convulsions." 
 
 I could enumerate many other striking in- 
 stances, which are closely allied to tliis Article ; 
 but it is time to proceed to the next, having 
 now fully established the assertion that the 
 writer was once a military character. 
 
 Article V. — That Junius moved in the imme- 
 diate circle of the Court. 
 
 " As to you, it is clearly my opinion, that 
 you have nothing to fear from the Duke of 
 Bedford. I reserve some things expressly to 
 awe him, in case he should think of bringing 
 you before the House of Lords. I am sure I 
 can threaten him privately with such a storm, 
 as would make him tremble even in his grave." 
 — Private Letters to Mr. AVoodfall, No. 10. 
 
 I have already mentioned Lord George s con- 
 nection and quarrel with the Bedford family. 
 
 " Lord Chatham is determined to go to the 
 Hall to support the Westminster remonstrance." 
 —No. ^2. 
 
 This circumstance could not possibly have 
 been known to any one unless he moved in a 
 high circle j Junius probably heard of it through 
 
146 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 some intimate friend of Lord Chatham's. — Ju- 
 nius was alive to every minute circumstance. 
 
 " I think the argument about Gibraltar too 
 good to be lost ; as to the satirical part, I must 
 tell you, and mtli positive certainty, that our 
 gracious *= "^ * * is as callous as Stockfish, to 
 every thing but the reproach of cowardice. 
 That alone is able to set the humours afloat. 
 After a paper of that kind he won't eat meat 
 for a week." — No. 33. 
 
 The writer must have had a positive know- 
 ledge of the King, to state this trifling circum- 
 stance, and the operation it would have upon 
 the royal stomach. 
 
 " Beware of David Garrick : he was sent to 
 pump you, and went directly to Richmond, 
 to tell the King I should write no more." — No. 
 40. 
 
 " I have no doubt of what you say about 
 David Garrick — so drop the note. The truth 
 is, that in order to curry favour, he made him- 
 self a greater rascal than he was. Depend upon 
 'what I tell you : the King understood that he 
 had found out the secret by his own cunning 
 and activity." — No. 43. 
 
 " What do you mean by afiirming that the 
 Dowager is better ? / tell you she suckles toads 
 from morning till night." — No. 46. 
 
 The Dowager was an enemy to Lord George 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 14? 
 
 ever after the affair at Minden, which may ac- 
 count for Junius always speaking of her with 
 so much contempt. She was at this time afflicted 
 with a cancer, and died on the 8th of January 
 in the following year. 
 
 April 24, 1769—'* The Duke of Grafton, 
 about this time, had separated himself from 
 Anne Parsons, but proposed to continue united 
 with her, on some Platonic terms of friendship, 
 which she rejected." 
 
 This anecdote, totally unconnected with po- 
 litics, could only be propagated by an enemy to 
 the family. 
 
 Sept. 19, 1769 — " At this interview, which 
 passed at the house of the late Lord Eglintoune, 
 Lord Bute told the Duke [of Bedford], that 
 he was determined never to have any connexion 
 with a man who had so basely betrayed him.'' 
 
 ** The ministry having endeavoured to ex- 
 clude the Dowager out of the Regency-bill, the 
 Earl of Bute determined to dismiss them. Upon 
 this the Duke of Bedford demanded an audience 
 of the * ♦ * * J reproiichcd him in plain terms 
 with his duplicity, baseness, falsehood, treachery, 
 and hypocrisy ; repeatedly gave him the lie, 
 and left him in convulsions." 
 
 No one could have been acquainted with this 
 remarkable circumstance, but one intimately 
 connected with the Court. 
 
 L 2 
 
148 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 " When Earl Gower was appointed Presi- 
 dent of the Council, the King, with his usual sin- 
 cerity, assured him, that he had not had one 
 happy moment since the Duke of Bedford left 
 him." 
 
 Nov. 14, 1770—" He [Lord Mansfield] said 
 in the House of Lords, that he believed he 
 should carry his opinion with him to the grave. 
 It was afterwards reported that he had entrust- 
 ed it, in special confidence^ to the ingenious 
 Duke of Cumberland." 
 
 The secret appears to have been soon disclos- 
 ed ; whether it was broached by the Duke of 
 Cumberland, an avowed enemy to Lord George, 
 or by Lord Mansfield himself, is immaterial. 
 It came through a channel to which no common 
 personage could gain access. There are also a 
 number of other trivial circumstances men- 
 tioned in various parts of the Letters, with which 
 the public could be in no-wise interested, but 
 which tended to inflame the parties concerned, 
 and that was Junius's object. Such trifles were 
 beneath the notice of a political writer, who 
 professed to have the cause of his country at 
 heart ; nevertheless, they tend to prove to us 
 that he moved in a high circle. 
 
 Article VI. — That Junius was a member of 
 the Established Church. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 149 
 
 This is admitted by Philo-Jufiim, August 26, 
 1771> which signature Junius himself acknow- 
 ledges in his Private Letters to Mr. Woodfall. 
 
 •* If I thought Junius capable of uttering a 
 disrespectful word of the religion of his country, 
 I should be the first to renounce and give him 
 up to the public contempt and indignation. As 
 a man, I am satisfied, that he is a Christian upon 
 the most sincere conviction. As a writer, he 
 would be grossly inconsistent with his political 
 principles, if he dared to attack a Religion eS' 
 tablished by those laws, which it seems to be the 
 purpose of his life to defend.** 
 
 Again — " These candid critics never remem- 
 ber any thing he says in honour of our holy re- 
 ligion ; tiiough, it is true, that one of his 
 leading arguments is made to rest upon the inter- 
 nal evidence which the purest of all religions car- 
 ries with it. I quote his words, and conclude 
 from them, that he is a true and hearty Chris- 
 tian in substance, not in ceremony." 
 
 I cannot withhold the following beautiful quo- 
 tation, from the last Letter signed Junius, al- 
 though not strictly applicable to the present 
 Article : — 
 
 *• Grateful, as I am to tlie Goo<l Being whose 
 bounty has imparted to me this reasoning intel- 
 lect, whatever it is, I hold myself proportionably 
 indebted to A/m, from whose enlightened under* 
 
150 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 standing another ray of knowledge communicates 
 to mine. But neither should I think the most ex- 
 alted faculties of the human mind a gift worthy 
 of the Divinity, nor any assistance in the im- 
 provement of them a subject of gratitude to 
 my fellow creatures, if I were not satisfied, that 
 really to inform the understanding corrects and 
 enlarges the heart." 
 
 Junius appears to have been, in every sense 
 of the word, a liberal Christian — forms of wor- 
 ship, without the substance, were contrary to 
 his refined ideas. He tells us, that he differs 
 from the Bishops in some points, and that free- 
 dom of opinion should be exercised on this sub- 
 ject as well as on political affairs. Such were 
 the sentiments of Lord Viscount Sackville, 
 which are particularly exemplified in his speech 
 on the Clerical Petition, laid before the House 
 on the 6th Feb. 1772. 
 
 " Though a warm and zealous friend to the 
 church of England, I must, on this occasion, dis- 
 sent in opinion from those who are supposed now 
 to espouse her cause : and I will openly avow my 
 sentiments, without the least dissimulation or 
 mental reservation. I hope no man will think 
 the worse of me for my frankness, or charge 
 speculative tenets to my account as a crime. If 
 we live in a learned age, and in a land of liber- 
 ty, it cannot surely be dangerous for us to talk 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 151 
 
 as freely of religion as of politics. While we 
 keep within the bounds of decorum, and preserve 
 that respect which is due to long established 
 institutions, we can incur no blame for exposing 
 any absurdities which may have crept into our 
 theological system. Are not we every day dis- 
 covering imperfections in our civil establishment, 
 and in consequence applying a remedy ? Why 
 should we not pursue the same plan with respect 
 to our religious constitution ? Like the other, it 
 is the work of men's hands, and therefore not ne- 
 cessarily perfect. When I call it the work of 
 men's hands, do not mistake me, sir, as if I charg- 
 ed imperfection upon the scriptures. Far be 
 such presumption from my mouth. What I mean, 
 is the creed reduced therefrom by our prelates : 
 that systematical chain of doctrine called the 
 Thirty-nine Articles. I beg pardon for what I 
 am going say ; but I must be explicit. Nolo 
 episcopari. There are in the Thirty-nine Ar- 
 ticles several tenets to which I can by no means 
 assent. I am persuaded they are not warranted 
 by scripture : and I am sure they cannot be re- 
 conciled to common sense. With what face then 
 can those doctrines be imposed upon the con- 
 sciences of men as articles of belief, which no 
 man can believe ? You would not have your cler- 
 gy like St. Augustine, who wished that God Al- 
 mighty would reveal some new mystery, abso- 
 
Id^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 lutely absurd and impossible, that by his ready 
 acquiescence he might prove that his faith was 
 not only bigger than a grain of mustard seed, 
 but even able to remove mountains. In my ap- 
 prehension, some of the articles are incompre- 
 hensible, and some self-contradictory. I have 
 no doubt but many, nay, most of those who are, 
 by the nature of their profession, obliged to sub- 
 scribe to them, stand in the same predicament. 
 Do you think it possible for such men sincerely 
 and honestly to subscribe to what they deem ab- 
 surdities and contradictions? If you mean to 
 have only hypocrites and prevaricators, for teach- 
 ers of the gospel, and to exclude the honest and 
 conscientious, this is certainly the best plan ima- 
 ginable. But, as I hope this is not your intention, 
 I expect that you will open the doors of the 
 church wide enough to admit those, who are 
 likely to teach by example as well as by precept, 
 and to be living sermons, already speaking to the 
 eyes of the people. 
 
 "It is indeed objected to these petitioners, 
 that they maintain heterodox opinions, and, par- 
 ticularly, that they deny the divinity of Christ. 
 I can only vouch for those with whom I am well 
 acquainted ; and I must say, that as far as my 
 knowledge extends, the charge is groundless. 
 Some gentlemen from that part of the country 
 from which I come, have, I find, signed the peti- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 153 
 
 tion : and I cannot help doing them the justice to 
 declare, that there are no where to be met with 
 worthier members of the community, either in a 
 religious or a civil light. The divinity of Christ 
 they certainly never dreamt of disavowing ; and 
 the reflection is unjust, because it is unmerit- 
 ed. To my knowledge, they are orthodox with 
 regard to the grand essentials of Christianity. 
 It is no objection that they do not acquiesce 
 in some of the Thirty-nine Articles. They have 
 that in common with some of the greatest di- 
 vines and philosophers that England ever pro- 
 duced. What think you of Clarke and Hoadley, 
 of Locke and Newton ? Would they subscribe 
 in the literal and grammatical sense, as the na- 
 ture of the thing requires? Their writings demon- 
 strate the reverse. Is it not time then to remove 
 so great a stumbling-block ? For my own part, it 
 appears to me a melancholy thought, and indeed 
 a crying grievance, that my son, at sixteen, must 
 subscribe, upon entering the University, to what 
 I cannot understand, much less explain to him, at 
 sixty. The matter certainly calls aloud for re- 
 dress : and ought alone, as has been justly ob- 
 served, to determine us to enter into the merits 
 of the petition. Yet to consider the matter 
 rightly, in what better situation than those ag- 
 grieved youths, are adults, to whom the Articles 
 appear unintelligible or self-contradictory ? As 
 
154- A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the former, if they would not be debarred from 
 entering the Temple of Science, must swallow 
 the bitter pill of subscription ; so must the latter, 
 if they would not lose the fruits of their former 
 studies, and the expense of their education, and, 
 in a word, forego every prospect in life ? Is not 
 this too great a trial for humanity ? It is indis- 
 putably an abuse of the first magnitude, and 
 demands a speedy and effectual remedy. 
 
 " Forbear then to tell us, that the petitioners 
 are not respectable. Suppose the allegation true, 
 yet still it can be here no reasonable objection, 
 because we ought to attend to the merits of the 
 cause, not to the numbers by whom it is sup- 
 ported. Had this argument prevailed when 
 Luther undertook to expose the abuses of the 
 Romish Church, what would have become of 
 the Reformation ? It would have been nipt in 
 the bud, and this nation, as well as the rest of 
 Europe, must have groaned under the tyranny 
 of the Pope. Consider that reformation gene- 
 rally rises from small beginnings, and like fame 
 gathers strength as it goes. Ancient establish- 
 ments, however absurd, have a body of men 
 interested to support them ; yet still, the force 
 of truth finally surmounts every obstacle. Were 
 not this the case, how could the Christian Re- 
 ligion have been first established ? It had the 
 powers of the earth to vanquish. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 155 
 
 " The religious systems of those days were 
 not less zealously espoused by the priesthood and 
 their adherents, than the Thirty-nine Articles 
 are in our days. Had they been consulted, and 
 made the sole arbitrators of this affair, as has 
 been suggested in the present instance by the 
 last speaker, Christianity must have been crush- 
 ed in the birth. We should never have heard 
 of the scheme of redemption, in which we now 
 all rejoice, and in which all the ends of the earth 
 are, or may be blessed. For these, and various 
 other reasons, which may be urged, I hope that 
 at least the petition may be brought up and read, 
 if not examined and discussed. This we owe 
 to justice. This we owe to decency. Reason 
 and common sense call for it from our hands, 
 and Christianity cannot otherwise be satisfied.'* 
 
 Article VII. — That Junius was a Member of 
 the House of Commons. 
 
 " As to the House of Commons, there may 
 be more danger. But even there, I am fully 
 satisfied, the ministry will exert themselves to 
 quash such an enquiry, and on the other sidCf 
 you will have friends** — Private Letter, No. 15. 
 
 29 July, 1769— To Sir William Blackstone— 
 
 •' The remainder of your reflections upon 
 Mr. Granville's conduct destroy themselves. 
 He could not possibly come prepared to traduce 
 
156 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 your integrity to the House. He could not fore- 
 see that you would even speak upon the ques- 
 tion, much less could he foresee that you would 
 maintain a direct contradiction of that doctrine 
 which you had solemnly, disinterestedly, and 
 upon soberest reflection, delivered to the public. 
 He came, armed indeed with what he thought a 
 respectable authority, to support what he was 
 convinced was the cause of truth, and, I doubt 
 not, he intended to give you in the course of 
 the debate an honourable and public testimony 
 of his esteem. Thinking highly of his abilities, 
 I cannot, however, allow him the gift of divi- 
 nation." 
 
 14 Aug., 1769—" The truth of the matter 
 is evidently this. Doctor Blackstone, while 
 he was speaking in the House of Commons, 
 never once thought of his Commentaries, until 
 the contradiction was unea^pectedly urged, and 
 stared him in the face. Instead of defending 
 himself upon the spot, he sunk under the charge in 
 an agony of confusion and despair. It is well 
 known that there was a pause of some minutes in 
 the House y from a general expectation that the 
 Doctor would say something in his own defence ; 
 but it seems his faculties were too much over- 
 powered, to think of those subtleties and refine- 
 ments which have since occurred to him. It 
 was then Mr. Grenville received that severe 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 157 
 
 chastisement, which the Doctor mentions with 
 so much triumph. * I wish the honourable 
 gentleman, instead of shaking his head, would 
 shake a good argument out of it.' If to the 
 elegance, novelty, and bitterness of this in- 
 genious sarcasm, we add the natural melody of 
 Sir Fletcher Norton's pipe [the Speaker], we 
 shall not be surprised that Mr. Grenville was 
 unable to make him any reply." 
 
 His farther antipathy to the Speaker I shall 
 have occasion to notice in a subsequent Article. 
 
 28 May, I77O— " To support their former 
 resolutions, they w^re obliged to violate some 
 of the best known and established rules of the 
 House. In one instance, they went so far as 
 to declare, in open defiance of truth and com- 
 mon sense, that it was not the rule of the House 
 to divide a complicated question at the request 
 of a member. But after trampling upon the 
 laws of the land, it was not wonderful that 
 they should treat the private regulations of their 
 own assembly with equal disregard. The Speak- 
 er, being young in office, began xvilh pretended 
 ignorance y and ended with deciding for the 
 ministry. We were not surprised at the deci- 
 sion ; but he hesitated and blushed at his oum 
 baseness^ and every man was astonished^ 
 
 This circumstance alludes to the choice of 
 Sir Fletcher Norton as Speaker* on the death 
 
158 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 of Sir John Cust. Sir Fletcher was strongly 
 opposed by Lord George Sackville. — See par- 
 liamentary debates, I77O. 
 
 28 May, I77O — note — " This extravagant 
 resolution appears in the votes of the House ; 
 but, in the minutes of the committees, the in- 
 stances of resolutions contrary to law and truth, 
 or of refusals to acknowledge law and truth 
 when proposed to them, are innumerable." 
 
 Now such instances could only be known to 
 a member ; they never would make a public 
 composure of facts to criminate themselves. 
 
 14 Nov. 1770—" Your conduct [Lord Mans- 
 field] it seems, must be defended in parliament. 
 For what other purpose is your wretched friend, 
 that miserable Serjeant, posted to the House of 
 Commons ? Is it in the abilities of a Mr. Leigh 
 to defend the great Lord Mansfield ? Or is he 
 only punch of the puppet-shew, to speak as he 
 is prompted, by the chief juggler behind the 
 curtain." 
 
 ** This paragraph gagged poor Leigh. I really 
 am concerned for the man, and tvish it were 
 possible to open his mouth. He is a very pretty 
 oratorJ*^ 
 
 This was written preparatory to Lord George 
 Sackville's vehement attack on Lord Mansfield, 
 three weeks afterwards. 
 
 22 April, 1771— << To sacrifice a respected 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 159 
 
 character, and to renounce the esteem of society, 
 requires more than Mr. Wedderburne's resolu- 
 tion ; and though in him it was rather a pro- 
 fession than a desertion of his principles, yet 
 we have seen him in the House of Commons, 
 overwhelmed with confusion, and almost bereft 
 of his faculties." 
 
 13 Dec. 1770— "The House of Lords, justly 
 offended at the accuracy and precision, with 
 which a certain noble Duke's oration has been 
 dehvered to the public, and concluding that the 
 very words must have been taken down in 
 writing, by some foreign enemy, have deter- 
 mined to preserve the honour of their members, 
 and the credit of their eloquence, by ordering 
 all strangers to be carefully excluded. But not 
 to give offence, the exclusion is made general j 
 their lordships very properly considering that the 
 members of the House of Commons are no more fit 
 to be trusted with the debates of a public assem- 
 bly, than the spies or emissaries of a foreign 
 ambassador, or so many Jesuists in disguise." 
 
 This precautionary measure was taken at the 
 time, under a supposition that no one but a 
 member of the House of Commons could possess 
 such ready information on every subject, as was 
 so promptly laid before the public ; indeed, it 
 must strike every reader, that the members of the 
 Upper House were not without their suspicions. 
 
160 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 19 Nov. 1770 — " A few days ago / *was in a 
 large public company, where there happened some 
 curious conversation. The Secretary at War 
 LLord Barrington] was pleased to express him- 
 self with unusual simplicity and candour. He 
 assured us that, after having carefully consider, 
 ed the subject, he did not know a single general 
 officer, out of near a hundred now in the service, 
 who was in any shape qualified to command the 
 army ; and for fear we should not believe him, 
 repeated and enforced his assertion five several 
 times. You will allow, sir, that at the eve of a 
 foreign war, this is pretty comfortable intelli- 
 gence for the nation, especially as it comes from 
 authority. He gave us some consolation, how" 
 ever, by assuring us that he and General Hervey 
 would take excellent care of the army, and com- 
 pared himself, not unhappily, to an old woman 
 curing an ague, with the assistance of Doctor 
 Radcliffe.'' 
 
 On reference to Lord Barrington's speech on 
 this occasion, we find language paramount to 
 Junius's declaration, although, in the instance 
 before us, it is treated ironically. 
 
 The following Letter says, " / have never 
 joined in the several censures which have lately 
 been: thrown upon Lord Barrington." 
 
 This certainly must allude to speaking in the 
 HomCy as the tenor of the Letters themselves is 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 16 1 
 
 one continued strain of satire upon Lord Bar- 
 rington's conduct. 
 
 Lord George was sufficiently on his guard at 
 this juncture not to join in the general censure 
 of the opposition. See Parliamentary Debates. 
 
 Had the writer been merely a looker-on from 
 the gallery, instead of a member, he would have 
 said in the previous paragraph, " he gave the 
 House some consolation, however, by assuring 
 the members,** &c. Junius evidently forgot him- 
 self in this, as well as in many other instances. 
 
 Aug. 15, 1771 — ^* My vote will hardly re- 
 commend him to an increase of his pension, or 
 a seat in the Cabinet." 
 
 Oct. 5, 1771 — " I willingly accept of a sar- 
 casm from Colonel Barre, or a simile from Mr. 
 Burke ; even the silent vote of Mr. Calcrafl is 
 worth reckoning in a divison." 
 
 Article VIIL — That from the early informa- 
 tion Junius obtained on government affairs, it 
 is evident he was connected with some persons 
 in administration. 
 
 "By way of intelligence you may inform 
 the public, that Mr. De la Fontaine, for his 
 secret services in the Alley, is appointed Bar- 
 rack-master to the Savoy." — Private Letter, 
 No. 14. 
 
 M 
 
16^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 " The facts are all literally true. Mr. Hine's 
 place is customer at the port of Exeter. Colo- 
 nel Burgoyne received 4,000/. for it. To mend 
 the matter, the money was raised by contribution, 
 and the subscribers quartered upon Mr. Hine. 
 Among the rest, one Doctor Brook, a physician 
 at Exeter, has 100/. a year out of the salary. I 
 think you might give these particulars in your 
 own way to the public." — No. 15. 
 
 " Lord Mansfield has thrown the ministry into 
 confusion, by suddenly resigning the office of 
 Speaker to the House of Lords." — No. 24. 
 
 " You may assure the public that a squadron 
 of ships of the line is ordered to be got ready 
 with all possible expedition for the East Indies. 
 It is to be commanded by Commodore Spry. 
 Without regarding the language of ignorant or 
 interested people, depend upon the assurance I 
 give you, that every man in administration looks 
 upon war as inevitable." — No. 28. 
 
 " You may rely upon it, the ministry are 
 sick of prosecutions. Those against Junius cost 
 the Treasury above six thousand pounds, and 
 after all they got nothing but disgrace." — 
 No. 33. 
 
 This being a private item in the Treasury 
 accounts, no common political writer could 
 have gained the information. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. l63 
 
 " J%(?y to//i of further informations, but they 
 will always hold that language in terrorem.** — 
 No. 43. 
 
 " I fear your friend Jerry Dyson will lose his 
 Irish pension." — No. 44. 
 
 The printer was informed of this before any 
 intelligence could have come over from Ireland, 
 announcing the apprehension to be verified. So 
 that it must have been previously discussed in 
 the council upon Irish affairs. 
 
 ** The Duke of Grafton has been long labour- 
 ing to detach Camden." — No. 47. 
 
 ** Harrington has just appointed a French 
 broker his deputy, for no reason but his relation 
 to Bradshaw. I hear from all quarters, that it 
 is looked upon as a most impudent insult to the 
 army." — No. 52. 
 
 In consequence of this appointment Mr. 
 D'Oyley was dismissed ; he afterwards became 
 Lord George's private secretary.— See Life of 
 Cumberland. 
 
 May 28, I77I — " "When the King was urged 
 to dissolve the present parliament, you [^JVeU 
 bore Ellis'] advised him to tell his subjects, 
 « that he was careful not to assume any of those 
 powers, which the constitution had placed in 
 other hands,' &c.*' 
 
 3d April, I77O — ** About this time the cour- 
 tiers talked of nothing but a bill of pains and 
 
 M 12 
 
164 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 penalties against the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, 
 or impeachment at least. Little Mannikin Ellis 
 told the King that, if the business were left to his 
 management, he xvould engage to do wonders. It 
 was thought very odd that a motion of so much 
 importance should be entrusted to the most 
 contemptible little piece of machinery in the 
 whole kingdom. His honest zeal was however 
 disappointed." 
 
 19 Oct. J 768— "If Lord Shelburne's re- 
 maining in office constitutes a security of peace, 
 his being suddenly removed must amount to a 
 declaration of war. Now, sir, the fact is, that 
 his Lordship's removal has been for some weeks 
 in agitation, and is within these Jew days abso- 
 lutely determined. If I were a party writer, the 
 indiscretion of the ministerial advocates would 
 give me as many advantages as even the wretch- 
 ed conduct of the ministry themselves." 
 
 This paragraph is directly in unison with the 
 suspicion entertained by Lord Shelburne him- 
 self, that Lord George was the author of the 
 letters : and which was one reason, among many 
 others that he gave, for his dissent to his being 
 called up to the House of Lords in 1782. 
 
 Lord Shelburne said, " With regard to the 
 person now designed to be created a peer, he 
 called upon the learned adviser of the crown, 
 and asked why ? When it was first thought of 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 16^ 
 
 to make that person a Secretary of State, those 
 *who had held such a strong language of * kill 
 them, or they will kill you,' and who had de- 
 clared *we had passed the Rubicon,* before any 
 other person knew we were seriously at war 
 with America, had not acted in conformity witli 
 their high sounding tone, &c." 
 
 15 Aug. 1771 — "The very soliloquy of Lord 
 Suffolk before he passed the Rubicon." 
 
 Lord Suffolk was promoted, to make room 
 for the Earl of Hillsborough, who was Secretary 
 of State for the American Colonies at the com- 
 mencement of the war. All the changes in 
 administration were known to Junius, and the 
 public could not possibly have been made ac- 
 quainted with these different events, but through 
 one who had such remarkable access to imme- 
 diate channels of information. 
 
 Can we wonder then at his extreme caution 
 and his declaration to Mr. Woodfall, No. 41 — 
 " I must be more cautious tlian ever. I am 
 sure I should not survive a discovery three 
 days ; or if I did, thej/ would attaint, me hif 
 hiW 
 
 Jan. 21, 1769—** The Duke of Graflon took 
 the office of Secretary of State, tc/V// an engage- 
 ment to support the Marquis of Rockingham's 
 administration. He resigned, however, in a 
 little time, under pre taice^ that he could not act 
 without Lord Chatham, nor bear to see Mr. 
 
166 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Wilkes abandoned ; but that under Lord Chat- 
 ham he would act in any office. This was the 
 signal of Lord Rockingham's dismission. When 
 Lord Chatham came in, the Duke got possession 
 of the Treasury. Reader, mark the conse- 
 quence." 
 
 Junius here refers to the year 1765, at which 
 period Lord George Sackville was made a mem- 
 ber of the Privy Council, and one of the joint 
 Treasurers of the kingdom of Ireland, the only 
 situation to which he had been appointed since 
 his disgrace at Court. Now it is a remarkable 
 circumstance, that a few months after this ap* 
 pointment, when the Duke of Grafton got pos- 
 session of the Treasury, Lord George Sackville 
 immediately resigned his situation as joint Trea- 
 surer of Ireland. What occasioned this circum- 
 stance, it may now be difficult to trace, but it 
 is evident there must have been some serious 
 misunderstanding between them. 
 
 A few months after this resignation of Lord 
 George Sackville, the Miscellaneous Letters of 
 Junius commence, the first of which pourtrays, 
 in a clear light, Lord George's resentment and 
 chagrin. 
 
 Why should Lord George resign so soon after 
 his new appointment under the Rockingham 
 administration ? He had no other emolument 
 left, neither did he hold any place under 
 government, until he was appointed Secretary 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. iG? 
 
 of State in 1775. During this interval the let- 
 ters of Junius were written. 
 
 Jan. 21, 1769 — '^ It was pretended that the 
 Earl of Rochford, while Ambassador in France, 
 had quarrelled with the Duke de Choiseuil, and 
 that therefore he was appointed to the Northern 
 department, out of compliment to the French 
 Minister." 
 
 September 19, 17^9— "Even the callous pride 
 of Lord Egremont was alarmed." 
 
 " This man, notwithstanding his pride and 
 Tory principles, had some English stuff in him. 
 Upon an official letter he wrote to the Duke of 
 Bedjordy the Duke desired to be recalled, and 
 it was with the utmost difficulty that Lord Bute 
 could appease him." 
 
 Here we have four secrets divulged ; the feel- 
 ings of Lord Egremont ; the circumstance of 
 his writing officially to the Duke of Bedford ; 
 the result of that letter ; and the interference ol* 
 Lord Bute on the occasion. 
 
 August 22, 1770—" This infamous trans- 
 action ought to be explained to the public. 
 Colonel Gisborne was quarter-master general in 
 Ireland. Lord Tow nahend persttades him to re- 
 sign to a Scotch officer, one Fraser, and gives 
 him the government of Kinsale. Colonel Cun- 
 ningham was adjutant-general in Ireland. Ix)rd 
 Townsheiui nf/ers him a pcnsioriy to induce him 
 
168 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to resign to Luttrell. Cunningham treats tiie 
 offer with contempt. What's to be done ? poor 
 Gisborne must move once more. He accepts 
 of a pension of 500/. a year, until a govern- 
 ment of greater value shall become vacant. 
 Colonel Cunningham is made Governor of Kin- 
 sale ; and Luttrell, at last, for whom the whole 
 machinery is put in motion, becomes adjutant- 
 general, and in effect takes the command of the 
 army in Ireland." 
 
 This is a military transaction altogether, 
 wliich would be likely to interest a military man 
 and no one else. Lord George's enmity to the 
 Luttrells was a sufficient cause for exposing tlie 
 affair. It would make no difference to a lawyer 
 or a clergyman, whether Colonel Gisborne, Co- 
 lonel Cunningham, or Colonel Luttrell became 
 adjutant-general. 
 
 January 30, 1771 — ^"The King's acceptance 
 pf the Spanish Ambassador's declaration, is 
 drawn up in barbarous French, and signed by 
 the Earl of Rochford. This diplomatic Lord 
 had spent his life in the study and practice of 
 etiquettes, and is supposed to be a profound 
 master of the ceremonies. I will not insult him 
 by any reference to grammar or common sense. 
 If he were even acquainted with the common 
 forms of his office, 1 should think him as well 
 , qualified for it, as any man in his Majesty's ser- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. J^ 
 
 vice. The reader is requested to observe Lord 
 Rochford's method of authenticating a public 
 instrument — * En foi de quoi, moi soussign^, 
 un des principaux Secretaires d' Etat S. M. B., 
 ai signe la presente de ma signature ordinaire, 
 et icelle fait apposer le cachet de nos armes.' — 
 In tliree lines there are no less than seven false 
 concords. But the man does not even know 
 the style of his office ; if he had known it, he 
 would have said, * Nous, soussign6 Secretaire 
 d' Etat de S. M. B., avons signe, &c.* " 
 
 This criticism forcibly reminds us of Lord 
 George's manner of inspecting official docu- 
 ments, mentioned by the Earl of Orford ; one 
 instance in particular, relative to the failure at 
 llochfort during Pitt's administration ; on which 
 occasion he was one appointed to enquire, how 
 far General Conway was implicated; and he 
 gave it as his opinion, that the General should 
 be tried by a court-martial. 
 
 Lord George was a good French scholar, hav- 
 ing had an opportunity of obtaining a thorough 
 knowledge of the language when in France with 
 his father Lionel, Duke of Dorset, in the sum- 
 mer of 1788, at which period he might have 
 seen the Jesuitical books burnt in Paris, men- 
 tioned by Junius 23d April, 1768. 
 
 July 9, I77A— " By an intercepted letter from 
 the Treasury, it appeared that the friends of 
 
170 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Government were to be very active in support- 
 ing the ministerial nomination of sheriffs." 
 
 That a letter of this consequence should be 
 intercepted in so large a city as the metropolis 
 of England, is rather curious, but still more 
 so, that it should happen to fall into Junius's 
 hands. I should be inclined to think this in- 
 telligence might have been obtained without the 
 aid of a letter. 
 
 ^ Sufficient instances are enumerated to shew 
 the very early information Junius obtained on 
 confidential subjects, which must have been re- 
 vealed to him by some friend closely allied to 
 government. As far as Lord George Sackville 
 was concerned, his rank in life, and the cir- 
 cumstance of belonging to his Majesty's Privy 
 Council, might have facilitated such informa- 
 tion ; independently of which, we have evidence 
 of his applying to his friend, Sir Robert Wilmot, 
 on the subject of the augmentation in Ireland. 
 We may naturally conclude, that if he did so 
 in this instance, he did in others, but this can- 
 not possibly be proved without access to the 
 Wilmot papers. Another person who would 
 be likely to assist him was his friend Colonel 
 Amherst, brother to Sir Jeffery, who held the 
 situations of Groom of the Bed-chamber to 
 the Duke of Gloucester, and Aid-de-camp to 
 the King, during the time of Junius 5— who, 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. I7I 
 
 in Miscellaneous Letter xliii., id Sept. I768, 
 appears to have received the following infor- 
 mation from that quarter : — 
 
 " Yet Lord Boutetort kissed hands the next 
 morning (Friday), and the first notice Sir Jef- 
 fery Amherst received of his Lordship's ap- 
 pointment, was by an express sent to him that 
 evening by his brother." 
 
 Article IX. — That Junius was a firm friend 
 to Sir JefTery (afterwards Lord) Amherst. 
 
 We need only refer to the Letters themselves 
 to notice how freely the pen of friendship was 
 used by Junius on his behalf. Upwards of fitly 
 pages are taken up in Sir Jeffery Amherst's 
 cause, concluding with this remarkable pro- 
 phecy, so literally fulfilled aflerwards. 
 
 Letter xnv. 20 Sept. I76I— To the Earl of 
 Hillsborough — 
 
 " Here I shall conclude. You have sent Sir 
 Jeffery Amherst to the plough. You have left 
 him poor in every article of which a false fawn- 
 ing minister could deprive him j but you have left 
 him rich in the esteem, the love, and the venera- 
 tion of his country. You cannot ?ww recall him 
 by any offer of wealth or honours. Yet J foretell 
 that the time xcill cojnc, when you yourself will 
 be the cause of his return. Proceed, my Lord, 
 as you have begun, and you will soon reduce 
 
17^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 this country to an extremity, in which the wisest 
 und best subjects must be called upon, and must be 
 employed. Till then enjoy your triumph," 
 
 When Lord George became Secretary of State 
 for the American Colonies, Lord Amherst also 
 became a member of the cabinet. Their inti- 
 macy has already been noticed. 
 
 Article X. — That Junius was a friend to Co- 
 lonel Cunninghame. 
 
 " TO LORD NORTH. 
 
 '' 22 Aug. 1770. 
 " MY LORD, 
 
 " Mr. Luttrell's services were the chief sup- 
 port and ornament of the Duke of Grafton's 
 administration. The honour of rewarding them 
 was reserved for your Lordship. The Duke, it 
 seems, had contracted an obligation he was 
 ashamed to acknowledge, and unable to acquit. 
 You, my Lord, had no scruples. You accepted 
 the succession with all its incumbrances, and 
 have paid Mr. Luttrell his legacy, at the hazard 
 of ruining the estate. 
 
 " When this accomplished youth declared 
 himself the champion of government, the world 
 was busy in enquiring, what honours or emolu- 
 ments could be a sufficient recompence, to a 
 young man of his rank and fortune, for submit- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. I'JS 
 
 ting to mark his entrance into life with the uni- 
 versal contempt and detestation of his country. 
 His noble father had not been so precipitate : 
 to vacate his seat in Parliament ; to intrude 
 upon a country in which he had no interest or 
 connexion ; to possess himself of another man's 
 right ; and to maintain it in defiance of public 
 shame, as well as justice, bespoke a degree of 
 zeal, or of depravity, which all the favour of a 
 pious prince could hardly requite. I protest, 
 my Lord, there is in this young man's conduct, 
 a strain of prostitution, which, for its singularity, 
 I cannot but admire. He has discovered a new 
 line in the human character ; he has degraded 
 even the name of Luttrell, and gratified his 
 father's most sanguine expectations. 
 
 " The Duke of Grafton, with every possible 
 disposition to patronize this kind of merit, was 
 contented with pronouncing Colonel Luttreli's 
 panegyric. The gallant spirit, the disinterested 
 zeal of the young adventurer, were echoed 
 through the House of Lords. His Grace re- 
 peatedly pledged himself to the House, as an 
 evidence of the purity of his friend Mr. Lut- 
 treli's intentions, that he had engaged without 
 any prospect of personal benefit, and that the 
 idea of compensation would mortally offend him. 
 The noble Duke could hardly be in earnest ; 
 but he had lately quitted his employment, and 
 
17* A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 began to think it necessary to take some care of 
 his reputation. At that very moment the Irish 
 negotiation was probably begun. Come forward, 
 thou worthy representative of Lord Bute, and 
 teil this insulted country, who advised the King 
 to appoint Mr. Luttrell Adjutant-General to the 
 army in Ireland. By what management was 
 Colonel Cunninghame prevailed on to resign his 
 employment, and the obsequious Gisborne to ac- 
 cept of a pension for the government of Kinsale ? 
 Was it an original stipulation with the Princess 
 of Wales, or does he owe his preferment to 
 your Lordship's partiality, or to the Duke of 
 Bedford's friendship ? My Lord, though it may 
 not be possible to trace this measure to its source, 
 we can follow the stream, and warn the country 
 of its approaching destruction. The English 
 nation must be roused and put upon its guard. 
 " Mr. Luttrell has already shewn us how far he 
 may be trusted, whenever an open attack is to be 
 made upon the liberties of this country. I do 
 not doubt that there is a deliberate plan formed. 
 Your Lordship best knows by whom : the cor- 
 ruption of the legislative body on this side — a 
 military force on the other — and then, Farewell 
 to England! It is impossible that any minister 
 shall dare to advise the King to place such a 
 man as Luttrell in the confidential post of Ad- 
 jutant-General, if there were not some secret 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 175 
 
 purpose in view, which only such a man as Lut- 
 trell is fit to promote. The insult offered to 
 the army in general, is as gross as the outrage 
 intended to the people of England. What! 
 Lieutenant-Colonel Luttrell, Adjutant-General 
 of an army of sixteen thousand men ! One 
 would think his Majesty's campaigns at Black- 
 heath and Wimbledon might have taught him 
 better. I cannot help wishing General Harvey 
 joy of a colleague, who does so much honour 
 to the employments. 
 
 " But, my Lord, this measure is too daring 
 to pass unnoticed, too dangerous to be received 
 with indifference or submission. You shall not 
 have time to new-model the Irish army. They 
 will not submit to be garbled by Colonel Luttrell. 
 As a mischief to the English Constitution (for 
 he is not worth the name of an enemy), they 
 already detest him. As a boy, impudently 
 thrust over their heads, they will receive him 
 with indignation and contempt. 
 
 " As for you, my Lord, who, perhaps, are no 
 more than the blind unhappy instrument of Lord 
 Bute and Her Royal Highness the Princess of 
 Wales, be assured, that you shall be called upon 
 to answer for the advice which has been giveivi 
 and either discover your accomplices, or fall a 
 sacrifice to tlieir security.— Jumus." — Letter 
 
 XL. 
 
17.6 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 To point out this military transaction in as 
 clear a light as possible, Junius makes an addi- 
 tion of a note, to shew that his friend Colonel 
 Cunninghame considered himself degraded by 
 the offer that was made him. He adds : 
 
 " This infamous transaction ought to be ex- 
 plained to the public. Colonel Gisborne was quar- 
 ter-master-general in Ireland. Lord Townshend 
 persuades him to resign to a Scotch officer, one 
 Fraser,and gives him the government of Kinsale. 
 Colonel Cunninghame was adjutant-general in Ire- 
 land. Lord Townshend offers him a pension, 
 to induce him to resign to Luttrell. Cunning- 
 hame treats the offer with contempt. What's to 
 be done ? Poor Gisborne must move once more» 
 He accepts of a pension of 500/. a-year, until 
 a government of greater value shall become 
 vacant. Colonel Cunninghame is made gover- 
 nor of Kinsale ; and Luttrell, at last, for whom 
 the whole machinery is put in motion, becomes 
 adjutant-general, and in effect takes the com- 
 mand of the army in Ireland." 
 
 Colonel Cunninghame was an intimate friend 
 of Lord George Sackville as early as the year 
 1746. The acquaintance commenced during 
 the RebelUon in Scotland, at which period Cun- 
 ninghame joined Lord George's regiment. In 
 a private letter from Perth, to his friend Major 
 
tHE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 177 
 
 Younge, inserted in his Lordship's biography, 
 he therein says — 
 
 " All I pray for is, that I may never have 
 occasion any more to visit those Northern Hills, 
 for I think nothing but a Rebellion can ever call 
 me there again. An acquaintance of yours 
 bears me company in this place, Cunninghame 
 is his name ; if that is not sufficient to call him 
 to your remembrance, il a une soeur au Chateau 
 de Stirling qui n'est pas laide. 'He expects by 
 every post to hear that he is in my regiment, 
 and, I believe, you will think he is no bad re- 
 cruit." 
 
 After the campaign in Scotland had terminat- 
 ed, and the troops returned home, they con- 
 tinued on intimate terms. It is, therefore, rea- 
 sonable to conclude that Cunninghame had writ- 
 ten to Lord George from Ireland, apprising him 
 of the circumstance. In his character of Junius, 
 he immediately espouses his friend's cause 
 against the ambition and injustice of Colonel 
 Luttrell. Luttrell having quarrelled with Lord 
 George, gave him a more decided opportunity 
 of expressing his resentment. The whole letter 
 is on military topics, irrelevant from the politics 
 of the day, and only interested such as were 
 connected with the army. — It had so instanta- 
 neous an effect upon the ministry, that Colonel 
 Luttrell was obliged to resign a few days afler- 
 
 N 
 
178 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 wards, and Colonel Cunninghame, the friend of 
 Junius, was again reinstated. 
 
 Article XL — That Junius was an admirer of 
 Mr. Grenville. 
 
 21 Jan. 1760 — " A series of inconstant 
 measures had alienated the colonies from their 
 duty as subjects, and from their natural affection 
 to their common country. When Mr. Grenville 
 was placed at the head of the treasury, he felt 
 the impossibihty of Great Britain's supporting 
 such an establishment as her former successes 
 had made indispensable, and at the same time 
 of giving any sensible relief to foreign trade, 
 and to the weight of the public debt. He 
 thought it equitable that those parts of the Em- 
 pire, which had benefited most by the expences 
 of the war, should contribute something to the 
 expences of the peace, and he had no doubt of 
 the constitutional right vested in Parliament to 
 raise that contribution. But, unfortunately for 
 his country, Mr, Grenville was, at any rate, to 
 he distressed, because he was minister,'* 
 
 6 August, 1768 — Junius applauds Mr. Gren- 
 ville for enforcing the stamp act in America, 
 and concludes by saying : — 
 
 "Your correspondent confesses that Mr. 
 Grenville is still respectable ; yet he warns the 
 friends of that gentleman not to provoke him, ^ 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 179 
 
 lest he should tell them what they may not like 
 to hear. These are but words. He means a$ 
 little when he threatens, as when he condescends 
 to applaud. Let us meet upon the fair ground 
 of truth, and if he finds one vulnerable part in 
 Mr. Grenville's character, let him ^x his 
 poisoned arrow there." 
 
 15 Dec. 1768 — " While parliament preserves 
 its constitutional authority, you will preserve 
 yours ; as long as there is a real representation 
 of the people, you will be heard in that great 
 assembly with attention, deference, and respect, 
 and if, fatally for England, the designs of the 
 present ministry should at last succeed, you 
 will have the consolation to reflect that your 
 voice was heard, until the voice of truth and 
 reason was drowned in the din of arms ; and 
 that your influence in parliament was irresistible 
 until every question was decided by the sword.** 
 
 I have already mentioned Lord George Sack- 
 ville's friendship for Sir Jeffery Amherst, and 
 his admiration of Mr. Grenville as a statesman, 
 from a speech Lord George made in the House 
 of Commons, shortly after Mr. Grenvi lie's 
 decease, whereia he passed a flue eulogium on 
 his character. • - ' v^w j, 
 
 Article XII. — That Juniu^i was a strong ad- 
 vocate for the stamp act in Amencii. 
 
 N ^ 
 
180 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Junius — 19 Dec. I767— " It would be to no 
 purpose at present to renew a discussion of the 
 merits of the stamp act, though / am convinced 
 that even the people who were most clamorous 
 against it either never understood, or wilfully- 
 misrepresented every part of it. But it is truly as- 
 tonishing, that a great number of people should 
 have so little foreseen the inevitable consequence 
 of repealing it, and particularly that the trading 
 part of the city should have conceived, that a 
 compliance which acknowledged the rod to be 
 in the hands of the Americans, could ever 
 induce them to surrender it. They must have 
 been rather weaker than ourselves, if they ever 
 paid their debts, when they saw plainly that, by 
 withholding them, they kept us in subjection. 
 In the natural course of things the debtor 
 should be at the mercy of his creditor, rather 
 than a tyrant over him ; but it seems that for 
 these three years past, where ever America hath 
 been concerned, every argument of reason, 
 every rule of law, and every claim of nature, 
 has been despised or reversed. We have not 
 even a tolerable excuse for our folly. The 
 punishment has followed close upon it ; and that 
 it must be so, was as evident to common sense as 
 probable in prospect, as it is now certain in ex- 
 perience. There was indeed one man [Mr. 
 Grenville] who wisely foresaw every circum- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. iSl 
 
 stance which has since happened, and who, with 
 a patriot's spirit, opposed himself to the torrent. 
 He told us, that, if we thought the loss of out- 
 standing debts, and of our American trade, a 
 mischief of the first magnitude, such an inju- 
 dicious compliance with the terms dictated by 
 the colonies, was the way to make it sure and 
 unavoidable. It was ne moriare mori. We see 
 the prophecy verified in every particular, and if 
 this great and good man was mistaken in any one 
 instance, it was, perhaps, that he did not ex- 
 pect his predictions to be fulfilled so soon as they 
 have been." 
 
 Let us hear what Lord George Sackville has 
 to say upon the subject : — 
 
 March 7, 1774 — In the House of Commons, 
 Lord George in reply to Mr. Burke said, " The 
 honourable gentleman who spoke last, has taken 
 great pains to expose the conduct of different 
 administrations, and to extol those who advised 
 the repeal of the stamp act. For my part, how- 
 ever great the abilities and good intentions of 
 those gentlemen might have been, / was qf 
 opinion that it should not he repealed^ and voted 
 accordingly. It is now contended, that that 
 measure produced the desired effect, and that 
 on its passing, every thing was peace and tran- 
 quillity. I know the contrary was the case, and 
 we had evidence at your bar, which proved, that 
 
18f2 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the Americans were totally displeased, because 
 in the preamble to the repeal, we asserted our 
 right to enact laws of sufficient force and autho- 
 rity to bind them. / am on the whole fully con- 
 vinced, that the present situation of affairs in that 
 country, 'would have never been ; and that the 
 people there, must and xvoidd have returned to their 
 obedience, if the stamp act had 7iot been unfor- 
 tunately repealed.'* — Cobbett's Parliamentary 
 Debates. 
 
 Article XIII. — That Junius was in favour of 
 repealing the duty on tea in America. 
 
 " Since the repeal of the stamp act, I know 
 of no acts tending to tax the Americans, except 
 that which creates the tea duty ; and even that 
 can hardly be called internal. Yet it ought to 
 be repealed, as an impolitic act, not as an 
 oppressive one. It preserves the contention be- 
 tween the mother country and the colonies, 
 when every thing worth contending for is in 
 reality given up." — Private Letter to Mr. 
 Wilkes, 7 Sept. I771. 
 
 January 26, 1775r— Lord George Germain 
 said, " If the Americans would petition for 
 their repeal, he would stretch forth the first 
 hand to present it ; but, on the contrary, if they 
 claimed such a repeal as a right, thereby dis- 
 puting the authority of the mother country. 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 183 
 
 which no reasonable man ever called in question, 
 he wished it might be enforced with a Roman 
 severity." 
 
 Article XIV. — That Junius was an advocate 
 for triennial parHaments. 
 
 vSept. 7j 1771 — " I am satisfied that, with a 
 triennial parliament, and without it all other 
 provisions are nugatory, Mr. Grenville*s Bill is, 
 or may be made, a sufficient guard against any 
 gross, or flagrant offences in this way." 
 
 " Whenever the question shall be seriously 
 agitated, I will endeavour (and if I live, will 
 assuredly attempt it) to convince the English 
 nation by arguments, to my understanding un- 
 answerable, that they ought to insist upon a 
 triennial, and banish the idea of an annual par- 
 liament." 
 
 In his dedication, he also says: — ** You can- 
 not but conclude, without the possibility of :i 
 doubt, that long parliaments are the foundation 
 of an undue influence of the crown." 
 
 Alderman Sawbridge's motion came on for 
 many years successively. 
 
 Feb. 17, 1772 — Junius says — ** I could not 
 have conceived it possible, that you could pro- 
 tract the publication so long. At this time, 
 particularly before Mr. Sawbridge's motion (in 
 favour of triennial parliaments), it would have 
 
184 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 been of singular use/' — Private Letter to Mr. 
 Woodfall, No. 55. 
 
 Feb. 29, 1772 — " I am very glad to see that 
 the Book will be out before Mr. Sawbridge's 
 motion." — No. 57. 
 
 On the 4th of March I772, Mr. Sawbridge's 
 motion came on. The Alderman made a long 
 speech on that occasion, which, it is much to 
 be regretted, is the only one that is reported. 
 The motion was lost by a large majority. I have 
 taken considerable pains in referring to news- 
 papers of that date, hoping I should be able to 
 procure the speeches of other members ; but 
 to no effect. They were not regularly printed 
 as in the present day. 1 had nearly given up my 
 research as useless, of endeavouring to obtain 
 Lord George's opinion, when, casting my eye 
 over the papers of the ensuing week (March 
 10, 1772j Daily Advertiser), I found the follow- 
 ing paragraph. — " Through the kindness of one 
 of our correspondents, we have been favoured 
 with a few of the names who voted in favour of 
 Mr. Alderman Sawbridge's motion." In this 
 short catalogue is the name of Lord George 
 Sackville, which not only shews that he was in 
 the House that night, but that his opinion was 
 ^1 unison with that expressed by Junius. 
 
 Article XV.' — That Junius considered thtj 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 185 
 
 impeachment of Lord Mansfield as indispens- 
 able. 
 
 Private Letter to Mr. Wilkes, No. 66 (rela- 
 tive to the proceedings of the Bill of Rights' 
 Society), Junius observes — " The seventh arti- 
 cle is also very proper and necessary. The im- 
 peachment of Lord Mansfield, upon his own 
 paper, is indispensable. Yet suffer me to guard 
 you against the seducing idea of concurring in 
 any vote, or encouraging any bill, which may 
 pretend to ascertain, while in reality it limits, 
 the constitutional powers of juries. I would 
 have their right to return a general verdict in 
 all cases whatsoever, considered as a part of the 
 constitution, fundamental, sacred, and no more 
 questionable by the legislature, than whether 
 the government of the country should be by 
 King, Lords, and Commons." 
 
 Mr. Woodfall's trial for printing and publish- 
 ing Junius's Letter to the King took place June 
 13, 1770, before Lord Mansfield. Junius's 
 Letter to Lord Mansfield was written 14 Nov. 
 1770. 
 
 Serjeant Glynn brought forward his motion 
 ill the House of Commons 6 Dec. 1770, for a 
 Committee to enquire into the administration of 
 Criminal Justice ; upon which Lord George, 
 in a most eloquent speech, deUvered his opinions 
 as follows ; — 
 
186 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 " Consider, gentlemen, what will be the con- 
 sequence of refusing this demand, this debt, 
 which you owe to the anxious expectation of 
 the public. The people, seeing his avowed de- 
 fenders so loth to bring hira forth on the public 
 stage, and to make him plead his cause before 
 their tribunal, will naturally conclude, that he 
 could not bear the light, because his deeds were 
 evil ; and that, therefore, you judged it advisa- 
 ble to screen him behind the curtain of a ma- 
 jority. Though his conduct was never ques- 
 tioned in Parliament, mark how he is every day, 
 and every hour, pointed out in print and conver- 
 sation, as a perverter of the law, and an enemy 
 of the constitution. No epithet is too bad for 
 him. Now, he is the subtile Scroggs, now, the 
 arbitrary Jeffries. All the records of our courts 
 of law, and all the monuments of our lawyers, 
 are ransacked, in order to find sufficiently odious 
 names by which he may be christened. The 
 libellous and virulent spirit of the times has 
 overleaped all the barriers of law, order, and 
 decorum. The judges are no longer revered, 
 and the laws have lost all their salutary terrors. 
 Juries will not convict petty dehnquents, when 
 they suspect grand criminals go unpunished. 
 Hence libels and lampoons, audacious beyond 
 the example of all other times ; libels, in com- 
 parison of which, the North Briton, once deem- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 18? 
 
 ed the ne plus ultra of sedition, is perfect inno- 
 cence and simplicity. The sacred number 
 forty-five, formerly the idol of the multitude, is 
 eclipsed by the superior venom of every day's 
 defamation ; all its magical andtalismanic powers 
 are lost and absorbed in the general deluge of 
 scandal which pours from the press. When 
 matters are thus circumstanced, when the judges 
 in general, a7id Lord Mansfield in particular, 
 are there hung out to public scorn and detesta- 
 tion, now that libellers receive no countenance 
 from men high in power, and in the public es- 
 teem ; what will be the consequence when it is 
 publicly known, that they have been arraigned, 
 and that their friends quashed the enquiry, which 
 it was proposed to make upon their conduct ? 
 The consequence is more easily conceived than 
 expressed. I foresee that the imps of the press, 
 the sons of ink, and the printers' devils, will be 
 all in motion, and they will spare you as little 
 as they will the judges. 
 
 " Like the two thieves in the Gospel, botii 
 will be hung up and gibettcd, with the law cru- 
 cified between you, for the entertainment of 
 coffee-house politicians, greasy carmen, and 
 porters, and barbers, in tippHng houses and 
 night cellars. 1 cannot help thinking that it is 
 the wish of Lord Mansfield himself to have his 
 conduct examined, nay, 1 collect as much from 
 
188 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the language of a gentleman, who may be sup- 
 posed to know his sentiments. What founda- 
 tion then is there for obstructing the enquiry ? 
 None at all. It is a pleasure to me to see my 
 noble friend discovering such symptoms of con- 
 scious innocence. His ideas perfectly coincide 
 with my own. I would never oppose the minu- 
 test scrutiny into my behaviour. However much 
 condemned by the envy or maUce of enemies, 
 I would at least show that I stood acquitted in 
 my own mind. Qui Jiigit judicium, ipso teste, 
 reus est." 
 
 I consider this to be one of the most extra- 
 ordinary speeches ever delivered in the House 
 of Commons. A vein of satire and invective 
 runs throughout the whole, under the mask of 
 friendship for Lord Mansfield. Would any one, 
 I ask, who has any real feeling for another, 
 place his noble friend in the degraded station of 
 a thief in the gospel, or gibbet him for the 
 amusement of the vulgar ! Impossible. Besides 
 it is well known, that the intimacy which 
 subsisted between them, previous to Lord 
 George's trial, ceased after that event; Lord 
 Mansfield's opinion having proved to be erro- 
 neous. Lord George himself confessed to the 
 King some years afterwards, that Lord Walsing- 
 ham and Lord Loughborough became his legal 
 friends by preference. There is also ample tes- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 189 
 
 tiraony on the face of the speech to prove that 
 no intimacy subsisted between them at this 
 period, from Lord George's avowal, that "it 
 was from the language of a gentleman who 
 might be supposed to know his sentiments," 
 that he considered Lord Mansfield wished his 
 conduct to be inquired into. Had Lord Mans- 
 field's conduct been generally considered so 
 reprehensible, without a doubt other members 
 would have coincided in opinion as to the pro- 
 priety of an enquiry. 
 
 It is also a curious circumstance, that in the 
 circle of Lord George's acquaintance, the 
 enemies of Lord Mansfield should so preponde- 
 rate. " Mark, " says he, " how he is every 
 day and every hour poi7ited out in conversa- 
 tion:' 
 
 Serjeant Glynn's motion was not to stigmatize 
 the name of any particular judge, but merely 
 to nominate a committee, " to inquire into the 
 administration of criminal justice." 
 
 Can we wonder, afler reading this speech, at 
 the proposition of a noble Earl, to have Lord 
 George expelled the House ? They were fear- 
 ful of bringing the case forward, lest they 
 should fail in the attempt ; or in the event of 
 their succeeding. Lord Shelburne observed, 
 they could not foresee the possibility of keeping 
 him out, as the family were possessed of 
 
190 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 boroughs which could return him over and 
 over again. It is evident also from an attentive 
 perusal of Junius, that the writer prepared 
 himself for such an event, by the infinite pains 
 he took to investigate the cases of Walpole, 
 Wilkes, and WoUaston. 
 
 In allusion to the speech just quoted, Junius 
 observes : — 
 
 13 Dec. 1770— "Let it be known to pos- 
 terity, that when Lord Mansfield was attacked 
 with so much vehemence in the House of Com- 
 mons, on Thursday the 6th instant, not one of 
 the Ministry said a word in his defence." 
 
 Article XVI. — That from the manner in 
 which Junius upholds rotten boroughs, it is 
 highly probable they either constituted part of 
 his property, or that he was in some way con- 
 nected with them. 
 
 Sept. 7, 1771 —Private Letter to Mr. Wilkes— 
 " As to cutting away the rotten boroughs," 
 1 am as much offended as any man at seeing so 
 many of them under the direct influence of the 
 crown, or at the disposal of private persons, 
 yet I own I have both doubts and apprehen- 
 sions, in regard to the remedy you propose. 
 I shall be charged, perhaps, with an unusual 
 want of political intrepidity, when I honestly 
 confess to you, that I am startled at the idea of 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 191 
 
 SO extensive an amputation. In the first place, 
 I question the power dejure of the legislature 
 to disfranchise a number of boroughs upon the 
 general ground of improving the constitution. 
 
 "There cannot be a doctrine more fatal to the 
 liberty and property we are contending for, 
 than that which confounds the idea of a supreme 
 and an arbitrary legislature. I need not point out 
 to you the fatal purposes to which it has been 
 and may be applied. If we are sincere on the 
 political creed we profess, there are many things 
 which we ought to affirm, cannot be done by 
 King, Lords or Commons. Among these I 
 reckon the disfranchising a borough with a 
 general view to improvement. I consider it as 
 equivalent to robbing the parties concerned of 
 the freehold of their birth-right. I say, that 
 although this birth-right may be forfeited, or 
 the exercise of it suspended in particular cases, 
 it cannot be taken away by a general law, for 
 any real or pretended purpose of improving the 
 constitution. I believe there is no power in 
 this country to make such a law.*' 
 
 The answer to this article is very short, and 
 will be noticed in a summary of his Lordsliip's 
 life. 
 
 It is sufficient to observe here, that Lord 
 George sat in parliament in 1775, for his own 
 borough of East Grinstead. 
 
19f^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY li^TO 
 
 Article XVII. — That Junius considered a 
 strict regard should be paid to the public ex- 
 penditure, that the national debt might not be 
 increased. 
 
 Sept. 7, 1771 — The House of Commons are 
 indeed too ready in granting large sums under 
 the head of extraordinaries incurred, and not 
 provided for. But the accounts lie before them ;, | 
 it is their own fault if they do not examine them. 
 The manner in which the late debt upon the 
 civil list was pretended to be incurred, and 
 really paid, demands a particular examination. 
 Never was there a more impudent outrage 
 offered to a patient people.'' 
 
 21 Jan. 1769 — " If his plan for the service of 
 the current year be not irrevocably fixed on, let 
 me warn him to think seriously of consequences 
 before he ventures to increase the public debt. 
 Outraged and oppressed as we are, this nation 
 will not bear, after a six years' peace, to see new 
 millions borrowed, without an eventual diminu- 
 tion of debt, or reduction of interest." 
 
 The same opinion was maintained by Lord 
 George in the House of Commons, particularly 
 in the year 1764, towards the close of the Ger- 
 man War. " In an eloquent speech he pointed 
 out the difference in the expence of Queen 
 Anne's War and the present ; that though in 
 the former we had near 180,000 troops employed 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 193 
 
 on the Continent, and in the present not 
 above half the number, yet the expence now 
 was much greater than at that time — which he 
 was confident must be owing to the mismanage- 
 ment of the German War. He was of opinion 
 that the expences the nation had already borne 
 were so great, it was impossible to obtain any 
 further supplies ; that, therefore, he feared he 
 should see the time, when we should come to a 
 full stop for want of money to carry on the war. 
 That he bled to see his country in such distressed 
 circumstaTwes, and concluded, with hoping that 
 he might never live to see the day, whenwe, as 
 a powerful nation, should be obliged to ask a 
 favour of those who ought to beg it of us." 
 
 The national debt at that time was about one 
 hundred and fifty millions. AVIiat would he 
 say now ? 
 
 Article XVII L — That Junius was against dis- 
 banding the army, although a firm friend to the 
 marching regiments, lie was also in favour of 
 impressing seamen. 
 
 Private Letter to Mr. Wilkes, No. 66., 7 Sept. 
 1771 — ** As for refusing to vote the army or 
 navy, I hope we shall never be mad enough to 
 try an experiment every way so hazardous.** 
 
 Letter to the King, Dec. 19, I769.— ** You 
 take the sense of the army from the conduct of 
 
i§4 A CRlfiCAL ENQUIRY INTb 
 
 the guards, with the same justice with which 
 you collect the sense of the people from the re- 
 presentations of the ministry. Your marching 
 regiments. Sir, will not make the guards their ex- 
 ample, either as soldiers or subjects. They feel 
 and resent, as they ought to do, that invariable 
 distinguishing favour with which the guards are 
 treated ; while those gallant troops, by whom 
 every hazardous, every laborious service is per- 
 formed, are left to perish in garrisons abroad, 
 or pine in quarters at home, neglected and for- 
 gotten. If they had no great sense of the ori- 
 ginal duty they owe their country, their resent- 
 ment would operate like patriotism, and leave 
 your cause to be defended by those to whom 
 you have lavished the rewards and honours of 
 their profession. The praetorian bands, ener- 
 vated and debauched as they were, had still 
 strength enough to awe the Roman populace ; 
 but when the distant legions took the alarm, 
 they marched to Rome and gave away the 
 Empire." 
 
 " The number of commissioned officers in 
 the guards are to the marching regiments as one 
 to eleven ; the number of regiments given to 
 the guards, compared with those given to the 
 line, is about three to one, at a moderate com- 
 putation ; consequently the partiality in favour 
 <yf the guards is as thirty-three to one. So much 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS, Igf 
 
 for the officers. The private men have fourpence 
 a day to subsist on, and five hundred lashes if 
 they desert. Under this punishnient they fre- 
 quently expire. With these encouragements, 
 it is supposed they may be depended upon, 
 whenever a certain person thinks it necessary to 
 butcher his fellow subjects." 
 
 The army at all times appears to have attract- 
 ed the attention of Junius. No event or inter- 
 nal regulation passes unobserved. Who but a 
 military character would notice the distinction 
 between the guards and the marching regi- 
 ments ? But this was an interesting topic with 
 Lord George. He detested the guards, was 
 disgusted with their conduct ever after his trial, 
 and was jealous of their Sovereign's favour. As 
 Lord Orford observes, " the horse-guards was 
 an eye-sore every time he walked that way." 
 
 Junius bestows some pages upon a squabble 
 among their officers, and half confesses that it 
 was in consequence of personal malice to three 
 of them : one of whom, he owned to Mr. Wood*, 
 fall, he was willing to spare. No. 11, he says — 
 ** The only thing that hinders my pushing the 
 subject of my last letter, is really the fear of 
 ruining that poor devil, Gansel." 
 
 October 18, 1771— To Mr. Wilkes. ** Vou 
 talk of disbanding tlic army with wonderful eaoe 
 
 o 2 
 
196 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 and indifference. If a wiser man held such lan- 
 guage, I should be apt to suspect his sincerity." 
 October 5, I77I — '* I too have a claim to the 
 candid interpretation of my country, when I ac- 
 knowledge an involuntary compulsive assent to 
 one very unpopular opinion, I lament the un- 
 happy necessity, whenever it arises, of providing 
 for the safety of the state, by a temporary in- 
 vasion of the personal liberty of the subject. 
 Would to God it were practicable to reconcile 
 these important objects, in every possible situa- 
 tion of public affairs ! I regard the legal liberty 
 of the meanest man in Britain, as much as my 
 own, and would defend it with the same zeal. 
 I know we must stand or fall together. But I 
 never can doubt, that the community has a right 
 to command, as well as to purchase the service 
 of its members. I see that right founded ori- 
 ginally upon a necessity, which supersedes all 
 argument. I see it established by usage imme- 
 morial, and admitted by more than a tacit assent 
 of the legislature. I conclude there is no re- 
 medy, in the nature of things, for the grievance 
 complained of; for if there were, it must long 
 since have been redressed. Though numberless 
 opportunities have presented themselves, highly 
 favourable to pubhc liberty, no successful at- 
 tempt has ever been made for the relief of the 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 197 
 
 subject in this article. Yet it has been felt and 
 complained of ever since England had a 
 navy." 
 
 Dec. 9, 1772 — A motion was made in the 
 House of Commons to raise ten thousand 
 men to send against the Caribbs, upon which 
 Lord George rose and said, " I am astonished 
 to hear an honourable gentleman complain that 
 the planters are not sufficiently protected. Be- 
 fore this expedition they had six battalions j 
 and will any gentleman pretend to say that six 
 battalions are not enough for them ? I have 
 authority to assert, that the whole number of 
 the Caribbs does not amount to five hundred 
 men, yet we are sending regiment after regi- 
 ment to sacrifice, hunt down, and destroy those 
 unfortunate people ! I never was in that coun- 
 try, but the climate, I am told, is exceedingly 
 bad. I am told, that if our men are exposed 
 one night to the weather, they will perish. 
 One campaign would inevitably destroy our 
 troops, and let me tell you, sir, that as men are 
 so scarce, we should not be so lavish of them. 
 We already find a great difficulty in recruiting; 
 our regiments cannot be completed on account 
 of the various emigrations, and the aversencss 
 which prevails against the service throughout 
 the kingdom. I recollect a circumstance tliat 
 happened to one of our ships of war (the Phce- 
 
l9i A (iMtiCAL ENQUlRir INTO 
 
 nix) on her arrival at St. Vincent's : the captain 
 Ivas civilly invited on shore by the governor j 
 the boat that carried him on shore had seven 
 hands, and out of the seven, six returned on 
 board sick, and died. After that, an officer and 
 nine men went on shore to guard the water 
 casks, and seven of these died. Such, sir, is the 
 climate that we are sending our troops to. The 
 two regiments which the noble Lord says are 
 sent from North America have tents ; but those 
 tents cannot preserve the men from excessive 
 heat and damps ; and we are destroying our 
 men, without a certainty of being able to re- 
 cruit them. Men are so scarce from the con- 
 tinual drain of the army, navy, and coloniza- 
 tion, that I am assured we shall soon, unless 
 some remedy is adopted, be in a miserable 
 situation. Besides, what encouragement have 
 men to enter into the service? to live, pardon 
 me, to starve upon sirpence a day I The sol- 
 dier's pay since the first institution of an army 
 has never been raised : the officer's has repeat- 
 edly, hut the soldier's never. No, sir, in the 
 famous Tyrone rebelhon in Ireland, when the 
 Spaniards landed in that country, the soldiers 
 had sixpence a day, and now, notwithstanding 
 the great difference in the two periods, and 
 dearness of provisions, they have no more. 
 Indeed, sir, I am astonished how they live j and 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS* 199 
 
 considering our situation, I think y^e ouglit to 
 be extremely cautious how we employ our 
 troops ; and I hope, as the noble Lord assures 
 us they can, that the Secretary of State will 
 furnish those cogent reasons, which would ren- 
 der such a slaughter of men and waste of public 
 money necessary in time of peace." 
 
 Here we have the same care extended to- 
 ward the private soldiers, as is manifested by 
 Junius, and the same argument maintained 
 against the men being unwilling to act on account 
 of tlie smallness of their pay. Yet, notwith- 
 standing this general feeUng toward the private 
 soldiers, we sliall find, in the ensuing speech ♦, 
 cogent reasons for not disbanding the army, or 
 placing them on the same footing with othex 
 classes of his Majesty's subjects 5 expediency 
 being urged as a plea for superseding every 
 minor consideration. It also tends to convince 
 us Uiat although the object of Junius might 
 have been to gratify private resentment, yet 
 when Im opinions aie thoroughly examined, we 
 are convinced that he wrote from principle, and 
 tliat in |K)litics he was not a republican. 
 
 In a Debate in the House of Commons on a bill 
 for limiting the time for soldiers to serve in tl>e 
 army, Lord George Sackville said, "Whether tiic 
 dangers and inconveniences that may arise fro^n 
 
 * m» first in tUe I|ou»c of Cuiiiuiou». 
 
200 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the passing of this bill be real or imaginary, is 
 a question that may certainly admit of some 
 dispute : but there is a maxim that never was 
 yet disputed, and that is the maxim often re- 
 peated by our best lawyers and greatest patriots — 
 * Nolumus leges Anglise mutari '; for it has 
 always been allowed, that no new law ought to 
 be introduced, unless there appear to be a very 
 manifest defect in the old, and a defect which 
 is attended with some public inconvenience of 
 a very pernicious nature. To imagine that any 
 human regulation can be so perfect as to be 
 attended by no inconveniences, is surely chi- 
 merical ; and human foresight is so short, that 
 it is impossible for us to see all the inconveni- 
 ences which an alteration of any standing law 
 may be attended with. We should not there- 
 fore fly to alterations and what we may call 
 amendments, upon every little inconvenience 
 that may arise ; for if we did, we should every 
 session be altering the whole body of our laws ; 
 and very probably, like the tinkers, where we 
 mended one hole, we should make two : where 
 we removed an old inconvenience, we should 
 introduce two new ones, which has so often been 
 the case, that in a conversation about mending 
 the law, a very learned and experienced judge 
 now deceased, gave it as his opinion, that the 
 best way to amend the lav/, would be to repeal all 
 the laws that had been made for one hundred 
 
 I 
 I 
 
' THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 201 
 
 years past. Now, sir, before we agree to the 
 passing of this bill into a law, I should be glad 
 to know what inconvenience there is, either of 
 a public or a private nature, in detaining a 
 listed soldier in the service, until his Majesty 
 should think Jit to disband the 7'egiment, or his 
 officer should think fit to grant him his dis- 
 charge? As to the public, I am sure it is, 
 instead of an inconvenience, a very signal 
 advantage ; for in case of a war, it is surely 
 better for the public to be served by veterans, 
 or well disciplined soldiers, than by men newly 
 listed, and quite ignorant of any sort of military 
 discipline. And as to private men, I shaU grant 
 it is an inconvenience for a man to be bound 
 to the performance of any contract he makes : 
 but for that reason, I hope you would not make 
 a law for rendering all contracts made, or to be 
 made, invalid, unless both parties are willing to 
 perform the same ; for such a law would put 
 an end to all commerce and intercourse among 
 mankind, and consequently would be a greater 
 inconvenience to every private man, than that 
 which arises from the law as it stands at present : 
 and I can sec no reason why a listed soldier 
 should not be bound to the performance of the 
 contract he enters into by listing, as well as 
 to that of any other contract he makes ; for as 
 the law now stands, no one can say he is drawn 
 
ft^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 into it by his own rashness, or by any trick in 
 the person that Usts him, because he has four days 
 to consider and avoid what he has done, which 
 is more than is allowed with regard to any other 
 contract, not excepting that of marriage, which 
 is a contract for life, as well as that of listing 
 for a soldier. The bill now before us cannot 
 therefore be founded upon any known incon- 
 venience in the law military, as it now stands, 
 but must rest wholly upon the advantages ex- 
 pected from it; and there is a very strong 
 argument from experience, against our having 
 any imputation of that kind j for if giving our 
 soldiers a right to demand their discharge after ten 
 years' service, could make recruiting easier, or 
 increase tlie number of disciplined men in the 
 kingdom, surely the giving them a right to 
 demand their discharge after three years' service, 
 would have a much greater effect in both these 
 respects ; yet I never heard that the law made 
 for the purpose, after the peace of Utrecht, 
 was attended with any of those advantages in 
 the least degree. From hence, I think, I am 
 well founded in supposing, that as to both these 
 advantages, the bill would have no effect at all ; 
 and as far as I can recollect, these two are the 
 only advantages which the promoters of this 
 bill expect from it. But besides being founded 
 upon experience, my supposition is likewi^ 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 203 
 
 founded upon the nature of mankind ; for what 
 is it that induces a man to enlist in the army? 
 It is generally either his natural disposition, or 
 some misfortune he has met witli in his place of 
 birth or residence ; and let it be which of them 
 you will, the same cause that made him enlist, 
 will make him continue in the army as long as he 
 can, unless he meets with some extraordinary 
 good fortune, such as a rich wife, large legacy, 
 or the like ; so that even this bill passed into 
 law, as it would produce no alteration in the 
 nature of mankind, recruiting would remain as 
 difficult and expensive as it is now. Few of 
 those once limited, would ever demand their 
 discharge, or make room for others to enlist, as 
 long as there appeared no likelihood of a war ; 
 <ronsequently we should never, by such a bill as 
 this, have more disciplined men in tJie kingdom 
 than we have at present. 
 
 ** I therefore think it evident, that this bill, 
 should it be passed into a law, could produce 
 no one good effect ; but miglit, nay, I think it 
 would certainly produce several bad effects ; for 
 either the colonel of every regiment roust dis- 
 miss every man in ius regiment as soon as his 
 time of service was exfiired, or he could nevci* 
 depend, so much as for one day, mpon having 
 ihis I raiment CD Mf fct c ; and the soldkra would 
 be c vciy day changii^ fnm Tegiment to regi- 
 
204 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 ment, or from company to company. I do not 
 say they would leave the army ; but whenever 
 a soldier, whose time was expired, took a dislike 
 to his captain, he would demand his discharge, 
 go a rioting for a few days, and then enlist in 
 another company, perhaps, of the same regi- 
 ment. And if the soldiers of a regiment took a 
 fancy that their major or adjutant was a little 
 too severe, all such of them as had served out 
 the time allotted by law, would demand their 
 discharge and enlist in other regiments; nor 
 can we suppose, that the officers of other re- 
 giments, who wanted recruits, would refuse to 
 receive them ; for officers will always choose 
 to have a disciplined, rather than an undisci- 
 plined man, because it saves them the trouble 
 of teaching them their exercise ; and very pro- 
 bably, too, they might_' always have them at a 
 cheaper rate than first recruits. 
 
 " What a confusion this would occasion in 
 our musters ! what a nonplus a colonel might be 
 put to, when his regiment was just going to be 
 • reviewed, perhaps by his Sovereign, may easily 
 be imagined ; and this, I am sure, cannot be 
 said to be a chimerical apprehension. Then, 
 sir, with regard to the cloathing, can we suppose 
 that any soldier entitled to his discharge, would 
 demand it with old regimentals upon his back ? 
 No, sir, we may rest assured, that he would 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. ^05 
 
 wait till the regiment was new cloathed, and when 
 he had got his new cloathes on, he would then 
 demand his discharge ; and thus the colonel 
 might be put to the expense, not only of re- 
 cruiting, but of new cloathing the greater part 
 of his regiments the second time. 
 
 " With regard to the changing of quarters too, 
 this bill, if passed into a law, would be attend- 
 ed with an unavoidable inconvenience ; for 
 every soldier, entitled to his discharge, would 
 certainly demand it, if he did not like the quar- 
 ters the regiment was ordered to ; and we may 
 suppose, that no such soldier would ever go to 
 Ireland, in case any regiment should be ordered 
 thither ; nor would many of the soldiers in the 
 regiments now there, ever leave that country, 
 in case of their being entitled to their discharge, 
 at the time of the regiment's being ordered 
 home. And as to Gibraltar, Port-Mahon, and the 
 Plantations, we could never send any regiment to 
 any of those places, or do justice to the regiments 
 now there, by calling them home, in their turn, 
 to their native land ; for if a regiment was order- 
 ed to any of those places, I do not think there 
 is a doubt to be made, but that every soldier in 
 the regiment entitled to his discharge would de- 
 mand it, probably just when the regiment was 
 going to embark, so that the colonel could not 
 have time to recruit, nor have it in his power 
 
^06 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 to carry a complete regiment thither, any other 
 way than by giving such a premium to every 
 soldier as he pleased to demand, for his agreeing 
 to go along with him; and such demands, I 
 believe, very few colonels would be able to 
 comply with. 
 
 " These, sir, are some of the inconveniences 
 which I now foresee must necessarily arise from 
 this bill, if passed into a law, and many others 
 might ensue, which none of us at present can 
 foresee ; but those I have mentioned are, I think, 
 sufficient for inducing every gentleman to be 
 against this bill, who has a regard for the safety 
 of his country, and thinks it cannot be secured 
 without keeping on foot a number of regular 
 troops. 
 
 " I should be as fond as any gentleman in 
 this House of propagating military discipline, 
 and a martial spirit among all ranks of men in this 
 kingdom^ and I would most readily agree to any 
 regulation which had the least appearance of 
 being eiffectual for that purpose, but the bill now 
 before us, has not so much as the appearance 
 of producing any such effect ; for no man of 
 any tolerable circumstances in life will delibe- 
 rately enlist as a common soldier in the army, 
 when he knows, that if he once enlists, he must 
 remain in the army for ten years, unless his 
 officer shall within that time think fit to grant 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 20? 
 
 him a discharge. Ten years, sir, is too great 
 a part of human lite for any man to continue in 
 the army, merely for the sake of making him- 
 self master of military discipline ; and if you 
 should shorten this terra of necessary service, it 
 would add weight to every inconvenience I have 
 mentioned. 
 
 " I will go further, sir : I will say, that if 
 you should shorten the time, it might endanger 
 the present establishment. We know, and I am 
 sorry to say, that we have many great famiUes 
 disaffected to our present happy establishment, 
 especially in the North, and among the High- 
 lands of Scotland. They have a commanding 
 influence over all those of their clan, and all 
 the farms within their estates ; they would pre- 
 vail with, or rather command, every young fel- 
 low, whose father had any dependence upon 
 them, to enlist and serve his time in the army ; 
 and by this means, they might provide them- 
 selves with a great number of disciplined sol- 
 diers, to he employ edf 07* ovei'tunnng mir present 
 establishment^ as soon as an opportunity offered. 
 It is well known that the disaffected Chiefs in 
 the Highlands of Scotland made use of the in* 
 dependent companies kept up in that country 
 for tliis very purpose ; and since tlie breaking of 
 those companies, tlicy have made use of the Scot- 
 tish regiments in the Dutcli senicc for the same 
 
208 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 purpose. It was this that made the late Rebel- 
 lion so formidable, and at first so successful. 
 That army of rebels was not made up of shep- 
 herds, or fellows just taken from the plough, as 
 it was represented through ignorance or design 
 by the friends to the government here : it was 
 chiefly composed of disciplined soldiers, and 
 commanded by noblemen and gentlemen of 
 rank and courage, though, I believe, of no great 
 fortune ; and if this bill should pass into a law, 
 we may soon expect to hear of such anothei; 
 army appearing in favour of the Pretender. 
 
 " This, I say, sir, is a danger which may 
 justly be apprehended even from the bill, should 
 it pass into a law ; and if the time of service in 
 the army were to be shortened, this danger 
 would become more certain and more imminent. 
 I shall grant there is some danger in our not 
 having any disciplined men in the kingdom, but 
 such as are in our standing army, and subject 
 to military law, and I wish with all my heart 
 it were otherwise ; but whilst we have a 
 superiority at sea, it is, I think, hardly possible 
 for a foreign enemy to invade us with a number 
 of regular troops superior to those we may now 
 meet them with, should they have the good 
 fortune, or rather, I should say, the bad fortune, 
 to land in this island ; and whilst our army is 
 commanded by gentlemen of rank, and gentle- 
 
 « 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 209 
 
 men whose property is of much greater value 
 than any thing they can expect from their ser- 
 vice in the army, I think we may depend upon 
 it, that an army so commanded will never sup- 
 port a prince or minister in any way for the es- 
 tablishment of arbitrary power, which would of 
 course render every man's property precarious. 
 
 ** Even supposing that either this foreign or 
 this domestic danger were, in our present cir- 
 cumstances, to be justly apprehended, I have 
 shewn that neither the one nor the otlier could 
 be rendered less to be apprehended by the pass- 
 ing this bill ; on the contrary, if it added to 
 the number of disciplined men not retained in 
 the army, it would only be among such as would 
 be ready to take up arms against us upon any 
 invasion ; and it would load the officers with 
 such an expence, and expose them to so many 
 inconveniences, that no gentleman of an easy 
 fortune would ever accept of a commission : 
 therefore, though I should willingly agree to 
 any bill I thought effectual for propagating mi- 
 litary discipline, and a warlike spirit among all 
 ranks of men in this island, I cannot give my 
 consent to the passing of the bill into a law, 
 and consequently must give my negative to the 
 question.** 
 
 In this speech Lord George takes occasion, 
 totally unconnected with the subject, to intro- 
 
£10 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 duce his opinion of the treachery of the Scotch, 
 which must forcibly remind the reader, of Ju- 
 iiius's opinion of that nation, in his celebrated 
 Letter to the King. 
 
 Article XIX. — That Junius must have had 
 an antipathy to Sir Fletcher Norton, the Speaker 
 of the House of Commons, from the contempt 
 with which he speaks of him. 
 
 £8 May, 1770 — " The Speaker, being young 
 in office, began with pretending ignorance, and 
 ended with deciding for the ministry. We were 
 not surprised at the decision ; but he hesitated 
 and blushed at his own baseness, and every man 
 was astonished." 
 
 " When the King first made it a measure of 
 his government to destroy Mr. Will<:es, and when 
 for this purpose it was necessary to run down 
 privilege. Sir Fletcher Norton, with his usual 
 prostituted effi'ontery, assured the House of 
 Commons, that he should regard one of their 
 votes, no more than a resolution of so many 
 drunken porters. This is the very lawyer, whom 
 Ben Jonson describes in the following lines : 
 
 " Gives forked counsel; takes provoking gold. 
 On either hand, and puts it up. 
 So wise, so grave, of so perplex'd a tongue. 
 And loiid withal, that would not wag, nor scarce 
 Lie still without a fee," 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 211 
 
 14 Aug. 1769 — " If to the elegance, novelty, 
 and bitterness of this ingenious sarcasm, we add 
 the natural melody of the a7niahle Sir Fletcher 
 Norto?i*s pipe, we shall not be surprised that Mr. 
 Grenville was unable to make him any reply." 
 
 14 Dec. 1770—" The riot in the House of 
 Lords has shocked the delicacy of Sir Fletcher 
 Norton. Upon occasion of some clamour yes- 
 terday, he called to them, with all the softness 
 of SL bassoon, Fray, gentlemen, he orderly ; you 
 are almost as had as the other House,'* 
 
 Junius, from a c^use with which we are un* 
 acquainted, must have had some personal dis- 
 like to the Speaker. An indifferent writer would 
 not have treated him so disrespectfully, since 
 there was no purpose to answer, nor any political 
 measure that could possibly have derived 
 advantage from it. As far as Lord George 
 Sackville was concerned, we have evidence to 
 prove, that he considered him totally unfit to fill 
 that high station, and therefore opposed his 
 election. 
 
 ! On the death of Sir John Cust, which took 
 place soon afler the opening of Parliament in 
 1770, Lord Nortli proposed Sir Fictclier Norton 
 to fill the vacant seat. Mr. Rigby seconded the 
 motion. The name of this worthy knight did 
 not coincide with Lord George's wishes. He 
 therefore seconded Lord John Cavendish in his 
 
 p2 
 
21^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 proposal for th e Right Hon . Thomas To wnshend*. 
 Sir Fletcher, being a staunch ministerial man, 
 was of course duly elected. This circumstance 
 may also account for the private letter of Junius 
 to Mr. Woodfall, No. 10—" I shall be glad to 
 see the pacquet you speak of. It cannot come 
 from the Cavendishes, though there be no end 
 of the family. They "would not he so silly as to 
 put their arms on the cover,'' 
 
 Jan. 22, 1770 — Lord George Sackville Ger- 
 main. " I beg leave to second the noble Lord's 
 motion, Mr. Townshend, while the other gen- 
 tleman [Sir F. N.] has been practising in the 
 courts below, has been learning business of a 
 superior kind ; the business of the nation and 
 this house. I will not say that persons in a cer- 
 tain walk of life, have notions of right or wrong 
 superior to those of others, or that the mere 
 sense of right and wrong of honour, is worn off 
 by a constant and intended attention to the 
 right and wrong of law : there have been men 
 of honour, in the true sense of the word, in 
 every situation ; but it is no disgrace to any man 
 not to know what he has had no opportunity to 
 learn : If I were to choose, or to vote for the 
 Speaker of the bench in another place, I do not 
 koowi^any one whom I should prefer to Sir 
 
 * Afterwards Lord Sydney— Lord George Sackville's most 
 intimate friend. 
 
I^V 
 
 THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. ^13 
 
 Fletcher Norton : but placing a person in that 
 chair, as Speaker of the House, is another object. 
 It is with great pleasure that 1 hear justice done 
 to the memory of the gentleman whose loss we 
 are endeavouring to supply : and upon this oc- 
 casion I may be permitted to observe, that he 
 was not much acquainted with the practice of 
 the courts ; as he was, notwithstanding, in every 
 respect equal to his office, it may fairly be in- 
 ferred, that much acquaintance with the practice 
 of the courts below, is not a necessary qualifica- 
 tion for it. Forms of practice are things very dif- 
 ferent from rules of right. It does not, there- 
 fore, seem to follow, that a gentleman whose 
 opinion has precluded such in law and equity, 
 is therefore qualified to regulate the proceedings 
 of this house : a man may be well acquainted 
 with the face of a country, and its divisions as 
 laid down in a map, without knowing a step of 
 the road to a single market town ; and he that 
 has been used to travel the turnpike road, on 
 journeys of business, may be less acquainted wiUi 
 the shorter cuts through parks, forests, and pri- 
 vileged places, than those whose situations and 
 connections have admitted them to the chase, 
 which is regulated by rules very different from 
 paying toll at a turnpike, or paying bills at an 
 inn. Upon the whole, I should think a minute 
 acquaintance with tJie practice of courts of law, 
 
214 A CBITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 rather a disqualification for the chair in this 
 house." 
 
 Not satisfied with this opposition to Sir Fletcher, 
 he resumed the subject again in the year I78O, 
 and finally succeeded in removing him. Not- 
 withstanding which removal, Sir Fletcher con- 
 tinued an active member of the House. 
 
 The subject was ably brought forward by 
 Lord George in describing to the House the 
 qualifications needful for a Speaker : 
 
 ** To be capable of filling the chair with dig- 
 nity, the person proposed must understand the 
 constitution of the state, be well acquainted 
 with the law of the land, and, above all, be 
 perfectly master of the law of Parliament. 
 He must have a zealous attachment to the rights 
 and privileges of the Commons of England, 
 and a sufficient degree of ability and integrity 
 to support, maintain, and defend them ; he 
 must be diligent without being precipitate, and 
 firm and decisive without being arbitrary or rash ; 
 and that which he considered as a Speaker's 
 most important duty, was his conducting him- 
 self with the strictest impartiality on every oc- 
 casion. The office, he said, was a very labo- 
 rious one, and required full health and vigour. 
 The right honourable gentleman, who last filled 
 the chair, when he was first elevated to that 
 high situation, was in possession of every qua- 
 
THE LETTERS OP JUNIUS. 215 
 
 lification, both of body and mind, whicli the 
 duties of the office called for : but the House 
 had, unhappily for the right honourable gentle- 
 man, and unhappily for the public, been wit- 
 ness, in the course of the last session, that the 
 right honourable gentleman's constitution was 
 much impaired. He therefore flattered himself, 
 that it would not be thought that he made an 
 improper motion, when he proposed Charles 
 Wolfran Cornwall *, Esq. to fill the Chair/'— 
 After considerable opposition — elected. 
 
 Article XX. — That Junius was necessarily a 
 friend to his printer, Mr. Woodfall. 
 
 " As to the House of Commons there may be 
 more danger. But even then, I am fully satis*- 
 fied the ministry will exert themselves to quash 
 such an enquiry, and on the other side you u'tll 
 hate friends,'' — No. 15, Private Letter. 
 
 The last letter Mr. Woodfall received from 
 Junius was dated January 19, 1773: concluding 
 thus : — 
 
 " You have never flinched that I know of: 
 and I shall always rejoice to hear of your pros- 
 perity. If you have any thing to communicate 
 of moment to yourself, you may use the last ad- 
 dress and give a hint." 
 
 « Another of Lord George's ifitimato irieiuU> 
 
Ql6 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Mr. Woodfairs answer terminated their cor- 
 respondence, and to all appearance any further 
 connection between them : but the following 
 year, Feb. 7, 1774, an opportunity offered to 
 render Mr. Woodfall a service which was totally 
 unlooked for. The recollection of the confidence 
 which Junius had reposedin his printer, and which 
 had been so honourably maintained, was a suffi- 
 cient inducement for Lord George to befriend 
 him on the present occasion. John Home Tooke 
 was subpoenaed before the House of Commons, 
 for a libel on the Speaker, and Henry Sampson 
 Woodfall, for printing it. Many able speeches were 
 made for and against Mr. Tooke : Lord George, 
 who recollected his old opponent, preserved an en- 
 tire silence : but when Captain Phipps presented 
 a petition from Henry Sampson Woodfall, owning 
 the enormity of the offence, and throwing him- 
 self upon the clemency of the House, Lord 
 George was the only man who spoke in favour 
 of receiving it, " hoping the House would dis- 
 charge the prisoner at the bar : Ids case, he said, 
 was singularly hard ; he was about to be se- 
 verely punished for what his brother printers 
 were daily guilty of, viz. printing the proceed- 
 ings of the House : that the Speaker signed an 
 order, which appeared at the bottom of every 
 day's printed votes, that no man should print 
 the proceedings of the House, without his ex- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS; 217 
 
 press leave ; and yet they had been told, at their 
 own bar by the petitioner, that he had been a 
 printer for near twenty years, and never incurred 
 the displeasure of the House before ; a tacit 
 imphcation, that the House themselves were less 
 rigid in supporting their own orders than their 
 honour required. He therefore was for dis- 
 charging this first offender, and letting their 
 present lenity operate as a notice, that they 
 were determined to punish with the utmost se- 
 verity the next person who merited their re- 
 sentment." 
 
 Colonel Onslow told the House, " he under- 
 stood an honourable member had advised the 
 printer not to appear, but as he did appear con- 
 trary to his advice, he should be for discharging 
 him." — Mr. Woodfall discharged. 
 
 I previously observed, that Lord George was 
 the only one who spoke in Mr. WoodfalPs favour. 
 1 do not consider Colonel Onslow's remark 
 amounts to that. It was evidently an insinua- 
 tion against some one present. Junius in one of 
 his private letters says, ** I know Onslow per- 
 fectly, he is a false silly fellow." 
 
 Article XXI. — That Junius must have resided 
 almost wholly in London, from his correspond- 
 ence with Mr. Woodfall, to whom he gave notice 
 wlicn he occasionally went into the country. One 
 
213 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 of his letters being dated Pall Mall, we may 
 fairly presume his town house was in that street. 
 
 The letters commenced April 28, I767, and 
 concluded May 12, I772.— One letter to Mr, 
 Woodfall is of a later date, Jan. 19, 1773. This 
 terminated the correspondence. By an exami- 
 nation of the dates during this period, we find 
 that the writer could not have been absent for 
 many weeks together, and previous to the short 
 excursions he occasionally made, he informed Mr. 
 Woodfall of his intention. A further proof of 
 his being almost constantly in town, is the readi- 
 ness with which he answered his Letters, for in- 
 stance, in his correspondence with Mr. Wilkes. 
 
 On the 21st August, 1771 j Junius wrote his 
 first letter to Mr. Wilkes. On this letter is 
 written in Mr. Wilkes's own hand, the follow- 
 ing memorandum:— 
 
 Aug. 21, 1771 — " Received on Wednesday 
 noon by a chairman, who said he brought it from 
 a gentleman whom he saw in Lancaster Court, 
 in the Strand."— J. W. 
 
 On the 7th Sept. 1771> Junius wrote again. 
 
 On the 9th Sept. 1771, Mr. Wilkes obeyed 
 the writer's instructions, by the following adver- 
 tisement in " The Public Advertiser." 
 
 " Princes Courts Monday, Sept. 9. 
 
 « Mr. Wilkes had the honour of receiving 
 from the same gentleman, two excellent letters 
 
THK LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 21^ 
 
 on important subjects, one dated August 21, the 
 other September 7- He begs the favour of the 
 author to prescribe the mode of Mr. Wilkes's 
 communicating his answer." 
 
 The following morning Mr. Wilkes received 
 an answer from Junius by the Penny-post, as 
 follows : — 
 
 10 Sept. 1771—" You may intrust Woodfall 
 with a letter for me. Leave the rest to his ma- 
 nagement. 
 
 ** I expect that you will not enter into any 
 explanations with him whatsoever." 
 
 During this period Lord George Sackville was 
 constant in his attendance on Parliament, and to 
 use his own words, "greatly interested himself in 
 the honour of the nation." The house occupied 
 by the late Mr. Angerstein, in Pall-Mall, w^aa 
 his lordship's town residence for many years. 
 
 Article XXIL — That from Junius'? remem- 
 brance of the Walpolean battles, his seeing the 
 Jesuitical books biu-nt in Paris,, and his avowal 
 of a long experience of the world, as well a8 
 from otlicr circumstances mentioned in his cor- 
 respondence with Mr. Wilkes, he could not be 
 less than fifty years of age at the time of writing 
 those letters. 
 
 In Iiis dedication to the English nation, he 
 expresses a hope, in animated language, tlxaJb 
 
$20 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 " Civil liberty may still last the life of Ju- 
 nius." 
 
 " After long experience of the *worldj I affirm 
 before God, I never knew a rogue who was not 
 unhappy." — Private letter to Mr. Woodfall, 
 No. 44. 
 
 " Many thanks for your obliging offer ; hut 
 alas! my age and figure would do but little 
 credit to my partner. I acknowledge the re- 
 lation between Cato and Portia, but in truth I 
 see no connexion between Junius and a minuet." 
 —Private letter to Mr. Wilkes, No. 77. 
 
 " Long habit has taught me to pass by all the 
 declamation with which champions parade. I 
 look upon it as no better than those flourishes 
 of the back sword with which the great masters 
 of my time in the amphitheatre entertained the 
 spectators, merely to shew their dexterity, but 
 which made no part of the real engagement." — 
 Miscellaneous Letter, 10 June I769. 
 
 This paragraph not only proves Junius to 
 have passed the meridian of life, but that he 
 was a military character ; the use of the broad 
 sword being a branch of an officer's education. 
 
 23 April, 1768 — "I remember seeing Bas- 
 sambaum, Saurez, Molina, and a score of other 
 Jesuitical books, burnt at Paris for their sound 
 casuistry by the hands of the common hang- 
 
 I 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 2€1 
 
 This not only proves to us, that Junius had 
 been in France, but that it must have been at 
 a period between Queen Anne's war and the 
 war in Germany. Sir N. Wraxall says, that 
 Lord George, when young, accompanied his 
 father Lionel, Duke of Dorset, to Paris, and in 
 all probability it was at this period that he saw 
 the conflagration of Jesuitical books. 
 
 10 June, 1769 — " I remember the great Wal- 
 polean battles." 
 
 Junius refers to the year lyi^l, when Sir Ro- 
 bert Walpole was expelled the House of Com- 
 mons. Lord George does not appear to have 
 been a member at that time ; he therefore says, 
 ** I am an old reader of political controversy." 
 
 Article XXIIL — That from the hints Junius 
 gave to his printer, Mr. Woodfall, we may infer, 
 arrangements had been made for his coming 
 into office ; which, though not accepted by him 
 at the time, were sufficiently important to in- 
 duce him to write no more. 
 
 " I doubt much whether I shall ever have the 
 pleasure of knowing you ; but if things take the 
 turn I expect, you shall know me by my works.** 
 —No. 17. 
 
 "Act honourably by me, and at a proper 
 time yoii shall knoxv vie.** — No. 4L 
 
 " My letter of Monday will, I hope, convince 
 
222 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the author, that I am neither a partisan of Mr. 
 Wilkes, nor yet bought off by the ministry. It 
 is trice I have refused offers which a more pru- 
 dent, or a more interested man would have ac- 
 cepted. Whether it be simplicity or virtue 
 in me I can only affirm that / am in earnest,^^-— 
 Miscellaneous Letter, 12 April, I769. 
 
 There was at one time a proposition for Lord 
 George to be under secretary of state, but he 
 declined it from his unwillingness to unite with 
 those men who had treated him so unhand- 
 somely. 
 
 " I have seen the signals thrown out for your 
 old friend and correspondent. Be assured that" 
 I have had good reasons for not complying with 
 them. In the ^present state of things, if I were 
 to write again, I must be as silly as any of the 
 horned cattle, that run mad through the city, 
 or as any of your wise aldermen.'* — Private 
 Letter to Mr. Woodfall, No. 63. Jan. 19, 
 1773. 
 
 A new ministry was formed in 177^j when 
 Lord George Germain became secretary of state 
 for the American colonies, an office previously 
 held by the Earl of Hilsborough ; by this ar- 
 rangement, Junius's prediction in his letter to 
 the Earl of Hilsborough, 20th September, I768, 
 became fully verified. 
 
 The anticipation of such an event would na- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS, fgS9 
 
 turally account for the extreme caution of Ju- 
 nius, and for the fear he always entertained of 
 being discovered. 
 
 Article XXIV.— Finally— That so powerful 
 an attack on the private characters of persons of 
 such high rank, being inconsistent with the pen 
 of political writers in general, who condemn 
 measures, and not character, we may reasonably 
 conclude that they proceeded from the pen 
 of one who had received a severe wound from 
 some of those individuals who formed part of 
 the existing administration. 
 
 This article, as far as regards the personal 
 motive of Junius, is already answered in the 
 former part of the work. It now remains to 
 notice his general censure of ministers in a 
 political point of view, wherein I shall prove 
 that the same strong and powerful language 
 employed by Junius, is strictly in unison with 
 Lord George Sackvillc's speeclies in the Hoaic 
 of Commons at that period, — a few instances 
 will suffice. 
 
 Junius says — 6di Oct. 1 768 — "It is impossible 
 for an honest man to behold the circumstances, 
 to which a weak distracted administration has re- 
 duced us, without feeling one pang at least ibf 
 the approaching ruin oi' Great Britain." 
 . " I am. not surprised that tlie generality of okh 
 
224 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 should endeavour to shut their eyes to this me- 
 lancholy prospect. Yet I am filled with indigna- 
 tion, when I behold a wise and gallant people lost 
 in a stupidity which does not feel, because it does 
 not look forward. The voice of one man will 
 hardly be heard when the voice of truth and 
 reason is neglected ; but as far as mine extends, 
 the authors of our ruin shall be marked out to 
 the public. I will not tamely submit to be 
 sacrificed, nor shall this country perish without 
 warning/' — Letter xlviii., 19 Oct. I768. 
 
 14th November, I768 — " In this and my 
 former letters I have presented to you, with 
 plainness and sincerity, the melancholy condi- 
 tion to which we are reduced. The characters 
 of a weak and worthless ministry would hardly 
 deserve the attention of history, but that they 
 are fatally united, and must be recorded with 
 the misfortunes of the country. If there be 
 yet a spark of virtue left among us, this great 
 nation shall not be sacrificed to the fluctuating 
 interests or wayward passions of a minister, nor 
 even to the caprices of a monarch. If there be 
 no virtue left, it is no matter who are ministers, 
 nor how soon they accomphsh our destruction." 
 
 24th Dec. 1770— "Give me leave, Mr. Wood- 
 fall, to ask you a serious question. How long 
 do you think it possible for this management to 
 last ? I will answer you with precision. It will 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 225 
 
 last, until there is a general insurrection of the 
 English nation." 
 
 At the opening of the session of parliament, 
 early in January, 1770, we find Lord George 
 Sackville in the House, foremost in the ranks, 
 cavil Hng about the minister's answer to the 
 King's speech. 
 
 He desired the proposed address might be 
 read, and wlien the words "to offer to his 
 Majesty our most dutiful thanks, for the favour- 
 able opinion he is pleased to entertain of our 
 conduct" were pronounced, he rose, and in a 
 most eloquent speech, addressed himself to the 
 Speaker, as follows : 
 
 " Sir, the honourable and learned gentle- 
 man [Attorney General de Grey*] who spoke 
 last, has left us to guess at his real sentiments 
 relative to the people's petition. He has not 
 yet rightly formed his opinion ; he has not yet 
 received full instructions. When his brief is 
 enlarged, he will know what to plead. But 
 this is not a time for delay ; the season is criti- 
 cal. The minds of the people are alarmed^ and 
 tJiey have high expectations Jrom the delibei^ations 
 of this House. They are alarmed, lest the in- 
 fluence of ministers should have so far operated 
 
 • Afterwards Lord WiUsinghiim. Under Secretary of Sut6 
 iu Lord George's ofticc during the American War. 
 
 Q 
 
226 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 as to surprise their representatives into a vote 
 dangerous to their liberties. And it behoves us 
 to be extremely careful in our addresses to the 
 throne, lest we should rather confirm than 
 remove those suspicions. If these have their 
 foundation in truth, and more has been done 
 than can be justified, it certainly behoves us 
 rather to redress, than persist in the wrong. 
 And notwithstanding what the honourable and 
 learned gentleman has said against rescinding, 
 it is no dishonour to this House to retract a 
 hasty vote, nor is it without precedent. Acts 
 of the whole legislature are frequently repealed, 
 when they are found injurious or even disagree- 
 able to the people ; and it cannot surely be 
 contended, that a vote of one branch of the 
 legislature is more sacred than a solemn act of 
 the whole. The practice of the inferior courts, 
 which the honourable and learned gentleman 
 seems better acquainted with than the proceed- 
 ings of parliament, is no rule for this House* 
 The decisions of this House are cognizable no- 
 where but in this House, and never to acknow- 
 ledge itself to be in the wrong, would be to 
 arrogate infallibility, which only one earthly 
 power hath thought fit yet to claim. If the 
 people's suspicions are without cause, they are 
 general and strong ; let us not therefore cherish 
 ill-humour, but as we are the representatives of 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 2^7 
 
 the people, let us endeavour by every lenient 
 method, to give the people satisfaction. 
 
 " The words that have now been read, do not 
 seem to be calculated for that pui*pose, but 
 rather to increase the popular jealousy and 
 discontent. The minister by artfully introducing 
 into the speech, his Majesty's sense of the con- 
 duct to which the words refer, had no doubt a 
 design to impose upon the nation, an opinion 
 that the proceedings of the House upon a late 
 occasion, were perfectly agreeable to his Ma- 
 jesty ; an opinion than which nothing can be 
 more injurious to his Majesty, nothing more 
 offensive to the people. The unprecedented 
 decisiofi of the majority of this House, xcith re- 
 gard to the Middlesex election, has spread a 
 gloom throughout the whole kingdom ; every brow 
 is clouded, and every heart is heavy*. The 
 freedom of election is the sacred palladium of 
 English liberty tj and when that is violated, it 
 
 ♦Sec Junius Letter xvi, 19th July, 1769, also Letter 
 XXXIX, 28th May, 1770. 
 
 fThia speech was made long brfure Juniuss dedication of 
 his letters to the £nglish iiatiuu, wherein he says, " Let it be 
 impresHed upon your minds, let it be instilled into your chil- 
 dren, tliat the liberty of the press is the paUadium of all the 
 civil, political, and religious rights of an Englishman." In this 
 instance, palladium is applied to the press, in Lord George's 
 speech, to elections. 
 
 « 2 
 
^28 ^CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 cannot be long before our constitution is in 
 ruins. It is not enough that the majority who 
 decided the question, are satisfied with the rec- 
 titude of their intentions ; or that they did not 
 mean to break in upon that freedom ; the people 
 must be satisfied. Their all is at stake ; they 
 apprehend that is in danger, and therefore they 
 have a right to demand security. The powerful 
 influence that operates in this House is too 
 visible. The people see it and dread it. But 
 a snare is now laid to involve our Sovereign in 
 the gulph of his corrupt administration ; to draw 
 him in as a party, and to countenance the des- 
 perate measures of his ministers ; a snare which 
 it is to be hoped this House will break. Who- 
 ever can concur in offering such indignity to his 
 Sovereign, is neither a good senator nor a good 
 subject. He can have no worthy conception of 
 the exalted character of a great prince, nor of 
 the inestimable value of the liberty of a free 
 people. Even if the words, excepted against, 
 are suffered to pass, then it will be understood, 
 that his Majesty approves the violation of which 
 the people complain. And though his Majesty, 
 in the generous unsuspecting frankness of his 
 nature, may not perceive to what an unhappy 
 catastrophe the perfidy of his ministers may 
 lead, yet surely it is the duty of his parliament 
 to guard him against the insidious artifices of 
 
 1 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 229 
 
 those, who having rendered themselves odious by 
 their conduct y have nothing more to do, but to 
 render themselves secure by their cunning. Does 
 not every one perceive, that if this House is 
 led to address his Majesty for his approbation 
 of the proceedings of this House, or iu other 
 words, for the favourable opinion he entertains 
 of its conduct, the people will immediately 
 conclude, that he approves of the election of a 
 representative *, whom the majority of the elec- 
 tors do not approve, and against whom the 
 petitions of the people have been chiefly direct- 
 ed; that, as their petitions remain yet unan- 
 swered, this is intended as one general answer ; 
 and that the grievances of which they complain, 
 will find no redress ; that their beneficent father 
 to whom their humble petitions were addressed, 
 has, by evil counsellors, been determined against 
 them ; and that now, every dawn of hope, every 
 glimmering of comfort, is quenched for ever, 
 exempt from free remonstrances, or the last 
 appeal. Was the cause of complaint of less 
 importance, the clamours of the people would 
 be less general. But the people are in agitation 
 throughout the whole British Empire, They 
 wait with loyal hearts, in expectation that their 
 representatives will interest themselves in their 
 behalf; if they are disappointed, that disap- 
 
 • Colonel LutUeU 
 
S30 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 pointment may lead to despair, and the event may 
 be dreadful Perhaps it is no uncharitable 
 supposition that the "wary abettors of these 
 alarming measures, may hope by these repeated 
 outrages to provoke the spirit of the people to 
 the last extremity, with a view to wreak their 
 vengeance upon such as are brave enough to 
 risk their lives in the support of the Constitution, 
 They may wish for a repetition of the bloody 
 massacre in St. George's Fields'*, or for a more 
 bloody warfare among the petitioners. In that 
 general confusion they may hope to escape, or 
 perish in the tumult with honester men. If this 
 be their hope, appearances are strong in their 
 favour. The people are already sensible of the 
 malignity of their hearts, and are ripe for doing 
 themselves justice, if justice is denied them in 
 the ordinary course. Nor are the perpetrators 
 of these wrongs insensible of the people's incli- 
 nations, or remiss in preparation to give them 
 a hostile reception ; why els^ are troops march- 
 ing at this peaceable juncture, from all quarters 
 of the capital ? why else an order for the aug- 
 mentation of troops in a sister island ? why a 
 reinforcement of our army at home with three re- 
 giments of neighbouring mercenaries ? Is it pos- 
 sible that an English House of Commons can see 
 
 * See Miscellaneous Letters of Junius, 19th May, 1768, 
 30th August, 1768, also Letters 27th February, 1772, and 
 10th March, 1772. 
 
 I 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 99% 
 
 all this with indifference ? Can, with eyes open 
 to the dangers that threaten the noblest constitu- 
 tion which the world ever belicld, sit still and 
 approve the measures by which its ruin is to be 
 accomplished ? What will the people say of such 
 a house? What will posterity say? Some future 
 historian, lamenting the shattered remains of 
 ruined liberty, may possibly conclude, * Vendidit 
 hicpatriam auro /' Let not this opprobrium de- 
 grade the dignity of this house, lest the people, 
 despairing of relief from a corrupted parliament, 
 begin to deride its authority, and resolve to be 
 governed without one. What has happened in 
 other free states, is not impossible to happen in 
 this. The subjects of Denmark once boasted of 
 the protection of parliament. The parliament 
 betrayed their liberties, and they, in return, abo- 
 lished the parliament. While the parliament 
 continues independent, the people remain in se- 
 curity, but if once the representatives of the 
 people are suspected of corruption, if once they 
 are capable of entering into league against the 
 people, all confidence will be at an end ; the au- 
 tliority of the House will gradually decline, and 
 at length the people, growing indilVerent, will pa- 
 tiently acquiesce in the arbitrary decrees of ofie 
 . tyranty rather tlian submit to pay the hir^ o( 
 corruption for tJircc orJb^r hundred,'' 
 
SS^ A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Can any one read this speech, without being 
 forcibly reminded of the strong, energetic, pow- 
 erful language of Junius ? Many of the sen- 
 tences are almost verbatim. The same violent 
 attack on the ministers, the same voice in re- 
 ference to the king, the same allusion to the 
 freedom of election, the massacre in St. George's 
 Melds, the expulsion of Mr. Wilkes, and finally, 
 a fear lest the shattered remains of the Consti- 
 tution should fall a prey to the violence of the 
 people, and they in the end resolve to be govern- 
 ed without a Parliament. The reader has al- 
 ready been referred to several paragraphs in Ju- 
 nius's Letters ; it remains to adduce another in- 
 stance in allusion to the latter part of the 
 speech which is nearly sufficient to identify 
 the writer, without the mass of evidence al- 
 ready brought forward. — Lord George could 
 not have borrowed his ideas from Junius, pro- 
 vided he were not the author, as the speech was 
 deUvered in I77O, and the following quotations 
 written in I77I. 
 
 9 April, 1771 — " This violent state of things 
 cannot long continue. Either the laws and Con- 
 stitution must be preserved by a dreadful appeal 
 to the sword ; or the people mil grow weary of 
 their condition^ and surrender every thing into 
 the King^s hands, rather than submit to be 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 233 
 
 trampled upon any longer hy Jive hundred of 
 their equals.*' 
 
 In his dedication, Junius says — " But I am 
 persuaded you will not leave it to the choice of 
 seven hundred persons, notoriously corrupted 
 by the crown, whether seven millions of their 
 equals shall be freemen or slaves. The cer- 
 tainty of forfeiting their own rights, when they 
 sacrifice those of the nation, is no check to a 
 brutal degenerate mind. Without insisting upon 
 the extravagant concession made to Harry the 
 Eighth, there are instances in the history of other 
 countries, of a Jormal, deliberatCy surrender of 
 the public liberty into the hands of the Sovereign. 
 If England does not share the same fate, it is 
 because we have better resources than in the 
 virtue of either house of Parliament." — In his 
 speech, Lord George quotes Denmark as an 
 example. 
 
 It has been matter of enquiry with many who 
 have investigated the Letters of Junius, why 
 that writer should have interested himself with 
 city politics, moving, as he did, in a sphere so 
 remote from that quarter. 
 
 In his controversy witli Mr. Home, he takes 
 an opportunity of expressing his opinion of a 
 few of the leading city characters, as well as in 
 letter Lviii., SO Sept. 1771* addressed to the 
 Livery of London. 
 
234 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 The cause of this deviation from his general 
 plan, appears to have been his regard for Alder^ 
 man Sawbridge, a pubHc spirited man, of a good 
 family resident at OHntigh, in the parish of Wye^ 
 in Kent. 
 
 He was Major in the East Kent Militia, and 
 afterwards Colonel of the East Battalion — on 
 intimate terms with Sir JefFery Amherst and 
 Lord George Sackville. 
 
 These three families, whose estates were si* 
 tuated in Kent, possessed considerable influence 
 in the county, particularly that of Lord George 
 Sackville, he being descended from a much 
 more ancient and powerful house. He repre- 
 sented Hythe in two successive parliaments in 
 conjunction with William Glanville, Esq. On 
 the decease of that gentleman, which took place 
 in 1765, the vacancy was filled up by William 
 Amherst, Esq., brother to Sir JefFery. In the 
 new parliament of I768 Lord George resigned 
 in favour of Alderman Sawbridge. The election 
 was however strongly contested by the ministe- 
 rial party, but Lord George's interest was so 
 great, that Alderman Sawbridge was returned 
 by a considerable majority. 
 
 Tbe borough of East Grinstead having been 
 purchased by Lord George, he took his seat in 
 paxliament accordingly, and continued to repre* 
 sent it until he was called to the Upper- House. 
 
THE LETTERS OP JUNIUS. 235 
 
 The line of politics pursued by Alderman 
 Sawbridge was strictly in unison with Lord 
 George's principles at this eventful period. Both 
 were strenuous in their efforts to shorten the du- 
 ration of parliaments. This is a characteristic 
 trait in Junius, and it is evident from the in- 
 terest uniformly manifested by that writer to- 
 wards Alderman Sawbridge, that he was not only 
 personally acquainted with him, and respected 
 his private character, but was a sincere admirer 
 of his principles as a politician. 
 
 The first letter that Wilkes received from 
 Junius is wholli/ on the sulyject of appointing Mr. 
 Sawbridge Lord Mayor. Had Junius been a 
 disinterested writer, or had he been sufficiently 
 acquainted with the regulations of the Mayor- 
 alty, he would not have attempted to alter the 
 regular succession, as there appears to have been 
 nothing in the private character of Mr. Nash to 
 pass his name over. 
 
 Mr. Wilkes, in reply, explains his reasons for 
 not acceding to Junius's wishes, and candidly 
 informs him, that he thinks Junius possesses too 
 favourable an opinion of Alderman Sawbridge. 
 
 Sawbridge was a miUtary man, far more fitted 
 for the field than the civic chair. Why Junius 
 should make a confidant of Wilkes to endea- 
 vour to place his friend in that elevated station 
 must now be matter of conjecture ; certain it is. 
 
236 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 he wished Wilkes to befriend him. On the re- 
 ceipt of Mr. Wilkes's answer, Junius was angry 
 with him for non-compliance with his request ; 
 he was also mortified in the extreme, when he 
 heard Mr. Nash had triumphed. — " What an 
 abandoned prostituted idiot," he observes to Mr. 
 Woodfall, " is your Lord Mayor. The shame- 
 ful mismanagement which brought him into of- 
 fice, gave me the first, and an unconquerable 
 disgust." 
 
 Junius must have had some private motive 
 for taking such an extraordinary interest in the 
 success of Alderman Sawbridge. His friend- 
 ship for that gentleman is apparent in many 
 other instances. 
 
 Letter lix. 5 October, 1771 — he says — 
 " In these circumstances it were much to be 
 desired, that we had many such men as Mr* Saw- 
 bridge to represent us in parliament, I speak from 
 common report and opinion only, when I impute 
 to him a speculative predilection in favour of a 
 republic. — In the personal conduct and manners 
 of the many I cannot be mistaken. He has shewn 
 himself possessed of that republican firmness, 
 which the times require, and by which an Eng- 
 lish gentleman may be as usefully and as honour- 
 ably distinguished, as any citizen of ancient 
 Rome, of Athens, or Lacedasmon." 
 . In the conclusion of Letter lii. 24 July, 1771— 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 237 
 
 " As for Mr. Sawbridge, whose character I 
 really respect, I am astonished he does not see 
 through your duplicity." 
 
 I have now gone through the several articles 
 specified in the Preface, as essential to the cha- 
 racter of Junius, and, I believe, every candid 
 reader must acknowledge that the evidence ad- 
 duced is clear, sound, and indisputable. Other 
 circumstances of a political nature, such as 
 questions relative to the Falkland Islands, Con- 
 vention with Spain, &c., will be noticed in the 
 parliamentary summary of his Lordship's life. 
 Previous to entering upon this interesting and 
 important termination of our Enquiry, I shall 
 touch upon the secrecy preserved by the author, 
 which will draw our attention to one very im- 
 portant fact hitherto unexplained. 
 
 From a combination of circumstances, I am 
 strongly prejudiced with the opinion, that Ju- 
 nius was the sole depository of his own secret ; 
 that it was of too great importance to entrust to 
 the confidence of a second person, although 
 there are one or two expressions in his corre- 
 spondence with Mr. Woodfall that would argue 
 to the contrary. These, however, are much 
 more easily accounted for, than the numerous 
 reasons he assigned why concealment was neces- 
 sary. If other persons had been in the confidence 
 
gSS' A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 of Junius, in all probability some unguarded ex- 
 pression or inadvertency, would either have re- 
 vealed the author to the world, or would have 
 given some clue, which, ere this, might have led 
 to a discovery. 
 
 In Private Letter, No. 8, Junius says — 
 
 <* The last letter you printed was idle and im- 
 proper, and, I assure you, printed against my own 
 opinion. The truth is, there are people about 
 me, whom I would wish not to contradict, and 
 who had rather see Junius in the papers, ever 
 so improperly, than not at all. I wish it could 
 be recalled." 
 
 The fact is, he considered the Letter in ques- 
 tion beneath his dignity, as a writer in the high 
 station of Junius ; and therefore endeavoured to 
 persuade Mr. Woodfall that he had yielded to the 
 opinion of others : with regard to the remaining 
 clause, we may either take it as it literally stands, 
 or, that those about him, knowing he was hostile 
 to the Government, would like to read any thing 
 in the papers censuring the conduct of those 
 men who had been privy to his disgrace at court, 
 without having the shghtest knowledge that he 
 himself was the real author. 
 
 With respect to the gentleman who conducted 
 the conveyancing department, it is evident that 
 this was a mere deception, should any one 
 occasionally get a glimpse of him. Had he 
 
THi5 LETTERS OP JUNIUS. 2S9 
 
 employed such a gentleman, the waiters at the 
 coffee-houses must have known him^ by his so 
 frequently going backwards and forwards, and 
 therefore would not have refused delivering up 
 the letters. 
 
 In No. 51. he says, ** The gentleman who 
 transacts the conveyancing part of our corre- 
 spondence, tells me there was much difficulty last 
 night. For this reason, and because it could be 
 no way material for me to see a paper on Sa- 
 turday which is to appear on Monday, I resolved 
 not to send for it." 
 
 He could not have explained the reason to 
 Mr. Wood fall in any other way. 
 
 In No. 58 he says, "Your letter was twice 
 refused last night, and the waiter as often at- 
 tempted to see the person who sent for it." 
 
 This evidently implies that he was in waiting 
 near the spot, till the chairman returned. As a 
 further confirmation of the opinion that this gen- 
 tleman, was himself, we need only refer to 
 Mr. Jackson's testimony, who stated, ** that he 
 once saw a tall gentleman, dressed in a light coat, 
 with bag and swoid, throxo into the office door, 
 opening in Ivy-lane, a letter of Junius's, wliich 
 he picked up, and immediately followed the 
 bearer of it into St Paul's Church-yard, whcxe 
 he got into a hackney coach and drove off." 
 
 Now this tall gentleman wore a bag and sword. 
 Lord George always wore a bag, and alUiough 
 
240 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 at that time he was not in the army, yet he in- 
 variably wore a sword ; of this we have unde- 
 niable proof by the fine portrait of him pub- 
 lished by Alderman Boydell in 1775. Lord 
 George was also very tall, being full six feet in 
 stature ; and with respect to the light coat, it 
 was evidently a disguise. Had it not been Ju- 
 nius himself, he would not have taken such 
 precaution to avoid notice, as was the case when 
 the waiter twice went out to gain a sight of him. 
 We may therefore conclude, that on that even- 
 ing, finding no chairman on the stand, and being 
 anxious for the delivery of the letter which it 
 was of consequence should appear the following 
 day, he delivered it himself. This is the only 
 instance of Mr. Jackson's observation. 
 
 I am inclined to think, that he was constantly 
 in the habit of going out with the letters him- 
 self, and on meeting with a chairman, fee'd him 
 to deliver them ; as was the case with the one 
 to Mr. Wilkes, who questioned the man, from 
 whom he brought it. To which he replied — 
 " From a gentleman whom he saw in Lancaster 
 Court, in the Strand." — Had Junius regularly 
 employed a gentleman on such occasions, he 
 would have sent him that evening to Mr. 
 Wilkes, the letter being of very great import- 
 ance. — It appears to me that he invariably took 
 his station in disguise in a similar manner, when 
 he had occasion to obtain Mr. WoodfalPs an- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 241 
 
 swers. This was attended with considerable 
 trouble, and, however improbable such a circum- 
 stance may appear, it certainly was not impos- 
 sible ; in fact, it is strictly in unison with the 
 character of Junius, who considered nothing too 
 arduous to accomplish his end. It would even 
 be a relaxation from his labours, and the amus- 
 ing change, a relief to his mind, which at times, 
 by his own confession, wanted recreation. Who 
 else, I ask, would have spent nearly five years 
 of his life in constant writing, for no emolument 
 whatsoever? so that I conceive both circum- 
 stances are united in the same unprecedented 
 cause. Having shewn, that, however improba- 
 ble such a circumstance might be, it was, 
 nevertheless, not impossible ; let us examine 
 further instances, in support of such an opinion. 
 Can any assertion be stronger than the follow- 
 ing, to Mr. Wilkes ? 
 
 ** I willingly accept of as much of your friend- 
 ship as you can impart to a man whom j/oti tvill 
 assuredly never know. Besides every personal 
 consideration, if I were known, I could no longer 
 be an useful servant to the public. At present 
 there is something oracular in the delivery of 
 my opinions. / speak from a recess which no 
 human curiosity can penetrate^ and darkness, we 
 are told, is one source of tlie sublime." — Again : 
 
 " 1 have faithfully served the pubhc, without 
 
 R 
 
242 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 the possibility of a personal advantage. As Ju- 
 nius, I can never expect to be rewarded. The 
 secret is too important to be committed to any- 
 great man's discretion. If views of interest or 
 ambition could tempt me to betray my own se- 
 cret, h*ow could I flatter myself that the man I 
 trusted would not act upon the same principles, 
 and sacrifice me at once to the King's curiosity 
 and resentment?" 
 
 18 Sept. 1771 — " I wish you to point out to 
 me where you think the force of the formal k- 
 gal lies. In pursuing such enquiries I lie under 
 a singular disadvantage. Not venturing to con- 
 sult those who are qualified *to inform me, I am 
 forced to collect every thing from books, or com- 
 mon conversation. The pains I took with that 
 paper upon privilege, were greater than I can 
 express to you. Yet, after I had blinded myself 
 with poring over Journals, Debates, and Parlia- 
 mentary History, I was at last obliged to hazard 
 a bold assertion, which I am now convinced is 
 true." 
 
 '6 Nov. 1771 — " Besides the fallibility natural 
 'to us all, no man writes under so many disad- 
 vantages as I do. / cannot consult the learned, I 
 cannot directly ask the opinion of my acquaintance^ 
 and in the newspapers I never am assisted. Those 
 who are conversant with books, well know how 
 often they mislead us, when we have not a living 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 243 
 
 monitor at hand, to assist us in comparing prac- 
 tice with theory." 
 
 "Tell me candidly whether you know or sus- 
 pect who I am." — Private Letter to Mr. Wood- 
 fall, No. 3. 
 
 " I shall be glad to see the pacquet you speak 
 of. It cannot come from the Cavendishes, 
 though there be no end of the family. They 
 would not be so silly as to put their arms on the 
 cover. As to me, be assured that it is not in the 
 nature of things, tkat they, or you, or any body 
 else, should ever know me, unless I make myself 
 knoxcji. All arts, or enquiries, or rewards, would 
 be equally ineffectual." — No. 10. 
 
 This implies an acquaintance with the Caven- 
 dishes, though not of sufficient intimacy as to 
 entrust them with the secret 
 
 " When you consider to what excessive enmi- 
 ties I may be exposed, you will not wonder at 
 my caution." — No. 19. 
 
 " I would send the above to Garrick directly, 
 but that I would avoid having the hand too com- 
 monly seen. Oblige me, then, so much as to 
 have it copied, in any hand, and sent by the 
 penny-post, that is, if you dislike sending it in 
 your own writing. I must be more cautious 
 than cver^ I am sure I should not survive a 
 discovery three days ; or, if I did, tJtey would 
 attaint mc hf bilL Change to the Somerset 
 
 K Z 
 
244 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 Coffee-house, and let no mortal know the altera- 
 tion."— No. 41. 
 
 On the 8th Nov. 1771 — Junius in a note to 
 Mr. Woodfall says, " Beware of David Garrick, 
 he was sent to pump you, and went directly to 
 Richmond to tell the King I should write no 
 more." 
 
 This is the first time Garrick's name is men- 
 tioned. It must have been matter of enquiry 
 with every reader, how Junius should know 
 that Garrick was employed to find him out? 
 
 How Junius should know that Garrick had 
 been to Richmond after Mr. Woodfall*s com- 
 munication with him ? 
 
 How Junius should know what passed be- 
 tween Garrick and the King, on the subject of 
 his writing no more ? 
 
 Junius not only knew every circumstance 
 above mentioned, but was apprised of the 
 whole transaction on the ensuing morniiig^ as 
 appears from the following note to Garrick, 
 which he requested Mr. Woodfall to forward. 
 
 ** TO MR. DAVID GARRICK. 
 
 " November 10th, 1771. 
 
 I AM very exactly informed of your imper- 
 
 ii 
 
 tinent inquiries, and of the information you so 
 busily sent to Richmond, and with what triumph 
 and exultation it was received. / knew every 
 
 1 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 245 
 
 particular of it tlie next day* Now mark me, 
 vagabond — keep to your pantomimes, or be 
 assured you shall hear of it. Meddle no more, 
 thou busy informer ! It is in my power to make 
 you curse the hour in which you dared to inter- 
 fere with — Junius.'* — No. 41. 
 
 We have no other means of accounting for 
 the quickness of the communication, but by 
 supposing Junius was at Richmond on that day. 
 
 The palace which the King occupied at tiiat 
 time was situate near Richmond Green. The 
 entrance to the grounds was exactly opposite to 
 a house formerly the residence of Thompson 
 the poet. 
 
 At the era in question, this house was rented 
 by Lord George Sackville, who, during this 
 eventful period of his life, spent part of his 
 time here, which not only offered him an occa- 
 sional retirement, but facilitated his means of 
 information on what was passing in the King's 
 household. 
 
 The front of the house so completely over- 
 looked the palace, that, without exciting sus- 
 picion, he could notice the daily arrivals with 
 the utmost facility. 
 
 His friend Colonel Amherst, also, who was 
 one of tlic King's aid-dc-camps, would natu- 
 rally be of service to him with regard to any 
 particular intolligence. 
 
246 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 The King's palace has been pulled down 
 several years, and the grounds now form part 
 of the Richmond Gardens. Lady Shaftesbury 
 at present resides in the house formerly rented 
 by Lord George Sackville. 
 
 The circumstance that Lord George did 
 occupy this house at the time of Garrick's visit, 
 was communicated to me by W. Little, Esq. of 
 Richmond, which has also been fully confirmed 
 by a most respectable old gentleman, a long 
 inhabitant of the place, who knew Lord George 
 personally, at the time of his residence there. 
 
 In his dedication Junius says, "I am the 
 sole depository of my own secret, and it shall 
 perish with me.'* 
 
 3d March, I769—T0 Sir William Draper- 
 he says "And now, Sir William, I shall take my 
 leave of you for ever. Motives very different 
 from any apprehension of your resentment, make 
 it impossible you should ever know me.*' 
 
 2oth Sept. 1769—" As to me, it is by no 
 means necessary that I should be exposed to the 
 resentment of the worst and the most powerful 
 men in the country, though I may be indifferent 
 about yours. Though you would fight, others 
 would assassinate." 
 
 A few days after Junius's violent letter to the 
 Duke of Grafton, Mr. Woodflill received a 
 most extraordinary letter from his correspond- 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 247 
 
 ent, wherein he says " / really doubt ivhether 
 I shall write any more under this signature, I 
 am weary of attacking a set of brutes whose 
 writings are too dull to furnish me even with 
 the materials of contention, and whose mea- 
 sures are too gross and direct to be the subject 
 of argument, or to require illustration." 
 
 " That Swinney is a wretched, but a danger- 
 ous fool. He had the impudence to go to Lord 
 George Sackville, whom he had never spoken 
 to, and to ask him whether or no he was the 
 author of Junius — take care of him." 
 
 " Whenever you have any thing to communi- 
 cate to me, let the hint be thus, C at the usual 
 place, and so direct to Mr. John Fretley, where 
 it is absolutely impossible I should be known." 
 
 From a perusal of this letter, eight distinct 
 questions arise : 
 
 I. Why should Junius think of altering his 
 signature ? 
 
 II. How could Junius know that Swinney 
 had called upon Lord George Sackville ? 
 
 III. How could Junius know that Swinney 
 had never spoken to Lord George before ? 
 
 IV. Why should Junius alter the direction of 
 Mr. John Middleton to Mr. John Fretley, in 
 consequence of Swinney 's call ? 
 
 V. How could this alteration operate, so that 
 he could not possibly be known ? 
 
24?8 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 VI. What difference could it make to Junius, 
 Swinney having called upon a wrong person ? 
 
 VII. Would not Junius, who was so anxious 
 to preserve strict secrecy, have rejoiced at Swin- 
 ney's mistake, instead of being angry with him ? 
 
 VIII. Is not the language used by Junius in 
 speaking of Swinney, directly in unison with 
 Lord George Sackville's language to Mr. Lut- 
 trell in the House of Commons, where the word 
 " wretched" occurs in both instances ? 
 
 The internal evidence of the communication 
 to Mr. Woodfall which gives rise to the above 
 queries, in my opinion cannot be satisfactorily 
 explained in any other way than that Junius 
 and Lord George Sackville were one and the 
 same person. 
 
 Chance, I am aware, in some common occur- 
 rences might operate so as to reverse this judg- 
 ment ; but I cannot see it possible how an utter 
 stranger should call upon Lord George Sack- 
 ville at his residence in Pali-Mall, and that it 
 should so happen that Lord George should be 
 acquainted with Junius, whom no other indivi- 
 dual could possibly trace then, and has never 
 been able to trace down to the present hour. 
 
 Let those who have never examined the sub- 
 ject before, weigh this concluding testimony ; 
 they cannot but be struck with the coincidence. 
 
 Having shewn, that the enemies of Junius 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 249 
 
 were the enemies of Lord Viscount Sackville ; 
 that the friends of Junius were the friends of 
 Lord Viscount Sackville ; and that the line of 
 politics laid down by the former, was strictly pur- 
 sued by the latter, it now only remains to affix 
 further testimonials of his Lordship's abilities, 
 which have occasionally been called in question, 
 as inadequate to the performance of the Letters. 
 The able speeches which have been brought 
 forward, as evidence of his Lordship's opinions, 
 clearly prove that he was competent to speak or 
 write on any subject. There were very few to- 
 pics that came before the House, on which his 
 Lordship did not enlarge. These speeches have, 
 undoubtedly, been read with interest by all 
 Statesmen and Members of Parliament. For 
 the satisfaction of other readers, I shall lay be- 
 fore them a few testimonials of eminent men 
 who were well acquainted with him, and who 
 were competent judges to discriminate between 
 natural and acquired talent :— 
 
 *• There was no trash in his mind." — William 
 Gerard Hamilton. 
 
 *« Lord Sackville never sufiered the clearness 
 of his conceptions to be clouded by any obscu- 
 rity of expressions." — Richard Cumberland. 
 
 " Lord Sackville's countenance indicated in- 
 tellect, particularly his eye, the motions of which 
 were quick and piercing." — Sir N. Wraxall. 
 
£50 A CRITICAL ENQUIKY INTO 
 
 « I thank the Noble Lord for every propo- 
 sition he has held out: they are worthy of a great 
 mind, and such as ought to be adopted."— Lord 
 North. 
 
 "Lord George Sackville was a man of very 
 sound parts, of distinguished bravery, and of as 
 honourable eloquence." — Lord Orford, Vol. i. 
 p. ^44. 
 
 " The late Lord Sackville, who was a man of 
 extraordinary talent, wrote a beautiful eulogy on 
 the Princess of Orange, but which never graced 
 the press. 
 
 ** The genius, learning, and exalted virtues 
 of the Princess, were the theme of his Lordship's 
 all-powerfull pen. 
 
 **He had the art of painting in words, to a 
 very eminent degree, and which afforded the 
 finest ornaments in either poetry, history, or elo- 
 cution." — Gentleman's Magazine, Sept. 1785. 
 
 " During the seven years that his Lordship 
 was Secretary for the Colonies, he had, princi- 
 pally, Charles James Fox to contend with. 
 Throughout this long and arduous period, he 
 displayed signal ability in his replies." — Parlia- 
 mentary Debates. 
 
 " In business. Lord George Germain was ra- 
 pid, yet clear and accurate ; rather negligent in 
 his style, which was that of a gentleman and a 
 man of the world, unstudied, and frequently 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 
 
 careless, even in his official dispatches. But 
 there was no obscurity or ambiguity in his com- 
 positions." — Sir N. Wraxall. 
 
 ** Mr. Pitt styled Lord George Germain the 
 Agamemnon of the day." — Sir N. Wraxall. 
 
 *' In the debate on the Mutiny Bill, Lord Or- 
 ford says that Lord George Sackville displayed 
 more ability than Mr. Pitt " [afterwards Earl of 
 Chatham]. — Memoirs — Nov. 1754. 
 
 " Among the persons of eminence to whom 
 Mr. Pitt had recourse for support, at this deli- 
 cate crisis of his ministerial life [1783], when 
 every parliamentary aid which could sustain him 
 against the coalition, was anxiously sought after, 
 the late Lord Sackville attracted his attention. 
 That nobleman had, hitherto, taken no decided 
 part in the debates during the progress of the 
 East India Bill, though he voted against it per- 
 sonally," &c.— Sir N. Wraxall. 
 
 On the Marquis of CarmartlKMi's motion, in 
 178S3, after Lord George Germain had been 
 created a viscount by the King, Sir N. Wraxall 
 observes : — 
 
 " His enemies confessed, that never was a 
 more able, dignified, or manly appeal made with- 
 in the walls of the House of Peers, than Lord 
 Sackville pronounced on tliat occasion." 
 
 Debates on the Treaties in tiic Committee, 
 1755: 
 
252 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 " Lord George Sackville, with as much spirit, 
 and with sense as compact as the other's [Mr. 
 Beckford] was incoherent, repHed, that if the 
 question was agitating whether we should desert 
 the war in America, and stick to the Continent, 
 nobody would dare to support such an argu- 
 ment." — Lord Orford. 
 
 Among the parliamentary orators of 17-^^5 
 Lord George Sackville stands pre-eminent. 
 
 " Lord George informed and convinced ; with 
 a frankness in his speech, there was a mystery in 
 his conduct, which was far from inviting." — Lord 
 Orford. 
 
 In 1756 — " Lord George Sackville spoke very 
 sensibly on the situation of affairs, with some re- 
 proof on ministers." — Lord Orford. 
 
 In 1756 — On the question of employing the 
 Hessian and Hanoverian Soldiers — 
 
 " Lord George Sackville replied with great 
 spirit and sense : and the motion was agreed 
 to."— Lord Orford. 
 
 In 1757 — A Commission of Enquiry was di- 
 rected concerning the Miscarriages at Rochfort, 
 composed of the Duke of Marlborough, Lord 
 George Sackville, and General Waldegrave. 
 Upon this occasion. Lord Orford observes 
 that " Lord George Sackville was more than 
 a balance to the other two in abilities." 
 
 At the conclusion of Lord George Sackville's 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. ^S 
 
 trial in I76O, Lord Orford pourtrays a certain 
 character so applicable to Junius, that I cannot 
 withhold inserting it here : — 
 
 " Lord George's own behaviour was most ex- 
 traordinary. He had undoubtedly trusted to 
 the superiority of his parts for extricating him. 
 Most men in his situation would have adapted 
 such parts to the conciliating the favour of his 
 judges, to drawing the witnesses into contra- 
 dictions, to misleading and bewildering the 
 court, and to throwing the most specious colours 
 on his own conduct, without offending the par- 
 ties declared against him. Very different was 
 the conduct of Lord George. From the outset, 
 and during the whole process, he assumed a dic- 
 tatorial style to the court, and treated the inferi- 
 ority of their capacities as he would have done 
 had he been sitting amongst them. He brow- 
 beat the witnesses, gave the lie to Sloper, and 
 used the judge-advocate, though a very clever 
 man, with contempt. Nothing was timid, no- 
 thing humble in his behaviour. His replies were 
 quick and spirited. He prescribed to the court, 
 and they acquiesced. An instant of such re- 
 solution at Mindcn had established his character 
 for ever." 
 
 This intrepid and daring spirit was peculiar 
 to Lord George through life ; it fully accords 
 with the description given in a letter to a cer- 
 
254 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY INTO 
 
 tain nobleman on the intricate question before 
 us, wherein the writer says — 
 
 " Whenever Junius appears in a probable cha- 
 racter, he is great and generous, above every 
 idea of deriving a mercenary emolument from 
 his writings, impatient and indignant at opposi- 
 tion, and fiery and implacable in his resentments. 
 I have long felt assured this is no common man; 
 and when you desire me to search for Junius 
 amidst the discontented of his day, I look in- 
 stinctively to the discontented of the noblest 
 rank. 
 
 ** Think of a genius not born in every coun- 
 try, or every time ; a man gifted by nature with 
 a penetrating and aquiline eye, with a judgment 
 prepared with the most extensive erudition, with 
 an Herculean robustness of mind, and nerves 
 not to be broken by labour ; a man who could 
 spend twenty years in one pursuit. — Such a man 
 was Junius. 
 
 " I cannot seek him among discontented poli- 
 ticians, for he was apparently bound to no set 
 of men ; and though he thought with Mr. Gren- 
 ville, he is less distinguished by any political 
 attachments or sympathies, than by his ahomina- 
 tion of one particular administration; on the 
 score of politics alone he has hitherto eluded our 
 curiosity. As an injured person, to whom 
 should we particularly direct our attention ?" 
 
THE LETTERS OF JUNIUS. 255 
 
 A list of the different changes of administra- 
 tion from the Accession of George the Third 
 to the commencement of Lord North's ministry, 
 is inserted to shew, that Lord George Sack- 
 ville was admitted into the Rockingham adminis- 
 tration in 1765, as Vice-Treasurer of Ireland. 
 
 Lord Chatham's ministry commenced in I766. 
 In the new arrangement, the name of Lord 
 George Sack vi He was not included. A few 
 months after this event, Junius commenced his 
 Miscellaneous Letters, uith a powerful attack on 
 the Earl of Chatham, It is proper to observe, that 
 it was during that nobleman's ministry in I76O, 
 that Lord George was disgraced at Court. 
 
 Lord George had fondly hoped, when he 
 was recalled to a share in the government in 
 1765, that his disgrace was buried in oblivion : 
 but this second instance of removal would natu- 
 rally recall past events, and sour him against 
 the Earl of Chatham and other members of the 
 new administration who had objected to his tak- 
 ing a share in the government on the ground 
 of the result of the Court- Martial. Lord Shel- 
 bume, for one, publicly stated in the House of 
 Lords, that he had expressed as much on the 
 occasion, for which reason assigned, he had re- 
 ceived various indignities from Lord George. 
 From this avowal of Lord Shclburnc, we may 
 conclude, that the Earl of Chatham, the Duke 
 
^56 A CRITICAL ENQUIRY, ETC. 
 
 of Grafton, and others who formed the new 
 mmistry, united in the same opinion, as we find, 
 that every member of the new administration 
 mentioned by Junius, came under that writer's 
 censure, with the exception of Thomas Towns- 
 hend, afterwards Lord Sydney. Mr. Cumber- 
 land says, that Lord Sydney was one of Lord 
 Sackville's most intimate friends, and corre- 
 sponded with him to his dying hour. 
 
 The summary of his Lordship's strangely 
 diversified life, to which the reader's attention 
 is now directed, will be read with increased in- 
 terest, connected as it is, with the foregoing 
 Enquiry. 
 

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 iiiifiliS mil ii^iiiil:; 
 
 H iniiilllllfiBiliiii^jiillH 
 
 ilillilliSiilll 
 
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 ilhlm&hhiiihlmll^ 
 iiiiiilisiliLnniiiimsi! 
 
 SSSlIllllljIflsSllllIMllli 
 
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 MEMORANDA 
 
 TO THB LIST OF THB DIFSBBENT CHANGES OF THE MINISTRY. 
 
 * Lord George Sackville, Master General of the Ordnance, Commander-i«-Chief, 
 Deputy Ranger of the Phoenix Park, Dublin, &c &c. dismissed from his Majesty's 
 service August 10, 1759. 
 
 t July, 1765, Lord George Sackville was sworn a Member of the Privy Council, and 
 appointed one of the Vice Treasurers of Ireland; removed 1766, the new Ministry 
 objecting to his taking a part in the Administration on the ground of the censure of 
 the Court Martial being still in force against him. Held no place under Government 
 until the year 1775, when he was appointed Secretary of State for the Colonies and 
 First Lord of Trade and Plantations. During this interval the Letters of Junius were 
 written. 
 
 Wttt. 
 
^57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MEMOIRS OF LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 
 
 If high birth, elevated situation, eminent talents, 
 or great riches ; if qualities which adorn life 
 and command esteem, with various and striking 
 vicissitudes of fortune, be sufficient to claim 
 distinction and excite enquiry ; no person is more 
 entitled to be commemorated than Lord Vis- 
 count Sackville. He was the third son of Lionel, 
 first Duke of Dorset, by Elizabeth, daughter of 
 Lieutenant-General Colyear. His lordship was 
 born June 26, 17 1 6, in the Hay market, where 
 his father at that time resided. He received 
 his name from King George the First, who was 
 his godfather, and who honoured the ceremony 
 of his baptism by his personal presence. 
 
 The early part of his education he received 
 at Westminster school, where he distinguished 
 himself with other young noblemen and gentle- 
 men, by reciting verses both in Latin and Eng- 
 lish on the Coronation of King George the 
 Second and Queen Caroline, on the 18th Feb- 
 ruary 1728, the inauguration day of Queen 
 Elizabeth, At this period he was only elevM 
 
<258 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 years and a half old. The following is a true 
 copy of the Latin verse which he wrote on that 
 occasion : — 
 
 " Delicium et caput Angliacae, Gulielme, juventae. 
 
 Carmine te tenui Musa coeva canit. 
 Spes cresce in nostras et tu, si justa benignum 
 
 Respiciant ccelum vota, Glovernis eris. 
 Hunc rapuit Puerum mors immatura ; Britannae 
 
 Tu decus esto puer gentis, et esto senex." 
 
 His inquisitive mind soon became stored, not 
 only with useful information, but he was 
 thoroughly grounded in the classics. Naturally 
 endowed with a strong memory, he rarely forgot 
 circumstances and events that attracted his at- 
 tention. EngHsh History was his dehght, and 
 he passed all his examinations with credit to 
 himself and his instructors. On entering his 
 fourteenth year, he left the school to accompany 
 his father, the Duke of Dorset, to Ireland, who 
 was appointed Lord Lieutenant of that country 
 in 1730. Probably to ingratiate himself with the 
 Hibernians, the Duke determined on finishing 
 the education of his third son. Lord George, at 
 Trinity College, Dublin, where he accordingly 
 was placed under the tuition of Dr. Whitcombe 
 and Mr. MoUoy, the one a senior, the other a 
 junior fellow of that Institution. Our young 
 student soon made a rapid proficiency in litera- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 259 
 
 ture, and he quitted the University with great 
 reputation. 
 
 The Iliad had inspired his ardent mind with a 
 desire of performing achievements similar to the 
 heroes of old, and he accordingly determined to 
 devote his life to the service of his country. By 
 nature courageous, endowed with a high sense 
 of honour, and a temper at times impetuous, he 
 was better suited for the field than for domestic 
 employment ; he accordingly persevered in his 
 resolution, and on the 11th July 1737, he obtain- 
 ed a commission. The following year he accom- 
 panied his father to Paris, where he acquired a 
 thorough knowledge of the French language. 
 On the 19th July 17^0, he was appointed Lieu- 
 tenant-Colonel of General Philip Bragge's 
 regiment *. In 1742 he accompanied his so- 
 vereign George the Second, to Hanover ; and 
 on June 27th, 1743, he distinguished himself at 
 the battle of Dettingcn, w^hcre the King com- 
 manded in person ; the 0th of July following, he 
 was declared one of his Majesty's aid-de-camps. 
 
 He served in the campaign of 1744, and at 
 the battle of Fontenoy, which took place that 
 year, was wounded in the breast by a muskct- 
 ball, and thrown upon a waggon with many 
 others. He preserved the uniform which he wore 
 
 * Vis. the 28Ui regiment of foot. 
 
 s ^ 
 
260 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 that day, bearing on it the mark of the ball, and 
 other holes in the skirt of the coat, perforated 
 by bullets. 
 
 He returned home with some of the wounded 
 to recruit, leaving his sovereign and the Duke 
 of Cumberland to pay their visit to the Emperor, 
 who was then residing at Frankfort, in extreme 
 penury. 
 
 Lord George remained for some time at his 
 town residence, Whitehall, during which period 
 the Rebellion broke out in Scotland. Charles 
 Edward, the son of the Pretender, who was then 
 residing at the French Court, took advantage of 
 the King's absence, to turn his attention towards 
 Scotland, and make one more effort to regain 
 the throne of his ancestors. 
 
 Many of the Scotch nobility who were dis- 
 loyal to the House of Hanover, espoused his 
 cause, and on the 22d June 1745, Charles Ed- 
 ward landed in one of the Orkney Islands. He 
 continued to gain adherents, and rapidly pushed 
 on to Edinburgh, which immediately surrender- 
 ed. The Parliament became alarmed ; suspend- 
 ed the Habeas Corpus Act, and offered a large 
 reward for Charles Edward's head. The shops 
 and Bank were shut ; the minds of the people 
 in the utmost consternation. From the com- 
 mencement of the Rebellion, Lord George 
 received accounts of what was passing, through 
 
LORD VrSCOUNT SACKVILLE. 26 1 
 
 his intimate friend Major Younge, who was at 
 that time stationed in the North. The Major 
 compliments him so far as to wish him to be 
 present to take the command. In reply, he tells 
 his friend, that if the King should appoint him 
 to join the army, he would be conferring a great- 
 er honour than pleasure to him, not being de- 
 sirous to visit a country to which he was by no 
 means partial. The following letter, written at 
 this eventful period, possesses considerable in- 
 terest. 
 
 " Whitehall, Jan. 18th, i745. 
 " DEAR YOUNGE, 
 
 " You are very good in writing to me when 
 I 80 little deserve it, by not answering your 
 last letter ; but if you knew the hurry every 
 body was in that had anything to do with the 
 army, you would not be surprised at their 
 neglecting to do, what their inclination would 
 otherwise have led them to have done. We are 
 in great hopes of soon hearing good news from 
 Mr. Hawley ; nobody doubts his abilities, 
 consequently, we flatter ourselves that he will 
 meet with success, and I hope that the dragoons 
 will recover their reputation. Our fears of an in- 
 vasion are almost entirely laid aside ^ and as we 
 are apt to go from one extreme to the otlier, 
 we arc already thinking what regiments are to 
 
262 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 be sent abroad ; there is not the least doubt of 
 ten thousand men going, if the rebels in the 
 north do not grow more formidable than they 
 are at present. Our parliamentary affairs are 
 likely to be carried on with greater unanimity 
 than was expected a week ago. The opposition 
 began to look big, but Mr. Pitt, Mr. Littleton, 
 the Grenvilles, and several others, instead of 
 joining in it, as it was imagined they intended, 
 supported the ministry in the address to the 
 King; so that Mr. Hume Campbell, Sir Watkin 
 Williams, &c., making in the whole but 53 against 
 279, were the only persons that gave any ob- 
 struction to what was proposed. I am obliged 
 to you for wishing me at the head of the regi- 
 ment in your neighbourhood. I cannot say I 
 am solicitous about it ; if the king pleases to 
 give it me, I must accept of it with thankfulness, 
 but as I have already the rank of colonel, il me 
 fera plus d'honneur que de plaisir. Among the 
 many candidates that have been named for it, 
 I have not yet heard the Lieutenant^Colonel 
 mentioned, and I believe it would not have 
 escaped my knowledge, if any application in his 
 favour had reached his Majesty. There is an- 
 other regiment vacant by the death of Brigadier 
 Lowther. We had, yesterday, a little debate in 
 the House of Commons, occasioned by a mo- 
 |:ion of Lord Cornbury's, and seconded by Sir 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 26S 
 
 Francis Dashwood, to address the King to lay 
 before the House all instances made by the 
 States-General, as far as related to the security 
 of the Netherlands ; but his Lordship had the 
 mortification to see his motion rejected by l63 
 to ^S. Your friends of the regiment are all 
 well, and at Kingston, Richmond, &c., and, I 
 believe, do not envy your situation in the North. 
 J'ai Phonneur d'etre, avec toute la consideration 
 possible, mon cher Monsieur, 
 
 " Votre tr^s humble et fidele Serviteur, 
 *« Geo. Sackville." 
 
 " To Captain Younge, 
 of Colonel Ligonier's Dragoons, at Berwick-on- Tweed." 
 
 A short time afterwards Lord Ligonier was 
 removed from the command ; which subject is 
 mentioned by Lord George in the next letter; 
 wherein the reader will perceive that he spoke 
 with confidence as to an intimate knowledge of 
 the transaction, so characteristic in Junius's re- 
 ply to Sir. W. Draper. 
 
 " Whitehall, Feb. 8, 1746^ 
 " DEAR YOUNGE, 
 
 " I SHOULD have returned you my thanks 
 sooner for the account you sent me of tlie late 
 affair at Falkirk, if I had known that your re- 
 giment was to have been left at Edinburgh, 
 
264 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 when the Duke advanced towards the rebels. 
 Your account was more satisfactory than any I 
 have read, and I think I understand by it the 
 true cause of the event of that day. We are 
 greatly pleased with the precipitate retreat of 
 the rebels from Stirling ; and it is generally be- 
 lieved that they will soon disperse, though the 
 French have a mind, I suppose, to keep up 
 their spirits, by ordering the embarkation made 
 at Ostend, of about fifteen hundred of the Irish 
 brigade, to sail at all events. Your friends at 
 Brussels are in a melancholy situation, though 
 the resistance they have hitherto made is more 
 than I expected from them. The garrison con- 
 sists of seventeen battalions, and some squa- 
 drons ; they say they have made a sortie with 
 success, but the enemy is too nearly advanced 
 to their works to hope for a much longer de- 
 fence ; the covered way has already been at- 
 tacked, but Messieurs les rran9ois were repulsed 
 with the loss of 180 men. The Comte de Saxe 
 thought to have been master of the town in four 
 or ^ve days, as appears by an intercepted letter 
 from an engineer : he complains of their not '^ 
 being provided with necessaries for a siege, as 
 they could not expect any resistance equal to 
 what they have met with, and ends by saying 
 that it would be an affair of, at least, a fortnight. 
 The Prince of Waldeck is collecting what troops 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 265 
 
 he can, and if the town holds out till the arrival 
 of the Austrian troops (which were expected 
 at Antwerp as yesterday, to the number of 
 10,000), the Prince says, he will endeavour to 
 relieve the town. The French give out they 
 are 50,000 strong : it is thought they really 
 were 30,000, but are already considerably di- 
 minished by sickness and desertion ; so that I 
 should hope it would not be impossible to at- 
 tack them with success, though I greatly fear 
 Brussels will have surrendered before the expe- 
 riment can be made. If the Hessians had but 
 staid in Flanders, it would have been of the 
 greatest advantage, and surely they will only be 
 troublesome to you in Scotland. We remain 
 still in the same uncertainty about the part we 
 are to take upon the continent. If we receive 
 good news from Brussels, I dare say we should 
 do something immediately, but if that garrison, 
 consisting of the best part of tlie Dutcii army, 
 should be lost, I know not what submissions and 
 conditions the French would impose upon the 
 Dutch that they would not, with thankfulness, 
 receive. It was strongly reported the otlier day 
 that Stanhope had got tlie regiment of foot, late 
 Ligonier's, and my Lord Harrington's people 
 gave it out as a tiling not only consented to, 
 but done ; upon inquiry, no orders have yet 
 been given about it; and I did not think it 
 
^66 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 very likely a regiment should be disposed of, till 
 his royal highness had, at least, approved ; so 
 that I suppose, Stanhope, if he is to get it, will 
 stay till the other regiments are given. I had 
 the honour of being at a ball at my Lady Roch- 
 ford's just before the Duke left London : it was 
 one of the best I ever saw, and I was much 
 obliged to Madame la Comtesse for being 
 admitted. 
 
 ** I am, dear Younge, 
 
 " Your faithful Servant, 
 " Geo. Sackville." 
 
 " What is the story about Major Lockart ?" 
 
 " To Captain Thomas Younge, 
 of the Regiment of Dragoons, late Colonel Ligonier's, 
 at Edinburgh, North Britain. 
 
 (" Free, — Geo. Sackville.") 
 
 General Cope's disaster at Preston-Pans next 
 claims his attention, and is fully commented 
 upon to his friend. 
 
 "Whitehall, October 29th, 1745. 
 " DEAR YOUNGE, 
 
 " I AM extremely obliged to you for your 
 letter : though wrote to me in English, it must 
 have been, to judge of it by its politeness, 
 translated from the French. You know enough 
 of me to remember that I am not given to com- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SAOKVILLE. 26? 
 
 pliments, so that I must content myself in 
 telling you I am greatly pleased in still having 
 a place in your thoughts, and that I most 
 heartily congratulate you on your escape in 
 that fatal day to this country. Who has been 
 to blame, time must shew ; the General is 
 suspected of want of conduct, those nearest to 
 him in command not entirely cleared as yet in 
 the minds of the people, but all agree in the 
 scandalous and base behaviour of the private 
 men, and at the same time do justice to the 
 courage and resolution of their officers, after 
 they were abandoned in so shameful a manner. 
 The whole affair is to be inquired into, and if 
 any are guilty, I trust they will be punished; 
 but that will be but poor satisfaction. The 
 letter you wrote from Edinburgh, never reach- 
 ed me, and that to Wright most probably met 
 with the same fate. Rectd is now Captain 
 Lieutenant, and upon crutches ; he was shot 
 through the foot at Fontenoi, and though he 
 has saved his leg, he has not yet much use of it 
 Jocelyn is well, and at Dartford encamped; 
 I came from thence on Sunday pour briller k 
 la cour demain. Captain Sailly is just arrived 
 from captivity ; liis wounds are well, but his 
 beauty rather decreased. The rest of your 
 friends go on as usual, but we have many new 
 faces among us since turnip gatlicring was your 
 
268 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 trade. The attention of every body is entirely 
 upon the North, and we wait with great impa- 
 tience to see the effect the arrival of Marshal 
 Wade in that country will have upon the rebels. 
 By their not yet having marched southward, it 
 seems as if they had laid the thoughts of it 
 aside. Some go so far as to imagine that they 
 will retire towards the Highlands upon his ap- 
 proach, without venturing a battle, but I think 
 as their force is not equal to whatever they can 
 hope hereafter to draw together, that they will 
 engage him at all events ; and if they should 
 have success, God knows what the consequence 
 would be. France would not then delay a 
 moment the making a division in some part of 
 England, — their coast is crowded with troops, 
 and there are now above forty sail of small ves- 
 sels at Dunkirk, which may be designed for an 
 embarkation. The House of Commons sat yes- 
 terday till seven o'clock ; Mr. Hume Campbell 
 and Mr. Pitt moved for enquiring immediately 
 into the causes of the progress of the rebels, but 
 the motion was thought a little premature, as 
 the truth of those affairs was not so easily come 
 at during the rebellion ; so that upon the divi- 
 sion the motion was rejected by 194 to 112. We 
 have had the misfortune of losing a sixty-gun 
 ship, with all her crew, upon the coast of France 
 towards Brest J it is supposed to be the York man- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 269 
 
 of-war : she was giving chase to eleven French 
 merchant-men, convoyed by two frigates. They 
 all went too near the shore, and the wind blow- 
 ing full upon it, none of them escaped, and not 
 a Frenchman or an Englishman was saved. I 
 hope soon to hear some good news from you, and 
 that Messieurs les Dragoons have retrieved their 
 honour. By my saying nothing of myself you 
 may conclude that I have no complaints. 
 " I am, dear Younge, 
 
 ** Your's very sincerely, 
 
 " George Sackville." 
 
 On the 11th September, the King, accom- 
 panied by the Duke of Cumberland, returned 
 home from Germany ; and as the accounts from 
 the North became daily more unfavourable, it 
 was determined that the Duke of Cumberland 
 should proceed forthwith to take the command 
 of the army. Lord George Sackville accom- 
 panied him, and on the 1 0th February l?'^* 
 they arrived in the neighbourhood of Edinburgh, 
 of which they soon regained possession. Leav- 
 ing a sufficient garrison in the city, they pushed 
 on to Stirling Castle, Falkirk, and Inverness ; 
 afler encountering great fatigue and harassing 
 marches, they came up to tlie l^etender at Cul- 
 ioden, where the fate of that unfortunate Prince 
 was decided. Here Lord George greatly dis* 
 
270 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 tinguished himself, and as a testimony of the 
 Duke's approbation of his conduct, he was pro- 
 moted Colonel of the 20th regiment. He was 
 afterwards dispatched to Perth during the ab- 
 sence of Major-General Skelton, where he held 
 the responsible situation of commander-in-chief 
 of his Majesty's forces. At this period he was 
 in the thirtieth year of his age. ^j| 
 
 From Perth, he writes the following letter, 
 wherein he declares that nothing but another 
 Rebellion would ever tempt him to visit those 
 Northern Hills again. 
 
 " Perth, October 6th, 1746. 
 " DEAR YOUNGE, 
 
 " The letter from your cell at Aire was not 
 received as soon as it ought to have been by 
 some days. If you had been a man of this world 
 instead of a hermit, you might have heard that 
 instead of my being at Dundee with my own 
 regiment, I was in the great and elevated 
 situation of Commander of his Majesty's forces 
 in Perth. Major-General Skelton having, or 
 pretending to have, business in England, so that 
 till his return I have the honour to supply his 
 place. Hand equidem tali me dignor honore. I 
 should not have made use of Latin words but 
 in compliment to socios habuisse dolores. I take 
 for granted you have recourse to any other Ian- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 271 
 
 guage rather than French, thinking my criticisms 
 extend to no other, et il faut avouer que Mon- 
 sieur ait raison. I must confess, that although 
 1 should not receive with the least reluctance 
 an order to repair to London, yet I am not 
 fashionable enough to be miserable in my pre- 
 sent situation, remote as it is from those I am 
 used to live with, and different as the country 
 and the climate are from those I might expect 
 to be in. I do not pretend to much philosophy, 
 but the maxim I have laid down, and have 
 hitherto constantly pursued, is to compare my 
 situation with what it might have been, and my- 
 self with those who have much greater reason 
 to complain than I have; not envying those who 
 are more fortunate and ought to be more happy. 
 Possibly this letter may find you removed from 
 Aire, and probably upon your march to England. 
 As Captain of Dragoons I condole with you 
 upon the change, but as Mr. Younge, I must 
 congratulate you, for when you are settled in 
 quarters, the gulf between you and London may 
 easily be passed, et peut-etrej 'aural I'honncur en 
 deux mois d'ici de vous voir brillcr chez Ma- 
 dame TAmbassatrice de Venice ; but let me 
 advise you to prepare yourself for the affront 
 of being taken for a foreigner by every body 
 that is not acquainted with you. The stay 1 am 
 to make in this country is yet uncertain ; the 
 18tli of November tlie Parliament meets. If 
 
27^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 members are wanted I suppose we shall be sent 
 for, the beginning of next month. If business is 
 likely to go on quietly, they may possibly not 
 care to give us the trouble of so long a journey — 
 Quant a moi je suis content. My present motto 
 is, in utrumque paratus, and all I pray for is that 
 I may never have occasion anymore to visit those 
 Northern Hills, for I think nothing but a Rebel- 
 lion can ever call me there again. An acquaint- 
 ance of yours bears me company in this place, 
 Cunninghame ^ is his name, if that is not suffi- 
 cient to call him to your remembrance, il a una 
 soeur au Chateau de Stirling qui n'est pas laide. 
 He expects by every post to hear that he is in 
 my regiment, and 1 believe you will think he is 
 no bad recruit. You will forgive the length of 
 this stupid letter, but it is a fault I am not often 
 guilty of, therefore I may expect to have it the 
 easier excused, for I could in much fewer 
 words have assured you of my regard and esteem 
 for you, and my sincere wishes for your happi- 
 ness wherever you go, and whatever you under- 
 take. — Adieu. 
 
 " George Sackville." 
 
 " To Major Yoiuige." 
 
 The campaign terminating soon after, he 
 gladly left Scotland, and proceeded with his re- 
 
 * Afterwards Adjutant-General of Ireland.— See Junius, 
 Vol. 11. p. 156. 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 273 
 
 giment to Dover Castle, where he staid to re- 
 cruit during the Christmas holidays. From 
 thence he returned home to Whitehall. The 
 following letter, though immaterial in a politi- 
 cal point of view, shews that he was a perfect 
 master of the French language. This is also 
 one characteristic trait in Junius, who, in Vol. 
 II. p. 191, criticises the Earl of Rochford's bad 
 French. 
 
 " Whitehall, January 15th, 1747-«. 
 " DEAR YOUNGE, 
 
 " I SHOULD have wrote to you sooner had I 
 been in London, but you must know it is 
 now become so fashionable for Colonels to do 
 their own duty, that I have diverted myself, 
 during the holidays, in living with my regiment 
 in Dover Castle ; and as I thought dating a let- 
 ter from thence would not make so good an ap- 
 pearance as dating from Whitehall, I deferred 
 it till I came hither, not that I think I am 
 the least wiser than I was before, or at all enti- 
 tled to hope for your attention to any news I 
 can send you from hence. Your letter was the 
 best performance of the kind I ever read, and, 
 indeed, I am much obliged to you for it. I 
 dont know whetlicr Cunninghamc will say as 
 much, for he never will outlive the name of 
 ** aimablc bonbon." I congratulate with Mr. 
 
 T 
 
274i MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Naizon upon your being Major, I wish the pro-» 
 phecy was complete ; but there are so many 
 general officers want to employ the boot-maker 
 in Pall Mall, that I fear it will be a long time 
 before I can have the pleasure of being taken 
 measure of by him ; so, if you please, do not 
 wait for me, but when I see you once in the 
 right road I will make what haste I can to over- 
 take you. De quoi parlerai je? Les operas ne 
 valent rien , les assemblees ne brillent point j usqu'a 
 present, il ne reste done que les comedies 
 pour toute ressource, et il faut avouer qu'elles 
 me plaisent, nonobstant que le grand Quin n'est 
 point employe. Quant aux nouvelles, nous 
 n'en avons guerre, les compagnies aux gardes 
 sont toujours vacantes, ceux qui les attendent 
 soupirent, et en pea de terns se crieront d'im- 
 patience : si celaarrive,je vou saver tirai d'abord 
 que vous puissiez faire valoir vos pretensions. 
 On debite que Milord Anson doit epouser Ma- 
 demoiselle Yorke, fille de Grand Chancelier ; il 
 ne se porte pas bien a present, et la Demoiselle 
 s'impatiente, qu'il ne se trouve pas encore en 
 etat de bander comme un Carme. Qu'avez vous 
 fait, mon cher Major, que vos amis sont prives 
 si long tems de votre compagnie ? Vous avez 
 trouves peut-etre des charmes invincibles en 
 Ecosse que vous fassent oblier vos autres attach- 
 mens. L'amour ne se borne point aux pays fer- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. ^5 
 
 tiles, il se retire souvent aux montagnes, et se 
 pique m^me de soumettre des sauvages k son 
 empire — si en chemin faisant il vous a rencon- 
 tre, ne s'est il pas arretc un pen a rallumer le 
 feu dans un cceur qui lui a fait tant dMionneur ? 
 mais badiner a part — vous avez et6 assez long 
 terns aupr^s de votre regiment, pour demander 
 un cong6 de quelques mois, venez au plui6t j au* 
 trement vous ne vous trouverez plus au fait des 
 attiiires, et bien des nouvelles modes scront 
 passees avant que vous les ayes donnes votre 
 approbation. Your old acquaintance, Colonel 
 Howard, is going to be married to Lady Lucy 
 Wentworth. Conway has pretty well recovered 
 bis looks. My Lady Ailesbury still looks fa- 
 tigued. God knows what they have been doing 
 together. It is expected the Duke will soon 
 think of returning to the army. We have had 
 no letters from Holland for some days, so we 
 do not know whctlier the French have attempted 
 anything. My regiment is to have the happi- 
 ness of serving abroad this year, we envy you 
 that indulge in ease and plenty, you roust pre- 
 tend to envy us for the honour we attempt to 
 gain. AVhcn I last heard from poor Jocelyn, 
 he was rather better ; he still flatters himself 
 with tlie hopes of being able to serve this cam. 
 paign, but I want faith. I think you ought to 
 be ashamed to suffer a lieutenant of foot to be 
 
276 • MEMOIRS OF 
 
 in possession of the best thing in Stirling Castle.: 
 You Field-Officers are so wise and cautious that 
 you will not marry, without a woman brings a 
 great sum of money along with her. Some 
 people say I am wrong to attribute it to prudence, 
 and insist upon it that your caution proceeds 
 from want of vigour. Though you may want 
 vigour it is no reason you should not want pa- 
 tience, and I am sure I have tried yours so suffi- « 
 ciently, that if my modesty does not, at least my 
 paper forces me to release you, with only just 
 room to assure you how sincerely I am 
 
 " Your faithful servant, Mijlj 
 " Geo. Sackville.** 
 
 " To Major Younge, 
 
 * of Colonel Naizon's Regiment of Dragoons, 
 
 at Kilmarnock, North Britain." 
 
 if' Free,— Geo. Sackville.") 
 
 In the two ensuing campaigns of 17^7 and 
 1748, he again accompanied the Duke of Cum- 
 berland to the Continent, who, during the ne- 
 gociation for a peace, sent him to the head quar- 
 ters of the French camp to confer with Marshal 
 iSaxe, one of the greatest generals of the age, 
 and to conclude a general armistice between 
 both parties; which having effected, he went 
 with a French General Officer to Maestricht, 
 and after settling the other preliminaries, he 
 returned to the English camp, having performed 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. fjfy 
 
 his mission with great credit to himself, and sa- 
 tisfaction to the Duke. The preHminaries were 
 signed at Aix-la-Chapelle. On his return home 
 he took his seat in parHament, as member for 
 Dover, although the family were in possession 
 of boroughs of their own. The first speech we 
 have recorded in Cobbett's Parhamentary De- 
 bates was in the year 1750, on a clause in 
 the Mutiny Bill, which evinces great talent, 
 and a thorough knowledge of all the points he 
 spoke to. Nov. 1, 1749, he was promoted to 
 be Colonel of the 12th Regiment of Dragoons, 
 and in Jan. 13th, 1750, Colonel of the King's 
 Regiment of Horse Carboneers in Ireland. The 
 following year, 1751, he went over to Ireland, 
 in the capacity of secretary to his father, the 
 Duke of Dorset, who was again appointed 
 Lord-Lieutenant. 
 
 His influence in that country is alreaily no- 
 ticed by copious extracts from Lord Orford's 
 Memoirs. A quarrel ensuing between their ad- 
 ministration and the Irish parliament, he became 
 disgusted and never went over afterwards. 
 
 Aug. 3, 1754, he married Miss Diana Sara- 
 brookc, of Dover Street, Piccadilly. She was 
 second daughter, and co-heir of John Sam- 
 brooke, Esq. only brother of Sir Jeremy Sam- 
 brooke, of Gibbons in Hertfordshire, Baronct« 
 By her he had two sons, Charles and George : 
 
^78 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and three daughters, Diana, EHzabeth and Ca- 
 roline. 
 
 Feb. S2d, 1755, he was promoted to tl>e 
 rank of Major-General. On the breaking out 
 of the war in 17^6, he accompanied the Duke 
 of Marlborough to the coast of Normandy and 
 Britanny, when we bombarded St. Malo's, and 
 demolished Cherburgh. 
 
 In the spring of 17^7 he commanded the de* 
 tachment of troops stationed at Biggleswade, iu 
 Hertfordshire, and in the autumn of the same 
 year, he commanded the camp near Chatham 
 and Brompton in Kent ; at w^iich period. Cap- 
 tain Smith, father to the present Sir Sydney 
 Smith, was his aid-de-camp. 
 
 During this encampment, Mr. Whitfield came 
 to Chatham to offer his spiritual services to the 
 soldiers. Captain Smith brought the following 
 message to his Lordship from that primitive 
 apostle : *' My Lord, Mr. Whitfield is come hi- 
 ther ; he sends his respects, by me, to your Lord- 
 ship, and requests that he may have your per- 
 mission to preach in the camp." Lord George 
 replied, " Make my compliments, Mr. Smith, to 
 Mr. Whitfield, and tell him from me, that he 
 may preach any thing to my soldiers, that is not 
 contrary to the Articles of War."* This little 
 
 * Stoclidale'B Memoirs. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 9^ 
 
 anecdote shews the liberaUty of Lord George's 
 sentiments, who, though a strict discipHnariau, 
 was willing to relieve Mr. Whitfield's mind, and 
 to have religious instruction imparted to his sol- 
 diers. Marshal Saxe, Marshal Turenne, or Ge- 
 neral Suwarrow would not have allowed an 
 itinerant preacher to have unsettled the minds 
 of their soldiers with any new doctrine, although 
 Mr. Whitfield's opinions, like those of Mahomet, 
 were best calculated for the field of battle. The 
 camp broke up soon afterwards. 
 
 At the close of the year an armament was 
 sent against Rochfort, which proving unsuccess- 
 ful, the clamours of the people rendered an in- 
 quiry into the conduct of the commander, Sir 
 John Mordaunt, a necessary measure. On this 
 occasion. Lord George Sackville, the Duke of 
 Marlborough, and General Waldegrave were ap- 
 pointed to inquire into, and report their opinion 
 of, the cause of the failure ; the decision tending 
 rather to criminate than discharge Uie cujprit, 
 he demanded a court-mailial, which, to the sur- 
 prise of the public, found him not guilty. 
 
 On the 2(3th Jan. 175S» Lord George waa no- 
 minated Lieutenant- General of his Majesty's 
 forces, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance, 
 and sworn a member of the Privy Council. 
 At the close of this year he accom|)anicd the 
 Duke of Marlborough to Gcrmaiiy. and on the 
 
280 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 demise of the Duke, which took place at Mun- 
 ster, on the Lower Rhine, he took the command 
 of the British forces. The succeeding year, 1759, 
 was fought the famous battle of Minden, which 
 proved fatal to the reputation of his Lordship, 
 through the jealousy of Prince Ferdinand. 
 The Prince soon found that the extensive under- 
 standing, superior talent, and inquisitive spirit 
 of Lord George, which could neither be de- 
 ceived, dazzled, nor soothed into tame acqui- 
 escence, were incompatible with his views. 
 The Duke of Marlborough and Lord Granby 
 were Prince Ferdinand's friends. Not so. Lord 
 George; they cordially hated each other. By 
 adhering tenaciously to opinions he conceived 
 well-founded, and exhibiting many marks of an 
 active and inquisitive disposition, he had al- 
 ready rendered himself so great an enemy to 
 the Prince, that it was thought nothing was 
 more eagerly desired than an opportunity of re- 
 moving him from the high station he filled. 
 This opportunity was finally accomplished at 
 the battle of Minden. At the close of that 
 eventful day, so unconscious was Lord George 
 of any act of cowardice on his part, that he went 
 to Prince Ferdinand's camp to dine with the rest 
 of the British officers. On his entrance, the Prince 
 remarked to Colonel Fitzroy, " Void cet homme 
 d son aise, comme s'il avoitfait de merveillesJ* 
 
 I 
 
' LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 281 
 
 The particulars of this affair, which afterwards 
 occasioned greater political dissentions in the 
 country than the war itself, are so ably summed 
 up by Lord Orford that we need not enlarge 
 much farther. To shew how conscious he was 
 of his own innocence, and in vindication of the 
 imputations ungenerously thrown upon his cha- 
 racter, he writes to his brother-in-law. Lord 
 Viscount Bateman, as follows, wherein he takes 
 an opportunity of expressing his surprise at so 
 dangerous an exertion of the prerogative, which 
 was not only without precedent in history, but 
 contrary to the established laws of a free govern- 
 ment. 
 
 ' PaU Mull, Sept. 18th, 1759. 
 " MY DEAR LORD, 
 
 " I AM infinitely obliged to you for the \ery 
 kind manner in which you express yourself upon 
 my subject. I am persuaded your good nature 
 would make you pity any indifferent person in 
 my situation, and I have received too many as- 
 surances of your friendship for me to doubt of 
 your interesting yourself most sincerely in my 
 bringing this strange story to light, and in shew- 
 ing myself entirely free from the imputations so 
 indirectly thrown upon my character. 
 
 ** I beg you will thank Lady Bateman for her 
 goodness to me upon this occasion, tiiough I 
 
28^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 cannot compliment her so far as to think that 
 she could bear such a misfortune with half the 
 spirit her sister has done. 
 
 ** I must live in hopes of better times. If under 
 all the disadvantages of being prejudged by the 
 King, in being dismissed from my employments 
 before trial, and under the popular prejudice I 
 now stand, I could obtain a court-martial, I 
 flatter myself, I must be acquitted ; and if 
 that happens to me, no officer can have a fuller 
 justification, because every motive but that 
 of justice must weigh against me. 
 
 " I heartily wish that as this is the first, so it 
 may be the last instance of such an exertion 
 of the prerogative : if it were to be drawn j 
 into precedent, I fear the army would not be 
 a profession so sought after by persons either 
 of rank or fortune. 
 
 " Many people conceive it impossible for me 
 to be tried, now I am absolutely out of the 
 army, but I believe the best authorities in 
 the law think I may. 
 
 " I know the use they will make of this, will 
 be to frighten the officers of MiHtia, by shew- 
 ing them, that ten years hence they may be 
 accountable for any crime supposed to have 
 been committed whilst they were under mili- 
 tary, law : but seriously speaking, I do hear 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 288 
 
 that difficulty is started in conversation, and 
 I only wish it may not alarm, 
 
 " I am, my dear Lord, 
 
 ** Your faitliful humble Servant, 
 ** Geo. Sackville." 
 
 *' To Lord Viscount Batcman." 
 
 In justice to his Lordship's memory, I may 
 here state, after thoroughly investigating the 
 particulars, that I consider him to have been 
 an injured man, and therefore take this op- 
 portunity of coinciding with Mr. Stockdale, 
 who was well acquainted with him. Having 
 left the army long before this period he could 
 have no sinister views in espousing his cause ; 
 he has given us so undisguised a testimony 
 in favour of his Lordship's reputation that I 
 cannot pass it over in silence. 
 
 " As my own faults," says Mr. Stockdale, 
 " great and numerous as they are, have been 
 aggravated, and my good endeavours under- 
 valued and traduced by malice, I seize every 
 fair opportunity, with a particular zeal, to 
 do justice, as far as my hmited power goes, 
 to distinguished and injured merit, living 
 or departed. Consistently with this disposition 
 and habits, I must beg leave to ofier a generous 
 and grateful, but equitable tribute to Uic me- 
 mory of the unibrtunatc, for I cannot call hiip 
 
2S4> MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the criminaJ, Lord George Sackville, afterwards 
 Lord George Germain, who, in the year 1757, 
 commanded our camp near Chatham and 
 Brompton, in Kent. I said a grateful tribute, 
 for he endeavoured essentially to befriend me, 
 twenty-three years after that encampment; 
 and with a degree of magnanimous generosity, 
 when we consider that honest, virtuous, and bold 
 truths are seldom pardoned by the great. I de- 
 dicated my defence of Pope to him. My dedi- 
 cation was short, independent, and manly. I 
 took notice of the strong and fair claim which 
 he had, on his own account, and on that of his 
 ancestors, to a public tribute from a zealous as- 
 serter of the high poetical merit and fame of 
 Pope. To shew the disinterested respect, 
 which, as a scholar and a writer, I bore to his 
 Lordship, I openly reprobated the American 
 War, over which he, at that time, politically 
 presided. This frankness was so far from dis- 
 gusting him against me, that he afterwards set 
 his interest in motion to befriend me in Jamaica ; 
 some adverse circumstances prevented me from 
 availing myself of his kindness. But what a 
 singular example have we here, of a statesman, 
 of a person high in power, who was so far from 
 being offended at the downright sincerity of a 
 poor unprotected man, who condemned his 
 plans, who disapproved his own ambition, that 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 9S9l 
 
 he wished to reward it 1 He was a brave and 
 honourable maUy but he was iniquitously and 
 basely treated. It must be well known to all 
 the surviving friends and acquaintances of that 
 unfortunate nobleman, that he bore the insults 
 of the vulgar, and the coldness and taunts of 
 those who were equal or superior to him in situa- 
 tion, with a calm and unshaken fortitude. Not 
 a less powerful auxiliary than conscience could 
 have inspired and supported this equanimity 
 under such trying circumstances. The valour 
 of his philosophy in the region of envy and ma- 
 levolence, must certainly have been preceded 
 by his collected mind in the field of Mars. The 
 calmness and serenity, the poUteness of manner 
 of which he was master when he fought a duel 
 with Governor Johnstone, in 1770, for a sarcasm 
 allusive to Minden, will be a decisive proof of 
 what I am now advancing, with every unpreju- 
 diced and generous man. But his behaviour at 
 a more solemn and awful crisis, even in the last 
 extremity of nature, will, I should think, be an 
 unexceptionable, an irresistible voucher for his 
 courage and firmness in the day of battle. 
 
 1 was a young clergyman in London when Lord 
 George Sackville was tried by a general Court- 
 Martial. I was on the most friendly terms with 
 my old brother officers, and 1 often visited tliosc 
 who were at that time in the metropolis. 1 had 
 
^86 MEMOrRS OF 
 
 the honour to be well acquainted with Captain 
 Smith, father to Sir Sydney Smith, who was 
 aid-de-camp to Lord George at Brompton, 
 and at the battle of Minden. He was a man of 
 sense and spirit ; a man of a warm, generous, 
 and sincere heart, with whom no consideration 
 upon earth could ever prevail to suppress the 
 truth, when he thought that it was his duty to 
 declare it. His testimony at the Court- Martial 
 in favour of his noble friend, was unreserved, 
 explicit, and ardent. However impartial he was, 
 he must have been ardent on that obnoxious oc- 
 casion. But his honesty did him no good. 
 Walking with him, one day, along Wych Street, 
 we resumed the memorable subject. I seriously 
 asked him, if it was his real opinion that the 
 conduct of Lord George Sackville deserved no 
 censure on the Minden day? He emphatically 
 answered, that * his conduct on that day was 
 perfectly accurate, and what it ought to have 
 been ; and that he merited no more blame, as a 
 soldier^ than that child,' pointing to a little 
 flaxen-headed boy that passed as we conversed. 
 " I asked Mr. Smith, if he did not advance too 
 slowly when he did march ? He insisted, * that 
 he could not, circumstanced as he was, march 
 faster ;' and he gave me clear and satisfactory 
 reasons for that assertion. He added, * that 
 the orders which were brought to Lord George, 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 9l8f^ 
 
 by Prince Ferdinand's aid-de-camps were con- 
 tradictory to each other, confused, and conse- 
 quently embarrassing to any man.* He further 
 observed, that ' when lie rode himself to Prince 
 Ferdinand to get an explanation, he was exposed 
 to more danger tlian he would have been in the 
 pursuit of the French.' 
 
 " I lately had the honour of conversing with 
 my Lord Grey, on this important subject. He 
 not only acquitted Lord Sackville of tlie least 
 misconduct at the battle of Minden, but 8{>oke 
 with great respect of his general character. A 
 predestinarian would say, that Lord Sackville 
 was fated to be unfortunate both in his military 
 and political capacity. Long after the war in 
 Germany, he presided over a more unjustifiable 
 war on the continent of America. 
 
 " As Lord Sackville was a person of high rank, 
 and had all the advantages of education, it is al- 
 most superfluous for me to say, that he was a 
 polite man. He was tall and well formed : he 
 had an elegance — a dignity of deportment. He 
 was conversant with books and men : he was elo- 
 quent in the Senate : and eloquent, often poign- 
 ant, in conversation.'* 
 
 This undisguised sketch of his I^nlship's 
 character, and impartial testimony in favour ot 
 his. reputation, added to various other account* 
 which I have repeatedly seen in connectioa 
 
288 , MEMOIRS OF 
 
 with his fall, convince me, that the pro- 
 ceedings of that Court-Martial ought to be 
 officially repealed : it being a disgrace to 
 the integrity and honour of this country for 
 that sentence to remain on record, while it 
 has been virtually disavowed by the late king 
 in creating his lordship a peer of the realm. 
 It is altogether different to a bill of attainder, 
 which subjects the whole family to a confis- 
 cation of their estates. Honour is a more 
 valuable treasure than gold, or even than life 
 itself: 
 
 Good name, in man and woman, dear my lord, 
 
 Is the immediate jewel of their souls. 
 
 Who steals my purse, steals trash ; 'tis something, nothing ; 
 
 'Twas mine, 'tis his, and has been slave to thousands ; 
 
 But he that filches from me my good name, 
 
 Robs me of that which not enriches him. 
 
 And makes me poor indeed. Othello. 
 
 At the accession of George the Third in I76O, 
 Lord George appeared at Court. This was 
 considered so great an indignity to the memory 
 of the late king, and those ministers who had 
 the management of the German war, that an 
 enquiry was set on foot to ascertain who in- 
 vited him. It was traced to Lord Bute, who 
 was officially informed, that such an invita- ' 
 tion was a great breach of decorum. The same 
 was signified to Lord George, who was highly 
 
 ^^^ 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 289 
 
 indignant at being thus made the dupe of Lord 
 Bute and the ministry : he never went after- 
 wards during that administration. This circum- 
 stance is mentioned in the sacred No. 45 of the 
 North Briton, which was published a considera- 
 ble time after the event took place*. Although 
 couched in mysterious language, it is evident that 
 the drift of the libel was aimed at Lord Bute for 
 his duplicity. Lord George alludes to this num- 
 ber in his speech on the impeachment of Lord 
 Mansfield. Junius, it appears, occasionally con- 
 tributed to that popular publication, by his pri- 
 vate letter to Mr. Woodfall, No. 34,.—*' If, for 
 any reasons that do not occur to me, you should 
 think it unadviseable to print it as it stands, I 
 must intreat the favour of you to transmit it to 
 Bingley, and satisfy him that it is a real Junius, 
 worth a North Briton extraordinary." It is 
 worthy of remark that the North Briton and 
 Junius both appeared after Lord George's fall, 
 and that the object of both was to satirize the 
 King and the ministry, with much personal in- 
 vective. At this period Lord George retired 
 for a time to his paternal mansion at Knole in 
 Kent, being evidently aware of the jealousy of 
 government towards him, which is confirmed 
 by the precaution he took in r<»r wading some 
 
 • In 17(53. 
 
990 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 papers to his friend Colonel Cunninghame, 
 through the medium of Sir Robert Wilmot. 
 
 "Knole, Sept. 30th, 1760. 
 " DEAR SIR, 
 
 " I should be obliged by your sending the 
 enclosed papers to Mr. Waite, to be delivered to 
 Colonel Cunninghame. There is nothing con- 
 tained in them but accounts relating to General 
 Bragg's affairs : 1 have not even added a line to 
 Cunninghame, that you might not have it upon 
 your conscience the having conveyed through the 
 channel of government any correspondence of 
 " Your faithful Servant, 
 
 *' George Sackville.'' 
 
 " To Sir Robert Wilmot." 
 
 From the year I76O to I760 there is an inter- 
 regnum in his lordship's public life. Although 
 Member of Parliament for Hythe, yet we find 
 by the journals of the House that he took no 
 active part in the discussions, there being but 
 one speech recorded during this long period. 
 On that occasion he observed, " he bled to see his 
 country in such a calamitous situation," which 
 evinced the keenness of his feelings and that he 
 secretly watched the proceedings of government. 
 In 1765 he was nominated a member of the 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. ^1 
 
 Privy Council, and appointed one of the vice- 
 treasurers of Ireland. This gave him an oppor- 
 tunity of knowing every minute circumstance 
 connected with Irish affairs, all the movements 
 of the ministry, all that was passing in the imme- 
 diate circle of the court, as well as in the va- 
 rious departments of the law, the army, the navy* 
 or foreign affairs. 
 
 In I7G9, hy the will of Lady Betty Germain, 
 he came into possession of personal property 
 amounting to upwards of iiiO,000/., in addition to 
 very valuable estates at Drayton in Northampton- 
 shire, upon taking possession of which he dropped 
 the name of Sackville, and took her ladyship's 
 name. As Lady Betty Germain appears to have 
 been no relation, it seems natural to enquire how 
 Lord George should have claimed her notice* 
 and why she remembered him in so liberal a 
 manner, unless it were the circumstance of his 
 being deprived of all his emoluments un- 
 der government. llcr ladyship was endowed 
 with good abilities, which she had culti- 
 vated with advantage, and being an intimate 
 terms with the family, was partial to Lord GeorgCf 
 whose talents and conversation she much ad- 
 mired. It also appears from his lordship's own 
 statement to Sir N. Wraxall, that there were 
 prior motives : — 
 
 ** Sir John Germain's extraction," said he. 
 
292 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " which was uncertain, and variously reported, 
 has given rise to much discussion. His reputed 
 father bore arms, as a private soldier, in the 
 guards of William the Second, Prince of Orange : 
 but his mother, who possessed great personal 
 charms, fame asserted to have been that prince's 
 mistress : and her son was believed to stand in a 
 very close degree of consanguinity to King 
 William the Third. Other circumstances con- 
 firm this opinion. Sir John Germain inherited 
 no paternal coat of arms ; but he assumed, or 
 rather used, as his seal and armorial bearing, a 
 red cross ; meaning thereby probably to imply, 
 that his pretensions ascended higher than his os- 
 tensible birth. Even when, by the provisions 
 of his widow. Lady Betty Germain's will, I in- 
 herited Drayton, on the condition of assuming 
 the name of Germain, no mention was made of 
 the arms, as is customary in almost all similar 
 cases. King William, with whom Sir John came 
 over here from Holland in 1688, unquestionably 
 regarded him with distinguishing affection, and 
 advanced him in life. He became a member of 
 •Parliament, received the honour of knighthood, 
 and various pecuniary grants or donations to a 
 considerable amount, were conferred on him by 
 that Prince. 
 
 ** Sir John Germain, who possessed a very 
 handsome person, was always a distinguished 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 293 
 
 favourite of the other sex. His connexion with 
 the Duchess of Norfolk, finally procured him^ 
 this place and estate, she having married him, 
 after obtaining a divorce from her first hus- 
 band. They lived together several years ; 
 but no children being left alive, and the title of 
 Peterborough having reverted to a collateral 
 branch of the Mordaunt family, she bequeathed 
 to him, by her will, in the year 1705, the house 
 and property of Drayton, which lay entirely in 
 her own disposal. Sir John, who, though na- 
 turalized, and become by long residence in this 
 country, in a great degree an Englishman, re- 
 tained nevertheless many of the habits and par- 
 ticularities of a native of Holland, attached 
 himself much to my mother. She being the 
 daughter of Marshal Colyear, brotlier to the 
 first Earl of Portmore, who had entered early 
 into the Dutch Service, and who was an old 
 friend of Sir John Germain, he always called 
 her his countrywoman, visited frequently at my 
 father's house, and was kindly received by the 
 Duke and Duchess of Dorset. Finding him- 
 self in possession of considerable landed pro- 
 perty after the death of his wife, and desirous 
 of transmitting it to his own descendents, but 
 being destitute of any natural connexions, he 
 meditated to engraft himself on some distin- 
 guished family of tliis kingdom. For the pur- 
 
^94 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pose, while resident at Bristol Wells, on account 
 of his health, he cast his eyes upon Lady Betty 
 Berkeley, a daughter of the Earl of Berkeley, 
 whose birth, character, and accomplishments, 
 rendered her every way worthy of his choice. 
 She was indeed many years younger than Sir 
 John ; but as she possessed a superior under- 
 standing, added to the most correct deportment, 
 she acquired great influence over him. Having 
 been, herself, intimate with the Duchess of 
 Dorset, the friendship between the two families 
 became cemented by the alliance. Sir John had 
 several children by her, who all died young ; 
 and in the evening of his life, becoming a martyr 
 to the gout, as well as to other diseases. Lady 
 Betty assiduously performed every duty of an 
 affectionate wife and of a careful nurse about 
 his person. A short time before his decease, 
 which happened in the year I7I 8, having called 
 her to his bedside, * Lady Betty,' said he, * I 
 have made you a very indifferent husband, par- 
 ticularly of late years, when infirmities have 
 rendered me a burden to myself; but I shall not 
 be much longer troublesome to you. I advise 
 you never again to marry an old man : but I 
 strenuously exhort you to marry when I am 
 gone, and I will endeavour to put it in your 
 power. You have fulfilled every obligation to- 
 ^vards me in an exemplary manner, and I wish 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 1^95 
 
 to demonstrate my sense of your merits. I have, 
 therefore, by my will bequeathed you this es- 
 tate, which I received from my first wife ; and 
 which as she gave to me, so I leave to you. I 
 hope you will marry and have children to in- 
 herit it. But, if events should determine other- 
 wise, or if you should not have issue to survive 
 you, it would give me pleasure to tliink, that 
 Drayton descended after your decease to a 
 younger son of my friend the Duchess of Dorset' 
 In consequence of this wish, expressed by Sir 
 John Germain on his death-bed, I now enjoy 
 the estate. Lady Betty, though young when 
 left a widow, and though she survived him above 
 fifty-years, never married a second time. Her 
 friendship for my mother, always continued 
 without diminution ; and her respect for the 
 desire manifested by her husband, induced her 
 to fulfil his wishes, to the exclusion of any of 
 her own relations.*' 
 
 Early in tiie session of 1770, Lord George 
 again formed a conspicuous figure. His talents as 
 a declaimcr, his eloquence as an orator, his sound 
 reasoning and forcible language, soon gained 
 him the applause of the House, although a vio- 
 lent oppositionist to the measures of ministers. 
 His quickness at reply, and his judgment on all 
 important affairs, were so highly thought of by 
 Mr. Pitt lliat he aflcrwards styled him the Ag»- 
 
^96 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 memnon of the day ; he convinced by his forci- 
 ble reasoning, and was feared for his poignancy 
 and satire. 
 
 It is remarkable that from the time of his trial 
 in 1760 to the year I769 (although in the in- 
 terim he had been introduced as a member of 
 the Privy Council), yet he did not come forward 
 in any public capacity, until soon after the com- 
 mencement of Junius's Letters, at which time 
 we find him taking a decidedly hostile part in .j| 
 the House of Commons against the existing " 
 administration. His speeches abound with the 
 keenest satire, one of which is already given in 
 elucidation of Article XXUI. Although he 
 held no responsible situation under Government, 
 yet he so narrowly watched all its operations, 
 that on the subject of the Money Bill, which 
 was agitated in Parliament in consequence of 
 Lord Townshend's message, he writes to Sir 
 Robert Wilmot for a copy, as follows : 
 
 " Pall Mall, Tuesday Evening, 7 o'clock^ ' 
 " DEAR SIR, 
 
 " There was some conversation yesterday in 
 the House of Lords about the augmentation in 
 Ireland, and I was asked to-day if I knew in 
 what manner the engagement of not sending out 
 of Ireland any of the twelve thousand men (but 
 in <iertain cases) was mentioned in the Money 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. ItBtf 
 
 Bill. I understood it was a recital of the Lord 
 Lieutenant's message in the preamble to tliat 
 Bill, and no enacting clause about it. 
 
 " If you have any copy of the Bill, I should 
 be glad to see what relates to that particular 
 subject. 
 
 " I was sorry I had not the pleasure of seeing 
 you when you were so good as to call upon me. 
 I shall take the first opportunity of waiting upon 
 you. 
 
 " I am very sincerely, 
 
 " Your faithful, 
 
 " Humble servant, 
 
 " G£ORG£ SaCKVILLE." 
 " To Sir Robert Wilmot." 
 Endorsed— Received 23d Jan. 1770. 
 
 From this period to the year 1775, when he 
 became Secretary of State for the American 
 Colonies, he was a hostile opponent to every 
 ministerial measure. During the debate relative 
 to the Falkland Islands, he remarked, that 
 " Ministers had been guilty of more neglect and 
 inattention, than any one would think men, who 
 had any regard for their heads could be capable 
 of. But these men," said he, " have, in fact, no 
 attention whatever to tlieir own characters." His 
 speeches teemed with the same forcible aUuflionfl» 
 which gained him many enemies. He fully verified 
 
298 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Horne Tooke's sarcastic remark of being ** a 
 thorn in the King's side," and he might have 
 added in the ministers' also, though no one will 
 dispute but that there was sufficient cause at 
 that period, as " Corruption did indeed glitter in 
 the van, and maintain a standing army of mer- 
 cenaries," who were deaf to the petitions of the 
 people. 
 
 On the 14th December 1770, Lord George 
 moved, ** That the Speaker do write to such 
 eldest sons and heirs apparent of Peers, Kings, 
 Serjeants, and Masters in Chancery, as are mem- 
 bers of this House, and to the Attorney, and 
 ISolicitor-General, requesting them to attend in 
 their places every day at two o'clock to assist in 
 carrying Bills to the Lords." — Seconded by 
 Lord George Cavendish. 
 
 Among other things in support of his motion 
 Lord George said, that what he had been urging 
 was for the honour of the nation, in which he did 
 declare he greatly interested himself. It was 
 thought a very remarkable motion altogether. 
 
 Governor Johnstone ^ in reply, took occasion 
 to say, ** that he wondered that noble Lord 
 should interest himself so deeply in the honour 
 of his country, when he had hitherto been so 
 regardless of his own." 
 
 These words occasioned a duel, the particu- 
 
 * Junius, vol. ii., 474. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 299 
 
 lars of which are as follows : Governor John- 
 stone's speech was not, at the time it was de- 
 livered, heard by Lord George Germain ; and 
 he declared he was sorry that he had missed the 
 opportunity of making an instant replication ; 
 but that, however, he would take proper notice 
 of it. On Monday, the 17th December 1770, 
 Governor Johnstone was attending the Commit- 
 tee who were sitting on the petitions relative 
 to the embarkment at Durham- Yard, when Mr. 
 Thomas Townshend* came to him, and desired to 
 speak with him : he took him into another room, 
 when he told him, after making a very polite 
 and gentlemanly excuse as to what share he had 
 in tlie business he came upon, that the reflection 
 he had cast on the character of Lord George 
 Germain, though not heard by himself at the 
 time, had been communicated to him by his 
 friends ; and that in consequence. Lord George 
 had begged of him to wait on Governor 
 Johnstone to desire that he would retract what 
 he had said ; that for his own part he should be 
 exceedingly sorry to have a quarrel happen be- 
 tween two gentlemen whom he knew, and for 
 whom he had a great respect, and he therefore 
 hoped that to prevent the consequences, Goverw 
 nor Johnstone would retract what he had mid 
 respecting Lord George. 
 
 * /VArrwnrdA Lord Hvdiirv. 
 
SOO MEMOIRS OF 
 
 The Governor said, it was very true, he had 
 made use of such and such expressions in the 
 House ; that they conveyed his opinion, and that 
 he would maintain and support it. Upon which 
 Mr. Townshend said, in that case. Lord George 
 demanded the satisfaction of a gentleman from 
 him, which the other declared he was ready to 
 give his Lordship at any time. Mr. Townshend 
 then said. Lord George was in an adjoining room, 
 and, if the Governor pleased, they would go to 
 him. The Governor assented ; and Mr. Towns- 
 hend conveyed him to the room in which Lord 
 George was waiting. Lord George repeated 
 the cause of quarreL and the demand of satisfac- 
 tion, which the other acquiesced in, desiring his 
 Lordship would appoint his own time and place. 
 Lord George then mentioned the ring in Hyde 
 Park; and as in affairs of this kind, all times were 
 alike, the present was, in his opinion, as good a 
 one as any. Governor Johnstone entirely agreed 
 with Lord George as to place ; but said, that 
 as he was now attending his duty in a committee 
 on a subject he had very much at heart, he 
 hoped the meeting Lord George an hour hence 
 would make no difference. Lord George said, 
 no ; and then spoke as to seconds, informing the 
 Governor, at the same time, that he had desired 
 Mr. Townshend to attend him in that light. 
 Governor Johnstone said thei'e was Httle occa- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 301 
 
 sion for seconds, and that therefore Mr. Towns- 
 Iiend should stand in that light as to both of 
 them. Governor Johnstone further said, that 
 as he had at that time an open wound in his arm, 
 and his legs very much swelled, he could wish 
 they would use pistols ; to which, Lord George 
 saying it was equal to him what the weapons 
 were, they separated, and Governor Johnstone 
 returned to the committee. 
 
 In this conference, as well as through the 
 whole affair, both the gentlemen behaved with 
 the greatest politeness to each other, as well as 
 with the greatest courage. 
 
 At the appointed hour. Lord George and Mr. 
 Townshend were in the ring ; and soon after. 
 Governor Johnstone, accompanied by Sir James 
 Lowther, whom he happened to meet on his way, 
 and had requested to go with him. Lord Geoi^e 
 accosted Governor Johnstone, and desired he 
 would mention the distance, declaring he was 
 then upon his ground, and the Governor might 
 take what distance he pleased. The Governor 
 was taken back by the seconds about twenty small 
 paces. The antagonists having prepared their 
 pistols. Lord Gcorgo called on tlie (fovemor to 
 fire, which the Governor refused, saying, that 
 as his Lordship brought him there, he must fire 
 first. Upon which Lord George fired, and then 
 the Governor. Neither of tlie shots took effect* 
 
SO^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Lord George then fired his second pistol, and as 
 he was taking down his arm, the Governor's se- 
 cond ball hit his Lordship's pistol, broke some 
 part of it, and one of the splinters grazed his 
 Lordship's hand. The seconds immediately in- 
 terfered, and the affair was ended. Governor 
 Johnstone afterwards declared to his friends, that 
 in all the affairs of the kind which he ever knew, 
 or was ever concerned in, he never found a man 
 behave with more courage and coolness than 
 Lord George did on this occasion. 
 
 This testimony of Governor Johnstone in fa- 
 vour of Lord George's courage, is directly in 
 unison with that of Lord Orford, who knew him 
 well in earlier life. The latter affirms, that he 
 was endowed by nature with a high spirit, a high 
 sense of honour, and undaunted courage. Can 
 we then for a moment suppose that he would 
 shrink from his natural propriety at the battle of 
 Minden, when he had, previous to that event, 
 been among the first to court danger in various 
 other engagements? The tongue of malice is at 
 all times a more formidable enemy than the 
 cannon's mouth. The former inflicts a wound 
 oftentimes incurable ; the latter gives a man 
 three chances : that of not injuring him at all, 
 killing him on the spot, or giving him a wound 
 that time is sure to heal. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 80/^ 
 
 ' The tooth of malice never rankles more. 
 Than when it bites and healeth not the s^tre.' 
 
 Sir James Lowther, who was Governor John- 
 stone's second, all readers of Junius must be well 
 acquainted with. His being son-in-law to Lord 
 Bute, was quite sufficient for Junius to take up 
 the Duke of Portland's case, which is fully ex- 
 amined, 12th May I768. It had previously been 
 discussed in the House of Commons, in the 
 course of the debate on Sir George Saville's 
 Quieting Bill, for which Lord George was a 
 strong advocate. 
 
 Sir James formed part of the expedition to 
 St. Malos, with the Duke of Marlborough and 
 Lord George, to the latter of whom he had given 
 offence. I cannot find that Sir James went out 
 in any official capacity, but merely as a looker- 
 on. Some imprudent observation might easily 
 have given this umbrage. Afler the Nullum 
 Tempus affiiir in 17^8, he was not again noticed 
 by Junius, until this duel had taken place, when 
 the subject, which appeared fully at rest, was 
 again resumed, toex|>o8e the litigious spirit ofSir 
 James. The coincidence is not a little sinp^ilar, 
 although it was matter of no moment to Lord 
 George who was the Governor's second ; never- 
 theless, it appears to have awakened recollec- 
 tions of fonner enmity. 
 
 From this period to the year 1775, the spccchw 
 of I^rd George were principally on India nffairs, 
 
304 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 and those of America. He was decidedly against 
 appointing supervisors in India, and he voted 
 against impeaching the Directors of the East 
 India Company, which was agitated in 1772- 
 The debates on India affairs were carried on at 
 this period with much acrimony, invective, and 
 violence ; but on all occasions Lord George ap- 
 pears to have been influenced by no party spirit : 
 he voted conscientiously, gave his opinions with 
 moderation, and preserved a strict regard to the 
 merits of the case. It was on American affairs that 
 he was most calculated to influence the House. 
 His knowledge of that country, through the me- 
 dium of his intimate friend, Lord Amherst, and 
 others who had served there during the war, 
 was far more extensive than that of India. This 
 is also a characteristic trait in Junius. It was, 
 at length, discovered that his personal assistance 
 was required, to extricate ministers from the la- 
 byrinth in which they were entangled. On 
 March 28, 1774, he laid down so clearly the 
 measures which ought to be adopted in the pre- 
 sent crisis of affairs, that Lord North pubhcly 
 thanked him for his hints, observing at the same 
 time, " that they were worthy so great a mind.'* 
 The substance of the speech alluded to, was prin- 
 cipally applicable to the government of Massa- 
 chuset's Bay, which might be extended to other 
 parts of the colonies. 
 
 ** It may not be improper," Lord George ob- 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 305 
 
 served, " to enlarge a little upon this occasion, 
 and to ask for further information, to know 
 whether this is to be the extent of the proposi- 
 tion with regard to the salutary measures that 
 are to be made and taken in the Committee 
 during this session ; if so, sir, I should be glad 
 to give my opinion, and add ray mite of preser- 
 vation to that country. I could have wished 
 that the noble Lord, when he was framing this 
 scheme of salvation, would have at least con- 
 sidered, that there were other parts of the id- 
 ternal government, necessary to be put under 
 some regulation. I mean particularly the inter- 
 nal government of Massachuset's Bay. I wish 
 to see the council of that country on the same 
 footing as other colonies. There is a degree of 
 absurdity at present in the election of the coun- 
 cil. I cannot, sir, disagree with the noble Lord, 
 nor can I think he will do a better thing than 
 to put an end to their town meetings. I would 
 not have men of a mercantile cast consider 
 themselves as ministers of that country. I would 
 not have such men every day collecting them- 
 selves together, and debating about poHtical 
 matters. I would have them follow tiieir occu- 
 pations as merchants, and not consider them* 
 selves as ministers. I would also wish that all 
 corporate powers might be given to certain 
 people in every town, in the same maniur tliat 
 
306 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 corporations are formed here ; I should then 
 expect to see some subordination, some authority 
 and order. I do not know by what powers those 
 are to be formed, but I would wish them to be 
 formed by some. 
 
 " Again, sir, I think that the method of grand 
 juries ought to be much attended to ; they are 
 now chosen for life, and have a yearly salary ; 
 and these are the men to whom your life and 
 property are entrusted. Your people know to 
 whom to make application, when law and justice 
 are wished to be subverted by favour and affec- 
 tion. Your petty juries are elected annually, so 
 many persons in each town ; to these men of- 
 fenders know how to apply ; and when any riot 
 happens between the military power and the 
 people of the town, the power of life and death 
 of the offender is lodged in those who are offend- 
 ed. These juries I think require great regula- 
 tion ; they are totally different from ours, and, 
 in my idea, carry with them not only the highest 
 degree of absurdity, but are subject to be led 
 aside to commit the highest and most palpable 
 enormities against justice and the laws of the 
 land. I would not wish to protract the noble 
 Lord's bill, by lengthening it out to a degree 
 which he does not wish to go, nor to oppose the 
 measures which he has already adopted. I would 
 wish to bring the Constitution of America as 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 307 
 
 similar to our own as possible. 1 would wish to 
 see the council of that country similar to a 
 House of Lords in this. I would wish to see 
 chancery suits determined by a Court of Chan- 
 cery, and not by the Assembly of that province. 
 At present their Assembly is a downright clog 
 upon all the proceedings of the governor, and 
 the council are continually thwarting and oppos- 
 ing any proposition he may make for the secu- 
 rity and welfare of that government. You have, 
 sir, no government — no governor ; the whole are 
 the proceedings of a tumultuous and riotous rab- 
 ble, who ought, if they had the least prudence, 
 to follow their mercantile employments, and not 
 trouble themselves with politics and government, 
 which they do not understand. 
 
 ** We are told by some gentlemen, Oh! do 
 not break the charter ! do not take away their 
 rights that are granted to them by the prede- 
 cessors of the Crown I whoever, sir, wishes to 
 preserve such charters, without a due correction 
 and regulation — whoever wishes for such sub- 
 jects, I wish them no worse than to gD|ntftihM|^ 
 Put tliis people, sir, on a free footing of gitl » Cfl^ 
 ment ; do not let us be every day asserting our 
 rights by words, and tliey denying our authority, 
 and preventing the executioo of our laws. Let 
 us persevere in refining that government which 
 cannot support itself :inil proceed in the niaii- 
 
 X 2 
 
308 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ner we have begun, and I make no doubt, bu 
 by a manly and steady perseverance, things ma; 
 be restored from a state of anarchy and confu 
 sion to peace, quietude, and a due obedience t< 
 the laws of this country." 
 
 At this period the contest with America as 
 sumed a serious turn. Many of the colonie 
 were in a refractory state, and it required a mai 
 of more firmness, decision, and information, thai 
 either Lord Hillsborough or Lord Dartmoutl 
 possessed, to preside at the helm. It was ai 
 unenviable office for any one to enter upon, a 
 affairs in that country had been too loosel; 
 managed, and suffered to get too much a-head 
 to admit even a dawn of hope that we shouL 
 maintain our ground. The colonies had beei 
 making vigorous exertions, ever since the rio 
 at Boston, to separate themselves from the mo 
 ther country and to proclaim their independance 
 General Washington and other brave leaders 
 determined on accomplishing this object or t( 
 perish in the attempt. They were already ii 
 possession of some ships, and by land they wen 
 considered at that time as the best marksmei 
 and bravest soldiers in the world. 
 
 A nation fighting for its independance, at al 
 times assumes a formidable appearance, espe 
 cially when oppressed by an arbitrary govern 
 ment : so that there remained no obstacles t< 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 309 
 
 obstruct their final success. General Lee's 
 letter from thence (Sept. 28, 1774), depic- 
 tures the enthusiasm that prevailed amidst a 
 population of 746,000 souls, who were deter- 
 mined to support the cause either with their 
 blood or their money ; and with respect to their 
 generals, it was admitted, they were equal in 
 point of skill and judgment to the English. 
 
 Lord George obtained every information of 
 what was passing, through his nephew, I^rd 
 Thanet, who corresponded with Lee and other 
 republicans in America, and he could therefore 
 lay before the House a knowledge of American 
 affairs, to which many of the members were 
 utter strangers. Although decidedly hostile to 
 ministers in every thing else, he strenuously 
 continued to support the opinions which he had 
 early imbibed, and which Junius always main- 
 tained. Whilst the remainder of the opposition 
 continued to condemn the minister's measures. 
 Lord George supported them. On this account 
 he was considered by Lord North as a suiuble 
 auxiliary to labour in the vineyard. 
 
 Having expressed this opinion to the King, 
 he concurred in the measure ; and a proposal 
 was made to Lord George, who avowed his de- 
 termination to support his sentimenta. Lord 
 Dartmouth was accordingly removed, and on 
 the 7th Sept. 1775, Lord George Germain took 
 the seals of his office. Soon after his appoint- 
 
310 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ment, Mr. Pownall * was removed from the situa- 
 tion of under secretary, to make room for Rich- 
 ard Cumberland, Esq. the dramatic writer, who, 
 in the Memoirs of his Life, states the circum- 
 stance as follows : — 
 
 " A brighter scene now meets me. Whilst I 
 was as yet a subaltern in the Board of Trade, un- 
 comfortably executing the office of clerk to the 
 reports, by the accession of Lord George Germain 
 to the seals for the colonial department, I had a 
 new principal to look up to. I had never been in a 
 room with him in my life, except during his trial 
 at the Horse-guards for the affair of Minden, 
 which I attended through the whole of its pro- 
 gress, and regularly reported what occurred to 
 Mr. Dodington, who was then out of town. 
 Some of his letters I preserved, but of my own, 
 according to custom, I took no copies. When 
 Lord George had taken the seals, I asked my 
 friend, Colonel James Cunninghame, to take me 
 with him to Pall Mall, which he did, and the 
 ceremony of paying my respects was soon dis- 
 missed. I confess, I thought my new chief was 
 quite as cold in his manner, as a minister need 
 be, and rather more so than my intermediate 
 friend had given me reason to expect. I was 
 now living in great intimacy with the Duke of 
 Dorset, and asked him to do me that grace with 
 
 * See Junius, Vol. in. p. 138. 
 
LOUD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 311 
 
 his uncle, which the honour of being acknow- 
 ledged by him as his friend would naturally 
 have obtained for me. This, I am confident, 
 he would readily have done, but for reasons 
 which precluded all desire on my part to say 
 another word on the business. I was therefore 
 left to make my own way with a perfect stranger, 
 whilst I was in actual negotiation witli Mr. 
 Pownall for the secretaryship, and had under- 
 Stood Lord Clare to be friendly to our treaty, in 
 the very moment when he ceased to be our first 
 Lord, and the power of accommodating us was 
 shifted from his hands into those of Lord George. 
 I considered it therefore as an opportunity gone 
 by, and entertained no further hopes of succeed- 
 ing. A very short time had sufficed to confirm 
 the idea I had entertained of Lord George's 
 character for decision and dispatch in business. 
 There was at once an end to all our circumlo* 
 cutary reports and inefficient forms, that had 
 only impeded business, and substituted ambi« 
 guity for precision ; there, was, as William Ger- 
 ard Hamilton, speaking of Lord George, truly 
 observed to me, no trash in his mind ; he studied 
 no choice phrases, no su|)erfluous words, nor 
 ever suffered the clearness of his conceptions 
 lo be clouded by the obscurity of his ezprettiom^ 
 for these were the simplest and most unequivo- 
 cal tiiat could be made use of for explaining his 
 
31^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 opinions, or dictating his instructions. In the 
 mean while, he was so momentarily punctual to 
 his time, so religiously observant of his engage- 
 ments, that we, who served under him in office, 
 felt the sweets of the exchange we had so lately 
 made in the person of our chief. 
 
 " I had now no other prospect but that of 
 serving in my subordinate situation under an 
 easy master with security and comfort, for as I 
 was not flattered with the share of any notices 
 from him, but such as I might reasonably ex- 
 pect, I built no hopes upon his favour, nor al- 
 lowed myself to think I was in any train of 
 succeeding in my treaty with our secretary for 
 his office ; and as I had reason to believe he 
 was equally happy with myself in serving under 
 such a principal, I took for granted he would 
 move no further in the business. One day, as 
 Lord George was leaving the office, he stopt 
 me on the outside of the door, at the head of 
 the stairs, and invited me to pass some days 
 with him and his family at Stoneland near Tun- 
 bridge Wells. It was on my part so unexpect- 
 ed, that I doubted if I had rightly understood 
 him, as he had spoken in a low and submitted 
 voice, as his manner was, and I consulted his 
 confidential secretary, Mr. D'Oyley *, whether 
 he would advise me to the journey. He told me, 
 
 * See Junius, Vol. iii. p. 445. 
 
LOHD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 313 
 
 that he knew the house was filled from top to 
 bottom with a large party, that he was sure 
 there would be no room for me, and dissuaded 
 me from the undertaking. I did not quite fol- 
 low his advice by neglecting to present myself, 
 but I resolved to secure my retreat to Tunbridge 
 Wells, and kept my chaise in waiting to make 
 good my quarters. When I arrived at Stone- 
 land, I was met at the door by Lord George, 
 who soon discovered the precaution I had taken, 
 and himself conducting me to my bed-chamber, 
 told me it had been reserved for me, and ever 
 after would be set apart as mine, where he hoped 
 I would consent to find myself at home. This 
 was the man I had esteemed so cold ; and thus 
 was I at once introduced to the commencement 
 of a friendship, which day by day improved, and 
 which no one word or action of his life to come, 
 ever for an instant interrupted or diminished. 
 
 " Shortly after this it came to his knowledge 
 that there had been a treaty between Mr. Pownall 
 and me, for his resignation of Uie place of Se- 
 cretary, and he asked me what had passed. I 
 told him how it stood, and what the conditions 
 were that my superior in office expected for the 
 accommodation. I had not mentioned tliis to 
 him, and probably, never should. He said he 
 would take it into his own hands, and in a few 
 days signified the King's pleasure tliat Mr. 
 
314 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Pownall's resignation was accepted, and that I 
 should succeed him as Secretary, in clear and 
 full enjoyment of the place, without any com- 
 pensation whatsoever. Thus was I, beyond all 
 hope, and without a word said to me, that could 
 lead me to expect a favour of that sort, promoted 
 by surprise to a very advantageous and desirable 
 situation. I came to my office at the hour ap- 
 pointed, not dreaming of such an event, and took 
 my seat at the adjoining table, when, Mr. Pow- 
 nall being called out of the room. Lord George 
 turned round to me and bade me take his chair 
 at the bottom of the table, announcing to the 
 Board, his Majesty's commands, as above re- 
 cited, with a positive prohibition of all stipula- 
 tions. 
 
 " When I had endeavoured to express myself 
 as properly on the occasion as my agitated state 
 of spirits would allow of, I remember Lord 
 George made answer, "That if I was as well 
 pleased upon receiving his Majesty's commands, 
 as he was in being the bearer of them, I was in- 
 deed very happy." If I served him truly, 
 honestly, and ardently, ever after this, till I fol- 
 lowed him to the grave, where is my merit? 
 How could I do otherwise ? I experienced no 
 abatement in the friendship of Lord George Ger- 
 main : on the contrary, it was from this time, 
 chiefly, to the day of his death, that I lived in 
 
 i 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 315 
 
 the greatest intimacy with him. Whilst he held 
 the seals, I continued to attend upon him both 
 in public and private, rendering him all the vo- 
 luntary service in ray power, particularly on his 
 levee-days which he held in my apartment in 
 the Plantation Office, though he had ceased to 
 preside at the Board of Trade : and here a great 
 number of American loyalists, who had taken re- 
 fuge in England, were in the habit of resorting 
 to him ; it was an arduous and delicate business 
 to conduct ; I may add, it was also a business of 
 some personal risque and danger, as it engaged 
 me in very serious explanations, upon more oc- 
 casions than one. Upon Lord George putting 
 into my hands a letter he had received from a 
 certain naval officer, very disrespectful towards 
 him, and most unjustifiably so to me, for having 
 brought him an answer to an application, which 
 he was pleased to consider as private and confi- 
 dential, I felt myself obliged to take the letter 
 with me to that gentleman, and require him to 
 write and sign an apology of my own dictat- 
 ing ; whatever was his motive for doing what I 
 peremptorily required, so it was, that to my very 
 great surprise he submitted to transcribe and 
 sign it ; and when I exhibited it to Lord George, 
 he acknowledged it to be the most complete re- 
 vocation he had ever met with. There wcrt 
 other situations stitt more dehcate^ in wkkh I oc- 
 
316 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 casionally became involved, but which I forbear to 
 mention ; but in these unpleasant times, men's pas- 
 sions were inflamed ; and in every case, when rea- 
 soning would not serve to allay intemperance, and 
 ea:planation was lost upon them, I never scrupled 
 to abide the consequences, '^^ 
 
 Mr. Cumberland did ample justice to his pa- 
 tron, in remuneration for the kindness he re- 
 ceived at his hands. He appears to have served 
 him confidentially and faithfully ; and became, 
 in consequence, intrusted with secrets of a critical 
 nature. He has done wisely in withholding cir- 
 cumstances which he was bound in honour not 
 to disclose. It was indeed an era of great 
 anxiety : the war, which Lord George flattered 
 himself would have terminated favourably, as- 
 sumed an alarming appearance. The Americans, 
 at the outset, got the advantage at Bunker's Hill, 
 drove the English from the heights, and would, 
 in all probability, have gained the day, had they 
 continued to have maintained their post; but 
 the stratagem of the English general, similar to 
 that of William the Conqueror at the battle of 
 Hastings, ultimately succeeded in drawing them 
 from their strong hold, which ended in their de- 
 feat. They, nevertheless, continued successful 
 in various other parts, and by degrees gained 
 such an accession of strength, that nothing could 
 withstand their attacks. Hundreds flocked to 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 31? 
 
 the Independant Standard, they gathered like a 
 tempest, and, like the fury of a whirlwind, scat- 
 tered their enemies in all directions. In this 
 state of things, it would have been wise on the 
 part of our Government to have made peace on 
 the best terms they could, without continuing 
 to lavish a waste of men and money to no pur- 
 pose whatever ; but Lord North and Lord George 
 continued inexorable, firm in their detennination 
 to support the King's private opinions, which 
 were to prosecute the war to the last extremity. 
 Accounts were daily arriving of further losses ; 
 but when the defeat of Lord Cornwailis was 
 publicly announced in this country, it was evi- 
 dent the conflict was nearly decided. The ar- 
 rival of this intelligence is too interesting to pass 
 over, as it not only shews the firmness of the 
 King on this occasion, but the coolness of Lord 
 George, on whom the responsibility rested. Every 
 one perceived it was the sign manual for aban- 
 doning those pretensions which we could no 
 longer hold. Sir N. Wraxall dined the same 
 day at Lord George's table, and has given us 
 the particulars in the following words. " During 
 the whole month of November 178 It the con- 
 current accounts transmitted to Government, 
 enumerating Lord Comwallis's embarrawment«9 
 and the positions taken by the enemy, augment* 
 ed the anxiety of the cabinet. Lord Geofgt 
 
318 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Germain, in particular, conscious that in the pros- 
 perous or adverse termination of that expedition, 
 must hinge the fate of the American contest, 
 his own stay in office, as well as, probably, the 
 duration of the ministry itself, felt, and even ex- 
 pressed to his friends, the strongest uneasiness on 
 the subject. The meeting of parliament, mean- 
 while, stood for the 27th November. On Sunday 
 the 25th, about noon, official intelligence of the 
 surrender of the British forces at York Town, 
 arrived from Falmouth, at Lord George Ger- 
 main's house in Pall- Mall. Lord Walsingham, 
 who previous to his father. Sir William de Grey's 
 elevation to the peerage, had been Under Secre- 
 tary of State in that department, and who was 
 selected to second the address in the House of 
 Peers, on the subsequent Tuesday, happened to 
 be there when the messenger brought the news. 
 Without communicating it to any other person. 
 Lord George, for the purpose of dispatch, im- 
 mediately got with him into a hackney-coach, 
 and drov€ to Lord Stormant's residence in Port- 
 land place. Having imparted to him the disas^ 
 trous intelligence, and taken him into the car- 
 riage, they instantly proceeded to the Chancel- 
 lor's house in Great Russel-street, Bloomsbury, 
 w^om they found at home ; w^hen, after a short 
 consultation, they determined to lay it them^ 
 selves, in person, before Lord North. He had 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 319 
 
 not received any intimation of the event when 
 they arrived at his door in Downing-street, be- 
 tween one and two o'clock. The first minis- 
 ter's firmness, and even his presence of mind, 
 gave way, for a short time, under this awful 
 disaster. I asked Lord George afterwards, how 
 he took the communication when made to him ? 
 ' as he would have taken a ball in his breast,* 
 replied Lord George. For he opened his armSy 
 exclaiming wildly, as he paced up and down 
 the apartment during a few minutes, * Oh, God ! 
 it is all over ! ' words which he repeated many 
 times, under emotions of the deepest agitation 
 and distress. When the first agitation of his mind 
 had subsided, the four ministers discussed the 
 question, whether or not it might be expedient 
 to prorogue parliament for a few days ; but as 
 scarcely an interval of forty-eight hours remain- 
 ed before the appointed time of assembling, and 
 as many members of botii houses were al- 
 ready either arrived in London, or on the road, 
 that proposition was abandoned. It became, how« 
 ever, indispensable to alter, and almost to model 
 anew, the King's speech, which h^ been alrea- 
 dy drawn up and completely prepared for deli- 
 vering from tiie throne. This alteratkw wae 
 tlierefore made witliout delay i and at the same 
 time, Lord George Germain, as Secretary for 
 the American Department, sent off a dispatch 
 
5^0 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 to his Majesty, who was then at Kew, acquaint- 
 ing him with the melancholy termination of 
 Lord Cornwallis's expedition. Some hours hav- 
 ing elapsed before these different, but neces- 
 sary acts of business, could take place, the 
 members separated, and Lord George Germain 
 repaired to his office in Whitehall. There he 
 found a confirmation of the intelligence, which 
 arrived about two hours after the first communica- 
 tion, having been transmitted from Dover, to 
 which place it was forwarded from Calais, with 
 the French account of the same event. 
 
 " I dined that day at Lord George's ; and 
 though the information which had reached Lon- 
 don in the course of the morning, from two dif- 
 ferent quarters, was of a nature not to admit of 
 long concealment, yet it had not been commu- 
 nicated either to me, or to any individual of the 
 company, as it might naturally have been through 
 the channel of common report, when I got to 
 Pali-Mall, between five and six o'clock. Lord 
 Walsingham, who likewise dined there, was the 
 only person present, except Lord George, ac- 
 quainted with the fact. The party, nine in num- 
 ber, sat down to table. I thought the master of 
 the house appeared serious, though he manifest- 
 ed no discomposure. Before the dinner was 
 finished, one of the servants delivered him a let- 
 ter, brought back by the messenger who had 
 
LORD VISCOrNT SACKVILLE. $H 
 
 been dispatclied to the King. Lord George 
 opened and perused it : then looking at Lord 
 Walsingham, to whom he exclusively directed 
 his observation, *The King writes/ said he, 
 *just as he always does, except that I observe 
 he has omitted to mark the hour and minute 
 of his writing, with his usual precision.' This 
 remark, though calculated to awaken some 
 interest, excited no comment; and while the 
 ladies. Lord George's three daughters, remained 
 in the room, we repressed our curiosity. But 
 they had no sooner witlidrawn, than Lord George 
 having acquainted us, that from Paris, informa- 
 tion had just arrived of the old Count de Maure- 
 pas, first minister, lying at the point of death. 
 * It would grieve me,' said I, *to finish my career, 
 however far advanced in years, were I first mi- 
 nister of France, before I had witnessed the ter- 
 mination of this great contest between England 
 and America.' ' He has survived to see thmt 
 event,' replied Lord George, with some agitation. 
 Utterly unsuspicious of tlie fact which had hap- 
 pened beyond the Atlantic, I conceived him to 
 allude to the indecisive naval action, fought at 
 the mouth of the Chesapeake, early in the pre- 
 ceding month of September, between Admiral 
 Graves and Count de Grasse ; which, in its re- 
 sults, might prove most injurious to Lord Com- 
 wallis. Under this impression, * My meaning/ 
 
 T 
 
322 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 said I * is, that if I were the Count de Maurepas 
 I should wish to live long enough to behold the 
 final issue of the war in Virginia.' ' He has 
 survived to witness it completely/ answered 
 Lord George ; ' the army has surrendered, and 
 you may peruse the particulars of the capitula- 
 tion in that paper ' ; taking, at the same time, 
 one from his pocket, which he delivered into my 
 hand, not without visible emotion. By his per- 
 mission I read it aloud, while the company lis- 
 tened in profound silence. We then discussed 
 its contents, as affecting the country, the minis- 
 try, and the war. It must be confessed they were 
 calculated to diffuse a gloom over the most con- 
 vivial society, and that they opened a wide field 
 for political speculation. After perusing the 
 contents of Lord Cornwallis's surrender at York 
 Town, it was impossible for all present not to 
 feel a lively curiosity to know how the King 
 had received the intelligence, as well as how 
 he had expressed himself in his note to Lord 
 George Germain, on the first communication of 
 so painful an event. He gratified our wish by 
 reading it to us, observing at the same time, that 
 it did the highest honour to his Majesty's forti- 
 tude, firmness, and consistency of character. 
 The words made an impression on my memory, 
 which the lapse of more than thirty years has 
 not erased ; and I shall here commemorate its 
 
 I 
 
 ■ 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 
 
 tenor, as serving to shew how that Prince felt 
 and wrote, under one of the most afflicting, as 
 well as humiliating occurrences of his reign. 
 The billet ran nearly to this effect : « I have 
 received with sentiments of the deepest concern, 
 the communication which Lord George Ger- 
 main has made to me, of the unfortunate result 
 of the operations in Virginia. I particularly la- 
 ment it, on account of the consequences con- 
 nected with it, and the difficulties which it may 
 produce in carrying on the public business, or 
 in repairing such a misfortune. But I trust 
 that neither Lord George Germain, nor any 
 member of the cabinet will suppose, that it 
 makes the smallest alteration in those principles 
 of my conduct, which have directed me in past 
 time, and which will always continue to animate 
 me under every event, in the prosecution of the 
 ))resent contest.' Not a sentiment of despon- 
 dency or of despair was to be found in the let- 
 ter ; the very hand-writing of which indicated 
 composure of mind. Whatever opinion we may 
 entertain relative to the practicability of redii* 
 cing America to obedience by force of aims at 
 the end of I78I, we must admit, that no Sove- 
 reign could manifest more calmocss, dignity or 
 self-command, than George the Third dispUyed 
 in his reply." 
 
 Had Mr. Grcnville's meaiurts been steadily 
 
324 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 pursued and adopted, or, had the hint been 
 taken which Junius threw out in I767 soon after 
 the riot at Boston, in all probability the colonies 
 would be in our possession to this day. To the 
 Earl of Chatham's measures, history may attri- 
 bute the record of the event just alluded tp. 
 Junius foresaw the consequence, and pointed 
 out, in language hardly to be exceeded in 
 energy, the fatal delusion under which that ad- 
 ministration laboured. ** These were the wretch- 
 ed ministers," said he, " who served at the al- 
 tar, while the. high priest with more than fran- 
 tic fury, offered up his bleeding country a vic-i 
 tim to America." That prediction was after- 
 wards fully verified. Had the colonies been 
 properly supported at that time, and with the 
 same vigour which was manifested towards our 
 possessions in the East Indies, the Americans 
 would have been kept under subjection, and, 
 as Lord George so emphatically said in the 
 House, " they must ultimately have returned 
 to their allegiance." There was less probability 
 of our losing America, than our East India 
 settlements. When either became refractory, 
 the remedy was in our power. But if once 
 neglected, when a nation becomes unsettled, and 
 gradually keeps gaining ground for seven years, 
 it is out of all human power ever to restore 
 peace and tranquillity. We have witnessed it in 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 
 
 France : we have witnessed it in Spain : in the 
 civil wars in our own country ; and, finally, we 
 have witnessed it in the loss of America : a na- 
 tion now become so powerful, that if ever this 
 country be conquered, it will be from that quar- 
 ter. Those very men who were the cause of 
 all the calamity, and who were obliged to be 
 removed from office because they could no 
 longer maintain their credit and reputation, had 
 the baseness aflerwards to lay the blame upon 
 Lord George, and to make it one of their ob- 
 jections that he should not be raised to the Peer- 
 age, because his measures were inadequate to 
 extricate the country from those difficulties, in 
 which they themselves had been the primary 
 cause of involving it. The Earl of Chatham 
 might in some points have been a very wise man, 
 but in American affairs he proved himself a 
 very weak one. 
 
 The principles of I^rd George never wavered: 
 however great the dilemma appeared, he main- 
 tained a strict consistency, and rntiier than sub- 
 mit to a treaty dishonourable to his country, he 
 was determined to persevere in pursuing the 
 war : but the voice of the whole country being 
 against a farther sacriHce, he tendered his re- 
 signation, maintaining to the last moment in 
 office, those principles which he had pledged his 
 
326 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 word to the King and to Lord North should 
 remain unchangeable. 
 
 Early in the month of February 1782, Lord 
 George Germain having resigned the seat of his 
 office into the King's hands, received, in recom- 
 pense of his services, the honor of the Peerage. 
 ** The circumstances attending that elevation," 
 continues Sir N. Wraxall, " which became imme- 
 diately afterwards a subject of discussion in the 
 House of Lords, I received on the same day when 
 they took place from Lord George's own mouth ; 
 and they are too curious, as well as characteris- 
 tic, to be omitted in these memoirs. The sepa- 
 ration between the sovereign and the secretary, 
 was by no means unaccompanied with emotion 
 on both sides; which became probably aug- 
 mented by the dark cloud overhanging the 
 throne, together with the circumstances that 
 produced the necessity for Lord George's re- 
 signation. The King who could not shut his 
 eyes to these facts, doubtless foresaw the possi- 
 bility, if not probability, of greater changes in 
 the administration, as imminent ; of which the 
 removal of the American Secretary, was only 
 the forerunner and the presage. After regret- 
 ting the unfortunate events that had dictated 
 the measure, and thanking Lord George for his 
 services, his Majesty added, * Is there any thing 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 3^ 
 
 I can do, to express my sense of them, which 
 would he agreeable to you ?' * Sir,' answered he, 
 
 * if your Majesty is pleased to raise me to the 
 dignity of the Peerage, it will form at once the 
 best reward to which I can aspire, and the best 
 proof of your approbation of my past exertions 
 in your affairs.' * By all means,' said the King, 
 
 * I think it very proper and shall do it with 
 pleasure.' * Then, sir,' rejoined Lord George, 
 
 * if you agree to my first request, I hope you 
 will not think it unbecoming, or unreasonable in 
 me, to ask another favor. It is to create me a 
 Viscounty as, should I be only raised to the dig- 
 nity of a Baron, my own secretary, my lawyer, 
 and my father's page, will all take rank of me.' 
 The King expressing a wish to know the names 
 of the persons to whom he alluded, * the first,' 
 replied Lord George, * is Lord Walsingham, 
 who, as your Majesty knows, was long under 
 Secretary of State in my office, when Mr. de 
 Grey. The second is Lord Loughborough, who 
 has been always my legal adviser. Lord Am- 
 herst is the third, who when page to my father, 
 the late Duke of Dorset, has oflen sat on the 
 braces of the state-coach that conveyed him, 
 as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland, to the Parliament 
 House at Dublin.* The King smiled, adding, 
 
 * What you say, is very reasonable ; it shall be 
 so ; and now let me know the title that you 
 choose.' * I have already, sir,' answered Lord 
 
328 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 George, * in the possible anticipation of your 
 Majesty's gracious disposition towards me, 
 spoken to the Duke of Dorset, and obtained his 
 permission, as the head of my family, to take 
 the title of Sackville ; having been compelled to 
 renounce my own name, in order to avail myself 
 of the bequest of the estate of Drayton in North- 
 amptonshire, made me by Lady Betty Germain 
 in her will, I shall therefore, in some degree, 
 recover it by this means.' * I quite approve 
 of that idea,' replied his Majesty, * and if you 
 will state to me your title, I will write it down 
 myself before we part and send it directly to the 
 Chancellor.' 
 
 " The King immediately placed himself at a ta- 
 ble, took the pen and ink lying upon it, and 
 having committed the Viscounty to paper, asked 
 him what Barony he chose ? Lord George an- 
 swered, * that of Bolebrook in Sussex, being 
 one of the most antient estates belonging to the 
 family, and contiguous to Buckhurst, the ori- 
 ginal Peerage conferred by Queen Elizabeth on 
 his ancestor, the first Earl of Dorset,' When 
 the King had copied it, he rose up, and with the 
 most condescending expressions of concern, as 
 well as satisfaction, allowed Lord George to 
 withdraw from the closet. As this is one of the 
 few Peerages, which in the course of half a cen- 
 tury, George the Third has been allowed to 
 confer, wholly independent of ministerial inter- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. M9 
 
 vention or recommendation, from the impulse of 
 his own inclinations, its origin and creation at- 
 tain an additional interest." 
 
 As soon as it was publicly known that the 
 K'ug had conferred this honour upon Lord 
 George for his services, the Marquis of Carmar- 
 then brought forward a motion in the House of 
 
 f Lords, to prevent the new-created Peer from 
 taking his seat among them: the Marquis dis- 
 claimed any personal animosity, but he consider- 
 ed it derogatory to the honor of that House to 
 admit a person still labouring under the heavy 
 
 t censure of a Court-Martial . The language of 
 the Earl of Shelburne, the Earl of Abingdon, 
 and the Duke of Richmond on this occasion, 
 was beneath their dignity as Peers of the realm. 
 Tliey heaped upon Lord George unmerited in- 
 sults, which at any time would be unfit for the 
 debates of such an assembly. Even provided 
 they had any cause of enmity against him, as 
 Junius, of which character they strongly sus- 
 pected him, that was not a suitable place, nor a 
 suitable occasion for such resentment The 
 whole proceeding was pronounced by Lord 
 Thurlow, extra-judicial and irregular. Lord 
 Sackvillc's reply was so powerful, so animated, 
 and so nuicli to the point, that they had cause 
 to blush at their unmanly behaviour, and it was 
 universally admitted, even by his enemies, that 
 
330 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 a more dignified speech was never made within 
 those walls. The Marquis's motion was lost a 
 second time. I lay the particulars before the 
 reader, as intimately connected with the life of 
 this persecuted nobleman, that every unpreju- 
 diced mind may witness the motives which in- 
 fluenced the speakers on this memorable occa- 
 sion. 
 
 House of Lords, Feb. 7, 1782.=^— -The Mar- 
 quis of Carmarthen rose and said, that he under- 
 stood, a person who had in his military charac- 
 ter been publicly degraded, was shortly to be 
 called up to that House. He did not mean to 
 dispute the prerogative of the crown ; but he 
 thought the creating such a person a Peer, was 
 a disgrace to the House. He felt so in his own 
 breast, and he trusted every one of their lord- 
 ships would be impressed with feelings of a simi- 
 lar nature. He called, therefore, upon the 
 House for assistance and instruction : he knew 
 not what sort of motion to frame, nor what step 
 it would be regular to take, previous to the dis- 
 grace falling upon the Peerage, to mark their 
 sense of the circumstance : and in doing this, 
 he solemnly protested he was actuated by no 
 motive of a political or personal nature ; he sin- 
 cerely pitied the individual who laboured under 
 
 * From Cobbett's Parliamentary Debates. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 
 
 such a heavy load of stigma, as in his mind was 
 contained in the sentence in question : a copy 
 of which he held in his hand. It was on that 
 account, and that only, that he thought it a dis- 
 honour to the Peerage to have such a person 
 made a member of it. If the sentence had been 
 altered after a revision of the facts that came 
 out upon the trial, and done away, as much too 
 severe ; in short, if the marked disgrace it affix- 
 ed on the person made the subject of it, was re- 
 moved in any way whatever, he should think all 
 objections removed instantly; but while the 
 sentence remained in full force, he could not 
 but conceive it to be an ample reason for their 
 lordships coming to some resolution, expressive 
 of their opinion upon it. This feeling struck 
 his mind as soon as he heard the report, and he 
 had communicated it only to one man living, 
 though he had, that morning, conversed with 
 noble lords then in the Iiouse on other topics : 
 so conscious was he, that the bare mention of 
 it would be sufficient to induce every one of 
 their lordships to feel, as men jealous of their 
 honor must necessarily feel upon such an oc- 
 casion. 
 
 Finding no Peer rose immediately, his Lord- 
 ship got up again and moved, **That it is deroga- 
 tory to the honour of this House, that any person 
 labouring under the heavy censure comprehend- 
 
33S MEMOIRS OF 
 
 ed in the following sentence of a Court-Martial, 
 and the public order given out in consequence 
 thereof, should be recommended to the crown 
 to be raised to the dignity of the Peerage, viz : 
 * This Court, upon due consideration of the 
 whole matter before them, is of opinion, that 
 Lord George Sackville is guilty of having dis- 
 obeyed the orders of Prince Ferdinand of Bruns- 
 wick, whom he was, by his commission and in- 
 structions, directed to obey as commander-in- 
 chief, according to the rules of war ; and it is 
 the farther opinion of this Court, that the said 
 Lord George Sackville is, and he is hereby ad- 
 judged unfit to serve his Majesty in any mili- 
 tary capacity whatever.' Which sentence his 
 Majesty was pleased to confirm, viz : « It is 
 his Majesty's pleasure that the above sentence 
 be given out in public orders, that officers, 
 being convinced, that neither high birth, nor 
 great employments, can shelter offences of such 
 a nature ; and that seeing they are subject to 
 censures much worse than death to a man who 
 has any sense of honor, they may avoid the 
 fatal consequences arising from disobedience of 
 orders.' " 
 
 The Lord Chancellor [Thurlow], left the 
 Woolsack and informed the House, that he felt 
 it to be his duty to state to their lordships, that 
 it would be in his mind, altogether irregular and 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. S8S 
 
 disorderly, even to put such a motion as he held 
 in his hand. The motion turned altogether up- 
 on a fact, by no means before the House, and 
 surely it would be extremely hard, and very in- 
 consistent with their lordships' usual liberality 
 and candour, to annex so severe a censure as 
 the censure of that House to a sentence sup- 
 j)0sed to have been passed on a certain person 
 therein named, at a particular given time, but 
 to all which facts (viz. the demerits of the 
 party, which called upon him such a sentence, 
 to tlie sitting of the court-martial, to their hav- 
 ing declared such a judgment, and to the other 
 matters stated in the supposed circular order), 
 the House was at that moment, in point of Par- 
 liamentary form, utter strangers. Having stated 
 this, his Lordship submitted it to the noble 
 Lord, whether it was such a motion, as he, on 
 cooler consideration, would wish to have insert- 
 ed in the Journals ? 
 
 Lord Denbigh objected to the motion as very 
 extraordinary and altogether unprecedented. 
 His Lordship stated, that the court-martial was 
 held, when a particular complexion of politics 
 prevailed in the cabinet ; that only four years 
 afterwards, when a different administration 
 came in, the noble Lord aimed at in the 
 present motion, was, at the desire of that ad- 
 ministration, restored to a seat in the Privy 
 Council, an evident proof that the ministry 
 
334 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of that day (the chief of whom were now in 
 opposition), thought the noble Lord's advice of 
 great importance to the State, He had since 
 been distinguished as a minister worthy of his 
 Sovereign's confidence. The Crown indisputa- 
 bly had a right to bestow the honours of the 
 Peerage, as it thought proper, and conceiving 
 the motion to be altogether unnecessary, he 
 should conclude with moving to adjourn. 
 
 The Earl of Abingdon * said, the person who 
 was the subject of the motion, had been the 
 greatest criminal this country ever knew. He 
 had been the author of all the calamities of the 
 war, and all the distresses which Great Britain 
 now groaned under. It was to his blood-thirsti- 
 ness, his weakness, his wickedness, and his mis- 
 management, that the war had been prosecuted 
 at so large a waste of blood and treasure, and 
 with such a miserable repetition of ill-successes. 
 He therefore ought not to be suffered to come 
 into that House, and contaminate the Peerage. 
 
 The Duke of Richmond said, certainly the 
 noble Lord [Denbigh], had a right to move the 
 question of adjournment upon the motion ; but 
 if the ministry suffered a matter of so much 
 importance to be got rid of in that manner, 
 they would act more contemptibly than even he 
 could have thought them capable of. He was 
 
 * Afterwards imprisoned in the King's Bench for a libel. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 335 
 
 astonished at their silence on a motion of that 
 kind, and still more at their acquiescing in the 
 motion of adjournment. Was he the person in 
 question made the subject of the motion, he 
 should think himself extremely ill-used, and 
 complain loudly of such treatment. For God's 
 sake, have not ministers a single word to say in 
 defence of their colleague ? Were they so much 
 at variance witii each other, that when a matter 
 of this kind came on, they neither dared treat 
 the motion with defiance, nor attempt to palliate 
 the imputed guilt of their brother minister ? 
 Would it not be wiser to debate the motion, 
 than pitifully to move an adjournment ? He 
 was most heartily ashamed of the conduct of 
 ministers that day. 
 
 Viscount Stormont said, he knew not that the 
 Doble Lord in question stood in need of any 
 defence. With regard to the present motion, 
 it clearly trenched upon the prerogative of the 
 Crown ; it trenched upon a right inherent in 
 the Sovereign, which even the noble Marquis 
 who made the motion, had felt himself obliged 
 to confess was indisputable. He knew of no 
 disqualification for the Peerage short of legal 
 disability ; and therefore when any otlier was 
 attempted to be urged within those walls, he 
 should consider it as an unconstitutional attack 
 on the prerogative, and should always be of opi- 
 
 I 
 
SSC MEMOIRS OF 
 
 nion that a motion for adjournment was the pro- 
 per way of getting rid of it. 
 
 The Marquis of Carmarthen said, he had 
 drawn up the motion hastily, and therefore it 
 might be possibly liable to the charge of incor- 
 rectness. He begged that their Lordships would 
 recollect that he had desired their assistance. 
 With regard to the argument of the noble Lord 
 in the green ribbon, that nothing short of legal 
 disability ought to excite the alarm of the 
 House, perhaps the noble Lord was not aware 
 how far that argument went. It was rather 
 ludicrous to adduce such an instance, but, ac- 
 cording to the same mode of reasoning, the 
 King's chimney sweeper might be made a Peer, 
 and undoubtedly the right to create a Peer was 
 inherent in the prerogative of the Crown — ought 
 such a creation to take place ? Undoubtedly 
 the noble Earl had a right to move the question 
 of adjournment ; but this he would assure their 
 Lordships, ministers should not get rid of this 
 motion that way, for he was determined to make 
 it day by day, until something satisfactory was 
 done in it. 
 
 The Earl of Abingdon declared, since legal 
 disability was all that would do to prevent the 
 House from being tainted with such a mem- 
 ber, if he were sent up there, he would do his 
 business 5 as he had in his own house, ample 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 337 
 
 materials to make the ground-work of an im- 
 peachment ; and which he would certainly pro- 
 duce^ if the person in question attempted to come 
 among them. He further declared, he hoped 
 there were those in the House, who were ready 
 to run to their Master, and give him an account 
 of what had passed that day upon the subject. If 
 they gave him a true account, the effect would 
 be, a rescue of the House from the contamina- 
 tion they were threatened with. 
 
 The Earl of Derby lamented that the noble 
 Marquis should be so ill supported on a point of 
 such serious importance. He declared he thought 
 it a great and a serious insult to their Lordships 
 to see a person created a Peer, whose disgrace 
 was entered in the orderly books of every Bri- 
 tish regiment. 
 
 The Duke of Grafton spoke in support of the 
 motion. 
 
 The Earl of Shelburne said, it gave him ex- 
 treme pain to take any part in the present debate, 
 and the more so, because very early in life, be- 
 fore he was of age to be a member of either 
 house of Parliament, and before he knew 
 enough of the world to discover of how little im- 
 portance it was, that so insignificant an indivi- 
 dual as he was, made one of the number of so- 
 ciety, he had suffered many professional injuries 
 from the person who wvt.v the subject qf debate, 
 
 z 
 
338 MEMOIRS OF i 
 
 Smart'mg with a sense of those injuries at tJie time, 
 a sort of enmity had taken place between htjn and 
 the person in question ; from the moment, how- 
 ever, that he saw the sentence of the court- 
 martial, and the orders which had been read to 
 the House, and which now made a part of the 
 motion, he called upon God Almighty to wiUM 
 ness, that he had neither privately nor publicly, ^ 
 directly nor indirectly, in thought, word, or deed, 
 done that person the smallest injury, or bore 
 hard upon him on any occasion whatever. In- 
 deed, his moderation in that respect had been 
 more than once noticed by his friends, and he. 
 had experienced opportunities of explaining to 
 those, who put the matter to him, the reasons of 
 his conduct. He hoped, therefore, that what he 
 should now say, would not be imputed to the 
 latent seeds of an old hatred twenty years' stand- 
 ing: solemnly protesting, every spark of that J 
 animosity was extinguished. He said, however ' 
 unpopular the opinion might be, he had not the 
 smallest objection to the King's being his own 
 minister. He did not know, but the King's 
 having an opinion of his own, and feeling his 
 interest in the management of the affairs of the 
 realm, might be better for the general weal 
 than his remaining a type of a mere King of 
 Mahrattas. For fear their Lordships might not 
 know what a King of Mahrattas was, from not 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 339 
 
 aving lately read so much of the history of 
 India, its government, and its customs, as he had 
 done, he would inform their Lordships, that a 
 King of the Mahrattas was a mere nominal 
 monarch • ; he had his pechaw, a cabinet who 
 were efficient, and who, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, held and directed the reins of government, 
 while they kept the King locked up, and in 
 pretty nearly a state of idiotism. He declared 
 in every moment of his life, he had ever endea- 
 voured to treat his Majesty with that profound 
 respect due to his person, and with that reverence 
 so infinitely due to his estimation. His loyalty 
 had remained the firmest principle in his bosom, 
 and in all situations, and on all occasions, he had 
 studiously kept the duty of a faithful and re- 
 spectful subject in view. He might therefore, 
 he hoped, be permitted, without charge of the 
 smallest indecency, to say that, when the prero- 
 gative was exercised to its fullest extent, he wish- 
 ed to God to see the Parliament free. A high toned 
 prerogative Prince and a servile corrupt Parlia- 
 ment, was the strongest symptom of despotism 
 and anarchy. He could not therefore but an- 
 xiously wish to see a perfect representation of the 
 people, and when that happy period arrived, he 
 
 * This alludea to Junius's declaration, of the subjection in 
 which the King's mioiitera kept him. 
 
 Z 2 
 
 I 
 
340 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 should be grounded in entertaining a reasonable 
 expectation of better prosperity. It had been 
 imagined that the House of Peers had it not in 
 their power to right itself against the extraordi- 
 nary stretches of prerogative. The supposition was 
 founded in error. An author, whose works he 
 had read some years since, the chief of which 
 was a book upon the Peerage, written by Lord 
 Chancellor West, pretty clearly evinced to his 
 mind, that there were latent powers belonging 
 to the House of Lords, which, if called forth, by 
 sufficient occasion, and duly and spiritedly exer- 
 cised, were equal to the correcting of any abuses 
 of the prerogative that might be attempted. 
 
 A noble Earl has termed the present motion 
 a very extraordinary motion. Good God ! were 
 not these very extraordinary times ? Who could 
 have owned himself so gloomy in his ideas some 
 years ago, as to have acknowledged, that he 
 ever imagined it possible, that a day would have 
 arrived, when that House should have resolved 
 to institute an enquiry into the cause of the sur- 
 render of the second army into the hands of the 
 Americans, and that it should have been a mat- 
 ter of doubt and debate in that House, whether 
 they ought or ought not to admit a motion to 
 pass in its original form, because some of the 
 words seemed to carry in them a recognition of 
 the independence of America ? No man, the 
 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. S41 
 
 wisest that ever existed, would have pretended 
 to have foreseen a possibility of two such events 
 happening in the course of oneday ! His Lord- 
 ship took notice of its having been said, that 
 Lord George Germain was restored to the Privy 
 Council by the Rockingham administration. 
 He declared he had not been a member of that 
 administration, though he was free to say, it was 
 composed of able and honest men. When he 
 agreed to take a situation soon afierwardsy he 
 excepted to the measure alluded to *. A noble 
 Earl, now no more, with whom he had been in 
 the habits of living on terms of great familiarity, 
 had objected to the measure likewise ; and he 
 perfectly recollected, that when it was pressed 
 upon the noble Earl to pursue the person, now 
 alluded to, in the House of Commons, and to 
 make his expulsion a consequence of his dis- 
 grace, the noble Earl, with that wisdom and sa- 
 gacity that ever marked his conduct, refused to 
 do so, and that for the wisest reasons. He re- 
 membered, that the noble Earl, on being desired 
 by a person of great authority to enforce the 
 weight of government against the noble Lord, 
 refused to do so for very good reasons ; he was 
 answered in these words, " Well, sir, I wish you 
 
 * This circumHtJince fully accounts for Junius styling Lord 
 Shelburnc, u Malagrida. Vol it. p. 473. 
 
342 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 much joy of the company you choose to keep." 
 The reason why the Earl refused to aim the 
 vengeance of government against the party in 
 question, was no other than the consideration 
 that the noble Lord represented a family borough, 
 and their Lordships knew what family boroughs 
 were. Had the party been expelled the House, 
 the Earl wisely argued, how was he to know 
 that he might not be chosen and re-chosen again 
 and again, in spite of repeated expulsions ? His 
 Lordship said, there was an essential difference 
 between the person in question being allowed 
 to sit in the other House and being suffered to 
 come up there. There was a great distinction 
 surely between the one House and the other, 
 however the other House might entertain differ- 
 ent opinions. In its real constitutional point of 
 view, no man thought more highly of the House 
 of Commons than he did ; it was then a truly 
 respectable, a truly useful branch of the legisla- 
 ture ; but when sunk into corruption, when it 
 became the mere creature of the minister, and 
 affected to be a kind of septennial nobility, 
 without the real dignity, and a lesser aristocracy, 
 without the means, the situation and the real 
 personal interest in the state, it became an ob- 
 ject of public contempt, and an instrument of 
 public danger. With regard to the person now 
 designed to be created a peer, he called upon 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 346 
 
 the learned adviser of the Crown, and asked 
 why ? When it was first thought of to make 
 that person a Secretary of State, those who had 
 held such strong language of " Kill themy or 
 they will kill you ^^^ and who had declared " We 
 had passed the Rubicon'" before any other person 
 knew we were seriously at war with America, 
 had not acted in conformity with their high 
 sounding tone, and made their actions accom- 
 pany their words ? WJiy they had not behaved 
 like men of integrity, gone to the Sovereign 
 and advised him honestly and wisely to employ 
 those men only as instruments in the planning, 
 direction, conduct, and execution of an attempt 
 of such infinite importance as tlie recovery of 
 America, who were the most unexceptionable 
 in every respect, both here and in America, 
 and the most likely to prove successful instru- 
 ments in the greatest work this nation ever took 
 in hand ? In appointing the noble Lord to the 
 secretary of stateship and entrusting him with 
 the management of the war, they in a manner 
 began the war with the greatest insult to Ame- 
 rica that could possibly have been devised. 
 
 The House then divided, when there appeared 
 For the motion, 28, 
 Against it, 75. 
 
344 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Notwithstanding this decision, the Marquis of 
 Carmarthen again brought the subject forward 
 on the 18th inst. 
 
 He began by saying, that no gentleman could 
 be more anxious to preserve the prerogative of 
 the crown than himself: yet he must entreat 
 their Lordships to consider, that the honour and 
 purity of the House were all that served to con- 
 vey to the world in general, that idea of weight, 
 importance, and dignity, which they had hitherto 
 held, and which he humbly hoped, their Lord- 
 ships would ever continue to preserve in the 
 eyes of all mankind. From the noble Lord who 
 was the object of the motion, he was ready to 
 acknowledge he had received civilities while he 
 was himself about the court, in a particular situ- 
 ation, although he had never lived with him on 
 terms of very great intimacy. He should now 
 proceed to state a motion, tending to censure 
 those of his Majesty's ministers, who had so far 
 forgot their necessary respect for the dignity of 
 that House, and all consideration of what was 
 due to the military and to the public opinion, 
 as to advise his Majesty to confer a Peerage and 
 a seat in that House, on a person labouring un- 
 der so severe a stigma as that contained in the 
 sentence of the Court-Martial and the orders 
 issued thereupon, which now stood in full force 
 
 I 
 
LOaD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 345 
 
 against the unfortunate nobleman in question. 
 His Lordship said he took the mattfer up en- 
 tirely upon the sentence of the Court- Martial, 
 the notoriety of which, and of the orders that 
 were at this moment inserted in every orderly- 
 book of every regiment of the army in Great 
 Britain, warranted him in proceeding to consi- 
 der both the one and the other as authentic. 
 Had we no farther use for the military, that so 
 shameful an instance of relaxation of all military 
 discipline and the abandonment of all example 
 was to be put in practice in the face of the 
 whole world ? Was not the very opposite the 
 fact ? Surrounded on all sides by enemies, dan- 
 gerously powerful and numerous as they were, 
 did their Lordships in their consciences think it 
 politic or expedient, just at this moment, to set 
 so alarming a precedent of the relaxation of all 
 military discipline to the whole army ? Did they 
 imagine our officers would serve better for the 
 remainder of the war, from such a measure ? 
 He could not for his part help expressing his 
 astonishment at the noble Lord's own conduct 
 in accepting the honour of a Peerage, consider- 
 ing the particular circumstances that he stood 
 in at the moment of his being called up to that 
 dignity. His Lordship said he would trouble 
 the House no farther just then, but would pro- 
 ceed to make his motion: 
 
346 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " That it was highly reprehensible in any 
 person to advise the crown to exercise its in- 
 disputable right of creating a Peer, in favour of 
 a person labouring under the heavy censure of 
 the sentence of a Court- Martial and public or- 
 ders given out in consequence thereof." 
 
 The Earl of Abingdon. — " My Lords, the 
 noble Lord in my eye [Shelburne] who is so 
 fully informed on every subject, and who never 
 speaks without giving new lights to your Lord- 
 ships, having led me to consider the subject of 
 the original rights of this House, I rise just to 
 state to your Lordships what my sense of the 
 matter is. I cannot help conceiving, that al- 
 though there is not a right of election, there is 
 and must be a right of exclusion vested in this 
 House, when the admission of any Peer happens 
 to be against the sense of your Lordships ; and 
 my judgment of this arises, not only from the 
 idea that this House is possessed of original 
 rights, as independent of the crown, but as of 
 the people. It is true that the crown is the 
 fountain of honour, and that the creation of 
 Peers is the sole prerogative of the crown, be- 
 cause it is not in the Lords or Commons to do; 
 as therefore no Peer can be introduced into this 
 House without the will of the crown, so, of 
 course, the creation of Peers may be said to be 
 the sole prerogative of the crown: but at the 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 34? 
 
 same time, as every prerogative is given for the 
 benefit of those over whom it is to be exercised, 
 so when the exercise of it is against the sense 
 of those for whose benefit it is intended, its ope- 
 ration by the very reason of the thing must cease 
 and determine. Your Lordships perceive that 
 this is matter of speculation only, and I wish it 
 had continued so : but we are now taught, that 
 speculation and practice are not always the 
 cause and effect of each other. Against every 
 thing that has been said, against common sense, 
 against common decency ; in the face of all pub- 
 lic virtue, and in encouragement of every pri- 
 vate vice, we find a man foisted in upon us, and 
 with the reward of nobility made one of our- 
 selves. How, my Lords, the majority of the 
 House will feel this, I know not. 1 fear, my 
 Lords, as they have long since felt every thing else, 
 that they are ready to sell their birthright for a 
 mess of porridge. For myself, only, I can 
 speak, and for myself I do assure your Lordships, 
 that I consider this admission of Lord George 
 Germain to the Peerage, to be no less than an 
 insufferable indignity to this House, than an 
 outrageous insult to the people at large. It is 
 an indignity to this House, because it is connect- 
 ing us with one, whom every soldier as a man 
 of honour is forbid to associate with. It is an 
 insult to the people at large, for, what has he 
 
348 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 done to merit honours superior to his fellow-ci- 
 tizens ? I will tell your Lordships what he has 
 done : he has undone his country ; and inso- 
 much has executed the plan of that accursed, 
 invisible, though efficient cabinet, from whom, 
 as he has received his orders, so has he obtained 
 his reward. For these reasons, I shall heartily 
 support the motion. There is one thing I will 
 just suggest to your Lordships' consideration, 
 without any comment. This matter having 
 been debated by your Lordships before, was it 
 proper in a noble Peer of this House, the 
 Keeper of the Great Seal, to affix that seal to 
 the patent, before the sense of your Lordships 
 was known ?" 
 
 Viscount Sackville rose next, and began with 
 apologising for his venturing to trouble their 
 Lordships, after having been only a few days a 
 member of that House, but as the subject under 
 discussion so very particularly concerned himself, 
 he trusted their Lordships would not consider it 
 an act of impropriety in him to wish to be heard 
 early in the debate, and would favour him so far 
 as to listen to the opinion he was about to de- 
 liver on the motion, and the grounds on which 
 it had been opened to the House, with patience 
 and with candour. With regard to the honour 
 which his Majesty had been pleased to confer 
 on him, as a mark of his royal grace, and in 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 349 
 
 approbation of his services, he knew not by whose 
 advice it was that he had been so favoured, neither 
 did he know that the advice of any minister what- 
 ever was necessary. To bestow honours was the 
 pecuUar, the indisputable,the admitted preroga- 
 tive of the crown, when the person on whom those 
 honours were bestowed was competent to receive 
 them. He held himself to be in every way compe- 
 tent to receive the honours he had been so fortu- 
 nate as to experience at the hands of his royal mas- 
 ter, and he was ready to rest the whole of the 
 question on his being able to prove in any manner, 
 in any place, and on any occasion whatever, 
 that he was the person so competent. The mo- 
 tion stated the sentence of the court-martial, as 
 the ground of objection to his being made a peer : 
 he was ready to meet the argument on that point, 
 and to contend that the sentence amounted to 
 no disqualification whatever. The court-martial 
 which pronounced that sentence, had sat two- 
 and-twenty years ago, and he conceived those of 
 their Lordships, and the public in general, who 
 were at all acquainted with the peculiarly hard 
 and unfair circumstances that had attended Ills 
 being tried at all, had long been accustomed to 
 see the whole of that business in its true point 
 of view. IVhat had Ifcen the temper qf those 
 times f Paction and clamour predominated : they 
 both ran against him^ and he had been made the 
 
350 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 victim of the most unexampled persecution that 
 ever a British officer had been pursued with. In 
 the first place, he had been condemned unheard, 
 punished before trial. Stripped of all his military 
 honours and emoluments upon mere rumour, 
 upon the malicious suggestions of his enemies, 
 without their having been called upon to exhibit* 
 the smallest proof of their loose assertion and acri- 
 monious invective : he stood pointed out to the 
 world as a man easy to be run down by clamour, 
 and to fall a sacrifice to faction. Thus cruelly cir- 
 cumstanced, thus made to suffer in a manner 
 equally unparalleled and unjust ; what had been 
 his conduct? Had he fled, like a guilty man, 
 and hid himself from the world ? Many of their 
 Lordships well knew that he had acted in a man- 
 ner directly opposite. He had challenged his 
 accusers to come forward, he had provoked en- 
 quiry, he had insisted upon a trial. Let their 
 Lordships, in general, recollect that the court- 
 martial which sat upon him, sat under very par- 
 ticular circumstances, and that amidst all the fac- 
 tion and clamour that prevailed against him, and 
 which at the time had been most industriously 
 excited and encouraged, he had stood firm in his 
 resolutions; and determining to clear his charac- 
 ter at any hazard, he had, in spite of all the arts 
 that were used to persuade him to the contrary, 
 insisted on his conduct being enquired into, and 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 351 
 
 determined to abide the consequences. What 
 could their Lordships imagine induced him to 
 persevere in this step with so much firmness, 
 but a consciousness of his innocence? It was 
 that, and that alone, which bore him up under 
 the cruel difficulties he had to encounter, and 
 that made him submit patiently to the conse- 
 quence. During the progress of his endeavour- 
 ing to obtain a trial, he well knew that had the 
 sentence been more severe, had it been capital, it 
 would have been executed. So much he was given 
 to understand by those who took pains to persuade 
 him not to persist in demanding a trial: but that 
 did not deter him from his purpose, and he unre- 
 mittingly persevered with that object before him. 
 It did not become him to say a word of the court- 
 martial, or of its proceedings ; he had submitted 
 to his sentence, and having so done, bethought he 
 had fully acquitted himself to his country at the 
 time. At present, neither the charge, nor the de- 
 fence, nor the evidence, nor any part of that pro- 
 ceeding was before their Lordships ; and yet they 
 were called upon to put the sentence in force a 
 second time iigainst him. Not that he meant to 
 express any, the least objection, to the whole of 
 the proceedings being examined ; happy should 
 he have been indeed, if the whole of the case had 
 been submitted to their Lordsliips* investigation. 
 
85^ MEMOIRS OF 
 
 He would gladly now submit his honour and his 
 life to their judgement : nay, to the noble Mar- 
 quis's own decision, as a man of honour. He 
 was conscious in his own mind, that the matter 
 would not, in that case, have been taken up in 
 the manner it now was, though he had no doubt 
 the noble Marquis meant nothing but what was 
 consistent with his own honour, and his sense of 
 what was due to the honour of the House. He 
 certainly had acted in a way that was manly and 
 fair, to take it up while he was present, and not 
 behind his back. With regard to the court- 
 martial and the sentence, let their Lordships 
 recollect what had happened since that time, with 
 respect to him. No longer after both happened, 
 than four years, namely in the year I765, he had 
 been called to the Privy Council, and brought 
 into office. Previous to his accepting the offers 
 that were then made to him, of taking a part in 
 the administration of that day, it had been agreed 
 that he should be first called to the Council- 
 board, which he had ever considered as a virtual 
 repeal of the sentence of the court-martial. He 
 had continued a member of the Privy Council 
 for ten years (from I765 to I775) without hear- 
 ing a word of the court-martial, or its being 
 thought by any means a matter of disqualifica- 
 tion. Several years ago his Majesty had honour- 
 
 I 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 353 
 
 ed him so far, as to appoint him to the high 
 office of Secretary of State, an office which he 
 had filled ever since, without hearing a word of 
 the sentence. Let their Lordships then con- 
 sider of the hardship of that sentence being 
 urged against him, as a disqualification for a 
 seat in that House, which had been deemed no 
 disqualification whatever of his being a Privy 
 Counsellor and a Secretary of State ; two situa- 
 tions, surely of more dignity and of more import- 
 ance, considering the form of the British con- 
 stitution, than even a peerage, high and dignified 
 as the honour undoubtedly was : nor did the 
 matter of hardship merely consist in bringing 
 the sentence forward now, but the making it a 
 ground of censure. Would their Lordships sanc- 
 tion, confirm, and aggravate a sentence, pro- 
 nounced by a court- military, without having the 
 whole of the case before them ? That would be 
 to make the military law, sufficiently severe as 
 it confessedly was at present, ten times more se- 
 vere, by annexing to its judgment the censure 
 of a civil court of judicature. Another part of 
 the motion he could not but object to, and must 
 take the liberty of saying, that it did not appear 
 to him to be in the smallest degree consonant 
 with justice. What he meant was, the annexing 
 to the sentence of the court-martial, that com- 
 ment which the executive power had taken 
 
 A A 
 
354 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 upon itself to superadd. To the sentence of 
 the court-martial he was bound by the laws mi- 
 htary to submit : and to that sentence he had 
 submitted : but would any man of honour say 
 that he was answerable for the comment of the 
 executive government? Undoubtedly he was 
 not. The court-martial alone was competent to 
 pronounce upon what they thought his conduct 
 had been: he was tried by them, not hy the 
 executive government. 
 
 From the time he was called to the Privy 
 Council to the present moment, and especially 
 since he had accepted of that high office, he had 
 endeavoured to serve his King and country to the 
 best of his judgment. He would not pretend 
 to cope with any man in respect to abilities : 
 there were many he was persuaded more able 
 than himself; but there were points in which he 
 would not yield to all who had before been in 
 the service of the crown. He defied any man 
 to prove that the public ever had a servant who 
 had shewed more unremitting assiduity, more 
 close attention to the duties of his situation, or 
 more zeal for promoting the interests of the 
 country than he had done, from the moment of 
 his accepting the high office he had lately filled 
 till his resignation of it. 
 
 With regard to the court-martial, it was impos- 
 sible for him to procure a revision of the pro- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 355 
 
 ceeding: it happened two-and-twenty years since, 
 and every member who sat upon it, excepting 
 two very respectable characters. Lord Robert 
 Manners and Lord Bertie, had been dead and 
 buried long ago : any attempt to investigate the 
 motives which actuated the several members of 
 the court was now impracticable ; but after what 
 he had said, he flattered himself their Lordships, 
 in general, would agree with him, that he was a 
 person competent to receive the honours his 
 Majesty had been graciously pleased to bestow 
 upon him ; that he was not responsible to the 
 executive government, which were, in the mo- 
 tion, annexed to the court-martial, and that it 
 was neither expedient, necessary, nor becoming 
 for that House to fly in the face of the indis- 
 putable prerogative of the crown, merely because 
 the crown thought proper to bestow a reward on 
 an old servant. 
 
 The Duke of Grafton, Lord Soutliampton 
 [formerly Colonel Fitzroy], the Earl of Abing- 
 don, the Earl of Derby, and the Duke of llicli- 
 mond, supported the motion, which was lost by 
 a large majority. 
 
 Thus terminated this unprecedented aflfair: 
 and, it is wortliy of remark, that nearly the whole 
 of those who were in the minority, had been 
 personally attacked by Junius. Some of these, 
 not satisfied with the division of the House on 
 
 A A 2 
 
356 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the question, drew up a dissentient, as a further 
 memorial of their opinions. Viscount Sackville 
 was with difficulty restrained from sending the 
 Marquis of Carmarthen a challenge, consider- 
 ing that throughout the business, he had pursued 
 him in an unwarrantable, dishonourable manner. 
 The first motion he would have overlooked, but 
 this double attack betrayed a something more 
 than the purport of the motion stated. Mr. 
 Cumberland thus describes his feelings on this 
 galling occasion. "The well known circum- 
 stances that occurred upon the event of his 
 elevation to the peerage, made a deep and pain- 
 ful impression on his feeling mind ; and if his 
 seeming patience under the infliction of it, 
 should appear to merit, in a moral sense, the 
 name of virtue, that he had no title to be credit- 
 ed for, inasmuch as it was entirely owing to the 
 influence of some who overruled his propensities, 
 and made themselves responsible for his honour, 
 that he did not betake himself to the same ab- 
 rupt unwarrantable mode of dismissing this in- 
 sult, as he had resorted to in a former instance. 
 No man can speak from a more intimate know- 
 ledge of his feelings upon this occasion than lean; 
 and if I was not on the side of those, who no 
 doubt spoke well and wisely when they spoke 
 for peace, it is one amongst the many errors and 
 offences which I have yet to repent of There 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. S5^ 
 
 was once a Sir Edward Sackville, whom the 
 world has heard of, who probably would not 
 have possessed himself with so much calmness 
 and forbearance, as did a late noble head of his 
 family, whilst the question I alluded to was in 
 agitation, and he present in his place. It was 
 by the medium of this noble personage, that 
 Lord Viscount Sackville meditated to send that 
 invitation he had prepared, when the interposi- 
 tion and well considered remonstrances of some 
 of his nearest friends, in particular of Lord 
 Amherst, put him by from his resolve, and dic- 
 tated a conduct more conformable to prudence, 
 but much less suited to his inclination. 
 
 " The law that is sufficient for the redress of 
 injuries does not always reach to the redress of 
 insults ; thus it comes to pass, that many men 
 in other respects wise, and just, and temperate, 
 not having resolution to be right in their own 
 consciences, have set aside both reason and reli- 
 gion, and in compliance with the evil practices 
 of the world about them, performed tlieir bloody 
 sacrifices, and immolated human victims to the 
 idol of false honour. Truth obliges me to con- 
 fess, that the friend of whom I am speaking, 
 though possessing one of the best and kindest 
 hearts that ever beat within a human breast, 
 was with difficulty diverted from resorting a se- 
 cond time to that desperate remedy, which mo- 
 
358 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 dern empirics have prescribed for wounds of a 
 peculiar sort, oftentimes imaginary and always 
 to be cured by patience." 
 
 From this time his Lordship appears to have 
 lived in a retired manner, occasionally at Dray- 
 ton in Northamptonshire, or at Bolebrook near 
 Tunbridge Wells ; but principally at his beauti- 
 ful mansion, Stoneland Park*, adjoining the 
 parish of Withyham in Sussex. Here, away 
 from the bustle of public life, the cavils of party, 
 and the rancorous spirit of his enemies, he pass- 
 ed the remainder of his days in retirement. 
 This is generally the last refuge which all ex- 
 traordinary men fly to ; where the passions 
 may be allayed, and the mind prepared for a 
 happier state of existence. 
 
 Hath not old custom made this life more sweet 
 Than that of painted pomp ? Are not these woods 
 More free from peril than the envious court ? 
 Here feel we but the penalty of Adam, 
 The seasons' difference ; as, the icy fang. 
 And churlish chiding of the winter's wind ; 
 Which, when it bites and blows upon my body. 
 E'en till I shrink with cold, I smile, and say, 
 ' This is no flattery ; these are counsellors 
 That feelingly persuade me what I am. 
 Sweet are the uses of adversity, 
 
 * Now Buckhurst Park. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 359 
 
 Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous. 
 Wears yet a precious jewel in his head : 
 And this our life, exempt from public haunt, 
 Finds tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, 
 Sermons in stones, and good in ercry thing.' 
 
 AS YOU LIKE IT. — Act ii. 
 
 To his Lordship's immortal honour be it 
 spoken, that, in this retreat, sequestered from 
 the world, he was a warm benefactor to the 
 poor, and beloved by all who daily waited at the 
 gates of his hospitable mansion. Mr. Cumber- 
 land has related many trifling incidents, which 
 on first perusal induce us to believe that his 
 Lordship's faculties were, in some measure, im- 
 paired by the perplexities of a long pubUc liiet 
 combined with so many unprosperous circum- 
 stances ; but we are convinced, when we arrive 
 at that period, only a few hours previous to his 
 dissolution, that our suspicions are totally 
 groundless ; for no man ever seemed to possess 
 clearer conceptions, was more fully alive to his 
 situation, or met death with greater firmness 
 and Christian resignation. 
 
 As tlie domestic movements, and the expres- 
 sions which fall from eminent men, particularly 
 in the evening of life, are at all times interesting, 
 I shall again quote Mr. Cumberland, being able 
 to testify from other authorities who personally 
 
360 
 
 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 knew his Lordship, that we have a statement 
 which may be fully relied upon. 
 
 " I now foresaw", says Mr. Cumberland, 
 ** the coming on of an event, that must inevita- 
 bly deprive me of one of the greatest comforts, 
 which still adhered to me in my decline of for- 
 tune. It was too evident that the constitution 
 of Lord Sackville, long harassed by the painful 
 visitation of that dreadful malady, the stone, was 
 decidedly giving way. There was in him so 
 generous a repugnance against troubling his 
 friends with any complaints, that it was from 
 external evidence only, never from confession, 
 that his sufferings could be guessed at. Attacks 
 that would have confined most people to their 
 beds, never moved him from his habitual punc- 
 tuality. It was curious, and probably in some 
 men's eyes would, from its extreme precision, 
 have appeared ridiculously minute and formal ; 
 yet in the movements of a domestic establish- 
 ment so large as his, it had its uses and comforts, 
 which his guests and family could not fail to 
 partake of. As sure as the hand of the clock 
 pointed to the half-hour after nine, did the good 
 lord of the castle step into his breakfast room, 
 accoutred at all points, according to his own in- 
 variable costume, with a complacent counte- 
 nance that prefaced his good morning to each 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 36l 
 
 person there assembled ; and now whilst I recal 
 these scenes to my remembrance, I feel gratified 
 by the reflection, that 1 never passed a night 
 beneath his roof, but that his morning's saluta- 
 tion met me at my post. He allowed an hour 
 and a half for breakfast, and regularly at eleven 
 took his morning's circuit on horseback at a 
 foot's-pace, for his infirmity would not allow of 
 strong gestation. He had an old groom, who had 
 grown grey in his service, who was his constant 
 pilot on these excursions, and his general cus- 
 tom was to make the tour of his cottages, to re- 
 connoitre the condition they were in, whether 
 their roofs were in repair ; their windows whole, 
 and the gardens well cropt, and neatly kept. 
 All this it was their interest to be attentive to, 
 for he bought the produce of their fruit trees ; 
 and I have heard him say with great satisfaction, 
 that he has paid thirty shillings in a season for 
 strawberries only, to a poor cottager, who paid 
 him one shilling annual rent for his tenement 
 and garden : this was the constant rate at which 
 he let them to his labourers, and he made them 
 pay it to his steward at his yearly audit, that 
 they might feel themselves in the class of regu- 
 lar tenants, and sit down at table to the good 
 cheer provided for them on the audit-day. He 
 never rode out without preparing himself with a 
 store of six-pences in his waistcoat pocket for 
 
362 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 the children of the poor, who opened gates and 
 drew out shding bars for him in his passage 
 through the enclosures : these barriers were well 
 watched ; and there was rarely any employment 
 for a servant : but these sixpences were not in- 
 discriminately bestowed, for as he kept a chari- 
 ty-school upon his own endowment, he knew to 
 whom he gave them, and generally held a short 
 parley with the gate-opener as he paid his toll 
 for passing. Upon the very first report of ill- 
 ness or accident, relief was instantly sent, and 
 they were put upon the sick list, regularly 
 visited, and constantly supplied with the best 
 medicines, administered upon the best advice. 
 If the poor man lost his cow, or his pig, or his 
 poultry, the loss was never made up in money, 
 but in stock. It was his custom to buy the cast- 
 off liveries of his own servants as constantly as 
 the day of clothing came about, and these he 
 distributed to the old and worn-out labourers, 
 who turned out daily on the lawn in the 8ack- 
 ville livery, to pick up boughs and sweep up 
 leaves, and, in short, do just as much work as 
 served to keep them w^holesome and alive. 
 
 ** To his religious duties, this good man was 
 not only regularly but respectfully attentive. 
 On the Sunday morning he appeared in gala, 
 as if he were dressed for a drawing-room ; he 
 marched out his whole family in grand cavalcade 
 
 i 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 363 
 
 to his parish church, leaving only a centinel to 
 watch the fires at home, and mount guard upon 
 the spits. His deportment in the House of 
 Prayer was exemplary, and more in character of 
 times past than of time present. He had a way 
 of standing up in sermon time, for the purpose of 
 reviewing the congregation and awing the idlers 
 into decorum, that never failed to remind me of 
 Sir Roger de Coverley at church. Sometimes, 
 I when he has been struck with passages in the 
 discourse, which he wished to point out to the 
 audience as rules for moral practice worthy to 
 be noticed, he would mark his approbation of 
 them, with such cheering nods and signals of as- 
 sent to the preacher, as were often more than 
 my muscles could withstand. 
 
 ** He had nursed up with no small care and 
 cost, in each of his parish churches, a corps of 
 nistic psalm-singers, to whose performances he 
 paid the greatest attention, rising up, and with 
 his eyes directed to the singing gallery, marking 
 time, which was not always rigidly adhered to ; 
 and once, when his car, which was very correct, 
 had been tortured by a tone most glaringly dis- 
 cordant, he set his mark upon the culprit by 
 calling out to him by name, and loudly saying, 
 * Out of tune, Tom Baker ! ' Now this faulty mu- 
 sician, Tom Baker, happened to bo his Lordship's 
 butcher ; but then in order to set names and trades 
 
364 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 upon a par, Tom Butcher was his Lordship's 
 baker; which, I observed to him, was much 
 such a reconcilement of cross partners, as my 
 illustrious friend George Faulkner hit upon 
 when in his Dublin Journal he printed, * Erra- 
 tum in our last — For his Grace the Duchess of 
 Dorset, read. Her Grace the Duke of Dorset.' 
 I relate these little anecdotes of a man, whose 
 character had nothing little in it, that I may 
 shew him to my readers in his private scenes, 
 and be as far as I am able the intimate and true 
 transcriber of his heart. 
 
 " It was in the year 1785, whilst I was at 
 Stoneland, that those symptoms first appeared, 
 which gradually disclosed such evidences of de- 
 bihty, as could not be concealed, and shewed to 
 demonstration that the hand of death was even 
 then upon him. He had prepared himself with 
 an opinion deliberately formed upon the matter 
 of the Irish propositions, and when that great 
 question was appointed to come on for discussion 
 in the House of Lords, he thought himself 
 bound in honour and duty to attend in his place. 
 He then for the first time confessed himself to 
 be unfit for the attempt, and plainly declared he 
 believed it would be his death. He paused for 
 a few moments, as if in hesitation how to de- 
 cide, and the air of his countenance was im- 
 pressed with melancholy ; we were standing 
 
 1 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. S65 
 
 under the great spreading tree that shelters the 
 back entrance to the house ; the day was hot ; 
 he had dismounted heavily from his horse ; we 
 were alone, and it was plain that exercise, 
 though gentle, had increased his languor ; he 
 was oppressed both in body and spirit ; he did 
 not attempt to disguise it, for he could no longer 
 counterfeit ; he sat down upon the bench at the 
 tree-foot, and composing his countenance, as if 
 he wished to have forced a smile upon it, had 
 his suffering given him leave, * I know,' said 
 he, ' as well as you can tell me, what you think 
 of me just now, and that you are convinced if 
 I go to town, upon this Irish business, I go to 
 my death ; but I also know you are at heart not 
 against my undertaking it, for I have one con- 
 vincing proof ever present to me, how much 
 more you consult my honour than my safety ; 
 and after all, what do I sacrifice, if, with the 
 sentence of inevitable death in my hand, I only 
 lop off a few restless hours, and in the execution 
 of my duty meet the stroke ? In one word, I 
 tell you I shall go, we will not have another 
 syllable upon the subject ; don't advise it, lest 
 you should repent of it when it has killed me ; 
 and do not oppose it, because it would not be 
 your true opinion, and if it were, I would not 
 follow if 
 
 '* It was on that same day after dinner, as I 
 
366 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 well remember, the evening being most serene 
 and lovely, we seated ourselves in the chairs 
 that were placed out on the garden grass-plot, 
 which looks towards Crowbery and the forest. 
 Our conversation led us to the affair of Minden ; 
 my friend most evidently courted the discussion ; 
 I told him I had diHgently attended the whole 
 process of the trial, and that 1 had detailed it 
 to Mr. Doddington ; I had consequently a pretty 
 correct remembrance of the leading circum- 
 stances as they came out upon the evidence. 
 But I observed to him that it was not upon the 
 questions and proceedings agitated at that court, 
 that I could perfect my opinion of the case ; 
 there must he probably a chain of leading causes y 
 which, though they could not make a part of his 
 defence in public court, might, if developed, 
 throw such lights on the respective conduct 
 of the parties, as would have led to conclusions 
 different to those which stood upon the record. 
 To this he answered that my remark was just ; 
 there were certain circumstances antecedent to the 
 action^ that should be taken into consideration, 
 and there were certain forbearances posterior to 
 the trial, that should be accounted for. The 
 time was come, when he could have no tempta- 
 tion to disguise and violate the truth, and a 
 much more awful trial was now close at hand, 
 when he must suffer for it if he did. He would 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. SSj 
 
 talk plainly, temperately, and briefly to me, 
 as his manner was, provided I would promise 
 him to deal sincerely, and not spare to press 
 him on such points as required explanation. 
 This being premised, he entered upon a de- 
 tail, which unless I could give as taken down 
 from his lips, without the variation of a word, 
 so sacred do I hold the reputation of the dead 
 intrusted to me, and the feelings of the Uving 
 whom any error of mind might wound, that 
 I shall forbear to speak of it except in general 
 terms. 
 
 " He appeared to me throughout the whole 
 discourse, like a man who had perfectly dis- 
 missed his passions ; his colour never changed, 
 his features never indicated embarrassment, his 
 voice was never elevated, and being relieved 
 at times, with my questions and remarks, he 
 appeared to speak without pain, and in the 
 event his mind seemed lightened with the dis- 
 charge. 
 
 " When I compare what he said to me in his 
 last moments, not two hours before he expired, 
 with what he stated at this conference, if I did 
 not from my heart, and upon the most solemn 
 conviction of my reason and understanding, 
 solemnly acquit that injured man, now gone to 
 his account, of the opprobrious and false impu- 
 tations deposed against him at bus tiial, I must 
 
368 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 be either brutally ignorant, or wilfully obstinate 
 against the truth. 
 
 " At the battle of Fontenoy, at the head of 
 his brave regiment, in the very front of danger, 
 and the heat of action, he received a bullet in 
 his breast, and being taken off the field by his 
 grenadiers, was carried into a tent belonging to 
 the equipage of the French King, and there 
 laid upon a table whilst the surgeon dressed his 
 wound ; so far had that glorious column pene- 
 trated in their advance towards victory, unfor- 
 tunately snatched from them. Let us contem- 
 plate the same man, commanding the British 
 cavalry in the battle of Minden, no longer in the 
 front of danger and the heat of action, no longer 
 in the pursuit of victory, for that was gain- 
 ed ; and can we think, with his unjust defamer *, 
 that such a man would tremble at a flying foe ? 
 It is a supposition against nature, a charge that 
 cannot stand, an imputation that confutes it- 
 self" 
 
 It is much to be regretted that Cumberland 
 has not given us a sufficient detail of what pass- 
 ed at this interesting conference to have remov- 
 ed all doubts from the minds of his enemies, 
 touching his innocence, more especially as the 
 sentence remains to this day on record ; for al- 
 
 * Lord Southampton, the Duke of Grafton's brother. 
 
 ( 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 369 
 
 though unprejudiced and unbiassed minds have 
 universally acknowledged that Lord Sackville 
 was an injured man, and that his honour was sa- 
 crificed to calumny and mahce, yet we have posi- 
 tive evidence that many noble families remain 
 strongly impressed with the justice of his sen- 
 tence; a few of the leading circumstances 
 which were touched upon during this conference 
 might Iiave tended to dismiss all prejudices had 
 they been properly explained. Mr. Cumberland 
 has given us his own private opinion, which, 
 though clear and satisfactory to most, is not 
 sufficient to infiuence the whole of mankind. 
 Had he developed the causes which his Lord- 
 ship named to him only two hours previous to 
 his dissolution, tlie mystery that has so long 
 been attached to this eventful period in history, 
 would have been satisfactorily cleared up, and 
 his Lordship's name would consequently have 
 been classed among the heroes of renown. 
 Cumberland was evidently entrusted with some 
 secrets, which he was bound in honour not to 
 disclose, one instance in particular. «* What that 
 instance was," he observes, *« he needed not to 
 have explained to me, nor am I careful to ex- 
 plain to any." His remarks are frequently 
 couched in mysterious language : in another 
 place, when speaking of Junius — ** I never 
 beard," says he, ** that my friend I^rd George 
 
 n B 
 
370 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 Germain was among the suspected authors, till, 
 by way of jest, he told me so not many days he- 
 fore his death ; I did not want him to disavow 
 it, for there could be no occasion to disprove an 
 absolute impossibility." 
 
 The opinion Cumberland entertained of Ju- 
 nius was in direct contradiction to the apparent 
 character of Lord Sackville, which he held in 
 such high esteem, that he did not "want him to 
 disavow it. One would have thought there was 
 the greater occasion, that he might have been 
 convinced the suspicion was groundless. I main- 
 tain, that it is impossible for any one to read this 
 extract, without being forcibly struck with the 
 circumstance of a dying man introducing the 
 subject voluntarily, when he had never before 
 hinted it to him during a long and intimate ac- 
 quaintance. 
 
 Cumberland asserts it was said in a joke; but 
 every one who has been brought on a bed of 
 sickness, or attended a friend or relation on 
 such an occasion, must subscribe with myself in 
 opinion, that this is not a time for joking. It 
 appears, therefore, that Cumberland was un- 
 willing to go into particulars with his noble 
 friend, from the cause previously stated. Re- 
 solutions, however strongly made when health 
 and strength are bestowed upon us, seldom or 
 ever pass the confines of the grave. The soul. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 371 
 
 preparing to unfetter itself from every earthly 
 tie, strives to leave its tenement pure and un- 
 shackled, that it may appear in the presence of 
 its Maker robed in white : so that all sublunary 
 and temporal affairs, which at one time seemed 
 to possess interest and importance, cease to ope- 
 rate as mysteries. Lord Sackville confessed to 
 his friend, that " the time was come, when he 
 could have no temptation to disguise and violate 
 the truth, a much more awful trial was now 
 close at hand, when he must suffer for it, if he 
 did." 
 
 In this frame of mind, alive to his situation, 
 and feeling that the lamj) of life, which for some 
 time had been burning dim, was now nearly ex- 
 tinguished, he enquired of his friend, ** if Lord 
 Mansfield was then at the Wells*'. It was evi- 
 dent that the circumstance just alluded to dwelt 
 heavily on his mind, by his anxiety to see tliat 
 nobleman, with whom he was at the time on no 
 terms of intimacy whatever. The interview is 
 too interesting and affecting to pass over in silence. 
 Cumberland having immediately proceeded to 
 the Wells, in compliance with his Lordship's re- 
 quest, was fortunate enough to succeed in return- 
 ingwith Lord Mansfield. ** I was present", he 
 adds, " at their interview ; Lord Sackville, just 
 dismounted from his horse, came into the room 
 where he [Lord Mansfield] had waited a very few 
 
 BBS 
 
2ri% MEMOIRS OF 
 
 minutes: he staggered as he advanced to reach his 
 hand to his respectable visitor; he drewhis breath 
 with palpitating quickness, and, if I remember 
 rightly, never rode again. There was a death- 
 like character in his countenance, that visibly 
 afFected and disturbed Lord Mansfield, in a man- 
 ner that I did not quite expect, for it* had more 
 of horror in it than a firm man ought to have 
 shewn, and less, perhaps, of other feelings, than 
 a friend, invited to a meeting of that nature, 
 must have discovered, had he not been frightened 
 from his propriety. 
 
 " As soon as Lord Sackville had recovered his 
 breath, his visitor remaining silent, he began by 
 apologising for the trouble he had given him, and 
 for the unpleasant spectacle he was conscious of 
 exhibiting to him, in the condition he was now 
 reduced to, *but my good Lord,* he said, * though 
 I ought not to have imposed upon you the 
 painful ceremony of paying a last visit to a dy- 
 ing man, yet so great was my anxiety to return 
 you my unfeigned thanks for all your goodness 
 to me, all the kind protection you have shewn 
 me through the course of my unprosperous life, 
 that I could not know you were so near me, and 
 Hot wish to assure you of the invariable respect 
 I have entertained for your character, and noWj 
 
 * Lord Mansfield's countenance. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 373 
 
 in the most serious manner, to solicit your Jbr^ 
 giveness, if ever, in thejluctuations of politics, or 
 the heats of party, I have appeared in your eyes, 
 at any moment of my life, u?ijust to your great 
 merits, or forgetful of your many favours,* * 
 
 " When I record this speech, I give it to the 
 reader as correct : I do not trust to memory at 
 this distance : I transcribe it : I scorn the paltry 
 trick of writing speeches for any man whose 
 name is in these memoirs, or for myself, in whose 
 name these memorials shall go foith respectable 
 at least for their veracity \ for I certainly cannot 
 wish to present myself to the world in two such 
 opposite and incoherent characters, as the wri- 
 ter of my own history and the hero of a fiction. 
 Lord Mansfield made a reply perfectly becoming 
 and highly satisfactory : he was far on in years, 
 and not in sanguine health, or in a strong state 
 of nerves : there was no immediate reason to 
 continue the discourse ; Irord Sackville did not 
 press for it: his visitor departed, and I staid 
 with him. He made no other observation upon 
 what had passed, than that it was extremely 
 obliging in Lord Mansfield, and*then turned to 
 other subjects." 
 
 This affecting interview requires but little 
 
 • There ia no instanoe on rectml of Lord Sackville having 
 receivc<l any favours from Lord Mansfield, which makes the 
 interview the mon- oxtniordinary. 
 
S74f MEMOIRS OF 
 
 comment ; it speaks volumes. Would any no- 
 bleman, I ask, unconscious of having wounded 
 the feelings of another, take the trouble to send 
 seven miles to request an interview, and to ask 
 forgiveness for political errors, which he might 
 have committed ? No — but the wounds in- 
 flicted by Junius were of too deep and pene- 
 trating a nature ever to be healed, unless at a 
 moment like the present. That heart, indeed, 
 must have been callous to all feeling, which 
 could leave the world without atonement, if it 
 had it in its power ; and it does honour to the 
 memory of Lord Viscount Sackville, that he had 
 sufficient fortitude left for the present occasion. 
 He undoubtedly felt relieved in the performance 
 of a duty, which the erring spirits of men owe 
 one to another. Yet Lord Mansfield does not 
 appear to have betrayed those symptoms of for- 
 giveness, which were suited to so solemn an in- 
 terview : he left the house somewhat abruptly ; 
 not a word transpired, how concerned he was at 
 finding the dying nobleman in so weak a state ; 
 nor a hint escaped his hps at the afflicting situa- 
 tion of his family, who were about to be bereft 
 of his society for ever. " It was the only op- 
 portunity", says Cumberland, "I had of know- 
 ing something of the movements of Lord Mans- 
 field's heart ; I caught a glimpse, as it were, 
 through a crevice, but it soon shut up, and the 
 
LORD VISCOUNT ;SACKVILLE. ^^5 
 
 exterior remained as before, totus teres atque ro- 
 tundus," 
 
 This solemn interview with Lord Mansfield 
 took place soon after Lord Sackville's return from 
 Parliament, where he spoke for the last time. 
 He gave his sentiments upon the great Irish 
 question, in so animated, so able a speech, that 
 we are disposed to consider it as the language of 
 a man entering his fiftieth year, rather than his 
 sixty-ninth. He meditated a union with that 
 distracted country, as the only resource for quiet- 
 ing the internal dissentions of the people. This 
 was afterwards accomplished by Mr. Pitt and 
 Lord Castlereagh. The exertion was too much 
 for him ; he returned home, as he had predict- 
 ed, a dying man, which made him anxious that 
 his interview with Lord Mansfield should not be 
 delayed. 
 
 What a lesson have we here of the instabihty of 
 all human greatness ! Seldom does it fall to the lot 
 of any individual to witness so affecting a scene, 
 which Cumberland confesses a lapse of twenty 
 years had not effaced from his memory. The last 
 moments of Altamont, Rousseau, and Addison 
 possess but little interest, when brought into 
 comparison with the present. Here we witness 
 two of the most powerful men of the age, after 
 long, perplexed, and harassing public lives, 
 meeting for the last time in this sublunary state 
 
376 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 of existence, and verifying the truth of an old 
 philosopher's assertion, *' That life indeed is a 
 farce, when reviewed through the medium of 
 reason." 
 
 The labour of poring over volumes connect- 
 ed with this Enquiry, is amply repaid by the in- 
 terest attached to the nobleman in question, 
 which increases, rather than diminishes, as we 
 draw nearer to the conclusion. After this inter- 
 view he gradually became weaker and weaker. 
 
 " He allowed me", continues Mr. Cumber- 
 land, " to call in Sir Francis Millman, then prac- 
 tising at Tonbridge- Wells 5 all medical assistance 
 was in vain : the saponaceous medicines that 
 had given him intervals of ease, and probably 
 many years of existence, had now lost their effi- 
 cacy, or, by their efficacy, worn their conductors 
 out. In him the vital principle was strong, and 
 nature, which resisted dissolution, maintained 
 at every outpost that defended life, a lingering 
 agonizing struggle. Through every stage of 
 varied misery, * extremes by change more fierce', 
 his fortitude remained unshaken, his senses per- 
 fect, and his mind never died till the last pulse 
 was spent, and his heart stopped for ever. 
 
 " In this period, intelligence arrived of the 
 propositions being withdrawn in the Irish House 
 of Commons ; he had letters on the subject from 
 several correspondents, and one from Lord Syd- 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 377 
 
 ney, none of which we thought fit then to 
 give him. I told him in as few words, and as 
 clearly as I could, how the business passed, but 
 requested lie would simply hear it, and not argue 
 upon it. ' I am not sorry*, he said, * that it has 
 so happened ; something might now be set on 
 foot for the benefit of both countries. I wish 
 I could live long enough to give my opinions in 
 my place ; I have formed my thoughts upon it ; 
 but it is too late for me to do any good ; I hope 
 it will fall into abler hands, and you forbid me 
 to argue. I see you are angry with me for talk- 
 ing, and indeed it gives me pain. I have no- 
 thing to do in this life, but to obey and be 
 silent.' 
 
 ** From that moment he never spoke a word 
 upon the subject. 
 
 " As I knew he had been sometime meditat- 
 ing upon his preparations to receive the sacra- 
 ment, and death seemed near at hand, I re- 
 minded him of it ; he declared himself ready ; 
 in one instafice onli/f he confessed it cost him a 
 hard struggle. IVJiat that instance was, he needed 
 not to ej^lain to me, nor am I cartful to explain 
 to any. I trust, according to the infirmity of 
 man's nature, he is rather to be honoured for 
 having finally extinguished his resentment, than 
 condemned for having fostered it too long. A 
 Christian saint would have done it sooner ; how 
 many men would not have done it ever ! 
 
378 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 " The Reverend Mr. Sackville Bayle, his 
 worthy parish priest *, and ever faithful friend, 
 administered the solemn office of the sacrament 
 to him, reading at his request the prayers for a 
 communicant at the point of death. He had 
 ordered all his bed curtains to be opened and 
 the sashes thrown up, that he might have air 
 and space to assist him in his efforts ; what they 
 were, with what devotion he joined in those 
 solemn prayers, that warn the parting spirit to 
 dismiss all hopes that centre in this world, that 
 reverend friend can witness. I also was a wit- 
 ness and a partaker : none else was present at 
 that holy ceremony. 
 
 " A short time before he expired, I came by 
 his desire to his bed-side, when taking my hand, 
 and pressing it between his, he addressed me, for 
 the last time, in the following words : * You see me 
 now in those moments, when no disguise will serve, 
 and when the spirit of a man must be proved. 
 I have a mind perfectly resigned, and at peace 
 within itself. I have done with this world, and 
 what I have done in it, I have done for the best : 
 I hope and trust I am prepared for the next. 
 Tell not me of all that passes in health and 
 pride of heart ; these are the moments, in which 
 a man must be searched, and remember that I 
 die, as you see me, with a tranquil conscience 
 and content.' " 
 
 * A clergyman of the Established Church. 
 
LORD VISCOUNT 8ACKVILLE. 379 
 
 That penetrating eye, which once saw so 
 keenly the innermost recesses of the human 
 heart, was now closed for ever. His Lordship 
 expired on the 26th August 1785. Cumber- 
 land followed his remains to the family vault 
 at Withyham, contiguous to the Park, wherein 
 they were deposited among other illustrious 
 branches of the Dorset family. 
 
 Quiet, rural, peaceful is the spot. From 
 Tunbridge Wells the ride thither is delightful, 
 through a luxuriant, picturesque country, pleas- 
 ingly diversified by hills, dales, and sloping 
 woodlands. A solemnity reigns around as you 
 approach the sacred sanctuary. All is a pen- 
 sive solitude. It was a fine autumnal evening 
 when I entered the village, and the setting sun 
 tinged with his parting rays the clouds, the 
 woods, and the meadows. The fine old oaks had 
 not yet begun to shed their foliage, but were 
 clothed in all that rich variety of light and 
 shade peculiar to the season. The sons and 
 daughters of health and content were returning 
 home from their daily toil, with happiness de- 
 picted in every countenance. The blacksmith's 
 hammer alone was heard. 
 
 The church at Withyham is simple, but 
 standing on rising ground is a conspicuous ob- 
 ject. The village, consisting only of a few cot- 
 tages, is interesting, because it was the scene 
 of his Lordship's benevolence, and because se- 
 
380 MEMOIRS OF 
 
 veral of the inhabitants are yet alive, who bear 
 ample testimony to his goodness. Buckhurst 
 Park, where he spent the evening of his life, 
 and where he paid the debt of nature, is, upon 
 the whole, the finest I ever entered. It is still 
 kept up in most excellent order, the poor vil- 
 lagers being constantly employed by Lord Whit- 
 worth in repairing the paths and roads. The 
 mansion appears to have been formerly an abbey, 
 but has of late undergone considerable altera- 
 tions. It is delightfully situate, commanding 
 an extensive view over the adjacent country, 
 Crowborough, Hartfield, and the Forest. The 
 Reverend Mr. Sackville Bayle, who administer- 
 ed the sacrament to his Lordship in his last 
 moments, is still living. Through the polite- 
 ness of that gentleman I obtained the keys of 
 the church, with liberty to descend the family 
 vault. In the former, there are but few mo- 
 numents, nor would a stranger suppose that all 
 which now remains of the generous, the accom- 
 plished, and the brave, is fast mouldering be- 
 neath him : but on entering the chamber of 
 death, the number and magnificence of some of 
 the coffins forcibly arrest the attention. You 
 are surrounded on either side by the ashes of 
 those who once figured on the stage of life, and 
 who were justly ranked among the honourable 
 of the earth. Some of the coffins are crum- 
 bling to decay, one of which is so far gone 
 
LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 381 
 
 that you can discern the skeleton : another con- 
 tains only an embalmed heart. I explored the 
 catacombs of Paris with far less interest than 
 this vault. The ideas associated with that char- 
 nel are too horrible, from their connection with 
 the terrors of the Revolution : here, the mind 
 pauses, and reverts back to scenes both domes- 
 tic and pohtical, with which we are all conver- 
 sant, and wherein the lifeless tenants once 
 formed so prominent a feature in our own his- 
 tory. 
 
 The inscriptions were difficult to read, the. 
 ravages of time having effaced some and rendered 
 others nearly illegible. I traced that of Lionel 
 Duke of Dorset, who was five times Lord Lieu- 
 tenant of Ireland in the reign of George the 
 Second : and at his feet discovered that of his 
 son, denominated by Mr. Pitt, the Agamemnon 
 of the day, and by Lord North, the mighty Boar 
 of the Forest. A brass plate with the following 
 simple inscription, is the only distinguishing 
 mark — 
 
 THE RIGHT HONOURABLE 
 
 GEORGE VISCOUNT SACKVILLE, 
 
 AND 
 
 BARON BOLEBROOK, 
 
 DIED 
 
 AUGUST 26tH, 1785, AGED 69 YEARS. 
 
 There is nothing further to perpetuate his 
 
382 MEMOIRS OF LORD VISCOUNT SACKVILLE. 
 
 memory or to record the worth of this distin- 
 guished character. No encomium, no comment : 
 there he lies in the. sepulchre of his forefathers ; 
 a lesson to survivors of the instability of all 
 human greatness : neither is there any stone, or 
 tablet, or monument in the church. I quitted 
 this plain unadorned structure with the impres- 
 sion, that as his labours instruct and enlighten 
 mankind, none now is wanting, for Junius has 
 left a name behind him, that will be transmitted 
 to posterity, when kings and ministers are for- 
 gotten : a name that will be immortalized, 
 
 " When granite moulders, and when records fail." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 G. Woodfall, Printer, 
 Angel Court, Skinner Street, London. 
 
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