THE
REIGN
OF
GEORGE VI.
CHAP. I.
First acts of this Prince's reign.—National
debt.—State of Europe.
_-_initial_T.jpg)
HE very first acts of this Prince's reign[1] were such as caught the attention of all Europe; and indicated not only a soaring genius, but a judgement far beyond his years. The nation had formed the most ardent hopes of their young Sovereign; in his education and very youth he had given signs of what was one day to be expected of him; and all ranks of people turned their weary eyes on him, as their pilot through that sea of troubles which it was too evident was rising to overwhelm them. The King, in all his actions, showed himself worthy of their confidence. His father's ministry was composed of a set of men, who, though they did not want abilities, were not such as he chose to employ; but his inclinations in this point could not be fully indulged, from several circumstances. The Duke of Bedford, Lord High Treasurer, had such prodigious interest in the parliament, owing more to his immense riches than his personal merit, that his removal would have been dangerous, so he continued him in his post till a more favourable opportunity should offer itself. The Duke of Northumberland was removed from being president of the council, and was succeeded by the Earl of Surry. The Duke of Marlborough was made Secretary of State for the southern department, and the Marquis of Kildare for the northern; Lord Sands and Mr. Stevens, retiring, with pensions. The Duke of Suffolk, Lord Privy-Seal, in the room of the Duke of St. Alban's, and the Duke of Grafton first Lord of the Admiralty, which then happened to be vacant by the death of the Duke of Athol. These were the principal alterations which were made in great offices of state[2].
But the above personages were not possessed of equal authority, or entrusted with the same confidence by the king. It was at first foreseen that the principal share of power would rest in the Duke of Suffolk, who possessed his Majesty's ear more than any of his other servants, and was designed to succeed the Duke of Bedford as soon as he could be removed with safety. This young nobleman was of a disposition congenial with his Sovereign's: he had improved his mind by reading the most celebrated authors, and possessed that penetrating genius, which easily comprehends, and fully attains, the objects of its study. He had travelled through the principal courts of Europe, and understood their different interests and connections, with abundance of ease and perspicuity. He possessed the confidence and friendship of the king, who loved him; but his promotion gave offence to many, and caused great envy, as he was originally of a mean family, and, besides, was sometimes apt to behave rather haughtily to his superiors.
The ceremony of the late King's burial was no sooner over, and the ministry settled for the present, than writs were issued for the meeting of a new parliament; which assembled[3] with the highest opinion of their new Sovereign deeply impressed on their minds, and a unanimity of design to be expeditious in every public business that should come under their consideration: it would be tedious to the reader, and is below the dignity of history, to enter minutely into the debates of the two houses, and to describe the numberless little circumstances that attend the inferior motions of the legislature; these matters are proper for the annals of the times; but it is our business to exhibit only those out-lines, and stronger strokes of colouring, that characterise the manners of the age, and give the boldest ideas of the history of the period.
The first affair of consequence that came before them was the civil list. There was a debt contracted on it of above five hundred thousand pounds, this was paid off; and with a liberality boundless, perhaps, in its consequences, dangerous, they augmented that branch of the grants half a million yearly; so that the civil list was now two millions a year: a prodigious sum! increased by degrees for near four centuries: but what made this act of generosity imprudent to the highest degree, was their settling it for life; it is true, their opinion of their new Sovereign was not groundless, but dangerous precedents ought never to be established. Nothing was of greater importance than their debates on the public debt: the amount of it was astonishing; although the fatal year thirty-four[4] had spunged eighty millions of it, it was now above two hundred and ten millions, the interest of which enormous sum alone amounted to eight millions five hundred thousand pounds; and as the principal was every year increasing to pay off the interest; it was evident that it must very soon come to a spunge. To prevent the dreadful consquences such an event must be attended with, the parliament laid a tax of ten per cent on stock, for one year: but this was only a temporary expedient, and ruined numbers whose property in the public funds was fluctuating. They voted five hundred thousand pounds to be expended in repairing the navy and building new ships; a service most necessary and advantageous, for the Russian fleet threatened that of Britain with utter destruction in case of a new war, which it was feared was not far off; for the truce which had been signed was almost expired, without having as yet produced its desired effect, a lasting peace. The grants on the whole amounted to fourteen millions; a sum which would have astonished all the world had we not been in possession of such a flourishing commerce; but it was a time of peace, and had we been engaged in an expensive war, we could have added very little to our income. But it will be necessary to present the reader with a view of the state of Europe at the time this Monarch came to the crown.
The nations that formed what we call the north having been overturned by the immense power of the Russians, made one vast monarchy, which comprehended Moscovy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Lithuania, now called the empire of Russia. Peter the IVth. was the Monarch that swayed the imperial sceptre; a Prince whose martial feats were hardly ever exceeded, if we consider his barbarous courage and successful temerity; the acquisitions he had made were the effects of mere personal courage in himself, that excited an ardour in his troops, and not the consequence of policy or design; he was an indifferent statesman, and a savage man. No sooner were his own and his predecessors arms successful in the attacks which they made on their neighbours, than he turned all his efforts on raising a maritime power superior to that of Britain: for above eleven years all the ports of the Baltic were filled with preparations, and in the year 1897 Peter saw himself in possession of a naval force of two hundred men of war of the line, besides an innumerable number of frigates and smaller vessels; the greater part of this prodigious fleet was manned; the amazing trade of his extensive dominions produced him seamen in abundance; in a word, he was superior to England by sea, and the British coasts were open to his invasions, when a truce was patched up between the two nations.
The marriage which had transferred the dominions of the house of Austria to that of Prussia, and with them the imperial title, seemed to have extinguished that generous bravery, and political reputation which the kings of Prussia had enjoyed for so many centuries. The Emperor Frederic IX. was in every respect a weak Prince; he was governed by his Queen; and the by the intriguing Count Buckburg, Prime Minister, a man of abilities, but who was suspected of holding a correspondence with his master's enemies. The Prince of Baden had gained great reputation in the last war with France; and by his victories had enabled Frederic to conclude an advantageous peace with that kingdom; but being Buckburg's enemy had lately been disgraced, and was entered into the English service, the late King receiving him with many marks of satisfaction.
Charles the Xth sat this time on the throne of France: he had the reputation of being a most cunning and political prince; was brave, and had some success at the head of his army against the Imperialists. He had just entered into a close alliance with Russia: had the phantom of a balance of power been the foible of these days, such an alliance would have alarmed all Europe; but it had no other effect than making the King of Great Britain very jealous of his neighbour. Spain was in profound peace, excepting a temporary disturbance, which arose from a third rebellion of the Portuguese, but it was quelled with very little trouble; and the conquered nation saw not the least hopes of regaining their independence.
The peace of Italy was almost at an end: the preparations that were making by the two Kings of Venice and Sicily prognosticated the renewal of their quarrel. The patrimony of St. Peter which had so long been wrested from the church, was again likely to be the scene of devastation. It was supposed that Venice would have the assistance of France, who has always found her account in intermeddling with the affairs of Italy. Such was the situation of affairs in Europe at the time George VI, came to the crown.