The Reign of George VI/Introduction

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Preface

The Reign of George VI
by Samuel Madden

Introduction

Chapter I.

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3914172The Reign of George VI — IntroductionSamuel Madden

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INTRODUCTION.

CONTAINING

A REVIEW

OF THE

BRITISH HISTORY.

Although the period in our history, of which these sheets contain an account is one of the most singular and remarkable, and more detached from the general arrangement of our annals than perhaps any other reign; yet it is necessary to sketch the outlines of the preceding times, that the reader may comprehend the whole picture at once in his imagination, without the pain of continued recollection.

The splendor of the English nation ought to take its date from the civil wars in the seventeenth century, which at the same time that they ruined individuals, and threw the kingdom into a temporary state of confusion, laid the foundation for that immense fabric which has since been erected^[1]. It has been justly remarked, that nations display their internal resources more, and produce great men more abundantly after a civil war, than at any other period; the observation is drawn from history, and needs no philosophical enquiries to establish it. But most certainly the English nation made those prodigious acquisitions of trade, within half a century after the death of Cromwell, that prepared the way for still greater increase. During the supine reigns of Charles II. and James II. we were gaining on our neighbours^[2].

The revolution threw us into a new scene of action, and the wars we carried on on the continent, at the same time that they secured the independency of Europe, opened new channels for our trade to flow in: but the most remarkable event of King William's reign, was the beginning of a public debt, which has since been attended with such wonderful consequences^[3].

The reign of Queen Anne, was a period in which the English arms made a respectable figure in Europe during the continuance of the war, and her councils, like those of a succeeding reign, a very pitiful one at the end; our trade still increased, and with it, our public debt. The greatest part of the reigns of the two first Georges contained little remarkable. In reading their histories we meet with none of those actions that raise and elevate the soul, and make us wonder at the power that executed them. The period of our history that is graced with the name of George III. is more splendid; it forms a remarkable æra in the annals of Europe; not from the number of great geniuses that adorned his court, but from the multitude of virtues which constituted the character of a sovereign to a happy people; yet even so great an assemblage of excellencies was not attended with a fortunate influence over the manners of his court; the great men of those days served but as a foil to set off the lustre of royal virtues: indeed few endeavoured to arrive at that summit of virtue which they considered impossible to attain, and therefore prudently beheld the merit without any wish of imitation.

In the reign of George IV. were many remarkable events, but the most material occurrence, which continued throughout that period, was the amazing increase of the national debt.

George V. was a wise and virtuous prince, but the kingdom suffered from the want of capacity in his ministers, and felt a very severe shock in the conquest of Holland. He came to the crown in one of the most critical moments that it is possible one Prince can succeed another; his kingdom was in the greatest confusion; occasioned by a long and unfortunate war with Russia. In vain had his predecessors endeavoured at an immense expence to prevent the fatal aggrandizement of that empire; in vain had the parliament granted every necessary supply to prevent the northern kingdoms from being swallowed into one prodigious monarchy; every effort which the fifth grand alliance Europe had seen, could make, was ineffectual: Sweden and Denmark, notwithstanding their being so powerfully assisted, were unable to defend themselves; every thing submitted to the rapidity of Peter's arms, and the first maritime power in the world, who had so long possessed the dominion of the sea, saw its fleets beaten, and its coasts insulted. The ministry was unsettled; and the violent agitation of the whole kingdom owing to the sad state of the public funds, on the whole, conspired to form one of those critical situations which required great judgement and abilities in the Prince, and a unanimous concurrence of his parliament, to guide the helm with success.

The King in part effected it; but during his long reign, the nation was far from being in a flourishing situation, and the dismal prospect of national bankruptcy, which the most penetrating politicians clearly foresaw must soon come to pass, cast a general damp on the spirits of the people, which consequently was attended with a certain languor in the administration that foretold some terrible crisis was at hand. In the midst of this general despondency the King died, and was succeeded by George VI. the history of whose reign is the subject of the following sheets; a period the most remarkable, and abounding in the most astonishing events, that ever have been recorded in modern history.

↑ Here our historian convinces us of his judgement as well as his reading. An author less accurate would have supposed, that Queen Elizabeth's reign might rather be termed the æra from which the present splendor of our nation (if we may use the term present to a period which does not commence these 137 years) is derived, but he has sensibly considered, that the foundation laid by Queen Elizabeth was sapped by Oliver Cromwell, and that the present constitution is a phœnix of another colour from that which expired in the seventeenth century, and that we are naturally to look upon the civil wars in Oliver's time as the source from which our greatness at this time has proceeded; the different changes in government since being nothing more than the consequences of these commotions
↑ Here our author gives a proof of his politeness, as in the last note he did of his understanding. "During the supine reigns of Charles and James the IId. (says he) we were gaining on our neighbours." Others would have insolently told a reader what, and how, we were gaining upon our neighbours; but our author genteely supposes every body has sense enough to find that out, and therefore does not tell us a single word of the matter. The historian too has happily introduced the completest opposition of words and ideas that could possibly have been hit upon. In the supine reigns we were gaining upon our neighbours; that is, we were doing something, when, in reality, we were doing nothing at all. The critics may, in all probability, object to this passage in the text, but we would have these gentlemen remember what Mr. Pope says,
"Great wits may sometimes gloriously offend,
"And aim at faults the critics dare not mend;
"From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,
"And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art.
↑ The historian now gives us a specimen of his prudence; he neither tells us whether the consequences have been good or bad which attended the national debt, but leaves it, to avoid disagreeable reflections, upon the reader to determine. In the course of these three annotations, the reader will please to observe how modestly our author has convinced us of his abilities: in the first he has proved his judgement; in the second his politeness; and in the third his discretion; yet never once made a mention of his own abilities, but left it to us to form our opinion from his works. However meritorious he may be in this respect, he is certainly guilty of one great deviation from the moderns, for they would have talked about their merit for a twelvemonth, and we might have required a whole century before we found it out.

[1] Here our historian convinces us of his judgement as well as his reading. An author less accurate would have supposed, that Queen Elizabeth's reign might rather be termed the æra from which the present splendor of our nation (if we may use the term present to a period which does not commence these 137 years) is derived, but he has sensibly considered, that the foundation laid by Queen Elizabeth was sapped by Oliver Cromwell, and that the present constitution is a phœnix of another colour from that which expired in the seventeenth century, and that we are naturally to look upon the civil wars in Oliver's time as the source from which our greatness at this time has proceeded; the different changes in government since being nothing more than the consequences of these commotions

[piii-2] Here our author gives a proof of his politeness, as in the last note he did of his understanding. "During the supine reigns of Charles and James the IId. (says he) we were gaining on our neighbours." Others would have insolently told a reader what, and how, we were gaining upon our neighbours; but our author genteely supposes every body has sense enough to find that out, and therefore does not tell us a single word of the matter. The historian too has happily introduced the completest opposition of words and ideas that could possibly have been hit upon. In the supine reigns we were gaining upon our neighbours; that is, we were doing something, when, in reality, we were doing nothing at all. The critics may, in all probability, object to this passage in the text, but we would have these gentlemen remember what Mr. Pope says,
"Great wits may sometimes gloriously offend,
"And aim at faults the critics dare not mend;
"From vulgar bounds with brave disorder part,
"And snatch a grace beyond the reach of art.

[piv-3] The historian now gives us a specimen of his prudence; he neither tells us whether the consequences have been good or bad which attended the national debt, but leaves it, to avoid disagreeable reflections, upon the reader to determine. In the course of these three annotations, the reader will please to observe how modestly our author has convinced us of his abilities: in the first he has proved his judgement; in the second his politeness; and in the third his discretion; yet never once made a mention of his own abilities, but left it to us to form our opinion from his works. However meritorious he may be in this respect, he is certainly guilty of one great deviation from the moderns, for they would have talked about their merit for a twelvemonth, and we might have required a whole century before we found it out.

[1]

[2]

[3]