LORD WILLIAM RUSSELL, son of William, 5th earl, who has left an unperishable name, as one of the most glorious martyrs of English liberty. He was born Sept., 1639; was educated at Cambridge; passed some years at Augsburg and other places on the continent, and returned to England at the restoration In 1618-79 he was returned to parliament for the co. Bedford. Ills first public act was worthy of his subsequent career. He inveighed against the corruption of the Cabal, the influence of France, the • dishonorable commencement of the war with Holland, and the fraud practiced upon the bankers. He was ever afterward found conspicuous wherever the designs of the court could be traversed, or the cause of constitutional liberty befriended. He appeared pub licly in the king's bench at Westminster hall, June 16, 1680, and presented the duke of York as a recusant. lie also carried up to the house of lords the bill of exclusion against the duke, at the head of more than 200 members of the commons. This bill, setting forth that the duke of York was a papist, declared him incapable of succeeding to the crown. The king and duke determined to be revenged upon Russell and the other leaders of the whig party. Charged as participators in the Rye,House plot (q.v.), lord Russell, the earl of Essex, and Algernon Sidney were arrested, Russell was, July 13, 1683, arraigned at the Old Bailey for high treason. Infamous witnesses easily satisfied a packed jury. As they were about to withdraw, the prisoner said: " I call heaven and earth to witness that I never had a design against the king's life." But the jury pro nounced the fiat that condemned Russell to the block, and the horrible sentence of death for high treason was forthwith pronounced. The king and the duke were determined to have his blood, and to crush the leaders of the party. Some of the Tory minis try ventured to plead in his favor, but in vain. The earl of Bedford had gained the king's favorite, the duchess of Portsmouth, to his interest, and offered, through her, £100,000 for the life of his son. To satisfy his aged father, and at the earnest request of his afflicted wife, Russell himself petitioned the king. Ile solemnly disclaimed the least intention against the king's life, or the least design to change the constitution. There is reason to believe that Charles was disposed to relent, but that the duke of York insisted upon the prisoner's death, which took place July 21, 1683. The simple relation of his last hours by bishop Burnet, his intimate friend and companion, is justly consid ered one of the most pathetic passages in history. The murder of Russell, perpetrated
for the most unconstitutional end by the most unconstitutional means, followed by that of Sidney, rendered the despotism of the Stuarts odious, and led, in the next reign, to the overthrow of the family. Russell died iu the 42d year of his age, leaving a name to be remembered and revered wherever truth has a sanctuary or liberty a shrine. His attainder was annulled after the revolution. His widow, LADY RACHEL WRIOTHESLEY, second daughter and heiress of Thomas earl of Southampton, survived her lord more titan forty years. She cherished the memory of her lord with the most tender recollec tions. She died Sept. 59, 1723, at the advanced age of 86. Her eldest son by lord Rus sell was WRIOTIIESLEY, second duke of Bedford.
Jonx, fourth duke, was first lord of the admiralty in the Pelham administration of 1744. He became in 1756 lord-lieut. of Ireland. In 1762 he was accredited minister plenipotentiary to the court of France, and signed at Fontainebleau the preliminaries of peace with France and Spain. He was president of the council in the administration formed by Mr. Grenville in the autumn of 1763. His concern with public affairs extended over the important term comprised between the fall of the administrations of Walpole and Chatham. When first lord of the admiralty (from 1744 to 1748), he shared with Mr. Pelham, the premier, and the duke of Newcastle. the substantial power of the government. His correspondence, preserved at Woburn Abbey, and given to the world !Ay earl Russell. contains authentic materials for the illustration of the political history of England from 1744 to 1770. The introduction to the first volume contains a brief but able historical sketch by the noble editor of the period from the administration of Wal pole to 1748, and some interesting particulars of the private life and personal character of the duke. He died in 1771, and was succeeded by his grandson FRANcis, fifth duke, born in 1765. Ike was a steady friend to the cause of popular freedom, and was regarded by his friends, among the most devoted of whom was Charles James Fox, with feelings of attachment amounting to enthusiasm. He died unmarried in 1802, and was succeeded by his brother JoHN, sixth duke, born 1766, father of lord John (now earl) Russell (q.v.). He died Oct. 20, 1839, and was succeeded by his eldest son—