One of the most important domestic events of this reign, was an act, which the English parliament passed, to secure the dependency of that of Ireland. The barons of the exchequer in Ireland, having, by order of the British peers, put a Mr Maurice Annesly in possession of certain lands, in a litigation concerning which, he he had appealed from the Irish to the British parlia ment, a dispute succeeded, which was terminated by a bill passing the English legislature, depriving the Irish lords of the power of final jurisdiction. About this period, the public suffered severely from one of the most ruinous impostures that ever duped its cre dulity. Ever since the revolution, government had been accustomed to borrow from mercantile bodies, and among the rest from the South Sea Company. Sir Ro bert Walpole having conceived a design of lessening the interest paid to those companies from 6 to 5 per cent., the several companies agreed to receive it; and the South Sea Company accordingly, to whom the go vernment owed 10 millions, were satisfied to lend it for 500,000/. a year. While the public was reaping this obvious advantage, Sir John Blount, a man who had been born a scrivener, proposed, in the name of the South Sea Company, to lessen the national burthen still further, by permitting the South Sea Company to buy up the debts of the other companies. The South Sea Company was to redeem the debts of the nation out of the hands of the private proprietors, who were creditors to the government, on whatever terms they could make ; and for the interest of this money, which they had thus redeemed and taken into their own hands, they Nv old d be contented to be allowed, for 6 years, 5 per cent., and then the interest should be reduced to 4 per cent., and be redeemable by parliament. For these purposes, a bill passed both houses, and, as the directors of the South Sea Company could not of themselves alone be supposed to be possessed of money sufficient to buy up these debts of the government, they were empow ered to raise it by opening a subscription, and grant ing annuities to such proprietors as should think proper to exchange their security, namely, the crown for the South Sea Company. The bait held out to adopt the latter security, was the chimerical prospect of having their money turned to great advantage, by a commerce to South America, where it was pretended, that settle ments were to be granted to the English by Spain. The directors' subscription books were immediately crowded ; the delusion spread, and the subscriptions soon sold at a prodigious increase of price. But the multitude, who had paid so dearly for a stock of vision ary value, soon awoke from their dreams of opulence, and thousands found themselves involved in ruin. Par liament, however, was determined, as far as they could, to strip the directors of their ill gotten gains. All directors of the company were removed from their seats in the House of Commons, or offices of state ; and after punishing the delinquents, the legislature allotted, out of the profits of the South Sea scheme, seven millions to the ancient proprietors, while the remaining capital stock was divided among all the proprietors at the rate of 351. per cent.
Few transactions of much importance occurred during the remainder of this reign. The king, who had emis saries at every court, and a friend in every potentate, was informed by the regent of France, of a new con spiracy, which was formed against him by many cha racters of power and influence in the nation. The plan, however, of the conspiracy was not divulged to the public. Christopher Layer, a young templar, was the only individual who suffered death: he was convicted of enlisting men for the Pretender. The Duke of Norfolk, the Lords Orrery, North, and Grey, were imprisoned on suspicion, but Bishop Atterbury alone was brought to punishment. He was sent into exile, upon the evi dence of intercepted letters in cipher, by a sentence of very questionable justice.
A new war with Spain commenced in 1726, in conse quence of the jealousy which the king entertained of the treaty which Spain and the emperor had recently contracted. The apologists for the war pretended, that the balance of Europe was in danger from the coalition of those potentates, and that secret articles had been agreed upon between them for aiding the Preten der, and for wresting Gibraltar from the power of Bri tain.
But Spain and the emperor loudly denied that their alliance was offensive, and many in the nation believed that a German prince had brought his native prepos sessions to the British throne, and that, whatever pre tences were made of the balance of Europe being in danger, the war was commenced for the interests of Hanover alone. By the treaty of Hanover, which was framed to counteract the designs of Spain and the em peror, France, Sweden, Denmark, and Prussia, became the allies of Britain. Catharine of Russia, on the other hand, menaced the smaller northern powers, and an English fleet was sent to overawe her in the Baltic. Admiral Hozier was sent to South America to intercept the Spanish galleons, and continued cruising in those seas till his men perished by the unhealthiness of the climate, and his ships were totally ruined by worms. But the Spaniards, who had intelligence of his approach, carried back their treasures to Panama. In a short time, France offered her mediation, and a temporary, though insincere, reconciliation was produced.
In 1727, the king resolved to visit his electoral do. minions. Having appointed an administration in his absence, he embarked for Holland, and lay, upon his landing, at the little town of Voet. Two days after he arrived at Heiden, apparently in perfect health, But on the morning of the next day, lie was suddenly seized with a paralytic stroke, lost the faculty of speech, and was conveyed in a state of lethargic insensibility to Os nabruck. There lie expired on the 1 tth of June, in the 63th year age, and the 13th of his reign. George 1. was plain and simple in his person and address, though familiar, and even facetious in his hours of relaxation. Endowed with courage and fortitude, considerable pru dence, and still more assiduity, he had acquired, before lie ascended the throne or Britain, the character of an able politician, a merciful prince, and a circumspect general. If he deviated, in his reign, from the princi ples of the constitution, it has been generally agreed that it was chiefly because a venal ministry misled him; yet the blame of his sacrificing the peace of England to his quarrels as Elector of Hanover, appears by no means entirely transferable to his minister.
George IL succeeded to his father in the 44th year of his age. Ilis abilities were weaker, but his pre judices, especially his continental partialities, were stronger than those el' the late king. The various sub sidies of the last reign, which had already swelled the national debt to the amount of fifty-two milFons, and the ascendency. Lord Townsend conducted foreign nego tiations. The duke of Newcastle was of consequence, from his influence in parliament, though without eloquence or intellectual merit. Lord Chesterfield, with brilliant powers, was contented to act subordinately to men of inferior genius to himself, Sir Robert Walpole was at the head of the treasury. Ile possessed a species of eloquence, dispassionate, plausible, and easy, though neither elegant nor nervous. lie was well acquainted with finance ; had been regarded as a martyr to his party under the influence of the Tories ; and a dangerous rival of Sunderland himself. Ile headed that party which was called the court party, (for the distinction of Whigs and Tories was not now entirely applicable to the factions of the state.) Their favourite measures were, forming foreign alliances ; the subsidizing foreign troops ; and alarming the country and House of Com mons with the supposed dangers of the state. The country party, on the contrary, deprecated foreign con nections, and the maintenance of large armies, as dan gerous to public liberty at home, and expensive when subsidized abroad. The leaders of this party were Sir William Wyndham, an energetic speaker ; Mr Ship pen, calm, intrepid, shrewd, and sarcastic ; IIunger ford, who was insinuating and ironical ; and Mr Pitt, who was now rising into eminence, for the fiery vehe mence of his genius, and the extent of his knowledge. It required all the phlegmatic fortitude of Walpole to stand the united attacks of these orators. Secure, indeed, in the system of corruption which he had matur ed in the House of Commons, he was always sure of majorities, but he was frequently baffled in argument by those whom he beat by means of numbers.