George I of Great Britain

“ George having mentioned the late violation of the freedom of elections, conspiracies invented to give a colour to new oppressions, infamous informers, and the state of proscription in which he supposed every honest man to be, very gravely proposed, that if king George would relinquish to him the throne of Great Britain, he would, in return, bestow upon him the title of king in his native dominions, and invite all Other states to confirm it; he likewise promised to leave to king George his succession to the British dominions secure, whenever, in due course, his natural right should take place. ”

“ A Truly benevolent disposition, knows no bounds to the desire of diffusing happiness: George VI. longed to see France in possession of that ease and plenty, which were now the distinguishing characteristics of Great-Britain. The Duke of Devonshire it is true, had governed in that kingdom with abilities and integrity, but it was not in his power to execute the designs of the King, nor was his genius adapted to the business: his Majesty determined therefore to make a trip thither; and to increase the splendour of his court, he took with him great part of the nobility of the kingdom. ”

“ The Monarch, who in England had been so great and magnificent a protector of the arts and sciences, acted worthy of himself in France. The French nation had enjoyed more establishments in favour of literature, such as academies, than Great-Britain, but they were in general only honourary: men of the greatest genius were often members of many academies, but almost starving for want: George therefore found no want of fresh establishments, but only the fixing certain salaries on the seats of those already in being. ”

“ If any person, of what degree soever, high or low, shall deny or gainsay our Sovereign Lord George the Fourth of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Defender of the Faith, Son and next Heir to our Sovereign Lord King George the Third, the last King, deceased, to be right Heir to the Imperial Crown of this United Kingdom, or that he ought not to enjoy the same, here is his Champion, who saith that he lieth, and is a false traitor ”

“ However, the strongest proof, the excellence of all his opinions, is the universal praise that is bestowed on his memory by all foreign historians. His name was as dear to France as it was to Great-Britain. Fortunate nations to possess a king formed by nature to make the world he governed happy! ”

“ I make it my humble and earnest prayer to Almighty God, that Great Britain may not feel the evils which might result from so great a dismemberment of the Empire; and that America may be free from those calamities, which have formerly proved in the mother country how essential the Monarchy is to the enjoyment of constitutional liberty. ”

“ Pitt in a letter to Lieutenant-governor Fauquier, of Virginia. The war ended favorably to Great Britain, and Massachusetts and other colonies looked forward with the full hope of uninterrupted prosperity. New men were at the helm of State. The old king was dead, and his grandson, the eldest October 26, 1760 son deceased Frederic, prince of Wales, had ascended the throne with the title of George III. This was the prince who ruled Great Britain sixty years, in which time was included our war for independence. ”

“ I might as well acquaint King George the Third, that he is sovereign of Great Britain, or gravely disclose to my servant, that his name is William. It is superfluous to inform people of what it is impossible they should not know. ”

“ Nothing is to be apprehended from within, but what is in the power of the Representatives to prevent or overcome. In the English Revolution of 1688, a great majority of the people of Great Britain were attached to King James, and continued so for three reigns, those of William III., Anne, and George I. I have myself known old people who remember cannon being placed at Whitehall to awe the people, and prevent George the First from being insulted when he went to Parliament. ”

“ It was certainly very wonderful, that all the kingdoms in Europe, should have their academies near four centuries before Great-Britain, but George supplyed the want of every thing that reflected an honour on his country. This noble institution, consisted of a president, but the number of members was not limited; the former had two thousand pounds a year, and the latter three hundred each; the first creation was of twenty-three members: and perhaps no period of time can display a brighter union of geniuses. ”

“ The reign of George II. produced many revolutions, as well in the internal schemes of economy and administration, as in the external projects of political connexions; revolutions that exposed the frailties of human nature, and demonstrated the instability of systems founded upon convenience. In the course of this reign, a standing army was, by dint of ministerial influence, engrafted on the constitution of Great Britain. ”

“ George, who was sincerely anxious for the good government of the country, desired, as a matter of general policy, to break down the power of the undertakers, as he had broken down the power of the whigs in England. He also had a special point to carry; he wanted to obtain the consent of parliament to an augmentation of the Irish army from 12,000 to 15,000 men. As the peace establishment of Great Britain was only about 17,000 men, the crown certainly needed a larger force, but it was unfair to lay the burden of providing it on Ireland. ”

“ Hundreds of years ago, in the ancient boroughs of England, a genius for self-government began to display itself, and it is that to which the greatness of our empire is mainly to be attributed. We not only got the noblest of all Imperial gifts—self-government—but we got more than that. Great Britain gave us another noble Imperial gift—the magnificent continent we possess, with all its resources and all its wealth. ”

“ I have acted with the same temper; anxious to prevent, if it had been possible, the effusion of the blood of my subjects; and the calamities which are inseparable from a state of war; still hoping that my people in America would have discerned the traitorous views of their leaders, and have been convinced, that to be a subject of Great Britain, with all its consequences, is to be the freest member of any civil society in the known world. ”

“ Frederick II. of Prussia seized Silesia, the Elector of Bavaria claimed the Imperial Crown, and was supported by France and Spain in his claim. England and Holland alone remained true to their promises, and George II. put himself at the head of an army and defeated the French at Dettingen on the Maine, in 1743. The French, to draw off the English troops, sent Charles Edward, son of James the Pretender, into Scotland, to claim the crown of Great Britain and Ireland. Fifteen thousand men were to assist him, but a storm wrecked the French fleet, and the French troops never landed. ”

“ Nothing was omitted by George, that added to the strength and security of his kingdom; which he considered equally with its ornament: vast works were raised at all the sea-port towns in Great-Britain and Ireland, to defend the coast from all insult. Docks for building ships were made at every place where there was a sufficient depth of water: new men of war were continually building in them ”

“ From the foundation of the English monarchy to the age of George, Britain had never seen a painter that could rank in the first class of foreign artists. But though this great King could not create, yet he drew by his encouragements and rewards, artists from their retirements, and set them to work. No genius ever met with even a rebuke from George; merit was sure to be rewarded; and excellence in any art the certain road to fortune. Gilbert was the architect of the building, and its grandeur is well known; the President of this academy had a salary of two thousand pounds a year ”

“ The anti-revolutionary feeling excited by the news of the death of Louis moved England to an armed interference which involved the most important consequences to all Europe. A Tory minister, Pitt was supported in the long struggle in Europe by a majority of the Whigs. In the next twenty years, Great Britain, by her military strength on the land, and much more on the sea, and in particular by her wealth, freely poured out in subsidies to her allies on the Continent, was a powerful, as well as the most persevering, antagonist of France. ”

“ If at this grave hour he sets himself to proclaim that our forces are united; if he himself utters his message as befits St George, he will earn the blessing of millions, and the blessing of God and of the world will rest on your Majesty's sacred head. ”

“ Thus Queen Victoria was closely allied with the royal families of France, Portugal, Belgium, Saxe-Coburg, and Würtemberg.
THE ENGLISH ROYAL FAMILY
On turning to the immediate Royal Family of England, it will be seen that the male line at the time of the Queen's accession was limited to the sons, both named George, of two of the younger brothers of George IV., the Dukes of Cumberland and Cambridge. The sons of George III. played their part in the national life, shared the strong interest in military matters, and showed the great personal courage which was a tradition of the family. ”

“ During the first ten years of his reign he managed to reduce government to a shadow, and to turn the loyalty of his subjects at home into disaffection. Before twenty years were over he had forced the American colonies into revolt and independence, and brought England to what then seemed the brink of ruin. Work such as this has sometimes been done by very great men, and often by very wicked and profligate men; but George was neither profligate nor great. He had a smaller mind than any English king before him save James the Second. ”

“ Show me the happy man whose life exhibits these qualities, and him we will salute as gentleman, whatever his rank may be; show me the prince who possesses them, and he may be sure of our love and loyalty. The heart of Britain still beats kindly for George III,—not because he was wise and just, but because he was pure in life, honest in intent, and because according to his lights he worshipped Heaven. ”

“ When George III. died at Windsor in 1820, and during the ten following years, Princess Victoria’s uncle, George IV., reigned as King. For the previous ten years he had reigned as Prince Regent. If his father has been misjudged, this Sovereign too has 9been misrepresented by those who have made it their business to write the political history of our country. He is generally described as being wholly bad, and devoid of any decent quality as a man and as a Sovereign. ”

“ If an excuse can be found for them, it is that the hopes of their youth have been blighted, and that oppression has made them aliens to their native land. North Americans remark, that those who abuse Great Britain most in the United States are our own countrymen. I believe it; and in the falsification of their long-told predictions of England’s downfall, there is a wider field opened for their hate, and to brood upon what is to happen to ill-fated England. ”

“ Lord M. does not think that George III. was very fond of Mr. Pitt. Spoke of the violent dislikes George III. and George IV. had; William IV. had them also, but Lord M. said they were easily got over. 393Spoke of George III.’s hand-writing; of mine, which Lord M. thinks very legible and generally very good; of my inclination to imitate hand-writings, and people,—which Lord M. said, showed quickness, and was in the Family; of George IV.’s mimickry. I said I kept a journal, which, as Lord Melbourne said, is very laborious, but a very good thing ”

“ Don Manuel Sarratea, late a governor of the province, and who resided some time in London as their minister, is a proficient, and a man of talent. To the British he is very attentive, and is much respected by them. Don Miguel Riglos is another instance: this gentleman has made the tour of Great Britain, and speaks English with so little of foreign accent, that, on my introduction to him, I supposed him to be an Englishman: his manners are very prepossessing and amiable. Some self-taught young men have also an excellent idea of it, and others express a great desire to learn it. ”

“ It is the hand of Britain that inflicts the wound! The arms of George, our rightful king, have been employed to shed that blood, when justice, or the honor of his crown, had called his subjects to the field! ”

“ He there found himself in the midst of his own creation, and was never so well pleased, as when he was engaged in raising noble piles of architecture; in conversing with men of genius, and planning future establishments in favour of the arts and sciences. Had the other Princes of Europe been possessed of such a philosophic disposition, George would never have attacked his neighbours; he was far more pleased to be at the head of an academy at Stanley, than of a victorious army, conquering a great kingdom. ”

“ And yet, when in 1760 George III. ascended the throne, he conspired with the Tory leaders to overthrow the great minister, “in order,” as was finely said by Grattan, “to be relieved of his superiority.” George was determined to follow his mother’s injunctions and “be king.” The royal opposition succeeded in defeating Pitt on the manner of beginning the Spanish war; and the most glorious ministry that England had ever seen was brought to an end in October, 1761. In four and a half years England had been taken from a state of extreme humiliation and made the first power in Europe. ”