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didate, was elected by a majority of four. The Whig CHAP. party fell next upon the Lord Chancellor, Sir Constantine Phipps, who had lately countenanced the Jacobites almost without disguise, and an address was voted to the Queen for his removal. On the other side, the Lords, where the Court party was the stronger, took up the Chancellor's cause, passed a counter-address in his favour, and severely censured Mr. Nuttall, a lawyer, for having called his Lordship "a canary-bird," which, it seems, is an Hibernian term of reproach. It became evident that a collision was preparing between both Houses, and that the Lower was ripe for the most violent determinations. In this state of things, the Ministers, not less afraid of its effects in Ireland than of its example in England, sent directions to Shrewsbury to prorogue the Parliament, and it sat no more this reign. The Duke, on his part, anxious to watch the progress of events at Court, obtained leave of absence, and set out for England, leaving Sir Constantine Phipps and two Archbishops as Lords Justices.

That more important assembly, the Parliament of Great Britain, met on the 16th of February, 1714, and though the Tories had a large and undoubted majority in this House of Commons, yet here, also, the choice of Speaker fell upon a member who had lately opposed several of their measures, Sir Thomas Hanmer. No person was even set up on the other side; partly on account of the weight and merit of Sir Thomas, partly because Oxford

CHAP. and Bolingbroke had hopes of regaining him and III. the other moderate Tories, and partly from their 1714. difficulty in agreeing amongst themselves as to the choice of a candidate.

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The earliest attention of both Houses was turned to the public press, and to those pamphlets of which my last chapter gave a full account. Her Majesty's opening speech had contained a "wish that effectual care had been taken, as I "have often desired, to suppress those seditious papers and factious rumours by which designing "men have been able to sink public credit, and "the innocent have suffered. There are some "who are arrived to that height of malice as to "insinuate that the Protestant succession in the "House of Hanover is in danger under my go"vernment!"

It soon appeared that, as far as this system or libels was concerned, both Houses, though in very opposite directions, were smarting from its stings. The Tory House of Commons proceeded against the "Crisis," a new pamphlet of Steele's. The Whig House of Lords proceeded against an answer to that pamphlet, called "The Public Spirit of

* The "Crisis" is a very poor performance. Sir Walter Scott says of it, "It is chiefly a digest of the Acts of Parliament respecting the succession, mixed with a few comments, of "which the diction is neither forcible, elegant, nor precise; "while by the extraordinary exertions made to obtain subscrip"tions it is plain that the relief of the author's necessities was "the principal object of the publication." Life of Swift, p. 185.

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"the Whigs." Swift was well known to be the CHAP. author, but had not affixed nor announced his name; so that the anger of the Peers could wreak itself only on the publisher and printer. These were immediately summoned to the bar. And here it may be observed that Swift, throughout his whole career, never showed the slightest scruple at allowing his underlings to suffer in his place, nor thought of relief to them by exposure of himself. The alleged ground of offence in the "Public "Spirit of the Whigs," was a bitter and insulting attack upon the whole Scotch nation in treating of the Union; and the majority of the House took up the matter warmly. The Lord Treasurer, on his part, protested he knew nothing of the pamphlet, exclaimed against the malicious insinuations contained in it, and readily joined in an order for committing the publisher and printer to the custody of the Black Rod.

It may assist our judgment of Oxford's character to observe, that at the very time he was thus professing his ignorance of the author, and his detestation of the book, he wrote a letter to Swift in a counterfeit hand, expressing his sympathy, and inclosing a bill for 1007.* Lord Wharton, however,

The letter was as follows: "I have heard that some honest "men who are very innocent are under trouble, touching a "printed pamphlet. A friend of mine, an obscure person, but "charitable, puts the inclosed bill in your hands to answer such "exigencies as their case may immediately require. And I find " he will do more, this being only for the present." The name and the date are given in Swift's endorsement, and the letter is printed with his Works (vol. xvi. p. 126.).

CHAP. still pressed to have Barber, the printer, closely III. examined, with a view of discovering the "vil

1714.

"lanous author." But the artifice of Oxford warded off the blow. He directed a prosecution against Barber himself, which rendered his evidence as to the author no longer admissible in law. The Scotch Peers, headed by the Duke of Argyle, now went up in a body to the Queen, with a demand for vengeance on the insult they had suffered. At their request a proclamation was issued, which promised a reward of 300l. for discovering the author of the libel; but this and the other legal measures were skilfully dropped by the Lord Treasurer as soon as the clamour had abated.

In the Commons, Steele having put his name to his pamphlet, and being a member of the House, suffered far more severely than Swift in the Lords. The party tone of his former essays in the Tatler, and the triumph of his late election, had made him peculiarly hateful to the Tories; and their animosity against him burst forth on the very first day of the session. Sir Thomas Hanmer having been proposed as Speaker, Steele, somewhat presumptuously, perhaps, for a new member, rose to support the nomination. "I rise up," he said, "to do him honour"-words which immediately drew from the majority an ironical cry of " Tatler! Tatler!" and, as he afterwards came out, he was greeted with"It is not so easy a thing to speak in the House""He fancies because he can scribble"-; and other such sneering observations. These, however, were

*

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but the first mutterings of the impending storm. CHAP. It burst on the 11th of March, by a direct attack from Mr. Hungerford (a lawyer, who had been expelled a former House of Commons for bribery), seconded by Auditor Foley, a kinsman of the Lord Treasurer. They quoted some passages in the "Crisis," which implied that the Hanover succession was in danger under her Majesty's government, and took good care to apply to the Queen what was intended for the Ministry. So determined was the hostility of the Court party, that it was not without much demur that a week was allowed to Steele to prepare for his defence; and on the appointed day Auditor Foley actually moved that he should withdraw without making any defence at all! The latter proposal was, however, too gross and glaring to be admitted. Steele, nevertheless, did not think proper to take his seat on the side-benches as a member, but stood at the bar as a culprit, with Stanhope on one side, and Walpole on the other. Addison also sat near, Addison also sat near, and prompted him upon occasion. Thus ably supported, he spoke for nearly three hours, with great eloquence and spirit, and then retired. It was now generally expected that Foley would sum up the case, and answer the defence paragraph by paragraph. But the Auditor, confident of his ready majorities, and thinking further trouble needless, contented himself with saying, "Without amusing the House * See Mr. Steele's apology, printed in the Parl. Hist. vol. vi. p. 1286.

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