1754. HENRY FOX (LORD HOLLAND). 33 "the whole sums for such uses, I have no right to any "part of the money.' 66 Henry Fox was younger son of Sir Stephen Fox, and brother of the first Earl of Ilchester. The year 1705 is assigned for his birth; and his education, as Lord Chesterfield tells us, was conducted on Jacobite principles. Of his youth, nothing is recorded beyond wild and reckless dissipation. His fortune, never a large one, was greatly impaired if not altogether lavished in gambling, which rendered needful for some time his absence abroad. On his return he attached himself to Sir Robert Walpole, and obtained the place of Surveyor at the Board of Works. In 1743 he became a Lord of the Treasury, and in 1746 Secretary at War.† His abilities both for business and debate were gradually, and therefore, perhaps, the more surely, formed. For both he could have found no better master than Walpole. But Sir Robert's school was the very worst for a man of such loose principles as Fox; and Sir Robert, who was always jesting at the young patriots," and speaking of himself "as no saint, no Spartan, no reformer," while yet really studious of the public welfare and glory, gave too much encouragement by his language and his laughter to those who had only their own profit in view. A contemporary of Fox, and a most clear-sighted one, thus speaks of him: "He "had not the least notion of or regard for the public' good or the constitution, but despised those cares as "the objects of narrow minds." ‡ By an accomplished writer of our own times, connected in personal friendship and in public principles with Fox's grandson, Fox is termed "a political adventurer," § and such in truth appears to have been his real character. On the other hand, he was affectionate in his domestic relations, while constant good humour and seeming frankness made him a welcome companion in social life. To the public he inspired no confidence; but by degrees he attached to himself a considerable band of followers in Parliament, 66 66 * Life of the Earl of Chatham, vol. i. p. 101. ed. 1792. + Coxe's Life of Lord Walpole of Wolterton, p. 409. Lord Chesterfield's Characters. § Edinburgh Review, No. cxlviii. p. 562. By the Right Hon. T. B Macaulay, and since published in his collected Essays. and came to be regarded, especially by the remains of the Walpole squadron, as the natural and legitimate heir of Pelham in the Ministry. This prospect, however, so far as it depended on party favour, he had a little impaired by his impatience during Pelham's lifetime—appearing eager to snatch at the succession, instead of waiting coolly till it dropped into his hands. We shall find, however, as we proceed, that, though not unambitious of power, profit and emolument were his favourite, his ruling objects - a disposition which, in his case, might admit of some excuse from his tenderness to his young and ill-provided family. In business he was clear, manly, and decisive. For oratory he had few natural advantages, either of person or of manner. His figure was heavy and thickset, his countenance dark and lowering - insomuch as to be sometimes taunted with it in debate. Thus, on one occasion, Pitt most unwarrant ably, though, it must be owned, after strong provocation, exclaimed, in allusion to Fox's looks, that he for his own part "should be ashamed to hide his head as if he had "murdered somebody under a hedge."* The elocution of Fox is described by Chesterfield as hesitating and ungraceful-defects from which even that great orator, his son, was by no means free. But, in both, though of course far most in the latter, these defects were overborne by sense, by wit, by discernment, by great aptness of illustration, by great readiness of retort. "His best speeches," says Lord Waldegrave of Henry Fox, "are "neither long nor premeditated; quick and concise re"plication is his peculiar excellence."† On the whole, looking to all the circumstances of the time, he might have filled a great part in the history of his country had his character borne any proportion to his talents. William Murray is best known by his well-won title as Earl of Mansfield. The exact date of his birth does not seem to be recorded; yet he was of noble lineage, the fourth son of the fifth Lord Stormont in Scotland. The bias of his family had been strongly Jacobite, and one of his brothers was, as Earl of Dunbar, Secretary * Lord Orford's Memoirs. vol. ii. p. 159. 1754. WILLIAM MURRAY (LORD MANSFIELD). 35 of State to the Pretender. Thus in the course of Mansfield's own brilliant career amidst the envious pack which is ever yelping at the heels of genius - he was frequently suspected, and still more frequently accused, of a disloyal feeling to the House of Hanover. Neither by word or deed, however, did he give any ground for such an imputation. - His education at Westminster School and Christ Church College had made him an accomplished scholar. It was his habit to translate many of Cicero's Orations into English, and after an interval back again into Latin.* On leaving Oxford he applied himself to the study of the law, and in 1731 was called to the Bar. For several years he languished without practice. Nor did he prosper in another suit which he addressed at this time to a wealthy heiress. But at length a case of appeal before the House of Lords, and a speech delivered by him on that occasion †, brought him all at once into light. Business upon this opening rapidly poured in, so that in after life he was heard to say that he never had known any interval between the total want of employment and the receipt of 3,000l. a year. An opportunity also presented itself at the outbreak of the war with Spain of displaying his powers of political oratory at the Bar of the House of Commons; and a few years later the fall of Walpole paved the way for his appointment as Solicitor General. From this period until his death a period of half a century - he enjoyed the highest reputation as a lawyer. As a speaker in the House of Commons he soon rose into distinction. He could not indeed wield the thunderbolts of Pitt, nor thread the mazes of argument in reply with all the readi Of * Character in Seward's Anecdotes, vol. ii. p. 386. ed. 1804. that character Mr. Charles Butler in his Reminiscences (vol. i. p. 125.) has declared himself the author. It was to this that Pope alluded: "Graced as thou art with all the power of words, "So known, so honoured, at the House of Lords." The second line was much criticised as an instance of the bathos, and the whole couplet was parodied as follows by Colley Cibber: "Persuasion tips his tongue whene'er he talks, "And he has chambers in the King's Bench Walks!" See the second volume of this History, p. 267. ness of Fox; but his style was always clear, specious, and, even before he was a judge, judicial. He excelled in the statement of a case. It was his habit, as we learn from an ear-witness, to speak slowly, sounding distinctly every syllable of every word.* His tones (though even to the last denoting his northern descent) have seldom been rivalled for sweetness; his action was graceful, his countenance expressive. Even in his younger years his powers of humour were extolled by Pope, who, in describing a dull pedant of a barrister, makes him "shake "his head at Murray as a wit." These powers of humour, which were then confined to his social circle, shone forth no less at the Bar on the floor of the House of Commons- and sometimes, less aptly, on the Bench. As a judge several lawyers have also objected to him, that a he introduced too much equity into his Court;”. reproach which, until they explain it, sounds like a satire on their own profession. But if from the accomplishments we pass to the real defects of this eminent man, we shall find, perhaps, that in public life he wanted warmth of heart. His wariness and caution were carried to the very verge or beyond the verge of timidity. Steadily fixing his eye on his professional objects, as he had a just right to do, he was not to be turned from them by the strongest allurements of personal ambition, or the most pressing exigency of public affairs. To have not once committed an imprudence seems high praise — and that praise is Lord Mansfield's due-yet I doubt whether that praise ever yet belonged through life to the very first order of minds. Of these three rivals in eminence at the time of Pelham's death, Pitt was disliked by the King for his old anti-Hanoverian philippics, and dreaded by Newcastle for his aspiring mind. Moreover, he was just then disabled by gout at Bath. - Murray let fall a timely hint that the judicial Bench was his ultimate object of ambition. A general unpopularity, and a recent quarrel with the Chancellor, were strong objections to Fox. Nevertheless, all things weighed, it was with Fox that Newcastle determined to open a negotiation. He offered to 1754. FOX AND NEWCASTLE. 37 him through the Marquis of Hartington, as a common friend, the Seals of Secretary and the lead of the House of Commons, reserving to himself the disposal of the Secret Service Money, but engaging that Fox should be exactly informed of the payments which he made from There is too much reason to believe that this Fund not as yet guarded from abuse by an official oath, and still more by the higher tone of public morals — was at that period employed in corrupt gifts or "gratifications" to Members of Parliament. it. The offers of Lord Hartington were accepted. Fox agreed to meet Newcastle on the ensuing day, and complete the arrangements on the basis proposed. But short as was the interval it proved too long for steadiness in the veteran Ducal intriguer. He began anxiously to revolve in his mind whether he might not still secure the assistance of Fox, while yielding to him a smaller share of power. Accordingly, at the interview next day, he refused to stand by his own terms, and endeavoured to chaffer for less.* Not daring in the presence of Lord Hartington to deny his words, he first attempted to palliate, explain, and excuse them; that his anxiety of mind and grief for the loss of his brother had quite disordered his memory; - that perhaps he might have expressed his meaning in improper words, but that certainly he had never intended so large a concession. "My "brother," added he, “never disclosed to any one how "he employed the Secret Service Money; no more will "I." But the cases were by no means parallel. Pelham had been, not merely First Lord of the Treasury, but leader of the House of Commons. This distinction was urged in vain by Fox upon the Duke. "If I am kept in ignorance of this," said he, "how shall I be able to "talk to Members, when some may have received grati"fications, and others not?" And then, continuing the conversation, "Who," he asked, "is to have the nomina"tion to places?" Newcastle replied: "I myself.” "But who," pursued Fox, "is to have the recommenda 66 *The details of this singular and important conversation are to be gathered in part from Lord Waldegrave's Memoirs (p. 19.), and in part from Lord Orford's (vol. i. p. 331.). |