This would undoubtedly have exalted the rank of those who were then members, but would have ultimately destroyed the peerage of England. In the House of Commons, Sir Robert Walpole opposed this foolish measure in an eloquent speech, in which he showed with great force the evils which would result from it if carried out. The Crown would no longer have an opportunity of rewarding civil or military merit by a much-coveted distinction. "The Temple of Fame," he said, "was designedly placed by the Romans behind the Temple of Virtue, to denote that there was no coming to the Temple of Fame but through that of Virtue; but if this bill is passed into a law, one of the most powerful incentives to virtue will be taken away; since there would be no arriving at honour but through the winding-sheet of an old decrepit lord, or the grave of an extinct noble family." Such arguments convinced the House of Commons, and the measure was rejected by a large majority.

In 1719 the Convocation of the Church of England, which had condemned Bishop Hoadley for writing a sermon in which he defended the principles of the Revolution and religious liberty, was prorogued by the king, and has never sat to transact any real business since that time.

In 1720 happened the famous affair of the South Sea Company. This Company had competed with the Bank of England in an offer to pay off a part of the National Debt, in consideration of certain advantages to be granted by the government. The offer of the South Sea Company was accepted; and people, confident in its success as a speculation, were eager to purchase shares in it. The value of these rose from £100 to £1000, and

those who were wise sold out at a large profit, Numberless other schemes (well called bubbles) now started up, offering extraordinary profits to their shareholders and speculators. Change Alley, in Lombard Street, the great centre of this traffic, was crowded from morning to night, by lords, ladies, clergymen, and merchants, eager to purchase or sell. By and by, however, the South Sea Stock began to fall as rapidly as it had risen, A hundred other bubbles burst, and thousands of families were reduced to poverty.

It was suspected that the Chancellor of the Exchequer and other members of the government had been concerned in these fraudulent schemes, and a committee of the House of Commons sat to investigate the matter, with Mr. Walpole (the best arithmetician of his day) as their chairman. The accounts of the South Sea Company were examined, and several members expelled from Parliament for their connection with it. Other persons were imprisoned and punished.

For his services at this time Walpole was made First Lord of the Treasury, and became the chief minister of the Crown, an office which he held for nearly twenty years. Under his administration, peace with foreign nations was preserved, the schemes of the Pretender again and again baffled, and the commerce and trade of the country increased and extended on every side.

In 1724 the Earl of Macclesfield, Lord Chancellor, was impeached for corrupt and dishonest practices as a judge, and condemned to pay a large fine.

In the last year of the king's reign war was declared against Spain, which had laid siege to Gibraltar, and in America had committed outrages on English vessels;

but by the mediation of France matters were peacefully arranged.

In June 1727, George set out to visit his Electoral dominions, and on his way to Osnaburg was seized with a disorder of which he died shortly after, in the sixtyeighth year of his age. George was a plain and simple man, of no great abilities, but sincerely desirous of governing well. His great fault in the eyes of his English subjects was, that he loved his native Hanover too well, and was inclined for its sake to neglect the interests of England. He never learned to speak English, but was compelled to converse with Walpole and his other ministers (who were as ignorant of German) in bad Latin. His reign was not remarkable for the rise of men eminent in literature. The famous men of Queen Anne's time continued to write. The reputation of Pope as a poet still increased, and Jonathan Swift lashed in vigorous satires the follies of the age and the measures of Government. Addison died in 1719; and Newton, full of years and honours, in 1727.

P

CHAP. XXXVI.

GEORGE II. 1727-1760.

GEORGE THE SECOND was in his forty-fourth year when he ascended the throne. He was as little conversant as his father with the English language and manners, and manifested the same preference for Germany and German favourites. Though he had, when Prince of Wales, been on ill terms with his father and his ministry, he made no change in the government of which Sir Robert Walpole was the head. In Parliament considerable opposition was manifested. The peace made with Spain was considered unsatisfactory; and the large sums paid to German potentates for troops was severely censured. The opposition was led by Sir William Wyndham, a concealed Jacobite, and Mr. Pulteney, both eloquent speakers. In 1732 Walpole proposed a scheme for collecting and increasing the revenue by an Excise: this excited great fury against him, and shook his government; so that he was compelled, reluctantly, to abandon his plan. The English government tried to preserve neutrality during the wars waged on the continent, but the nation was eager to 'engage in a war with Spain. Their passions were excited by the story of one Captain Jenkins, who was said to have had his ear cut off by a Spanish officer. Jenkins appeared at the bar of the House of Commons, and his case was taken up by the opposition, who demanded redress from Spain.

In 1736 Queen Caroline, George's wife, died. She was an accomplished, amiable woman, the patroness of literature and art, while George had no taste for either, but despised, as he said, "both poets and painters." Queen Caroline had always been a firm supporter of Walpole, and her death was a great blow to his power.

In 1739 war was declared against Spain, and Admiral Vernon was sent with a fleet to America, where he captured the town of Porto-bello from the Spaniards. But Walpole's government conducted the war with little vigour, and his opponents grew daily stronger in Parliament. Their ranks were strengthened by the accession of William Pitt, the most eloquent man of the time. The cry of the nation was "Down with Walpole!" To him they attributed every misfortune. In 1740 a motion was made for an address to the king, that he would remove Walpole from his councils for ever. He was accused of bribery and corruption, and of using the national revenue to increase the wealth of his own family. For some time he resisted the efforts of his enemies, defending himself with wonderful eloquence and spirit. But in 1742 the new elections were much against him, and he was compelled to yield. He resigned all his offices, and was made a peer under the title of Lord Orford, while his rival Pulteney, was at the same time created Earl of Bath. members of the new administration Wilmington, Carteret, and Bath; the Duke of Newcastle and his brother Mr. Pelham.

The principal

were:- - Lords

In 1742 the nation was dragged into a war with France; the occasion of which was the support given by England to Maria Theresa, Queen of Hungary,