granted. The court assembled on the 29th of February, 1760; and on the 3d of April following, pronounced the following sentence :— "The court, upon due consideration of the whole matter before them, is of opinion, that Lord George Sackville is guilty of having disobeyed the orders of Prince Ferdinand of Brunswick, whom he was by his commission and instructions directed to obey, as commander-in-chief, according to the rules of war: and it is the farther opinion of this court, that the said Lord George Sackville is, and he is hereby adjudged, unfit to serve his majesty in any military capacity whatever. This sentence was confirmed by the king, who, moreover, signified his pleasure that it should be given out in public orders, not only in Britain but in America, and every quarter of the globe where any English troops happened to be, that officers being convinced that neither high birth, nor great employments, could shelter offences of such a nature; and that, seeing they were subject to censures much worse than death, to a man who had a sense of honour, they might avoid the fatal consequences arising from disobedience of orders. To complete the disgrace, his majesty in council called for the council-book, and ordered the name of Lord George Sackville to be struck out of the list of privycounsellors."

It is generally allowed now, that Lord George met with a hard measure of justice at the hands of his brother-officers on this occasion. One of the first acts of George III., after his accession to the crown, was to recall Lord George to court. In 1761 he was returned to parliament for Hythe in Kent. In 1770, on his succeeding to the greater part of Lady Elizabeth Germaine's property, he took the name of Germaine in accordance with the terms of his aunt's devise. In 1775 he was appointed secretary of state for the colonies; and in this capacity he strenuously supported the American war, and rendered himself highly unpopular. On the dissolution of the ministration of which he was a minister, he was raised to the peerage by the title of Lord Viscount Sackville. The marquess of Carmarthen opposed his reception into the house, and moved that it was derogatory to the honour of the house, that any person, labouring under the heavy censure of a courtmartial, should be recommended by the crown as a proper person to sit in that house. The motion was evaded by the question of adjournment; but Lord George Germaine having actually taken his seat in the house under the title of Lord Viscount Sackville, the marquess of Carmarthen renewed his attack, and urged, "that the house of peers being a court of honour, it behoved them to preserve that honour uncontaminated, and to mark in the most forcible manner their disapprobation of the introduction of a person into that assembly who was stigmatized in the orderly books of every regiment in the service." Lord Abingdon, who seconded the motion, styled the admission of Lord George Germaine to a peerage an insufferable indignity to that house, and an outrageous insult to the public. What, said his lordship, has that person done to merit honours superior to his fellow-citizens? His only claim to promotion was, that he had undone his country by executing the plan of that accursed invisible, though efficient cabinet, from whom as he received his orders, so he had obtained his reward. Lord Sackville,

See North Britain, No 45.

in his own vindication, denied the justice of the sentence passed upon him, and affirmed "that he considered his restoration to the councilboard at a very early period of the present reign, as amounting to a virtual repeal of that iniquitous verdict." The duke of Richmond strongly defended the motion, and said "that he himself was present at the battle of Minden, and was summoned on the trial of Lord George Germaine; and had his deposition been called for, he could have proved that the time lost when the noble viscount delayed to advance, under pretence of receiving contradictory orders, was not less than one hour and a half; that the cavalry were a mile and a quarter only from the scene of action; and it was certainly in his lordship's power, therefore, to have rendered the victory, important as it was, far more brilliant and decisive; and he had little reason to complain of the severity of the sentence passed upon him." Lord Southampton also, who, as aid-decamp to Prince Ferdinand on that memorable day, delivered the message of his serene highness to his lordship, vindicated the equity of the sentence. On the division, nevertheless, it was rejected by a majority of ninety-three to twenty-eight voices; but to the inexpressible chagrin of Lord Sackville, a protest was entered on the journals of the house, declaring his promotion to be "an insult on the memory of the late sovereign, and highly derogatory to the dignity of that house."

Sackville was by no means a man of high ability, and appears to have owed his influence with George III. chiefly to the zeal with which he supported that most impolitic of measures, the contest with the American colonies. The charge of cowardice has, we think, never been made good against him; indeed the evidence inclines rather to the other side, and it would be more easy to establish an accusation of rashness against him; but he does not appear to have possessed much military talent. He has been named amongst the supposed authors of Junius; but there is little in his known style of composition which favours this supposition. The productions of Junius were beautifully polished; but Sackville's style, according to his apologist, Wraxall, who describes him as passing little time either at his desk or in his closet, was negligent and unstudied. "I should be proud," said he, on one occasion, to a friend, " to be capable of writing as Junius has done; but there are many passages in his letters I should be very sorry to have written."

The following sketches of his lordship's political character appeared in 1777" This noble lord's political character lies within a narrow compass, having heard very little of him in this line,' (to borrow a favourite expression of his friend Howe,) but that he enjoyed a place of no responsibility under the successive administrations of the marquess of Rockingham, Lord Chatham, and the duke of Grafton. About three years since-though unconnected with any particular set of men, and seemingly in opposition to the court-he suddenly emerged out of his political obscurity, and took a very warm, conspicuous, and decided part in parliament, relative to the inquiry into the state and condition of the affairs of the East India company. He was a buttress to the minister on that trying occasion, and helped him to surmount the difficulties thrown in his way with a plausibility and address well suited to his situation, and perfectly correspondent-as the events which have since happened have fully proved-to his future views of ambition and

active life. It was a very favourable, nay, lucky circumstance for the noble lord who took the lead in that business, and who, in the progress of it, found himself powerfully opposed in the cabinet, that he was supported in parliament by three persons supposed to be warm in opposition, namely, the noble lord who is the subject of the present observations, Sir William Meredith, and Mr Cornwall. It gave a complexion to the measure, which nothing but time and a change of situation could develope or make intelligible.

3

"The era soon approached which was to lay the immediate foundation for bringing his lordship into a much more elevated and consequential point of view than he had hitherto appeared. Towards the close of the session now adverted to, the minister, as a counterbalance to the ravages he had committed on the East India company, gave them leave, by a bill expressly passed for that purpose, to export their teas to North America. This consequently drew the old dispute, subsisting since 1768, relative to the duty laid on that commodity, into question. What happened on that occasion is too recent in every person's memory to require a recapitulation. The tea, in whatever port it arrived, was either sent back unopened, or was destroyed. The people of Boston led the way; and as the most violent and outrageous, incurred the resentment of the court and administration. Unwilling, however, to push matters to extremity, or fearful, more probably, to raise a storm in which they might be shipwrecked, the session of 1774 commenced, and was held for some weeks without any particular notice being taken of the state of affairs in America. A spirit of temporizing and procrastination, such as had for the four preceding years prevailed, seemed still to pervade the king's servants. A gentleman, however, strong in opposition, broke this ministerial repose. He roused the ministers from those deceitful, unwholesome slumbers, in which they had so long remained, so much to their own disgrace, and the dishonour of the nation. He gave notice that on a particular day he would move for a committee of the whole house to inquire into the American affairs. On that day the minister's mouth was opened; he found himself pressed, and made an act of duty what merely proceeded from necessity. It was not till the 9th of March, 1774, that Lord North moved for a committee; nor was it till that day, that, for the first time, Lord George Germaine openly declared his sentiments upon the supremacy of the British legislature over all and every of the dominions and dependencies of the British crown. The first fruit of the resolutions come to in the committee, and which were expressly declarative of that right in the most unlimited and unconditional terms, was the Boston port bill. His lordship supported and defended this bill throughout; but as he only looked upon it to be a mere law of punishment, no further effectual than as it might be supposed to operate on the inhabitants, he suggested a bill of protection to those who were to be employed in carrying the provisions of the act into execution. This was the rise of the bill for the trial of persons charged with offences in North America, in any other province, or for bringing them over to England. The law had a double view. It was designed to protect the military, when called out to the aid of the civil power, from the

'Lord North.

⚫ Colonel Jennings.

prejudiced verdict of a provincial jury, as well as to bring offenders in that country to justice, either in some other colony or in Great Britain. The outline of this bill was recommended by his lordship. It was adopted with gratitude, and pursued with steadiness by the minister, till it received the royal assent. This, and the other which followed it-that for altering the charter of Massachusetts bay-were both of his lordship's hand, at least the former; and it is now only in the womb of time to decide, whether they were the wisest or the most pernicious that ever received the sanction of a British parliament.

"This nobleman's political character presents little more worthy of public notice, till his entrance into office last winter, except his voting with the minister upon a declared principle that the British parliament have a clear, decisive, constitutional right to bind the American colonies in all cases whatsoever; and in pursuance of that right, to accept of no concessional compromise, to accede to no conciliatory proposition, short of unconditional submission. As his lordship has acted openly, so he has adhered to his declarations with all possible steadiness. He has given a tone of vigour in deliberation, and alacrity in execution, unknown in the cabinet or in office before his appointment; and be the event of the present momentous struggle what it may, truth authorizes us to acknowledge, that as far as people at a distance may with confidence pronounce, he is one of the few who can be selected from any party, that has made his official conduct exactly correspond with his parliamentary declarations, hitherto at least, without any mixture of tergiversation or alloy.

"His lordship's abilities as a speaker are universally confessed. If he be not so diffusive or well-informed as Mr Burke, nor so subtle, persuasive, or confident as Mr Thurlow, he has very singular advantages over either of them. He always confines himself to the subject of debate. He never fails to keep some point on which the weight of it turns steadily in view. He approaches with a moderate but steady step; and is generally sure to carry home conviction to the understandings as well as to the hearts of his hearers. His manner is peculiar; his style is nervous and manly; his language elegance itself; and his observations pointed, sententious, and convincing. He never affects to say shining or witty things, nor lays the least foundation for regret in his auditors, but when he sits down. On the other hand, there is a certain failure in his voice and labour in his delivery that is not very pleasing; his cadences are uniform, and far from being harmonious His lordship does not much abound in that kind of matter which may be supposed even to lie directly in his way; he deals mostly in propositions controverted by his antagonists, and argues from them as principles already proved or assented to. His speeches are rather confirmative than persuasive; better calculated to keep his friends with him, than to bring proselytes over to his opinions. In short, his lordship is deficient in illustration, variety, and detail; or, if within his reach, neglects to use them; by which means the judicious and correct arrange. ment of his matter is hardly sufficient to compensate for his seeming obscurity and sterility of invention."

Jonas Hanway.

BORN A. D. 1712.-DIED A. D. 1786.

JONAS HANWAY was born at Portsmouth, on the 12th of August, 1712. His father, Mr Thomas Hanway, was for some years storekeeper in the dockyard at Portsmouth. He was deprived of his life by an accident, and left his widow with four children. Young Jonas was put to school by his mother in London, where he learned writing and accounts, and made some proficiency in Latin. At the age of seventeen he went over to Lisbon, where he arrived in June, 1729, and was bound apprentice to a merchant in that city.

His early life was marked with that discreet attention to business, and love of neatness and regularity, which distinguished his future character. On the expiration of his apprenticeship, he entered into business at Lisbon as a merchant or factor; but did not remain there long before he returned to London. In February, 1748, he accepted a partnership in the house of Mr Dingley, a merchant at Petersburgh ; and embarking on the river Thames in the April following, he arrived at Petersburgh the 10th of June. There he first became acquainted with the Caspian trade, then in its infancy, and formed an ardent desire to see Persia, a country so renowned for extraordinary events in ancient and modern times. This he was enabled to do in consequence of his being appointed agent to the British factory at Petersburgh, by whom he was sent to Persia, with the view of opening a trade through Russia into Persia. The limits of this memoir will not permit us to give an account of his adventures in Persia, of which a copious relation is given in his travels, published by himself. From Persia he returned to Russia, and passed through Germany and Holland, and arrived in England in October, 1750, after an absence of nearly eight years. The rest of his life, with the exception of two short intervals, was passed in England, as a private gentleman, employing his time, and the very moderate fortune of which he was possessed, in a continued course of benevolent actions, pursued with extraordinary and unremitting assiduity.

In 1753, he published, in four volumes 4to, An Historical Account of the British Trade over the Caspian Sea, with a Journal of Travels from England through Russia into Persia, and back through Russia, Germany, and Holland. To which are added, the Revolutions of Persia during the present century, with the particular history of the great Usurper, Nadir Kouli.' This work was extremely well-received by the public, and passed through four editions.

Mr Hanway was the original proposer of the Marine society, and by the most judicious and unceasing attention to its interest, and the management of its finances, deserved the title of its guardian. In 1757, he published a 'Journey from Portsmouth to Kingston,' in which he animadverted on what he considered the pernicious custom of teadrinking amongst the lower classes of the people. This publication involved him in a short controversy with Dr Johnson. In 1758, he became governor of the Foundling hospital, and was very active and