I. Accession. George III., born 1738, was the son of Frederic, Prince of Wales, and succeeded his grandfather, George II., at the age of 22 years. Unlike George I. and George II., who were never happy in England, and were considered as foreigners, the new king, George III., stated, in his first address to Parliament, that "he gloried in the name of Briton," and his life bore out the statement. George had spent the early part of his life in great privacy, and on the death of his father in 1751 his education was under the control of Lord Bute, who had great influence in the household of the Dowager Princess of Wales. George was a conscientious and wellintentioned man, but possessed of great obstinacy of temper, which led him into error. He married in 1761 Charlotte Sophia of Mecklenburg Strelitz, a princess plain in person and not very popular with the nation; as a wife and mother her conduct was most exemplary. The children of George III. were George, who became king; Frederic, Duke of York; William, Duke of Clarence, who became king; Charlotte; Edward, Duke of Kent (father of Queen Victoria); Augusta; Ernest, Duke of Cumberland, who became King of Hanover; Augustus, Duke of Sussex; Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge; Mary; Sophia; Octavius; Alfred; and Amelia. 2. End of the Seven Years' War. Treaty of Paris, 1763. At the commencement of the reign the French, weary of the war, opened fruitless negotiations for peace. In 1761 Pitt, who saw that an alliance between France and Spain1 was imminent, and that war with the latter country was inevitable, desired to declare war against Spain at once. His advice was rejected, and he immediately resigned his office, October 6, and was succeeded by the Earl of Bute, who was very unpopular with the nation. Pitt on his retirement received a pension of £3000 a year, and his wife received a peerage. In 1762 Bute was compelled to declare war against Spain, and English troops were sent to Portugal, whose frontiers had been crossed by the Spaniards. In the West Indies Martinico, Grenada, St. Lucia, and other islands were captured. Early in 1763 the war ended with the Treaty of Paris, by which France ceded to England Canada, Nova Scotia, Cape Breton, and Tobago, Dominica, St. Vincent, and Grenada in the West Indies. The treaty was very unpopular in England, and Bute, who had concluded it, resigned his office, and was succeeded by George Grenville. 3. The "North Briton" and John Wilkes. The North Briton was a newspaper conducted by John Wilkes, a member of Parliament. In No. 45 of this paper Wilkes had criticized in violent terms the king's speech to Parliament on the conclusion of the Treaty of Paris. Grenville then determined to prosecute Wilkes, a general warrant was issued which did not specify any name, and Wilkes was arrested. This was felt by the country as a violation of public liberty, and although, personally, Wilkes was not deserving of support, public sympathy was aroused in his favour. He was repeatedly elected member of Parliament for Middlesex, but on each occasion the House refused to receive him, and the contest continued for many years, until finally Wilkes was permitted to take his seat on giving a bond for good behaviour. During the quarrel general warrants were declared to be illegal. 4. The American War of Independence, 1775-1783. In order to meet the expenses of the late war (Seven Years' War), which had been mainly incurred by England in defence of her colonies, it was determined to impose taxes upon the American States, and in 1765 the prime minister Grenville imposed a Stamp Duty. This was badly received by the colonists, who urged "that as they had no share in the representation of the British Parliament the latter had no right to tax them." In 1776 the Stamp Act was repealed and Grenville resigned. He was succeeded by the Duke 1 The alliance between France and Spain was known as the Family Compact, because the kings of these respective countries were relatives, each of them being descended from Louis XIV. of Grafton, while Pitt, now Earl of Chatham, had a seat in the cabinet. In spite of the protests of Pitt other taxes were imposed on tea, glass, paper, and painters' colours. These taxes led to great riots in America, and the discontent was universal. In 1778 Chatham retired from office, and in 1780 Lord North became prime minister. The obnoxious taxes had been previously repealed except that on tea, and it was determined as a matter of right to impose a duty of threepence a pound on all tea imported into America. In 1773 a party of Americans disguised as Mohawk Indians boarded some tea ships in Boston harbour and threw the cargoes overboard. The Home Government took severe measures to punish this outrage, and thus widened the breach which was rapidly growing up between the colonies and England. In 1774 a congress of the States was called at Philadelphia, and a declaration of rights was drawn up demanding that the taxes should be abolished. The Home Government treated this petition with indifference, and an appeal to arms became imminent. Hostilities commenced in 1775 at Lexington through an attempt of General Gage to seize some military stores collected by the colonists. George Washington was then appointed commander-in-chief by the colonists. A second engagement took place in the same year at Bunker's Hill, near Boston, ending in the retreat of the Americans. In 1776, on July 4, the colonists issued a formal declaration of independence under the name of the United States of America. In 1777 Washington was defeated at Brandywine and Philadelphia was captured, but these reverses were counterbalanced by the complete capture of an English force under General Burgoyne at Saratoga. From this period the success of the colonists was assured. In 1778 France, deeming the time favourable for a war with England, acknowledged the independence of the States. It was now proposed in the Parliament that England should acknowledge the independence of the colonies; to oppose this measure Chatham, who was exceedingly ill, came down to the House of Lords, and while speaking fell upon the floor of the House, and a month later the great statesman was dead. In 1779 the Spaniards, deeming the opportunity favourable, attempted in vain to recover Gibraltar, which was gallantly held by General Elliott. The war in America languished till 1781, when the English commander, Lord Cornwallis, was compelled to surrender with all his troops to General Washington. This secured the independence of the States. In 1783 the war ended with the Treaty of Versailles, which formally acknowledged the independence of the thirteen States of America,1 which became a Republic with George Washington as its first president. 5. The Gordon Riots. The year 1780 is marked by the great riots in London. In 1778 certain concessions had been granted to Roman Catholics. This measure did not give universal satisfaction, and Lord George Gordon, a half-crazed nobleman, put himself at the head of a movement to compel Parliament to repeal the measure. A petition was carried by a large crowd to the House of Commons, and Lord George Gordon moved that it should be instantly considered. This was refused, and the populace, enraged, began to commit excesses, and for several days London was in the power of an infuriated mob. Newgate was broken open and burned. The house of Lord Chief-justice Mansfield, with a valuable library, was destroyed. The city was set on fire in various places, and an attempt was made to plunder the Bank of England. The military were then compelled to take vigorous measures; 500 rioters were killed or wounded, and the movement was suppressed. Lord George Gordon was tried for high treason, but was acquitted. 6. Summary of First Period of Reign of George III., 17601783. George III. was the son of Frederic, Prince of Wales, and grandson of George II. In 1763 the Seven Years' War was brought to a conclusion by the Treaty of Paris. This peace was unpopular at home, and John Wilkes having criticized the king's speech in a paper called the North Briton, was arrested by means of a general warrant. An agitation lasting some years grew out of the circumstance. In 1765 Grenville attempted to tax the colonies in America, and imposed the stamp duty, but repealed it in 1776, and retired from office. Pitt, now Earl of Chatham, resumed office, but illness prevented him from directing affairs, and in spite of his opposition fresh taxes were imposed upon the colonists. In 1770 Lord North became prime minister, and the taxes were repealed, except that upon tea. The Americans determined not to pay this tax, and in 1773 cargoes of tea sent to Boston were destroyed by colonists in the disguise of Indians. In 1775 hostilities broke out between the colonists and the English forces at Lexington; and in 1776 the Americans issued a formal declaration of independence. In 1777 General Burgoyne with an English force was compelled to surrender 1 American States. Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia. at Saratoga. The Americans in this struggle with England were ably led by George Washington, and in 1781 he compelled Lord Cornwallis and the English army to surrender. England at this time was at war with France, Spain, and Holland, and though a vigorous naval warfare was conducted against these countries, the war in the colonies was carried on without vigour and ability, and by the Treaty of Versailles, 1783, the American States became independent. During the American War great damage was done in London by the Gordon riots, 1780. QUESTIONS. 1. What relation was George III. to George II.? 2. Why did William Pitt retire from office? What was the Family Compact? 3. Write what you know of John Wilkes and the North Briton. 4. Why were taxes imposed upon the American States, and what was the result? 5. Give an account of the American War of Independence. 6. What were the Gordon riots? 7. Give a summary of events from 1760 to 1783. CHAPTER XIX. REIGN OF GEORGE III., 1760-1820. I. Home Affairs. Pitt and Fox. Lord North, under whose administration the American War had been carried on, resigned office in 1782, and was succeeded by the Marquis of Rockingham, who dying in the course of the year, was succeeded by Lord Shelburne. In 1783 Shelburne retired from office, and a cabinet was formed by the Duke of Portland; this lasted but a few months, and William Pitt, the second son of the Earl of Chatham, became prime minister in his twenty-fifth year, and for seventeen years administered the affairs of the country, and attained even greater power than that held by his father the great Earl of Chatham. His position at first was one of great difficulty, and he was obliged to dissolve his first Parliament. A new Parliament gave him a large majority, and enabled him to carry a bill for the regulation of the government in India, by creating a Board of Control, consisting of six privy councillors nominated by the king, the principal secretaries of state, and the chancellor of the exchequer. This board had the entire control of the civil and military affairs of the East India Company, and remained in existence until the company was abolished in 1858. Under Pitt's administration the revenue of |