356 



Memoirs of the late Lord Thurlow. 



[Nov. Ij 



Wcdminftcr Hall, Viarl, however, found 

 means to diltiiiftuilh hiinlclt' among his 

 fiicd is; and as his fii^ure, his voice, and 

 liis manner, were known to be efticient, 

 it was at l;ilt detercnined by a relbhite 

 attorney to entrullthe conduct of" an im- 

 portant cauff to his care. 



It was on this occalion, whicli proha- 

 Ijly proved dccifive of his fate, that he 

 entered the lilts with a veteran, who had 

 hitherto been confidered as the bolded 

 praftitioiier at tiie Ensihfh bar, and came 

 Oi} vittorioiis ; for after liaving given cut 

 for cut, and blow for blow, he gained 

 the battle, to the great joy of the bar, 

 and of the bench too, perhaps, neither 

 of which was difpleafed to behold a ju- 

 nior member contending for, and obtam- 

 ing the well-merited applaufc of the pub- 

 lic, by defeating a champion of fuch re- 

 nown. 



The Douglas caufc, on w hirh occafion 

 JWr. Thurlow happened to be on the for- 

 tunate lidc, ()))cne(l a ftill wider field for 

 his talents and abilities. He had then 

 to contend in a great and popular caufc, 

 m behalf of the claims of a minor, in op- 

 pofition 10 one of the niofl illuOrious fa- 

 inilies in North Britain, and he acquitted 

 himlelf in fuch a UKumer as to enhance 

 his reputation in no common degree. 

 He dcenscd it ncceflfary, however, in vin- 

 dicating the legitimate pretenfions of his 

 noble client, to attack a gentleman*, en- 

 gaged on the other fide, with fome de- 

 gree of afperity, and a challenge, fol- 

 lowed h)' a meeting in the field, was the 

 confcqueuce. 



J The rcputHtion of Jlr. Thnihnv was 

 thus raifed fuddcnly, and not by llow de- 

 grees, yet his practice was not, at that 

 or any other time, conliderable ; and he 

 would never have attained, perlinps, the 

 honours that now av.aited him, but for the 

 political inlluence of the Bedford party, 

 then paramount to all other interelts. 



* The perfon in o.ueftlon was the late An- 

 drew Stuart, Efq. a d-fcenclant from a very 

 ancient family in North Britain, and wlio, 

 on the (Jemife of the lite I'leteacier, confi- 

 dered himielf as the repiefent.itive ot that 

 illuftrious family, which had given fo many 

 kings to Scotland and England. He had 

 been, we believe, what in the Scotch law is 

 called one of the tutors and curators, or, in 

 other words, guardian to the Duke of Ha- 

 milton, and, as fuch, took an aftive part in 

 the Douglas caufe. In addition to a-ctf5l- 

 Icnge to Mr. Thurlow, he addrelFed a feries 

 of letters to Lord M.jr.sfield, who was alfo 

 fuppofed to have treated him cavalierly on the 

 fame occafio.i> 



He had juft received a filk gown, when 

 he obtained the favour of Lord Wey- 

 mouth*, w'ho then occupied the import-' 

 ant ftation of Secretary of State. In 

 confequcnce of the patronage of that no- 

 bleman, with whom he fpent many a fe- 

 cial hour, Mr. Thurlov,-, in March ITTO, 

 became invcfied with the otiice of Solici- 

 tor General, in the place of John Dun- 

 ning, Kfrj. and in January 1771, he fuc- 

 cceded VVilliam Deipey, Efq; afterwards 

 created Lord Wallingham, as Attorney 

 General. 



The Bedford or Bloomfbury party at 

 this period fupported the Go-vernment, or 

 rather the ]Miulltei-t for the tiino being, 

 with all their weight ; and Mr. Thuilow, 

 now become luemher tor Tainworth, alfo 

 thought proper to advocAte his meidures. 

 What ihoremeafures were we are but too 

 well ac'piainted with, for the Premier, 

 or rather thofe who compofed the interior 

 cabinet, had conceived the unconftitu- 

 tional idea of taxing unreprefcntcd Ame- 

 rica ; and when they found this was not 

 to be attem]ited with impunity, they de- 

 termined on the impolitic project of ef- 

 fecting it by force, Mr, Thurlow, now 

 in poiieirion of the richly-fringed gown of 

 an Attorney General, and already look- 

 ing up to the foft and do^\ ny culliion of 

 the woolfack, of courfe formed one of 

 the majority upon this occalion. 



It has been often obferved that there is 

 fomething equivocal in the profellion of 

 the law, and that the early habit of tak- 

 ing up the caufe of every client, as well 

 as arguing on e\ery occalion, 



'* Per fas aut nefas," 

 gives an e.irly bias to the human tnind. 

 Without flopping to enquire whether the 

 fubject of the prefent memoir, like the 

 great, and indeed we may cali hiin the 

 good Mr Duiiniiii:, would not h-AseJkeiDn 

 eauj'e on the other tide, provided his 

 fiiends had been in oppofition, we Ihall 

 merely obfer\c, that his conduct was, at 

 leali, open and manly, and that he dif- 

 tinguiflicd hlinfelf on a variety of occa^ 

 lions, in ii:e caufe of coercion. With a 



* Thomas Viliourit Weymouth was nomi- 

 nated Secretary of State January 20, 1768, 

 •vice Mr., afterwards Field-Marfhal, Conway, 

 He was fuccecded by John Earl of Sandwich, 

 December 19, 1770. On the 10th of No- 

 vember, 1775, Lord Weymouth pnce more 

 came in, -jicc Lord Rochford, and remained 

 until November 21, when the Earl of Hillf- 

 borou^'h was nominated his fqccefibr. 



•f- Frederick Lord North, nominated Firft 

 Lord of the Treafury, February 4, 1770, was 

 at this time Premier. 



ftentori^M 



