tr 



FOWLER, CHARLES. 



FOX, CHARLES JAME3. 



Kuuruiunt boasts of having defaced or destroyed tha remains of anti- 

 quity of several citie* of Greece, an d among othen thow of the temple 



1 Memoirs of the Academy of Inscription*,' 



CL.U-DI Louts FOCRMONT, Ills nephew, who had accompanied him 

 to Greece, returned to the Levant, and remained several year.* in Egypt 

 On hU return to France he published a ' Description historique et 

 reographique dn Plaincs d'Hcliopolis et de Memphis,' 12mo, 1755. 

 It is a sensible, unpreteiuling little work, and gives a satisfactory 

 account of the condition of Egypt at that time. Claude Fourmont died 

 in 1780. 



FOWLER, CHARLES) architect, was born at Collumpton, Devon- 

 shire, on the 17th of May 17'J2, and waa educated at the grammar- 

 school at Taunton. In 1807 he was articled to an architect and builder 

 at Exeter, and in 13 14 he came to London. He entered the office of 

 the late Mr. Laing [L.uxo, DAVID], where ho remained four years, 

 during the building of the Cuslom-House. In practice for himself, one 

 of his first works was the building of the Courts of Bankruptcy in 

 Basinghall street, erected about the year 1821. He was successful in 

 several competitions, amongst the number one for the new London 

 Bridge, having the first premium of 250/. awarded to him for his 

 design by the three architects of the Board of Worki Tim waa about 

 the year 1823. A design by the late Mr. Rennie was afterwards 

 carried out, mainly under the direction of the present Sir John Hennic. 

 Amongst Mr. Fowler's chief works are buildings for markets. He 

 ile-igned ai)d superintended the market at Gravesend, and in 1S24 

 formed the scheme and prepared designs for the building of Hungerford 

 Market, and improvements connected with it This scheme was carried 

 into * fleet l>y a company in 1835. During the period from 1826 to 

 1 > designed and erected Covent-Oardeii Market for the late Duke 

 of Bedford, and in 1835 the corn-market at Tnvistock. Amongst his 

 other works have been the grand conservatory at Syon House, 1827 to 

 1830; the bridge over the Dart at Totne?, 1V27, where he carried out 

 the principles of construction which he had proposed for London Bridge, 

 undtr analogous circumstances; the Devon Lunatic Asylum, 1843-45, 

 and work* at Powderham Castle ; severul churches, and the London 

 Fever Hospital, in 1818-49; and the hull of the Wax-Chandlers' 

 Company in Oresham-street in 1853. Since 1852 Mr. Fowler hut 

 been compelled by ill-health to reside chiefly in the country, 

 and consequently has been only occasionally occupied in professional 

 pursuits. During the course of bis practice he has made many 

 Ingenious and novel appliances in construction, and the system of 

 terrace-roofs which he adopted in the taverns at Hungerford Market 

 has been a subject of interest to French architects. Mr. Fowler was 

 actively engaged as one of the original promoters of the Royal Institute 

 of British Architect*, to which for about seven years he was one of 

 the secretaries, and afterwards twice vice-president. 



FOX, CHARLES JAMES, was born on the 24th of January 

 He was the third son of the Right Hon. Henry Fox, who iu 1 7 

 created Lord Holland, ond of Lady Qeorgiana Carolina, the eldest 

 daughter of Charles, second duke of Richmond. 



Having commenced his education in a preparatory school at Wands- 

 worth, Fox wss sent at the age of nine to Eton. Here his progress 

 was very rapid : and while he thus early gave unequivocal indications 

 of the powers of mind which afterwards yielded so rich a harvest, he 

 was not lea distinguished among hia school companions for that 

 warmth of feeling and amiability of character which through life 

 served to make men his friends and keep them so. His education was 

 interrupted before he was fifteen by a three mouths' trip to Paris and 

 to Spa, in which he was accompanied by bis father; and the inter- 

 ruption is of more comcquenco than otherwise it could have been, if 

 it be true, an is represented, that to tho misplaced indulgence of the 

 father during thin tour it to be traced the devotion to the gaming- 

 table which ever after was the principal alloy of Fox's happiness. 

 " He bad left school a boy," says Mr. Allen, in bis biographical sketch 

 in the 'Encyclopedia Uiitauuica;' "he returmd to it with all the 

 follies and fopperies of a 3 ouiig man." He continued at Eton but one 

 year longer, and in the autumn of 1784 entered at Hertford College, 

 Oxford, litre, as during the latter part of his course at Eton, learning 

 and pleasure were his pursuits in turn. He left Oxford in the autumn 

 of 1704. Ho then went abroad, and having passed two years chiefly 

 io Italy, returned to Knghuid iu August 1738. In his absence, and 

 before he was yet of age, he bad been elected member of parliament 

 for Midhunt 



Fox took his teat in parliament as a supporter of the Duke of 

 Oration's ministry. His father, who hod entered public life under 

 the aunpices of Sir Robert Wai pole, had in the progress of time become 

 Mtranged from the Whig party ; and it was from the opinions of the 

 father, at this period iu favour of the court, and of an administration 

 whose strength waa in the court, that the beginning of Fox's political 

 career derived its character. Fox mado hU first speech on the 15th 

 of April 1760, on the mibl.ct of the famous Middlesex election, sup- 

 porting the decision in favour of Colonel I.uUn-l and against Mr. 

 Wi.ke*. In February 1770, when the Duke of lirafton was succeeded 

 by Lord Noith as peiui-r, Fox waa appointed a junior lord of the 

 Admiralty. lie resigned this situation two years after in consequence 



of Rome misunderstanding with Lord North, but in leu than t 

 months he was brought back into the ministry, being appointed iu 

 January 1773 one of the lords of tho Treasury. In February of tho 

 next year he was again dismissed from his situation, and that somewhat 

 unceremoniously. The immediate cause of the dismissal was tha 

 /allowing : A motion had been made iu the 11-m-c of Commons that 

 .Mr. Wood fall, the printer of the ' Public Advertiser,' be token into the 

 custody of the serjeant-at-arms, in consequence of some remarks on 

 the Speaker which bad appeared in that newspaper; when Fox, 

 thinking this punishment insufficient, without consulting Lord North 

 moved an amendment to the effect that Mr. Wo dfall be committed 

 to Newgate. Lord North, being compelled, or thinking himself com- 

 pelled, to support the amendment against the original motion, was left 

 in a minority on a division. There had previously been some coolness 

 between Fox and the premier. The defeat which Lord North con- 

 sidered hod been brought upon him by an act of insolent temerity on 

 the part of Fox did not of course tend to diminish it; and a fi 

 after, as Fox was sitting in the House of Commons on the ministerial 

 bench, he received from tho hands of one of the door-keepers tho 

 following laconic note: "Sir, Hia Majesty has thought proper to 

 order a new commission of the Treasury to be made out, in which I 

 do not perceive your name. North." In a very short time Fox was 

 in opposition. 



Fox hod not while a ministerialist by any means concurred on all 

 occasions in the opinions of his colleagues ; nor, when he differed, had 

 he abstained from expressing and acting upon his own. Wlu-n ho 

 retired from office in 1772, one chief reason for the step was hU 

 opposition to the Royal Marriage Act, which was introduced that year 

 by the ministry. Afterwords, in 1773, when he was again in olncu, 

 he not only spoke, but voted against hia colleagues, iu favour of a 

 motion by Sir William Meredith for a committee of the whole house 

 to consider the propriety of subscription to the Thirty-nine Articles. 

 He went oven so far as to be one of the tellers for the minority on this 

 occasion. It must be added, to the credit of Fox, that the question 

 of American taxation, on which, and on tho measures arising out of 

 which, he violently opposed Lord North's administration, was never 

 once brought uuder discussion during the time that he hii:i 

 a part of it Again, he had formed, since the time of hU entrance into 

 public life, an intimate friendship with. Edmund liurke ; and if the 

 influence exercised over him by this distinguished statesman an 

 influence to whose strength Fox frequently testified in after days, 

 when their paths were dissevered, and a cloud had settled upon their 

 friendship contributed at all to bring about the change which now look 

 place in Fox's political position, neither is this sun-ly any ground for 

 reproach. Burke's conversation doubtless, as well as his speeches and 

 writings, assisted to open Fox's eyes to the evils of that system of 

 court intrigue and domination to which for awhile, in a subordinate 

 part, he had allowed himself to ba subjected, and from which evils 

 he hod now smarted iu his own person ; and still more, there can be 

 little doubt as to the mischievous tendency of the ministerial measures 

 respecting the American colonies. It should be borne in mind also, 

 in considering this portion of his history, that his father, who was 

 mainly instrumental iu connecting Fox with the ministry, died iu tho 

 summer of 1774 ; and this event would most probably have removed 

 many scruples that hitherto might hove served to restrain Fox from 

 entering the ranks of opposition. 



On the 23rd of March 1774, the House went into committee ou 

 Lord North's Boston Port Dill, the object of which was to deprive 

 that harbour of its privileges in consequence of tho opposition made 

 by the inhabitants of Boston to the tea duty. This was the first 

 occasion on which Fox opposed tho minister. But from this time 

 forward he was unremitting in his opposition. He took his stand lit-.- 1 

 on the principle that the American colonies ought not to be taxed 

 without being represented; and secondly, on the inexpediency of 

 endeavouring to wring taxes from them by force and at the rik of 

 rebellion. Thus condemning the war in which Lord North involved 

 the nation as unjust and inexpedient, he also took many opportu- 

 nities to censure strongly tho manner iu which it was carried on. 

 He denounced the heavy expenditure which ministers, in prosecution 

 of a war unjust, inexpedient, and little likely to Le successful, were 

 recklessly entailing upon the nation ; and when he saw no prospect 

 of their desisting from the war, ho zealously sought, in conjunction 

 with bin party, to effect by other means a diminution of the public 

 burdens. In tho beginning of 17U Burku brought forward hU plan 

 of economical reform, which was zealously -iippm led by Fox. After 

 having passed through iu earlier stages, it was ultimately rejected. 

 But the people had now come to feel the weight of their burdens and 

 to apeak out. Petitions poured in from all parts of the kingdom for 

 a reduction of the public expenditure; and ou the Gth of April reso- 

 lutions were carried against the influence of the crown and iu favour 

 of an inquiry into the expenditure of the country and of a diminution 

 thereof. A concurrence of favourable circumstances enabled the 

 minister to stand up against this vote, and to recover his once lost 

 majority. But even a dissolution of the parliament, which took place 

 hurtly after, enabled him to gain only a xhort respite. Ou tl 

 of Februaiy 1782, a motion of lienvial Con way's for an address to the 

 crown againtt a continuance of the war was lost only by one vote ; 

 and when revived under a somewhat different form five days after 



