523 



NORTH, ROGER. 



NORTH, SIR THOMAS. 



626 



and was afterwards elected alderman of Basinghall. By the interest 

 of his brother, the lord keeper, probably as much as by his own taerits, 

 he was made a commissioner of the customs. Towards the end of the 

 reign of Charles II. he was made a commissioner of the treasury, but 

 on the accession of James II. he was sent back to bis office in the 

 customs. He made himself somewhat unpopular in hia office by 

 suggesting a tax on sugar and tobacco. In the mean time he had been 

 chosen member of Parliament for Banbury, and took considerable 

 interest in politics, with, apparently, a far more independent spirit 

 than his brother, the lord keeper. His biographer claims for him the 

 merit of having offered resistance to the crown under the operation 

 of ' closeting.' He lost his office at the Revolution, and was subjected 

 to a pretty rigorous examination by both Houses of Parliament. He 

 died on the 31st of December 1691. (North, Livet of the Noi-tln.) 



NORTH, ROGER, the sixth son of Dudley, Lord North, was born 

 about 1C50. He studied in the Middle Temple, and became steward 

 of the courts to Archbishop Sheldon. It is sometimes stated that he 

 wag attorney -general to James II., but his name does not appear in 

 the list of attorney -generals in Beatson's Political Index. He died in 

 1733. He left in manuscript, some 'Memoirs of Music,' which met 

 with approbation from Dr. Burney (Article 'North, Ro?er ' in Rees's 

 Cyclopaedia). In 1740, a quarto volume was published called 'Examen, 

 or an Enquiry into the Credit and Veracity of a pretended complete 

 History, showing the perverse and wicked Design of it, and the many 

 Falsities and Abuses of Truth contained in it, together with some 

 Memoirs occasionally inserted, all tending to vindicate the Honour of 

 the late King, Charles II., and his happy Reign, from the intended 

 Aspersions of that foul Pen." The work against which this volume is 

 levelled is Kennet's ' Complete History.' Notwithstanding its purely 

 partisan object, much insight may be had into the state of society and 

 politics during the reign of Charles II., by a perusal of the Examen, 

 and when measured by a higher tone of public feeling, the author, in 

 his vindications, often, in pure simplicity, embodies the severest 

 censures. The work by which Roger North is now best known was 

 published after his death 1740, 1742 in two volumes quarto, with 

 the title, ' The Lives of the Right Hon. Francis North, Baron Guilford, 

 Lord Keeper of the Great Seal under Kin? Charles II. and King 

 James II. ; the Hon. Sir Dudley North, Commissioner of the Customs, 

 and afterwards of the Treasury, to King Charles II. ; and the Hon. 

 and Rev. Dr. John North, Master of Trinity College, Cambridge, and 

 Clerk of the Closet to King Charles II.' The life of the lord-keeper 

 was republished in 8vo, and the whole work was re-edited in 1826. 

 It will be seen, that besides the two of whom notices are given above, 

 he commemorated a third brother, John, who lived the life of a retired 

 tudent. The nature of the book has been already characterised, and 

 it only remains to be stated that whatever opinions may be formed of 

 the author's general notions of right and wrong, it is a memorial of 

 very strong fraternal affection. 



NORTH, FREDKRIC, EARL OF GUILDFORD, better known by 

 tin: title of LORD NORTH (as he did not succeed to the earldom until 

 within two years of his death), was born on the 13th of April 1733. 

 He was educated first at Eton, and afterwards at Trinity College, 

 Oxford. On leaving the university he went abroad for three years, 

 and during that time resided successively in Germany, Italy, and 

 France, cultivating the foreign languages. Almost immediately after 

 his return to England, he married, in 1756, Miss Ann Speke, an heiress 

 of an ancient Somersetshire family. 



In 1763 Lord North was appointed one of the lords of the treasury. 

 Two years after, on the formation of Lord Chatham's (as it was called 

 by Mr. Burke) ' tesselated ' ministry, Lord North received the office of 

 joint-paymaster of the forces, his colleague being Mr. George Cooke. 

 In the speech in which Mr. Burke so happily described the general 

 composition of this ministry, he thus specially allude* to the joint 

 appointment of Lord North and Mr. Cooke : " I venture to say, it 

 did so happen that persons had a single office divided between them, 

 who had never spoke to each other in their lives until they found 

 themselves, they knew not how, pigging together, heads and points, 

 in the same truckle-bed." (' Speech on American Taxation.') Lord 

 Rockingham had previously offered him the chancellorship of the 

 exchequer and the vice-treasurership of Ireland, both of which appoint- 

 ments he had refused. He became chancellor of the exchequer in 



1769, and at the same time leader of the House of Commons, on 

 Charles Townshend's unexpected death. This too he at first declined: 

 bnt he was afterwards prevailed on, we arc told, by the Princess of 

 Wale* and by his father, Lord Guildford, to accept this situation. In 



1770, on the Duke of Grafton's retirement, he became first lord of the 

 treasury, still holding the chancellorship of the exchequer. George III. 

 felt himself under an obligation to Lord North for extricating him, 

 by the acceptance of the premiership, from the embarrassment which 

 the Duke of Grafton's retirement had caused ; he warmly expressed 

 his gratitude, became greatly attached to his new prime minister, and 

 never forgot the obligation, nor ceased to have a regard for him, till 

 the coalition of 1784. It is an interesting trait recorded by his 

 daughter, Lady Charlotte Lindsay, in her letter appended to Lord 

 Brougham's ' Historical Sketches ' (first series), that Lord North 

 would never nllow himself to be called prime minister, " saying there 

 WM no such thin?; in the British constitution." 



Lord North's ministry lasted from 1770 to 1782. Being defeated 



on the 22nd of February 1782, in the House of Commons, on, the 

 question of the continuance of the American war, he gave way to 

 Lord Rockingham. That war is the chief characteristic of hia 

 ministry. There are two different questions to he considered in con- 

 nection with this war, the question of its justice and the question of 

 its expediency. The ministry and the opposition joined issue on both 

 these questions. The opposition, including, with the exception of 

 Lord North himself, and his supports Thurlow and Wedderburn, 

 nearly all the intellect of the House Burke, Fox, Dunning, and 

 latterly Pitt (who entered parliament in 1730) contended, first, that 

 the British parliament had no right to tax the American colonies, aud 

 therefore that a war in enforcement of British taxation was uuju.it; 

 and secondly, that even if parliament had the right, it was inexpedient 

 to enforce the right by war. Lord North maintained both the justice 

 and the expediency of the war. But every year introduced of course 

 new elements into the question of expediency ; aud it is DOW under- 

 stood that Lord North himself disapproved of the continuance of the 

 war for at least three years before his resignation in 1782, but that ha 

 persevered in its defence only in deference to the wishes of George III. 

 Lady Charlotte Lindsay, in the letter already quoted, says, " Although 

 I do not believe that my father ever entertained any doubt as to the 

 j ustice of the American war, yet I am sure that he wished to have 

 made peace three years before its termination." This statement is 

 not inconsistent with the fact that Lord North, in, the very last speech 

 that he ever made, defended the American war; aud this circumstance 

 again renders it improbable that he should ever have thought or 

 admitted it to be unjust, as has sometimes been supposed. 



It was at the time the general opinion that Lord Bute retained his 

 early influence with George III., and that Lord North, nominally 

 prime minister, was but a puppet in his hands. This opiuion, which 

 contributed greatly to the general unpopularity of Lord North's 

 administration, is now known to ba entirely erroneous. [I JUTE, 

 LORD.] 



The Rockingham ministry, which succeeded Lord North's, was soon 

 followed by an administration under Lord Shelburne, in which 

 Mr. Pitt was chancellor of the exchequer, and which placed Lord 

 North by the side of his former adversary, Mr. Fox, in opposition. 

 In a short time arose the well-known and much-abused coalition. In 

 April 1783 a ministry was formed by the Duke of Portland, iu which 

 Lord North and Foz were appointed secretaries of state. This 

 ministry ended its career in December of the same year. The uni- 

 versal unpopularity of the coalition, and the king's unconstitutional 

 opposition to Mr. Fox's India Bill, killed it. We are informed by 

 Lady Charlotte Liudsay that the coalition was principally brought 

 about by the agency of Lord Nerth's eldest son, and of Mr. Eden, 

 afterwards Lord Auckland. [Fox, CHARLES JAMBS.] In reply to tlie 

 abuse which has been heaped upon this coalition, it may be observed, 

 that becau-e statesmen have ones differed they are not to be precluded 

 from afterwards combining, when the questions on which they have 

 differed are set at rest, and others have arisen in which they con- 

 scientiously agree ; but it is not to be denied that this league, formed 

 against the peace which Lord Shelburne had obtained, was hated by 

 the whole country, and deeply injured the character of the parties. 



When Lord North retired from the premiership iu 1782 he had 

 been appointed lord-warden of the cinque ports. He succeeded to 

 the title of Earl of Guildford and to the family estates in 1790. Two 

 years after he died, iu the sixtieth year of his age. In the last five 

 years of his life he was afflicted with blindness. " Lord North, when 

 he was out of office," says his daughter, "had no private secretary. 

 Even after he became blind, his daughters, particularly the two elder, 

 read to him by turn*, wrote his letters, led him iu his walks, aud were 

 his constant companions." 



Lord North's position as a statesman is in a very low rank : as a 

 politician he displayed somewhat higher ability. His administration of 

 the finances, in his character of chancellor of the exchequer, was 

 generally approved of. And again, though he cannot lay claim to the 

 title of an orator, ho spoke clearly, sensibly, with much wit, aud with 

 an uniformly good humour, which made him the great favourite of 

 the House. In his private capacity and in his family ho was thoroughly 

 admirable. The picture which Lady Charlotte Lindsay draws of him 

 at home with his children, is a singularly pleasing one. 



NORTH, SIK THOMAS, Knight. There appears to be no available 

 materials for a biographical notice of Sir Thomas North, the first 

 translator of the Lives of Plutarch into English. North had pre- 

 viously published two other works : 1, ' The Diall of Priuces ; compiled 

 by the Reverend Father in God, Don Anthony of Guevara, and 

 Englyshed out of the Freuche ; right necessary and pleasauut to all 

 gentlemen and others which are lovers of vertu.-,' London, 1557, folio ; 

 1558, folio; 1582, 4to; 'Reformed of fnultes in the first edition, with 

 an amplification also of a fourth book annexed to the fame, entitled 

 the Favoured Courtier ; never heretofore in our vulgar tongue ; right 

 necessary and pleasaunt to all noble and vertuous persons." 2, 'The 

 Morall Philosophic of Doui, drawne out of the auncient writers ; a 

 work first compiled in the Indian Tongue, and afterwards reduced into 

 divers other Languages ; and now lastly Euglyshed out of the Italian,' 

 London, 1570, 4to. Watt (Bibl. Brit.) observes that, ' the word Doui 

 seems to be of like import with that of Magi,' a strange blunder of 

 the learned bibliographer. Doui is the name of an old Italian writer, 



