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WILBERFORCE, WILLIAM. 



WILBERFORCE, WILLIAM. 



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cessful effort in the old ballad style. In 1830 he published a transla- 

 tion of Tasso's ' Jerusalem Delivered,' on which* he had been engaged 

 for several years. He adopted the Spenserian stanza, and the versifi- 

 cation is free and flowing, but as a whole it is certainly not calculated 

 to supersede the bold aud vigorous translation by Fairfax. In 1833 he 

 published in one 8vo volume ' Historical Memoirs of the first race of 

 ancestry whence the House of Russell had its origin ; from the sub- 

 j ugatiou of Norway to the Norman Conquest ;' which was followed, 

 immediately by two other volumes of 'Historical Memoirs of the 

 House of Russell, from the time of the Norman Conquest.' The first 

 volume is little more than a series of guesses as to the early history of 

 the family, tracing its origin from Olaf, the sharp-eyed king of Berik : 

 but the other two are interesting from the events in which the 

 family can be traced authentically to have been engaged, and they are 

 told with faithfulness, though with pardonable partiality. He latterly 

 studied Hebrew and Welsh, from the last-named of which he made 

 several successful poetical translations. Mr. Wiffen maintained his 

 connection with the Society of Friends, holding offices of trust in it 

 occasionally, until his death, which took place suddenly on May 2, 

 1856, at Woburn Abbey. 



WILBERFORCE, WILLIAM, was born at Hull on the 24th of 

 August 1759. His father, Robert Wilberforce, was a merchant in that 

 town, descended from the aucient Yorkshire family of Wilberfoss; his 

 mother was the daughter of Thomas Bird, Esq., of Barton in Oxford- 

 shire. His constitution was so weak from his infancy that in after-life 

 he expressed his gratitude "that he was not born in less civilised 

 times, when it would have been thought impossible to rear so delicate 

 a child." He was however an active and spirited boy, of good ability, 

 and showing, even at the early age of seven, a remarkable talent for 

 elocution. He commenced his education at the grammar-school of 

 Hull, which he attended for two years ; but on the death of his father 

 in 1768, he was transferred to the care of his uncle, William Wilber- 

 force, who placed him as a par lour- boarder in a mean school near 

 Wimbledon. While at this school, his aunt, who was an ardent 

 admirer of Whitefield's preaching, first led his youthful mind to con- 

 template the truths of religion, but at the same time imbued him with 

 her peculiar views. His mother, on hearing that he was in danger of 

 becoming a Methodist, withdrew him from his uncle's care, and placed 

 him at the Pocklington grammar-school in Yorkshire, under the Rev. 

 K. Basket. His removal from Wimbledon exercised an important 

 influence upon his future life. His own reflection, twenty-six years 

 afterwards, was that it had " probably been the means of his being 

 connected with political men, and becoming useful in life ; and that if 

 he had stayed with his uncle he should probably have been a bigoted 

 despised Methodist." At Pocklingtou his serious dispositions were 

 soon dissipated by a life, of ease and pleasure. His talents for society, 

 and his rare skill in singing, -made him an acceptable guest with all 

 the neighbouring gentry, and much time was thus wasted in gaiety. 

 Yet we are told that " he greatly excelled all the other boys in his 

 compositions, though he seldom began them till the eleventh hour." 

 It is very remarkable, in connection with his subsequent history, that 

 when fourteen years of age he addressed a letter to the editor of the 

 York paper " in condemnation of the odious traffic in human flesh." 



In October 1776 he entered St. John's College, Cambridge, at the 

 age of seventeen. Here he was at first introduced to dissolute com- 

 panions, whose habits were not very congenial to his taste, and he soon 

 shook them off and entered into more suitable society. By the death 

 of his grandfather and his uncle he had become possessed of a hand- 

 some fortune, which enabled him to indulge in very extensive hospi- 

 tality, and discouraged him from exerting himself in his college studies. 

 In spite of his many temptations to idleness, he became a good classic, 

 and acquitted himself well in his examinations ; but the irregular and 

 desultory habits which he acquired were not corrected by mental dis- 

 cipline, and he often had occasion to regret that the cultivation of his 

 mind had been so much neglected. 



Before he had quitted Cambridge, Mr. Wilberforce determined to 

 enter upon public life. A dissolution was shortly expected, and he 

 aspired to represent his native town in parliament. Ke had scarcely 

 completed his twenty-first year when parliament was dissolved, ard 

 after an active canvass he was triumphantly returned by the electors 

 of Hull. He now came to London, and entered at once into the first 

 society. He was elected a member of the most fashionable clubs, and 

 became intimate with the leading wits and politicians of the day. He 

 had been acquainted with Pitt at Cambridge, and they now met daily 

 in society, and were inseparable friends. The gaiety of his London 

 life did not distract his attention from public business. He attended 

 constantly in the House of Commons, and, without taking much share 

 in the debates, he formed his own judgment upon every question. 

 He was generally an opponent of Lord North's administration, and 

 particularly adverse to the American war, but occasionally voted with 

 the government. Meanwhile his intimacy with Pitt increased, and the 

 genius which that great man displayed led Mr. Wilberforce to predict 

 his rise. " He comes out," he wrote to a friend, " as his father did, a 

 ready-made orator, and I doubt not but that I shall one day see him 

 the first man in the country." In July 1782, Pitt took office with the 

 Shelburne ministry, and Mr. Wilberforce was fixed upon to second the 

 address on the meeting of parliament in December. From this time a 

 tempting prospect of ambition opened itself to Wilberforce. His 



BIOG. DIV. VOL. VI. 



friend Pitt, who almost lived with him at Wimbledon, and travelled 

 with him on the Continent, was daily becoming more powerful, and 

 Wilberforce's political opinions and position in parliament would have 

 justified him in taking office with his friend and sharing in his future 

 honours. At length, in November 1783, Pitt became prime minister, 

 and Wilberforce, being entirely in his confidence, exerted himself 

 strenuously, as an independent member, in support of the new adminis- 

 tration. * In parliament his speeches attracted much notice, and in the 

 country all eyes were soon turned upon him by an event most import- 

 ant to the state of parties and to his own personal advancement. la 

 March 1784, when the dissolution was approaching, a county meeting 

 was summoned at York to vote an address in condemnation of the late 

 coalition ministry, and of which the chief object was to defeat the pre- 

 dominant influence of the great Whig families at the ensuing election. 

 Wilberforce hastened to attend this meeting : he addressed the free- 

 holders with singular eloquence and effect : the address was carried; 

 and before he had ceased speaking, a shout arose in the castle-yard, 

 " We'll have this man for our county member." He had secretly 

 cherished a hope of this result, yet, considering the overwhelming 

 power of the Whig nobility, and his own youth and want of connec- 

 tion in the county, he had not ventured to confide it even to Pitt. 

 While an enthusiastic canvass and subscription were proceeding on his 

 behalf, he was re-elected for Hull, and so great was his popularity that 

 his opponents abandoned a contest which seemed hopeless, and, with- 

 out venturing to a poll, permitted him to wrest from their hands a seat 

 for the county. This signal triumph in the largest county in England 

 contributed, in no small measure, to the success of Mr. Pitt's ministry 

 throughout the country ; and in the next session Wilberforce had the 

 satisfaction of seeing his friend supported by a vast majority of the 

 House of Commons. 



Thus before he had completed his twenty-fifth year he had attained 

 a station of the highest distinction, and a career of ambition and power 

 lay open to him ; but he was destined to follow an original course, to 

 reject the opportunities of personal advancement which offered them- 

 selves, and to devote all his energies and sacrifice all his interests to 

 the noble cause of religion and philanthropy. The seductions of gaiety 

 and of ambition had never wholly effaced from his mind the religious 

 impressions of his youth ; and a tour on the Continent with Isaac 

 Milner in 1784-85 revived his latent zeal. Henceforth a spirit of earnest 

 piety and devotion took entire possession of his mind, and directed "all 

 his actions for the remainder of his long and honourable life. 



He hastened from abroad to support Pitt's measure of parliamentary 

 reform, and early in the session of 1786 he himself proposed an import- 

 ant plan for purifying county elections, by establishing a registry of 

 freeholders, and holding the poll in various places at the same time. 

 This scheme, so obviously useful, was not carried into effect until 

 enacted by the Reform Bill in 1832. Early in 1787 his religious zeal 

 was made public by his activity in promoting the establishment of a 

 society for the reformation of manners, and in obtaining a royal pro- 

 clamation against vice and immorality ; but his conduct in the House 

 of Commons had not yet borne evidence of the change in his opinions. 

 He was deeply sensible however of the importance of rendering hia 

 public station and influence subservient to the advancement of religion, 

 and only waited for a suitable occasion. While under the influence of 

 these feelings, the slave-trade, which had roused his indignation at 

 school, was again presented to him in all its atrocities, and he resolved 

 to devote himself to its abolition. It required no little fortitude to 

 undertake the cause of the negro race. Burke had shrunk from en- 

 gaging in it from the conviction of its hopelessness ; and the harassing 

 failures in store for Mr. Wilberforce would have discouraged any man 

 whose exertions were not sustained by the highest principle. 



Relying more upon the humane and religious feelings of the country 

 than upon parliamentary support, he availed himself of the agency of 

 a society of which Granville Sharp was the president, and Thomas 

 Clarkson the agent. Throughout the struggle, which lasted for twenty 

 years, Mr. Wilberforce was indefatigable. Year after year his hopes 

 were deferred. Thwarted at one time by the protracted examination 

 of witnesses, outvoted at others, now in the Commons, now in the 

 Lords, he never flinched from a renewal of the contest. In parliament 

 he supported his cause by many admirable speeches, and by a diligent 

 collection and sifting of evidence. Out of parliament he never lost 

 sight of the same great object. In his conversation and his letters he 

 conciliated the support of all parties. Cabinet ministers, opposition 

 members, the clergy of all shades of opinion, and his own familiar 

 friends, were alike solicited to advance the cause of abolition. No 

 pains were spared to enlighten the public through the press, sometimes 

 by his own pen, and sometimes by the pens of many willing friends. 

 At the same time he was perpetually alive to all political changes at 

 home and abroad, and ready to seize upon any occasion for improving 

 the condition of the negro race by negociation with foreign powers or 

 by the influence of the executive government. 



Apart from the opposition which he encountered from the West 

 India interest, the fearful excesses of the French revolution and the 

 rebellion of the slaves in St. Domingo led many to associate the abo- 

 lition of the slave-trade with the frantic schemes of the Jacobins. For 

 seven years this cause alone retarded the success of his endeavours. 

 Meanwhile, though well fitted, morally, for the labours he had under- 

 taken, it is marvellous how his weakly constitution enabled him to 



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