BRITAIN. 



691 



St George, the heir of the family of Stuart, king. A 

 few persons in the north of England, under the earl 

 of Derwentwater, joined in the same design, and pro- 

 claimed the Pretender at Morpeth and Ahiwick ; but 

 the attempt was feebly conducted, and tended only to 

 the ruin of those who had engaged themselves in so 

 hopeless an undertaking. The duke of Argyle in 

 the north, and general Wills in the south, dispersed 

 the forces of tltb rebels ; and the chevalier, accom- 

 panied by Mar, Drummond, and a few other persons 

 of distinction, made their escape to the continent. 



In 1718, an alliance, known by the name of the 

 quadruple alliance, was formed between Britain, 

 France, Germany, and Holland ; and of this alliance, 

 a rupture with Spain was the immediate consequence. 

 In 171S, Sir George Byng engaged and captured the 

 Spanish fleet hi the Mediterranean. The Spaniards 

 endeavoured to retaliate, by despatching a powerful 

 armament to support the claims of the Pretender in 

 Britain. But the fleet was entirely dispersed by a 

 storm off cape Finisterre, and the earls Marischal and 

 Seaforth, and the marquis of Tullibardine, who had 

 been landed in Scotland, with difficulty made their 

 escape again to the continent. In 1720, the Irish 

 parliament was deprived of .its right of final jurisdic- 

 tion, and thus rendered dependent on that of Britain. 

 In the same year the South Sea company obtained an 

 act to increase their capital by redeeming the public 

 debts. The greater part of the nation now became 

 stock-jobbers, and South Sea stock rose to 1,000 per 

 cent. This extraordinary rise was followed by an 

 equally sudden depression; the shares fell to 150 per 

 cent., and many families were ruined by their con- 

 nexion with the scheme. The parliament, which met 

 in 1722, had its attention engrossed by new reports 

 of real or pretended plots in favour of the Pretender. 

 Layer, a young templar, was convicted and executed, 

 and Atterbury, bishop of Rochester, banished on the 

 charge of being connected with this conspiracy. Ho- 

 sier's unfortunate expedition to the West Indies, to in- 

 tercept the Spanish galleons, was one of the last events 

 of George's reign. He died at Osnaburg, on the llth 

 of June, 1727, in the sixty-eighth year of his age. 



George II. inherited his father's partiality for his 

 continental dominions, as well as his crown. He 

 continued Sir Robert Walpole, who had been minister 

 to his father, at the head of the treasury. The British 

 monarchs had now learned to act on principles of po- 

 licy different from those of their predecessors. They 

 ,vere now convinced, that to oppose openly the will 

 of parliament, was to plunge themselves into inevi- 

 table destruction. Instead, therefore, of opposing the 

 house of commons, they now endeavoured, by every 

 means, to procure in that assembly a majority favour- 

 able to their designs. Walpole is said to have been 

 the first minister who resorted to the employment of 

 undue influence in elections. But whatever were the 

 means which he used, he successfully engaged the 

 nation in all the schemes of their sovereign. It was 

 soon discovered, however, by the other nations of 

 Europe, that the British minister would sacrifice almost 

 every interest to his attachment to peace ; and under 

 this impression of his character, the arms of Britain, 

 formerly so much dreaded, were now treated with 

 something that approached to contempt. Walpole, 

 like every man in power, had many enemies ; and 

 this part of his conduct was eagerly seized to degrade 

 the minister in the opinion of the public. The failure 

 cf an attempt on Carthagena, together with other un- 

 tortunate naval operations, completed Walpole's dis- 

 grace. And, in the meantime, the prince of Wales 

 having differed with his father, and consequently with 

 the minister, became the leader of the opposition. 

 The minority, animated by so illustrious a leader, ac- 

 quired new boldness ; lhc> election of a new parlia- 



ment approached, and the influence of the prince 

 filled it with Walpole's enemies. Unable longer to 

 maintain his ground, the minister resigned ; and, as 

 a reward of his services, was created earl of Orford, 

 But the succeeding administration following the steps 

 of its predecessor, became equally unpopular. The 

 German empire at this time was involved in many 

 troubles. By a treaty between several of the conti- 

 nental powers, known by the name of the pragmatic 

 sanction, the succession to the whole of Charles's do- 

 minions had been insured to his daughter ; but the 

 treaties of princes are binding only while they are 

 supported by the force which made them. The em- 

 peror was no sooner dead than different parts of his 

 dominions were seized by the surrounding potentates ; 

 and in a short time the whole German territory was a 

 scene of warlike tumult. In these commotions there 

 was nothing materially to interest Britain ; but Han- 

 over was threatened, and the British monarch was 

 anxious to rescue from the danger of invasion his pa- 

 ternal dominions. A numerous army was therefore 

 equipped for an expedition to the continent ; and 

 George, among whose faults cowardice could not be 

 numbered, having put himself at its head, encoun- 

 tered the French at Dettingen, and obtained a com- 

 plete victory. France now threatened Britain with a 

 new invasion in favour of the Pretender ; but Sir John 

 Norris, with a superior fleet, kept their armament in 

 check. The battle of Fontenoy decided the French 

 preponderance on the continent ; but admirals Rowley 

 and Warren supported the honours of the British flag 

 at sea. Charles Edward, son of the Pretender, having 

 been furnished by France with a small supply of 

 money and arms, landed on the coast of Lochaber, in 

 the western Highlands, in 1745, accompanied by the 

 marquis of Tullibardine, Sir John Macdonald, Sir 

 Thomas Sheridan, and other adventurers. Marching 

 southwards with 1,500 Highlanders, he caused his fa- 

 ther, then resident in Rome, to be proclaimed king at 

 Perth. His force increasing as he advanced, he en- 

 tered Edinburgh without opposition ; and having 

 defeated Sir John Cope, near Prestonpans, marched 

 into England, accompanied by the earl of KUmarnock, 

 lords Elcho, Balmerino, Ogilvy, and Pitsligo, and the 

 eldest son of lord Lovat. Having taken the town 

 and castle of Carlisle, he advanced through Lancaster, 

 Preston, and Manchester, to Derby, within 100 miles 

 of London ; but finding himself disappointed of ex- 

 pected succours from France, and the English tories, 

 contrary to his expectations, keeping aloof, he com- 

 menced his retreat into Scotland closely pursued by 

 the king's troops, whom he again defeated at Falkirk. 

 With this victory his good fortune terminated. The 

 duke of Cumberland having arrived from the conti- 

 nent where he had gained considerable military ex- 

 perience put himself at the head of the forces which 

 were destined to check the rebels ; and the armies 

 having met at Culloden, near Inverness, Charles was 

 completely defeated. The fugitive prince, after lurk- 

 ing for six months amidst the wilds of Inverness-shire, 

 and trusting his life to the fidelity of numerous indi- 

 viduals, at length, with much difficulty, escaped with 

 Cameron of Lochiel, in a vessel which his friends had 

 hired for the purpose. The abolishment of the herit- 

 able jurisdictions, in 1748, laid a solid foundation for 

 the civilization and improvement of the Highlands. 

 The war on the continent, in the mean time, con- 

 tinued with undiminished fury. The success was va- 

 rious'; but the British and their allies of whom some 

 were unwillingly engaged in the contest were gene- 

 rally unfortunate. The success of the BritiYh at sea, 

 however, compensated for their disasters on land ; for 

 though Boscawen, in the East Indies, failed in per- 

 forming what was expected of him, yet Hawke, An- 

 son, and srveral oilier naval officers, reduced the 



