714 E N G L A N D; 
civil or religious liberties of his people. That he felt a 
very ftrong predileftion for his native country, Hanover, 
was no more than natural; but that he (hewed it too evi¬ 
dently at the expence of Great Britain, is a faft which 
will not be denied. He had been long feparated from 
the princefs Sophia, his queen, who never came into 
England: of courfe the court at St. James’s was never . 
brilliant, nor did his majefty feem fond of etiquette. 
He was married to the princefs Sophia, daughter and 
heirefs of the duke of Zell, by whom he had George 
prince of Wales who fucceeded hint; and a daughter, 
married to Frederic king of Pruffia, and mother of Fre¬ 
deric the Great. 
George II. did not afcend the throne until upwards of 
a month after the demile of his father, in confequence of 
that event not being known in England. Immediately 
on the news being communicated to fir Robert Walpole, 
that minifter carried it to the prince and princefs of Wales 
at Richmond, who, removing to Leicefter houfe, a privy 
council was inftantly affembled, and next day the new 
king was proclaimed with the ufual folemnities. His 
majefty took the oath, and fubfcribed the articles for the 
fecurity of the church of Scotland, as required by the 
aft of the union, and declared his firm purpofe to pre- 
ferve entire the conftitution in church and date. At the 
fame time lie avowed his intention to adhere to all the 
treaties which his'father had entered into; and he con¬ 
tinued all the great officers of ftate in their places. This 
prince, in 1704, had married the princefs Wilhelmina 
Carolina Dorothea of Brandenburgh Anfpach, and with 
her was crowned at Weftminfter, on the nth of October, 
1727, with great magnificence. 
In his firft fpeech to parliament, the king profefled a 
fixed refolution to merit the love and afteftion of his 
people, by maintaining them in the full enjoyment of 
their civil and religious rights, and by ftudying to leffen 
the expences of the government in all its departments. 
Sir Robert Walpole followed up thefe gracious alfu- 
rances, by moving, that eight hundred thoufand pounds 
a-year fliould be fettled on his majefty during life ; and a 
liberal fettlement was alfo made for the queen, in cafe (lie 
fiiould furvive his majefty. In ftiort, numbers who had 
been diflatisfied under the former reign, now exprelfed 
their confidence in the new king; and, for a time, all 
parties feemed to be united in affeftion to his perfon, ^nd 
in attachment to his government. 
It had long been maintained by political writers, that 
excifes are the moll proper ways and means of fupporting 
government in a long war, becaufe they equalize the 
burdens, and render them proportionable to the great 
wants of the public. Agreeably to this idea, though 
covertly under pretence of preventing frauds, the minif¬ 
ter, A. D. 1733, propofed, that a partial excife on to¬ 
bacco fhould be levied. This meafure met with a violent 
oppofition, not from the confideration of that train of 
dependents it would produce, but from the dread of its 
extenlion to other articles ; and the cry of a general ex¬ 
cife was fet up by the country-party in parliament, and 
echoed through the nation. The ferment, in ftiort, be¬ 
came fo great, that though the minifter had a triumphant 
majority of (ixty-one in the houfe of commons, he was 
obliged to wave the queftion, and abandon his fcheme. 
In a future fefiion of parliament, A. D. 1737, the houfe 
having refolved itfelf into a committee to conliderof the 
national debt, fir John Barnard moved,‘“That the king 
fliould be enabled to raife money, by the fale of annuities, 
or by borrowing, at an intereft not exceeding three per 
cent.; which fum, fo raifed, fliould be applied towards 
redeeming the South-fea annuities ; and, that fuch of the 
faid annuitants as fliould be inclined to fubferibe their re- 
fpeftive annuities, fliould be preferred to all others.” 
The adoption of this meafure he enforced with unanfwer- 
able arguments ; but the miniftry, unwilling that the 
merit of the plan fliould originate with oppofition, fet it 
afide, without being able to impeach its juftice and po- 
2 
licy. In the courfe of the fame fefiion, an aft was pa (Ted, 
fubjefting the ftage and dramatic writers to certain re- 
ftraints. The number of play-houfes was limited, and 
all pieces intended for reprefentation were to be fubmit- 
ted to the lord chamberlain, without whofe licence they 
could not be afted. 
In the following year, A. D. 1738, the jealoufy of the 
commercial part of the nation had nearly involved the 
country in war. Loud complaints were made of the en¬ 
croachments of the French on the Mifliffippi, and of the 
depredations of the Spaniards omthe Britifti merchants 
trading to the Spanifli territory. A remonftrance was in 
confequence prefented to the court of Madrid, and a con¬ 
vention was appointed to fettle the difpute ; and, though 
the treaty of Seville in 1729 feemed to have adjufted all 
claims, and provided againft all differences, this nation, 
however, eager for war, v ifhed tofindoccafion for a rupture. 
Walpole was fond of peace, and endeavoured to pre- 
ferve it by every means that did not ftigmatize the honour 
of the nation. He therefore became unpopular for the 
very quality that ought to have rendered him refpefted. 
The Spaniards, probably, availing themfelves of his 
known difpofition for peace, began to infult and diftrefs 
the commerce of Great Britain : they difputed the right 
of the Englifti to cut logwood in the bay of Campeachy, 
or to colleCt fait in the ifland of Tortugas. The captains 
of their guarda coftas made a praftice of boarding and 
plundering Englifh velfels, on pretence of fearching them 
for contraband commodities ; and various other afts of 
cruelty and injuftice were committed. In particular, a 
Spanifli commiflioned captain, having cut oif the ear of 
an Englifti mailer and commander, named Jenkins, bade 
him carry the morfel to the Englifti king, and tell him, 
that the Spaniards would ferve him in the fame manner, 
fliould an opportunity prefent itfelf. Thefe outrages 
were loudly and juftly complained of by the nation at 
large; yet every endeavour to prevent a rupture with 
Spain was feduloufly adopted by the miniftry ; and a con¬ 
vention was at laft, A. D. 1738, concluded and ratified, 
by which the king of Spain bound himfelf to make re¬ 
paration to the fubjeCts of Great Britain for their Ioffes, 
by certain ftipulated payments within a limited time. 
Sir Robert Walpole bellowed the higheft eulogium on 
this convention; but, with all his influence, he could 
only obtain a majority of twenty-eight, in an addrefs of 
approbation. In the upper houfe the minifter was like- 
wife very hard puflied, and it was with difficulty he flood 
his ground. At the head of thofe who voted againft an 
addrefs was the prince of Wales, who, on account of a 
family mifunderftanding, had joined the oppofition with 
all the intereft he could command. 
In the mean while, the Spaniards, who took advantage 
of the forbearance of the Englifti, having violated the 
terms of the convention, there was no alternative but a 
vigorous oppofition. Letters of marque and reprifal 
were confequently iflued againft Spain ; a large fleet was 
affembled at Spithead ; the land forces were augmented, 
and, A. D. 1739, an embargo was laid on all merchant 
velfels. Walpole, however, ftill held out the olive- 
branch ; but his overtures for accommodation being re¬ 
jected, war was formally declared. Yet, notwithftanding 
the arrogance of the Spaniards, they appeared but ill pre¬ 
pared for hoftilities. Admiral Vernon having aflerted 
in the houfe of commons, that he could take Porto Bello 
with only fix (hips, he was difpatched thither, and actu¬ 
ally performed this hazardous fervice. Aslhe war began 
thus fuccefsfully, it infpired the commons to profecute it 
with vigour. The minifter was granted fuch fupplies as 
enabled him to equip a very powerful navy ; and a fqua- 
dron of Ihips was equipped for diftreffing the enemy in 
the South feas, the command of which was given to com¬ 
modore Anfon. This fleet was deftined to fail through 
the ftraits of Magellan, and fleering northwards, along 
the coafts of Chili and Peru, to co-operate occasionally 
with admiral Vernon acrofs the ifthmus of Darien. The 
delays 
