636 
WHITBREA D. 
same year by “ The Genuine History of the Britons asser¬ 
ted.” However, it is said that Mr. Whitaker’s imagination 
in the progress of his years misled his judgment, of which he 
gave evidence in the second volume of his “ History of Man¬ 
chester,” printed in 1775, though he still maintained his 
character for deep and learned investigation. As a clergy¬ 
man, he became morning-preacher of Berkeley chapel, Lon¬ 
don, in 1773, from which situation he was soon after re¬ 
moved ; and he resented his removal with the natural warmth 
of his temper. Such was his orthodoxy, that he declined 
accepting a valuable living that was offered to him by an 
Unitarian patron. In 1778 he succeeded, as fellow of his 
college, to the rectory of Ruan-Lanyhorne in Cornwall, 
where his contest about tithes was the occasion of much un¬ 
easiness to him. When mutual conciliation took place be¬ 
tween him and his parishioners, he published in 1783 a 
course of Sermons on Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell, 
which were rendered peculiarly impressive by the fervid elo¬ 
quence with which he treated the subject, naturally awful 
and interesting. In 1787 he published his “ Mary Queen of 
Scots vindicated,” 3 vols. 8vo., in which he surpassed for¬ 
mer writers in the zeal with which he vindicated this unfor¬ 
tunate queen, and criminated her enemies, Elizabeth, Cecil, 
Morton, and Murray. He also presented to the public the 
fruit of his learned research in “ The Course of Hannibal 
over the Alps ascertained,” 2 vols. 8vo. 1794 ; and in 1795 
he advanced the highest monarchical principles in his work, 
entitled “ The real Origin of Government,” and also his or¬ 
thodoxy in his “ Origin of Arianism,” zealously defending 
his sentiments in both these respects by contributions to the 
English and Jacobin Reviews, and British Critic. At length 
a paralytic stroke warned him of his approaching end, and 
after a gradual decline he imperceptibly closed his life at his 
rectory, in October, 1808, at the age of 73, leaving a widow 
and two daughters.— Gen , Biog. 
WHITACRE, Nether and Over, adjoining parishes 
of England, in Warwickshire, about 4 miles east-north-east 
of Coleshill. 
WHITBECK, or Whitebeck, a parish of England, in 
Cumberland; 9 miles south-by-east of Ravenglass. 
WHITBOURNE, a parish of England, in Herefordshire; 
4| miles east-by-north of Bromyard. Population 787. 
WHITBREAD (Samuel), a distinguished senator, was 
born in the year 1758. Destined to the inheritance of a 
large fortune, and possessing talents which by due cultivation 
would qualify him for a conspicuous station in public life, 
his father spared no expense in his education. At a proper 
age he was sent to Eton, where he also enjoyed the benefit 
of private tuition, and where he commenced an intimate ac¬ 
quaintance with Mr. W. IJ. Lamblon, afterwards M.P. for 
the city of Durham, and Mr. now earl Grey, with whose 
family he became connected by a double alliance. From 
Eton he removed to Christchurch college, Oxford, and from 
thence to St. John’s college, Cambridge, where he finished his 
education, and was graduated B.A. Mr. Whitbread senior, sa¬ 
gacious in discerning the early dawnings of his son’s future 
celebrity, liberally offered him all the advantages which might 
be derived from foreign travel, and selected for his tutor and 
companion archdeacon Coxe, well known by a variety of 
valuable publications. Having travelled together through 
France, Germany, and Switzerland, they afterwards separated 
with mutual regard. Mr. Whitbread, soon after his return, 
formed, in 1788, a matrimonial connection with Miss Grey, 
the sister of his Eton associate, who afterwards, by the ad¬ 
vancement of her father, general sir Charles Grey, to an earl¬ 
dom, became lady Elizabeth Whitbread: his sister also, in 
process of time, married sir George Grey, bart. then a captain 
in the navy. Having required every necessary qualifica¬ 
tion for occupying a seat in the great council of the nation, 
Mr. Whitbread offered himself, on the dissolution of parlia¬ 
ment in 1790, as a candidate for Bedford, a borough which 
had been represented by his father, who at the same time 
offered himself for the borough of Steyning. Both elections 
were contested; but both father and son finally obtained 
their respective seats. Mr. Whitbread, junior, commenced 
his political career in parliament with an animated speech 
against the unconstitutional doctrine of “ confidence,”' 
assumed on the part of ministers, who claimed an entire re¬ 
liance on their wisdom and integrity. The occasion of this 
claim was a proposed war against Russia, for which the 
minister (Mr. Pitt) urged the house of commons to vote money, 
without previous and satisfactory information of the neces¬ 
sity, and much less of the justice or policy of this war, the 
object of which was the restoration of Oczakow to the Turks. 
The measure was unpopular; and though the minister ob¬ 
tained a majority, when the question was debated, he thought 
it most prudent to give up his object, and a pacification en¬ 
sued, which prevented much calamity to the nation. About 
this time the abolition of the slave-trade occupied the pub¬ 
lic attention, and this was a measure to which the member 
for Bedford had always avowed himself a steady and zealous 
friend. In parliament he supported it not only by his vote, 
but by a display of eloquence which commanded universal 
applause. As an active magistrate, he directed his particu¬ 
lar attention to the occurrences that took place in consequence 
of the scarcity in the year 1795; and in devising means of 
relief, he proposed that as the magistrates were empowered to 
fix a maximum of wages, so far as respects the husbandman, 
a minimum should be also preserved by law, in order thus 
to establish a more accurate proportion between the price 
of labour and that of the means of subsistence. With this 
view he introduced into the house a bill, which was approved 
by Mr. Fox and many other members; but as it was op¬ 
posed by Mr. Pitt, his efforts were unavailing. The minister 
was no less unsuccessful in his plan for amending the poor 
laws, and meliorating the condition of the peasantry and 
working class. His plan indeed was much more extensive 
and complicated than that of Mr. Whitbread, which was 
simply calculated to enable the labourer to maintain himself 
by his wages, without the degrading as well as dispiriting 
necessity of seeking parochial relief. 
The subject of this article was an undisguised and uniform 
opposer of the French war in 1793, because he thought it 
to be unnecessary and unjust; and yet he was a zealous ad¬ 
vocate for measures of self-defence against the secret ma¬ 
chinations and open attacks of a powerful and vindictive 
enemy. Accordingly he condemned the negligence of mi¬ 
nisters, on occasion of the French attempt at invasion in 
1797, by means of a squadron which appeared off Bantry 
bay, and moved the house for a committee of inquiry into 
their conduct. His motion was evaded by the previous ques¬ 
tion. In every stage of the contest with France, and under 
every varying form of its government, he was anxious for 
peace, and an advocate for treating with its rulers in order 
to terminate hostilities, and to put a stop to the waste of na¬ 
tional treasure and the effusion of human blood. His opi¬ 
nion on the conduct of ministers in the prosecution of this 
war, and their reluctance to enter into treaty for terminating 
it, was explicitly avowed in an eloquent speech, which he 
delivered on occasion of a motion by Mr. Dundas (then se¬ 
cretary of state) for an address to the throne in 1800, for the 
purpose of approving the conduct of his majesty’s govern¬ 
ment. Anxious, however, as he was for peace, because he 
disapproved the war from its commencement, and because 
he thought it essential to the true interest of the country, he 
was no less solicitous to maintain the honour of the nation 
in obtaining it. No man in this respect was a more noble- 
minded patriot than himself; and if he consented to make 
any sacrifice, it was because he thought it absolutely neces¬ 
sary to the permanent prosperity of his native country. 
Whilst he claimed and exercised the privilege of pronounc¬ 
ing his own opinion of public men and political measures, 
he was a zealous advocate for the liberty of others, and in¬ 
terposed with his most vigorous exertions for the rescue of 
those who suffered imprisonment at home or exile to Botany 
Bay, for too freely and imprudently divulging their opinions. 
During the short interval of the administration of Mr. Ad¬ 
dington, (the present Lord Sidmouth,) who succeeded Mr. 
Pitt, in the year 1801, and made peace with Buonaparte, 
several popular measures were adopted, in which Mr. Whit¬ 
bread 
