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W I L 
ter, with lord Temple and Mr. Pitt, and defended them, 
whilst he exposed the ministry, on occasion of the rupture 
with Spain, in a pamphlet entitled “ Observations on the Pa¬ 
pers relative to the Rupture with Spain.” This publication 
was followed in 1763 by an ironical dedication to lord Bute, 
of Ben Jonson’s “ Fall of Mortimer,” in which he indulged 
unrestrained levity against the “ favourite,” as he was called, 
and his antipathy to the Scottish nation; which was further 
manifested in a periodical paper called 44 the North Briton,” 
commenced in 1762, and intended to counteract 44 the 
Briton,” which Smollet conducted in defence of lord Bute’s 
administration. The North Briton, however, was written 
with a spirit so consonant to the sentiments of the public at 
that period, that it probably contributed to the resignation 
of that nobleman in April, 1763. The 45th number of this 
periodical work was published on the 23d of April, and con¬ 
tained so severe and sarcastic a comment on the king’s 
speech, that his ministers, under the sanction of the crown- 
lawyers, determined upon a prosecution : and the home secre¬ 
tary of state, lord Halifax, issued a 44 general warrant i. c. 
a warrant in which no particular names were specified, for 
the apprehension of the authors, printers, and publishers of 
that paper. As soon as it was discovered that Wilkes had 
given orders for the printing, he was taken into custody, and 
brought before the two secretaries of state. Perfectly self- 
possessed, and avowing the illegality of his arrest, he refused 
to answer any interrogatories; and a habeas corpus which 
had been sued out for him being evaded, he was closely con¬ 
fined in the Tower. However, he was soon after brought by 
habeas corpus before the court of common pleas, when lord 
chief justice Pratt declared the opinion of that court against 
the legality of his commitment, so that he was discharged 
amidst the acclamations of the audience and of the populace. 
In the course of these proceedings he was deprived of his 
commission as colonel, by the king’s order; and his patron, 
lord Temple, lost his post of lord-lieutenant of the county. 
This nobleman, at his own expense, availed himself of the 
legal decision against general warrants, and commenced 
actions against the king’s messengers, the secretaries, the un¬ 
der secretary, and the solicitor of the treasury; in all which 
the prosecutors obtained damages, which were paid by the 
crown, in consequence of an express order of council. Thus 
the doctrine of the illegality of such warrants was established, 
and for this accession to the cause of liberty the public were 
indebted to John Wilkes, lord Temple, and lord chief justice 
Pratt, afterwards lord Camden. Wilkes, not satisfied with this 
triumph, proceeded, against the advice of his friends, to set 
up a press in his own house, and to reprint the North Briton ; 
for which he was again prosecuted to conviction. Having 
withdrawn to France in 1763, he was expelled from the house 
of commons, because he did not appear to answer the char¬ 
ges that were produced against him. The next attack that 
was directed against him was occasioned by his printing an 
indecent and profane piece, called 44 Essay on Woman,” and 
said to have been written by Mr. Potter, son of the archbishop 
of the same name; and as some scandalous reflections on a 
bishop were introduced in this piece, complaint of breach of 
privilege was made in the house of lords ; and on a prosecu¬ 
tion, he was found guilty of both the crimes of blasphemy 
and libel. By his continued absence, he incurred the penalty 
of outlawry. Upon a change of ministry he retunied to 
England, and delivered himself to custody ; and confiding 
in his popularity, he offered himself as a candidate to repre¬ 
sent the city of London; but failing in this object, he was 
immediately elected for the county of Middlesex. Although 
his sentence of outlawry was reversed as illegal, lie was con¬ 
demned for his two libels to an imprisonment of 22 months, 
and a fine of 1000/. In 1769 he was charged with being the 
author of a pamphlet relating to the riots, occasioned by his 
imprisonment, and expelled from the house; and being im¬ 
mediately re-elected, he was declared incapable of a seat in 
the house during the existing parliament. He now became 
popular as the martyr of liberty, and large sums were collec¬ 
ted towards the payment of his debts. He was again re- 
Vol. XXIV. No. 1663. 
K E S. 
elected, and his election was declared void. At the next 
election, the court-candidate, colonel Luttrel, whose votes 
were about a fourth of those of Mr. Wilkes, was declared the 
sitting member. This measure caused dissatisfaction and 
complaint through the country, and produced petitions for 
the dissolution of parliament. Wilkes, though excluded 
from parliament, was chosen an alderman of the city of 
London ; and in the exercise of his office as a magistrate, 
he resisted with his usual spirit exactions of authority 
which he considered as illegal; and actually liberated one of 
the printers of newspapers in which the speeches of mem¬ 
bers of parliament were detailed, and who had been arrested 
by royal proclamation. Two others were released by lord 
mayor Crosby and alderman Oliver, who being members 
of the house were committed to the Tower. Wilkes was 
ordered to attend at the bar of the house; but in a letter 
to the speaker, he objected, that in the order for atten¬ 
dance, no notice was taken of his being a member of the 
house, and his attendance in his place had not been desired, 
which forms, he said, were essential: he also demanded his 
seat, and then he would give a full account and justification 
of his conduct. The house, sensible of the difficulty to 
which it had subjected itself, saved its authority by adjourn¬ 
ing for the day on which Wilkes was ordered to attend. In 
1772 Wilkes was chosen one of the sheriffs for London and 
Middlesex, and in 1774 lord mayor of London. Having 
conducted himself with propriety and reputation in his pub¬ 
lic offices, he was re-elected in 1776 a representative for the 
county of Middlesex; and was allowed to take his seat without 
opposition. In parliament, he opposed the measures that 
occasioned the American war; and on the accession of the 
Rockingham administration, he carried his motion for re¬ 
scinding the decision of the house of commons, which gave 
Luttrel a seat by a minority of votes. In 1779 he succeeded 
in his application for the office of chamberlain in the city of 
London, and retained it during the remainder of his life. 
Tired of political conflicts, the latter years of his life passed 
off without much notice, so that, to adopt his own expres¬ 
sion, he was an “extinguished volcano;” and he expired at 
the house of his daughter in 1797, in the 73d year of his age. 
His private history affords no memorial that is either amusing 
or instructive. The early errors of his conduct cast a shade 
over his character. His literary talents and attainments, de¬ 
voted as he was to pleasure, and engaged in business, never 
attracted much notice; though as a companion he knew how 
to render himself agreeable. Although his patriotism might 
possibly originate in disappointed views and expectations, he 
was consistent and steady in maintaining the cause to which 
he was attached; and he was, either intentionally or inci¬ 
dentally, and by an intrepidity and self-possession which he 
possessed in an eminent degree, the instrument of gaining 
some important advantages to public and private liberty. 
Aim. Mem. of Wilkes. Ann. Reg. Gen. Biog. 
WILKES, a county of the United States, in the north-west 
part of North Carolina. Population 9054, besides 1194 
slaves. 
WILKES, a post town of the United States, and capital 
of Wilkes county, North Carolina; 50 miles west of German¬ 
town. 
WILKES, a township of the United States, in Gallia 
county, Ohio. Population 187. 
WILKES, a county of the United States, in the north¬ 
west part of Georgia. Population 14,887; slaves 7284. 
Chief town, Washington. 
WILKESBARRE, a post town of the United States, and 
capital of Luzerne county, Pennsylvania, on the Susquehanna. 
A bridge is building across the river. The country around 
abounds in coal; 115 miles north-north-west of Philadelphia. 
Population 1225. Lat. 41. 12. N. long. 75. 55. W. 
WILKESBY, a parish of England, in Lincolnshire; 5 
miles south-south-east of Horncastle. 
W1LKESLEY, a township of England, in Cheshire; 8 
miles south-by-west of Nantwich. 
WILKINS (David), a learned antiquary, was born in 
7 D 1685, 
