CHAP. CLXXII. Jan. 27. 1793. Letter from Sir Gilbert Elliot respecting Lord borough's After expressing his own determination not to accept office, he says, "With regard to Lord Loughborough, I think the question. stands on different grounds. His acceptance of the Seals I believe sincerely to be eminently necessary for the public service. His conduct has been highly honourable, and every thing like personal claim or even party claim on him by the Duke of Portland is certainly at least cancelled, if not converted into a direct provocation, Lough- by what has passed since the commencement of this session. But acceptance the public good, in my opinion, requires his services; and for that reason they are due from him. I shall certainly not only approve but applaud his acceptance of the Seals. It is for every man to consider whether the public has the same claim on him. I cannot feel that my services in office are of the smallest moment to the country; but the circumstances of the country may become such as to require all our aid, in every way in which it is called for." of office. Congratulations from Burke. Some who had narrowly watched the career of the " 'wary Wedderburn" declared that he would have supported a revolutionary movement, and held the Great Seal under the directors of the "Anglican Republic," if this had appeared the better course for gratifying his ambition; but in the AntiJacobin frenzy now prevailing he was very generally applauded for magnanimously leaving his party when it had become infected with the bad principles which he had so boldly denounced, and for the dexterity with which he had carried so many partizans along with him to rally round our time-honoured institutions. Thus was he congratulated by Burke: "MY DEAR LORD, "Since I saw you last, the catastrophe of the tragedy of France has been completed.* It was the necessary result of all the preceding parts of that monstrous drama. "Though I looked for something of that kind as inevitable from the day when the Rights of Man were declared, yet when the fatal and final event itself arrived, I was as much levelled and thrown to the ground, in the general consternation, as if it were a thing I had never dreamed of. "I felt and I feel deeply but I have recovered myself. I have now only to think of the past, which you, and those who have got * The murder of Louis XVI. enough of spirit, energy, and abilities to come forward in the service of your country, are obliged to take in this awful crisis of the world. "I hear that your Lordship is to take the Great Seal next Tuesday. I think we are all much obliged to his Majesty for this arrangement. The King has acted wisely in his choice. You have done your duty in your acceptance. I should have thought you criminal, in your circumstances, if you had declined to do a service to the public, which you alone can do. "The time requires exertions of uncommon vigour and compass. It is therefore proper to add all possible strength to an Administration which has for its object effectually to defend the Constitution of this kingdom, and the liberties of Europe, against French principles and French power. This never can be done by those who have declared their concurrence with the one, and their good wishes in favour of the other. There is a confraternity between the two divisions of the French faction on the other side of the water and on this. They are both guilty, and equally guilty, of the late acts which have wounded to the quick all the moral feelings of mankind. If you had no other reason for going into the great trust you have accepted than as a mode of expressing your perfect detestation of the English branch of that infernal faction, and of your total alienation from any connection whatsoever with any of its leaders, I should think that motive alone would be sufficient to recommend the step you have taken to every honest mind. I shall not think that the honour of your high situation is complete until I find you abundantly censured and libelled by them. "My dear Lord, I regret that you do not carry in along with you those whom I shall ever love, value, and lament. But their error is not your fault. I prognosticate good things to the morals, virtue, and religion of the world from this appointment. Let me not find myself mistaken. You have undertaken a task of great responsibility. I know the purity of your motives-but the public will judge of them by your future conduct, and the effect of your services. I am sure you have my most sincere good wishes. I am, with a very affectionate attachment, "My dear Lord, "Your Lordship's faithful and affectionate humble servant, CHAP. CLXXII. A. D. 1793. "Duke Street, Jan. 27. 1793."* Rossl. MSS. "EDM. BURKE. CHAP. CLXXII. As soon as the intelligence reached Swisserland, it called forth the following effusion from the Historian of the Decline A. D. 1793. and Fall of the Roman Empire, now become, from dread of Sans Culottes, a convert to Church establishments, and a defender of the Inquisition : And from "MY LORD, "I do not merely congratulate your Lordship's promotion to the first civil office in the kingdom - an office which your abilities have long deserved. My satisfaction does not arise from an assurance of the wisdom and vigour which Administration will derive from the support of so respectable an ally. But as a friend to government in general, I most sincerely rejoice that you are now armed in the common cause against the most dangerous fanatics that have ever invaded the peace of Europe against the new Barbarians who labour to confound the order and happiness of society, and who, in the opinion of thinking men, are not less the enemies of subjects than of kings. The hopes of the wise and good are now fixed on the success of England, and I am persuaded that my personal attachment to your Lordship will be amply gratified by the important share which your counsels will assume in that success. "I could wish that some of your former associates possessed sufficient strength of mind to extricate themselves from the toils of prejudice and party: but I grieve that a man whom it is impossible for me not to love and admire should refuse to obey the voice of his country; and I begin to fear that the powerful genius of Mr. Fox, instead of being useful, will be adverse to the public service. At this momentous crisis we should enlist our whole force of virtue, ability, and spirit,—and, without any view to his private advantage, I could wish that our active friend Lord Sheffield might be properly stationed in some part of the line. Mr. Necker, at whose house I am now residing, on a visit of some days, wishes me to express the sentiments of esteem and consideration which he entertains for your Lordship's character. As a friend of the interest of mankind he is warmly attached to the welfare of Great Britain, which he has long revered as the first, and perhaps as the last, asylum of genuine liberty. His late eloquent work, Du Pouvoir Exécutif,' which your Lordship has assuredly read, is a valuable testimony of his esteem for our Constitution; and the testimony of a sagacious and impartial stranger may have taught some of our countrymen to value the political blessings which they had been tempted to despise. I cherish a lively hope of being in England, and of paying my respects to your Lordship, before the end of the summer. But the events of this year are so uncertain, and the sea and land are encompassed with so many difficulties and dangers, that I am doubtful whether it will be practicable for me to execute my purpose. “I am, my Lord, most respectfully, and (your Lordship will permit me to add) most affectionately, "Your most obedient and faithful humble servant, "Rolle, Feb. 23d, 1793.”* "E. GIBBON. CHAP. CLXXII. A. D. 1793. leave of the Court of Pleas. "On Monday, the 4th of February, the Chancellor came He takes into the Court of Common Pleas to take the oaths on his new appointment, and sat for a short time as Chief Justice. Common Before he retired, his Lordship took leave of the Bench and the Bar in a very elegant address, expressive of his gratitude for the uniform attention and respect which he had received during the time he had presided there.”† We are now to view him as the chief Equity Judge, and presiding over the general administration of justice in this country. As far as representation went, no one ever acted the part with more applause. In the first place, his style of living was most splendid. Ever indifferent about money, instead of showing mean contrivances to save a shilling, he spent the whole of his official income in official splendour. Though himself very temperate, his banquets were princely; he entertained an immense retinue of servants, and not dreaming that his successor would walk through the mud to # Rossl. MSS. In the year 1796, when Lord Sheffield was publishing Gibbon's Miscellaneous Works, he asked Lord Loughborough's permission to include this letter in the collection, but was refused. He then made a second application, in a letter which lies before me, and thus begins: "My dear Lord, - Pelham and Serjeant were with me when I received your Lordship's answer on the subject of publishing Gibbon's letter of congratulation. They wondered, as well as myself, that you should object. There is nothing fulsome, nor more said than perfectly natural and proper; but as the letter is happily expressed in regard to the times of Mr. Necker, it is a pity it should be lost; and by erasing your name, and the name of your office, your objections perhaps may be removed." Lord Loughborough was very sensitive upon the subject of his coalition with Mr. Pitt, and he remained inflexible. †2 Hen. Black. 132. His qualifications as an Equity Judge. CHAP. CLXXII. His splen did mode of living. His deficiencies. Westminster, sending the Great Seal thither in a hackney coach, he never stirred abroad without his two splendid car1793-1801. riages, exactly alike, drawn by the most beautiful horses, – one for himself, and another for his attendants. Though of low stature and slender frame, his features were well chiselled, his countenance was marked by strong lines of intelligence, his eye was piercing, his appearance was dignified, and his manners were noble. To the Bar he was impartially courteous, never favouring, or being afraid of, any man who practised before him. While sitting on the bench, he devoted his whole attention to the arguments addressed to him, unless when it was necessary to give a hint of "wandering" or "repetition ;"-and from his quick perception of facts, and capacity of being made to understand nice legal questions with which he was little familiar, he was praised by Chancery practitioners as an Equity Judge rather beyond his merits. They had no jealousy of him as a common lawyer, for he had been bred in their school, and he certainly knew as much of equity as of law. Unfortunately, he would not now submit to the labour and drudgery necessary for acquiring permanent reputation as a magistrate. When out of court, instead of dedicating his time to the consideration of the cases pending before him, or in reviving and extending his juridical knowledge, he was absorbed in politics, or he mixed in fashionable society, or he frequented the theatre. The beau idéal of a perfect Chancellor does not present to us a mere slave to judicial duties, neglecting all that is elegant and liberal; but such a man, regularly trained in his profession, and possessing a good understanding and upright intentions, would distribute justice more satisfactorily to the suitors, than another who, without these qualifications, may aim at uniting in his own person the reputation of a Bacon, a Somers, and a Shaftesbury. However, Lord Loughborough's dazzling accomplishments, joined with his characteristic discretion, covered his defects; and although he lived in very factious times, I do not find incompetence for his office, or remissness in the discharge of it, ever gravely imputed to him. According to Butler, who had often heard him, and was well quali Praise of him by Butler. |