Cassell's History of England, Vol. 4 (of 8): From the Fall of Marlborough to the Peninsular WarAnonymous
History
Cassell's History of England, Vol. 4 (of 8): From the Fall of Marlborough to the Peninsular War
Anonymous
Great Britain -- History
The triumph of the Whigs was complete. Whilst Oxford, who had been
making great efforts at the last to retrieve himself with his party
by assisting them to seize the reins of power on the queen's illness,
was admitted in absolute silence to kiss the king's hand, and that not
without many difficulties, Marlborough, Somers, Halifax, and the rest
were received with the most cordial welcome. Yet, on appointing the
new cabinet, the king showed that he did not forget the double-dealing
of Marlborough. He smiled on him, but did not place him where he hoped
to be, at the head of affairs. He made Lord Townshend Secretary of
State and Prime Minister; Stanhope, the second Secretary; the Earl of
Mar was removed from the Secretaryship of Scotland to make way for
the Duke of Montrose; Lord Halifax was made First Lord Commissioner
of the Treasury, and was raised to an earldom, and was allowed to
confer on his nephew the sinecure of Auditor of the Exchequer; Lord
Cowper became Lord Chancellor; Lord Wharton was made Privy Seal,
and created a marquis; the Earl of Nottingham became President
of the Council; Mr. Pulteney was appointed Secretary-at-War; the
Duke of Argyll, Commander-in-Chief for Scotland; Shrewsbury, Lord
Chamberlain and Groom of the Stole; the Duke of Devonshire became Lord
Steward of the Household; the Duke of Somerset, Master of the Horse;
Sunderland, Lord-lieutenant of Ireland; Walpole was at first made
simply Paymaster of the Forces, without a place in the cabinet, but
his ability in debate and as a financier soon raised him to higher
employment; Lord Orford was made First Lord of the Admiralty; and
Marlborough, Commander-in-Chief and Master of the Ordnance. His power,
however, was gone. In the whole new cabinet Nottingham was the only
member who belonged to the Tory party, and of late he had been acting
more in common with the Whigs. The Tories complained vehemently of
their exclusion, as if their dealings with the Pretender had been a
recommendation to the House of Hanover. They contended that the king
should have shown himself the king of the whole people, and aimed at a
junction of the two parties.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account