Chapter II: Conway, Cumberland, and Devonshire, 1754-1763
In 1754 Conway
was in those political circles closest to the King. There, first place belonged
to the Duke of Cumberland, his military patron. Right behind in the affection
of George II were the Dukes of Devonshire, Grafton, and Richmond, all long-time
courtiers and heads of great Whig families. Devonshire, one of Sir Robert
Walpole’s closest friends and titular leader of the Old Corps, was a major
figure in the Household and always one of the King’s most trusted advisors.
Conway’s Old Corps ties were confirmed in 1755 when he became associated with
the Duke’s son, the Marquis of Hartington. When the old Duke died later that
year, his heir succeeded him as ‘Prince of the Whigs’ and confidant to the
King. Hartington was also an intimate of Henry Fox and he Duke of Cumberland.
Conway’s connection with the Fitzroy family went back even further. His brother
had married Lady Isabella Fitzroy in 1741, and ever since Conway counted the
Duke of Grafton as a friend. In 1757 the Duke was succeeded by his grandson,
sixteen years Conway’s junior, who brought Conway into Parliament for Thetford
in 1761. Also, in 1757 Conway’s stepdaughter, Lady May Bruce, married the young
Duke of Richmond, grandson of another of George II’s friends and the nephew of
Henry Fox. Richmond entered the army and viewed Conway as a mentor. The
influence and power of Conway’s friends inspired suspicion and hatred among
other politicians and it is no wonder that he had few political ties outside of
this circle.
He had, for
example, little to do with the Duke of Newcastle, for decades a leading figure
in administration. Newcastle’s weight and energy made him essential in
government but the parties closest to the King did not give him the esteem they
had given to his brother. The Duke had never felt secure with the King and
after the Regency Act of 1751, Cumberland had become an inveterate enemy.
Neither was he on the best of terms with the Old Corps which distrusted his
foreign policies, especially German alliances. The death of Pelham left
Newcastle with no means of managing the House of Commons and pride, suspicion,
and shrewdness made him reluctant to turn to Fox, whose abilities and
connections might have made the Duke a cipher in his own administration. Conway
had even less to do with those groups further away from the Old King. He had
voted on occasion with William Pitt in opposition but only on matters of
principle, and he was never a friend or follower of Pitt’s. Pitt was personally
objectionable to the King, and Cumberland, Hartington, and Fox were always
determined to keep him out of any leading role. Finally, Conway hardly knew the
Prince of Wales. At Leicester House Cumberland was seen as a potential usurper,
and the great Whigs were regarded as the captors of the King.[1]
After his
brother’s death Newcastle decided to take the Treasury and divide the management
of the Commons among a number of lesser men. He repulsed attempts by both Fox
and Pitt to succeed Pelham, and they both remained in administration although
obviously unhappy. The Duke chose Sir Thomas Robinson, a career diplomat little
noted for his knowledge of the House, as Secretary of State and ostensible
Manager. H. B. Legge, an Old Corps Whig, became Chancellor of the Exchequer
although it was clear that the Pelhams’ old friend and advisor, Lord Dupplin,
would be the political agent of the Treasury. Newcastle’s voice in the Commons
was Attorney General William Murray, later Earl of Mansfield. It was a divided
and weak system which required all the support it could get, and therefore
Conway was not neglected. In July 1754 he became Colonel of the 4th Horse
Guards, a regiment on the Irish establishment sometimes called the Irish Horse.
In October he was given, after a very cordial meeting with Newcastle, the
promise of a place in the Bedchamber on the first vacancy.[2]
More importantly, he was asked in November to second the Address. The threat of
war with France made this a more than ordinary assignment and many of the
leading men in the House were reluctant to give more than lukewarm support to
the ministry. The Earl of Hardwicke noted that, “this occasion requires some
judgment and delicacy, “ and Legge, a good friend of Conway’s, observed that
“we should be forced to lower our tone very much” if he refused.[3]
Conway accepted and made a strong and effective speech. France was one of his
abiding fears and he told the House,
I do not think that single and alone we are a match for the power of France, considering how much it has increased within the last century, and how firmly the people of that country are now united under a sole and absolute monarch.
He had no
intention, however of yielding to the “groundless pretentions” or the “unjust
encroachment” of that nation. Against France England would always have an
effective resource: “an alliance with those Powers upon the continent of
Europe, who have as much reason to be jealous of France as we have.” Subsidies
might be necessary but he was sure “there is not an english Protestant…who
would not cheerfully submit to it, rather than see his country reduced to a
slavish dependency on France.” He urged the Address be approved nemine
contradicente for only “a perfect unanimity amongst ourselves,” would
induce the French Court to be reasonable, [4]
and in such dangerous times hoped that “no gentlemen would suffer their private
ambitions or emulation to obstruct the King’s measures or interrupt that
unanimity.” [5]
In February 1755
he was chosen as Secretary by the newly appointed Lord lieutenant of Ireland,
the Marquis of Hartington. Irish politics had been in turmoil ever since the
end of the last war when, for a number of reasons, a large surplus had accrued
in the Irish Treasury. The disposal of this surplus again brought into question
the relationship between the two Kingdoms as Irish “patriots” questioned the
legislative dependence of the Irish parliament. The patriots argued that their
Parliament could dispose of the surplus as it pleased and pointed to a whole
host of public works that needed to be done although cynics were quick to smell
the pork-barrel. English government, however, insisted that the surplus belonged
to the Crown and could only be disposed of with the “previous consent” of the
Crown. The conflict came to a head in 1753 when the government headed by the
Duke of Dorset and his son and Secretary, Lord George Sackville, suffered a
rare defeat in the Irish House of Commons. Government was forced to back down
as a number of its most prominent supporters deserted it to lead the
opposition. Among these were Speaker of the House Henry Boyle, Prime Serjeant
at Law Anthony Malone, and the increasingly popular Earl of Kildare. Besides
leaning towards the patriot position these leaders were angered y the
heavy-handed methods of Sackville and his ally George Stone, Primate of Ireland
and one of the leading figures in Irish politics due to his perennial inclusion
in the list of Lords Justices. To counter this opposition Sackville and Stone
sought to create a court party and in 1754 drove their opponents out of their
places. They failed, however, to break the united opposition and it seemed
obvious that if Dorset returned to the Kingdom to conduct the session scheduled
to open in the fall of 1755, the controversy would rise to new heights. Neither
the King nor Newcastle wished to desert Dorset but in February 1755 the
imminence of war with France and rumors of a descent upon the Irish coast made
it necessary that a Lord lieutenant go to Ireland to put military defenses in
order and calm the troubled political waters. [6]
In this crisis
Hartington appeared to many as the one who could restore tranquility. His
family had long been involved in Ireland. His father had been a popular Lord
lieutenant and even after his semi-retirement in 1749 ministers continued to
consult him on Irish affairs. In 1748 Hartington had married Charlotte
Elizabeth Boyle, heiress of the Earl of Burlington, a great Irish landlord. The
effect of this marriage has been described by an historian of the Cavendish
family:
In their own country they already stood as high as they well could, but the Irish estates gave them a new importance in the sister island…The appointment of the head of the Cavendishes as lord-lieutenant of Ireland, though no new thing, received a new appropriateness. Irish blood was already in their veins from the first duke’s marriage with Mary Butler. Charlotte Boyle brought them both Irish blood and Irish lands. [7]
Through marriage
Hartington was connected also with the Earl of Bessborough, head of the
Ponsonby family and one of the leading politicians in the island. One sister
had married William Ponsonby, Lord Duncannon (2nd Earl of Bessborough
in 1758), and another had married John Ponsonby, the family’s spokesman in the
Irish House of Commons. The connection with the Ponsonby’s, at this time
supporters of the Primate, was a cause of concern to supporters of other
factions, but Hartington’s reputed honesty and fairness, and his ties with Fox,
a close friend of the Earl of Kildare, enabled him to appear as a potential
conciliator. Writing from Holland House the Countess of Kildare described
Hartington’s appointment as “just what we could wish; and few could have been
named among our great folks here but what there would have been some objection
to.” [8]
On the other hand, in listing the qualities that Dorset’s successor should
possess the Primate obviously used Hartington as his model:
A person might be found, whose name and character, built upon his father’s reputation, with the strength of his own property here, would so precede his arrival, as to make the way smooth before him, and enable him without difficulty…to carry such measures into execution as his majesty…should direct. I could name such a person were I allowed to do it. [9]
Conway was also
chosen to soothe ruffled tempers and his credentials were similar to
Hartington’s. Both were Old Corps Whigs on intimate terms with the Duke of Cumberland
whose friends were assuming great importance in Newcastle’s administration. In
addition, Conway’s family had long been connected with Ireland. By 1754
Conway’s brother impressed many as a suitable Lord lieutenant, and in March of
that year had been asked to serve as Lord Deputy so that Dorset might save face
and leave the country without having to appoint Lords Justices. [10]
If this plan had not fallen through Conway might have become Secretary a year
earlier. He was not unfamiliar with Ireland. Since 1751 his regiments had been
stationed in that country and he had spent his last few summers there. He had
been a member of the Irish Parliament since 1741 (co. Antrim), and although he
did not take his seat until the session of 1755, this was an important asset.
Archbishop Stone saw the importance of having the Secretary identified with
Ireland:
There must be some gentleman of Ireland set up with a countenance and authority from the government in the house of commons…we may, and I hope shall, import English principles into that house; but they must be imported in Irish bottoms…there must be some one man stand out a little before the ranks in that house…When any man is marked in that way, the advantage will soon appear: and till then…the jealousy of persons directing the house of commons, who are not members of it, will subsist. [11]
When Conway took
his place on the ministerial bench in 1755, he was greeted as “the first Irish
Member who had been made secretary for many years.”[12]
Indeed, William Torrens, one of the few historians to give detailed attention
to Irish government during the reign of George II, argued that Conway’s
appointment “was the first indication…of a change in the meaning and method of
provincial rule.” He wrote,
Representing a great estate in Ulster, the Secretary abjured, silently but steadfastly, the traditions of absenteeism and the official belief so long insisted on at the Cockpit, that the appendant realm could only be kept fast by the great offices…being filled by functionaries sent across the Channel. [13]
Irish background,
however, does not fully explain the choice of Conway. Horace Walpole wrote that
Hartington refused to accept
unless Mr. Conway, with whom he was scarce acquainted, would consent to accompany him as Secretary and Minister.[14]
The position was
indeed one of business and throughout the century ambitious and talented young
men held it on their way to greater things. The Lord lieutenant stood in place
of the King in Ireland, and his Secretary performed many of the characteristic
duties associated with the term Minister. Indeed, this title, with all its
opprobrium, was often hurled at active and effective secretaries. As Secretary
Conway would be expected to negotiate with Irish political chieftains, handle
the innumerable ordinary tasks of the executive, and even lead the Irish House
of Commons. In addition, the Secretary’s considerable military duties help to
explain why a favorite officer of the Duke of Cumberland was chosen in 1755. At
one point in his stay in Ireland Conway wrote,
I seem all at once to resemble the man’s black horses, and white horses, and black-and-white horses, being civil as secretary, military as general, and civi-military as secretary-at-war,--a wonderful, as well as tiresome combination. [15]
His appointment
was both a testament to the abilities he had already demonstrated in Parliament
and the Amy, and the most serious test of those abilities he had ever faced.
Late in March
report of an impending French invasion of Ireland prompted Hartington and
Conway to hasten their departure. They spent their first month in the country
reviewing military defenses, and did not reach Dublin until May. In arriving at
the Castle Conway wrote Horace Walpole of the tension in the air.
Patriot meetings and patriot health’s have continued: patriot papers have been writ, and, in short, the minds of people kept in a sort of suspense, waiting, as it seems, for the event of things to see how well-satisfied they are to be. [16]
In general, the
various chieftains had formed themselves into two camps. On one side, the
Primate’s friends and the Ponsonbys, who had supported Dorset all along, were
clamoring for continued exclusion of their enemies from places of profit and
power; but they did not control a majority in the House and had reason to fear
that they would be sacrificed like Dorset. On the other hand, the loose
coalition led by Boyle and Kildare had major support in the House as well as in
the nation. They demanded that the Primate be given up, that is, not appointed
one of the three Lords Justices on the Lord lieutenant’s eventual departure
from the Kingdom and that their old places be restored. Hartington and Conway,
however, had their own plan. Soon after arriving in Dublin Conway told Walpole,
Lord Hartington continues to hold one steady and uniform language of a single and settled view to do the King’s business and the nation’s by plain and direct ways; and by an equal and impartial government, favouring no party nor faction, nor setting up any…I am persuaded such behaviour and such intentions, well supported, will carry him through. [17]
This was no cant
for the two detested faction and were both determined to steer between the
Irish ones in order to break them and establish government on a more secure
footing.
Conway soon found
that Irish politics had a character all their own. He wrote,
The great business of life is to stuff and be stuffed. Immoderate eating is among the prime social virtues; but immoderate drinking lifts you up to the skies. One would think such furious politics would interrupt it; but it’s quite the contrary…I am dreadfully annoyed with all sorts of incumbrance of the most disagreeable kind…visits, steams of meat, and fumes of wine, all conspiring to confound me.[18]
He told his brother
that the “dismal life of hurry and business…makes me often sign for Park Place
and a little of my beloved indolence.”[19]
His greatest problem, however, was the insistence of the opposition leaders
that the Primate be dropped from the list of Lords Justices. The invasion scare
soon passed and Hartington did not wish to summer in Ireland, but rather than
give in to the opposition Hartington and Conway both saw that the former must
stay to avoid the necessity of appointing Lords Justices. Conway described this decision as
A step prudentially taken, on the opinion of all those my Lord has conversed with, of all parties—and I do really think, though such against my own private inclination, as wise and necessary a step as ever was taken.[20]
Although in
England the Lord lieutenant’s remaining in Ireland was viewed as a concession
to the Speaker’s party, Conway advised Hartington to go further and give either
a sign of favor to the Speaker or disfavor to the Primate. If it only took that
to satisfy that party, he argued that “the public tranquility is purchased at a
cheaper rate that ever it was before from any Parliamentary majority.”[21]
The King disliked rewarding men for opposition and the English ministry balked,
forcing Conway to go over in July to get the necessary support.
He and Hartington
were agreed that the Primate must be excluded from any future share in the
government, and the real object of his visit was to win over the Duke of
Newcastle. Although the Archbishop was a favorite of the Duke, the latter
wished to please Hartington. Conway met Newcastle on July 22 and won his cause,
the Duke informing Hartington of his intention “to bring about every thing you
wish, in the best, and most unexceptionable manner.”[22]
He only asked that the Primate be allowed to request his own exclusion and
promised to write him about the matter. Hartington, however, changed his mind,
took the Ponsonbys into his confidence (who then convinced him that giving up
the Primate would throw the government completely into the hands of the
Speaker), and proposed the appointment of a Lord Deputy. Dismayed at the
weakness of this scheme, as well as at his own ill-treatment Conway wrote a
long letter of protest in which he disposed of all the arguments against
removing the Primate. He told Hartington there would be no apprehension of the Primate’s
friends abandoning government.
They might desert you; but when their connexions, and dependencies and the emoluments they possess are considered I don’t think they’ll desert Them.
Neither should the
Lord lieutenant worry about the patriotic language employed by the Speaker’s
party.
A Patriot that has got his Place is like a wild beast that is fed, and becomes as tame and tractable as possible. These notions…are the Arms of the Party, taken up for the purpose of opposition and your Lord: has experience enough of the world to know are always laid aside when those purposes are served.
Moreover, once
the Speaker and his allies had made their “bargain,”
The personal jealousies and separate views so well known amongst them, the cry of the disappointed etc. will soon infallibly raise divisions amongst them, and the Speaker with those who come in and are satisfied will soon be more glad of your support than you of theirs.
The Ponsonbys
might promise a majority of ten, but such a majority was “almost as bad and as
contrary to your plan as a minority.”[23] Hartington accepted his Secretary’s
advice and the Lord Deputy scheme was dropped. Conway returned to Ireland with
the promise that English
government would not insist on the inclusion of the Primate in the list of
Lords Justices. The news of the Primate’s fall elicited this praise from Horace
Walpole:
You have tranquillized a nation, have repaired your master’s honour, and secured the peace of your administration![24]
Back in Ireland
Conway was plunged into the preparation for the Parliamentary session to open
in early October. The Speaker and his friends now made further demands. Places,
pensions, a free-hand in the distribution of the surplus revenue, were some of
the things they requested before guaranteeing a peaceful session.
Conway asked
Newcastle whether,
The government had not better yield a little even of their strict dignity to the necessity of the times; in order to recover it more surely hereafter, when the ferment in people’s minds is allayed; and those events have happened which may shortly be expected; I mean principally the breaking up of that which I am convinced is an unnatural coalition of various interests and parties…[25]
For the moment
the Speaker’s friends went unsatisfied and calm was maintained in the session
by careful management and constant negotiation behind the scenes. Both sides
were ready to fly at each other but Hartington and Conway, who was always on
the spot in the House, carefully avoided any provocative measures. Early in
January 1756 Conway explained the government’s unwillingness to support a plan
to limit the number of Roman Catholic priests in Ireland:
I believe under proper restrictions a very good law, in quiet times, but not very expedient at the present critical juncture.[26]
Later that month
the Lord lieutenant, now 4th duke of Devonshire, protested an
English scheme for sending Irish troops to America, telling Newcastle
I am afraid that you are not aware of the difficulties that we labor under, and the temper and dispositions of the people here…prudence and caution is absolutely necessary until they are a little more settled…[27]
The necessary
revenues were voted including an augmentation of the Irish military establishment,
and although it was agreed that part of the surplus be spent on Irish projects,
all questions of “right” and “previous consent_--what had produced the turmoil
of the Dorset administration—were dropped.
By late January
only one problem remained. Into whose hands should the government fall on the
Lord lieutenant’s departure? An intricate compromise was struck. Since the
Primate could not be a Lord Justice, neither would Henry Boyle be one. A
peerage, a pension, and the restoration of his place was to be both the
Speaker’s reward and the means of getting him out of his powerful position in
the Commons, where he was succeeded by John Ponsonby, Devonshire’s
brother-in-law. The other former opposition leaders were given similar rewards
and, as a later Secretary pointed out, “ the inferior partizans were all
provided for, nemo non donatus abivit.” [28]
Later administrations censured this settlement but at the time it was difficult
to see what else could be done. The King “did not like buying people, who had
opposed him,” [29] but gave in
when Newcastle and others argued that as the Speaker’s party “had got the
superiority in Ireland, it was necessary to find some way to remedy that…” [30]
When news of the deal finally leaked out in early March, the Speaker’s friends
were “prodigiously angry” with him: some upset at the terms of the deal, others
at not being in the secret. As Conway predicted, the public outcry was so great
that the former opposition leaders had little choice but meekly to support
government or awkwardly back out of their places. Conway wrote Fox that “the
Government seemed to set out on a new footing, and that it was once more vested
in the hands of the Governor.” [31]
Horace Walpole
gave his cousin much of the credit for the apparent success of administration
in Ireland, a bright spot in an otherwise dismal year:
You grand corrupter, you who can bribe pomp and patriotism, virtue and a Speaker, you that have pursued uprightness even to the last foot of land on the globe, and have disarmed Whiggism on the banks of its own Boyne. [32]
This was lavish
but not wholly undeserved. Conway has usually been portrayed as an inept and
inexperienced politician but it is clear that while he did not like much of the
business, he did it well. The Lord lieutenant entrusted a good deal of the
ordinary decisions of the executive to him, and assured Newcastle that major
negotiations were never conducted without Conway. His activity in the Irish
Parliament shows that he had become skilled in the arts of management. During
the midst of the session his brother had expressed concern over a piece of
business but Conway assured him,
Don’t think I am to be jockeyed. No! I have seen something of that way of proceeding; but this postponing it and leaving it out of the bill was my own work—only to avoid too much jealously and appearance of partiality. [33]
Conway’s approach
to management is shown in the criticism he made of John Ponsonby:
That thorough bargaining kind of Politicks I believe he learnt from the Pr[imate] and I think it in general the worst method in the world especially where you have gentlemen of any character and delicacy to deal with. Those points should be touched gently and with Art. Many a man will engage himself by degrees that wont bear a direct question; and of all the methods of treating in the world I think it the most offensive to those you treat with and the least honourable to those who treat. [34]
In his Memoirs
Walpole contrasted Conway’s parliamentary style and its effect with Sackville’s
and Charles Townshend’s.
Mr. Conway soothed and persuaded; Lord George Sackville informed and convinced; Charles Townshend astonished; but was too severe to persuade, and too bold to convince…One loved the first, one feared the second, one admired the last without the least mixture of esteem.[35]
Conway lacked
neither the skill nor experience of a “Minister”, only the temper and ambition.
Describing the visits of the importunate, which as Secretary he had to bear
almost without end, Conway told Walpole,
If I had the taste or the pride of an minister about me, I think I might find something like enjoyment in this; but with me it is quite other wise. It turns my head and my stomach, and almost my temper.[36]
Perhaps the most
important effect of Conway’s stay in Ireland was the friendship that grew
between him and Devonshire. Although “scarce acquainted” at the beginning, a
similarity of character and opinion as well as mutual service combined to forge
a bond that proved lasting. Two months after their arrival in Ireland Conway
wrote of his chief,
What supports me and makes everything tolerable, is the great ease, good-nature, and friendship of Lord Hartington, which is beyond expression. Had I been under any other Lord-Lieutenant in the world, I should either have deserted or died of it.[37]
Early in 1756 Conway
was raised to the rank of major-general, and that summer Devonshire offered him
the colonelcy of the Royal Irish Dragoons, a position he declined.[38]
Even after they had ceased to be Lord lieutenant and Secretary, the Duke
continued to act as Conway’s patron. Conway came to value nothing so much as
his association with the Cavendish family, and until the Duke’s death in 1764
was a most important confidant and advisor.
The connection
became especially important in the fall of 1756 when Devonshire became First
Lord of the Treasury. With the war going badly both Fox and Newcastle resigned
in October, leaving the King with no choice but to call upon Pitt, the ally of
Leicester House and the darling of the tory backbenchers. The formation of the
ministry was placed in the hands of Devonshire, one of the few men the King
still had reason to trust. Above personal ambition the Duke was genuinely
concerned to keep up the old King’s dignity and authority. His stature and
impartiality made it possible for him to negotiate with most of the contending
parties. Indeed, both Fox and Pitt wanted him to take the Treasury, the former
as a check on Pitt and he Grenvilles, and the latter as an inducement to the
Whigs. [39]
Conway, still Devonshire’s Secretary, became involved in these tangled
negotiations, and at one point his intervention was crucial. Finding Pitt’s
terms too high, Devonshire, on Fox’s urging, decided to take the Treasury with
Fox as Chancellor of the Exchequer.
They hoped that if Pitt’s other demands were met he and his friends
would be content. Conway, Hertford, and Walpole got wind of this plan the night
before it was to be announced to the King, and the three agreed that Conway
should go to the Duke and steer him away from such a dangerous scheme. [40]
Next day Devonshire accepted the Treasury without conditions, that is, he
agreed to drop Fox and go in with Pitt and Leicester House.
In this
administration the Duke acted as the King’s man in a cabinet which the King
distrusted, an uncomfortable situation which he only took temporarily. During
the session his friends in the Commons tried to impede and obstruct what they
considered rash measures. Conway worked with Fox to embarrass Pitt and protect
the King’s interests. The King’s speech, for example, reflected Pitt’s desire
to send away the Hanoverian troops who had been brought to England during the
invasion scare. In the Lords Devonshire—to the consternation of Pitt’s
friends—inserted a paragraph in the Address thanking the King for bringing over
the troops, and in the Commons both Fox and Conway cautioned against sending
them back.[41]
Later in the session when George Townshend brought in a militia bill, Conway
offered another plan as a diversion.[42]
This failed but he and Fox continued to snipe at Pitt until the latter’s
dismissal in April. This activity was part of a general plan of harassment
which culminated in the Duke of Cumberland’s refusal to take command of the
army in Germany as long as Pitt was a minister. [43]
After Pitt’s fall Conway was made a groom of the Bedchamber, and continued to
support his powerful friends in Parliament. Devonshire remained at the Treasury
until the supplies were voted and Conway defended him against Pitt. [44]
Although Fox was offended when Conway failed to appear for the vote on the
Minorca inquiry (Fox did not believe Conway’s story of a swollen knee),
Cumberland told him,
As to Harry Conway his carracter (sic) won’t allow of mis-representation, and at least his kind, warm behaviour to me in this last transaction [Pitt’s dismissal] ought to have removed any unjust suspicions…[45]
Despite the
apparent success of his friends, Conway was unhappy with the political
situation. He looked ahead, as many did, to a rapprochement between Pitt and Newcastle
which would put the King in an even worse situation. [46]
The completion of
the Minorca inquiry removed the one obstacle which still stood between Pitt and
Newcastle. Negotiations began in May and were urged forward in the next few
weeks by a common desire to crush the Cumberland party. The King’s enmity
towards Pitt delayed a settlement and led him to grasp at straws. Only Fox was
willing enough and audacious enough to come to the King’s rescue but it was
clear that he did not have sufficient support in Parliament. Fox believed that
the King’s favor would be sufficient support but Devonshire and Conway advised
him to avoid such dangerous methods and bow to the majority the Newcastle-Pitt
coalition would command. The King was forced to make his decision in June. On
the 12th of that month Devonshire and Fox visited Conway’s country
home, Park Place, to discuss the situation. Fox was urged to desist from
embarking the King on such a narrow bottom, and apparently gave in. Three days
later Conway was dismayed to hear that he was still talking rashly. He wrote
Devonshire,
I am sorry for the news your Grace tells me as I doubt Mr. F’s ambition and his sanguine disposition to believe what he wishes, will make him undertake, much at his own risqué and not a little I am afraid at that of a good deal of confusion to the Publick affairs…He calculates on the venality of mankind and the effect of his M’s favour and Power; which might be just in most cases, but I think false in this; where the cry of the people, the general turn of the Parliament, and the influence of Leicester House are against him…[47]
Conway was
concerned for the King’s honour and for royal authority, but in this
confrontation between King and Commons he advised Devonshire to counsel the
King to give in:
The practicability of his government and the Honour both of him and the Nation to be vigourously pursued at this critical juncture are the chief objects, and to attain them with any certainty abroad there must be some stability at home…It may be a hard and bitter pill to swallow but…none but the very capital points etc. such as immediately affect his Govt. are worth his M’s consideration now.[48]
In a few days the
King agreed and the great coalition was formed. The friends of the King
remained in important positions, for Cumberland still commanded the Army, and
Fox became Paymaster, a concession both lucrative to him and pleasing to the
King and the Duke. Devonshire, although not a minster, was of the Cabinet as
Lord Chamberlain. Nevertheless, both Pitt and Newcastle were anxious to wrest
control of the Army from Cumberland, and events on the Continent that summer
played into their hands. The Duke’s attempt to protect Hanover against a
superior French force failed and he was forced to withdraw the Electorate from
the war by the Convention of Kloster-Seven. Immediately recalled, the Duke was
insulted by his father and resigned all his military offices.
About the same
time Conway found himself in a situation where he could ill afford to be
without friends in high places. Relying on faulty intelligence, Pitt believed
the French coastal town of Rochfort was poorly defended, and hit upon an attack
there as a dramatic stroke to retrieve the military fortunes of the nation and
relieve French pressure on Hanover. Conway was made second in command to Sir
John Mordaunt. During the summer both generals expressed misgivings about the
plan to the Cabinet [49] but the
fleet finally sailed in September only to find Rochfort stoutly defended.
Within a few days the force turned back without even attempting a landing.
Although Conway was one of the few in the war council who pressed for some
action, he was bound on returning to share in the disgrace. He feared the worst
and as they were turning back wrote his brother,
I am sorry to say that I think on the whole we make a pitiful figure in not attempting anything…I expect my share of blame, and for the only time of my life dread to come back to England…[50]
Although his
friends were convinced of his innocence, and Newcastle was sympathetic, there
was no countering the anger of Pitt and the King. Only Mordaunt was
court-martialed but Conway and the other generals shared in the abuse.
Moreover, while Mordaunt was on trial Conway was reluctant to clear himself of
blame by blaming others. Walpole recorded:
The Duke of Cumberland espoused the cause of the Generals, wished them to make it a common cause, and to pin down their whole defense to the impracticability of the measure. To this Conway would not consent. [51]
The King was
particularly insulting and Conway complained of his “ill usage” at Court. He
told Devonshire,
You know I have been waiting this week past, during which I have not had a word said to me…He this day for bonne Bouche gave before me such a pointed lecture upon Generals who misbehaved, as it was impossible not to know and feel the tendency of…I had given him his Hat or I own I should have been vastly tempted to lay it down and walk away. [52]
Only the
intervention of friends kept him from resigning his place in the Bedchamber,
but in his anger he welcomed the parliamentary inquiry that Pitt was
contemplating.
I hear the Persecution is to be removed from the Cabinet to the Parlt; where at least one shall be at liberty to speak for oneself…I don’t feel my spirits sink, but rather rise; for when injury and injustice go to a certain pitch they raise a kind of indignation that keeps ‘em up. So that if I am to fall, I hope to do like a man. [53]
When Mordaunt was
acquitted with honor, Pitt dropped the inquiry and Conway never got his chance
in the House. He and the others, however, were still punished. In January 1758
the King struck the names of Mordaunt, Conway, and Cornwallis from the proposed
staff for America, a crushing blow which led Conway to believe his military
career was over.[54]
In December 1758
he was called upon to settle an exchange of prisoners in France but as long as
the King lived he was not trusted with a command. In the annus mirabilis Conway
was confined to home duty and only after the accession of George III was he
allowed to join the army in Germany. He went over as second in command to Lord
Granby and Walpole noted that “his character is vindicated at last.” [55]He
hoped to regain his reputation in battle and zealously sought action, but in
the next two years the war in Germany offered little opportunity. Politically,
he was also in a sort of limbo. In the summer of 1758 he told Devonshire,
My comfort is that if I am ill at one Court I am worse at the other, so that if I fail of employment in the probably short period of his M’s life and of this war…it may probably be for ever.” [56]
Although he never
had any connection with Leicester House, by 1759 the future George III listed
Conway among those whose abilities might enable him to dispense with Pitt. [57]
This may explain his command in 1761 but Leicester House was bound to be
disappointed in Conway. By May 1762 the desire of the young King and his
favorite, the Earl of Bute, for peace led to a serious curtailment of funds for
the German war. Thirsting for battle and believing that one more push might
break the existing stalemate, Conway began to complain of the scarcity of
funds, and the difficulty of getting what funds there were to the officers in
the field. [58]
He should have known that such criticism would not be well taken, but he was
genuinely surprised in November when an application for the governorship of a
fortress came to nothing. He complained to Devonshire that a letter to Bute
received “so dry and cold an answer that I am not much encouraged by it.” [59]
The growing estrangement of his friends from the King undoubtedly contributed
to this coldness. Being in Germany Conway could not have known that a few days
earlier the Duke had been dismissed from his office and had his name struck
from the Privy Council. There followed a wave of Whig resignations and although
Conway’s response to this news was guarded, his sympathies were with his
friend. He wrote,
I can have but one opinion of the right intention and the perfect honour and integrity that accompany every act of yours, and on the propriety nobody can judge so fitly as yourself… [60]
For the first
time in his memory Conway’s friends were ranged against the Court that he and
they had so long supported, and he feared the consequences.
I can’t but lament as an honest man the confusion…and the violence to which I hear our party spirit, and our mobbish spirit are going. The circumstances of our Country require such attention and care to heal the wounds and repair the damage of a long and most expensive war, and to improve the advantages of our conquests; in the midst of tumult and division that is not to be expected; however this is a ferment that must have its time to work off in some shape or other; and I know my dear Country too well to think they’ll philosophize in this storm…[61]###
[1] The best
sources for this state of parties in 1754 are Horace Walpole and the Duke of
Newcastle. Walpole’s memoirs of the reign of George II have already been cited,
as has Newcastle’s correspondence in the British Museum. The Duke’s letters to
Lord Hardwicke are especially valuable. In addition, for the Court see James,
Earl Waldegrave, Memoirs from 1754 to 1758 (London, 1821). For Henry
Fox, see Letters to Henry Fox (cited in c. I), and Earl of Ilchester, Henry
Fox, First Lord Holland (2 vols. London, 1920). For William Pitt, see Correspondence
of William Pitt, Earl of Chatham, ed. By William Stanhope Taylor and
Captain John Henry Pringle (London, 1838), I, 1741-1761. Richard Glover, Memoirs…from
the resignation of Sir Robert Walpole in 1742, to the establishment of Lord
Chatham’s second administration in 1757 (new edition, London, 1814) is
valuable for Pitt and the Tories. Dodington’s Journal (cited in c. I)
illustrates the fears of Leicester House.
[2] Conway to
Walpole, Oct. 20, 1754, WSL.
[3] Hardwicke to
Newcastle, Nov. 9, 1754, Add. MSS 32737, f. 328. Legge to Newcastle, Nov. 8,
1754, Ibid., f. 324.
[4] Parliamentary
History, XV, 338-341.
[5] Hardwicke to
Newcastle, [Nov. 15, 1754], Add. MSS 32737, f. 344.
[6] The major
sources for the Irish crisis are again Walpole’s Memoirs and Newcastle’s
correspondence. The correspondence between Newcastle and Archbishop Stone from
1753 to the dismissal of Dorset in early 1755 was printed by C. Lytton Falkiner
in the English Historical Review, XX, July and Oct. 1905. See the
article by J. L. McCracken, “The Conflict between the Irish Administration and
Parliament, 1753-6,” Irish Historical Studies, September, 1942. W. E. H.
Lecky, A History of Ireland in the Eighteenth Century (London, 1892) has
only a few pages on this episode and barely mentions the Hartington
administration.
[7] Francis
Bickley, The Cavendish Family (London, 1911), 211.
[8] Countess of
Kildare to the Earl of Kildare, May 15, [1755], in Correspondence of Emily, Duchess
of Leinster, 1731-1814, ed. Brian Fitzgerald ( 3 vols.; Dublin, 1949-1957),
I, 17.
[9] Archbishop
Stone to Andrew Stone, March 4, 1755, in C. Litton Falkiner, “Correspondence of
Archbishop Stone and he Duke of Newcastle,” English Historical Review, XX,
Oct. 1905, 761.
[10] Walpole, George
II, I, 390.
[11] Archbishop
to Newcastle, Jan. 14, 1754, EHR, XX, 737.
[12] W. M.
Torrens, History of Cabinets, from the Union with Scotland to the
Acquisition of Canada and Bengal (2 vv., London, 1894), II, 252. This work
has not been highly regarded by historians. It contains many inaccuracies and
makes only the slightest reference to its sources. But Torrens used the
Devonshire MSS and his discussion of Irish government during the reign of
George II is far fuller than Froude or Lecky, who pass over the events of the
1750s with hardly a notice.
[13] Ibid.,
256.
[14] Walpole, George
II, II, 2-3.
[15] Conway to
Walpole, April 5, 1756, Fraser’s Magazine, XLI, 282.
[16] Conway to
Walpole, May 8, 1755, ibid., 273.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid.,
274.
[19] Conway to
Hertford, June 16, 1755, Colburn’s…Magazine, June 1881, 197.
[20] Ibid.,
196.
[21] Ibid.,
195.
[22] Newcastle
to Hartington, July 23, 1755, Add. MSS 32855, f. 60.
[23] Conway to
Hartington, Aug. 7, 1755, Devonshire MSS.
[24] Walpole to
Conway, Sept. 23, 1755, Toynbee, III, 345.
[25] Conway to
Newcastle, Sept. 20, 1755, Add. MSS 32859, f. 164.
[26] Conway to
Walpole, Jan. 5, 1756. WSL.
[27] Devonshire
to Newcastle, Jan. 29, 1756, Add. MSS 32862, f. 265.
[28] George,
Earl of Macartney, “A Sketch of the Political History of Ireland to 1773,” in John
Barrow, Some Account of the Public Life and a Selection from the unpublished
writings, of the Earl of Macartney (2vv., London, 1807), II, 135.
[29] Newcastle
to Devonshire, Jan. 28, 1756, Add. MSS 32862, f. 265.
[30] Ibid.
[31] Conway to
Fox, March 2, 1756, Ilchester, Henry Fox, II, 81.
[32] Walpole to
Conway, March 25, 1756, Toynbee, III, 408.
[33] Conway to
Hertford, Dec. 18, 1755, Colburn’s…Magazine, Sept. 1881, 65.
[34] Conway to
Devonshire, July 31, 1756, Devonshire MSS.
[35] Walpole, George
II, II, 147-8.
[36] Conway to
Walpole, Feb. 20, 1756, Fraser’s Magazine, XLI, 280.
[37] Conway to
Hertford, Dec. 18, 1755, Colburn’s…Magazine, Sept. 1881, 65.
[38] Conway to
Devonshire, July 18, 1756, Devonshire MSS.
[39] For the
view of Fox and the Cumberland party see Duke of Bedford to the Duchess of
Bedford, Nov. 2, 1756, Bedford Correspondence, II, 208. For Pitt and the
Grenvilles see Waldegrave, Memoirs, 140, and Walpole, George II,
II, 258.
[40] Walpole, George
II, 268-9; and Ilchester, Henry Fox, II, 11.
[41] Fox to Lord
Digby, Dec. 14, 1756, Eighth Report of the Royal Commission on Historical
Manuscripts, Report and Appendix, Part I (1881), 221b.
[42] George
Townshend to William Pitt, Feb. 14, 1757, Chatham Correspondence, I,
222.
[43] Walpole, George
II, Ii, 335.
[44] Ibid.,
III, 19.
[45] Cumberland
to Fox, May 23, 1757, Letters to Henry Fox, Lord Holland, ed. The Earl
of Ilchester (London, privately printed for presentation to the members of the
Roxburghe Club, 1915), 251.
[46] Walpole, George
II, III, 3.
[47] Conway to
Devonshire, Wed. morn., [June 15, 1757] Devonshire MSS.
[48] Ibid.
[49] Conway to
Devonshire, July 19, 1757, Devonshire MSS. Add, MSS 32877, f. 11.
[50] Conway to
Hertford, Sept. 30, 1757, WSL.
[51] Walpole, George
II, III, 77.
[52] Conway to
Devonshire, Dec. 24, 1757, Devonshire MSS.
[53] Ibid.
[54] Conway to
Devonshire, June 28, 1758, Devonshire MSS.
[55] Walpole to
Mann, March 3, 1761, Yale Walpole, XXI, 485.
[56] Conway to
Devonshire, June 28, 1758, Devonshire MSS.
[57] L. B.
Namier, England in the Age of the American Revolution (second edition,
New York, 1961), 97.
[58] Conway to
Devonshire, May 4, 1762, Devonshire MSS.
[59] Conway to
Devonshire, Dec. 10, 1762, Devonshire MSS.
[60] Conway to
Devonshire. Dec. 10, 1762, Devonshire MSS.
[61] Ibid.
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