obtained his pardon, was just arrived at that place on his return to England. The bishop continued in exile during the rest of his life. From the irregularity of the proceedings against this celebrated prelate, some have been induced to question the justice of his sentence; but there is little reason to doubt of his guilt.

The remainder of this reign affords few materials for history, being mostly employed in negociations. So fluctuating were at this time the politics of Europe, that an alliance was formed between the courts of Vienna and Madrid, which had long been inveterate enemies. To counterbalance this union, a new

treaty was concluded between the

A. D. 1725. kings of Great Britain, France, and Prussia. An English squadron, under admiral Hosier, was sent to intercept the Spanish galleons on their return from America. This expedition proved as unfortunate as possible: the British fleet being stationed off Porto Bello, the admiral and most of his men perished through the insalubrity of the climate; and the ships were so damaged by the worms which infest those seas, as to be rendered unfit for future service. The Spaniards, on the other hand, lost ten thousand men in an ineffectual siege of Gibraltar. These

were the principal events of this war, which was only of short continuance. The enterprises of both the belligerent powers had been equally unsuccessful; and both were wisely desirous of avoiding further misfortunes: a negociation was, therefore, set on foot, and, through the mediation of France, a reconciliation was effected. The reign of George I. was now drawing to its close. Peace being restored, he set out to visit his German dominions, and in his journey to Hanover, he June 11th, expired at Osnaburgh, after a few A. D. 1727. hours sickness, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and the thirteenth of a happy and prosperous reign.

The character of George I. is highly respectable he possessed great firmness of mind, and used to say, "My maxim is never "to abandon my friends, to do justice to all "the world, and to fear no man." From these principles, indeed, his reign affords no instances of his deviation. His natural sagacity was matured by observation and experience; and, to, his other useful qualities, he joined great application to business. He was called to govern a nation divided by factions, and agitated by disaffection, yet he disconcerted all the plans of his adversaries, and surmounted every obstacle by his prudence and assiduity,

His reign must, by every impartial observer, be regarded as highly beneficial to this kingdom. During the greatest part of the time that he swayed the sceptre, the British empire enjoyed the blessings of peace, and flourished in prosperity. And, at his demise, the national debt was scarcely increased a million and a half since the death of queen Anne, a circumstance which strikingly shews the difference between the belligerent system of that princess, or rather of her ministers, and the pacific politics of her successor.* The establishment of the sinking fund was one of the financial regulations of this reign; and its operation contributed, in no small degree, to check the increase of the national debt. The commerce of these kingdoms kept pace with the public prosperity; and luxury, its invariable concomitant, advanced in its train. About this time the value of the northern parts of the kingdom began to be better understood than it had formerly been; and the manufactures began to move gradually towards those districts where the rate of living was moderate, and

* At the close of the reign of queen Anne, the national debt was £50,644,306. At the demise of George I. it was 52,092,235. Vide Dr. Rees's Encyclop. 11. Part 1. article debts.

where coal, in particular, was plentiful and cheap. The influx of money by commerce stimulated industry; and a spirit of improvement pervaded every part of the empire.

GEORGE II.

GEORGE II. ascended the throne of his father in a season of peace and public prosperity, of which the wisdom of his government greatly prolonged the continuance. External peace, however, left the nation more at leisure for domestic dissension. At the commencement of the last reign, the appellations of whig and tory sunk into those of Hanoverian and Jacobite; but now these designations began to disappear in their turn, and give place to the new distinction of the court and the country party, the former favoured all the schemes, and applauded all the measures of the ministry, the maxim of the latter was to oppose and condemn the whole conduct of government, how conducive soever it might be to the welfare of the nation.

The minister who makes the most distinguished figure in the history of this reign is Sir Robert Walpole, who, from low beginnings, had raised himself to the head of the treasury. His administration was almost a continual contest with å formidable opposition. No minister, however, better understood the arts of political intrigue. During a series of years, he secured a constant majority in the parliament; and, by his negociations, he preserved for a long space of time the tranquillity of the British empire and of Europe.

This interval of profound peace affords few materials for history. Such intervals, however, are the periods of happiness to nations; for history is often no more than a register of crimes and calamities. While the kingdom was free from both foreign and civil war, the disputations in the parliament between the court and the country parties, though carried on with the greatest acrimony, did not affect the happiness of the people, and are uninteresting to posterity. The measure that first shook the power of the minister was the excise bill on tobacco, the purport of which was, that all the tobacco imported should be laid up in warehouses appointed by the officers of the crown, until it should be sold by the proprietors, after paying a