THE
WINDHAM PAPERS
WITH AN INTRODUCTION
BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE
THE EARL OF ROSEBERY
K.G„K.T
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THE WINDHAM PAPERS
WHY MAY NOT THE LIFE OF WINDHAM
BE WRITTEN BY HIS LETTERS ?
New Mo?ithlv Magazine, Dec. 1831
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THE
WINDHAM PAPERS
THE LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OF THE
RT. HON. WILLIAM WINDHAM 1750- 1810
A MEMBER OF PITT'S FIRST CABINET AND
THE MINISTRY OF "ALL THE TALENTS"
INCLUDING HITHERTO UNPUBLISHED
LETTERS FROM GEORGE III THE DUKES
OF YORK AND GLOUCESTER PITT FOX
BURKE CANNING LORDS GRENVILLE MINTO
CASTLEREAGH AND NELSON MALONE
COBBETT DR. JOHNSON DR. BURNEY ETC.
WITH
AN INTRODUCTION BY r
THE EARL OF
K.G. K.T.
IN TWO VOLUMES
VOLUME ONE
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INTRODUCTION
BY THE RT. HON.
THE EARL OF ROSEBERY, K.G., K.T.
WILLIAM WINDHAM was the finest
English gentleman of his or perhaps
of all time. Had he lived in the great
days of Elizabeth, he would have been
one of the heroes of her reign ; indeed he almost
seemed out of place in the times of George III.
As a country gentleman no doubt he was not the
equal of his friend and neighbour Coke, whom
genius and fortune made the greatest of bene-
factors to agriculture ; but Coke as a politician
was narrow and fanatical. And with devotion
to rural life and manly sport Windham combined
much more. He was a statesman, an orator, a
mathematician, a scholar, and the most fascinating
talker of his day. He was brilliant in that galaxy .
which comprised Johnson and Burke, Pitt, Fox,
and Sheridan, though their memory will survive
his. For, by the irony of events, he is now
best remembered as the successful advocate of
bull-baiting. So that it is worth while to revive
his real character and repute.
As a statesman he was proud of his independence,
a rare and intrepid quality in political life. It
I
vi INTRODUCTION
was indeed reproached against him that he was so
enamoured with this virtue that he sought out
occasions of being on the unpopular side. This,
indeed, if it were true of him, is not likely to be a
contagious quality. It could only exist so far as
parliamentary life is concerned in the House of
Lords or in close boroughs, and Windham was
at last driven to this last refuge. He was more
than once invited to join the House of Lords, but
he greatly preferred Higham Ferrers or St. Mawes.
This aloofness, mainly due to the paramount
influence of Burke, is shown by the fact that
Windham in domestic politics could be found
arrayed with both the great political parties.
He was the enthusiastic advocate of Roman
Catholic emancipation, and the unflinching
opponent of parliamentary reform. He had a
foot therefore firmly planted in each of the two
camps. He was, however, in reality by tempera-
ment a Tory. No disciple of Burke could be other
than a supporter of Catholic emancipation. But
where Windham was left to himself his attitude
to politics was strongly conservative. He was
not indeed often left to himself. For it is strange
to find of a man who piqued himself on indepen-
dence that no one was so susceptible to personal
influence. It is this circumstance which gives a
strange and fickle appearance to his political
career. He was called by turns a Foxite, a Pittite,
a Grenvillite, and a Greyite, but was always
INTRODUCTION vii
and supremely a Burkite. Burke influenced many
minds, but none so much as Windham's. It
was his essential fidelity to the creed of Burke
which made him apparently variable. No man
indeed under an appearance of change was so truly
faithful to his principles and himself. But as Burke
was charged with inconsistency, so, as a necessary
consequence, was Windham. He seemed to wish
always to know what Burke thought or would
have thought on any subject, and when he knew,
to feel no doubt or misgiving. In the great agony
of the Whig party, when every Whig felt the
anguish of a separation from Fox, Windham
hesitated for a moment. He was under the charm
of Fox, whose tastes he shared ; but as soon as
the voice of the master was heard, clear and
imperative, Windham came to his side, without
further question or doubt.
When the storm of the French Revolution broke,
it swept all minor issues away ; you were either
a " Jacobin " or an "anti- Jacobin " ; you either
thought that good might come out of the convulsion
while deploring its excesses ; or you saw in it the
root of all evil, you descried its poison in all sorts
of unexpected forms and developments, and you
proclaimed that the Revolution was the monster
to be destroyed at all costs. The reader indeed
becomes a little weary of the monotonous de-
nunciation of "Jacobinism" and "Jacobins" in the
speeches of Windham and the writings of Burke.
viii INTRODUCTION
No consideration of means or proportion weighed
with either for one moment. The dragon must be
utterly exterminated, even should it devour all the
available St. Georges in the process. Then and
then only should we have done our duty. Then
and then only would the world know peace.
This violence of conviction kept Windham both
uncompromising and independent. Though he
joined Pitt he regarded Pitt as little less than a
necessary evil, as a minister who had parlia-
mentary power and so was able to carry on the
war with France, but who fell sadly short of grace.
They were only colleagues in a war, as to the
methods and objects of which they fundamentally
differed.
To Pitt the war was a disagreeable necessity
forced on him by circumstance, but from which he
hoped that circumstance would relieve him and
his country. To Windham it was a high and holy
crusade to be carried on to extermination. The
object with him was to replace on the throne of
France the sacred race of Bourbon. Pitt cared
less than nothing for the Bourbons, his object
was the preservation of his country, and of some
sort of balance of power. Windham looked on
him therefore as a Peter the Hermit may have
looked on a soldier of fortune. When Pitt retired
Windham felt relief, he was no longer linked to an
uncongenial colleague, and was free to pummel
the luckless Addington and Addington's peace.
i
INTRODUCTION ix
He thundered against this truce with the evil
one, but some years afterwards acknowledged his
error manfully enough to Addington. For he saw
in 1809, what Pitt had seen in 1801, that a pause
was necessary to recruit the exhausted energies
of Great Britain. When Pitt returned to office,
Windham thundered against Pitt ; Pitt was
inadequate, all that he did was insufficient. But
Windham had yet to give a further and final
proof of independence. For, when Pitt died, he
joined Grenville's cabinet, and when that ministry
came to an end in the ensuing year, was fierce
against Grenville and on the brink of an individual
resignation.
All these changes, though they were nominal
and not real, put him in the bad books of both
political parties. He obtained the nickname of
the " Weather-cock " ; the virulent and pedantic
Parr called him the " Apostate." But the in-
dependent man in politics must accustom himself
to harder knocks than nicknames. Windham was
indeed the most consistent of politicians. He was
neither Whig nor Tory, but always an anti-
Jacobin, and always, as has been already said, a
Burkite.
His oratory must have been remarkable ;
though his voice was ineffective. But he had
presence and charm. He was not indeed hand-
some, yet his deportment was manly and
dignified. "A tall, thin, meagre, sallow, black-
x INTRODUCTION
eyed, penetrating, keen-looking figure." We have
three volumes of his speeches, but reporting
in those days does not seem vivid or exact, and
latterly Windham rushing, as his way was, to
join an unpopular cause, quarrelled with the press,
and henceforth went unreported. But he revised
and published several of his orations from which
a fair idea of his powers may be obtained. One
of these, that in which as Secretary for War he
developed his military proposals in 1806, was
pronounced by Fox to be one of the most eloquent
ever delivered. Fox's nephew, Lord Holland,
who did not like Windham, gave him the highest
praise as an orator. In fancy and imagery, in
taste and above all in delivery, says Holland, he
was far superior to the great god of his idolatry
Mr. Burke. In variety of illustration, in acuteness
of logic, he scarcely yielded to Fox. In felicity of
language he approached Pitt. In true wit and
ingenuity he more than rivalled Sheridan. Testi-
mony of this kind from a man who had heard
Windham is worth a ton of criticism from the
student who can only read him. What a reader
would say of his recorded efforts is that they are
characterised by closely-knit and evenphilosophical
argument, couched in the lofty style of those days.
But their distinctive charm was originality,
a felicitous agility and unexpectedness of mind,
a raciness of expression and sudden bursts of
pleasantry which probably drew to him fully as
INTRODUCTION xi
great a House as even Pitt or Fox could command.
Of his quaint humour the best sustained example
is the speech on the Repeal of the Additional
Force Act in May 1806 ; its fun is still brisk
and vivid. His most famous flash of fun was
on the intention to take Antwerp by a coup
de main. " Good God, Sir, talk of a coup de
main with forty thousand men and thirty-
three sail of the line ! Gentlemen might as
well talk of a coup de main in the Court of
Chancery." This drollery convulsed the House,
and made, it is said, that grave and illustrious
judge, Sir William Grant, roll from his seat with
laughter. So happy a jest survives superior
arguments on forgotten bills. Another sally, still
more memorable, was that with which he slew a
Reform Bill, as with a smooth stone from the
brook. " No one," he said, n would select the
hurricane season in which to begin repairing his
house"; a happy metaphor containing sound
political truth. There is no doubt that Windham
at his death was the finest speaker in parliament ;
the other giants had gone ; Sheridan was extinct,
and Canning had not reached his full development.
What is most remarkable is the rapidity with
which he reached a high parliamentary position.
He delivered his maiden speech in the House of
Commons in February 1785, and in 1787 he was
considered of sufficient weight to be entrusted
with one of the charges, and nominated one of the
11
xii INTRODUCTION
managers of the impeachment of Warren Hastings.
Nine years after his first speech he was admitted
to the Cabinet, a far greater and more limited
distinction then than now, besides being in virtue
of a minor office which had never before been
associated with Cabinet rank. He was, moreover,
the only Cabinet Minister in the Commons with
Pitt and Dundas. So rapid a rise is seldom
recorded, and proves a command of parliament
by eloquence and character such as few men of
his standing can have achieved.
As a minister there is less to be said. He was
always connected with the War Office, a territory
which it is perilous for a civilian even in narrative
to tread. It must be admitted that the few
pebbles which he left on the shore of military
history scarcely constitute a memorial cairn. But
it must be remembered that during the first
seven years of his administration he was not the
Secretary of State, but a nominally subordinate
minister, though with all the influence of Cabinet
office ; and that he was only Secretary of State for
a year. Still it was notorious that, though ardent
and vigorous, he was a bad man of business. In
his first office he was responsible for the disaster
of Quiberon, which represented his personal policy
of carrying on the war by supporting the French
Royalists on the soil of France. During his
second short tenure he countenanced the amazing
scheme of despatching an inadequate army for
INTRODUCTION xiii
vague purposes of conquest in South America,
when we needed every man and every musket
in Europe to grapple with Napoleon. This is no
captivating record. On the other hand it stands
to his credit that he shortened the term of
service in spite of the formidable resistance of
George III. To the volunteers he was stoutly
opposed, though he had a private but eccentric
corps at Felbrigg in which he was the only officer.
But few and rare are the British ministers of War
who have earned distinction, for the conditions of
their office render success hardly possible. The
nation which furnishes superb military material
is absorbed in the primary interest of the fleet, and
though it passively votes vast sums for its army
never gives that active interest and support
which strengthens the arm of the minister. The
one great exception is Chatham. But Chatham,
like Napoleon, wielded the whole strength of the
Empire, political, financial, naval and military,
and was backed by the confident enthusiasm of
his country.
The real reputation of Windham, apart from his
oratory, lay in the charm of his conversation. In
that vanished realm he was a prince. Testimony
on the point is unanimous. It is safe to say that
no one has recorded a meeting with Windham
who is not a witness to his fascination. Miss
Burney gives a lively account of her talks with
him during the Hastings trial which enables us to
i
xiv INTRODUCTION
realise in a measure how it was that he won, if not
all hearts, at least sympathetic admiration. His
expression was various and vivid. He was earnest,
playful, and eloquent. He had the faculty, which
is perhaps the most attractive of all, of appearing
to give his very best to the person with whom he
was conversing. Talk may be recorded, but its
spell cannot. And so, though we rejoice in Miss
Burney's record, we feel that we must rely on
tradition, which, in so controversial a matter, must
be held, when unanimous, to be an authority
beyond dispute. The supreme judgment, from
which there is no appeal, is that of Johnson.
Windham had been elected to the famous Club
when he was a country gentleman of twenty-eight,
a sufficient tribute to his precocious repute. But
in 1784, when the great man was near his end,
Windham went far out of his way to spend a
day and a half with him at Ashbourne. " Such
conversation," writes the dying sage, " I shall
not have again till I come back to the regions of
literature ; and there Windham is inter stellas
Luna ntinores" Such a testimony from such a
man is almost unique, but it is in truth
confirmed by every witness.
Conversational fascination is apt to be a snare,
and we are bound to hazard an opinion that
Windham was a flirt. And yet there was no
character that he condemned so strongly. Before
going up in a balloon he addressed a testamentary
INTRODUCTION xv
letter to Cholmondeley, his closest friend, re-
monstrating strongly on Cholmondeley' s conduct
to a certain Miss Cecilia Forrest. Cholmondeley,
he declared, had ruined the girl's life, by inspiring
her with a fatal affection of which he was un-
worthy. Thirteen years afterwards, with singular
secrecy, Windham married the lady himself. He
was then forty-eight and she past forty. And he
completed this unusual transaction by making
Cholmondeley one of his reversionary heirs. This
is Windham all over. And we also learn that he
had fallen, perhaps unconsciously, into the same
error with which he had reproached his friend.
He had engaged the affections of a daughter of
Sir Philip Francis, and a lady endeavouring to
console the unhappy girl told her that Windham
had long hesitated between Miss Forrest and a
devoted widow. In this one letter, therefore, we
are confronted with three ladies whose hearts were
captured by Windham. He had, moreover, come
under the magic charm of Mrs. Crewe. To Mrs.
Crewe, and Mrs. Crewe alone, he confided the
secret of his marriage, and he records his agita-
tion at meeting her immediately after the event.
But perhaps the most authentic basis for conviction
as regards Windham's attraction for the other sex
is Lady Minto's remark on his resignation in 1801 :
" I suppose he will return to his old line of
gallantry." There let us leave the matter. It is
worthy of observation as an essential part of a
xvi INTRODUCTION
whimsical character. We may be sure that
Windham's flirtations were unconscious, honour-
able, and innocent.
Unhappily, he was fated to be something of a
suicide, for he dealt an almost mortal blow to his
own reputation. For we cannot doubt that it
would have stood much higher but for his Diary.
And yet he himself set store by it, as if, one would
think, he regarded it as a sure base for his future
fame. He left the fourteen quarto volumes of
which it was composed as an heirloom to pass
with the entailed estates, and yet any judicious
friend would have put it without hesitation behind
the fire. Extracts of this strange record were pub-
lished by Mrs. Baring in 1866, after the estates
and entail had all disappeared in the hands of a
hapless and irresponsible spendthrift. As so much
has been afforded, it is regrettable that more
should not be given. Lord Holland and Charles
Greville intimate that parts could not be made
public. But it seems clear that we have not all
the decorous portions of the fourteen quarto
volumes, and these we should possess to complete
a veracious and candid, though damaging, auto-
biography.
In the Diary, which is almost valueless as a
record of historical fact from the extreme vague-
ness of date and expression, we have an exact,
though painful, picture of Windham's character,
and an explanation of why it was that he did not
INTRODUCTION xvii
achieve more in public life. It is full of vacillation
on the smallest points of conduct, full of morbid
self-reproach on every subject, and in a minor
degree disfigured by a lavish use of the distressing
substantive " feel," almost if not quite peculiar
to himself. Windham, indeed, though in public
life he held firmly to his main convictions, in
private life and in smaller matters was singularly
variable. On the all-important question of mar-
riage, as we have seen, he seems to have hesitated
long. That may have been wise, but he records
endless agitations about a ride, a walk, or a
speech. Conscientious diaries are apt to make men
morbid, and this one is certainly an instance in
point. He seemed to worry himself with his pen.
One passage indeed redeems the whole book : it is
the pathetic description of his last interview with
Dr. Johnson. That is classic. But it is counter-
balanced by a denunciation of a literary 'gem
of purest ray serene,' the delightful " Vicar of
Wakefield." We may surmise that this outburst
may have been elicited by Windham's having
heard it excessively praised, which would certainly
drive him into extravagant reaction. Count-
less are the caprices of these strange journals.
It had been better for his fame had this heirloom
disappeared with the others.
Still, with all deductions, he remains a noble
figure. The influence of Johnson and Burke,
grafted on to the stock of a fine and cultivated
i b
xviii INTRODUCTION
nature, could not but produce goodly fruit. His
prime quality was independence, at once the
choicest and the least serviceable of all qualities
in political life. He was on the other hand
excessive, like his great master, Burke ; excessive
in enthusiasm, excessive in resentment. To him,
for example, when a manager of the great impeach-
ment, Warren Hastings was the vilest of
criminals. But to him also, though their relations
were not always easy, Burke was among the gods.
There was in truth a want of balance in this
rare character which marred its great qualities.
It was this, from a fanciful fear of deterioration
in the British character, that made him preach
bull-baiting. It was this which made him deem
it necessary, in the midst of the national grief for
Pitt, to stand up and oppose the funeral honours
proposed ; a course which brought him many
enemies and which seemed in execrable taste.
But the mere fact of isolation was the same
temptation to him that the company of an over-
whelming majority is to meaner minds. His argu-
ment, weak enough at best, for " 'tis not in mortals
to command success," was that Pitt's policy had
not triumphed, and that distinctions denied to
Burke should not be given to failure. Most men
who felt the same would at that tragic moment
have held their peace. But such a decent com-
pliance seemed cowardice to Windham; so he
wound his melancholy horn. This same irritable
INTRODUCTION xix
conscience made him an uncomfortable colleague,
and it is noteworthy to observe how strenuously
the idea of relegating him to the House of
Lords was pressed by Grenville, as it had occurred
to Pitt. It was strange, as Windham himself
remarked, that Grenville should be so anxious
to move the best speaker that his ministry
possessed in the House of Commons out of that
chamber into the House of Lords. Promotion
for another Grenville was no doubt the urgent
cause, but, as that could be managed, and was
managed in other ways, there were probably
reasons connected with Windham himself. Inde-
pendence in a public man is, we think, a quality
as splendid as it is rare. But it is apt to produce
and develop acute angles. Now a colleague with
angles is a superfluous discomfort. And in-
dependence in a great orator on the Treasury
bench is a rocket of which one cannot predict the
course.
His independence then, admirable in itself, was
a conspicuous bar to his success in politics. He
was not indeed formed by nature for a politician
in a country where party rules the roast. We
will go a step further, and hazard the opinion that
his heart was never really in politics at all.
He loved mathematics, he loved the classics, he
loved reading, he loved country life ; but for
parliament he had no natural propensity. From
his first contact with politics in Ireland he
xx INTRODUCTION
instinctively shrank. His self-conscious, self-
tormenting nature was indeed wholly unsuited for
public life. But he loved oratory. From the
moment when he found that he wielded that
rare power over his fellow men he delighted
in exercising it. And he was imbued with
one burning enthusiasm, the crusade against
I Jacobinism. He conceived himself to be the
bearer of the sacred torch handed to him by
; Burke. This was his single purpose ; oratory and
the French Revolution kept him in political life.
Fox said cynically that Windham owed his fame
to having been much frightened. But those who
were apprehensive in that dark period were wiser
than those children of light who, like Fox, were
content to watch the Revolution with blind and
heedless favour.
Such then was Windham. A noble gentleman
in the highest sense of the word, full of light,
intellect, and dignity, loved and lamented. His
best qualities, no doubt, as is often the case, he
carried almost to excess ; for his cherished inde-
pendence led to a morbid craving for isolation.
But to the charge of vacillation in public affairs
he was not obnoxious ; he was always true to his
faith. He was indeed vitally influenced by two
men. But he chose his masters well, Johnson
and Burke ; the one gave him his religious, the
other his political creed. In life he was brilliant
and successful. In oratory, in parliament, in
i
INTRODUCTION xxi
society, he was almost supreme. But he can
scarcely be said to survive. He left no stamp,
no school, no work. To those, however, who care
to disinter his memory he displays character and
qualities of excellence, rare at all times, rarest in
these.
ROSEBERY
OPINIONS OF CONTEMPORARIES
" The first gentleman of his age, the ingenuous, the chivalrous, the
high-souled Windham." — Macaulay.
" He is just as he should be ! If I were Windham this minute, I
should not wish to be thinner, nor fatter, nor taller, nor shorter, nor
any way, nor in any thing, altered." — Edmund Burke.
" Poor Mr. Windham is, I fear, dying. He will be a sad loss to
society : I never knew a man so felt for as he is." — Lady Sarah
Spencer, in a letter dated, May 31, 1810. f Correspondence of Sarah
Spencer, Lady Lyttelton," p. 107.
" Mr. Windham was there, whose conversation I could live upon any
length of time ; it is quite perfection ; but he staid only one night."
— The Dowager Lady Spencer, in a letter dated December 16, 1807.
" Correspondence of Sarah Spencer, Lady Lyttelton," p. 5.
" Good breeding, in England, among the men, is ordinarily stiff,
reserved, or cold. Among the exceptions to this stricture, how high
stood Mr. Windham ! . . . He is one of the most agreeable, spirited,
well-bred, and brilliant conversers I have ever spoken with. He
is ... a man of family and fortune, with a very pleasing, though not
handsome face, a very elegant figure, and an air of fashion and
vivacity." — Fanny Burney.
" His person was graceful, elegant, and accomplished ; slender ; but
not meagre. The lineaments of his countenance, though they dis-
played the ravages of the small-pox, were pleasing, and retained a
character of animation, blended with spirit and intelligence. Over his
whole figure, nature had thrown an air of mind. His manners corre-
sponded with his external appearance ; and his conversation displayed
the treasures of a highly cultivated understanding." — Sir Nathaniel
William W rax all.
xxu
PREFACE
IT is strange that though more than a hundred years
have passed since William Windham died, no full
biography of him has hitherto been composed.
This is the more astonishing because he has been
the subject of more panegyrics than any man of his
time. Friends and foes alike loved and honoured him,
and his foes were not less eager than his friends to sing
his praises. He was the intimate of Johnson and Burke
and Fox, the political associate of Pitt, the Duke of Port-
land, and Lord Grenville. He was a favourite with
George III., he was beloved by Malone ; Jeffrey had a
good word for him, Brougham could not speak too highly
of him, Fanny Burney exhausted her superlatives in
describing him. Years later Macaulay summed up the
general opinion of the statesman's contemporaries and
of succeeding generations by dubbing him " high-souled
Windham."
Windham died on June 4, 1810, and to the next issue
of the Gentleman's Magazine Malone contributed an
appreciative obituary notice. Thomas Amyot desired
to write the biography of the man whose private secre-
tary he had been for many years, and in February
1811 he applied to the executors, Heneage Legge and
Mr. Palmer, to be entrusted with the Diaries and other
papers. The executors, however, induced George Ellis,
now best remembered as a contributor to the Rolliad
and the Anti- Jacobin, to undertake the task. Amyot,
however, was determined to pay tribute to his old master
xxiii
xxiv PREFACE
and friend, and this he did in an admirable but brief
memoir which he appended to a collection of Windham's
speeches, published in three volumes in 1812. George
Ellis, in the meantime, made little or no progress with the
official biography, and he was, he admitted, overwhelmed
by the vast mass of papers to be examined. So late as
January 1814 he wrote to Heneage Legge : " Every
information that can be collected respecting his early
life would be very acceptable but how are they to be
procured ? — Alas ! I know not." 1 When Ellis died in
1815 he had finished only an introductory note to the
Diaries. This was published in 1866 by Mr. Henry
Baring, as a Preface to a volume of Selections from the
Diaries.
The author of a biography of Windham is fortunately
not dependent upon printed sources for his material,
for there are at his disposal some ninety-four volumes
of the Windham Papers, acquired by purchase in 1909
by the British Museum. This collection is of extra-
ordinary value, for it is not only a mine of information
concerning Windham, but it throws light upon the secret
political and military history of the time. The corre-
spondence covers the period from 1783, when Windham
entered public life, until his death seven-and-twenty
years later. The roll of Windham's correspondents include,
besides the members of his family and his private secretary,
George III., the Dukes of York and Gloucester, Fox,
Pitt, Burke, Addington, Canning, Nelson, the Grenvilles,
Dundas, the Duke of Portland, Cobbett, Sir Arthur
Wellesley, Sir Gilbert Elliot, Sir Sidney Smith, Sir John
Coxe Hippisley, Lord Grey, Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. Crewe,
Hoppner, Sir Thomas Lawrence, Sheridan, Johnson,
Malone, Hazlitt, Dr. Burney, and Dr. Parr. All these
papers are unpublished, except the Burke-Windham
correspondence, which, admirably edited by Mr.
1 Add. MSS. 37907 f. 175.
PREFACE xxv
J. P. Gilson, Keeper of Manuscripts at the British
Museum, was, at the instance of the Right Hon.
Arthur James Balfour, privately printed two years ago
for the Roxburghe Club. The text of the letters has
been closely followed, except that, for the convenience
of the reader, abbreviations have been printed in full,
and, as a rule, the spelling of proper names and places
has been standardised.
The value of the Windham Papers is considerable.
Windham it was who had the courage to put into writing
what others only dared to whisper about the utter incom-
petence of the Duke of York as commander-in-chief of the
army in Flanders. His correspondence with Pitt on this
subject, marked " Most Private," here printed for the
first time, is a genuine contribution to the history of the
war. It was through these letters that George III. first
learnt the feeling of his ministers and of the country on
this matter, and it must be placed to the credit of the
King that the incident in no degree lessened the respect
and admiration in which he held his Secretary-at-War.
It was to Windham that the Duke of Gloucester wrote,
marking his letter " Most Secret," regarding the de-
fences of the country and the inefficiency of the junior
officers of the army and militia. In this same interesting
letter he urged the desirability of a treaty between
that Republic and Great Britain, whereby the maritime
defence of the United States should be undertaken by
Great Britain lest the States themselves should set
up a powerful navy. Other correspondence relates to
secret ministerial negotiations between the political
parties at home, and the arrangements between the
British Government and the French Royalists. A very
interesting letter is that written by a French emigre
in 1793 from Philadelphia.
There are gaps in the Windham Papers, but the informa-
tion contained therein can be supplemented from many
xxvi PREFACE
sources. The Pelham Papers include letters hitherto
unpublished, exchanged between Windham and Lord
Northington and the Hon. Thomas Pelham, and the pri-
vately printed '.' Miscellanies " of the Philobiblon Society
contain a series of letters addressed to Mrs. Crewe. In
the Ketton MSS. (published by the Historical MSS.
Commission) will be found interesting extracts from a
Diary kept by Windham in 1773 ; while in the Fortescue
MSS. (issued under the same auspices) is a voluminous
correspondence with Lord Grenville. Other sources that
can be studied with advantage are Boswell's " Life of
Johnson," Fanny Burney's Diaries, Wraxall's " Posthu-
mous Memoirs," Stanhope's " Life of Pitt," Russell V
*' Life of Fox; " Prior's memoirs of Burke and Maloni ;
the biographies of Sidmouth, Minto, Charlemont, Sheridan
and Reynolds ; the recollections of Lord Albemarle, Lord
Malmesbury, and Lord Holland ; tEe correspondence of
Johnson and Burke ; the " Memoires du Comte Joseph de
Puisaye "; and Mrs. Stirling's " Coke of Norfolk." There
is also an interesting character study of Windham by
Brougham in " Statesmen of the Reign of George III."
" Why may not the Life of Windham be written by
his letters ? " asked a friend of the statesman, who
disguised his identity as "An Old Member of Parlia-
ment."! The suggestion is sound, and this plan has
been followed by the present writer. In the absence of
any considerable number of letters written by or to
Windham during the first thirty-two years of his life;
the Editor has told the story of this period in a brief
narrative.
The Editor's thanks are due to the Right Hon. the
Marquis of Crewe, K.G., who has kindly allowed him to
print the letters from Windham to Mrs. Crewe, which
were contributed by the late Lord Houghton to the
privately printed "Miscellanies" of the Philobiblon
1 New Monthly Magazine, December 1831, vol. xxxii, p. 561.
PREFACE xxvii
Society ; to Earl Nelson, who has permitted the publica-
tion of letters of Horatio, Lord Nelson ; and to the
Controller of his Majesty's Stationery Office, who has
sanctioned the insertion of some correspondence between
Windham and Lord Grenville from the Fortescue MSS.
(Historical MSS. Commission's Reports). The Editor
wishes further to thank Messrs. J. P. Collins, C. E.
Lawrence, A. Francis Steuart, Thomas H. B. Vade-Walpole,
and A. Winterbotham, who have kindly read the proofs of
this work, and have made many valuable suggestions.
The Rev. T. South Jagg, Rector of Felbrigge-cum-
Melton, has been so good as to supply information con-
cerning Windham at Felbrigg.
PAGE
CONTENTS
SECTION I
EARLY LIFE. 17 50-1 782
Family history : Birth of William Windham : Windham at Eton :
Fond of books and sports : Nicknamed " Fighting Wind-
ham " : His interest in the King : The death of his father :
His guardians : Withdrawn from Eton : The reason for this
step : At Glasgow University : His love of mathematics :
At University College, Oxford : His reputation there and
academic career : In early life uninterested in public affairs :
Sets out on a voyage of exploration in the Polar Seas : Pre-
vented by sea-sickness from proceeding : He is landed at
Bergen : Extracts from his Diary concerning his sojourn in
Norway : Scanty records of early life : His occupations :
First plunge into political life : A letter to Sheridan : His
maiden speech : He quells a Militia mutiny : A serious illness :
He goes abroad to recover strength : Invited to contest
Norwich as a supporter of the Rockingham party : Defeated
at the election of 1780 : Invited to stand for Westminster :
The formation of the Rockingham Administration : Corre-
spondence : The death of Lord Rockingham : Lord Shelburne
becomes Prime Minister : An extract from Windham's Diary
SECTION II
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE LORD-LIEUTENANT OF
IRELAND. 1783
Lord Northington appointed Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland in the
Portland Administration : Windham accepts office of Chief
Secretary to the Lord -Lieutenant : His misgivings as to
his qualifications : Dr. Johnson's encouragement : Wind-
ham accorded a hearty welcome in Dublin : His reputation
in 1783 : He retires in August : The reasons for his retire-
ment discussed : His letter notifying Northington of his
resignation of the post : His correspondence with the Lord-
Lieutenant and the Hon. Thomas Pelham 31
xxix
xxx CONTENTS
SECTION III
FIRST YEARS IN PARLIAMENT. 1 784-1 793
CHAPTER I
PAGE
The downfall of the Coalition Ministry : Pitt Prime Minister
Windham elected M.P. for Norwich : A regular attendant at
the Literary Club : His friendship with Dr. Johnson : Some
correspondence between them : Windham's accounts of his
last interviews with Johnson : Johnson's death : Windham
invites Fox to the funeral : The political pupil of Burke : Some
of Windham's friends : Mrs. Siddons : Windham's interest
in aeronautics : His ascent in a balloon with Sadler : Fitz-
patrick's ascent 61
CHAPTER II
1784-1792
Windham's early speeches : His attack on Warren Hastings in
connection with the Rohilla war : Speaks in debate on the
impeachment of Hastings : Wraxall's appreciation of his
powers of oratory : Appointed a manager for the Commons
of Hastings' trial : The King's illness and the question of the
Regency : The commencement of the French Revolution :
Windham opposes Parliamentary Reform : His views not
entirely in accord with those of his constituents : Doubtful of
the safety of his seat : Secures re-election 1790 : Extract from
Windham's Diary : Publication of Burke's " Reflections on
the French Revolution " : Rupture between Fox and Burke :
Windham angry with Burke : They soon become reconciled :
A letter to Mrs. Crewe : His attitude towards Parliamentary
Reform : The political breach between Fox and Windham :
A section of the Opposition supports the Government's repres-
sive measures 84
CHAPTER III
1/93
A coalition suggested between Pitt and the Duke of Portland's
party : Mudge's chronometer : A Frenchman on the Revolu-
tion and of the state of affairs in the United States : Alexander
Hamilton : General Knox : Randolph : Jefferson : Windham's
increasing importance : Pitt confers with him : Windham on
the French Revolution : On the Proclamation for the sup-
pression of seditious meetings : On the divergence of views
between Fox and Portland : Windham for a while acts as head
CONTENTS xxxi
i>.v;e
of the party : Fox and the " Friends of the People " :
Windham comments upon his lack of ambition : He is present
at the siege of Valenciennes : The surrender of that town :
Ministerial negotiations : Windham anxious not to take office :
The siege of Dunkirk : Toulon : Pitt regrets that Windham
is disinclined to take office: The execution of Marie Antoinette:
The siege of Mauberge : Burke on the conduct of the war :
Windham supports the continuance of the war : La Vendee :
A conference between Pitt and Lord Spencer : Windham and
his architect, James Wyatt : Burke and Spencer on the
situation : Spencer and Windham in favour of continuing the
war : Lord Malmesbury's mission to the King of Prussia :
The French Princes : Toulon regained by the French no
SECTION IV
SECRETARY-AT-WAR IN THE PITT ADMINISTRATION,
i 794- i 80 i
CHAPTER I
1794
The state of parties : Windham's position among the leaders of
the Opposition : His personal charm : His merits and defects
as a speaker : The Duke of Portland clearly defines his
position at the beginning of the year : His reluctance to
accept office under Pitt : The Norfolk Militia : The Emigrant
Bill : Martinico : The acquittal of Warren Hastings : The
managers of the trial thanked by the House of Commons :
The retirement of Burke from the Parliament : He is granted
a pension : His wish for a peerage : The coalition of the Port-
land party with the Government : The Duke, Lord Spencer,
and Lord Fitzwilliam accept office : Windham becomes Secre-
tary-at-War with a seat in the Cabinet : Irish affairs : Lord
Spencer's mission to Vienna : Sir Sidney Smith's plan of
attack on the French fleet : His dissatisfaction with the treat-
ment he has received at the hand of his country : The Prince
of Coburg resigns the command of the Austrian army : He is
succeeded by General Clerfayt : The loss of Valenciennes and
Conde : Windham goes abroad, and stays at the head-quarters
of the English army : The operations on the Scheldt : Wind-
ham, in a private letter to Pitt, recommends the removal of
the Duke of York from the command of the British army
abroad : The delicacy of the position : Pitt's embarrassment :
The controversy concerning the appointment of Lord Fitz-
william to the viceroyalty of Ireland : The Duke of Portland
and his friends threaten to resign : Pitt at last consents to
make the appointment 197
xxxii CONTENTS
CHAPTER II
1795
PAGE
Windham's belief that a Royalist force should be organised
against the Republicans : The negotiations entrusted to him
by the Cabinet : Quiberon Bay expedition : Correspondence
with Lord Grenville : The Duke of York gazetted Field -
Marshal : Lord Fitzwilliam, as Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
acts in defiance of his instructions : He is recalled by the
Ministry : And is succeeded by Lord Camden : The state of
Corsica : Sir Gilbert Elliot appointed Governor : Paoli : Lord
Hood : Sir Hyde Parker : Joseph Gerrald : Dr. Parr's plea for
him : The Prince of Wales's debts : Burke suggests a remedy
for the future : England and the French Royalists : The
Treasonable Practices Bill : Correspondence with Malone,
Mrs. Crewe, Lord Grenville, and others 280
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
The Rt. Hon. William Windham (Photogravure) Frontispiece
From a painting by J. Hoppner, in St. Andrew's Hall. Norwich
Felbrigg Hall (1779) 18
From a print in the Norwich Public Library
Frederick North, Second Earl of Guilford 40
Engraved by T. Burke from a painting by N. Dance
Dr. Johnson 64
Engraved by W. Doughty, from a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Sarah Siddons 72
From a painting by Sir William Beechey
Fanny Burney 86
Engraved by S. Bull, from a painting by E. Burney
Mrs. Bouverie and Mrs. Crewe 96
Engraved by I. Marchi, from a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Lady Hamilton 98
Engraved by Wra. Say, from a painting by J. J. Masquerier
William Pitt iio
Engraved by G. Clint, from a painting by J. Hoppner
Sir Gilbert Elliot, First Earl of Minto 140
Engraved by W. G. Edwards, from a painting by G. Chinnery
George John, Earl Spencer 152
Engraved by H. Meyer, from a drawing by J. Wright, after a painting by
J. Hoppner
Edmund Malone 162
From a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Edmund Burke 174
Engraved b J. Hardy, from a painting by Sit Joshua Reynolds
Dr. Charles Burney 220
xxxiii c
xxxiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TO FACE PAGE
The Duke of York 238
Engraved by H. Dawe
Dr. Samuel Parr 296
Engraved by H. Meyer, from a painting by Hargrave
Richard Brinsley Sheridan 316
Engraved by W. T. Haywood, from a painting by Sir Joshua Reynolds
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF
EVENTS, 1778-1810
1778
February 6. Treaty of Paris between France and America, recog-
nising the independence of the United States.
February 17. Appointment of British Commissioners to treat with
the Americans.
May 11. Death of the Earl of Chatham.
June 18. British troops evacuate Philadelphia.
1779
June 16. Spain declares war against England.
August. Gibraltar besieged.
1780
January 16. Rodney relieves Gibraltar.
May 12. Charleston taken by the British.
June 2. Gordon riots.
August 15. Cornwallis defeats General Gates.
Projected French invasion of England.
Formation of " The Armed Neutrality " against the
British claim of right of maritime search.
1781
Prussia joins the Armed Neutrality.
August 5. Naval battle between the British and Dutch off the
Dogger Bank.
October. Cornwallis capitulates at Yorktown.
1782
February 27. Resignation of Lord North's ministry.
March 30. Formation of Lord Rockingham's administration.
April. Grattan's Declaration of Right.
April 12. Rodney's victory in the West Indies.
July 1. Death of the Marquis of Rockingham.
July 10. Formation of the Shelburne Administration.
September. Howe relieves Gibraltar.
November 30. Preliminaries of Peace accepted by Great Britain and
America.
December 5. George III. acknowledges the Independence of the
United States.
xxxv
xxxvi CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS
February.
April 5.
November 30.
December 17.
December 22.
1783
Siege of Gibraltar raised.
Formation of the Coalition Ministry.
Peace of Versailles.
Fox's East India Bill rejected by the Lords.
Downfall of the Coalition Ministry.
Formation of the Pitt Administration.
March 25.
1784
Convention of Constantinople.
General Election in Great Britain.
1785
February. Return of Warren Hastings to England.
June 1. Adams, the first United States Minister, received at
St James's.
1786
February 17. Articles of Impeachment against Hastings exhibited
by Burke.
August 17. Death of Frederick the Great. Accession of Frederick
William II.
September. Commercial Treaty between England and France.
1787
February 7. Impeachment of Hastings agreed to by the House of
Commons.
Prince of Wales's debts paid by Parliament.
May 13. First convict fleet sails from England for Botany Bay
1788
February 13. Impeachment of Hastings before the House of Lords.
April 15. Treaty between England and Holland.
November. The King's illness announced.
December. Regency debates in the House of Commons.
1789
February 5. Pitt's plan for a restricted regency.
February 19. Regency Bill abandoned owing to King's recovery.
April 30. Washington elected first President of the United States.
June 17. The States-General proclaims itself the National
Assembly.
July 14. Destruction of the Bastille.
1790
February. Burke and " the Alarmists " attack the French Revo-
lution in the House of Commons.
November. Burke publishes " Reflections on the French Revo-
lution."
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS xxxvii
1791
March. Paine publishes " The Rights of Man."
September 3. French Constitution voted.
October 1 . The Legislative Assembly sits at Paris.
May.
May 2 1 .
August 10.
September 20.
1792
Grey's measure of Parliamentary Reform introduced.
Pmrhirwtinri aorainct <spf1ifinnR writings and irregular
Proclamation against seditious writings
meetings.
Louis XVI. taken prisoner.
The battle of Valmy.
1793
January 21. Louis XVI. executed.
February 11. Great Britain declares war against France.
March 11. Revolutionary Tribunal established at Paris.
March 14. Revolt in La Vendee.
March 18. Dumouriez defeated at Neerwinden.
April 5. Dumouriez deserts to the Austrians.
July 13. Assassination of Marat.
August 8. Valenciennes captured by the Allies.
August 28. Hood occupies Toulon.
October 16. Marie Antoinette executed.
November 12. Philippe Egalite executed.
November 22. Commercial Treaty with the United States.
December 18. Toulon evacuated by the Allies.
December 26. Wurmser defeated at Weissenburg.
1794
April 5. Danton executed.
July. ' The Duke of Portland, Lord Spencer, Lord Fitzwilliam,
and Windham join the Pitt Administration.
July 28. Robespierre, St. Just, and others executed.
A ugust 30. Valenciennes and Conde recaptured by the French.
December. The Duke of York removed from the command of the
British Forces in Flanders.
December 27. Pichegru invades Holland.
1795
February. Surrender of Ceylon by the Dutch to Great Britain.
April 14. British Army evacuates Holland.
April 23. Acquittal of Warren Hastings.
May 16. Holland makes terms with the French
June 27. Royalist expedition to Quiberon.
July 22. France makes peace with Spain.
September. British occupation of Cape Colony
October. Convention dissolved.
October 29. Clerfait victorious on the Rhine.
November 3 Directory installed.
November The Treasonable Practices Bill.
xxxviii CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS
1796
April. Napoleon invades Italy.
La Hoche's expedition to Ireland.
August 19. Treaty of San Ildefonso.
October 1 1 . Great Britain declares war against France.
October 22. Lord Malmesbury's peace mission to Paris.
December. Return of Lord Malmesbury.
February 14.
April 16.
May 2.
July 9.
October 11.
October 17.
February 10.
March 5.
March 29.
May.
May.
June 12.
July 21.
August 1.
August 22.
September 8.
1797
Battle of Cape St. Vincent.
Mutiny at Spithead.
Mutiny at the Nore.
Death of Edmund Burke.
Battle of Camperdown.
Peace of Campo-Formio.
1798
Berthier enters Rome.
Battle of Berne.
Helvetic Republic proclaimed.
Napoleon's expedition to Egypt.
Irish rebellion.
Malta surrenders to the French.
Battle of the Pyramids.
Battle of the Nile.
French land in Ireland.
French in Ireland surrender.
March 7.
March 19.
May 20.
July 25.
A ugust.
August 22.
September 19.
December 13.
January 24.
June 14.
July 2.
September 5.
December 3.
December 14.
January 1.
February 16.
1799
Jaffa occupied by the French.
Acre besieged by the French.
The siege of Acre raised.
Battle of Aboukir.
Duke of York's expedition to Holland.
Napoleon leaves Egypt.
Battle of Bergen.
Napoleon chosen First Consul.
1800
Treaty of El Arish.
Battle of Marengo.
Act of Union with Ireland passed.
Malta surrenders to the English.
Battle of Hohenlinden.
Battle of Salzburg.
Act of Union
into force.
Pitt resigns office.
1801
between
England
and Ireland comes
CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS xxxix
March 17.
March 21.
March 28.
April 2.
August.
October 1.
March.
May.
Addington becomes Prime Minister.
Battle of Alexandria.
Treaty of Naples.
Battle of Copenhagen.
French Army in Egypt capitulates.
Preliminaries of Peace between France and
signed.
1802
Peace of Amiens.
Napoleon appointed First Consul for life.
England
1803
May 16. War declared between England and France.
J tine 5. French occupy Hanover.
July 23. Emmett's insurrection in Ireland.
1804
March 16. Execution of the Due d'Enghein.
May. Addington resigns office.
May 12. Pitt becomes Prime Minister.
May 18. Napoleon proclaimed Emperor of the French.
December 2. The Pope crowns Napoleon at Notre Dame.
Spain declares war against Great Britain.
1 805
April. Treaty of St. Petersburg (Great Britain and Russia).
May 26. Napoleon crowned King of Italy at Milan.
July. Battle of Cape Finisterre.
October 8. Treaty of Naples.
October 17. Capitulation of Ulm.
October 2 1 . Battle of Trafalgar.
November. Napoleon enters Vienna.
December 2. Battle of Austerlitz.
December 15. Treaty of Vienna (France and Prussia).
December 26. Peace of Pressburg (France and Austria).
1806
January 9. Public funeral of Nelson.
January 12. Vienna evacuated by the French.
January 23. Death of Pitt.
February 5. Grenville-Fox Administration (" All the Talents ")
formed.
February 15. Joseph Bonaparte proclaimed King of Naples and
Sicily.
July. Battle of Maida.
July. Confederation of the Rhine constituted.
August 18. Jerome Bonaparte proclaimed King of Westphalia.
September 13. Death of Charles James Fox.
October 14. Battles of Jena and Auerstadt.
October2$. Napoleon enters Berlin.
xl CHRONOLOGICAL TABLE OF EVENTS
November 8. Capitulation of Magdeburg.
November 20. Napoleon's Berlin Decrees.
November 28. The French enter Warsaw.
December 26. Battle of Pultusk.
1807.
January 7. British " Orders in Council."
February 7. Battle of Eylau.
March. Formation of the Portland administration.
March 25. Slavery abolished in the British dominions.
April. Convention of Bastenstein (Russia, Prussia, and
Sweden).
June 10. Battle of Heilsburg.
June 14. Battle of Friedland.
July 7. Treaty of Tilsit (France and Russia).
September 5. Danish Fleet at Copenhagen surrenders to the British
October. Treaty of Fontainebleau (France and Spain).
1808
May. Joseph Bonaparte becomes King of Spain.
June 15. Siege of Saragossa.
August 17. Battle of Rolica.
August 21. Battle of Vimiera.
August 30. Convention of Cintra.
September. Convention of Paris.
October. Convention of Erfurt.
1809
January. Treaty of the Dardanelles (England and Turkey).
January 16. Battle of Coruna.
February 21. Capitulation of Saragossa.
April 20. Battle of Abensberg.
May 12. Napoleon enters Vienna.
May 2 1 . Battle of Aspern.
July 12. Battle of Wagram.
July 28. Battle of Talavera.
July to
November. Walcheren expedition.
October 24. Peace of Schonnbrunn (France and Austria).
October 30. Death of the Duke of Portland.
November. Perceval forms an Administration.
1810
January. Treaty of Paris (France and Sweden).
July. Napoleon annexes Holland.
September 27. Battle of Busaco.
October 29. Wellington secures the lines in Torres Vedras.
<'
y
s
■
SECTION I
EARLY LIFE. 1750-1782
SECTION I
EARLY LIFE. 1750-1782
Family history : Birth of William Windham : Windham at
Eton : Fond of books and sports : Nicknamed " Fighting
Windham " : His interest in the King : The death of his father :
His guardians : Withdrawn from Eton : The reason for this
step : At Glasgow University : His love of mathematics :
At University College, Oxford : His reputation there and
academic career : In early life uninterested in public affairs :
Sets out on a voyage of exploration in the Polar Seas : Pre-
vented by sea-sickness from proceeding : He is landed at
Bergen : Extracts from his Diary concerning his sojourn in
Norway : Scanty records of early life : His occupations :
First plunge into political life : A letter to Sheridan : His
maiden speech : He quells a Militia mutiny : A serious illness :
He goes abroad to recover strength : Invited to contest
Norwich as a supporter of the Rockingham party : Defeated
at the election of 1780 : Invited to stand for Westminster :
The formation of the Rockingham Administration : Corre-
spondence : The death of Lord Rockingham : Lord Shelburne
becomes Prime Minister : An extract from Windham's Diary.
THE Right Hon. William Windham came of an
old Norfolk family, which had acquired
from William Hales in 1436 the manor of
Crownethorpe, in the parish of Wymond-
ham. From this parish (pronounced " Wind'-am ") the
family derived its surname. In 1460 John Wymondham
purchased from Sir John Felbrigg the manor of Felbrigg,
near Cromer, and this became the chief seat of the
family. John was knighted in 1487 on the battlefield
of Stoke. Sixteen years later, for being associated
with the Earl of Suffolk in a conspiracy against Henry
VII., he was tried for high treason, found guilty, and
3
4 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
beheaded on Tower Hill. Sir John married Margaret,
fourth daughter of John Howard, Duke of Norfolk,
and by her had a son (afterwards Sir) Thomas, who
entered the Navy and attained the rank of Vice-
Admiral . Sir Thomas married Eleanor, daughter of Sir
Richard Scrope, of Upsal, Wiltshire, who bore him a large
family. Of his eldest son and successor, Sir Edmund, it
is recorded that being condemned by James I. to lose his
right hand for striking a Mr. Cleer in the royal tennis
court, he prayed that he might rather lose his left hand,
for with the right, he said, " I may do ye King gode ser-
vice," whereupon he was pardoned. Edmund's eldest son
Francis died without issue, and the estate then passed
to the second son, Sir John, who had married Elizabeth,
daughter of John Sydenham, of Orchard, in Somerset-
shire, in which county he had settled. During the Civil
War, his sons fought for the King, and after the battle
of Worcester, Colonel Francis Windham, Sir John's
fourth son, conducted Charles II. to his seat at Trent.
The eldest son, Thomas, came into possession of the
property on his father's death, and survived until 1653,
when he had reached the patriarchal age of fourscore
years and two. Thomas, who married a daughter of
Sir John Lytton of Kneb worth, was succeeded by his
second son William, whose history is thus recorded
on a monumental brass in the parish church of
Felbrigg :
In a vault near to this monument lieth the Body of
William Windham, Esq r ., second son of Thomas Wind-
ham of Felbrigg in the County of Norfolk Esq r . by Eliza-
beth his second wife. He married Katharine, Eldest d r .
of S ir Joseph Ashe of Twittenham, in the C y of Middlesex
Bart, with whom he lived twenty years, and had issue
1782] COLONEL WILLIAM WINDHAM 5
eight sons, Ashe, William, Thomas, John, Thomas, John,
Joseph and James, and three daughters Katharine;
Mary and Elizabeth. The eldest Thomas and two Johns
dyed Infants. All the rest survived him. He departed this
life the ninth of June 1689 i n * ne 42 nd year of his age.
In the same vault lieth ye Body of Katharine Windham
Relict of Will m . Windham Esq r . who departed this life
the 24 th day of Dec r . 1729, In the 78 th year of her Age.
M rs . Mary Windham died June 29 th 1747, aged 71, and
was buried at St. Edmund's Bury, in Suffolk.
Ashe Windham, who was born in 1672 and survived
until 1749, married Elizabeth, daughter of William
Dobyns, of Lincoln's Inn. By her in 1717 he had
an only son, William, who early in life quarrelled
with his father, and thereafter spent many years abroad.
He lived for some years in Spain, and in 1741 travelled
with Richard Pocock in Switzerland, subsequently
writing one of the first published accounts of Chamonix
and Mont Blanc. Later he went to Hungary, where
he served as an officer in one of Queen Maria Theresa's
hussar regiments. At his father's request he eventually
returned to England, where he devoted himself to the
study of military subjects. After Pitt had passed the
National Militia Act of 1757, he, in conjunction with
Lord Townshend, 1 formed a corps in his own county,
of which, in recognition of his services, he was
appointed Lieutenant-Colonel. He interested himself in
his duties, and drew up a " Plan of Discipline com-
posed for the use of the Militia of the County of Nor-
folk," which was highly praised by the authorities and
generally adopted throughout the country. He was a
patron of all manly exercises, and to the end of his days
1 Charles Townshend, third Viscount Townshend (1700-1764).
6 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
followed the hounds. He was a good classical scholar,
a fine linguist, and that he had agreeable social qualities
is proved by the fact that he was intimate with David
Garrick and many of the London wits, who visited him
frequently at Felbrigg. He married a noted beauty,
Sarah Hicks, widow of Robert Lukin, of Dunmow,
Essex, by whom he had a son, William, the subject of
this memoir.
William Windham was born on May 3, 1750, at No. 6
Golden Square, Soho, London. At seven years of age
he was sent to Eton, where, among his contemporaries
was Charles James Fox. Dr. Barnard, the Headmaster,
stated, when the lads had become distinguished men, that
they were the last two boys he flogged. Their offence
was rank : they had gone into Windsor without leave
and attended a performance at the theatre. All accounts
concur in declaring that at school Windham was con-
spicuous for vivacity and brilliance and for the ease with
which he acquired knowledge. Not only in scholastic
attainments was he successful beyond most of his fellows,
but he was as prominent in sport as in the class-room. A
sound cricketer, a skilful oarsman, and so useful, too,
with his fists that he was known at Eton as " Fighting
Windham."
This nickname long clung to Windham, for he dearly
loved a fight. On one occasion he was grateful that he
had learnt the use of his fists. After his re-election at
Norwich in July 1794, he was being chaired, 1 when a
ruffian in the crowd threw a stone at his head. Like
1 " The chairing in Norfolk differed from that of other counties.
A chair of state, gaudily decorated, placed on a platform and sup-
ported by poles, was borne on the shoulders of four-and -twenty
stalwart men. By the side of this chair the member elect took his
stand, and in this manner was carried through the principal streets of
1782] WINDHAM AND THE PRIZE RING 7
the Admirable Crichton he was, he caught the missile in
his hand, jumped off his moving platform, and thrashed
the coward within an inch of his life. In a few minutes
he was again hoisted and continued his triumphal pro-
gress, bowing on all sides as if nothing had happened.
When Windham could no longer fight it pleased him to
watch others, and to the end of his days he was a patron
of the Ring. In his Diary he noted some of the combats
he witnessed : —
May 2, 1786. The circumstances of the fight, which
was the object of our excursion (to Newmarket), need
not be recorded. The winner's name was Humphries
(Richard, I think) ; and the butcher's Sam Martin. . . .
The spectacle was upon the whole very interesting, by the
qualities, both of mind and body, which it exhibited.
Nothing could afford a finer display of character than the
conduct and demeanour of Humphries, and the skill dis-
covered far exceeded what I had conceived the art to
possess. The mischief done could not have affected the
most tender humanity.
June 9, 1788. I had been that morning with Fullerton
and Palmer to Croydon, to a boxing match. . . . The
boxing match was, in consequence of a purse collected
by subscription, under the direction of H[ervey] Aston,
G[eorge] Hanger, 1 &c. The combatants, Fewtrill and
Jackson, both of them large ; one of them, Jackson, a
man of uncommon strength and activity, but neither of
them of any skill, or likely, so far as appeared upon that
occasion, ever to become distinguished. The fight, which
Norwich. At intervals, the bearers made a halt, and by a simultaneous
action tossed their burden so high as to give him occasional peeps into
garret windows. When William Windham, the statesman . . . was
elected for Norwich he underwent a like ordeal." —Albemarle, " Fifty
Years of my Life," ii. 296.
1 George Hanger (1751-1824), an intimate friend of the Prince of
Wales, succeeded his brother as (fourth) Baron Coleraine, 1814.
8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
lasted an hour and ten minutes, was wholly uninteresting,
it being evident from the beginning which was to prevail,
and no powers or qualities being displayed to make the
prevalence of one or the other a matter of anxiety. The
fight which succeeded this between Crabbe, a Jew, and
Watson, a butcher, from Bristol, under 21, was of a
different character ; so much skill, activity, and fine
make, my experience in these matters has not shown me.
After a most active fight of forty minutes the Jew was
very fairly beat. There was also another fight, between
a butcher and a spring maker, neither of them large, but
one of them, the butcher, a muscular man, which
though smart enough for the time, ended soon by
what seemed a shabby surrender on the part of the
spring maker ; his plea was having sprained both
his thumbs, or, as he called it, but not truly, ac-
cording to their appearance to me afterwards, put
them out.
In February 1789 Windham went with Crewe, 1 Fitz-
patrick, 2 Grey, 3 and George Cholmondeley 4 to Rickmans-
worth to see a contest between Johnson and Ryan, and on
July 6 of the same year drove to Wimbledon to watch
matches between Darch and Gainer, James and Tucker,
1 John Crewe (i 742-1 829), afterwards Baron Crewe of Crewe, who
had married in 1766 the beautiful Frances Anne Greville.
2 Richard Fitzpatrick (1747-1813), second son of John, Earl of
Upper Ossory ; the friend of Fox; Colonel, 1778; General, 1793 ;
Secretary-at-War in the Coalition and All the Talents Ministries.
3 Charles Grey (1764-1845), afterwards second Earl Grey; Prime
Minister, 183 1-4.
4 George James Cholmondeley (17 52-1 830) was the son of the Hon.
and Rev. Robert Cholmondeley, Rector of St Andrews, Hertford
(the second son of George, third Earl of Cholmondeley), by his wife
Mary Woffington, the sister of the famous actress. He married three
times : 1st, 1790, Maria, daughter of John Pitt, who died 1808 ; 2nd,
1814, Catherine, daughter of Sir Philip Francis, who died 1823 ; and,
3rd, 1825, the Hon. Mary Elizabeth, daughter of John Thomas, Viscount
Sydney, who survived him. Cholmondeley became Receiver-General
of Excise.
1782] AT ETON 9
Hooper and Tyne. The last battles he witnessed were at
Moulsey in October 1808 between Gregson and Tom Cribb,
the champion ; Cropley and Tom Belcher ; and Powell
and Dogherty. He believed in prize fights, and on August
6, 1788, hurried to London to write an article, " to take
off, as far as one could, the effect of the accident at
Brighton, of the death of a man in a boxing match," which
had resulted in the Prince of Wales, who was present,
announcing that he would never again attend any
pugilistic encounter.
In 1761 Colonel Windham died, and left his son in the
guardianship of Benjamin Stillingfleet, 1 Dr. Dampier, 2
David Garrick, and a Mr. Price of Hereford. 3 For five
years after his bereavement the boy remained at Eton;
and then was suddenly withdrawn.
Dr. Dampier to Mrs. Windham
March 7, 1766
There have been great disturbances amongst the boys
here, and I am sorry that your son is accused of having a
large concern in them. In order therefore to cover his
retreat and to prevent a publick expulsion, which would
probably be the consequence of his longer stay , I shall see
him home to you tomorrow morning. When I am in
town, about a fortnight hence, we must meet and consider
how to dispose of him. If I may advise I would not have
you mention to any one the cause of his coming home so
soon before the holidays. 4
1 Benjamin Stillingfleet (1702-1771), naturalist. One account says
Stillingfleet did not act as a guardian, but the writer of the article on
Stillingfleet in the " Dictionary of National Biography " does not
accept this statement.
2 Dr. Dampier, an under-master at Eton, and from 1774 Dean of
Durham, the father of Dr. Thomas Dampier, Bishop of Ely. The
elder Dampier had been Colonel Windham's tutor.
3 (?) Robert Price, the friend of Stillingfleet, who died in 1761.
* KettonMSS.
io THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
In the summer of 1766 Windham was sent to Glasgow
to attend the classes at the University. There he studied
under Dr. Anderson, the Professor of Natural Philosophy,
and Robert Simson, the mathematician. It was Simson
who imbued him with a taste for this science, one which
fascinated him then and continued to do so through
his life. In his Diaries are numerous references to the
work he did and the books he read on the subject. At his
death he left three treatises on mathematical themes,
which his will directed should be placed in the hands of
Dr. Horsley, 1 Bishop of St. Asaph, with the suggestion
that if they were of any value they should be published.
Horsley, however, predeceased Windham, and the works
passed into the hands of George Ellis, who contented
himself with extracting certain Notes from them. 2 It may
therefore be presumed that, at least in his opinion, the
treatises were not worthy of being presented to the
public.
From Glasgow Windham went to Oxford, where he was
entered in September 1767 as a gentleman-commoner at
University College. His tutor was Robert Chambers,
and Malone has put it on record that during the young
man's academic career " he was highly distinguished
for his application to various studies, for his love of
enterprise, for that frank and graceful address, and that
honourable deportment, which gave a lustre to his cha-
racter through every period of his life." More direct
evidence is forthcoming in a letter, dated September 2,
1770, to Mrs. Windham from Dr. Dampier, who says he
has seen her son at Oxford and has heard the best reports
of him. "He is, indeed," he added, "a very extra-
1 Samuel Horsley, F.R.S. (1733-1806), afterwards Bishop of St.
Asaph, the author of several mathematical works.
2 These Notes were published in Windham's " Diary " (1866).
1782] AN OUTDOOR STUDENT n
ordinary young gentleman, and if please God, he enjoys
his health, he cannot fail of making a very considerable
figure in the world." 1 Though, according to all accounts,
very studious, Windham did not win any academic distinc-
tions. He took his B.A. degree in 1771, in which year he
left the University. He proceeded to the degree of M.A.,
October 7, 1782 ; and eleven years later, at the installation
of the Duke of Portland as Chancellor, he was made D.C.L.
While at Oxford Windham interested himself not
at all in public affairs. Indeed, so little attention did
he pay to current events that one of his friends, as it
amused the statesman in later days sometimes to recall,
remarked, " Windham would never know who was
Prime Minister." Proof that his attitude of indifference
was sincere is to be found in his refusal of the offer made
to him, while he was still at Oxford, by his father's old
friend, Lord Townshend, 2 then Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
to go to Dublin as His Excellency's secretary. That the
offer should have been made, however, may be accepted
as evidence that even at this early age Windham was
recognised as possessing unusual ability.
Windham was fond of outdoor sports ; he loved books,
and was never happier than when engaged in the composi-
tion of his mathematical treatises. When he was twenty-
three years of age, in 1773, a thirst for adventure led him
to join his friend, Commodore Phipps, 3 who, in the
Racehorse, set out, in company with the Carcass, to attempt
the discovery of the northern route to India. He suffered
so severely from sea-sickness, however, that he had to
abandon the expedition. He was landed, on June 29,
1 KettonMSS.
2 George, fourth Viscount and first Marquis Townshend (i 724-1 807).
3 Constantine John Phipps (1744-1792) succeeded his father as
second) Baron Mulgrave in 1775.
12 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
at Bergen, in Norway, where, Amyot mentions, though
unhappily without giving any particulars, he passed
through " a series of adventures and ' hair-breadth
'scapes ' in which his courage and humanity were con-
spicuous." * Some extracts from a diary Windham
kept at this time have been preserved, the first part of
that printed here having probably been written shortly
after he left England.
Secret and separate. This is my confidential book ;
in this will be contained all those thoughts, memo-
randums, notes, reflexions, &c, which no eye must see
but my own. To thee, my ever-adorable friend, do I
dedicate it, with whose name it will chiefly be filled.
May God grant that we may meet again, and enjoy
together the recollection of the times when these were
written !
How have I fulfilled my resolution ? The time since
the writing of the above, indeed since my getting on
board at Sheerness, has been a chasm in the history of
one's mind ; instead of exerting myself to preserve a
lively recollection of things past or absent ; instead of
thought and vigilance and exertion, which I fancied
would be excited by the newness of the situation, my
mind has been occupied only with melancholy reflexions
on the business I had undertaken, and a comparison of
my present state with the enjoyments of Ickleford
parlour. Not one purpose which I proposed in the voyage
has been answered : on the contrary my powers of
reflexion have been weakened, and my thoughts been less
active and my perceptions less lively than they would
have been at Felbrigg or Oxford. I could form no strong
conception of the condition in which I stood, nor feel
myself excited by the recollection of my own sensations
at other times. Let me learn from this, what I might
1 Amyot, " Memoir of Windham," p. 6.
1782] AN EARLY DIARY 13
have known indeed by former experience, and from the
nature of the thing itself, that the state of a person's
mind is not materially altered by change of place ;
cesium non animum mutant qui trans mare currunt.
The interval from my coming to Sheerness to my
quitting the Hamburgh vessel I will set aside by itself, and
either leave it wholly to memory, or take some notes of it
at some future time : my diary commencing from that
time and now instant, I will endeavour to keep with some
regularity.
After getting clear of the ship, we set off very pleasantly
for Bergen, the schipper and I being in the pilot's boat;
and his boat with his own people attending us. The
sight of land, and the prospect of being shortly in a
town, and among people who could speak English made
me feel at first very comfortably : but it soon began to
occur to me that I had conducted affairs with my usual
mismanagement. By bringing this man to the town
with me, I was publishing the bargain I had made with
him, and all for no purpose but to procure money for a
fellow, without any occasion, who had already fleeced
me most unmercifully. At any rate I was discovering
that which I wished to have concealed ; and a thought
now came into my head which had never occurred before,
that the particularity of such a bargain might suggest
an idea, which idea might travel a great way, of the agree-
ment having been made in some fright, taken at an appear-
ance of danger. The landlord was likely to mention the
circumstance of an English gentleman, of such a name,
having come in such a manner, in his letters to Scotland :
there might be several Scotch and Irish masters of ships in
the place ; as improbable stories had risen from as little
beginnings and been circulated by less direct means.
These reflexions made me very uneasy, and threw me
into a fit of rage and despair at my own folly, in which
state I with some difficulty got to sleep. . . .
At about 4 o'clock, then, on Tuesday morning, being
14 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
the 29th of June and the day before yesterdays I landed
at Bergen. The appearance of the place at coming in
was very fine and romantick, but the mortification I
felt about this affair had depressed my spirits and I was
foolish enough to be quite melancholy at the idea of being
alone in a strange country, or, what was less remarkable,
at the prospect of a journey of 600 miles through such a
tract of mountains. The hospitality however, and civility
of my landlord have made my stay here very comfort-
able. . . .
The Consul here is Alexander Wallace, Esqre., whose
sons, in his absence, I went on Tuesday to wait upon,
and found as completely Scotch as if they had lived in
Edinburgh all their lives. The youngest asked me in
token of his sentiments, whether Mr. Wilkes was hanged
yet, but it is to be observed that he is a little disordered
in his head, which prevented my giving such a reply as I
should otherwise. . . .
The town of Bergen contains no very striking edifices,
nor has it any very regular or spacious streets, but the
whole appearance of it is clean and lively, the houses being
built of wood and painted, and the roofs covered in
general with red tiles. At the water's edge on one side are
warehouses raised on piles and projecting over for the
convenience of receiving and shipping timber, and on the
opposite side is a broad wooden quay which is set apart
entirely to the fish traders. . . .
Till within these few years, there were I believe no
stone buildings, but they have now got a Dutch church,
and a sort of castle and some houses built by a Scotch
mason, who came over with his people, after the last fire ;
and what is very remarkable, the stone was obliged to be
fetched from Scotland likewise. . . .
July 3rd. I have just had a visit from the Consul who
came very civilly to wait upon me immediately on his
return to town. He seems a brisk intelligent man, and to
be of much pleasanter manners than his sons. I dined
1782] AT BERGEN 15
yesterday at his house, before his return. The dinner
and what belonged to it, was certainly ordinary ... it
consisted of three dishes . . . sent up one by one accord-
ing to the Bergen fashion, to which the company were
helped in order after the master of the family or his wife
had taken off a sufficient number of portions. . . .
No liquor was given at dinner, that I saw, besides wine,
to which we were helped from time to time by Mr. Wallace
or his brother, and at each glass some toast was given,
such as, Friends in Norfolk, in Scotland, &c. . . .
nth, Sunday. This morning at a little before seven,
after rising at three in order to finish my letters to
Cholmondeley and Mrs. Byng x I set off from Bergen. . . .
'Tis now near 7 in the evening, and we have passed the
5th Gastschever's house or the 5th Norse mile. The
weather has been very pleasant, and I am much refreshed
by my dinner and some sleep I got between 12 and 4, yet
I am far from being in spirits, and the reflexions that for
three months I shall have known nothing of those I love,
and that no age is insured from the common fatality of
nature, makes me very unhappy.
12th. After continuing upon the water all last night,
and to-day, and thus much of this night I am just arrived,
two o'clock in the morning at Ardalsare [? Aardal]. . . .
The town very small, consisting of about 50 buildings,
most of which I understood were used only as ware-
houses. . . . Tuesday about three o'clock, after much
chattering between Gron and the people, we left Landal
[? Laerdalsoren] : I had been detained some time by my
letter to my dearest friend ... at the end of the two
mile we were forced to ascend part of a steep mountain
1 Mrs. Byng was the wife of the Hon. John Byng, afterwards fifth
Viscount Torrington. She was a daughter of Commodore Arthur
Forrest, who, with the Dreadnought, Edinburgh, and Augusta, beat
five sail-of-the-line and three French frigates off Cape Francois. He
died on May 26, 1770, while Commander-in-Chief at Jamaica. His
second daughter was Augusta ; the third Cecilia, who in 1798 married
William Windham. Forrest had married a daughter of Colonel Lynch,
of Jamaica. She died in 1804, aged eighty-two.
16 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
to meet the river on the other side. The passage during
this ascent and our descending the river again was the
wildest I had ever seen. I was admiring a fine fall of
waters that descended on the opposite side, when my
guide chose to entertain me, by way of anecdote of the
place, with the story of a man who had been robbed and
murdered there. ... I think this scene was adequate to
all my hopes of a mountainous country. After getting
through a road infinitely abrupt and rugged, we crossed
the river again on a bridge about 40 feet in length and
twenty in height, thrown over without any support in
the middle, so that, as my guide told me, it was cus-
tomary to let only one horse pass at a time.
... At last we met with a house where the woman
regaled us very comfortably with eggs and loaf-bread and
some cheese that was very eatable. I gave her 4 or 5
stivers and she expressed her thankfulness in the same
manner as the girl at Landal by taking me by the hand.
Arrived at Elsinore on Saturday the 31st of July between
11 and 12 at night. . . . My first care on coming thither
was to enquire about the post, and put in a letter to my
dearest friend. The next day dined with Mr. Godwin
and made the necessary enquiries about a ship, and in
the evening went over to Copenhagen. . . .
Gottenberg. Almost all the women that I saw in the
streets of Gottenberg of the appearance of gentlewomen
were covered with black veils. The women in Sweden
were much more comely than those in Norway, owing
chiefly I believe to their taking some pains to protect
their faces from the weather.
For the first part of my journey from Bergen, the
women I think went entirely without covering on their
heads, and were the most disgustful objects I ever saw,
which undoubtedly was owing very much to that cause,
though I don't think entirely. A great change was to be
1782] RECREATIONS 17
observed in their countenances as we came nearer to
Christiania, where the use of a large covering of linen
began.
Friederickshald was the first place where I observed
any oak. 1
The records for the next few years are extremely scanty,
as George Ellis complained a century ago when he sat
down to write the biography of his friend. Windham
divided his time between Felbrigg, where he hunted and
read, and London, where he went into society. He became
a member of Brooks's, and vastly extended the circle of
his friends. He made the acquaintance of Horsley
and Francis Maseres, 2 and corresponded with them on
mathematical subjects. He wrote occasional verses, and
a specimen of his pedestrian efforts in this direction has
been preserved.
Verses sent by Mr. Windham to a Young Lady with
a Copy of Dr. Johnson's Works, 1785
As Adam, by the great Archangel led,
Saw life's great flan, in deftined order fpread ;
So in thefe leaves to thee, fair nymph, isfhown,
Th' inf tractive image of a world unknown ;
There thou mayft learn, by trial yet untaught,
How never happinefs by wealth was bought ;
There fee what ills off ail the rich and great,
Nor f com the bleffings of an humble fate.
Still to this fate with equal hand are given
The choiceft bounties of indulgent heaven ;
Untainted joys, the funfhine of the breaft,
Love's purefl flame by mutual ardour bleft ;
1 Ketton MSS. 211-214.
2 Francis Maseres (1731-1824), mathematician, subsequent!}'' Cursitor
Baron of the Exchequer.
I B
18 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
To the fair charmer be fuch joys decreed,
Of worth and beauty fuch the precious meed !
Blefs with thy charms fome fond admiring f wain,
Some f wain be found, worthy thofe charms to gain ! x
It was not until the beginning of the year 1778 that
Windham first stepped into the political arena, and he
did so then only because of the interest he took in the
momentous affair of the American War of Independence.
Though entirely unpractised in public speaking, he; under
the stress of the strong views he held, nerved himself to
take the field at Norwich against those who supported the
continuance of what to him, as to so many clear-sighted
men, appeared an altogether hopeless and unjust cam-
paign. An early intimation of his attitude is given in a
letter to Sheridan, whose acquaintance he had made
earlier at Bath.
William Windham to Richard Brinsley Sheridan
Felbrigg (?). January 5, 1778
I fear my letter will greatly disappoint your hopes.
I have no account to send you of my answering Lord
Townshend — of hard-fought contests — spirited resolves
— ballads, mobs, cockades, and Lord North burnt in
effigy. We have had a bloodless campaign, but not
from backwardness in our troops, but for the most
creditable reason that can be — want of resolution in the
enemy to encounter us. When I got down here early
this morning, expecting to find a room prepared, a chair
set for the president, and nothing wanting but that the
orators should begin, I was surprised to learn that no
advertisement had appeared on the other part ; but
that Lord Townshend having dined at a meeting where the
1 Crewe Papers: Windham Section, p. 12 ("Miscellanies" of the
Philobiblon Society, vol. viii.). See also Add. MSS. 37934 f. 66.
1782] INTRODUCTION TO POLITICS 19
proposal [to raise a War Fund at Norwich] was received
very coldly, had taken fright, and for the time at least
had dropped the proposal. It had appeared, therefore, to
those whom I applied to (and I think very rightly) that
till an advertisement was inserted by them, or was
known for certain to be intended, it would not be proper
for anything to be done by us. In this state, therefore,
it rests. The advertisement which we agreed upon is
left at the printers, ready to be inserted upon the appear-
ance of one from them. We lie upon our arms, and shall
begin to act upon any motion of the enemy. I am very
sorry that things have taken this turn, as I came down
in full confidence of being able to accomplish something
distinguished. I had drawn up, as I came along, a
tolerably good paper, to be distributed to-morrow in the
streets, and settled pretty well in my head the terms of
a protest — besides some pretty smart pieces of oratory,
delivered upon Newmarket-Heath. I never felt so much
disposition to exert myself before — I hope from my
never having before so fair a prospect of doing it with
success. When the coach comes in, I hope I shall receive
a packet from you, which shall not be lost, though it may
not be used immediately.
I must leave off writing, for I have got some other
letters to send by to-night's post. Writing in this ink is
like speaking with respect to the utter annihilation of
what is past ; — by the time it gets to you, perhaps, it
may have become legible, but I have no chance of reading
over my letter myself.
I shall not suffer this occasion to pass over entirely
without benefit.
[P.S.] Tell Mrs. Sheridan that I hope she will have a
closet ready, where I may remain till the heat of the
pursuit is over. My friends in France have promised to
have a vessel ready upon the coast. 1
1 Moore, " Life of Sheridan " (fifth edition), i. 290-292.
20 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
Windham delivered his maiden speech at a public
meeting convened at Norwich on January 28, when he
spoke against the war and also opposed Lord Townshend's
proposal for a subscription to defray its cost. A few
days later he drew up a remonstrance against the war,
which was signed by about five thousand people, and
presented to the House of Commons. 1 Once Windham
had taken the plunge, and found it to his liking, it is
probable that he might at once have embraced a political
career, had he not soon after been prostrated by illness.
It was early in the year that the Militia was called out,
and Windham, who was a Major in the Norfolk regiment,
had to take up his military duties. It happened that an
opportunity at once offered for the display of his courage.
It was customary to pay the men a " marching guinea "
before they started, but the Colonel on this occasion, for
some reason best known to himself, gave instructions
that it was not to be paid until the regiment had left the
county. The men assembled near the Castle at Norwich;
but when Windham gave the word to march, they
grounded their arms and refused to move until they
received the guinea apiece. When the command was
repeated, some of the men wavered, and, seeing this,
one of the ring-leaders left his place, and told the waverers
to be firm. Him Windham seized, and in spite of the
threatening attitude of the soldiers, hauled to the Guard-
House. When the comrades of the imprisoned man
demanded his release, Windham stood at the door of the
Guard-House, drawn sword in hand, and swore that while
he lived the man should not go free. Eventually Wind-
ham was rescued from this precarious position by some
men of his own, the Western, battalion. Shortly after
1 Walpole, " Last Journals " (ed. Steuart), ii. 119.
1782] PROPOSES TO ENTER PARLIAMENT 21
this exciting episode his life was in even greater danger.
Marching with the regiment, he, with two brother-
officers, rode, " for the fun of the thing," through a deep
rivulet. He had to remain for hours in wet clothes, with
the result that he contracted a high fever, and was brought
within an ace of death. It is said that from the effect
of this illness his constitution never entirely recovered.
When he was well enough to travel he went abroad,
and remained in Switzerland and Italy for nearly
two years.
The speech that Windham had made on the war im-
pressed his hearers, and some of them invited him to
stand at the next election as a Coalition candidate at
Norwich. To this offer he returned an acceptance. A
good speaker, a rich man, and belonging to an old family
well-known in the county, he was an excellent selection,
and offers of support poured in upon him while he was
still abroad.
Viscount Townshend to William Windham
March 22, 1779
The reason of my giving you this trouble is, that I have
thought it fair to assuer you, that I shall endevur to
serve you, with all the little interest I may pretend too in
Norfolk, heareing you intend to stand at our next Election
for that County, and fiending that Sir J[ohn] Hfolland]
hath bine so warmely receved, I iudge it may not be long
before there will be another Election, and therefore that
teime is not to be lost in preparing our friends, upon which
I desier to heare a word or two from you, for I know as
these Knights are very free, and open in declaring their
intentions of standing again, so they are by friends in
the Country soliciting all mankind, and I looke upon this
affaire as of great importance to all our reputations.
22 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
upon which I desier no advantage may be gained in point
of conduct.
I wish you would let Sir John Holland and as many
more as conveniently as you can, know your mind early
in this matter, otherwise some will pretend engagement.
I know all news you have from better hands and
abler to write at large than I am ; and the truth is of
myselfe never I desierd to have a long letter from such
one as mien is, wherefore remembering the old rule of
doeing as I would be done by, I conclud, in great ernest
both to you, my sister, and all yours, that I am as related
and obliged with all affexions and reall humble service. 1
William Windham to Viscount Townshend
March 26, 1779
The Assurance your Lordship is pleased to give me of
your countenance and Assistance at the next Election,
will incourage me to declare I am willing to serve the
Countie, if they think me worthy of the Imployment.
And I am so sensible of the Influence, the success of this
affair will have upon this County, that I have lost no
time towards the setting up of the old English Interest,
which I hope to see once more flourish among us. 2
At the election in September 1780 William was nomin-
ated with Sir Harbord Harbord, 3 who had represented the
constituency for twenty years, against Bacon, one of the
Lords of Trade, and John Thurlow. 4 Windham was on
his way home, all unconscious of what had happened,
when the election began, and he arrived at Norwich only
three days before the polling commenced, too late to
take any effective part on his own behalf. Sir Harbord
Harbord and Bacon were returned.
1 Add. MSS. 3791 1 f. 1. 2 Add. MSS. 3791 1 f. 8.
3 Sir Harbord Harbord, afterwards Lord Suffield.
* John, a brother of Edward (afterwards Lord Chancellor) Thurlow,
died March 11, 1782.
1782] BROOKS'S 23
Windham was much in London after his return from
abroad. As a member of Brooks's he became more and
more drawn into the vortex of political affairs. His
intimacy with Fox and Burke not unnaturally induced
him to be enrolled, more or less officially, as a supporter
of the party of which the Marquis of Rockingham
was the nominal head, and he was urged to stand for
the first vacancy for the Parliamentary representation
of Westminster, an offer he declined in favour of Norwich.
He was, of course, keenly interested in the fall of Lord
North and the composition of the Administration that
followed.
William Windham to Bartlett Gurney, Norwich
March 25, 1782
After every expression of dislike and reluctance, the
bitter draught is at length swallowed, and His Majesty
has submitted to the hard necessity of taking for his
Ministers the most virtuous set perhaps of public men
that ever appeared in this country. About four o'clock
to-day Mr. Dunning announced to the House of Com-
mons, in the room of Lord North, who did not choose to
come down, that the arrangement known to have been
proposed the evening before, was accepted, and that it
would be signified in form to the House on Wednesday
next. The arrangement is as follows : — First Lord of the
Treasury, Lord Rockingham ; Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer, Lord John Cavendish ; President of the Council,
Lord Camden ; Privy Seal, Duke of Grafton ; Commander
in-Chief, General Conway x ; Ordnance, Duke of Richmond ;
Admiralty, Admiral Keppel ; Secretaries of State, Lord
Shelburne, Mr. Fox. Other appointments are left for
further consideration. Every art of evasion and negotia-
tion was put in practice to the last, and it was hardly
1 General Henry Seymour Conway (1721-1795).
24 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
known what was determined upon till the moment
Mr. Dunning came to the House, his message coming to
him, as I understood, from Shelburne, to whom it was
signified by the King. Lord Rockingham's conduct has
been as great in the latter part of this negotiation as in
the former. He refused absolutely to abate one jot of
his first declaration ; at the same time he was willing to
sacrifice every private punctilio by which the King hoped
to have created a jealousy between him and Lord Shel-
burne. The first-fruits of this administration will be
an exclusion from Parliament of all those who have
fattened on the ruins of the country by jobs and contracts,
and the destruction of one source of undue influence with-
out doors in the exclusion of the votes of revenue officers.
Secondly, the great articles of reform proposed in Mr.
Burke's life, will go on with all despatch. With what
face will people oppose the appointment of a Ministry,
composed of men who have uniformly supported the
cause of the country for near twenty years, and who make
it the condition of their entering into office, that they
should deprive themselves of the means of corrupt in-
fluences ?
Those who declare themselves enemies to this adminis-
tration must declare themselves the friends of corruption
and enemies of reform. 1
William Windham to E. Norgate 2
Queen Anne Street
June 5, 1782
You have heard, no doubt, from the papers, as well as
from a letter or two of mine sent to Norwich, a general
account of my transactions, with respect to becoming a
candidate for Westminster. In the whole business, from
1 Windham's " Diary," p. 37.
2 A gentleman at Norwich who was an active supporter of Wind-
ham's parliamentary interests there.
1782] POLITICAL VIEWS 25
the first mention of it soon after the general election, to
the present occasion, I had remained nearly passive ;
not thinking a seat for Westminster an offer to be declined,
if attainable upon easy terms, nor considering it an object
to be pursued through the medium of much difficulty or
expence. This intention of leaving matters to their own
operation, produced at first by the considerations above
mentioned, was confirmed afterwards by another feeling,
when, by the management of some particular persons, a
resolution was carried at one of the general meetings for
putting up Mr. Pitt, in case of a vacancy. After that,
propriety required that a renewal of our correspondence
should come as a formal invitation from them ; and
partly in that form it was about to come, that is, as a
resolution of the Westminster Committee, without any
sort of application from me ; when, upon inquiry into
the general sentiments of the people on the question oi
Parliamentary Reform, by which, though my election
could not have been prevented, my situation, upon the
whole, would have been rendered unpleasant ; and from
the reflection that, on a vacancy happening in the mean-
while at Norwich, a person might be chosen who could
not afterwards be set aside, I determined not to wait
till a resolution of the committee might make refusal more
difficult, but to forestal their deliberations by a letter
declining the honour that might be intended me. The
reasons assigned in my letter were, the difference of
opinion that prevailed in some of the independent interest
with respect to myself, destroying that unanimity of
choice, without which I should not be ambitious of a seat
at Westminster ; and my disagreements, signified in pretty
explicit terms, with many of the opinions that seemed
then to be popular. I should flatter myself, that no part
of this transaction can have prejudiced my interest at
Norwich, and that the conclusion ought rather to have
promoted it. 1
1 Amyot, " Memoir of Windham," p. 14.
26 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1750-
Lord Rockingham died on July 1, 1782, and, after
much negotiation and many intrigues, Lord Shelburne
became Prime Minister, whereupon Fox, Burke, and
others of the Rockingham party withdrew from the
Ministry.
William Windham to E. Norgate
Queen Anne Street
July 4, 1782
You feel no doubt at Norwich, as at every other place,
a share of the general consternation into which all good
men are thrown by the death of Lord Rockingham.
There could be no time in which the loss of such a character
as his, must not have been severely felt ; but now it falls
with a weight that crushes. The every existence of that
interest which has maintained the cause of the country
since the Revolution, is in danger of terminating in his
person. The only hope and endeavour must be, in my
humble opinion, to keep the troops [in America] together,
by withdrawing them from action for a time, and leaving
the enemy to pursue his operations, till they can have
recovered their spirits, and retrieved their losses, suffi-
ciently to make a new attack. Some of the most con-
siderable amongst them are strongly of that opinion, and
urge the immediate resignation of their places, if Lord
Shelburne is to be at the head of affairs. Others are of
opinion that they should still continue in, in order to
complete the good they have begun, and not quit the
public service till his conduct shall have driven them from
it. The advocates for either opinion are actuated by
perfectly honest motives. I am, for my own part, clearly
for the sentiments of the former, and think there can be
neither credit nor safety to themselves, nor consequently
final advantage to the country, in their continuing in
office. The danger of continuing is, that they will miss
1782] A RETROSPECT 27
an opportunity of breaking off with credit and effect, and
never find another. 1
Extract from Windham's Diary
October 3, 1782
This day at one o'clock after an interval of ten years, I
arrived at Oxford, not having been here, except for one
night, since I quitted it in the year 1772. It happens
particularly that I am in the very same rooms, in which
I was placed, just fourteen years ago, at my first entrance
into the University. At the latter end of August, or
beginning of September of the year 1768, did I enter a
member of the University of Oxford, and make my first
trial of academical life in these rooms. The recollection
which this circumstance revives, and the reflections it
gives rise to, are not such as dispose one to cheerfulness.
Has the intermediate time been passed in a way, that I
can look back upon it with pleasure or approbation ?
Has the effect of fourteen years been such as expectation
represented it ? Am I, comparatively with what I was,
in knowledge, habits and powers, what I looked forward
to be, and what I might have been ? If I look back to the
performances of that time, one might be led to think that
the difference of power was inconsiderable ; in powers
merely natural, it may be doubtful whether there is any.
The chief difference is in habits, and in powers dependent
on habit (meaning by the former, rather practices, habits
of life ; and by the latter, habits more properly) and in
short may be called methods. In all these, and par-
ticularly perhaps, in the last, something has been done ;
but it is a melancholy truth that the greatest part of
what has been done, has been the work of a little more
than three years, and was, in its nature, equally capable
of being done ten years ago.
1 Amyot, "Memoir of Windham," p. i6.
SECTION II
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE
LORD-LIEUTENANT OF
IRELAND. 1783
SECTION II
CHIEF SECRETARY TO THE
LORD-LIEUTENANT OF
IRELAND. 1783
Lord Northington appointed Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland in
the Portland Administration : Windham accepts office of
Chief Secretary to the Lord -Lieutenant : His misgivings
as to his qualifications : Dr. Johnson's encouragement : Wind-
ham accorded a hearty welcome in Dublin : His reputation
in 1783 : He retires in August : The reasons for his retire-
ment discussed : His letter notifying Northington of his
resignation of the post : His correspondence with the Lord-
Lieutenant and the Hon. Thomas Pelham.
WHEN, on the retirement of Lord Shelburne
in 1783, the Duke of Portland x formed a
ministry, he appointed Lord Northington 2
to the office of Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland,
and Lord Northington, in his turn, offered Windham the
post of Chief Secretary. This Windham accepted, but
with misgivings. He confided to Dr. Johnson his doubts
as to whether he was possessed of the necessary diplo-
matic qualifications. " Don't be afraid, Sir," said the
great man, with a pleasant smile, " you will soon make
a very pretty rascal . " 3 It is not surprising that Windham
accepted reluctantly, for affairs in Ireland were in a state
that might well try the nerves of a man versed in
1 William Henry Cavendish Bentinck, third Duke of Portland
(1738-1809).
2 Robert Henley, second Earl of Northington (1747-1786).
3 Boswell, " Life of Dr. Johnson " (ed. Hill), iv. 200.
3i
32 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
political matters, and were likely to prove remarkably
difficult for an unfledged statesman. Grattan and his
party were flying in the face of the viceregal policy,
and making strenuous efforts to secure the independence
of the Irish party — this within little more than a
decade of the Union — and to obtain a measure of Catholic
Emancipation, a concession which, it was an open secret,
the King bitterly opposed.
In Dublin Windham was accorded a hearty welcome,
for he was already known as a distinguished scholar, and
looked upon as one who would probably become a power
in the political world. " He had the fire and the dignity
of genius," wrote Francis Hardy, the friend and associate
of Grattan in the Irish Parliament. 1
Some months later Windham wrote to Lord Northing-
ton : "I am in no danger of losing the recollection of it
[Dublin Castle] altogether — it would be ungrateful in me
to forget such a scene of joy. I shall long retain the idea
of myself, placed in my chair of audience, or traversing
with my box in my hand, that ' region, dark and dolorous '
that divided our respective habitations. The whole
period, so short in its duration, so unlike the way of life
from which I emerged, and to which I am returned,
appears like a dream."
Windham resigned his post in August, after a tenure
of only four months. The reason of his retirement has
been much discussed. There were those who declared
that it arose out of a disagreement between him and his
chief, and this view found support in a letter, dated
Dublin, August 26, 1782, which somehow found its way
into the newspapers. " Some assert," so runs a passage,
" that his resignation was chiefly owing to a coolness
* Life of the Earl of Charlemont (2nd ed.), ii. 82.
1783] RESIGNS HIS SECRETARYSHIP 33
between him and a certain great personage. — Mr. Wind-
ham is a person of deep science, and of great penetration
and abilities ; — the great personage likes a deep bottle —
to penetrate a cork — and has strong abilities of bearing
wine. The one was an enemy to thinking ; — the other to
drinking, and so they parted." » That this was not the
case is proved by the correspondence between Lord
Northington and Windham, now printed for the first
time. The writer of the letter already quoted went on to
say that the resignation was occasioned partly by a want
of " due requisites in Mr. Windham to become a supple
and venal courtier " — precisely the deficiency that Wind-
ham feared would unfit him for the office. " The Story of
Windham's resignation, as I heard it at Brighthelmstone,"
Pitt wrote to W. W. Grenville, 2 August 23, 1783, " sup-
posed him to have got into some scrape in Borough
transactions, which made him afraid to shew his face in
the House of Commons. It did not come from the best
authority, but the letter I recollect hearing of at Stowe
made me think it not improbable." 3 Francis Hardy
declared that it was the result of the Lord-Lieutenant's
patronage being distributed in favour of the old Court
party. Yet another account gives the reason that
Windham believed in Ireland for the Irish, and gives in
support of this contention that when a clergyman came
to Windham with a letter from Burke, the Chief Secretary
" assured the gentleman he should be happy to present
a person so strongly recommended by Mr. Burke with a
much greater piece of preferment than that requested ;
1 Quoted by Amyot, " Memoir of Windham," p. 18.
2 William Wyndham Grenville (1759-1834), Chief Secretary for
Ireland, 1782-3 ; created Baron Grenville, 1790 ; held high ministerial
offices, and was chief of the " All the Talents " ministry.
3 Fortescue MSS., i. 218.
I C
34 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
but that it was his fixed determination ... to give every
place in his power to Irishmen ; as he had long been
persuaded that the natives had the best right to the
bread of their own land." 1 Burke's letter, 2 however;
was to ask Windham to secure for the Rev. Richard
Marlay, Dean of Ferns, the post of second chaplain to the
Lord-Lieutenant. Windham's reasons for resigning are
set out at length in the following correspondence, in which
it will be seen that an attack of fever gave him the excuse
to retire from a position where he was worried to death by
the numerous applications for the exercise of patronage.
The fact that a dissolution was imminent and that he
desired to enter Parliament was not without weight,
too, in determining his action. He did not, however,
as his letters show, definitely make up his mind to retire
until he was on a visit to London in July.
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
London, July 16, 1783
It seems odd to say that in the whole circle of my
correspondence as Secretary I have had no letter so un-
pleasant to write as that which I am now addressing to
you. I could better have undertaken to acquaint the
Provost that his peerage had failed than I can state to
you what I am now about to communicate. The subject
will undoubtedly surprise you ; I cannot wish it should
please you ; but I hope and trust it will create no other
uneasiness than that of temporary regret. Before I
explain a matter introduced with this exordium, let me
acquit myself of the levity of having acted from any
momentary impulse, or of the disingenuity of having
concealed from you what I had long determined in my
own mind. With respect to the first I can assure you
1 Quoted by Amyot, " Memoir of Windham," p. 19.
2 Dated May 5, 1783. See Add. MSS. 37843 f. 2
1783] REASONS FOR RESIGNATION 35
that the matter has been a subject of frequent and anxious
thought, and if I have hitherto said nothing, the reason
has been, not a want of openness towards you, but a
disposition to wait the issue of further trial and to defer
the decision to the last moment. The present measure
of the dissolution of Parliament forces an immediate
determination, and upon the fullest deliberation, and the
utmost trial that the case will admit, I must decide against
continuing in my present situation.
Of this decision the first circumstance which I am
anxious to explain is, that it is not the result of that
general dislike and impatience with the extent of which
you are well acquainted, and the force of which you feel
equally with myself. These feelings, though very good
reasons for not accepting, are more for relinquishing such
a situation. It does not proceed either in any great degree
from an objection to that which must be considered
however, as sufficiently objectionable, the sed[entary]
work that makes the greater part of a secretary's em-
ployment, so much worse than what used to be the
business of Mr. Robinson, 1 as an Irish House of Commons
is worse than an English one. The real ground of my
determination is my conviction that the bodily infirmity,
brought on by the life I must lead, and the business I must
go through, will for the time so oppress and incapacitate
me, as to render me totally incapable of discharging the
duties of the situation either with credit to myself or
advantage to the Government. People of different degrees
of strength will be differently affected by the same
situations ; and of persons equally affected in body
some will find their minds more disturbed by such indis-
position and their faculties more impaired than others.
Of this latter species of infirmity few persons I believe
have so much as myself ; and from my experience of
the effects of this in the last five weeks, I am persuaded
1 John Robinson (i 727-1 802), the confidential agent of the King and
Lord North, was Secretary of the Treasury, 1770-1782
36 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
that my state during a parliament winter must be such
as I have described. A life of close confinement, con-
stant application, anxious thought, and late hours in hot
rooms, is what I am satisfied I cannot stand, by which
expression I do not refer to such illness as is to endanger
life, or ruin constitution. If the evil were of that sort
only, it would be one's duty perhaps to take one's chance
for it ; but the apprehension is of that equivocal and
intermediate state, which in a situation where every
exertion is wanted, would deprive me at once of the
powers of health and of the excuse of sickness.
If there ever was a person in any situation who needed
to have all his faculties about him, it is myself in the
situation I am in ; first, from the difficulty of the under-
taking itself, then, from my own entire want of prepara-
tion ; and, finally, from the foolish expectation of some
people, of the figure I am to make. Under these circum-
stances it behoves me well to consider in what state I
shall be to contend with these difficulties, supply these
deficiencies, and satisfy these expectations. I am far
from thinking that my prospects in these respects would
be very good, supposing me even to possess all the
advantages of perfect health : but what can it then be
considered, when even the state in which I have been
for some time past must probably exceed so far what I
am to look to in future ? You may have been witness in
some measure of the fits of languor and debility which I
frequently experience : but no one but myself can judge
of the effect they have on any exercise of the under-
standing. They have at various times rendered me
incapable of the business, such even as it has been
hitherto. What then is to become of me, when my
powers are likely to fail in the same proportion as the
business increases ? This is not the language of momen-
tary despondency, nor the consequence, as you may be
apt to suspect, of the attack mentioned in my former letter
— quite the contrary. I argue to the effect of my situa-
1783] ON HIS POSSIBLE SUCCESSOR 37
tion on the other side of the water from the difference
of my feelings for some days past. After the sickness
of the passage, the journey through Wales and a dose
or two of physick I am a different being from what I
was ten days ago, or shall be probably ten days hence.
The idea of Flood's x oratory has at this moment
no terrors, but I know to what state a fortnight of the
business and confinement of the Castle will infallibly re-
duce me. Do not consider these, therefore, as idle appre-
hensions founded on such inequalities as every one ex-
periences in himself, and the mere effect of the moment.
They are the result of frequent observation of myself at
various times ; and upon these, as well as more recent
experience, and after weighing the difficulty of the
business, my own comparative strength, when at its best,
and the impaired state in which it is likely to be at the
time of trial, I am settled in opinion that the best thing
I can do, either in prudence to myself, or in justice to
those with whom I am connected, is to withdraw in time
from the situation.
Though I can believe from your friendship, and from
the footing on which we have been, that you will feel
concerned at this, yet you have, possibly before this, so
far come over to my opinion about myself as to regret the
loss of a pleasant associate rather than of an able assistant.
My uneasiness at present at the thought of creating to
you any new distress prevails so much over my own
vanity that I feel great comfort in that assurance. The
reality of the fact convinces me that you must by this
time feel that, for the office of Secretary, there are within
the land five hundred as good as me. To one person, who
might be thought of this number, but whom I know
you would not include in it, namely, Townshend, I have
already mentioned your objections to the Duke of Portland
1 Henry Flood (1732-1791), the Irish statesman, at that time in
opposition to the Government, and in league with Grattan to secure
the independence of the Irish Parliament.
38 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
— the Duke of Portland, by the way, is the only person
whatever to whom I have yet communicated the purport
of this letter, with a request of secrecy, till he should
hear from you or me. He said what you may suppose,
from his sentiments before, and which nothing but
strong previous determination and experience of former
weakness, enabled me to resist. I have great confidence
in the belief that you think of me with respect to my
present situation so much as I do of myself, that this letter
will not communicate to you any part of the pain which
it has occasioned to me. I shall of course return to you,
and the moment I have executed the few things I had to
do, which I think will be on Saturday next. 1
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
Brooks's : July 17, 1783
My letter last night, sent by the messenger, left me so
unpleasant that I could not bring myself to write on any
other subject, or to send you, as I had intended, the
amount of my proceedings and inquiries, since my
letter of Monday night. With respect to the main article,
the continuance of the ministry, I find no person, — not
having as yet talked with either of the persons whose
intelligence was sent to us from Conway — that seems to
have any doubt of their continuing till the next sessions.
As is said of Filch in " The Beggar's Opera," they will
stand till another sessions. The chief reasons in support
of this opinion are that the King wants money too much
to promise himself much success in the creation of a new
parliament, and that the power of the Crown in general,
for those purposes, has been so abridged by Crewe's bill 2
that the same hopes cannot be entertained from that
measure as formerly. His determination, however, not
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 198.
2 The Bill introduced by John, afterwards Baron, Crewe (1742-
1829) for disfranchising excise officers, 1782.
1783] THE KING'S REFUSAL 39
to contribute to their strength or render them at all
independent, is manifested without much reserve ; for he
absolutely refuses to make any English peers. Whether
Lord North ' is to be an exception I did not think to
inquire ; but Welbore Ellis's 2 is refused ; so you may
imagine no one else has much chance. Fox's 3 opinion
I do not know, not having seen him as yet to talk upon
that subject, but the Duke of Portland is what I have told
you ; and other speculators such as Hamilton, 4 and people
of that sort, concur in the same notion. Let me mention
now all the other matters necessary to be taken notice
of as they come into my head. — Lord Carhampton's 5 step
was positively refused, not however in a manner harsh
or angry, but by a dextrous turn of putting the refusal
on your not having recommended any steps in the
peerage. Lord North's opinion is that it would have
been equally refused, had you recommended that alone ;
but would have passed in company with any other.
The business of the Staff, &c, I have talked over with
Burgoyne, 6 who was not aware of the circumstance of
the message from Lord Townshend, nor seemed to have
thought before of the necessity of confining the numbers
precisely to those limited on that occasion : but he agrees
to the necessity of both, now they are stated ; indeed his
proposal for the staff was of itself perfectly conformable
to the message. I am to desire also my Lord North to
take the King's pleasure on the immediate reduction of
the staff, except as to his own pay, about which, though the
exception sounds ridiculous, his wishes and opinions are, as
1 Lord North (1732-1792), Prime Minister, 1770-1782 ; succeeded his
father as (second) Earl of Guilford, 1790.
2 Welbore Ellis (17 13-1802), created Baron Mendip of Mendip, 1794.
3 Charles James Fox (1749-1806), at this time Secretary of State for
Foreign Affairs.
* William Gerard Hamilton, " Single-speech Hamilton " (1729-1796).
5 Simon Luttrell, Viscount Carhampton, subsequently created Earl
Carhampton (died 1787).
6 General John Burgoyne (1722-1792), at this time Commander-in-
Chief of the forces of Ireland.
40 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
upon every other occasion, perfectly fair and liberal. The
circumstance which you mention (for I have received
your letter) of the troops being in Ireland before the
meeting of Parliament, has been already mentioned to
Conway, but must be enforced again by me, as I find he
shows a disposition to be careless about it. Clinton, 1
when I last saw Lord North, was understood to have
refused his peerage, not being able to succeed as to being
a viscount, which the King refused on the old grounds of
not granting two steps at once. They have acted rather
scurvily in sending over so many as they have done
when you had recommended only five.
The same post as brought me your letter has brought
me one from Ogle, 2 written with civility, but with much
discontent. He begins with Dear Sir, but ends with
having the honour to be. The footing on which he puts
[it] is of having been struck out of the Duke of Portland's
list, which he feels as a marked slight. This is the best
ground one would wish him to put it upon ; because it is
such as one [can] take away ; by stating that any former
recommendation of the Duke's was not only out of the
question, but not even known. I conceive one shall
be able to set him right again ; though it is a queer thing
that almost the only fair and honourable man should be
so troublesome to deal with. The Duke of Portland, when
I talked to him the other day, seems of opinion that there
would have been [no] difficulty about including him, or
very many others as you had a mind, His Majesty seeming
perfectly disposed to consent to anything in Ireland, while
he can keep his ministry low at home. I should tell 3'ou
that the King affects to speak of you with great cordiality.
This letter is written from Brooks's, where I am
going to sup for the first time. My situation here begins
to have as little repose as in Dublin. I have had
1 General Sir Henry Clinton (1738 ?-i/95).
2 (?) George Ogle (1742-1814), Irish politician, who opposed Catholic
Emancipation, and after the Union represented Dublin at Westminster.
A". Dan, e, pinxt
T. Burke, sculpt.
FREDERICK: NORTH, SECOND EARL OF GUILFORD
1783] LORD NORTHINGTON'S REBUKE 41
Clermont 1 with me half the day about the riband : and
finding I am to sup here, he cannot refrain from the
satisfaction of being of the party. I wish you were here
too, and the whole business over. 2
The Earl of Northington to William Windham
Dublin : July, 1783
As your letters from London gave me reason to think
that your departure from thence was to take place before
any letter from me could possibly reach you, I had
deferred, of course in expectation of your return, to take
any notice of the subject of these. The bad accounts of
you from Oxford, and the variety of complaints which
at present you suffer under, and the slow progress made
in your case, leave me little hope of seeing you soon;
even if I could be so uncharitable to wish you to under-
take such a journey at the moment of your re-establish-
ment from such severe attacks.
The subject of your letter of the 16th Inst., you
may readily suppose, afforded me no less surprise than
mortification. That a measure of that moment in which,
next to yourself, I was by far the most seriously con-
cerned, should have been so long decided upon without
any communication to me of the resolution which you
had taken, did, I must confess, appear to me a sort of
conduct which my frankness of behaviour and constant
friendly Intercourse with you did not lead me to expect
from your hands. Notwithstanding, however, this appa-
rent slight of me (hurting me in my private feelings, and
affecting me very seriously in all publick points of con-
sideration) I am willing to believe, because I wish it, that
notions of delicacy alone, and a strong feeling at the
time of the difficulties and embarrassments the step you
was about to take would create to me, were alone the
1 William Henry Fortescue, Earl of Clermont (died 1806), Post-
master-General, and M.P. for the County of Louth.
2 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 204.
42 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
notions which led to the concealment of your purpose at
our last parting. My anxious and earnest wishes attend
you for the speedy recovery of your Health, and as the
most likely means of restoration, I desire you will divest
your thoughts of a Subject which I am sure has con-
tributed most to your present unpleasant state.
Let me, therefore, advise you to drop all thoughts of a
Return to Ireland. Your Return has been doubted ever
since your departure, your disinclination to the Business
of your Department had not escaped the Eagle-Eyed
observers of the Castle. Their conjectures spread — gained
ground upon your non-Arrival, and became to a certain
degree confirmed by a whisper — Intelligence from General
Lutterell. 1 To what purpose then would your Return
serve ? If only to fulfill an engagement of a point of
Honor to me, and to keep your word, I cannot be so devoid
of feeling as to wish you in your present state to attend
to such an engagement, since I think it might be pro-
ductive of much unpleasantness and mortification to you,
and could be no further of service to me, than the giving
me a Detail of the Conversations you have had with the
Duke of Portland and Fox upon many interesting subjects
during your stay in Town.
This communication may, however, be given me nearly
as well, if I draw out a short account of what you have
already sent me, and desire you to add to it what upon
further recollection may suggest itself to you. This I will
either send at the same time this letter goes or just after.
I have not been well myself for these last three or four
days — and I am now without even Hamilton, who has
been with the Bishop of Clogher upon his Election. You
may be sure from your knowledge of the Enemy, that
without any of these advance Guards to intercept, the
Castle and the Lodge have had a continual Assail.— I am
vexed therefore, tired and continually importuned ; but
1 Henry Lawes Luttrell (1743-1821); Major-General 1782; suc-
ceeded his father as (second) Earl Carhampton 1787.
1783] THE PONSONBYS IN ARMS 43
none of these distress and disturb me equally with the
silly sort of conduct of our worthy friend in Downing
Street [the Duke of Portland] with regard to his Irish
connections. What does he mean ? Is it to disgust
me with my Situation ? God knows it is not so very
desireable but what a man would be happy to find an
honorable Cause of retirement ! If he wishes me to
continue by a mistaken partiality to a Post he is
marring the Harvest of my Government which is to be
reaped by the whole of his friends. But such, I find, if
an explanation does not ensue, at least I am to expect, such
sort of Attempts will be made to carry points in the teeth
of Government here, which if they prove successful
must overturn the Power of any Government here. 1
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
July 22, 1783
. . . The Duke of Portland sent for me last night and in-
formed me that all the Ponsonby's were in arms. By his
desire I called this morning on William Ponsonby, 2 and
found him in a state of agitation hardly less than that of
Clements, 3 and of a sort much more ferocious. In the
course of conversation, however, I thought I had rather
subdued him ; but on coming home this evening I find
a letter, in which he says that on reflection he cannot
help seeing the transaction in the same light as at first,
and that the only reparation for the marked slight put
upon all his family (by not recommending O'Callaghan) 4
would be immediately to make good the omission. With-
out this atonement he and all his people are to go into
opposition. In his conversation with the Duke he had
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 533.
2 William Brabazon Ponsonby (1744-1806), member of the Irish
Parliament from 1764 ; appointed joint Postmaster-General of Ire-
land ; created Baron Ponsonby 1806.
3 Robert Clements (1732-1804), afterwards first Earl of Leitrim.
* Cornelius O'Callaghan ( 1 742-1 797), afterwards first Baron Lismore.
He married Frances, the sister of William, Lord Ponsonby.
44 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
extricated a regular list of charges against you and me,
either jointly or separately. One was of general neglect
of the Ponsonby's ; another of my having on the day
of my going declined to see old Ponsonby, 1 and having
neglected afterwards to send him any excuse (the
same may be said by every one who called that day) ;
the third, the difficulty about the Deanery ; and the
fourth, last and heaviest, the refusal of O'Callaghan's
peerage. On all these charges I met him, I think, with
sufficient success, and upon the whole seemed to have
silenced his battery : but he has mounted his guns
anew, and the engagement recommences with the menace
I have just stated. My answer will be that I can give no
answer in your absence, but that, in my own opinion,
no injury is proved requiring such reparation. George
Ponsonby, 2 as he says, has sent over his resignation. It
would have been more in course if he had given it to you.
He complained heavily of the bargain attempted to be
made for the Deanery of Ossory, which I defended ;
though I rather believe the matter had better be yielded
at once ; as I meant to have observed previous to this
conversation ; but it may now be matter of consideration
whether this threat held out should not be required first to
be withdrawn.
The terms insisted on by Mrs. Grenville I don't under-
stand. Nothing passed between her and me but what is
known to Cooke, 3 viz. : that there must be no return for
her borough of a person not to continue there, and that
she rather expected 2000/ English, but should take the
1 John Ponsonby (171 3-1 789), father of William (afterwards Baron)
Ponsonby ; Speaker of the Irish House of Commons (1756-1771).
2 George Ponsonby (1757-1817), third son of John Ponsonby, was
Irish Chancellor of the Exchequer during the vice-royalty of the Duke
of Portland, 1782. In 1806, under the Fox-Grenville administration,
he was Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
3 Edward Cooke (1755-1820) went to Ireland in 1778 as private
secretary to Sir Richard Heron, Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant.
At this time he held some minor official post in Ireland. In later years
he returned to England, was in 1807 Under-Secretary for War, and
1 8 12-18 17 Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs.
1783] DOMESTIC DETAILS 45
best I could get for her, provided it was not less than the
estabished market price.
The stocks fall very much, without any reason assigned
except the great scarcity of money, owing very much
to the high price of gold in Holland, which has occasioned
great quantities of coin to be carried out of the kingdom.
Much has been smuggled from the coast of Norfolk. 1
William Windham to The Hon. Thomas Pelham 2
Salt Hill : August 11, 1783
I came hither last night from Oxford . . . not without
some hopes, though unknown possibly to you, of your
coming at the same time. . . . Should it be inconvenient
to you to meet me here, I will, if you wish it, take the
very first opportunity of coming to London : in the
mean while, any information which you may wish from
me shall be communicated as fully as can be done by
letter ; and, without waiting your inquiries, I will myself
suggest anything which may occur to me as useful for
you to know. Under this head, I may immediately
mention some articles, of small consequence in themselves;
yet equally trying and vexatious with things of greater
importance. I mean all that relates to Household
establishment. Of these the articles are not numerous;
though some of them expensive — Plate, Chariot, Coach-
horses and Liveries. Plate is not absolutely necessary,
but is upon the whole more eligible, and as you need not
be sollicitous about the fashion, but may buy it at second
hand, will, I understand, answer better in point of
economy. For a chariot, any decent Town-chariot, a
little vamped up, will, I apprehend, do perfectly well,
particularly as you will have had such short notice.
Coach-horses you had better buy here, ready broke and
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 215.
2 The Hon. Thomas Pelham, afterwards second Earl of Chichester
(1 756-1 826), succeeded Windham as Chief Secretary to the Lord-
Lieutenant of Ireland.
46 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
seasoned from the Job men : and these, if good, will, I
find, at any time sell without loss in the country : you
must have a set. Of the livery you will order the lace
and buttons here, and take the cloth there. There must
be frock liveries and state, each of them such as you
would make, under the same description, here. With
respect to horses, should you not be able to get a set
easily and to your mind before you go, you may take
the same method as was recommended to me, and was
followed by me, for the time I staid, namely, to hire jobs,
which, under the plea of want of time for preparation,
you may probably continue, without notice being taken
of it, during the whole time. Of servants you will
want four immediately in livery, including the porter, who
remains under all changes. These you must take from
England, unless you have a mind to take one or two of
mine, and they are willing to stay. A Coachman and
postillion you will find there also, but I would advise you
by no means to take them, but at wages vastly less than
they received from me, and if you have any coachman
of whom you have a good opinion, to take him at once.
One of the most material concerns is a good maitre
d'Hotel ; and in this article I am happy to be able to
assist you, at least for the present, should you not
otherwise be provided, by leaving with you for some time
my servant, who was recommended to me by Sir Richard
Heron, 1 and whom I found so far as I had experience of
him, a most diligent, trustworthy and intelligent servant.
If he can be of any use, he shall remain with you as long
as you wish. — All other articles of establishment you will
either find upon the spot, or can easily provide. There is
a set of desert china, which was bought for me at a sale
just before I came away, and which they tell me are
very handsome. These you may have, if you please, at
the same price they cost me, or, if you think that some
1 Sir Richard Heron (1726-1805), Chief-Secretary to the Lord-
Lieutenant, John, Earl of Buckinghamshire, 1 776-1 779.
1783] A JUSTIFICATION 47
abatement should be made, at such a price as shall be
deemed reasonable. Other odd matters, which you will
wish probably to take from me, will go by appraisement :
but these are of small amount.
Having run through these few things, which, though
least in consequence, are perhaps first in order, I will
neither detain you nor delay my letter any longer, than
to say that, being persuaded you will not feel those
objections to the office, either from health, temper or
peculiarity of habit that I do, I most sincerely rejoice at
your acceptance of it, principally because it relieves me
from all apprehension of inconvenience that might be
occasioned by my retirement. Without any affected
modesty about myself, or insincere compliment to you,
I assure you I think the interests of the present admin-
istration, to which I am happy to think we are now
united in wishing well, will not only suffer no prejudice
but gain considerably by the exchange. Consider that I
really think my constitution not sufficiently good ; no
one does well what he does with an ill will. 1
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
Oxford : 2 August 15, 1783
After the receipt of your most friendly letter, I shall feel
every hour long till this letter reaches you, not only to
say how much your kindness affects me, but to acquit
myself of a charge, of all others most painful to me, and
which is rendered doubly sensible by your very gentle
and tender manner of urging it. Let me be suspected of
anything rather than of having been intentionally wanting
in candour and attention towards you. Whatever may
be my faults, reserve and duplicity are not of the number ;
or if any such qualities had place in my composition, this
would have been the last occasion on which they would
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 252.
2 After his illness Windham resided for some time at Oxford
48 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
have shewn themselves. Nobody could be more sensible
that your conduct to me called for every possible return
of confidence and attention : nor has anything given me
more pain than the appearance, which I felt I incurred, of
acting in a way not conformable to those sentiments.
Two ideas might naturally strike your mind, each of
them making a very reasonable ground of complaint :
either that I had secretly resolved on what I should do,
at the time I took my leave of you, and had concurred in
the proposal of going to England, as a convenient oppor-
tunity of declaring it : or that I deferred finally to make up
my mind upon the subject till I should have consulted
the Duke of Portland. I do assure you that neither of
these was the fact. I neither knew, at the moment I
parted from you, what I should do : nor had I an idea,
should the resolution be taken, of communicating it
except to yourself at my return. That I should forbear
to say anything, till the matter was absolutely decided,
can easily be conceived. The question was of a sort
which I must determine for myself ; the task of intimating
such an intention was not so pleasant as that one would
wish to undergo it unnecessarily : and I was too well
acquainted with my own weakness in resisting the argu-
ments of those for whom I had a regard, to hazard the
mention of such a purpose, till I could resolve that it
must at all events take place. I had nothing to do,
therefore, but to endeavour by a careful estimate of all
circumstances of health, liking and ability — considering
the two former chiefly as they affected the latter — to make
up my own mind upon the subject : to accomplish which
was no easy task : one's sentiments varying almost
every twelve hours, according as a night passed at the
Phcenix Park gave one a feel of strength and confidence,
or the confinement of a day in the Castle brought on such
languor, weariness and disgust as sunk one into absolute
despair.
In this state of uncertainty I took my leave of you,
1783] WHY WINDHAM RESIGNED 49
thinking that a fortnight was yet left me for deliberation,
while in the meantime the journey would afford me
opportunities of discussing the question more coolly and
connectedly than was possible in Dublin, and at the same
time furnish me with a new datum, by ascertaining the
chance of release, by a dissolution of the ministry. The
idea of the letter I afterwards wrote to you, on the
mention of the matter to the Duke of Portland, had never
entered my mind. As to the person to whom such a
communication was first due, it would never have been
a question with me, not only in point of what may be
called official propriety, but because the effect which
it was too likely to have in embarrassing you, was the
circumstance so much uppermost in my thoughts. To
confess the truth, it was the only circumstance that very
materially distressed me : for though I have the greatest
esteem, regard and attachment to the Duke of Portland,
and that I could never disappoint his wishes without
pain, yet the circumstances attending my acceptance of this
office had been so peculiar, my disinclination had been
so strongly marked, and the importunity by which that
was overcome was so near what might be called unfair,
that I by no means felt the same obligation to consult his
inclinations, as I should upon any other occasion. A
conversation had accordingly passed with him, without
my uttering a word upon the subject ; as indeed it would
have done, independent of that consideration, unless I
had resolved on writing to you.
What brought on the measure so suddenly, and com-
pelled an immediate decision, was the reflexion which
from strange inadvertence I had not before made, that
my option of a seat in the new Parliament would not stand
over till the return of the writs but must determine
the instant of my election ; that the resolution therefore
must be taken immediately or not at all. When I had
settled to write to you, I then thought it best to mention
it to the Duke of Portland for the sake of saving time,
1 D
50 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
requesting, however, that till he should hear from you,
it might remain an entire secret, and not intending that
he should speak of it, even to Fox. Possibly in that
restriction I might have been wrong, as the same purpose
that induced the mention of it to the Duke of Portland
made it desirable that Fox also should be acquainted
with it.
This is a faithful representation of the progress of the
business as it passed in my mind. The measure itself has
been sufficiently distressing to me, without the aggrava-
tion of having added to it an appearance of contrivance
and stratagem. What struck me most and could least
be got over, was the idea of leaving you, as it were, in
the lurch, of deserting you in the midst of difficulties on
which we had entered together, and effecting my own
escape, without regarding those I left behind. My only
consolation was that by consulting my own ease and
comfort, I hoped I should not make your condition
worse ; and that my sharing your plagues and vexations
could contribute little to relieve them, but this reflexion
would lose much of its efficacy, if I had not the satisfac-
tion of seeing my place supplied by such a man as Pelham.
I know but very few men who are so fit for the situation,
and I know none with whom I conceive and hope you
will find yourself so much at your ease. I have upon this
occasion great pleasure in thinking that you will never
feel a moment's regret of me. I must make haste now
and finish my letter, having been delayed by some visitors
this morning till I am in danger of being too late for
the cross post. By an unfortunate combination of cir-
cumstances, I did not receive yours till last night. I had
gone for a night to Salt Hill, in order to meet Pelham, but
by a delay in the receipt of letters, was detained there
too, and have come back not quite so well as I went.
I am to meet him however if I can next Monday in
London ; when, if I get your letter with the Queries
you mention, I may answer them more completely
1783] RETIRES INTO PRIVATE LIFE 51
by further conversation with the Duke of Portland
and Fox.
As Pelham purposes to set off within a fortnight, to
which both for his own sake as well as yours I shall urge
him strongly, I will without further hesitation follow
the advice which you so kindly urge, and drop all thoughts
of returning to Ireland : I should have had some satisfac-
tion, as far as a trifling motive goes, in returning there, if
it were only to mar the self-complacency of those who
will now pretend to have foreseen that I never meant to
return ; but this is not much worth thinking on. I wish
I could as easily follow your advice in divesting myself of
all other anxieties in that quarter ; which I shall not do till
I hear things are more settled and in a prosperous train ; I
might say, till you are out of the country. I shall have an
interest in your success, not less personal than if I had still
continued a party ; for every difficulty in which you are
involved, I shall feel as reproaching me for leaving you.
It is well for me that matters were so settled before I got
your letter ; for otherwise the very kind and handsome
manner in which you there express yourself would in-
fallibly have brought me back to the situation, whatever
miseries it might have cost me. I will now take my
leave of you for the present, by observing that for the
whole of this business, anxious as it has been, I shall
think myself well repaid by the privilege which I derive
from thence, of assuring you that I am, with the greatest
truth, my dear Lord,
most sincerely and affectionately yours,
W. Windham. 1
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
Oxford : August 26, 1783
I cannot depart my official life, without charging
Pelham, as my heir and executor, to be the bearer of
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 262.
52 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
my last farewell to you. I meant to have had a number
of letters ready against his arrival ; but by the same
indolent procrastination that in Lord North ruined an
empire, and in me, had I continued where I was, would
have been productive of a thousand distresses, I have
left them all undone, and can only write these few lines
to you, to be sent to him before I am up. I don't know
anything I have to say, till I shall receive your queries
to the Duke of Portland.
The more I see of Pelham, the more I am satisfied with
his being my successor. He seems to set about his
business in a composed, methodical manner, to apply
his mind readily to the work, to form very good judg-
ments and to be perfectly vigilant and discreet. 1 . . .
William Windham to John Coxe Hippisley 2
Oxford : September 16, 1783
It seems a strange time to begin a letter to India, when
the post is within half an hour of setting out : but I
must write now, or I shall miss the opportunity they tell
me of the next packet. How shall I comprize in so
short a compass an account even of my own history ?
Let me tell you at once, that in the course of five little
months since I wrote last, I have been in the responsible
office of Secretary to the Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland ;
and that I am now returned again to the condition of
a private man. This, perhaps, need not surprize you in
one respect, as we have seen whole Ministries change in as
short a period : but happily that has not been the case
in the present instance. The abstract of my history is,
that I undertook the office much against my will, having
been formerly in the country, and being well acquainted
with the unpleasant nature of the business ; and finding,
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 290.
2 John Coxe Hippisley (1748- 182 5), Agent of the British Govern-
ment in Italy, 1779-80 ; afterwards in the East India Company's
service ; created baronet, 1796.
1783] AN EXPLANATION 53
upon trial, that the liking did not increase, and that
my health suffered, I took the opportunity of a fever,
that attacked me during an absence on some business in
England, and before I was elected into the new Parlia-
ment, and while my resignation could not be attended
with much embarrassment to Government, withdrew
from a situation, which was too little suited either to
my talents or temper, to admit a hope of my filling it
with credit. I am now, therefore, returned to my privacy,
with a greater enjoyment of it than ever, though possibly
not so rooted in it as formerly : the transition to public
life having been once made, will be more easy on any
future occasion ; just as going abroad is to a person who
has once crossed the Channel. At present, however, I
have no prospect of such an occasion, nor any wish for
one. When a vacancy happens at Norwich I shall
probably come into Parliament, and my attachment to a
particular set of Men will then probably lead me, by
degrees, to take an active part in business, but my
genius lies to employment of a different kind, and however
I may embark for a while civilibus undis, it will only be
with a view of returning with higher enjoyment to the
pursuit of Literature and Philosophy — but enough of
myself any otherwise than as that account may be con-
nected with the mention of your business. The scene of
my illness in England was the place I am now in, namely
Alma Mater [illegible] where about five weeks ago, Sir
Gilbert Elliot x called upon me, and where General
Maitland, most obligingly came to see me on purpose, a
few days ago, and where Lord Loughborough called on
me the day before yesterday : so that Oxford seems to
have been the place for a sort of Parliament of your
friends. 2
1 Sir Gilbert Elliot (1751-1814) ; Member of Parliament from 1776 ;
Constitutional Viceroy of Corsica (1795-7) ; created Baron Minto
1 797 ; Governor-General of Bengal 1807-13 ; created Earl of Minto 181 3:
2 Add. MSS. 37848 f. si.
54 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
Brooks's : December 18, 1783
You have probably heard from some other hand a
better account than I can give you of the events that
have taken place since my last letter. My information of
things future may lose something of its credit, upon the
receipt of a letter, which I put into the hands of a friend
of mine, the other day, a Mr. Wills. I there predicted
that the ministry were to be triumphant, in the House of
Lords. 1 The failure of this prediction you are already
acquainted with : I can only say in my own excuse that
I took my ideas from the language of Fox, who at three
o'clock the night before at Brooks's, where one sup-
poses that no disguise is used, spoke with great confidence
of having a majority of thirty. The effect which the real
issue produced, I need not talk of to you, who must have
seen a more curious scene on your side of the water. As
curious will be the reverse, I hope, on the arrival of the
news of yesterday.
You know probably the terms of the resolution : in-
deed upon recollection you will have them more correctly
than I give them from the papers : so I will only say that,
by all accounts, nothing has ever been known equal to
the animation of the house, and the triumph of ministry.
Fox according to the usual account, greater than ever ;
Lord North, of whom that is not so constantly said, is
universally agreed to have been uncommonly able and
successful in both his speeches. Pitt, after a great deal
of intemperate and virulent declamation, was at last
1 " Before the second reading of Fox's India Bill in the Lords the
King gave Temple a card, authorising him to say that whoever voted
for the Bill ' would be considered by him as an enemy.' This soon
became known, and, on December 17, the Commons voted by 153 to
80 that it was now necessary to declare that to report the King's
opinion on any question pending in Parliament with a view to in-
fluence votes is a high crime and misdemeanour. Nevertheless the
King's unconstitutional move was successful ; the Lords rejected the
Bill."—" Political History of England," x. 250.
1783] FOX'S INDIA BILL 55
so beaten and struck down, that upon the second question;
I hear, he could not even make up a speech. Whether
the rashness, folly and presumption of your worthy pre-
decessor x will venture to undertake the government
under the present circumstances, and whether his
Majesty's magnanimity will remain unshaken by these
resolutions of the angry Commons, is now the subject of
speculation among the learned. I will hazard no more
conjectures : for which indeed I have a further reason
than the fear of being proved wrong, namely, that I have
hardly an opinion upon the subject. One confidence only
I have, that good, either immediate or ultimate, must
be the result : and perhaps the greatest would be that
which should come through the medium of temporary
confusion. The conduct by which the fate of the
measure was turned, was happily so marked that people
cannot mistake it ; and I hear accordingly that people
in general speak of it with much indignation. On such
accounts, however, one can perhaps lay no great stress :
the most satisfactory intelligence, therefore, to you may
be that Fox, who has just been here, is in an extasy of
spirits. The substance of the Duke of Portland's inter-
view with the King yesterday was to acquaint him with
the reports and desire his Majesty's authority to contra-
dict them. To which the King answered " that he could
give him no such authority, having never approved the bill."
The fact is that every possible attention was shewn in
submitting to him the several parts of the business, as
it went on : and desiring upon each his sentiments :
nor was anything said that imported the least disapproba-
tion, and much that implied satisfaction.
I write this from Brooks's, which presents a scene
such as you have so frequently beheld here : I don't
know that it would be a bad wish to say that I
1 George Nugent -Temple Grenville, second Earl Temple (1753—1813),
Lord -Lieutenant of Ireland in the Shelburne Administration. The
Duke of Rutland succeeded Lord Northington, but in 1787 Temple, now
Marquis of Buckingham, again became Lord -Lieutenant.
56 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1783
should not be sorry, if you were soon to make part
of it. 1
William Windham to The Earl of Northington
December, 1783
It is worth while to write you a few lines from Brooks's,
if it be only for the sake of bringing the place into your
thoughts, and giving you a momentary vision of a scene,
which at most hours of the day, may have a chance of
being more agreeable than the one that is before you.
At present however there is further reason, that you
may have the last, and probably the most authentick
account of a report of no long standing, and not much
vouched and supported ; yet sufficient to excite con-
siderable alarm. I must be brief, having deferred writing
to the last moment, that I may relate all that is hitherto
known.
Lord Temple, that terror of administrations, was
with the King yesterday, for an hour and half after
the Levee. That fact and that only is certain. Two
evidences declare that Lord Lothian 2 yesterday, at
dinner at the Prince of Wales's, related in their hearing
that Lord Temple, on coming out of the Closet, told him
that the King had authorized him to say that his (his
Majesty's) friends would do a very acceptable thing to
him, if they opposed the present Indian Bill. That is
[what] he, Lord Lothian, declared repeatedly, and talked
of during the whole of dinner. — Adam Alsop, and Andrew
Stuart 3 told Fox that Lord Carmarthen 4 had reported
the same declaration made by Lord Temple afterwards
to him. These points therefore seem to be pretty well
1 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 443.
2 William John Kerr, fifth Marquis of Lothian (i 737-181 5).
3 Andrew Stuart (d. 1801), lawyer; Member of Parliament from
1774 until his death.
4 Francis Osborne, fifth Duke of Leeds (1751-1 799), until his succes-
sion to the dukedom in 1789, known as Lord Carmarthen. He was
an active politician, and Foreign Secretary under Pitt, 1783-91.
1783] THE KING AND CHARLES JAMES FOX 57
established, that both Lord Lothian and Lord Carmarthen
related this declaration as coming from Lord Temple.
On the other hand, Lord Lothian on being asked by Fox,
denies that he had even seen Lord Temple since his
leaving the King, and this account is confirmed by Lord
Essex, 1 the Lord in waiting, who says that when Lord
Temple left the King, no one else remained at St. James's.
The presumption, therefore, is, that Lord Lothian had
related a conversation that had passed before Lord
Temple's going into the closet, as having happened after-
wards ; and finding afterwards that he had got into a
scrape, wished to recall his report : and that Lord Car-
marthen might have talked loosely, and related as a
matter which Lord Temple was authorized to declare,
what he might have said only as his private opinion. —
This seems to be the whole of what is known upon the
occasion. No other circumstances appear to confirm
the opinion of Lord Temple's conversation having pro-
duced any effect ; and on the contrary, all those of the
King's friends whose support was expected, seem to
continue firm in their purpose. Fox, who is just gone
from here, and whose account I have taken, tells me to
caution you against feeling at all alarmed. One circum-
stance might be thought suspicious, that the Archbishop
who is understood to be a warm supporter, and who I know
has the Bishop of London's proxy for that purpose, was
sent for to the King either yesterday or this morning :
but Fox does not seem to apprehend that anything is to be
inferred from this. I shall let you know what I hear
further of this, if I find that you have not got accounts
from better hands. 2
1 William Anne Capel, fourth Earl of Essex (i 732-1799).
2 Add. MSS. 33100 f. 522
SECTION III
FIRST YEARS IN PARLIAMENT
1784-1793
SECTION III
FIRST YEARS IN PARLIAMENT
i 784- i 793
CHAPTER I
The downfall of the Coalition Ministry : Pitt Prime Minister :
Windham elected M.P. for Norwich : A regular attendant at
the Literary Club : His friendship with Dr. Johnson : Some
correspondence between them : Windham's accounts of his
last interviews with Johnson : Johnson's death : Windham
invites Fox to the funeral : The political pupil of Burke : Some
of Windham's friends : Mrs. Siddons : Windham's interest
in aeronautics : His ascent in a balloon with Sadler : Fitz-
patrick's ascent.
THE opposition of the King to Fox's India Bill
having brought about the downfall of the Coali-
tion Ministry in December 1783, Pitt became
Prime Minister. As, however, the followers of
Fox and Lord North still formed a majority in the House
of Commons, Parliament was dissolved in the following
March. Windham was again nominated for Norwich, and;
after a fierce contest, was returned as junior member on
April 5 by a majority of sixty-four votes over the Hon.
Henry Hobart, 1 being one of the few supporters of the
unpopular Coalition Ministry who were returned to
Westminster.
1 The figures were : Sir Harbord Harbord, 2305 ; Windham, 1297 ;
Hobart, 1233.
61
\
62 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
The Duke of Portland to William Windham
London : April 7, 1784
I am most sincerely obliged to you and give you my
most hearty thanks for having caused the only very
satisfactory event that has happened since this cursed
Dissolution has taken place, and I desire you to accept
my best congratulations on your Election which you have
obtained with no less honor to yourself than with ad-
vantage to the Publick Cause. You have undergone
much trouble, fatigue, uneasiness and vexation of every
kind, but you have succeeded, and succeeded with every
circumstance that should give you comfort and make
you satisfied with yourself. As a publick man I must
again repeat my thanks to you, and in the private and
more grateful capacity of a Friend I share with you the
joy which you ought to feel, and which ought to be the
effect of the Conduct you have observed.
I cannot like Westminster, nor can I say that my mind
is at ease respecting York and Yorkshire (but this is to
yourself). I trust Norfolk will afford me a better
prospect. No pains shall be wanting on my part to
realize this hope, but I desire that you will suggest any
thing in which my endeavours can be thought to be of
service. 1
Now more than ever before Windham stayed in
London, and in these years of his life he found the metro-
polis a very pleasant place. Previous to going abroad in
1778 he had been elected a member of the Literary Club,
and now he was a regular attendant at its meetings. He
made the acquaintance of the whole circle, and Dr. Johnson
had a great liking for him. When it was that Windham
first made Johnson's acquaintance is not known ; but it
is clear from Boswell's " Life," that as early as 1776 they
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 3.
1793] THE ESSEX HEAD CLUB 63
were on intimate terms. At the end of 1783 Dr.
Johnson founded the Essex Head Club, whereof Windham
was an original member. That the two men had a very
tender regard for each other there can be no doubt, and
it is certain that they were as much together as circum-
stances permitted. " After dinner," Windham noted in
his Diary, May 15, 1784, " took Johnson an airing
over Blackfriars Bridge, thence to the Club ; present,
Boswell, Murphy, Brocklesby, Berry,Mr. Bowles, Hoole,
and his son, and a son x of Dr. Burney, he that was
expelled Cambridge."
Dr. Johnson to William Windham
August 1784
The tenderness with which you have been pleased to
treat me, through my long illness, neither health nor
sickness can, I hope, make me forget ; and you are not to
suppose, that after we parted you were no longer in my
mind. But what can a sick man say, but that he is
sick ? His thoughts are necessarily concentered in him-
self ; he neither receives, nor can give delight ; his en-
quiries are after alleviations of pain, and his efforts are
to catch some momentary comfort. Though I am now
in the neighbourhood of the Park, you must expect no
account of its wonders, of its hills, its waters, its caverns,
or its mines ; but I will tell you, dear Sir, what I hope
you will not hear with less satisfaction, that, for about
a week past, my asthma has been less afflictive. 2
That Johnson was sincerely grateful to the younger
man he has shown in a letter to Dr. Brocklesby, written
from Ashbourne, September 2, 1784. " Mr. Windham
has been here to see me," he wrote ; " he came, I think,
1 Charles, second son of Dr. Burney.
2 Boswell, " Life of Johnson " (ed. Hill), iv. 632.
64 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
forty miles out of his way, and staid about a day and a
half ; perhaps I make the time shorter than it was.
Such conversation I shall not have again till I come back
to the regions of literature ; and there Windham is, inter
Stellas luna minor es." It was on this visit that Windham,
as the Doctor put it, endeavoured to "wheedle" him
into paying a visit to Oxford as the younger man's
guest. 1
Dr. Johnson to William Windham
Lichfield : October 2, 1784
I believe you had been long enough acquainted with the
bhcenomena of sickness, not to be surprised that a sick
man wishes to be where he is not, and where it appears
to everybody but himself that he might easily be, without
having the resolution to move. I thought Ashbourne
a solitary place but did not come hither till last Monday.
I have here more company, but my health has for this
last week not advanced ; and in the languor of disease how
little can be done ? Whether or when I shall make my
next remove, I cannot tell ; but I entreat you, dear Sir,
to let me hear, from time to time, where you may be
found, for your residence is a very powerful attractive to,
Sir, your most humble servant. 2
William Windham to Dr. Johnson
Oxford : October 6, 1784
I returned to this place two days ago, not without a
secret hope, that you might be here before me ; and that
I might find myself at once in possession of your company,
and of an evidence of your improving health. Those
pleasing expectations, your letter has for a while sus-
pended, but I hope not dispelled. From accounts
1 Boswell, "Life of Johnson" (ed. Hill), iv. 356. 2 Ibid.
Mmsmamm
Sir 'Joshua Reynolds, pinxt.
DR. JOHNSON
ll'»i. Doughty, sculpt.
1793] DR. JOHNSON'S ILLNESS 65
which I received from Mrs. R. Burke x and from Dr.
Brocklesby, 2 I cannot help flattering myself, notwith-
standing the languor you describe, and the retardation of
your recovery during the last week, that you are upon the
whole gaining on your complaints, and that when next
I have the pleasure of seeing you, I shall be able to con-
gratulate you and myself, on evident marks of your
advancement.
The interruption given to my residence here by the love
of [illegible] which carried me for some time to London,
would incline me to protract my stay for a fortnight
longer, till increase of numbers shall render living in the
University less agreable. My continuance here has, how-
ever, no certain limits but my own inclinations, and they
will not suffer me to depart, as long as I have any prospect
of being favoured with your company. 3
Johnson's health did not improve, and on November 16
he returned to London. His friends were unremitting in
their attentions, for it was evident that his strength was
failing day by day, and all knew that his life was ebbing
fast ; Windham was one of the most frequent visitors at
Bolt Court, and on December 7 he had a long and interest-
ing conversation with him, as he records in his " Diary."
After waiting some short time in the adjoining room, I
was admitted to Dr. Johnson in his bedchamber, where,
after placing me next him on the chair, he sitting in his
usual place on the east side of the room (and I on his
right-hand) he put into my hands two small volumes
(an edition of the New Testament) as he afterwards told
me, saying, Extremum hoc munus morientis habeto. He
1 Wife of the son of Edmund Burke.
2 Richard Brocklesby (i 722-1 797), physician ; the friend of Burke,
and also of Dr. Johnson, whom he attended in his last illness.
3 Add. MSS. 37914 f. 18.
66 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
then proceeded to observe that I was entering upon a life
which would lead me deeply into all the business of the
world ; that he did not condemn civil employment, but
that it was a state of great danger ; and that he had
therefore one piece of advice earnestly to impress upon
me — that I would set apart every seventh day, for the
care of my soul ; that one day, the seventh, should
be employed in repenting what was amiss in the six pre-
ceding, and for fortifying my virtue for the six to come ;
that such a portion of time was surely little enough for
the meditation of eternity. He then told me that he had
a request to make to me, namely, that I would allow his
servant Frank to look up to me as his friend, adviser, and
protector in all difficulties which his own weakness and
imprudence, or the force or fraud of others, might bring
him into. He said that he had left him what he con-
sidered an ample provision, viz. 70/. per annum ; but
that even that sum might not place him above the want
of a protector, and to me, therefore, he recommended
him, as to one who had will, and power, and activity to
protect him. Having obtained my assent to this, he
proposed that Frank should be called in, and desiring
me to take him by the hand in token of the promise,
repeated before him the recommendation he had just
made of him, and the promise I had given to attend to it.
I then took occasion to say how much I felt, what I had
long foreseen that I should feel, regret at having spent
so little of my life in his company. I stated this as an
instance where resolutions are deferred till the occasions
are past. For some time past I had determined that
such an occasion of self-reproach should no longer
subsist, and had built upon the hope of passing in his
society the chief part of my time, at the moment when it
was to be apprehended we were about to lose him for
ever ! I had no difficulty of speaking to him thus of
my apprehensions ; I could not help, on the other hand,
entertaining hopes ; but with these I did not like to
1793] WINDHAM AND DR. JOHNSON 67
trouble him, lest he should conceive that I thought it neces-
sary to flatter him. He answered hastily that he was sure
I would not ; and proceeded to make a compliment to the
manliness of my mind, which, whether deserved or not,
ought to be remembered that it may be deserved.
I then stated that among other neglects was the omis-
sion of introducing, of all others, the most important,
the consequence of which particularly filled my mind
at that moment, and on which I had often been desirous
to know his opinions. The subjects I meant were
I said, ' natural and revealed religion.' The wish thus
generally stated was in part gratified on the instant.
For revealed religion, he said, there was such historical
evidence as, upon any subject not religious, would have
left no doubt. Had the facts recorded in the New Testa-
ment been mere civil occurrences, no one would have
called in question the testimony by which they are
established. But the importance annexed to them
amounting to nothing less than the salvation of mankind,
raised a cloud in our minds, and created doubt unknown
upon any other subject. Of proofs to be derived from
history, one of the most cogent, he seemed to think, was
the opinion so well authenticated and so long entertained
of a Deliverer that was to appear about that time.
Among the typical representations, the sacrifice of the
Paschal lamb, in which no bone was to be broken, had
early struck his mind. For the immediate life and
miracles of Christ ; such attestation as that of the
apostles, who all, except St. John, confirmed their testi-
mony by their blood ; such belief as their witness pro-
cured from a people best furnished with the means of
judging, and least disposed to judge favourably ; such
an extension afterwards of that belief over all the nations
of the earth, though originating from a nation of all
others the most despised, would leave no doubt that the
things witnessed were true, and were of a nature more
than human. With respect to evidences, Dr. Johnson
68 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
observed, we had not such evidence that Caesar died
in the Capitol, as that Christ died in the manner
related. 1
On December 11 Windham was again admitted to the
sick chamber, and of this meeting also he has left a
record.
After promising that I considered what I was going
to say as a matter of duty, I said that I hoped he would
not suspect me of the weakness of importuning him to
take nourishment for the purpose of prolonging his life
for a few hours or days. I then stated what the reason
was, that it was to secure that which I was persuaded
he was most anxious about, viz., that he might preserve
his faculties entire to the last moment. Before I had
quite stated my meaning, he interrupted me by saying
that he refused no sustenance but inebriating sustenance,
and proceeded to give instances where, in compliance
with the wishes of his physicians, he had taken even a
small quantity of wine. I readily assented to any objec-
tions he might have to nourishment of that kind, and
observing that milk was the only nourishment I intended,
flattered myself that I had succeeded in my endeavours,
when he recurred to his general refusal, and begged that
there might be an end to it. I then said that I hoped he
would forgive my earnestness — or something to that
effect : when he replied eagerly, ' that from me nothing
would be necessary by way of apology ' ; adding with great
fervour, in words which I shall (I hope) never forget —
' God bless you, my dear Windham, through Jesu
Christ ' ; and concluding with a wish that we might meet
in some humble portion of that happiness which God
might finally vouchsafe to repentant sinners. These
were the last words I ever heard him speak. I hurried
1 Windham's " Diary," pp. 28-30.
1793] THE DEATH OF DR. JOHNSON 69
out of the room with tears in my eyes, and more affected
than I had been on any former occasion. 1
This was the last meeting between them, for when
Windham went to Bolt Court the next afternoon, the
dying man was sleeping, and he did not enter the room.
In the evening Johnson passed away, a man so eminent
in literary annals that even to have been his friend is
sufficient for immortalization. The sad news was brought
almost at once to Windham, who thus commented upon it :
While I was writing the adjoining articles, received the
fatal account, so long dreaded, that Dr. Johnson was no
more. May those prayers which he incessantly poured
from a heart fraught with the deepest devotion, find that
acceptance with Him to Whom they were addressed,
which piety so humble and so fervent may seem to
promise. 2
William Windham to Charles James Fox
Brooks's : December 18, 1784
You have heard, no doubt, that to the great men who
have departed in our time one more instance is to be
added ; and that learning and virtue have sustained a
loss, equal to any they have ever known, in the death
of Dr. Johnson. Though you have never cultivated his
acquaintance nor lived much in his society, you have so
much respect perhaps for his genius and character, as to
feel a satisfaction, — which is all that can be said, — in doing
an act of honour to his memory. His particular friends,
including The Club of which you are a member, mean to
attend his corpse on Monday morning from his house
in Bolt Court, Fleet Street, to its place of interment in
Westminster Abbey. You are not too much of a philo-
1 Windham's " Diary," p. 31. Ibid. p. 33.
70 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
sopher to share in the vulgar prejudice, that leads men
to pay honours to the dead. If you can make it con-
venient to you to be in Fleet Street by 11 o'clock, or in
Westminster Abbey by 12, I trust j^ou will put on a
black coat, and show yourself among the mourners at
his funeral. 1
Windham was one of the pall-bearers at Johnson's
funeral, the others being Sir Joseph Banks, Sir Charles
Bunbury, Edmund Burke, Langton, and George Colman.
Subsequently he took an active part in erecting a memorial
to his friend. " Last Sunday," Bos well wrote to Temple,
November 28, 1789, " I dined with Malone, with Sir
Joshua Reynolds, Sir Joseph Banks, Mr. Metcalfe, Mr.
Windham; Mr. Courtenay, and young Mr. Burke, being
a select number of Dr. Johnson's friends, to settle as to
effectual measures for having a monument erected to him
in Westminster Abbey." 2
Windham was almost as intimate with Burke as with
Johnson. He became his political pupil. He was also
the friend of Malone and Reynolds, who painted his
portrait. 3 Of the relations existing between these men
something will be shown in these volumes ; whilst others
whose names frequently occur at this time in his Diary
are Fox, Fitzpatrick, Hare, Selwyn, Sheridan, Gilbert
Elliot, Lord Spencer, the Duke of Portland, Lord
Townshend, and, among theatrical folk, Mrs. and Miss
Kemble, and Mrs. Siddons.
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 220.
2 Letters of Boswell to the Rev. W. J. Temple (ed. Seccombe), 263.
3 " The two portraits which Sir Joshua Reynolds has lately painted
of Mr. William Windham of Norfolk and Richard Brinsley Sheridan
are so like the originals, that they seem almost alive and ready to speak
to you. Painting in point of resemblance, can go no farther." — Prior,
" Life of Malone," p. 388.
1793] MRS. SIDDONS' VICTORY 71
William Windham to Mrs. Siddons *
Oxford : October 10, 1784
I sincerely congratulate you on the victory obtained
over malice and brutality the first night of your appear-
ance. From Mr. Lawrence, a friend of Sheridan's, who
was present upon the occasion, and who is just come down
here, I have received the whole account. Nothing had
pleased me more than the style of your address, which
completely removed any regret for the necessity of
delivering it. It spoke the only language proper for the
occasion — the language of innocence, disclaiming favour
and calling only for justice against calumny and outrage.
I regret that I was not in the house at the time. You
will now resolve, I hope, that the matter shall end, and
that nothing shall provoke you to further explanation. 2
Mrs. Siddons to William Windham
January 1, 1785
I wish you many happy returns of this day, and hope
you will not be engaged this evening to tea, as I am to
have a little music ; but my party does not exceed two
gentlemen, who perhaps you know, with my own fireside.
I am sure you would like it, and you can't be to learn
that I am truly sensible of the honour of your society.
I am flying to rehearsal, and shall flatter myself that you
will give me the happiness of seeing you. 3
1 Mrs. Siddons, who had been touring in the provinces, reappeared
at Drury Lane Theatre on October 5, 1784, in the character of Mrs.
Beverley in " The Gamester," and to her great astonishment was
hooted when she stepped upon the stage. This unusual reception of
a favourite actress was the result of rumours which had been circulated
while she was away, that as a reward for appearing at the benefits
given to Digges and Brereton she had extorted a share of the receipts.
The fact, generally known, that she was extraordinarily careful of her
money, made the public believe the story. Kemble led her off the
stage, but she insisted on returning and denying the allegations, which
were, indeed, soon proved to be unfounded.
2 Windham, " Diary," p. 24. 3 ibid. p. 39.
72 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
Windham was at this time on very friendly terms with
Mrs. Siddons. Sir Gilbert Elliot, writing to his wife on
March 14, 1787, of a ball at Miss Adair's, mentions that the
actress was the principal person there. " She did not
dance," he remarked, " but was attended unremittingly
by Windham on one hand, and Tom Erskine x on the
other, and sometimes young Burke in front and young
Adams in rear." 2 Windham's intimacy with Mrs.
Siddons did not endure, however, for in his Diary, for
May 27, 1805, after noting that he went to see her in
" Zara," he added : "Had not seen her for years : im-
pression of her excellence not less than formerly."
John Hely-Hutchinson 3 to William Windham
Palmerston : August 12, 1784
Your kind letter has given me very sensible pleasure :
it confirmed an opinion which I had formed after some
consideration, and in which I had the mortification of
standing single, and it flatters me with the hopes of the
continuance of your friendship, on which I must set a high
value whilst I have any regard for cultivated talents
under the direction of virtue and candor, and under the
influence of the finest feelings. These qualities would
have certainly made their way through the thorny and
entangled labyrinth of the Castle, but are more pleasantly
exercised by the member for Norwich, who will serve
his discerning constituents with the same spirit and in-
tegrity that animated his elegant and manly address for
their suffrages. With them you are to answer only for
your own conduct, in which you and they may always
justly confide, but God knows for whom and for what a
1 Thomas, afterwards Baron, Erskine (17 50-1 823), Lord Chancellor
1806.
2 " Life and Letters of Lord Minto," i. 136.
3 John Hely-Hutchinson (1724-1794), Provost of Trinity College,
Dublin, 1774. An active politician, and an advocate of Irish inde-
pendence and Catholic Emancipation.
Sir Win-. Beechey, R.A.
SARAH SIDDONS
1793] A TROUBLESOME OFFICE 73
Secretary to a Lord Lieutenant may be responsible. I
hold this to be the most troublesome office in the British
Empire, which, comprising every department in the
Church, Law, State, Army and revenue, and both houses
of parliament, is made more troublesome by the wild
turbulence of the times. There is no intermediate body
of men between the Castle and the people. The men of
property and in great offices have not the power of
restraining, because they have little or no influence.
These disorders, as you justly observe, may by their
excess work their own cure. There have been some favor-
able appearances of that kind in the metropolis and in
other parts of the Kingdom. The great difficulty lies
here : this country is become free and must be governed,
if peaceably governed, by considering its interest as the
primary object in all public deliberations. Of the interest
of Ireland that of Great Britain should be certainly con-
sidered as an essential part ; but if the interest of the
latter is to be preferred in the Irish parliament, I fear
much for the public peace. The situation of Ireland is
new ; the maxims of her government should be different
from those adopted when the circumstances of the country
were different. The commercial system should be form'd
on principles of exact equality : Ireland to encourage the
staple manufacture of England, the woolen in the same
degree that England encourages our staple manufacture,
the linnen, which we ought to encourage to the utmost
extent, and it is capable of being doubled in value, to
prevent, as far as possible, all jealousy between the two
countries in adjusting this equality, justice requires that
a liberal compensation should be made to England for
the superiority of her markets. The difficulty above
stated has occasioned the present disturbances. Ad-
ministration had stood the parliamentary reform without
receiving much damage ; and might have weather'd out
protecting duties by yielding a little to the blast, and
not steering directly against it. Temporary expedients,
74 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
such as premiums on the exportation of certain coarse
goods, were recommended, and would probably have
given time for future adjustments between the two
kingdoms. Meeting these motions with flat negatives,
without proposing present expedients, or holding out
future expectations, much irritated the people. The
censure of the Lord Mayor, which followed, administered
fuel to the fire, and offended the Magistracy and the
Citizens of Dublin. The press teemed with the most
violent abuse. The House of Commons wag'd war with
the printers, and the press bill spread the flame through
the Kingdom ; these circumstances immediately following
each other, have raised the fever of parliamentary reform
to the highest pitch. Whilst those measures were carrying
on by Administration, the cry was, if you stop now they
will say you are afraid — but I think and always thought,
that true fortitude was seen in temperate councils which
wisdom warrants and when Justice guides — and that a
man, not conscious of fear, is never to act lest he should
be suspected of such a motive. But do not suppose that
I impute all these things to the Lord Lieutenant or his
Secretary — by no means — they came here in haste, they
found men were in haste to get into great offices — aude
aliquid si vis esse aliquis, is sometimes the maxim of
better men than Juvenal had in view. A most absurd
notion has prevailed in a certain great Kingdom that no
man can be a friend to English Government who is not
detested by the Irish people. An unpopular Govern-
ment is not quite so advantageous to a Lord Lieutenant
and his Secretary as it is sometimes made to those who
act with them. The worst administration for the followers
of it was Lord Chesterfield's ; he kept clear from the policy
of the Lords Justices, whose first object was to commit
every chief Governor that they might have had the merit
of extricating him from difficulties which themselves had
raised. It requires no great ingenuity to raise diffi-
culties at present ; but he who can remove them will be
1793] THE CRAZE FOR BALLOONING 75
a friend indeed to both countries. Till those disturbances
arose I have often lamented your retiring from us, but
since the storm has arisen, I have rejoiced that you were
on shore, both on your account and my own : for if you
had been at the helm I should have been ever on the
deck ; and tho' I have lost much in losing the assistance
and society of a most valuable and amiable friend, yet
we have both been gainers in ease and tranquillity.
I hope your health is firmly established and that you
will not always stay in the House to very late hours,
which I know to be highly injurious, but I also hope you
will not follow the example of another friend of mine in
your house who keeps all his talents for his friends in
private but brings nothing of all his great store into the
public streets. Pray remember me as a man who is
proud of being obliged to you because he has the highest
respect for your character and an earnest desire to hold
a place in your friendship. 1
Windham was much interested in ballooning, which in
the early part of 1785 became a craze that attracted a
considerable section of society. In March, he noted in
his Diary, he " went out in order to attend the balloon
in which Zambeccari and Sir Edward Vernon were to
ascend " ; and soon after he decided that he would make a
flight. That he was aware of the risk he ran is shown
by the fact that he made his will, and wrote the following
letter (which is especially interesting because it contains
Windham's confession of religious faith), that, however,
was only to be delivered in the event of his death.
William Windham to George James Cholmondeley
May 4, 1785
There is some difficulty in sitting down in earnest to
write a letter, to which the occasion would hardly have
1 Add MSS. 37873 f. 98.
76 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
been given, if a good hope and confidence had not been
entertained that it was never likely to be read. Something,
however, must be said in case of the worst, that I may
not leave the world without one affectionate farewell
to him, who in the final evanescence of all worldly objects
must be the last to remain upon my sight. I must not
suffer my imagination to dwell on a subject which it
would quickly render too big for utterance ; but dispatch
in a few words, such matters as are immediately present
to me.
Some notice must be taken of a circumstance, which,
however innocent, sits uneasy upon my mind, as it is
a deception practised towards you. I mean the con-
cealment from you of my present purpose, and the means
by which I was obliged to effect that concealment. My
motives to this you cannot mistake or be displeased at ;
and, I think, will not condemn my determination. The
hope that the news of my landing might, from the precau-
tions of secrecy I have used, be the notice you would
receive of my flight, prevailed over the wish of parting
from you as my last earthly object, and of gratifying a
similar wish, which I conceived would exist with you.
Should you receive this letter I shall have wished that I
had acted otherwise : should the event be as I hope, I
shall be glad that I acted as I have. Something likewise
must be said of my motives to this adventure. From the
moment of my hearing of Balloons, I felt, in common I
believe with every man of the smallest imagination, the
wish of adventuring in one ; and as early as the beginning
of the winter before last, concerted with Dr. Fordyce that
we should build one and go up together. The dissolution
of Parliament joined to my own and his dilatoriness
delayed the execution of the purpose ; till during my
residence at Oxford in last September I got acquainted
with Sadler ; with whom I should then have gone up ;
but that before I knew him sufficiently to trust him with
my intention, he had inserted an advertisement, which, as
i 7 93] A SERIOUS ADVENTURE 77
you may hear from a letter which I happened to write
at the time to Legge, fixed him, he thought, to the
necessity of going up at Oxford. I give you this detail,
that you may vindicate me against the imputation either
of doing this from ostentation, or, of having chose to wait,
till experience should have done away any great appre-
hensions of danger. The credit to one's resolution that
would have attended such an adventure some time ago, I
should not have been insensible to : though I may safely
say, that that was but a part of my motive, and the fear
of its being supposed the whole or the principal part, was
on the other hand one of the chief obstacles to the design.
At this moment I should be desirous to go, though not a
soul should know it : long since, the fear of blame, and
appearance of coveting a foolish distinction, were the
causes that created the chief difficulty. So much for this.
Let me now speak of another matter of infinitely greater
importance to me, as it affects my opinion of your virtues,
in itself, as it relates to the happiness of one, with whose
character neither yours nor mine would stand in any ad-
vantageous comparison. If I have been desirous to hurry
over the whole of this letter, that the general purport and
occasion might not melt me into tenderness, I must dwell
as little upon this part of it, lest it should betray me into
sensations very inconsistent with what I would wish to
feel at this moment — the subject I mean is the history of
your Conduct to Cecy. 1 You have in that instance, done an
injury to a fellow-creature, which no means now left you
can probably ever repair, and for which hardly any degree
of contrition and humiliation, which you can feel, will ever
atone. You have undone a great and noble mind, whose
only weakness has been too fond an attachment to you, —
by a course of conduct utterly irreconcileable to justice and
duty : and as little creditable in the motives as justifiable
in the act. That you should prefer a life of vanity and
1 Cecilia Forrest, who married Windham in 1798. See ante, p. 15
(note).
78 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
voluptuousness to a connection with such a woman as
Miss Forrest, is no very honourable mark of your choice
of happiness : That you should think yourself at liberty
to pursue that choice, to the utter ruin and extinction of
her peace of mind, is, in the circumstances, in which you
stood, no very favourable evidence of your regard to duty.
I forbear to push this matter any further than to say, that
her original, fatal attachment for you, has, I have reason
to be assured, and notwithstanding the most heroic efforts
to lock the secret from the knowledge of her nearest con-
nexions, continued with so unhappy a force, as to have
destroyed the very spring and power of happiness : and,
after a struggle supported with a degree of constancy
which redeems the weakness of the occasion, to have
proved in the end too hard for her bodily strength, and to
be now drawing her apace towards the grave. Do not
imagine, however, that what I here say, or a provision
which you will find in my will, is intended to invite you
to do from remorse and compunction, what you ought
long since to have done from principle and from choice.
I have too high an opinion of her to suppose that in such
circumstances she would condescend to accept you. I
should hope that from her pride : I fear there is a principle
still stronger, which would equally prevent her, an un-
limited preference of your happiness to her own. Could
she ever be prevailed upon, I am far from sure, that I
should wish such an event to take place. I fear you have
not virtue enough to make such a connexion a source of
happiness ; and I am sure her love is of a quality too
exalted and noble, to admit of happiness under any other
condition. Here let me end this painful subject, and
having discharged, what I have thought it incumbent on
me to say, and what perhaps I shall say, even though
this letter should not be received, let me banish it for the
present entirely from my thoughts, and keep in view those
parts of your character, where my affections may be
unmixed.
1793] A CONFESSION OF FAITH 79
That I preserve to the last the same sentiments
towards you, my dear Cholmondeley, as at any period
since the first bloom of affection was past, the disposition
newly made in my property (which by the way is left at
Cocks's) will sufficiently testify. If it appears in one
respect less favourable than a former one, the reason will
be understood from what is said above. I am sorry to
have been obliged to cut down the bequest, till it ceases
almost to be considerable : but I have not done more,
than a regard to the merit, the wants, or the virtues of the
parties, rendered, I thought, incumbent on me. All my
papers are left to you, with perfect confidence, that an}/
of a secret nature, which are not numerous, nor perhaps
important, will be destroyed, without further inspection
than is necessary to ascertain their nature. They will
be found chiefly in a deal box, which has stood for some
time past, in the front room above stairs. — More need not
be said about these, nor about other such particulars.
My literary papers are clearly of no consequence, and will
only bear witness to the strenua inertia, in which I have
suffered a life that might have been distinguished, and
talent of which I believe something might have been
made, to be wasted and trifled away.
The best, the greatest, the most solemn office I can
render in a letter of this sort, is to extort you to a steady
contemplation of divine truths, and a sincere endeavour
to confirm in yourself that faith, which after various fluc-
tuations I believe to be the true one, and which, inde-
pendent of evidence, is supported by too great authorities
ever to be rejected with confidence. Whatever may be
the diversity of opinion as to the particular nature, I
believe Christ to be a person divinely commissioned, and
that faith in him affords the fairest hope of propitiating
the great author of the world. Cultivate in your mind this
persuasion, and dwell upon it till it grows into a principle
of action. May it avail both to the purposes of final
salvation. Nothing more remains to be said but that you
80 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
will preserve of me such a tender remembrance, as it
would be my joy to think should outlive me, and as may
animate you during your continuance in this world, to
such temper of mind and government of action, as may
advance you to some better state hereafter. Farewell,
my ever dear friend, and look up to God as the fountain
of all good !
May He take you into his protection ! x
On May 5 Windham ascended from Moulsey with James
Sadler, one of the earliest British aeronauts, who on this
occasion made his last flight. 2 This exciting episode
was duly recorded by Windham in his Diary :
Much satisfied with myself ; and, in consequence of
that satisfaction, dissatisfied rather with my adventure.
Could I have foreseen that danger or apprehension would
have made so little impression on me, I would have in-
sured that of which, as it was, we only gave ourselves a
chance, and have deferred going till we had a wind
favourable for crossing the Channel. I begin to suspect,
in all cases, the effort by which fear is surmounted is
more easily made than I have been apt to suppose.
Certainly the experience I have had on this occasion will
warrant a degree of confidence more than I have ever
hitherto indulged. I would not wish a degree of confi-
dence more than I enjoyed at every moment of the time.
Edmund Burke to William Windham
May 7, 1785
What time will you receive the congratulations of your
Terrestrial Friends on your return to Mortality ? O
1 Add. MSS. 37914 ff. 27-30.
2 Windham in 1796 stood sponsor for a son of James Sadler by his
second wife, who was christened William Windham Sadler, and
achieved fame as an aeronaut. In Add. MSS. 37925 will be found some
notes on Windham's ascent made by himself.
1793] ANOTHER ASCENT 81
pater anne aliquas — iterumque ad tarda reverti corpora ?
The rest does not hold exactly in the words. I really long
to converse with you on this Voyage, as I think you are
the first rational being that has taken flight.
Adieu, Star triumphant, and some Pity show
On us poor battlers militant below. 1
Colonel Richard Fitzpatrick to William
Windham
Grosvenor Place, London
June 27, 1785
I have gratified my curiosity in a flight from Oxford;
where your protege Sadler (who, by the by, I consider as
a Phenomenon) behaved very handsomely, and finding
his process not answer his expectations and the balloon
only capable of carrying up one person, very obligingly
gave me up his place, and after receiving some hasty
instructions, I ascended by myself, in view of all the
University, as well I believe as of the whole county. Some
of your friends there, Mrs. Croft and Mrs. Burgess, were
particularly civil to me, and did their utmost to keep the
spectators in order, but in vain, for the curiosity and
eagerness of the crowd was not to be restrained. The
thermometer was broken, and your barometer had a
narrow escape. I ascended with 7 bags of ballast,
the weight of which I did not then know, but which was
about a hundred pounds. I had told Sadler that I
would not take his balloon very far, and my intention
was to have flown about two hours, but as I wished to
ascend as high as possible without danger to the balloon,
after having first try'd the valve to see if I was master of
the use of it, I continued rising for three quarters of an
hour, when I suddenly perceived from my flag, that I was
descending. I discharged gradually five of my bags of
ballast, throwing out papers between each, without finding
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 9.
I F
82 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
that I appeared to diminish the velocity of my descent,
till the 5th, when the paper I threw out floated instead
of rising, to my great satisfaction, since I perceived some-
thing had happened of which I was ignorant. I then
determined to reserve my two last bags till I was certain of
being very near the earth, and fixed one of them to the
anchor in order to drop it and break the fall of the
machine. When I saw the shadow of the balloon in-
creasing very fast, and could plainly distinguish objects,
so small as horses in waggons and in the fields, I threw out
my sixth bag, but unluckily when I was preparing the
seventh upon the anchor, it slipp'd off, and fell without it.
Within a very few seconds I came to the ground on the
side of a steep hill, in a corn field. The shock was trifling,
but the unevenness of the ground overset the Car, and
rolled me gently out. Disentangling myself from the
cords, 1 held fast the side of the car, and with some
difficult}' held the balloon till some country people came to
my assistance. I then perceived a large rent in the lower
part of it, which accounted for my descent, and which, I
suppose, by a more judicious use of the valve I should
have prevented. The curiosity and astonishment of the
country who flocked in by shoals were prodigious. I got
Sadler's balloon, however, safe in a stable, and waited at
a little publick house two hours for his arrival. We were
then conducted with great triumph about 5 miles to
Wantage in Berkshire, where we dined, but as I did not
admire this triumphal mode of travelling, I declined
making my entry in to Oxford, and got on by myself as
far as Henley, and came the next morning on to London.
The field where I descended was 20 miles from Oxford, and
I was just an hour on the voyage. I shall endeavour
to promote our grand project both for our own amusement,
and I hope for the advantage of Sadler, whom I really
consider as a prodigy, and who is oppressed, to the dis-
grace of the University, I believe from pique and jealousy
of his superior science. Adieu, Dear Windham. I con-
1793] FITZPATRICK'S ASCENT 83
fine myself to the subject of aerostation and refrain from
earthly considerations, which I hope you are coming to
look after, as it seems parliament is likely to sit the
whole summer. 1
After Fitzpatrick's flight it was some time before
another amateur made an attempt. The craze ended
abruptly when the news came that on June 15 M. Pilatre
de Rosiere and M. de Roman, in their endeavour to cross
the Channel from Boulogne, had, owing to the balloon
catching fire, been dashed to the ground from a height of
about three-quarters of a mile and killed.
1 Add. MSS. 37914 ff. 32-33-
CHAPTER II
1784-1792
Windham's early speeches : His attack on Warren Hastings
in connection with the Rohilla war : Speaks in debate on the
impeachment of Hastings : Wraxall's appreciation of his
powers of oratory : Appointed a manager for the Commons
of Hastings' trial : The King's illness and the question of the
Regency : The commencement of the French Revolution :
Windham opposes Parliamentary Reform : His views not
entirely in accord with those of his constituents : Doubtful of
the safety of his seat : Secures re-election 1790 : Extract from
Windham's Diary : Publication of Burke's " Reflections on
the French Revolution " : Rupture between Fox and Burke :
Windham angry with Burke : They soon become reconciled :
A letter to Mrs. Crewe : His attitude towards Parliamentary
Reform : The political breach between Fox and Windham :
A section of the Opposition supports the Government's repres-
sive measures.
WINDHAM spoke for the first time in the
House of Commons on February 9, 1785, in
the debate on the Westminster Scrutiny, but
in his Diary there is only the bare mention
of the fact. On that occasion he rose after Pitt, and was
followed by Fox, who congratulated the House " on
the accession of the abilities which they had witnessed."
To his second speech, on May 12, there is a more extended
reference in the Diary : " Spoke for the second time in
the House for the adjournment of the debate on the Irish
Proposition. Felt more possessed than on the former
occasion, but thought my performance inferior, and con-
ceived that others thought so too. I have found since
that they were inclined to think well of it. They are so
84
1784-1792] ATTACK ON WARREN HASTINGS 85
good as to be cheaply pleased. It was a mere effusion;
though delivered in a forcible and perhaps graceful
manner, containing nothing more than any one would
have thought of in conversation."
Windham entered the House of Commons with a con-
siderable reputation for ability, and he soon showed that
rumour had not magnified his gifts. Not a great orator,
he always spoke well and sensibly and to the point ;
and was listened to with attention. He was soon
regarded as a rising man, a man marked out for office;
and the first proof of this general recognition is that to
him was entrusted by his party the conduct of the attack
on Warren Hastings in the debate on the Rohilla War. 1
Extract from Windham's Diary
June 1, 1786. Day of motion on the Rohilla War.
... I there [at Brooks's] got from Long the report of
the Secret Committee, in which I found great advantage,
and settled to come the next morning to Sir Philip
Francis 2 to breakfast. I have seldom found myself more
clear than during my visit to him, and afterwards, till I
1 Faiz-ullah Khan, one of the Rohilla chiefs, had been permitted by
treaty, after the conquest of Rohilkhund in 1 774, to retain possession of
Rampore as a vassal of the Nawab of Oude. In return for being
permitted to maintain a small army for his own protection, he was
bound to place at the Nawab's disposal, whenever called upon, a body of
troops, the number of which should not exceed three thousand. In
1780, the Nawab, acting on Hastings' instructions, demanded from
Faiz-ullah Khan five thousand horse. As this was more than he could
supply, and as the demand was unwarranted by the terms of the treaty,
Faiz-ullah refused ; whereupon Hastings informed the Nawab that he
might take possession of Rampore, and add it to his kingdom. This
scheme was not, however, carried out ; and in 1782 Faiz-ullah Khan
paid Hastings a sum of money to procure his exemption from supplying
any troops at all.
2 Sir Philip Francis (1740-1818), the reputed author of the Letters
of Junius, had, as a member (1774-1780) of the Council of the Governor-
General in India, on several occasions opposed Hastings, with whom,
in August 1780, after many quarrels, he fought a duel at Alipore, and
was dangerously wounded.
86 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
went to the House : but somehow, by the time I got there,
my mind had got into some disorder, and my spirits into
some agitation ; and by the time Burke had finished, I
found myself in no good state to speak. The same state
continued, though with a little amendment, till the time
of my rising : yet I contrived somehow to steady and
recover myself in the course of speaking, and so far
executed what I had prepared, that I conceive it to be the
fashion to talk of what I did as rather a capital per-
formance ! 'Tis a strong proof on what cheap terms
reputation for speaking is acquired, or how capricious
the world is of its allotment of it to different people.
There is not a speech of mine which, in comparison of
one of Francis's would, either for language or matter,
bear examination for one moment ; yet about my per-
formances in that way a great fuss is made, while of
his nobody speaks a word.
In the following year Windham spoke again in a debate
on the impeachment of Hastings, when he dealt with the
same charge. This task he performed, says Wraxall,
" with that logical perspicuity, characteristic of his frame
of mind, as well as of his style of eloquence, which always
borrowed aid from metaphysical sources." 1 The im-
peachment was voted on April 3, 1787, and Windham
was named as one of the managers of the trial for the
House of Commons. He accepted the task, but was not
very happy over his appointment. " This day — for
which we have all been waiting so anxiously, so earnestly,"
he said to Fanny Burney, " the day for which we have
fought, for which we have struggled — a day, indeed, of
national glory, in bringing to this great tribunal a
delinquent from so high an office — this day, so much
wished, has seemed to me, to the last moment, so distant,
1 " Posthumous Memoirs " (2nd ed.), ii. 276.
E. Burney, delt.
F WW BURNKY
.V. Bull, sculpt
1792] THE KING'S ILLNESS 87
that now — now that it has actually arrived, it takes me
as if I have never thought of it before — it comes upon me
all unexpected, and finds me unready ! " * Windham
was not one of the most active of the managers of this
famous trial which, beginning on February 13, 1788,
lasted until the spring of 1795, when Hastings was
acquitted by a large majority on all counts of the
impeachment.
In November the King showed such obvious indications
of mental disorder that Parliament had to make arrange-
ments for a Regency. The Prince of Wales was, of course,
the person marked out for the office of Regent, and Fox
at first made the blunder of stating that his Royal High-
ness had the legal right to be appointed, a position from
which he retreated hurriedly on discovering that the
powers of appointing a Regent are vested in Parliament.
All parties, however, were agreed that the Prince was the
proper person, but the question was hotly debated in the
House of Commons whether he should be given a full or a
restricted authority. Windham spoke on December 19 in
favour of a Regency without restrictions, but the House
decided otherwise. Before the Prince took up the office,
however, the King recovered.
William Windham to
Hill Street : November 26, 1788
I wish it had occurred to me sooner, that from motives
at least of general anxiety, if not from any concerns of
business capable of being effected by such causes, you
might have been glad to receive the best accounts, that
were to be had, of the King's situation. It has been the
fashion hitherto, and till lately was not an improper one,
to speak of His Majesty's disorder in such obscure terms,
1 Fanny Burney, "Diary " (ed. Ward), ii. 116
88 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
as left the nature of it quite uncertain ; or, if it was
mentioned more particularly to describe it as a fever.
It were much to be wished, that fever had more to do
with it : but the fact has long been understood to be,
that, whatever fever His Majesty has had, has been only
symptomatick, and not at all the cause of his disorder,
which is pure and original insanity. The symptoms of
this have been increasing by slow degrees, and for a con-
siderable period. There is reason to think that before
even his journey to Cheltenham, some of these had
appeared and been noted : and there is no doubt, that,
immediately after, the appearances were so strong at his
levee, that the foreign ministers all remarked them, and
thought them of such consequence, as instantly to write
an account of them to their courts. The immediate
occasion of the Physicians being called in, and means
being taken to prevent his Majesty being seen any more
in Publick. is said to have happened, during an airing
He was taking in a phaeton with the Princess Royal. If
there were any hopes of the King's recovery from this
state and so speedily as to render the substitution of any
other government unnecessary, his situation could not be
concealed with too much care, but the moment that
ceased to be the case, too much care cannot be taken to
make it known publickly and authentically. The greatest
aggravation, which such a calamity could receive, — and a
calamity certainly it is so far as relates to the feelings of
every one who hears it, — would be that it should be
subject to any doubt and suspicion. If the King of a
country is completely out of his mind, whatever sorrow
may be felt for that event, the extent of the evil is, how-
ever, known : It is, for the time it lasts, just as if the
King were dead. The same person must, upon all principles
of reason, and all views of the Constitution, carry on the
Government, as if the King were actually dead — should
he again be restored completely to his senses, the case is
then equally clear : he must be restored completely to his
1792] A MONARCH'S INSANITY 89
government. Whatever other opinions are broached or
thrown out in conversation by persons on either side, this
seems to me to be the plain sense of the Matter, as we
may possibly have to declare or act upon at least, before
many days. The only case of danger and distress is
when the sanity or insanity of a monarch should be not
clearly ascertained or not generally known. To guard
against that, in the instance now before us, I think
accounts should have been given less ambiguous, less
sophisticated and less false, than have been industriously
propagated for some time past : and whatever motives of
delicacy and prudence might have prevailed at first, as
undoubtedly there were many, the case seeming now to
be so decided, the actual insanity to be so complete, and
the hopes of its ever ceasing so small, that any attempt
further to disguise it will lye open to very uncreditable
suspicions. 1
During the previous year, from the end of August to
the middle of October, Windham had been abroad
travelling with Sylvester Douglas (afterwards Lord
Glenbervie). Again this year, 1789, with the same com-
panion he went to France for about a month from
August 12. It is scarcely necessary to state that France
was at this time in the early throes of the Revolution,
that the Tiers-Etat had constituted itself the National
Assembly on June 17 ; and that the Bastille had been
destroyed on July 14.
Edmund Burke to William Windham
Beacons field : September 27, 1789
It is very true, that I promised myself the satisfaction
of seeing you very soon after your return from the Land
of Liberty. I am sure I was very glad of your safe return
1 Add. MSS. 37873 f. 159.
go THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
from it ; for though I had no doubt of your prudence,
where no duty called you to the utterance of dangerous
truths, yet I could not feel perfectly at my ease for the
situation of any friend, in a country where the people,
along with their political servitude, have thrown off the
Yoke of Laws and morals. I could certainly wish to
talk over the details and circumstances with you. But
the main matter consists in the results, upon the general
impression made upon you by what you have seen and
heard ; and this you have been so kind to communicate.
That they should settle their constitution, without much
struggle, on paper, I can easily believe ; because at present
the Interests of the Crown have no party, certainly no
armed party, to support them ; But I have great doubt
whether any form of Government which they can estab-
lish will procure obedience : especially obedience in the
article of Taxations. In the destruction of the old
Revenue constitution they find no difficulties — but with
what to supply them is the opus. You are undoubtedly
better able to judge ; but it does not appear to me, that
the National assembly have one jot more power than the
King ; whilst they lead or follow the popular voice, in the
subversion of all orders, distinctions, privileges, imposi-
tions, tythes, and rents, they appear omnipotent ;
but I very much question, whether they are in a condition
to exercise any function of decided authority — or even
whether they are possessed of any real deliberative
capacity, or the exercise of free Judgement in any point
whatsoever ; as there is a Mob of their constituents
ready to Hang them if they should deviate into modera-
tion, or in the least depart from the spirit of those they
represent. What has happened puts all speculation to the
blush ; but still I should doubt, whether in the End
France is susceptible of the Democracy that is the
spirit, and in a good measure too, the form, of the con-
stitution they have in hand : It is, except the Idea of the
Crown being Hereditary, much more truly democratical
1792] PARLIAMENTARY REFORM 91
than that of North America. My son has got a letter from
France which paints the miserable and precarious situa-
tion of all people of property in dreadful colours. Indeed,
the particular details leave no doubt of it. Pray let
me hear from you again for I fear it will not be in my power
to go to you or to our friend Dudley North — and I wish
much to know whether the manes of the Enemies of honour
and common sense have made any way at Norwich ; for
I had much rather you were the Spectator, than the
victim of popular madness. Adieu, my dear friend, and
believe me, ever with the most sincere attachment,
Truly yours,
Edm. Burke. 1
Windham was constant in his attendance at the House
of Commons. On March 4, 1790, when speaking in oppo-
sition to Flood's motion for the Reform of Parliament, he
aptly put the question, " What, would Mr. Flood recom-
mend you to repair your house in this hurricane season ? '
On this occasion he was supported only b}^ Burke among
his political associates, Fox and the rest of the party
being inclined to countenance the measure. Pitt, too,
was favourable to reform, but thought with Windham
that this was not the time to discuss it calmly, and at his
request the motion was withdrawn. This was the first
occasion on which there were signs that Windham was
drifting away from the notions he had earlier enter-
tained. It will be seen later that he who was in his
youth an advocate for reform, in later days could with
difficulty be brought even to consider any measure
involving constitutional reform.
In June of this year there was a dissolution, and Wind-
ham, not without reason, for his views on some matters
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 15.
92 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [i7 8 4~
were not in accord with those of his constituents, was of
the opinion that his seat was shaky. " After a good deal
of business done in Norwich, in the way of calling, came
away at half past twelve," he had noted in his Diary on
March 16. " From some accounts which I heard, cannot
help entertaining some doubts of the security of my seat.
Will it not be advisable to put the question to people by a
species of select canvass ? It is very fair to say, that they
never know enough of me to be able to make up their
minds, and that I may reasonably expect, they should
declare their minds, while time is yet left to me to look
out for other situations." Windham was, however, re-
elected, in spite of some opposition.
Extract from Windham's Diary
July 24, 1790. I felt that strong sense of the unhappi-
ness of my own celibacy ; that lively conception of the
pleasures I had lost ; that gloomy apprehension of the
conviction, which I should feel of this hereafter, clouding
all my prospects, relaxing all my motives, and, in an
especial manner, destroying all enjoyment, that I might
ever have in residence here, — that unless I could resolve
manfully to fight against such images, and force my mind
from the contemplation of evils admitting no remedy,
the most fatal mischief must ensue, both to my happi-
ness, and to my powers. Of this resolution the necessity
was not at first foreseen, nor the resolution of consequence
fully taken. These images, accordingly, continued to
pursue me, during the time of my absence at the Assizes.
The effect of their continuance, during that time, was
sufficient to point out the necessity of putting a speedy
stop to them ; which has, accordingly, since then, been
pretty effectually done. It is, indeed, sufficiently plain
that wisdom must condemn the thinking on uneasinesses,
which thinking cannot mend : the hint or symbol for
1792] BURKE'S '* REFLECTIONS " 93
enforcing that truth, may be the reflection on the broken
tea-cup in Rasselas. The precept will not come with less
weight, for coming from Dr. Johnson ; nor will it be un-
satisfactory, (o me, to owe to him, what may alleviate
some of the sorrows of life. 1
Edmund Burke to William Windham
October 27, 1790
I have seen a letter of yours to Mr. Joshua Reynolds,
which was one of the pleasantest I ever read, except in
one short Sentence, or rather part of a Sentence. The
pleasant part, you may think, was your desire of the j
publication of my Letter of which you had seen the
beginning. 2 But though this was flattering to me on
every account, I hope you will think I speak of the general
Tenour of your Letter, and not the little which touched
my selfish feelings. If you had seen the middle, and
end, as well as the beginning of my Book, you would
have given me such lights, as might make you perhaps
the less repent of your wish of my h olding up^myjiand
to be tried by my Country : God send me a good deliver-
ance. To you, I do not send it to be tried, but to be
protected : It goes to an Asylum and not to a Court of
Justice : for I should be sorry, that you were as well
qualified to be my Judge by your impartiality, as you
are by your penetration and your skill. You dropped a
word, as if you thought 1 had not been quite fair in some
of my representations. This gave me a good deal of
uneasiness. In this Vein I looked over what I had
written with some attention. It is possible enough,
that in the infinite variety of matter contained in my
original Subject I may have made some Mistakes, and .
I wrote sometimes in circumstances not favourable to
accuracy. I wrote from the memory of what I had read ;
;
t
1 Add. MSS. 37921 f ; 21.
2 " Reflections on the French Revolution
9 4 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
and was not able always to get the documents from whence
I had been supplied when I wished to verify my facts
with precision. But I hope my errors will be found to be
rather mistakes than misrepresentations. I am quite
sure, that in most of my statements, I have rather shot
short of the mark than beyond it. However, where I
have erred, I wish to be corrected ; and shall certainly,
if the Letter (now a Book) which I send you should come
to a new Edition, I shall thankfully avail myself of the
advice I may receive from you. Accept then this mark
of my sincere respect and affection, the last, I sincerely
hope of the kind, with which I shall ever trouble my
friends or the publick. 1
William Windham to Mrs. Crewe 2
Felbrigg : October 30, 1790
I have behaved very ill in point of correspondence, and
very undeserving of all the merits you have shown
towards me. The cause has been, not as before, any
uncomfortableness of mind that disinclined one to exer-
tion, but good genuine dilatoriness, such as makes one
often defer things that are upon the whole pleasant, as
well as those that are unpleasant. It is so long since I
received your letter, that I hardly remember distinctly
the points in it that I ought to answer. The time fixed
for your going to Welbeck was the 18th, I think. I was
not without thoughts of joining you ; but finding upon
enquiry, that it was a hundred and eighty miles from here,
my heart failed me, and I resolved upon grubbing on
quietly where I was. You must know that in one respect
the longer I stay here, the longer I feel disposed to do so :
for though, after a length of solitude, company becomes
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 19.
2 Frances Anne Crewe, died 1818, the daughter of Fulke Greville,
and the wife of John, afterwards Baron, Crewe. She was a noted beauty,
a keen politician, and an intimate friend of Fox, Burke, Sheridan, and
Windham.
1792] POLITICIAN OR SCHOLAR 95
more pleasant, there is both in long continuance in one
place something that incapacitates one for moving ; and
to me here, an occupation in various pursuits, which the
more time I have to engage in them the more hold they
take of my mind, and the more unwilling I am to quit
them. In London these things have never time to
attach ; but here they have nothing to weaken and
dissipate their effect, and, as they were my first love,
recover all their original empire. It would have been
better for me, perhaps, that I had never meddled with
anything else ; or, meddling with other things, that I had
begun to do so sooner. From some cause or other I am
now a little of two characters, and good in neither : a
politician among scholars, and a scholar among politicians.
As Dr. Johnson said from Pope, of Lord Chesterfield, " a
wit among lords, and a lord among wits."
Under the present half of this divided empire, I am very
sorry that Parliament is to meet before Christmas ; and
look with great concern to the termination that is to be put
in three weeks' time to various schemes which I fancy
now, if time was given me, I could pursue to some effect.
Of the business that we are to meet upon I am as ignorant
as need be, and don't at all know what the right judgment
is about Pitt's proceedings, or what the points on which
principally he is to be attacked. I have, in fact, for some
time past, nearly forgot that I had anything to do with it :
though a late great politician, who has been unexpectedly
thrown upon this coast like a whale, has within these
few days a little awakened my political ardour. The
little fishing town that is within two miles of me has
contained no less a man than Colonel Barre. 1 The history
of his coming here is not a writ of outlawry nor any
warrant issued against him for treasonable practices, but
his having been on a visit to Lord Townshend, and been
1 Colonel Isaac Barre (1726-1802), fought by Wolfe's side at Quebec.
He retired from the Army in 1773, and devoted himself exclusively to
politics. John Britton in 1848 wrote a volume to prove that Barre
wrote the letters of " Junius."
96 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
tempted to proceed thus far, on occasion of some of the
children having been sent hither to bathe. To you who
don't know the seclusion of this corner of the world,
but who live in all the resort of the Palatinate, there may
appear in this event nothing wonderful : but you cannot
conceive to us what the appearance is of any one besides
the natives, or, as we should describe it, of one out of the
shires. As I could not prevail upon him to take up his
abode with me, I must go down, I think, and see him again
to-day.
One of the circumstances to render me less inclined
to remove to London at this time, one at least of the
motives wanting, is, I conclude, that we must not look
for you there. I fear I shall hardly be able in the interval
between the breaking up and the meeting of Parliament,
again to get as far as Cheshire. I had an invitation the
other day from Lord John, to renew my hunting in
Northamptonshire, and I made during the winter a half
promise to Lady Spencer to go at Christmas to Althorpe.
But all this is dark and doubtful ; and nothing certain
but death and taxes, and that Pitt will come out with
new lustre from all the present measures, and heap new
confusion on his oppositionists. Farewell ! I must live
upon hope, with the aid of a letter now and then. Re-
member me, pray, to Crewe, and to all that are obliging
enough to think of me ; my thanks to Mrs. Lane 1 and
Mrs. Bouverie. 2
Extract from Windham's Diary
November 7, 1790. On Thursday I conceive it was,
that a material incident happened — the arrival of Mr.
Burke's pamphlet. 3 Never was there, I suppose, a work
so valuable in its kind, or that displayed powers of so
1 Sarah, sister of John Crewe and wife of Obadiah Lane.
2 The Crewe Papers : Windham Section, pp. 5-10 (" Miscellanies " of
the Philobiblon Society, vol. ix.).
3 " Reflections on the French Revolution," published November 1.
1792] BURKE RENOUNCES FOX 97
extraordinary a sort. It is a work that may seem
capable of overturning the National Assembly, and turning
the stream of opinion throughout Europe. One would
think, that the author of such a work, would be called to
the government of his country, by the combined voices
of every man in it. What shall be said of the state of
things when it is remembered that the writer is a man
decried, persecuted, and proscribed ; not being much
valued, even by his own party, and by half the nation
considered as little better than an ingenious madman ?
The French Revolution, so far-reaching in its effects,
had laid the foundation of the breach between Fox and
Burke. Fox was enthusiastic about the French people,
and on all occasions expressed his sympathies with the
popular cause : Burke, on the other hand, was most bitter
about everything connected with the Revolution and did
not disguise his contempt for all who thought that some-
thing good might ultimately result from the terrible up-
heaval. So far there had been no open breach between
the statesmen, although it was clear that they could not
long continue to work together. The quarrel came at last
in a debate on May 6, 1791, on the Quebec Bill. In his
speech Burke lamented the loss of friendship that arose
from the view he took of the Revolution. To this the
great-hearted Fox replied, that there was not, and could
not be, any loss of friendship between them. " Yes, there
is," Burke said. " I know the price of my conduct, I
have done my duty at the price of my friend — our friend-
ship is at an end." When Fox rose again, it is recorded
that some minutes passed before he could speak for the
tears that choked his utterance.
The conduct of both men was characteristic. It is
not surprising, however, that the sympathy of nearly every
I G
:
9 8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
one went out to Fox. What Windham thought may be
deduced from the brief entry in his Diary : " Fatal day
of rupture with Burke." So deeply did he feel on the
subject that he excused himself from dining on May 16
with Lord Petre if Burke was to be of the party. Wind-
ham was at the House of Commons the next day, when, he
noted, " the only circumstance that did give me satisfac-
tion was some overtures of reconciliation from Burke." 1
Soon they were again on excellent terms, which endured
until Burke's death six years later.
William Windham to Mrs. Crewe
Paris : September 15, 1791
I don't like to let another post go without a line,
though I have not time enough to make a letter suited
by its contents to be sent such a distance. 'Tis some-
thing, however, to know that your letter is received, Rue
des Petits Augustins, at Paris. The most important
information, however, in its consequences to me is, that a
letter to find me here should be sent to Mons. Perregaux,
Banquier. I hope I shall not be long without profiting
by the communication. To earn my hopes by the
readiest way that the time will allow, let me tell 5^011
that on my arrival I found at the Hotel de l'Universite,
Payne, 2 General Dalrymple, 3 Lord Palmerston, 4 Lord
Hardwicke 6 and W. Wyndham, Lord Egremont's 2nd
brother. The two last had come over, leaving their
wives at Spa, and are now both gone back. To replace
them are arrived Sir William and (late Mrs. Harte, now)
1 Windham's " Diary," May 16, 1791.
2 (?) Captain (afterwards Admiral) John Willett Payne (1752-1803),
an intimate friend of the Prince of Wales.
3 Colonel Hew Whitefoord Dalrymple (1750-1830), Lieutenant-
Governor of Guernsey ; baronet, 181 5.
4 Henry Temple, second Viscount Palmerston (1 739-1 802), a member
of " The Club."
5 Philip Yorke, third Earl of Hardwicke (1757-1834), Lord-
Lieutenant of Ireland, 1 801-1806.
y. J. Masquer te^, pinxt
II 'in. Say, st ulpt.
I.AKV HAMILTON
1792] ATTENDS THE ASSEMBLY 99
Lady Hamilton. They came the day before yesterday and
I am going this morning to see them ; but, however I may
fear being too late, I will not miss the opportunity of
sending this. There is another Lady also expected here
whose presence could not fail to make Paris very interest-
ing to me : but as she was to come with Lady R. Douglas,
and Lady R. is said to be prevented by a miscarriage or
some increase of ill-health, we shall probably lose the
pleasure of her company. This is all that I know of
company about which you will be much interested, not
having yet seen your son or knowing for certain whether
he is here. I might have mentioned indeed Lord Thanet, 1
who arrived the same day as myself, with a Hungarian
lady, whom as a brilliant achievement he carried off from
her husband at Vienna ; and who, as well as himself, is
now suffering for their sins, by the most complete weari-
ness (as I should suppose) of one another. Crauford
(James) is likewise here, and in the same hotel with
myself. Hare 2 has likewise been here for some time.
Having begun, like a good Englishman, with an account
of the English company, I may now just mention the
little event that took place yesterday of the King's
acceptance of the constitution. By the extreme friendly
activity of Noailles (ci-devant Vicomte) 3 I got a place
in the Assembly and was present at the whole ceremony.
There was great respect and great applause, but the
nature of the proceeding was necessarily humiliating, and
some circumstances in the conduct of it rendered it still
more so. Before the King appeared, two very splendid
chairs were placed, one of which I was surprised to see
occupied by the president, who pronounced from thence,
he and the King being for some time the only persons
1 Sackville Tufton, ninth Earl of Thanet (1767-182 5). The Hun-
garian lady was, presumably, Anne Charlotte de Bojanoiwitz, whom he
married at St. George's, Hanover Square, February 28, 181 1.
2 James Hare (1749-1804), M.P. for Knaresborough 1781-1804,
an intimate friend of Fox.
3 Louis Marie, Vicomte de Noailles (1756-1804), fifth son of Philippe
de Noailles, Due de Mouchy.
ioo THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
sitting, a long lecture, in which, besides the objection on
account of its length, there was somewhat too much of
" la nation," and somewhat too little of " le Roi." The
principle of this equality between King and president
was, no doubt, that the president represented the nation :
but that principle followed up should have put the King
upon the footstool, with the president's foot on his neck :
for there is no doubt, to me at least, in theory as well as
in their practice, that the nation, rightly understood, is
all in all. It would have been much better, in my mind,
if being bound in courtesy to remit much they had carried
their courtesy a little further and remitted more. I hope
that we shall be the people to keep up a little of the
" vielle cour " in our manners, while we lose nothing of the
solid advantages and privileges that the new system can
promise. 1
William Windham to W. J. Gurney
Hill Street, May 2, 1792
My mind is so full of the measures which made the
subject of our debate on Monday 2 that I can hardly for-
bear writing or speaking to any friend, who I think likely to
have ideas at all similar to my own upon the subject.
Though my declaration upon the occasion was not exactly
what some of the papers have put in my mouth, that
' whenever or in whatever shape a motion for Parlia-
mentary Reform was brought forward, I would oppose it '
(such a declaration exceeding even my objections to
Parliamentary Reform, and being such as no man hardly
would make), yet nothing can be more decided, than my
hostility to the measures now pursuing nor than my
determination to oppose them to the utmost extremity.
You will not be surprised at this determination, when
1 The Crewe Papers : Windham Section, p. 1 1 (" Miscellanies " of
the Philobiblon Society, vol. ix.).
2 Charles (afterwards second Earl) Grey had given notice on April 30
that in the following session of Parliament he would introduce a
measure of parliamentary reform.
1792] THE REVOLUTION IN ENGLAND 101
I tell you, as I did to the House, though they have
omitted I see in the papers, that part of what I said, that
in my opinion this is little short of the commencement of
civil troubles. I can consider it as nothing but the first
big drops of that storm, which having already deluged
France is driving fast to this country. I have in general
been far from adverse to the principles and cause of the
French Revolution. So much otherwise indeed, that
from the beginning almost, Mr. Burke and I have never
exchanged a word on the subject. But when an attempt
is made to bring the same principles home to us, Principles
in a great measure extravagant and false and which at
best have no practical application here, I shall ever prove
myself as violent an opposer of them as Mr. Burke or any
one can be.
It is as the commencement of changes similar to those
that have taken place in France, that I view the measures
now declared ; though far from being so considered or
intended, on the part of the authors of them, or of the
greater number possibly of those by whom they may be
supported. I think, however, that this is the conclusion
to which they are directly and rapidly tending ; and
which can only be prevented by a timely alarm spread
among all people, who may think the happiness which
this country has hitherto enjoyed too valuable to be
risked on experiments, hitherto unconfirmed by anything
like an adequate trial, nor recommended even by any
theory (if theory on such subjects were worth a farthing)
that has been known in the world till within these half-
dozen years.
Mr. Grey and some other gentlemen, men very respect-
able^DoTrTlor their talents and characters, and with whom
I am most closely connected, seeing this danger, and
feeling about it as I do myself, are of opinion, or rather
were, (for I am not sure whether already some of them
do not begin to be alarmed) that the only way to avert
this danger, was to anticipate its arrival, and by timely
102 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
concession, and changes temperately and judiciously
made, to quiet the minds of people, and defeat the projects
of those who may wish for changes of a different character.
Undoubtedly this is a policy very easily understood, and
that may in various cases be the best to be pursued. It
would have been happy had this been followed in the case
of America. It would have been wise to have done the
same thing in the case of Ireland : it is to be wished that
the same course were pursued with respect to the Catho-
licks of Ireland at this moment. But this policy, though
often good, is like every other prudential measure, very
often not so, and the question is, whether it is so or not
in the present instance. I am setting aside for the
present, all consideration of the measures themselves,
which they propose, viz., the enlarging the representa-
tion and shortening the duration of parliament, — the
former of which may possibly in a very moderate degree be
desireable rather than not, and the latter of which, I con-
ceive to be clearly hurtful. I am considering them merely
with a view to the effect, which they propose by them, of
defeating the schemes of those, who mean nothing short
of a complete overthrow of the present constitution.
Now for this purpose, I am persuaded they will produce
an effect directly the reverse of that which their authors
intend ; and this opinion I ground upon the considera-
tion, that their reform, should they ever introduce it,
would only be one of many thousands, which others
have proposed, who of consequence will be little satisfied
with Mr. Grey's Reform or Constitution, as he or they
may now be with the present one. You cannot with one
measure satisfy all schemes. Your measure can be but
one, your schemes are infinite, many of them the most
discordant and opposite. Does he suppose for instance,
that, by any plan which he will recommend, he will satisfy
those who say that every Government is an usurpation
upon the rights of man, in which every individual has not
a vote ? Does he suppose, that he can ever form a House
1792] THE PRINCIPLE OF CHANGE 103
of Commons, from which influence, much of it undue, will
be" excluded, or on which, such influence, whether existing
or hot, maj' not always be charged ? When the principle
of change, such as that now adopted, is once established,
of change not founded on -a comparison of a specifick
grievance with a specifick remedy, but proceeding on a
general speculation of benefits to arise from this or that
mode of constituting a Parliament, what is there that is
to put a stop to it, till we run the full career of all that the
speculators of the present day may wish to drive us to ?
We must not shut our eyes to the fact, that there is at this
time a spirit very generally diffused, as it has been very
wickedly excited, of changing the present constitution of
things without any distinct view of what is to be substi-
tuted in its room. The promoters of this spirit call the
means which they apply, an appeal to reason. But to
whose reason do they appeal ? To the reason of those,
who they know can be no judges of the question. To
the reason of the very lower orders of the community,
whom it is easy to make discontented, as their situation
must ever render them too apt to be, but whom no man,
not meaning to betray them would ever erect into
judges of the first moral principles of Government, or
of the advantages or disadvantages of great political
measures.
It will be well worth the while of people not indifferent
to their own interests, whatever experiments they may
wish to make with those of other people, to consider,
whether this practice of teaching all the world to submit
to nothing but what their reason can satisfy them of the
truth of, may not proceed in time to lengths which they
will not much like ; and whether they do not conceive,
that upon this doctrine of universal rights arguments
might be brought, such at least as an audience of labour-
ing" men may think satisfactory, why there should be an
equality of property as well as an equality of voting.
Hints of this sort have already been thrown out, I think,
104 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
in Mr. Payne's pamphlet. I am sure it would not be
difficult to improve them in a way to make them circulate
among the lower people, as rapidly as arguments about
the principles of government are said now to do
among the workmen at Sheffield. They have already
abolished in France all titles and distinctions, a species of
property surely as innocent as any that can be con-
ceived, and which, on being given to one man, does not
seem to take anything from another. They have
abolished likewise in great measure the right of persons
to dispose of their property by will. What are all the laws
of property but the mere creatures of arbitrary appoint-
ment ? And who shall be able to derive any one of them
by a regular deduction from natural rights, so at least,
as not to admit endless disputes about the authenticity
of the pedigree ? Suppose some one should take it into
their head to write a work addressed to the labouring people,
exposing to them the iniquity of that system which con-
demns half the world to labour for the other, and pleading
for such a partition of goods, as may give to every one
a competence and leave to none a superfluity. I am
certainly not meaning to say that such arguments would
be good ones : I am not meaning to say", that they might
not be easily answered, but I should be sorry to undertake
to answer them, in an auditory such as composes the
majority of every parish in England. For some time
the habitual respect which the laws have taught for
property, would perhaps prevail : but when you have
once well taught men to consider the power from which
such laws proceed, as an usurpation, how much longer
will the respect remain for regulations, unfavourable to
their interests, which that power has ordained ? How
long will men acquiesce in laws, which condemn them to
poverty, when they are to be maintained on no other
ground than such agreement, as they can discern in them,
with natural rights ? Why publications of this sort
should not be put forth, I don't see. You cannot punish
1792] RISKS OF CIVIL CONFUSION 105
them on any principles which permit the publication of I
many works now circulating ; and you cannot dispute the
competency of the common people to judge of the question
of property, when you allow them to be judges of what
are certainly not less difficult, the first principles of
Government.
But I will not tire you nor myself by going on with
this subject, on which one might write volumes, without
stating all the wildness and danger of the principles now
abroad. My own serious opinion is that unless men of
all descriptions write to say, that they will not, on mere
general hopes of improvement, consent to change a state
of things which has produced and is still producing a
degree of happiness, security and liberty unknown hitherto
in the world, we shall, before we are aware of it, be
involved in all the horrors of civil confusion. If we are,
it will be an example of human folly and madness, such
as the world has never yet exhibited. That a nation
great and happy as this is, raised to a degree of splendour
that has made us the admiration of the world, enjoying
the most perfect liberty united with all the blessings of
order, possessing at this moment peculiar advantages
from the distracted state of many countries around us,
and seeing in no country any one advantage that we do
not enjoy ourselves in a superior degree,, — that such a
nation should at once, upon the mere assurance of certain
persons that they can make us better, put all these
blessings to hazard and risk the falling into universal con-
fusion is a degree of extravagance which can be called
by no name but that of madness. In such madness, as
it appears to me, I, for one, will not be a partaker. I
hope that among my friends at Norwich there are many
that are in the same sentiments. Such sentiments are,
I am sure, very much wanted : but there is nowhere that
I should so much like to find them, as among persons with
whom I am otherwise so much connected. 1
1 Add. MSS. 37873 f. 172.
io6 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
The political breach between Fox and Windham grew
wider, though they did not allow their differences in
Parliament to interfere with their private friendship. In
May 1792 the Government issued a Proclamation against
Seditious Meetings. This Fox opposed tooth and nail,
but the Duke of Portland, Lord Spencer, Lord Fitz-
william, and Windham, with others of the party, thought
it their duty to the country to support Pitt on this and
similar occasions.
The Duke of Portland to William Windham
Bulstrode : October 13, 1792
I am not without my fears that this letter may increase
the gloom into which the Duke of Brunswick's retreat
has very naturally thrown you, because you will find no
contradiction or any explanation of the event but what
you have already seen in the Papers, which in my appre-
hension very sufficiently accounts for it, because since it
took place I have not received a single line of intelligence
from any person whatever. I met a person belonging to
the Secretary of State's office, the beginning of this week,
who assured me that everybody now knew as much of
France as Ministers did, and probably more, for that
Thelluson x received the earliest and best information
from thence, and, he believed that what came to the
Secretary of State's office was the last and the worst.
All I have to send you, therefore, are my hopes, and they
are confident and not wholly unfounded that there is too
large a portion of good sense, or self-interest, or indolence,
or indecision, or dislike of novelty, or attachment to
old habits, or in short something that, if it is not good
sense, will be a substitute for it which will prevent
our being overrun by French Principles, and as for
French arms, my dread of them will not disturb me
1 Peter Thellusson (i737-i797),amerchantconnected with the Paris
banking house of that name.
1792] THE QUESTION OF ANARCHY 107
much, for I do not believe that anything could so
effectually animate and unite us as an armed attempt
from France to force us to accept Anarchy. You see
that I am of opinion that we have both vigor and wisdom
sufficient to resist such an attempt ; and that opinion is
founded on the very general diffusion and distribution of
property, the perfect security in which it is enjoyed, the
great opulence and prosperity of the Country and the
superabundance of employment and wages for the manu-
facturers of all descriptions, who are the most, and indeed
the only, turbulent part of our community. The Army,
small as it is, I believe to be perfectly safe, and to be
depended upon and quite sufficient to support the Civil
Power which, with that confidence it will derive from the
military, is very able, with the assistance of the well dis-
posed part of the Community, to preserve good order
and defeat any hostile designs or undertakings against
the present Constitution of our Government. I am sure
there are Men in this Country (and there does not appear
to have been one in France), for though it has been the
system of the present Reign to annihilate them, in
that it has not succeeded, and they still exist, and I trust
and believe, there will be found enough to save the
Country, even from being attempted I do not
know whether you will concur with me on this point
and perhaps it is as well you should not, for too much
and too general confidence might ruin us. Do you
therefore continue to despond and to exert yourself, and
I will be sanguine and not idle. 1
Lord Mulgrave to William Windham
Harley Street : December 1, 1792
If I were to say half I wish on the various subjects in
your letter, I should not save the post. I will, there-
fore, write more fully hereafter. I find the same timid
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 5.
108 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1784-
disinclination to be first amongst those to whom I apply,
as you complain of in your part of the country, to which
there is nothing to be said but that those who are the last
to exert themselves in defence of their rights frequently
are or always ought to be the first to lose them. Govern-
ment, however, are doing their part with vigour, by this
night's proclamation (which I am in momentary expecta-
tion of receiving to enclose to you) . You will find that in
consequence of the tumult in Scotland, a part of the
Militia is to be immediately embodied. A nice selection of
the corps most to be depended upon is precluded by the
locality of the grounds upon which the force is embodied.
Eleven counties are to be called upon, amongst which
Norfolk is to be one, and the first impression of the
Gazette is to be sent to me to transmit to you, because my
friends do you the justice to rely on your giving this
measure the turn of encouragement to those who wish
well to good order, instead of suffering it to have the
effect of alarming them with apprehensions of unforeseen
and latent dangers ; the consequence of this measure will
of course be that the Parliament will assemble within a
fortnight, when I trust that unanimity, firmness and
exertion will dispel the Dangers which have been stirred
up by desperate and unprincipled emissaries. The best
mode, I should think, for giving effect to associations in
the county would be to have standing committees in
different parts who should consist of a small number and
transact the business of the Association, without calling
those together who have signed the Resolutions, unless
any extraordinary circumstance should require the
exertions, or influence of collected numbers.
I feel with you the propriety of the increase of Labourer's
Wages, and the importance of that measure being kept
distinct from the political circumstances of the time. I
am not prepared at this moment to give a decided opinion
as to the mode of effecting that, but I will write more fully
to you on this Head when I have more deeply considered
1792] THE LABOURER'S HIRE 109
it. The most ordinary or obviously legal means are
certainly the most desirable : I believe there is a power in
the Quarter Sessions to regulate the price of labour. The
call of Parliament is so far fortunate that it will probably
collect a considerable body of country gentlemen from
different parts, amongst whom the best expedients may
be determined upon. The alteration in the price of
Labour must ultimately fall on the Landowners, and
when they are convinced of the propriety and necessity
of it, the concurrence of the Farmers, may, I should
suppose, be easily contrived. These are, however, but
the sudden thoughts raised by what I have read in your
Letter and which I should wish to discuss further with
you.
There is not the least foundation for the Report of
Lord Chatham's 1 going to Ireland. Lord Temple and
Lord Edward Fitzgerald 2 have been dismissed from the
service for the part they have taken in the propagation of
Republican doctrines. I hope you will not suffer dis-
couraging ideas to intrude themselves upon you. I should
be afraid the little justice y ou do yourself would induce
you to suspect me of flattery, if I were to say how much I
think the strength and success of our cause depends upon
your appearance and exertions in it, and how very much
chearfulness will be given to any struggle I may endeavour
to make, by my doing it hand in hand with you. 3
1 John Pitt, second Earl of Chatham (1756-1835), First Lord of the
Admiralty, 1 788-1794.
2 Lord Edward Fitzgerald (1763- 1798) was cashiered from the Army
for joining in Sir Robert Smith's toast to the abolition of all hereditary
titles, given at an English dinner-party at Paris in October 1792.
3 Add. MSS. 37873 f. 183.
CHAPTER III
1793
A coalition suggested between Pitt and the Duke of Portland's
party : Mudge's chronometer : A Frenchman on the Revolution
and of the state of affairs in the United States : Alexander
Hamilton : General Knox : Randolph : Jefferson : Windham's
increasing importance : Pitt confers with him : Windham on
the French Revolution : On the Proclamation for the sup-
pression of seditious meetings: On the divergence of views
between Fox and Portland : Windham for a while acts as head
of the party : Fox and the " Friends of the People " :
Windham comments upon his lack of ambition : He is present
at the siege of Valenciennes : The surrender of that town :
Ministerial negotiations : Windham anxious not to take office :
The siege of Dunkirk : Toulon : Pitt regrets that Windham
is disinclined to take office : The execution of Marie Antoinette :
The siege of Mauberge : Burke on the conduct of the war :
Windham supports the continuance of the war : La Vendee :
A conference between Pitt and Lord Spencer : Windham and
his architect, James Wyatt : Burke and Spencer on the
situation : Spencer and Windham in favour of continuing the
war : Lord Malmesbury's mission to the King of Prussia :
The French Princes : Toulon regained by the French.
ON the eve of the declaration of war against
France, Thomas Grenville wrote to Windham
regarding the invitation that he, in common
with other prominent politicians, had received
to meet at Windham's house to confer as to the advisa-
bility of forming a coalition between Pitt and the
Duke of Portland.
Thomas Grenville to William Windham
February 10, 1793
I received your letter to-day at five o'clock, and
being obliged to go out to dinner have not till
no
y. Hoppnsr. R.A.,putxt.
G ' Unt, sculpt.
WILLIAM PUT
1793] PROPOSALS FOR A COALITION in
now been able to send you any answer ; being
desirous of seeing the Duke of Portland upon the
subject, I learn from him that you had this morning
apprised him of its being the wish of many persons,
who concurred with him in the necessity of supporting
the war in which we are engaged, to meet and communi-
cate together this evening at your house ; I learn also
from him that he expressed no sort of objection to any
concert of his parliamentary friends for that purpose.
I have, however, read in your letter with a good deal of
concern that, a proposition was to be made for a deter-
mination to set aside for the present all views of opposi-
tion. It is true that a proposition of this nature was dis-
cussed at the beginning of this session, but you will I
am sure recollect that the Duke of Portland, Lord Fitz-
wiliiam, 1 many other persons, and myself amongst them,
expressed the most distinct dissent from that proposition,
and that it seemed to be the wish of all those persons to
pledge themselves to no support of government or sus-
pension of opposition, except in those particular instances
which were effected by and comprehended in the very
peculiar dangers of the times. Under these circumstances,
of which Mr. Fox was likewise informed and upon which
communication was constantly had with him, tho' he
differed in opinion the general course of conduct seemed
understood to be, that those who saw internal dangers
from republican principles, and dangers arising from the
growing power of France, would resist them by support-
ing those measures of the government which were meant
to counteract the dangers at home, and such support;
too, of war with France as might make it most effectual
if war proved to be necessary.
For my own part I own I much wish to see again at
Burlington House 2 those meetings which it has always
1 William Wentworth Fitzwilliam, fourth Earl Fitzwilliam (1748-
i833)-
2 The property of the Duke of Devonshire from 1753 until 1815.
H2 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
given me so much pleasure to attend there, and which
I am persuaded have been of the greatest publick benefit ;
least of all can I subscribe to any notion of devising any
project for not engaging the Duke of Portland to take
his old place at the head of those who act upon his
sentiments, because he appears to me to have kept that
place with honour to himself, and I am persuaded too with
the most perfect satisfaction to all his friends. 1
W. Banks to William Windham
Soho Square : March 17, 1793
You need not have informed me that you respect the
rights of adversaries, because I well know that you
respect all rights except perhaps the rights of those whose
watches have gone better than Mudge's ever did go and
who in that case certainly have a right to the Public
reward you seem determined to confer on your Devonshire
Friend. 2
As an adversary I claim however one right, which is
that if the Committee to-morrow should find themselves
satisfied with the truth of Mr. Mudge's allegations and
make up their Consciences to report them to the House of
Commons as proved according to the Standing orders, a
reasonable time may be allowed before that Report be
carried up, in order that these who think that public
money cannot with justice be given to the second-best
while the most deserving is left unrewarded, may have an
opportunity of explaining the comparative pretensions
of these to whom the public are indebted for the improve-
ment of time-keepers.
This right of an adversary I hold that you cannot in
1 Add. MSS. 37849 f. 204.
2 Thomas Mudge (171 7-1 794) invented a chronometer, for which he
claimed a reward from the Board of Longitude, which was not granted.
Subsequently a Committee was appointed on which sat Pitt, Windham,
and others, to consider the matter. Convinced of the value of the
timekeeper, they recommended a grant of £2 500, a decision that the
House of Commons confirmed.
i 7 93l MUDGE'S CHRONOMETERS 113
justice deny, for, as your mode of Proceeding allows
the smallest possible number of Periods for explana-
tions to take place that the Constitution of Parliament
recognises, each period ought to have a greater interval
than is necessary in the Conduct of an act of Parliament
to allow to the Corresponding one. 1
W. Banks to William Windham
Soho Square : March 18, 1793
Being of Opinion that neither you nor the rest of
Mudge's Friends are aware of the Pretentions other artists
have, to be rewarded in Preference to him, I have been
induced to draw up the inclosed paper which I mean to
circulate to the members on the day the report is to be
received. I think it candid to communicate it to you
forthwith, but I do not mean to bring it out to-morrow,
because I understand it is not customary to make a
serious opposition in the Commons for proving allegations.
I beg to have it understood that I do not mean to Com-
bat Mr. Mudge's pretentions on any other Ground than
the Defence of the Decision of the Board of Longitude and
the pretentions of Mr. Arnold and such others, if such
there are, whose time-keepers are better than Mr. Mudge's.
If the House chose to extend their Bounty to Reward him,
I am sure that I shall lay no obstacle in the way of their
generosity Provided they give due attention to the claims
of those who have excelled him. 2
William Windham to John Coxe Hippisley (at Rome)
London : March 28, 1793
I have already much to answer for in having delayed
so long to write ; at a time when you must be so im-
patient for letters, and when you have given yourself
such a claim to them from me, by the numerous ones which
I have received. It is the sense of my obligations in
1 Add. MSS. 37854 f. 45. 3 Add. MSS. 37854 f. 47.
I H
ii 4 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
that respect, and the ideas conceived of what I ought to
do in return, that has, till now, repressed my endeavours,
and threatens, without care, to throw me into as bad a
state, as during the time of your absence in India. 1
An experience of that danger makes me resolve to
break my chains by times. I have accordingly seized
my pen this morning, determined to write a page before I
pull off my night-cap ; and not to go out of the house,
till I have got upon paper such a quantity, as I may
venture to send off by next post, should I be unable even
to make any additions to it. Where shall I begin ?
And what order shall I follow ? What shall I consider as
most important ? And where shall I consider you as
most uninformed, and most desirous therefore of in-
formation from me ? The points probably most neces-
sary, will be those, that you can least learn from public
accounts ; and such will be the history of our domestic
and party politics, particularly as affecting that class of
men about whom you are most interested.
You know, what the state of my mind was respecting
the situation of Europe, and the progress to be appre-
hended of those changes which were gaining daily new
strength, and which were never likely to stop of them-
selves, till they effected the dissolution of all the sub-
sisting governments. The reasons for these fears went on
increasing, in respect both of the progress of the French
Arms, and of the corresponding opinions in this country,
till some time, as I recollect, after your departure they
seemed then to be brought to a sort of crisis, at which some
immediate explosion was to be apprehended. I am not
sure whether this was just before, or just after your
departure, but it was towards the end of November.
You must consider this as a sort of fixed point, with
references to which the history of these times is to be
graduated. The despondency of those who have been
1 Hippisley had been in the service of the East India Co. in India,
1786-9.
i 7 93l THE MINISTERIAL POSITION 115
distinguished since, as the sect of Alarmists x was then at
its lowest ebb. Among those who happened to be at
that time in London, I was among the most eager for
calling together whatever force of counsel could be
collected, in order to consider what should be done. The
general opinion was, that an intimation should be given
to the Ministry, serving in our view as a menace, and in
another as an encouragement, that those, by whom they
had been supported at the time of the Proclamation, 2 would
not fail them in any measures, which they might think
it necessary to take in the present circumstances ; and
that, in the opinion of the persons comprehended under
that description, measures, vigorous and decisive, both
internal and external, ought to be taken. This was
accordingly done ; and though the intimation so con-
veyed was not so explicit nor so strong, as I could have
wished ; it is not impossible, that on that little circum-
stance much of the subsequent conduct of government,
much in consequence of that of the dispositions and plans
of foreign powers ; and much, therefore, in the end of the
fate of Europe, may have turned. I have always been
a great tracer of the effect of little things ; and the
opinion, that this step seemingly so inconsiderable : may
have led to consequences, thus important, is a reflexion
of great comfort and satisfaction to me, who had some
share in it, and who rejoice so much in those consequences.
The sentiments of Fox, in the meanwhile, remained in
a great measure unknown. He had been absent from
Town during the greater part of the Summer, and little
more was known of his sentiments, than what I had
collected in a short conversation in my way from Norfolk
to London, previous to the retreat of the combined Army,
and to those events, which made so large a part of the
present crisis. My own expectations were not very
1 Burke and others opposed to the French Revolution were called
" Alarmists."
? The Proclamation against Seditious Meetings, &c.
n6 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
sanguine ; and the result of three or four conversations,
to which he seemed to be dragged rather unwillingly,
gave me an early impression, that our difference was not
of a temporary or superficial sort, but such as was
likely to lead us, without some unexpected turn of things,
wider and wider from each other. It was not a difference
capable of being reduced to specific points, and of being
confined, therefore, within precise limits, but a general
difference of feeling that pervaded all our sentiments on
the present state of the world. This opinion, admitted
as you may suppose with great reluctance, and at first
with considerable hesitation, has alas ! been growing
stronger, as the scene has opened ; till now that we have
passed the question of War, without being able to find in
that an occasion of union, there is nothing, as far as the
eye can reach, that affords a prospect of our coming
together. The situation in which we stand, and the
persons comprized in one or other description, you know
probably partly from the accounts of the debates, and
partly from private letters.
It may be more necessary to say something of the
situation and sentiments of the Duke of Portland. For
his sentiments have been on all occasions, except on the
Bill now depending to prevent treasonable correspondence
&c. the same as Sir Gilbert Elliot's and mine, who have
never differed yet in any instance. His opinion and
feelings on the affairs of France, his ideas on the state of
this Country : his wishes for war, and his intentions of
supporting the Ministry, till he was talked out of them by
other counsellors, were all the same as ours ; But his
situation is such as no nicety of conduct can make con-
sistent with itself, and as has been the parent of all his
difficulties, and all his perplexities, and of such loss of
personal consequence as it will be difficult ever to repair.
He has conceived that his present difference with Fox
could be treated as a difference on a particular point,
and be reconciled with a continuance of party connection.
1793] WITHOUT A LEADER 117
The consequence of which is that he is acting in party
with a man with whom he never agrees, and is joining
with him to overturn the power of those by whom his own
system is supported. One of the effects of this situation,
illustrating the original falseness of the conception, is
that he can take no step to aid and co-operate with those
with whom he concurs in opinion.
To obviate so strange a consequence was the object
of that conference, which produced the declaration from
Sir Gilbert Elliot, about which you have heard probably
a good deal, and which has drawn upon him a great deal
of enmity from that side. It was proposed to the Duke
to put himself at the head of those, whose sentiments
he agreed with ; and to allow them still to consider
themselves as acting under their original chief. To this
it was thought at first, that we had an explicit consent :
but all was afterwards embroiled, and confused, till, in
point of fact, we all find ourselves now acting without a
leader, and with no other concert, than that which we
have been able to make out among ourselves.
The only meetings, therefore of the party that have
taken place on our side, have been at my house. Much
against my will I have been obliged to act as a sort of head
of a party, much in the same way as some Colonel or
Serjeant may now be doing with the remains of Du-
mouriez's Army. 1 This, however, can last only for a short
time. It may serve to keep us together for a while ;
but if the Duke cannot be prevailed upon to return to his
station, of which I see at present no prospect, and hardly,
indeed, the opportunity, we must dwindle away and be
dispersed in various channels till the very name and idea
of the party will be lost. The credit and consequence that
has been lost by this conduct, first of Fox, and then of
the Duke, is dreadful to think of. HadHFbx determined
1 Dumouriez had been defeated at Neerwinden, March 18, by the
Austrians under Saxe-Coburg, and driven out of Belgium. Dumouriez
deserted to the Allies, April 4.
f
n8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
J to have taken part with us at the close of last year, had he
■ disclaimed the Friends of the People, and sided with
those, who had certainly the best claim to be considered
I as his friends, there is hardly a doubt that he might, at
this time, have been a Minister. Had he even taken part
with us at the beginning of this Session, there is little
doubt, though more than before, that his authority in the
Country, might have been equally or nearly as great. As
I it is he has put himself in a situation, in which, as far as
I can be foreseen, nothing less than a Revolution can ever
make him Minister.
The Duke of Portland upon a smaller scale has judged
equally wrong, and with consequences equally injurious.
By this attempt of continuing to act with Fox, while
they differed on questions such as those now depending,
he has disappointed the expectations of his friends, and
of the publick, and lost much of that reputation for firm-
ness and decision, which is so necessary to the head of a
party, and may be so much wanted hereafter for the
purpose of recovering Fox. The opinion that the Duke
had a will and a judgement of his own, and could firmly
act up to that judgement, would be the best cure for that
distrust, which otherwise may for ever exclude Fox
from Office. The situation of the Duke was, I confess,
difficult. To have taken the course, which I recommended,
would undoubtedly have changed what was one party
into two, with each its head and members and separate
functions ; acting without enmity to each other, but
moving in different directions, and forming each its own
system. But the course which is now taken leaves us
no party at all. The only body that lives and acts is an
heterogeneous mass, formed hardly in any degree of the
materials of the Duke of Portland's friends, (though it
has derived from them its life and energy) and pursuing
habits and instincts altogether its own. It is a little
gilded and venomous insect, with great force of wing,
which has sprung from the carcase of the old party, which
1793] THE PARTY MELTING AWAY 119
it leaves to moulder and grow putrid in the eyes of the
Publick. If I were a Man of ambition and activity and
talents for such a situation, now is the time when I might
become a great leader, all the world being ready to hail
the course I have taken, and which I laboured, with most
earnest endeavours, to make the course also of the Duke
of Portland. I have no such disposition, did I possess
even the powers, so that the party seems to be melting
away, with no one growing up to replace it, but such
as must derive all its strength and nutriment from the
misfortunes and mischief of the Country.
This is the best picture which I can give you of the
state of internal politics as confined to public men. The
evils of this I feel less acutely, from the consideration of
the promising appearance which things seem to assume
upon the Continent, where the progress of the mischief is
at least stopt, with as good hopes of further reduction of
it, as can be entertained in a business of such extent and
complexity.
The representations which you made of the state of
opinions in the Southern parts of France, combined with
other accounts confirming the same ideas, makes a very
considerable part of the hopes, which I allow myself to
indulge. You will have heard all the accounts, which
we have as yet got of the complete success of the Austrian
Arms in Brabant, such as give already full assurance for
the security of Holland, and leave little, or no doubt, of
the entire evacuation of Flanders. We know as yet
for certain (March 27th) only of the Victory of the 18th.
these are Accounts seemingly pretty authentick of a
continuence of the same successes, amounting to nearly
an entire dispersion of the whole of the French Army.
What we want now is a Naval force in the Mediter-
ranean, such as might give heart and protection to the
sentiments which you describe as existing in that part of
France. Similar aid is wanting towards Brittany ; where,
as you will see by the French papers, a very general
120 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
dissatisfaction prevails. In both these cases, indeed, there
must be a land force to co-operate with that by sea ; and
such I conclude in the course of the Summer must be
found. At all events an English Fleet should be or
rather should have been, in the Mediterranean, to give
that succour and protection, which I conceive all the
Countries upon those Shores are looking for at our hands,
and which it would be a proud distinction in us to grant.
I long to think that Rome, our common mother, should
owe her safety, if danger must approach her, to the
protecting justice of Great Britain.
Amidst so much said of our political differences, it
may be necessary to state in what degree they affect
private and individual intercourse. You may imagine,
that those who lived together chiefly as politicians, do not
continue much to do so, when their politics disagree. The
secession likewise from the Whig Club, of which you may
have seen an account in the papers, has been a subject
of greater complaint than any difference in voting or
speaking. But none of these have led, in my case, to
any change of manner in private, nor in my own mind
to any change of private regard. I retain all my former
opinions and kindness for Fox, though I see, with regret,
that his sentiments and wishes on the changes now going
on in the World, are more remote from mine, than I had
formerly supposed. The list of the persons who side
with him on these points you know pretty well by the list
of the division. Those, who do not appear there, may
be presumed, in general, to be on the other side. 1
1 Add. MSS. 37848 f 59.
1793] A FRENCH ROYALIST'S LETTER 121
An Unknown Correspondent 1 to William Windham
The 1 of June (1793)
Philadelphia at M. Morris,
Member of the Senate, Market Street
The affectionate attention you honoured me with
during the time I spent in England induced me to think
that you would hear with satisfaction of my happy arrival
in the Unitate States. I had good companions on board,
among which I will mention the respectable familly of
M. Duche, M. Talon, a member of the first constitutionel
assembly, under an accusation of the convention, M.
Bonnet, a French clergyman banished, and M. Devillaine,
a French officer who made the last campaign with the
Princes. The number of our fellow passengers was eighty
and against the common rule of sea travellers we lived on
board ship and parted on the most friendly terms.
We found the sea so much covered with your vessels
that I thought its Empire belonged entirely to Great
Britain. Your men-of-war seemed to me very well
disposed to protect your Trade, and stationed with a
peculiar Knowledge of the French coast. Some of them
came near our vessel but your sea officers, able to dis-
tinguish the form of every ship, never stoped or pre-
vented us from continuing our course. We desired our
Captain to shew his colours to every ship we met with ;
by this precaution we had an opportunity of speaking
with several of your Merchantmen and acquainting them
that hostilities had taken place between France and
England, and of telling the Captains of those vessels the
lattitude and longitude where they would receive the
protection of your men-of-war.
1 This letter is taken from a copy, the original not being among the
" Windham Papers." In the copy the signature is omitted, but the
presumption is that the letter was written by a French Royalist, and
one of no little importance, since, as will be seen, he was on terms with
the most important men in the United States.
122 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
I landed at Philadelphia the third of May and went
immediately to M. Washington. He inquired with
peculiar attention concerning the Officers who served in
America during the War and more especially concerning
M. de Lafayette. I looked upon this first enterview
as a good presage of M. Washington's public sentiments
and in private conversation I was confirmed in my
opinion that the President of Congress disliked the
System of the New Republicains as much as might be
expected from a man sensible of the true principles of a
good government and anxious for the happiness of
mankind.
To give you a just idea of the opinion of the people
of the Unitate States, I must have a retrospect to the
beginning of the French revolution. When the etats
generaux was called, the Americains expected the im-
provement of our government. The revolution of July
1789 received the general aprobation of the people.
Every one thought it was the struggle of despotism in
the Aristocraty of the clergy and nobility against the
principles of liberty. However, some men of ability
escaped this common enthousiasm and thought that the
basis upon which the legislature of France proposed to
elevate the constitution was not that which was proper to
suport the foundation of a large empire. Had not the
unhappy Lewis the 16 th adopted the bad proposition
to go toVarennes, leaving before the National assembly
the fatal writing which led to doubt of his faith, the
sentiment I mentioned had received the greatest credit
and every one had aprouved of the refusal of the King to
take care of a helm ready to break in his hands. The
French constitution as it was formerly accepted, leaving
some means of amelioration, obtained at last the consent
of the Americain's people.
The conduct of the first legislative assembly changed
sudently this favourable disposition. People found in
the discussion of October, 1791, all the character of a
1793] A DIVIDED AMERICA 123
faction which wanted to give humiliation to the throne
and to ruin the Kingdom. The declaration of war against
the house of Austria appeared useless, impolitic, and
rather disposed to destroy the liberty of the people than
to strengthen it. In short, the revolution of the tenth
of August divided America into two parts well dis-
tinguished and almost fixed by the different states.
Those which are called the eastern, and extend from the
boundaries of Canada to the Southern part of Maryland,
looked upon the events of that time as prepared by the
ambitious pretentions of some individuals, conducted
against the interest of the people and compleated by all
species of crimes. The Western States, which are com-
prehended between the Southern part of Maryland to
Georgia, have approved openly the conspiracy against
the King and the Monarchy. And it is very remarkable
that the states which admit slavery were all more in
favour of equality and licentiousness.
The manifesto of the Duke of Brunswick, 1 his attack
on France with Prussians, and particularly with Hessians,
to give laws to the French nation again united the
wishes of the people in favour of the French arms, and on
that account the massacres of the second and third of
September have not provoked the indignation that one
might expect from a people gentle, sensible, humaine and
compassionate as are the Americains. But when, after
the retreat of the combined armies, the system of a
general republic became the politics of the national con-
vention, when it decreed that it would no more admit of
the ties of religion, of Kings, of tribunals, proprietory
probity, fidelity in the most sacred engagements, that
it had the intention to oppose the poors to the riches,
crimes to virtues and to carry its infernal doctrine into
every country, a sentiment of indignation took place and
was manifested particularly in the Eastern States. They
1 Frederick William, Duke of Brunswick, who took an active part in
the war against France. He fell at Quatre Bras, at the head of his troops.
124 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
regretted the rejoicing made in favour of such victories
as ought to put the present age into mourning and leave
indelible impression on the future. The murder of the
King augmented those sentiments and gave new ennemis
to the chiefs of the French republic. A general mourning
would have been worn in the union but the public spirit,
badly directed by the newspapers, prevented America
from paying to the King of France the tribute of gratitude
which his virtues, his private and public endeavours to sup-
port the cause of America most undoubtedly entitled him.
To me the discussion which took place at the meeting
of your British parliament, the division between the
Eastern and Western States of America, has been more
remarkable and form two partis in the union. In a
constitution well established government gives the
impulse to every one, but in the infancy of a constitution
men of various character have the greatest influence in
the governcment. I must then make you acquainted
with the leaders of this country.
The representatives of the people receive the impres-
sion from those which give them qualification and carry
it to Congress, to the Senate and to the administration.
Both houses, that is, the Senate and Congress, have a
certain majority at present in favour of a well-regulated
governement. It is more numerous in the Senate, it is
a strong body which oppose every improper means in
the present crisis to alter the neutrality. The executive
power is shared between the two partis which divide
the Unitate States. At the head of the first in favour
of an exact neutrality is Hamilton, minister of finances, 1
general Knox, war minister, 2 Randolph, attorney general ; 3
1 Alexander Hamilton (1757-1804), American soldier and statesman,
took an active part in the War of Independence, and, after the death
of Washington in 1799, became Commander-in-chief of the United
States army. From 1789 for five years he held the important office
of Secretary of the Treasury.
2 General Henry Knox (17 50-1 806), took a prominent part in
the War of Independence.
3 Edmund Jennings Randolph (1753-1813).
1793] THE UNITED STATES MINISTERS 125
Jefferson, minister of foreign affairs, 1 is the leader of the
second party which wishes a more intimate connection
with the french republic. Hamilton is a man of a great
understanding, fine talents, "a commuhicative genius, an
untainted probity, an absolute disinterestedness. With
the desire of reputation he is so indifferent with respect
to the possession of his office that he would leave it
rather than abandon an opinion or an object useful to
his country. Hamilton has created a System of finances
which everybody admires on account of its advantages
and of its Simplicity. General Knox is a man of good
judgment and intirely influenced by Hamilton. Ran-
dolph is a well informed man and possesses some ability.
His conversation proves a man attached to the opinion
that it is impossible to govern an extensive Kingdom
without an executive force which must not be prevented,
except when it acts against the constitution of the
country. In a conversation I had with M. Randolph he
told me that he had very little to expect of security and
happiness in a constitution where the chief of the executive
power was elective ; that everybody in America, except
M. Washington, in several circumstances of the greatest
importance had been obliged to conform his opinion to
that of Congress, though directed against the public
advantage. I induced M. Randolph to confess that our
suspensive veto is a chimera when it is not supported by
the dissolution of the legislative body, that without it, the
use of the veto will determine the civil war, and the
destruction of one of the two powers. M. Randolph's
opinion in point of constitution advise me to rekon him
among the ministers who are favourable to the good
principles, what is important because it offers a majority
of three with the president against one ; but M. Randolph
1 Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), drew up the Declaration of
Independence. In 1785 he went as United States Minister to
Paris, where he remained for four years. Returning home, he
became Secretary of State under Washington, and in 1801 was
elected (third) President.
i 2 6 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
is a Virginian and in consequence of it attached by
interest to the party which wishes to support the odious
system of the French republic.
Jefferson is the chief of the jacobin party ; had he the
talent and capacity of Hamilton he would acknowledge
with him that there is no prosperity for a great Empire
without a repressive force directed against every one who
wished to rise above the law and that the support of
criminal principles cannot promis any advantage to a
new country which can only florish by just regard shewn
to public and private virtue : but the unhappiness of
representative government is that inferior talent with
great ambition and little probity cannot suport the credit
which obtain those of the first order and try by every
mean to supplant them. As people don't admire the
genious of Jefferson, his eloquence, his fine speaches, his
happy repartee in public discussion, it is necessary to
fixe its attention with the favourable idea of Jefferson's
excessive love for liberty, of his immoderate attache-
ment to the people's interest, of his ardent zeal in favour
of democracy. It is by the consideration he pays to
jacobin's principles that he is called the democratic
or whig minister. Those who suport his doctrine have a
peculiar cathechism. Their principal articles of faith are
that the death of the King was a necessary sacrifice to
the intire liberty of the people, that the massacre of the
second and third of September must be considered
as the inconveniency which belong to a great revolution,
the daily convulsion of the empire, as an evil which cannot
be prevented. As this party dare not aprouve publickly
of all the crimes committed in France, it says that being
obliged to take the alternative of the duke of Brunswick
on the French nation, it preferes the second, it calls
French nation the union of legalite, Marat and three
or four thousand murderers. The success of Jemappe l
1 At Jemappe, on November 6, 1792, was fought the first battle ip
which the French, under Dumouriez, defeated the Austrians.
i 7 93] CITIZEN GENET IN AMERICA 127
had made a great number of proselytes, but Prince
Cobourg x and general Clerfait 2 have diminshed the zeal
of the belivers. Jefferson in a close conversation don't
answer the expectation which his partisans give of him. I
suppose him to be in an intimate correspondance with
the party which govern the convention, whilst the diplo-
matic affairs pass by the chanel of governior Morris, 3
who is intirely opposite to his sentiments.
It is probably with the leaders of the jacobins that the
success of citizien Genet, 4 the representative of the French
Republic, has been prepared in this country. He has been
preceded in it by an Americain who was thought influent ;
he had learned in Paris the doctrine of the new republicains
and had promised to buy all the grains, corn and flower
that France wanted for this year ; he promised to send
in France eigthy thousand arms ; he had also engaged his
credit to determine America to pay at once the debt
contracted with France. The first part of his mission
has succeded, the second is now suspended and the third
has completely miscarried. I have no doubt that proper
dispositions will be taken to carry to England all the
guns proposed to France.
1 Frederick Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Coburg (1737-1815), Austrian
Field -marshal, commanded the Imperial forces from 1789 until 1795,
when, having sustained several defeats, he resigned his command.
2 Francois Sebastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Comte de Clerfayt
(1733-1798), Austrian Field -Marshal. In 1792 he commanded the
Austrian contingent in the Duke of Brunswick's army. In the following
year he opened the campaign in the Netherlands with the victory of
Aldenhoven and the relief of Maestricht, and he was largely responsible
for the defeat of Dumouriez at Neerwinden.
3 Governor Morris (1752-1817), appointed by Washington, in
January 1791, to negotiate with the British Government regarding
certain unfulfilled articles of the treaty of peace. Shortly afterwards,
until 1794, he served as United States Minister to France.
4 Edmond Charles Edouard Genet (1765-1834) went to America in
1793 to endeavour to secure for the French Republic the assistance of
the United States. In this he was not successful. Washington decided
to issue a proclamation of neutrality. Genet, however, continuing his
activities, Washington on the following year demanded, and secured,
the envoy's recall. Genet then resigned his mission, but remained in
the United States, and became a naturalised citizen.
128 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
I think it useful to inform you with respect to the debt
of America to France that it amounted after the war to
eigtheen hundered thousand pounds sterlings, that now
a million of it has been paid and that for the rest of
the sum America is indebted to France. The executive
power of this country is determined not to draw near
again the moment fixed in former time to pay the sum
that is due. It has resisted all the requests which have
been made by the executive power of France to change
that disposition, but the month of September, October and
November next are the epochs fixed for paying two
hundred thousand pounds sterlings in hard money.
This sum will be of great assistance to the republicains,
perhaps employed to renew the massacres which took
place in several circumstances and to continue the war.
The representative of the French republic is very
anxious about it : his first step in this country has been
imprudent, criminal and will not answer his expectation.
You knew before I left England that citizien Genet had
the command of a sum of eighty thousand pounds
sterlings to make new friends and four hundred commis-
sions to arm vessels and send them as cruizers against
your trade. It was certainly calculated by the executive
power of France that M. Genet should land at Charles-
town in order to raise the spirit of the people of the
Western States in favour of the pretentions of the french
republic. Citizien Genet at his arrival was very well
received in the State of Carolina ; he armed a privateer
which was an Americain bottom and filled it with an
Americain crew. The administration of the State refused
its consent to the departure of the privateer but Citizien
Genet made a peculiar application to the governor of the
State and obtained an order to let the privateer go out
of the harbour ; she went out and since made five prizes.
One is of a very great value. The conduct of the governor
of Carolina is very much against the neutrality which
America promised your minister to observe and directly
1793] WASHINGTON'S PROCLAMATION 129
against the wishes of its inhabitants. The fitting out a
privateer is quite contradictory to the proclamation of
the President of Congress which (it is true) came out after
the privateer of Citizien Genet went to sea. The pro-
clamation is wrote in the following terms :
" Whereas it appears that a state of war exists between
Austria, Prussia, Sardinia, Great Britain and the United
Netherlands, of one part ; and France, on the other, and
the duty and interest of the Unitate States require that
they should with sincerity and good faith adopt and
pursue a conduct friendly and impartial towards the
belligerent powers,
" I have therefore thought fit by these presents; to
declare the disposition of the Unitate States to observe
the conduct aforesaid towards those powers respectively,
and to exhort and warn the citizen of the Unitate States
carefully to avoid all acts and proceedings whatsoever
which may in any manner tend to contravene such
disposition;
" And I do hereby also make known; that whosoever of
the citizen of the Unitate States shall render himself
liable to punishement and forfeiture under the law of
nations, by committing, aiding or abetting hostilities
against any of the said power, or by carrying to any of
them those articles which are deemed contraband by the
modern usage of nation, will not receive the protection
of the Unitate States against such punishment or for-
feiture ; and further that I have given instructions to
those officers, to whom it belongs to cause prosecutions
to be instituted against all persons, who shall, within the
cognizance of the courts of the Unitate States, violate the
law of nations, in respect to the powers at war, or any of
them, &c."
Their proclamation is sufficiently expressive, but the
new republicains don't care for the forms which are fixed
in the governements established and pretend to make
the happiness of mankind their object. Citizien Genet,
1 1
130 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
going on his travels in the eastern States; opened his
system ; it convinces people that he had the intention
to obtain a majority in Congress and by its assistance to
countrive America to join France in the war ; in case
this plan could not succeed to make the executive power
of America unpopular and to suport the party of the
French republic in raising Citizien against Citizien,
State against State. His atrocious politics have obtained
some success among that classe of people which enjoy
tumult and troubles in every country. But the prudent
and wise inhabitants, irritated by this machiavelous
conduct, have endeavoured to prevent its consequence :
those even who were in favour of the French republic
found it against the dignity of America that a French
minister, after his landing without mentioning any
thing to the president of Congress or to the ministers,
fitted out privateers and send them out. The place the
Citizien Genet chose for landing augmented the discontent,
and now it is certain that the English ships which have
been taken will be restored, and that the character and
the mission of Citizien Genet will be covered with all the
contempt both deserve. I had opposed his success but my
constant opinion always was that it " is more advantageous
to let a fool do for himself than to help him."
A proof of the general sentiment of the people of
America is the conduct of the inhabitants of Philadelphia
about the proclamation. An address of thanks has been
presented to M. Washington to felicatate him upon the
steps he had taken to prevent America from engaging
in a war against the combined powers. This disposition
will take place through all America.
Some individuals without character have met few days
ago in a tavern and have presented an adress to Citizien
Genet at the instant he came to town. This adress
contains very reprehensible expressions and also the
answer of the Citizien, but you most look upon it as dic-
tated by people without influence and just as if the
1793] AMERICA'S DEBT TO FRANCE 131
people of the Canon tavern in London had presented a
petition to Citizien Channelin.
So far as I can judge of the disposition of this country,
it will maintain a neutrale system. The cases which
perhaps might raise the discontent of America are those
I mentioned to you during my stay in England. —
i°. considering France as a fortified town besieged, you
should by all means avoid protracting the war, render
it more cruel, and upon this principles seize all ships
loaded to France with corn or flower and send them to
British harbours to sell their cargo at the prise market
in favour of the owners. 2°. take any French ship
armed with an Americain captain and an Americain crew.
My opinion upon these two prepositions is that, suposing
you should be determined to act in this manner, America
will make some reclamations. In this case do not threaten
or come to a war.
Perhaps to prevent France from receiving any assistance
of this country, your minister will it find expedient to
buy the crop of next year and to send it under an
American colour to England. I believe your country
would find a great advantage in it and sell the corn of
America with an immense benefit to all the people of
Europe.
I think that with respect to the debt of America to
France and particularly to that part which is to be paid
in the fall of this year, it would be expedient to advise
the regent of France to send an agent in order to claim
the money which is owed. I should supose America
would not find any difficulty to suspend the moment of
paying that sum. The people's choice for the negociation
must be a man of character and of determination. The
people as Citizien Genet have comonly the mob of all
countries at their commands.
I believe it will be prudent also to take some measure
to prevent the murderers of the King, those of the second,
third of September and other days from being admitted
132 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
in this country. If you are victorious, of which I have
no doubt, I supose America will not refuse to grant a
favour requested by all powers of Europe. If you suffer
that infernal fire which has reduced France to ashes to
burn in any part of the world, it will be revived and
inflame it.
After having examined America in its interior politics,
in its afinity with France, I must make out the real
situation in which it may be considered relative to the
European powers.
The population of America, white and black, is near
four millions : it encreases so rapidly that without the
emigration of Europe in fourtheen years it double in the
eastern States and in twenty in the western. There is
now a system of finances regulated upon the rules of
England. The debt of the Unitate States is fifteen
millions sterllings. Part of the taxes is appropriated to
pay the interest of the debt and cannot be disposed to an
other object. The taxes are of two sorts — upon importa-
tion which gives upon almost every article ten for cent,
and upon distilling liquors. These taxes are suported by
rich people and of so little consequence that every body
consents to pay them. The expence of the country is
nothing. Fifteen thousand pounds in each State pays
the salary of people employed in the administration.
The army directed against the Indiens is paid upon the
general taxes and without any augmentation to them. The
debt of the Unitate States will be certainty extinguished
in the course of twenty years and probably much sooner.
America has an arsenal of two hundred field pieces; of
hundred pieces of Artillery siege all brass, moreover
howesters, mortars, &c, hundred and twenty stands of
arms. The principal arsenal is at Westpoint in a very
good order. I intend to go and visit it.
The situation of America enables it to oppose every
State of Europe which would attack its liberty : but it
cannot attack any. I suported this opinion against the
1793] THE INDIANS IN AMERICA 133
most obstinate of this country and proved to them that
a nation in the situation of America cannot be looked
upon as an offensive power. For that it is necessary to
have an excess of population to recruit the army, a
treasury or an established credit to supply it, a naval
army to transport it, and America wants these ad-
vantages. However, it is not indifferent to England that
America should keep the most exact neutrality. If it
would declare in favour of France, it would give the hope
of success to a great number of French people attached
to the republicain party who desire to come to a good
issue and perhaps find new friends. All the crop of
America would be sent to France and some of the ships
loaded with it would come in its harbours . The Americain
privateers would do great injury to the trade of England.
The war with France would certainly continue longer.
During its continuance, America would loose the habit of
trading with England, raise a number of manufactures
which France would encouraged. It is then, by the
motives above mentioned, the interest of England not
to quarrel with America, as it is the interest of America
to keep not only the most exact neutrality but a perfect
harmony.
Commissaries have been sent from this country to treat
with the Indiens in order to make peace. People of
America think that England encourages the Indian war.
My opinion about the treaty now offered by the Unitate
States is that it will not take place, and that, if they agree
with the Indiens upon the present terms, war will com-
mence again in less than two years. I firmly believe also
that, if war continues now, the Indiens will be succesful
and that on account of the bad dispositions and foolish
plan of operation admitted by the Americains. I should
think very easy for this country not only to defeat the
Indiens but to oblige them to retire as far as Missipy.
America never will have a long peace without it.
To give you a general view of the situation of America,
134 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
I must now consider it with respect to the ressources it
offers to speculations. The main things are i°. trade,
2°. acquisition of cultivated land, 3 . the loan upon private
individuals, 4 . the loan upon the Unitate States, 5 . the
reestablishment of French colonies, 6°. the acquisition
of uncultivated land. i°. The trade of this country is
attainded with difficulties and to carry it on with sucees
it is necessary not only to have studied the theory of
it in the infancy but to have continualy practiced it.
It is also indispensable to give a part of your confidence
to merchants established in Europe and to Americans
houses in the Unitate States. The trading people of
Europe are continualy exposed by political events and
those of this country by the enterprizing genious of its
inhabitants and as it has but an insuficient number of
manufactures, it is indispensable to bring from Europe
every things which they fournish. The means America
offers to exchange are corn, flower, timber : the first
article, the most productive, cannot be transported in
time of peace and offers but momentarcous advantages.
The importation of things manufactured obliges them to
make advances in money. They are sold with difficulty
and require a great lengh of time because every body in
this country being merchants order every kind of goods
it wants. The best trade is that of commission : it
produce some advantage and offers little danger. 2 . The
acquisition of cultivated land is of very little benefit.
The most interet you may receive is five for cent. The
plantors who have commonly a great number of tenants
find much difficulty in being paid their revenu. It is very
often the case in a representative governement where
the people have acquired to extensive a share of the
politicals rights. In such a governement those who are
at the head of the administration wants a great popularity
and to obtain it they favour every claim of the multitude.
To the difficulty which keeps the tenants from paying
their rentes it is necessary to add the inconveniency which
1793] CONDITION OF UNITED STATES 135
arises from tittle not well ascertained, which is very often
the case. In short, the rentes are so small and the
expences of justice so great that the proprietor had
rather give up his rights than have recourse to the law.
3°. The loan is permitted upon security or privilege ; the
deposit authorised by the law is inscribed upon a public
register, so that it is not possible to be deceived. It is
one of the best methods to make use of money. You
may receive as much as seven for cent. 4 . The loan
upon the United States gives an interest now of seven for
cent, but the principal sum you deposit suffers all the
mutation which please those who play upon public
founds and the discredit which the instability of the
fortune of this country and the uncertainty of its governe-
ment incite in Europe. 5 . The reestablishement of French
colonies is uncertain, and perhaps the moment it will take
place far from the present ; but the instant it shall take
place be very favourable to the possessors of land in this
country. 6°. The acquisition of uncultivated land is of a
very great advantage. The settlement of few families
doubles directly the capital sum and two years after the
first cultivation one receive four times what he has
expended. To succeed with a certainty it is necessary to
choose very good land, springs, naviguables rivers and
to dispose of such people as are determine to give you
all their time and industry. I had the peculiar advantage
to met with people of that description. Resuming my
opinion about what concern this country, I think it will
not come to a way that the people is very much divided
in political sentiments, that the majority of representa-
tives and of the executive power is well disposed to your
country, that the governement of the Unitate States un-
certain and fearful against the multitude cannot now
sufficiently assure the property and liberty of individuals,
that the revolution of France had a fatal influence upon
the constitution of America, and so much that if the
French republic could be established, it might overturn
136 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
that of this country or divide the federacy in two parts,
that this country offers rather occasion to reestablish
some broken fortune than to make people in general
happy.
After I will have seen the opinion of the Americain
fixed with respect to the affairs of France, what I hope will
not be long, I shall make a journey in the country, with
several of my friends able to judge the value of the land.
I shall go as far as Niagara, Montreal, Quebec and see all
your new settlements. My absence will be more useful
to confirm the opinion I want to see prevail in this
country than my stay in Philadelphia. People at last
might believe if I should continue in town that the
expression of my sentiments are dictated by some other
object than public happiness.
I have often seen here your Minister, M. Hammond, 1 and
your consul. The first is an exceeding good man,
true, open, very much attached to the interests of
his country. I believe the second in the same disposi-
tion and of a good intelligence with M. Hamond. Lord
Grenville has not sent the letter mentioned to you. I am
astonished that he has not performed his promise.
I should beg your pardon for writing so long letter,
did I not think that it contains some particulars useful to
the cause you suport and that my former knowledge of this
country has rendered me able to observe. What I men-
tioned relative to the employment of founds may be
serviceable to those of our countrymen who may be
desirous of an establishment here. Many of those who
came lately have expended without judgement the
remains of ther fortune.
I preserve, dear Windham, the hope of seeing you in
London before January next.
1 George Hammond (1763-1853), First British Minister at Washing-
ton (1791-1795)- Subsequently Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs
in the Pitt Administration (1795-1806), and in the Portland Adminis-
tration (1807-9). He was a friend of Canning and joint editor of The
A nti- Jacobin.
1793] " MR. PITT'S WISHES " 137
I wrote in English to prevent you to read a bad French
hand. My best compliments to one's friends. 1
William Pitt to William Windham
Downing Street : June 14, 1793
Mr. Pitt presents his Compliments to Mr. Windham,
and wishes much if Mr. Windham will give him leave to
have some Conversation with him before Monday on the
Subject of the Motion of which Mr. Fox has given Notice
for that day. 2 It would also be a great Satisfaction to Mr.
Pitt to have an Opportunity, if it is not disagreeable
to Mr. Windham, of stating confidentially to him some
Circumstances arising out of the present State of Politics,
and which Mr. Pitt rather wishes to communicate Per-
sonally to himself than thro' any other Channel. It is
hardly necessary to add that if Mr. Windham has the
Goodness to comply with Mr. Pitt's Wishes in this respect,
any thing which may pass will not transpire any where,
without Mr. Windham's particular Permission. Mr.
Pitt will be at Leisure any hour either to-morrow or
Sunday, at which Mr. Windham would find it convenient
to call in Downing Street. 3
William Windham to Lord Chatham
Hill Street : August 1793
I take the liberty of submitting to your Lordship the
name of a near Relation of mine, Mr. Lukin, 4 who having
served as yet in no capacity but that of a Midshipman,
cannot be known to your Lordship, but by means of such
a communication.
He was about the age of twelve when He was sent to
sea, and passed for a Lieutenant about four or five years
since. His wish for service could not have been sooner
expressed, as He is but just returned from Abroad.
1 AddMSS. 37855 f. 29.
2 Fox's motion against the war, which was defeated.
3 Add. MSS. 37844 f 7. 4 William, afterwards Captain, Lukin.
138 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
If in case of any promotion of Midshipmen, Your Lord-
ship will have the goodness to inquire into his character
from different Captains with whom He has served, I
should esteem it a mark of obliging attention : and have
no doubt, that his pretensions and merits, whatever they
may be, will meet from Your Lordship all the consideration,
that shall be their due. 1
On July 10, 1793, Windham left England for the
Netherlands, with the object of seeing for himself the
state of the Army under the Duke of York. He went to
Valenciennes, then being besieged by the Allies, and with
characteristic but somewhat reckless courage, spent some
time in the trenches under fire.
Extract from Windham's Diary
July 19, 1793. This was the day of our seeing the
French camp from the little mound with a pole upon it.
To St. Arnaud, the Abbey, the Vicoque, and Bonne
Esperance, and back by Augin. This was the day follow-
ing the preceding, and that on which they fired some
cannon shot at us, by one of which Phipps' horse was
wounded. I shall never fail to regret my foolish dilatori-
ness, and want of consideration, in not having decided
then to take my leave. Had I gone then I had stayed a
blessed time ! By suffering myself to stay on beyond
that, I have outstayed my interest, and left myself with a
doubt upon my mind, for which, before, there could not
have been a pretence, whether something more should
not have been done. I had seen the trenches the day of
the truce ; and when there was no danger, I had then
gone down twice besides, once by daylight and once by
night ; at the former of which time there was a good deal
of fire of cannon and shells, and at the latter of musketry.
It was at the latter of those times that a sergeant of the
1 Add. MSS. 37914 f. 55.
1793] THE DUKE OF YORK UNDER FIRE 139
14 th had his head shot off. I had rode about every-
where, and, as it happened, had run some risk. I had
done enough to satisfy myself and to show to others, what,
if it is very necessary to be conscious of oneself, it is
pleasant also to have known. By not going to the storm
by the covered way, though I forbore only, what every one
would have said it was absurd to do, except at least a
few people, whose opinions perhaps are not worth much,
yet I felt something below what some might have expected.
One way of putting it may be, Was it a thing, which would
have been more praised or blamed, had it been done ?
Would it, considering all circumstances, have raised the
character of the actor or have depressed it ? It is the
hope, that it might have had with some good judges even
the latter effect, that can alone reconcile me to the not
having done it. The decision taken of avoiding any
intermediate course, if I was not wholly to engage, was, I
think, right. I observed at least a distinct line, that of
keeping throughout with the Duke of York. It is most
fortunate for my own satisfaction that the Duke went into
the trenches and not amiss, that there was, during the time,
a pretty smart fire. The head of an Austrian was knocked
off, who was walking a few paces before the Duke, and a
Guardsman was knocked down while we were standing
near the battery.
Windham was still with the Duke of York when the
garrison of Valenciennes surrendered on July 28.
Extract from Windham's Diary
August 1, 1793. Up at six in order to be present
at the grand ceremony of the troops marching out, and
laying down their arms. Few scenes in life can be con-
ceived of equal magnificence. Such a union of troops
drawn from countries the most remote, and considered as
of the first character at this time in Europe ; such a
140 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
display of officers, of the highest rank, and most dis-
tinguished reputation, such splendour of appearance,
such variety of character, such a combination of strong
interests, can hardly be imagined to have been found on
any one occasion. In the midst of the general feeling
excited by such a scene, it was a fine thing to have had as
parts of it, corps of the British troops who had either had
their share of honours in the preceding duties, or were
calculated to do credit to the country, by their appearance
and equipment.
The day which at first was cloudy, turned out after-
wards, to be as brilliant, as could be wished. Nothing
was wanting to me, to the feel of enjoyment of the occasion,
but that I should have been party to the service which
immediately produced it, or should at least not have been
in a situation in which I could have been party to it.
Sir Gilbert Elliot to William Windham
Minto : August 4, 1793
I cannot tell you how much I am obliged to you for your
letter, nor how much pleasure it has given me. I am
extremely glad that you was present at the catastrophe
and that your specimen of military life has thus been
complete in all its parts. I enjoy as highly as it is
possible to enjoy, per alium, all the pleasure and all the
sorts of pleasure which this expedition has given you.
I need not tell you that I should have liked to be there,
nor that my relish of the thing would have been amazingly
heighten'd by a participation in it with you. But there
is nothing like envy in my regret for this loss ; for on the
contrary the enjoyment you have had in it is not only
agreeable to me in itself, but is a sort of compensation
to me for my own absence. Your way of seeing and
enjoying such things, I am willing to flatter myself is so
much akin to my own, that I feel as if it was gone in the
family though it did not fall to my own share. I am
G.Chinntry.piitxt. W. J Eiiwa
SIR GILBERT ELLIOT, FIRST EARL OF MINTO
1793] WINDHAM IN THE TRENCHES 141
exceedingly gratified indeed by your understanding so
justly the sort and degree of interest I take in all that
concerns you ; not only in your welfare, in your fame, in
your interests, but even in your own feelings about your-
self. I am also highly delighted with the unlimited con-
fidence you are willing to place in me, of which you could
offer no proof more perfect than your readiness to have
told me faithfully your feelings in the trenches, even if
they had been different from what they proved. If they
had been of the other sort, and you had told me so, I should
have given you credit for courage, not less in degree, and
of a much higher kind, than that which no man could
doubt in you but yourself, even without the experiment.
For as the mind is superior to matter, so is magnanimity;
or the valour of the mind, to that of the nerves. But I
am still better pleased to know that you have both. I
know that you resolve almost all questions of conduct;
small as well as great, into questions of duty; and if
you sometimes hesitate when others would see no room
for doubt, it is in a great degree because you are more
anxious to be right ; and the chance of being wrong is
more uneasy to you than to almost any man I have ever
known. I honour this principle too highly to quarrel
even with any little error in the going of the machine that
may be incident to it. My indulgence is, indeed, the
cheaper, as I cannot refuse myself the justice to claim
kindred with 3 r ou here also. But I have thought of a
compensation piece, or rather a balance to steady these
little fluctuations and to render the motion more uniform;
which I dedicate to you as a Patron of such improve-
ments, 1 hoping to give no offence to Sir George Shuck-
borough 2 or the Astronomer Royal. The invention has
this presumption in its favour, that it is perfectly simple.
1 A humorous allusion to Windham's service upon the committee
appointed to investigatet he claim of Thomas Mudge. See ante, p. 1 12
note.
2 Sir George Augustus William Shuckburgh-Evelyn, Bt. (175 1-
1804), the author of a number of mathematical treatises.
142 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
It is only a certain degree of hardiness in acting on what
appears to be right on balance. Suppose a scale of
Right in which 20 is the highest number. Take, then, an
alternative to decide on, of which one side shall stand in
the scale at 10 — the other at 9. I say, act on 10, as
firmly as if 9 did not exist. You will say this hesitation
is occasioned by the difficulty of observing correctly
at what number each side stands, not by want of firm-
ness afterwards. I am not sure of this. Hesitation is
often occasioned by what you say, and then it is right ;
but there is also in many cases a subsequent hesitation,
and fluctuation, as if the two sides of the question were
pulling, not uniformly and constantly one against the
other, so that the strongest should be sure of prevailing,
but separately and alternately, so that tho' the strongest
pulls furthest at each pull, yet in the interval of its action;
the weaker pulls back again, and great part of the work
must be perpetually repeated, and then the question is
determined not by who pulls strongest but who pulls last.
When I mention'd your anxiety to be right, I did not
mean to talk of any error ; on the contrary, it is to this
excellent part of your character that a great proportion of
that homage which the whole world is paying you, ought
to be ascribed ; and amongst the rest it is to this virtuous
principle that for one I profess to give the very high
esteem which you know I have for you, although I beg you
to remember that I claim friendship and affection with
you on many other grounds of private endearment and
early habits. I mention'd your anxiety on these points,
only to say that I enter entirely into it on this occasion,
and am very happy to give you my clear suffrage both
for what you have done, and what you have omitted.
You was certainly right to visit the Trenches. You
would have certainly been most exceedingly culpable for
mounting a breach, or otherwise exposing your life to
considerable and, in your case, wholly gratuitous, and
impertinent hazard. If others did so, in my opinion they
1793] LORD SPENCER 143
were wrong ; but no two cases are alike on this question;
and taking all circumstances into the account, publick
and private, it would have been more blameable in you
than any Englishman, or perhaps any other man alive.
It is now time to talk to you of something else, not less
important perhaps than the scene you have left, tho'
less splendid and animating. But it is the proper sphere
of your action ; and one in which you are not a spectator,
but called by God who gave you the means, by the world
which wants the use of them, by yourself and friends
towards both of whom you have an account to render,
to perform a principal part. I seem to be threatening
you with the subject at large ; but altho' I wish to do so;
and I know I could find no time more favourable than
when you are just returned from witnessing great exer-
tions in the same common cause, and must, therefore,
be the more impressed with the duty and desire to be
doing yourself, and to take your share in these great con-
cerns of the world, yet I must for want of time confine
myself to one part of the subject which does not admit
of delay. I left London the day before you ; on my
arrival here I reflected on what had passed between us
concerning Lord Spencer, 1 and the possibility of his
acceptance. This was not known to ministers, who
thought on the contrary the thing over. They might
therefore take such steps towards another arrangement
as might fix some much worse choice. Thinking, as I
do, that Lord Spencer's filling that most important and
critical station is of real and urgent consequence to that
country, to this country, and, considering the sort of
danger to be apprehended from thence, to the rest of the
world, I judged it absolutely necessary to let Dundas 2
know the possibility of his going to Ireland. I did so by
letter, but with every sort of caution which could prevent
1 George John Spencer, second Earl Spencer (1758-1834).
2 Henry Dundas (1739-1811) ; Home Secretary, 1791-4 ; Secretary
of War, 1794-1801 ; created Viscount Melville, 1802.
144 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
Lord Spencer from being committed. I desired Mr.
Dundas to wait for your return before any step should
be taken towards renewing the proposition to Lord
Spencer. He promised to do so in his answer, but
presses me to lose no time after your arrival, in getting
you to bring the subject forward. If you receive this
letter in time, you had much better see Pitt or Dundas on
the subject immediately. If not you will, I am sure, feel
the importance of the matter sufficiently to use such
means as occur to you with Lord Spencer instantly. The
Irish arrangement stands entirely still on this account,
and Government is naturally, I believe, impatient to
settle it.
I received your letter this morning and have time for
no more. I presume you will be in England before this
letter reaches London. Lady Malmesbury is here on her
way to Kinnaird, Sir David Carnegie's. Lady Elliot sends
you her kindest compliments and is happy to hear that
your tour has give you so much satisfaction, but she
will not repent of my having resisted the same temptation.
I hope when you answer this to hear that your health
has not suffer'd, and that you have recovered the extra-
ordinary fatigue you have been exposed to.
Do not delay the Irish business ; but if you have
leisure, pray write your present thoughts and intentions
on what relates to your own situation. The enemies of
all good, as you so will call them, seem to have hopes
from Ireland. Your stout cooperation in England will
be wanted, and I confess I look forward with comfort to
the prospect of acting in consort with you, tho' on a
different stage ; possibly of corresponding with you
directly on this great work.
[P.S.] Lord Spencer need not and I think, should not
know of my letter to Dundas. 1
1 Add. MSS. 37852 f. 212.
i 7 93] THE IRISH VICEROY ALTY 145
Sir Gilbert Elliot to William Windham
Minto : Atcgust 13, 1793
Not having heard from you, I presume you are taking
steps with Lord Spencer, and that }-ou will not write
till you can tell me the result. I am so far off, that a
great delay will be occasion'd by making me the medium
of your communication with Dundas on this subject ;
and as I advised you to go directly to him, I have now
advised him to see or to write to you on the subject. I
thought it right to let you know, however, that I have
done so. The more I hear of Ireland the more im-
portant I think Lord Spencer's mission, and the more
anxious I am for his acceptance of it.
You know, or if not, I tell you in confidence that Lord
Malmesbury * is extremely desirous of Ireland. I shall
speak to you quite frankly, on the subject. Lord
Spencer's character and name is of the sort that is wanted
there, and being united with understanding and talents,
I consider him as precisely what the occasion calls for,
and cannot help feeling that the country has a strong
claim to his services. If it should happen, however, that
they cannot be obtained, and he is put out of the question,
not knowing any other person of the same description on
whom the choice can fall, I presume it will be made on a
different principle, and they will either fix on some friend
of a negative quality ; or employ some able man of
business. The latter would be the better principle, pro-
vided character is not too much forgot in the choice.
Looking through the Peerage, I believe impartially that
they will find none so well qualified by ability, official
habits and the great talent of knowing and conciliating
men as Lord Malmesbury. The entire cordiality and
confidence between him and me would undoubtedly be
another very favourable and useful point ; and if there
1 James Harris, first Baron Malmesbury (1746-1820), diplomatist
and politician ; created Earl of Malmesbury, 1800.
I K
146 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
may be supposed any difference between his general
views and mine of Publick Principles and dutys, I will
venture to say that in the sort of business that belongs
to that office, he will be more likely to approach to me
than to draw me after him. In a word, after Lord
Spencer I should prefer him, and I am persuaded he is
amongst the best, if not the best qualified. I feel, how-
ever, the impossibility of my suggesting either him or
any other. I mention all this to you, both for the sake
of saying every thing to you which I think, and also that if
you should happen to agree with me and an opportunity
should occur in which that opinion might drop from you,
it might not be lost. I pledge my Faith and Honour to
you in the mean while that Lord Malmesbury shall never
know of his name having been mentioned to you, unless
it should hereafter prove agreeable to you ; so you can
feel yourself under no embarrassment of delicacy on this
subject.
I long to have Valenciennes in detail from you ; but
that will not be to-morrow. 1
William Windham to The Duke of Portland
Felbrigg : September 3, 1793
I was more unfortunate than your Grace can conceive
in missing the pleasure of seeing you at my return from
the Continent. Lord William had told me so confidently
that you would certainly be at Welbeck that I was careless
about inquiring the first day of my arrival : and the
day afterwards, I think, had the mortification of finding
that, if I had inquired, I should have been in time.
Among my reasons of regret on this occasion is the
missing an opportunity of talking to your Grace on
subjects which, however little to me, I am sure, and
probably even to your Grace, are not for that reason less
necessary to be consider 'd. I fear the return of such ques-
1 Add. MSS. 37852 f. 216.
1793] FAVOURING THE FRENCH SYSTEM 147
tions as that which 1 mentioned to your Grace at the close
of the last session, which, though laid asleep for the
present, will probably be brought up again ; and I wish to
put myself in as good a state as I can, for forming a firm
and satisfactory judgement upon them. The situation
beyond all comparison most agreeable to me would be
that of a mere member of Parliament, maintaining from
time to time my own opinion in debate, and giving to
Ministry, in a cause which I approved, the benefits of a
support which would become of some value from its total
exemption from the suspicion of any undue motive. The
thought of any closer connection is one from which I
shrink with perfect dread : yet I am far from being
convinced that it may not be necessary : and for that
reason am anxious to be provided as much as possible
with the opinions and views of those to whose judgements
I am accustomed to look up, and with a view to whose
conduct I should wish to regulate my own.
It is plain that the plan of those who are friendly in
different degrees to the French system, is to endeavour
to rescue it from final overthrow, by rendering the war
unpopular here, and thus to destroy the confederacy
which at present threatens it, and which, when once
dissolved, is never likely to be again united. If this
plan succeeds, there is an end in my opinion to all hopes
of maintaining the constitution of this country, or of
preserving anything like regular and orderly government
in any country in Europe. Should it even fail, I do not
conceive it will fail so completely, or the success of the
opposite system be so entire, as not to leave Europe
exposed for a series of years to the danger which now
threatens it, and not to require all the exertions which
wise and well-intentioned men can use to keep down the
operation of opposite principles. The differences, there-
fore, that now separate people in their political conduct
are not only of the most important kind, but likely, as
I conceive, to be of very long continuance. To me it
i 4 8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
seems that the world in my time is not likely to be in a
state in which, with such opinions as I conceive Fox to
have, and with such persons as he will probably be for ever
connected with, I could wish to see him Minister of this
Country. The only choice, therefore, that will be
left to me and others who are of that opinion; will be
either to remain a third body, or rather a third, inde-
pendent collection of individuals, supporting Ministry
but not joining them ; or to incorporate ourselves, at
some period and in some circumstances, with those to
whom, as party men, we have hitherto been opposed.
This question, on which there is probably much diversity
of opinion, among those even who admit it to be the only
one remaining, and on which much may be said on both
sides, might safely perhaps be deferred, and left to the
decision of future circumstances, if it was not for that
part which involves the consideration of Ireland. The
situation of Ireland is so important and so critical that it
forms an epoch by itself ; and may be a reason for
anticipating a decision which otherwise it might be very
desirable to keep for some time in suspense.
The views which open on this occasion, if Ministry are
fairly desirous on their part of establishing a government
on a firm and constitutional basis, and restoring to the
Aristocracy of the Country the influence which they have
so much contributed to strip it of, and if it is thought on
the other that such a union ought to take place, would
be, of course, that some person of proper consideration
should go to Ireland; while a corresponding weight,
sufficient to ensure an honourable support, should be
placed in the Cabinet here. Persons proper for all
those stations are certainly not wanting, nor would an
arrangement for their admission seem to be difficult, sup-
posing Ministry to have a real view to the Interests of the
Country, and not to be seeking merely to break and dis-
unite those who might in future be opposed to them.
The wishes of Ministry have hitherto seemed to point only
1793] LORD SPENCER 149
to Lord Spencer ; but if the grounds on which this wish
has been formed have been good, it would apply not more
to him than to others of similar description, could they
be induced to take that situation. At all events, Lord
Spencer would hardly be induced to place himself there,
nor would well indeed be advised to do so, without a
better assurance of support at home, than there appears
at present the means of forming. If Ministers are not
sincere or not honest in their views, — an opinion which
I should have no particular difficulty of admitting —
nothing remains but to continue the course which one
is at present pursuing : but if the fact be otherwise, and
that they are really desirous, though for purposes of their
own, of forming an administration on its true bottom, it is
a matter certainly to be well consider'd whether such a
disposition ought to be frustrated, and an opportunity
lost which may never again return with equal advantage
to the country.
I am sure I am as impartial upon this subject as a
person can well be, — as impartial, at least, if I may make
a good bull, on one side : for there is really nothing that I
dread so much as the necessity of taking any part in a
measure which I seem to be recommending. Though
I have brought myself to the state of being ready to do
whatever should be necessary, I am very far from having
prepared myself equally in point of inclination : My
likings are all the other way, and are yielded only to
arguments which I don't know well how to resist.
If Welbeck were not so distant, or my desire so strong
of enjoying for some time a state of perfect retirement, I
should like to wait upon your Grace, and talk over these
matters more fully than can be done by letter. Your
Grace, however, may be as well satisfied not to hear of
them : and it may be necessary rather to apologize
for having said so much, than to regret the want of an
opportunity of saying more. At all events I will desist
here. It would have been pleasant to me to have seen
150 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
your Grace when I came fresh from seeing Lord William ;
and to have told you how much his character appears
to advantage, as it is more and more discovered. Though
such testimonials you must have had from many other
persons, I am happy to add mine to the number. 1
H.R.H. The Duke of York to William Windham
[Address illegible] September 4, 1793
I take the earliest opportunity in my power to acknow-
ledge the receipt of your very obliging Letter, and to
express to you how glad I am that you are pleased with
your stay among us.
We are busily employed at present in preparing every-
thing to begin the Siege of Dunkirk, and I hope in a very
few days to be able to open the Trenches. Ever since the
affair of the 24th the Enemy have left us exceedingly
quiet ; firing, only a few random shot and shells every
day, which, however, have done no mischief whatsoever.
I am exceedingly anxious to get this town into our
possession, as I think it of great national consequence
and besides that it will render the rest of the campaign
very easy.
We are given to understand here that there is a very
considerable revolt among the Peasants between Aire
and St. Omer, and that they have already beat the
garrison of Aix, which marched out against them, they
have risen in consequence of the decree of the Convention
to force every person from the age of Sixteen to Sixty
to serve.
We have no account as yet concerning the fate of the
poor Queen of France, 2 though from the last newspapers
I have seen I am aff raid that there is very little chance
of Her being alive at this moment. 3
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 13.
2 Marie Antoinette was tried on October 14, and executed two days
later.
3 Add. MSS.- 37842 f. 63.-
1793] THE DUNKIRK EXPEDITION 151
Earl Spencer to William Windham
Oxford : September 14; 1793
I met with your Letter of the 12th here on my way
back from Althorp from Hampshire, and having a
leisure quarter of an hour before bed time, avail myself
of it to thank you. I confess I expected pretty much that
the Person whose Opinion you speak of in it, could enter-
tain those Sentiments, and perhaps though I entirely
agree with you in not having the least hope of a reunion
with the Quarter alluded to, they are such as I cannot
either be surprised at, or altogether disapprove, con-
sidering all circumstances ; for that Person having always
professed so strong a diffidence of those in power, has
surely no great reason for wishing a connection with
them from anything that has happened very lately, and
on the contrary may probably be less inclined to it, from
what must at least to him have appeared in the Light
of Endeavour to detach from him as many as possible of
those of his friends, whose sentiments were the most like
his own, and who was the person most likely to have
co-operated with him in support of those sentiments. I
agree with you in being decidedly of opinion that I could
not go the least out of my way upon a hope of Reunion
with the other Gentleman whose opinions, if they are
really such as his late Conduct would lead me to infer,
are such as I shall be extremely sorry to give my coun-
tenance to. The other part of your intelligence may
possibly be here, and if it is will (as it appears to me)
circumscribe the Part we have to take in this very narrow
Limits indeed, as it will put it out of our power to think
of any other than an unconnected support of Government :
while at the same time the state of affairs will probably
call for a support the most decided. Since you wrote,
your Opinion upon the Dunkirk Expedition will not have
been rendered more favourable, though I am in hopes by
the News of to-day's Papers, that it is not so bad as we
152 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
had great reason to apprehend ; but if the Plan was a
bad one, the Execution of it does not appear to have made
amends for the Error, and I am afraid that all those who
wish to defend the Continuation of the War, will be a
little put to it to give you an account of the Conduct of it.
I have not heard since from the Army, and I conclude
that my correspondent either does not like to enter un-
pleasant Accounts, or that he has lately been too much
upon duty to have an opportunity of writing. The
Accounts from Toulon seem to be confirmed in the
Paper of to-day, with so many particulars that I hope
we shall find them true, but I don't quite understand
what is to be done about it, as I have no idea of Lord
Hood's having Land force sufficient to defend the Place,
and the manner in which it seems to have been taken
would I should think, scarce permit of his making the sort
of use of the Capture that an Englishman would wish,
that is, to take possession of, or destroy their Ships and
Naval stores there. I hope, however, his Lordship will
send a more distinct and intelligible account of his
transactions than your friend Sir James Murray does,
who I really think improves in obscurity and myste-
riousness every dispatch he writes. I am very glad
you have not yet sent me back C. Fitzroy's Letter,
as it will be another opportunity for you to write
something with it, and now I have drawn you into
a correspondence, I shall be very unwilling, I assure
you to lose any occasion of encouraging you to the
continuance of it.
I was in town for a day last Saturday, and I saw Sir
Gilbert Elliot in the Street. I was in a great hurry at the
time, or I should have stopt to speak with him. What can
have brought him up from Scotland so soon ? I hear that
Parliament is to meet on the 29th of October. I hope
I shall be able to see you before that time, and shall be
glad to know whether you are to be at Felbrigg about
the 6th of that month, because I am not quite sure
y. Hofpner, R.A ., piiixt. % Wrigkl, ife/t.
GEORGE JOHN, EARL SPENCER
//. .V
1793] PITT'S DILEMMA 153
whether I could not then contrive to call on you for
a day. 1
Earl Spencer to William Windham
St. Albans : September 18, 1793
I sit down to write to you without having very well
considered in my own Mind what I am to write, but,
having a little leisure, cannot avoid communicating the
apprehensions I have been forced into from observing the
very awkward predicament in which we seem to have got,
the difficulties of which appear to increase and grow more
complicated every day. I was this morning for a few
hours in London, where dissatisfaction and dejection
seemed to me very apparent in the face and language of
every one I happened to meet with. The late total
failure of the Dunkirk scheme has been a great cause of
this, and the very censureable neglect or mismanagement
or perhaps both together, so conspicuous in the Admiralty,
has not a little added to it. It is Currently reported that
the Duke of Richmond 2 has justified his own share of
the business in a manner unanswerable by producing
the minutest and exactest detail of all the Orders received
and executed in his department. The necessary conse-
quence of his justification appears to be Lord Chatham's 3
condemnation, and between them they have been the
means of crowning a rash and ill-concerted plan with a
lame and inefficient execution. My chief reason for
making all these reflections is that I foresee we shall, by
and by, when these matters are, as they certainly will be,
brought before the publick with all the exaggeration and
aggravation that malice and ability can give them,
find ourselves in a most distressing position, either obliged
to defend what we cannot in conscience think defensible,
1 Add. MSS: 37845 f: 112.
2 Charles Lennox, third Duke of Richmond (1735-1806), Master-
General of the Ordnance, with a seat in the Cabinet, 1782-1795.
3 John Pitt, second Earl of Chatham (1756-1835), First Lord of the
Admiralty, 1788- 1794.
154 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
or if we join in the Clamour, which I very much fear will
soon become a popular one, give strength to those whose
strength will be the Ruin and Subversion of everything
which we the most wish to preserve.
It will be too much, I doubt, to expect from Mr. Pitt,
that he will have public spirit enough to sacrifice his
Brother if he is really to blame, and if he does not sacrifice
him I shall be almost afraid in the present circumstances
of his falling himself ; but if he does fall, where are we to
look to supply his place ? only to those who would (if they
are in truth acting upon principle) plunge us into a
System which would lead, for ought I know, to all the
Horrors and Miseries of France : for as to looking if
any third Party, of strength and weight enough to make
head against the joint abilities of Pitt and Fox with all
their respective supports and appendages, it would, I
think in the present state of the country, be perfectly
chimerical. To set against all the bad part of our
Prospect, I see nothing but Toulon, and there is something
about that which I am a little at a loss whether to be
satisfied with or no. I have always had a great aversion
to engaging in defence of any particular System of French
Politicks, and Lord Hood's declarations are directly and
absolutely in favour of the Constitution of 1789, which
Constitution, if we are to trust to Burke, whose predictions
have been verified by Experience, contained in it the
Seeds of all the bitter fruit that followed. How do we know,
that if all France, or at least a great majority of the
country, were to declare themselves for that Constitution,
and it should in consequence be established and sworn to
as it was in 1789, how do we know that it might not tend
like the former one to the confusion and escapes which the
ill-contrived balance of that Constitution gave rise to
before ? I own I am as much puzzled in my own mind
whether to be glad or sorry for the Capture of Toulon,
circumstanced as it is, as ever I was in my life ; and I
am much tempted to think that perhaps the best event of
1793] OUR HOLD UPON TOULON 155
that undertaking for England would be that they should
do something which might justify Lord Hood in destroying
their Fleet and Arsenal there, notwithstanding the Treaty.
You see, my dear Windham, that I am taking a great
liberty with you, by actually thinking upon Paper to
you, for I am now wiiting just as they occur to me the
crude Ideas that suggest themselves upon what I have
read in the Newspapers. I should be happy if these Ideas
of mine might draw from you some better conceived and
better digested opinions, and lead you to point out some
plan of operation for us in the ensuing parliamentary
Campaign which we might pursue with Credit from
the publick, with satisfaction to ourselves, and with
advantage to the Cause we wish to support. 1
Sir Gilbert Elliot to William Windham
Spring Gardens : September 18, 1793
Since I wrote to you a change has happen'd in my
destination which will prevent Elliot 2 and me from visiting
you as we hoped to do. I have not left myself an instant
to write the many things I have to say and must reserve
it for a post or two hence. In the mean while, and in
two words, I am going to Toulon. 3 My duty will be
to conduct our civil and political affairs in that Region,
and to improve to the best advantage the unlook'd for
good fortune which has befallen us there. This is an
important commission but a most anxious one. It is
impossible, however, to imagine one more consonant with
all my wishes, feelings and principles. Pray keep this
information secret till my actual appointment or departure.
Elliot goes with me, and I believe we shall go in a week.
I wish most devoutly I could receive my instructions
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 114. 2 William Elliot of Wells.
3 Elliot had just been appointed Civil Commissioner at Toulon.
On December 20, however, Toulon ceased to be in the possession of
the English. Elliot then went to Florence on a special mission for the
British Government.
156 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
from you. However; if that must not be; I am yet
highly gratified and delighted with the opportunity of
taking my post, and lending my hand, such as it is, in this
great Labour of the World. A distrust of my powers, in
this very arduous service, alone diminishes the pleasure,
or checks a little the alacrity, with which I enter on this
duty. But something must always be hazarded. All
notions of neutrality, or even of inaction, have, I confess,
long since gone against me, and although your zeal is quite
equal to mine, as your exertions have been far greater,
yet I tremble and grieve most sincerely to think how
radically the course of our minds seem to differ in those
points which lead to our practical determinations. I am
not so much blinded, however, by ardour, and still less so
much misled by confidence in my own opinions, as to
oppose them to yours without real and unaffected dis-
trust, as well as regret. I have caught myself now and
then writing to you in a form of confidence in myself,
which might bear even the appearance of censure on your
opinions, which would have been most completely un-
warrantable, if intended. I wish, therefore, that you
should believe I have no other adherence to my own senti-
ments against yours than that which is imposed on me
by the very nature of an opinion, which is not subject to
the will and cannot be commanded. That in such a case
as the present, I must act on my own is certain. I
cannot yet quite forego the hope that as the Gruel
thickens, or, to speak without metaphor, as the danger of
the world increases, you will come to think action the
first duty, and responsibility pretty nearly a point of
honour. I protest I think it so. I cannot divest my-
self of an opinion that, all things considered, a distinct;
separate, and unresponsible corps, even supporting
Government, is in effect a formidable opposition. It is
certainly a great drain for that confidence of the Publick;
the whole of which should be turn'd to the acting and
executive Power of the country at this crisis. Pray do
1793] WINDHAM'S DISSATISFACTION 157
not consider this as a letter on this subject. I have been
sucked in; unprepared. I hope to write again soon. 1
Sir Gilbert Elliot to William Windham
Spring Gardens : October 2, 1793
I am still here and do not expect to set out for Toulon
before Thursday, the 10th inst. I promised, not to you
but to myself, that I should write you a long letter, but
have had my thoughts as well as the whole of my time
forced another way ; and now I flatter myself that I may
yet have the pleasure of talking over with you instead of
writing many things that appear to me extremely in-
teresting. In this hope, however, you may very well tell
me that I perhaps reckon without my host, as it depends
wholly on your doing what you may think it very un-
reasonable to expect, and what at this moment you have
possibly no thoughts of. It is nothing less than your
coming to Town. I will tell you very fairly, as I must
do very shortly, that I really wish you extremely to come,
and that the occasion is, I am persuaded, sufficiently grave
to deserve this sacrifice of your present comfortable leisure
for a few days. It has got very much about that you
are not only dissatisfied with some things that have
passed during this campaign, but that you have ex-
pressed so indiscriminately that opinion, as to evince some-
thing like an intention of following it up in publick. The
greatest possible uneasiness is entertained on that account
by those who may, indeed, have a sufficient personal
interest in the question, but who also think such a measure
certain of producing the most fatal consequences to the
common cause. It is the duty of a private as well as a
publick friend to offer an opinion, if it is decided, on
matters of real moment. Therefore, my dear Windham,
excuse me ; consider me as speaking still as one linked
in publick as well as private friendship with 3'ou, and not
1 Add. MSS. 37852 f. 218.
158 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
as already entered on my diplomatick functions, if I say
that I most deliberately and entirely agree with them in
thinking that what they apprehend would be fatal to
the publick cause and interests. In one opinion you will
I am sure agree with me, as soon as it is stated, viz.
that not only a publick and formal opposition in Parlia-
ment on these grounds, but that any intimation of a
strong opinion from you on that subject, is a measure, and
cannot be classed as the casual conversation of indifferent
men. If it is a measure, it should be taken on deliberation,
and as a fair decision of your judgment. For this reason
it is that I wish you to come to Town — to enquire where
your information may be authentick, and to deliberate
with those with whom you are accustomed to hold
counsel what your conduct should be, on any result of
your enquiries. Dundas knows that I meant to write
this letter but he does not know what I say to you. I
mention this only that I may not seem even to myself to
avail myself of your kindness and of our friendship for
the purposes of others, without telling you distinctly all
circumstances. In truth, I feel that this question is not
only so very important for the Publick, but so full of
delicacys with regard to yourself that I have no hesita-
tion in pressing you to come. If you do come, I must
hope on a thousand other grounds that it may be before
I lose this last opportunity of embracing you, and carrying
with me your advice and kind wishes. 1
William Windham to Mrs. Crewe
Felbrigg : October 5, 1793
You show a sad pusillanimity in wishing to coax the
persons you mention ; and seem yourself too much
inclined to give in to their opinions. In foreign affairs I
see nothing to make one despond ; and against the folly
and wickedness of people here one has nothing to do but
1 Add. MSS. 37852 f. 220.
1793] AN ENEMY TO JACOBINISM 159
to make stout light. What can make your Mr. Wallis (?)
talk any language which you can construe as demo-
cratical ? if he really does do so, I shall think less favour-
able of his understanding. Never surely was a time when
the French system has less to recommend it, and, on the
contrary, showed more how monstrous it was in all its
parts ; and as to those who, condemning that system,
do yet talk against the war, they do really manifest a
degree of folly, bordering upon the weakness of infancy.
Be of good heart and cheer. Resist open attacks, and
don't be led away by their cant.
I wish I could give you more assistance than I shall be
able to do in your subscription ; but I will do all I can.
My hostility to Jacobinism and all its works, weak or
wicked, is more steady and strong than ever. If Pitt
is the man by whom this must be opposed, Pitt is the
man whom I shall stand by. If I do not act with them
in office, it is only because I think I can be of more use
as I am. Sir Gilbert's acceptance of the appointment
offered him has my perfect concurrence. Farewell ! I
will write when I have anything that I think you
will like to hear. B} r the wa}', your friend and admirer,
Mr. Malone, 1 is going somewhere into your neighbourhood,
and would be very glad, I am persuaded, of any en-
couragement to make you a visit. Will you authorize
me to give him such, or, what would be still more
gracious, write him a line yourself ? I wish I were able
to accompany him. 2
William Pitt to William Windham
Hollwood : October 13, 1793
I received yesterday the favor of your obliging Letter,
enclosing several Papers from Mr. Hippisley, the Sub-
stance of which I had before learnt in some Measure, but
1 Edmund Malone (1741-1812), a member of the Club and one of
the Johnson circle ; editor of the works of Shakespeare and Dryden.
2 The Crewe Papers ; Windham Section, p. 15 (" Miscellanies" of the
Philobiblon Society, vol. ix.).
160 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
less fully from the Lord Chancellor. Allow me to return
you my thanks for the Communication, and at the same
time to beg your Permission to retain the Papers for a
few days, in order to examine them more at Leisure than
I have yet been able to do. I partake thoroughly in
your Sentiments both with respect to Toulon, and to
the Person with whom the Political Concerns arising out
of the Possession of that Place are entrusted.
This Event seems to me to furnish a better opening than
could have presented itself in any other Way for facilitat-
ing the Restoration of regular Government in France;
and for terminating the War satisfactorily, perhaps
speedily. In Sir Gilbert Elliot's hands, I am sure every
Advantage will be improved to the utmost. I need not
say how happy I should have been if your Concurrence
of Opinion on the great Questions now depending, had
led you also to take an active share in conducting the
affairs of Government. At least, however, I have the
Satisfaction of knowing from Experience how much the
Public may benefit by your Exertions even in your
present Situation. The Check before Dunkirk is certainly
much to be regretted. But unless any Impression should
be produced by it at home to impede the Vigor of future
Operations, the Mischief will, I trust, be little felt in the
General Scale of the War. We expect in a few Days
important Accounts from Maubeuge. 1 Success in that
Quarter would in a great Measure relieve us from any
further Anxiety on the Side of the Netherlands, and
lead to further vigorous Measures, either before the End
of this Campaign or very early in the next. I have
enquired about the Paper transmitted from Norwich, 2
1 Jourdan attacked the Prince of Coburg on October i 5 and compelled
him to raise the siege of Maubeuge.
2 " You have received from Norwich probably an account of a seditious
paper, which made its appearance immediately on the miscarriage
at Dunkirk, but which drooped and died away on the news of the
success of Toulon : so little true is it that the progress of arms has no
influence on that of opinions." — Windham to Pitt, October 11, 179
(Add. MSS: 37844 f. 11). 3
1793] MR. HIPPISLEY'S JUSTIFICATION 161
which I understand was immediately referred to the
Attorney General. 1
William Windham to Lord Grenville
Felbrigg : October 22, 1793
It would have been better that the papers inclosed
with this had been sent to your Lordship in the first
instance ; as I fear that the explanation, which Mr.
Hippisley seems to look for from me, will hardly com-
pensate for the delay of transmitting them through my
hands.
Mr. Hippisle}', in his letters to me, appears very
anxious, lest any wrong construction should be put upon
his conduct : or lest the pains which he has taken, —
certainly from the best motives, and seemingly with
the best effect, — should be deemed unseasonable and
officious. He has sent me numerous documents showing
both his reasons for acting, and the probable share, he
has had, in exciting and promoting, those dispositions to-
wards this country, which at present prevail in the Court
of Rome. But I cannot think it necessary to trouble
your Lordship with any of these vouchers for the pur-
pose of Mr. Hippisley 's justification. His interference,
as far as it went, could not have been otherwise than
advantageous : — His application, I mean, for the supply
of our fleet with grain : and it will not be thought less
so, because persons jealous of their own consequence,
and of interests probably more substantial, seem to
think it matter of complaint, that the service was per-
formed too soon, and was not retarded in order that it
might pass through their hands. Mr. Bartram's letter
contains a reprimand, which might have produced a
more impatient reply than that which Mr. Hippisley
has given to it.
In a letter lately to Mr. Pitt on the same subject I could
1 Add. MSS. 37844 f. 13.
162 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
not forbear expressing my hopes, that it might be found
consistent with the interests of this country to join in the
sentiments thus manifested by the Court of Rome ; nor
to point out Mr. Hippisley as a man proper in various
respects, to serve as a vehicle for any communication
that might be intended, and who might be employed
advantageously for that purpose. 1
Edmund Malone to William Windham
London : October 30, 1793
I am delighted to find you, what I had no doubt you
would be, so warm and zealous on the subject of the war ;
the most necessary and honourable that ever was under-
taken. I would not only part with my coat, but strip
myself to my skin, to carry it on. The paltry attempt to
rouse all those who are solely bent on gain to impede its
progress, will I hope be the daily topick from the moment
parliament meets. I see it is prorogued to the 10th of
December.
There have been some apprehensions these two days
past for the fate of Ostend. Some of the troops there
were to have gone to the West Indies ; but Sir Charles
Grey 2 is by this time at Ostend not to take away their
troops, but to head them and to defend the place. The
West India expedition will not be ready these ten days.
Nothing had arrived last night from Ostend ; but a
messenger is every hour expected. I will not, therefore,
send this away, as perhaps I may hear some particulars
in the course of the day — " Each hour is now, the father,
not of some stratagem," but of some atrocity greater
than the former. Does the history of any age or nation
1 Add. MSS. 37846 f. i.
2 Sir Charles Grey (1729-1807), created Baron 1801, and Earl 1806. In
1 793 he and Jervis were about to sail to endeavour to conquer the revolted
French Indies. Before the expedition started, however, the Duke of
York had retired from before Dunkirk, and Nieuport was in danger.
Grey was at once despatched with a small relief force.
Sir Joshua A'-t ttoitfs, pinxt.
KDMUNI) MAI.ONF,
1793] AN UNFORTUNATE QUEEN 163
furnish us with anything half so calamitous as the last
moments of the unfortunate Queen of France. Even the
vilest and the most criminal of the human race have in
their last moments some person near them to hear their
last wishes and to receive their last pledges ; she had
not near her one mortal that she could trust ; not a
servant of her own choice ; not a single bosom on which
she could drop a tear, or from which she could receive the
smallest consolation ; not one whom she could charge
with a lock of her hair or any the slightest memorial for
that faithful sister-in-law, who had so long shared her
sufferings, except the infamous pleader, whom in mockery
they had assigned to her as her defender, and who by his
own confession examined her only to betray her. Surely ,.
Heaven will presently " put a whip into every honest hand
to lash these villains naked through the world." You j
know, I suppose, that the faithful Edgeworth 1 was not
allowed to come near her ; and to mortify and disgrace
her, they placed by her a constitutional priest, with whom
she could have no communication. Like Charles in the
same situation, all that was left to her to say was, " You
may pray for me if you please, but you shall not pray
with me." They have set a price on Edgeworth 's
head.
A minute fact has lately come to my knowledge, that
may possibly be of consequence, if attended to. A very
furious Jacobin, who was an ambassador from a wild
Club at Derby to the National Convention, but within
these six months has returned to England, has by some
means or other, perhaps by the recommendation or some
oblique interference of Lord L e, got a commission in
a new Scotch Regiment, and is either actually sailed to
London, or under orders for it. His name, I am told, is
Tweadle. Now as he has held this commission for sub-
sistance, and has no doubt all his former propensities,
would it not be worth while to give Sir Gilbert Elliot some
1 The Abbe Edgeworth.
164 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
intimation with respect to him, that he may at least
watch his motions ?
Thus far I had written yesterday, and afterwards
wandered out with the hope of picking up some in-
telligence for you ; but there was not any to be had for
love or money. All the good I did was to pick up Sir
William Scott * at the Commons and to engage him to dine
with me to-day. He may perhaps bring some news with
him and therefore I will keep my letter unsealed. It
depends entirely on the Wind, which has been for some
days westerly, and detained the packets.
You will receive to-morrow the Manifesto of last night.
I hoped it would have been more strong and have con-
tained mere invective. I wanted " words that burn." —
But perhaps this would have been less royal. — Nieuport
is supposed to be safe by the adjoining country being
two feet under water. Lady Lucan's news yesterday,
which she said she derived from a foreign letter, was, that
Prince Saxe-Cobourg was deceived by false intelligence
that the French had turned his Army, which occasioned
him to retreat when he was really victorious, as appears
by the great number of Cannon which he took.
Instead of Sir W. Scott, I have just received an excuse
from him, so I may now conclude. Boswell and Courteney
were to have met him ; and I hoped with the authority of
the King's Advocate to have kept the Citizen in good
order. However, we must do as well as we can. It is
astonishing that a man in no other respect hard-hearted,
should still adhere to these cut-throats : he does, however,
most lamentably, as far as decency will permit. 2
1 Sir William Scott (1745-1836), lawyer; won high distinction as
ecclesiastical and Admiralty Judge; created Baron Stowell 1821;
2 Add. MSS. 37854 f. 127.
1793] A FRESH DEFEAT 165
Edmund Burke to William Windham
October 1793
I do not exactly know, though I think I can partly
guess, in what manner the present situation of things
appears to you. To me it is the subject of the most
serious anxiety. I went to Brighthelmstone, thinking
to pass from thence to Portsmouth, and on through
Winchester, home. But the news of the fresh defeat in
the Netherlands brought me hither. Yesterday a sort of
Message came from Macbride, 1 announcing, that this
defeat had been followed, on the part of the Allies, with
a great and decisive Victory. I have seen the Lieutenant
dispatched by Macbride with this News, which has many
particulars inducing one to believe that it is founded.
But as the account particularizes neither time nor place,
I am obliged, however reluctantly, to suspend my entire
reliance on its truth. This day will clear up the matter.
I trust, that the good Event of this affair will enable us,
(though such an event rarely disposes us) to a calm and
unprejudiced review of the whole plan of the War — which
in my opinion has been totally wrong — and that the bad
military plan has arisen from the false political principles
on which it is formed. If we have succeeded, I must
consider it as a great escape. No Victory, however great,
can reconcile my Mind to this Business of Maubeuge ;
no more than it could to the affair of Dunkirk, where,
indeed, Victory was in a manner impossible. I feel
no great pleasure in the Expedition against Martinico — if
that should be, as I greatly fear it is, finally resolved
upon. All these, and many more considerations, give
me, at times, more uneasiness than I am able to express.
But the fault is not only in our ministry, the whole
Body of the Alliance is concerned in it. Things can
never be brought to a decision, in the way they proceed
1 Rear-Admiral John MacBride (died 1800), at this time com-
manding a frigate squadron off Brest.
166 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
in, by any Victory or Victories. However, I wish you
to consider these hints of mine as for your own breast ;
into which I wish more fully to unbosom mine — praying
to God, that no hasty word from you or me, may give
an advantage to the Jacobin Enemy here. If we criticize
let us criticize to amend, to help, to supply — even possibly
to encourage. But let us strengthen the principles we
support, and give no advantage to those who find fault
with conduct because they are utterly irreconcilable to
principles. Our principles are antijacobin. We cannot
be neuter. We are on the stage : and cannot occasionally
jump into the Pitt or Boxes to make observations on our
brother actors. Such are there, at home or abroad,
who abhor Jacobinism as we do, and who act against it,
bona fide, though with a thousand Errours. I have
written something to the Ministers, and I have twice seen
them, and spoken my sentiments very freely and very
fully. I think we do not disagree in any principle nor
in any Measure ; but in the time, the order in which
Measures are to be taken and pursued, to be sure we differ
— and this I take to be a very important part of the
consideration. Here I am without any assistance, out
of my own walls, to correct or to advise me, or to co-
operate with me. In the world, as well as in the House of
Commons, no motion is received, that is not seconded. I
do most earnestly wish to see you. Clouds lower all over
the Horison, which alarm, but do not dispirit me, if you
keep up your Vigour. Heu quianam tanti cinxerunt
aethera nimbi /— quidve pater Neptune paras ?
Do not you think the new act of Regicide the smallest
part of the wickedness ? Oh God ! the Charge ! and the
last article particularly. All this is but the unfolding of
the Germ of Jacobinism. For God's sake come to Town.
Again and again I want consolation and assistance. You
cannot withdraw yourself from the world, now in the
Vigour of your Age and faculties, without a Crime.
I hear nothing to confirm the News. But there have
1793] WINDHAM'S ANXIETY 167
been three actions at La Vendee. The Royalists failed
in one, Noirmoutier — but succeeded in three others — all
very important. 1
William Windham to Edmund Burke
Felbrigg : November 1, 1793
The desire of obeying your summons might be motive
sufficient to carry me to town, without allowing the reason
which you assign, if I could be sure that the meeting of
parliament would be delayed long enough to admit of my
coming back again. Till it shall be determined that
parliament is not to meet till after Christmas, I could wish
to defer a little, my going to London, that I may not begin
my winter residence sooner than is necessary. To go to
town from this distance, without a long period before one,
must be going for good.
I fear that good in that sense, is the only good which
would attend my going at present. I have no counsels to
offer but what I must learn from you ; nor any means of
enforcing them, but what they must have already from
your authority. Authority, probably, of any sort, can
now do but little. What remains of the campaign, and of
the fate of the armies, must be determined probably by
the events, for the result of which I am waiting with
the most anxious expectation. In a letter which I had
from Brussels of the 21st, great Anxiety was expressed
for the army of the Prince of Coburgh ; and, what
was worse, the same was said to be felt in the army
itself.
I have not the least doubt of what is right to be done
by us ; namely, to maintain the war, in and out of parlia-
ment, by every possible means ; But I tremble to think,
should disasters increase, how long this may be in our
power. Toulon and Weissenburg, 2 if they keep to their
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 25.
2 Weissenburg was captured by General Wurmser, October 15,
1793.
168 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
mark, will, it may be hoped, preserve the balance for this
year.
The murder of the queen of France is an event that
appears more shocking (I know not certainly for what
reason) than even that of the king. The length of her
sufferings, though urged commonly with a contrary view,
makes one less endure that they should terminate at
last in death. One hoped for some period in reserve, that
might have softened the memory of her past woes, and
brought some retribution of happiness in this life,— a
little longer respite, and relief, one hoped, might have
reached her. All is now extinct ! An act of such savage
and unrelenting cruelty, — of such black and unprovoked
guilt, — I suppose is hardly to be paralleled ; as a case can
hardly be found of life ended in circumstances so dreadful,
so destitute of all external support, so beset with every
thing to embitter and sharpen the last agony. All that
the imagination pictures of death had been hers for long
past ;— seclusion, silence, solitude, ignorance of all that
was passing, separation from all the visible world. Her
pursuers seem, beforehand, to have plunged her into the
tomb, that its horrors might have time to sink into her
mind, — might pervade and occupy every region of the
soul. It was wonderful how her courage was able to
sustain so long a conflict ; or how, in fact, she contrived
to preserve her senses. It is a strong proof of the vigour
of her mind, and a presumption highly favourable to the
virtuousness of her character. She seems to have retained
her dignity and firmness to the last ; to have been wanting
in nothing that the occasion required ; to have sustained,
throughout, the part she was to act, worthily of herself,
and of those whom she represented. The assertors of
monarchy as opposed to modern doctrines, need wish
for nothing better, than such a contrast as is formed by the
conduct of the king and queen, compared with that of
their destroyers.
In this solitary place, I have little communication with
I
1793] WAR IMPERATIVE 169
the world, except occasionally by letters, and know but
little, therefore, of the language generally talked. In
fact, in matters of this sort, people seldom talk any
language but what they are taught ; and, therefore, till
they assemble in town, or parliament sets them a-going,
they have no very decided opinions. To me the necessity
for the war seems so impossible not to be seen by the
commonest understanding, the motives for persevering
in it to be so powerful, that I cannot but think it must be
the fault of those who should direct the public mind, if
the clamours against the war gain any great ground. The
artifice of those who wish to conceal and give effect to
their wishes in favour of the French system, under a
pretended horror of war, is surely so easily seen through,
that it can never produce much effect. Our first debates
in parliament must be directed, I think, to strip the mask
from this miserable hypocrisy ; — it surely cannot be a
difficult task.
I shall, at all events, come to town before Christmas.
If parliament does not meet, I shall be desirous of coming
very speedily. 1
William Windham to Edmund Burke
Felbrigg : November y, 1793
You will have received, before this, my answer to your
letter, and find that I am ready to come whenever my
presence shall be necessary or useful. Though you give
me, for the present, a dispensation, I am half inclined not
to make use of it, but to yield to the wish of being for a
while near the centre of counsel and intelligence. Your
letter is written in a tone of dejection that makes me
apprehend something worse than has yet reached me, or
suspect that I have seen our situation more favourably
than I ought. The worst news is undoubtedly from La
Vendee ; yet unless you have further accounts, confirming
1 Burke, " Correspondence," iv. 179.
170 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
those of the convention, I cannot abandon my hopes
upon the strength merely of what they say. Besides the
allowance to be made for exaggeration, and often for total
fabrication, the war of La Vendee does not seem to be of
a sort which temporary ill success will eradicate. One
may hope that the whole of that country is so thoroughly
impregnated with hatred and horror of the present system,
for which new reasons, too, are arising every day, that
they never can do more than stop its effects for the
moment, and that the first opportunity will call them
out again with their original vigour.
In all other quarters our affairs seem to be going on
with reasonable success. No fears, I hope, are enter-
tained, at least, no news or special ones, of our being
forced from our hold on Toulon. The progress of the
northern armies must, of necessity, be slow ; they are
thus riving the block at the knotty end. But I cannot
but hope that at the southern extremity the work will
go on quicker and that a rent may be made by our opera-
tions that will reach far into France.
What is your opinion of the declaration ? x I think in
one passage, they are yielding too much to the adversary ;
and by seeming to give up part of the question, making
the defence of the remainder more difficult. Why is all
right of interference in the affairs of another country, even
without the plea of aggression on the part of that country,
to be universally given up ? The more I have thought
upon that opinion, the more satisfied I have been, that it
is a mere arbitrary assumption wholly unsupported by
anything in reason and nature, and in direct repugnance
to everything which the maintainers of that doctrine
would be compelled, and even ready, to allow. In other
respects it seems to be judicious, and it is certainly well
drawn, and I should hope will produce the best effects ;
1 The Declaration issued by the British Government, October 29,
1793, in which the causes and objects of the war were set forth, as
well as the circumstances which would enable the King to end it.
1793] THE WEST INDIA EXPEDITION 171
particularly if, as I see in the papers just received, the
Austrians have taken possession of Alsace in the name of
Louis XVII.
The poor departed queen ! How cheering would such
intelligence have been to her ! How much does one wish
that she might have lived to see herself and her son
restored in' part to their former situation ; or rescued,
at least, from the fangs of these hell-hounds ! How pain-
ful is the reflection, that whatever good may now befal,
she no longer remains to enjoy it !
From the delay occasioned at Ostend, the West India
expedition is, I suppose, laid aside. The opinion which
you seem to have of it, has taught me not to regret its
loss. The fever, too, that rages so dreadfully in some
of the islands, might itself have been a reason, I should
conceive, for not persisting in it.
Mrs. Burke, I hope, and all your family are well. Let
me beg you to present my best respects.
[P.S.] The system of atheism will now, I think, not
be denied. What say the religious dissenters to this ?
The worthy bishop who believes that the God of nature
and liberty needs no intermediary, will perhaps reconcile
them. They are perfectly satisfied that there should be
no religion, provided there is no establishment. 1
William Windham to Mrs. Crewe
Felbrigg : November 7, 1793
I have suffered my debt to you to rise to such an
amount that I run the risk of being driven to despair;
and abandoning all thoughts of paying it. Let me make
an effort in time, and offer a small instalment, though in
order to do that I must defraud another, and leave
unwritten a letter which I ought to send abroad. You
have a claim not from me only, to whom you have done
so kindly, but from all lovers of good to be hailed and
1 Burke, " Correspondence," iv. 189.
172 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
celebrated, and encouraged in the good work which
you pursue so zealously. Don't be discouraged or dis-
countenanced by any rebuffs. I don't know where must
be either the hearts or the heads of those who can refuse
to assist in it if they possess the means, much less who can
attempt to find fault with it. I have another subscription
in reserve, I formerly subscribed 25/., whenever it shall
be most wanted. In the mean time I cannot say that I
have contributed to you quite all the pains I might ; but
I will from this time, and meant this very post to have
written to Dr. Burney. I am glad that the pen of Madame
Abry, 1 or whatever the name is, is going to be exerted
in the cause.
There can be no necessity for stimulating your rage
against the present system and its abettors. Its horrors
are now of so deep a dye, have a cast of character so truly
diabolical, that there is an end of all reserve and manage-
ment : and all who support in any degree that system, are
persons from whom I am separated by the widest gulph
that can separate men on publick affairs.
To talk of condemning this system, and not supporting
the war, is in those who are sincere in that language such
extreme weakness, in my opinion, as can only be equalled
by the wickedness of those who talk about it without
being sincere. The fact is, that the greater part of those
who lead on that side either care not what becomes of the
world, so they can answer their purposes of ambition or
enmity, or else they do really love this system, for that
which to most men renders it an object of horror and
detestation. All who are not of either of these descrip-
tions are, in my idea, the most deplorable dupes that
ever belonged to that fraternity. I cannot conceive any
opinion so utterly devoid of common sense and likelihood,
as that, if we were to withdraw from the present war,
supposing it possible in common honour and honesty
that we could do so, the whole of the French system
1 Madame D'Arblay (Fanny Burney).
1793] FEARS FROM THE FRENCH 173
would not pour into this system, as certainly as the sea
would into Holland, upon the removal of any of their
main dykes. What at least is to be our security against
this, if the French were to chuse to fraternize ; and who
is to be our security that they will not chuse it ? If
they are this irresistible people that some chuse to describe,
and derive such new powers from their present condition,
why may not part of this preternatural vigour be carried
into their external operations, and make them equally
formidable in offence as they are in defence ? In fact,
with the aid of their principles they would be infinitely
more so ; in so great a degree that the moment they should
be let loose to act exclusively against us, I should be one
of those to distrust altogether our powers of resistance. I
must not go on, however, on this subject, which is end-
less : we shall have enough of it when Parliament meets.
In the meanwhile, let me thank you for your letters,
exhort you to remain steady in the faith, extol you for
your splendid exertions in behalf of the poor priests, and
beg you to believe me, as always,
Your most faithful and obedient,
W. W.
I am waiting with great impatience for the
papers. Things in Flanders seem to have got round
again ; and Weissenburg opens the prospect, I hope,
to great consequences. For Toulon, too, I hope no fears
need be entertained. The Queen, the fate of the poor
Queen, for whom now I begin to justify all Mr. Burke's
enthusiasm, saddens even our prospects of success, so
much I wish that she might have lived to enjoy them. 1
Edmund Burke to William Windham
[Circa : November 7-14, 1793]
I received your second very kind, very satisfactory
Letter, just as I was going to thank you for your first.
1 The Crewe Papers: Windham Section, p. 18 ("Miscellanies" of
the Philobiblon Society, vol. ix.).
i 7 4 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
I do confess, that I feel myself gradually sinking into
something like despondency. It is not from the Events
of Warj; which, as one might expect, have been checquered.
A little security towards a defensive is promised to us in
the Netherlands. The affair of Weissenburg seems to
me one of the finest things in military History. I can
scarcely, as an operation of War, imagine anything
beyond it. But it is not from our defeats, that my hopes
are damped, but from our successes. If we had been
only beaten, better conduct and greater forces, with our
share of the chances, might set us right again. But I
see nothing, which all the successes we have had, and
much greater than I dare to look for, can do towards
bringing things to the conclusion we wish, as long as the
plan we have pursued and still pursue, is persevered in.
When I have the pleasure of seeing you, we will talk over
this matter in the Detail.
I agree with you, that the proclamation is well drawn :
Perhaps too well drawn, as it shows too much art. I
admit that it seems, more than anything else that has
yet appeared, to depart from the unfortunate plan of
making war against France, and to direct it where it ought
to be directed, to the relief of the oppressed, and to the
destruction of Jacobinism. I wish, however, that nothing
had been said about indemnity. It is a thing unheard of
in this stage of a War : and as in fact we have no pledge
whatever in our hands but Toulon, it looks as if we meant
to keep that place, and the ships in that harbour for that
indemnity though surrendered to our faith upon very
different Terms. This precious demand of indemnity,
which has a sort of appearance, (even so much as perhaps
to hazard the whole effect of the Declaration) of Fairness,
is yet so very loose and general that I scarce know what
it is that we and the allied Courts may not claim under
it. The worst of the matter is that the only object
which we have hitherto pursued, is the previous security
of this indemnification.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, finxt
J. Hardy, sculpt.
EDMUND BURKE
i 7 93] BURKE'S INDIGNATION 175
The thing however that perfectly sickens me in this
Declaration is its total disagreement with everything
we have done or (so far as I see) that we are going to
do. We promise protection and assistance to those
who shall endeavour the Restoration of Monarchy in
that Country : Yet, though Poitou is in a manner at
our door and they have for eight months carried on a War
on the principles we have pointed out — not a man, not
a ship, not an article of stores, has been yet sent to these
brave unfortunate people ; all the force we can spare
was destined for our indemnity ; and when now released;
I do not know with what prudence, from the Flemish
Service it is intended again to go to the West Indies.
No talk, nor no thought, of giving the least of the succour
we stand engaged for, and which common justice and
common policy ought to have induced us to send though
we were under no positive engagement at all. This,
joined with our refusing to recognise that Monarchy in
those who have a right to exercise its authority, is a
defeasance to our Declaration which nothing but a total
change of conduct can cancell. However, though I am
grieved beyond measure, and mortified at this pro-
ceeding, our only hopes are from these people. The
conduct of our late party is so absurd, contradictory, and
self destructive, that I cannot easily express it. But on
all these matters we shall talk seriously when we meet,
which I trust will be soon. Oh ! what you say of
the Queen in your two Letters is like what I should expect
from your feelings on that, the most dreadful scene, that
ever was exhibited to the world ! Stupincd as I was at
the enormous wickedness of the actors, as well as at
the nature of it, which was worse, in my opinion, than
its magnitude, and astonished at the sustained fortitude
and patience of the sufferer, yet my indignation, at the
unfeeling manner in which it has been received by the
Princes of her own House, has perhaps been the strongest
of my Emotions on this occasion. The wicked faction at
176 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
Paris have obtained the only end they could have pro-
posed to themselves by their savage proceedings, the
rendering vile and contemptible the Royal Character.
The execution of a King or Queen by the hands of the
common hangman, as the lowest and vilest of criminals,
will produce no more effect than one of the periodical
hangings at the old Bailey. I am quite of your mind that
there is something that mingles more of disgust, and of
compassion, with our horrour in this Barbarity even
more than in the murder of the King. In fact Women,
and such Women, are more out of the Field in such con-
tentions as brought on these Events— and the Circum-
stances themselves were much worse. Sure some Justice
ought to be done to a character which does so much more
than Justice to the nature we belong to. 1
Earl Spencer to William Windham
Wilderness : November 11, 1793
Though I cannot say that the general result of what
I am going to communicate to you is of any very con-
siderable importance, yet on the terms of perfect con-
fidence with which you have done me the Honour to
treat me, and on which I hope nothing will ever prevent
our continuing ; I think it indispensably necessary to
acquaint you that, having come here on a visit to Lord
Bayham 2 for a night, I met Pitt. This meeting was not
purely accidental but Lord Bayham who saw me in town
at Lord Lucan's on Thursday asked me to come, and told
me that Pitt was very desirous of having an interview
with me, which he thought might be brought about more
agreably by me in this mode than any other. I deter-
mined to accept of the invitation thinking that it might
possibly be productive of some good, and could not of
any harm, and at all events would probably afford us
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 31.
2 The courtesy title of the eldest son of Lord Camden. See vol. i, p.
287, note 2, of this work.
1793] PITT EXPLAINS 177
some information on the present state of Affairs. I
confess that the Result of it has not in this last point done
a great deal, and in neither of the former considerations, it
seems to have been as nearly as possible indifferent : it
has, however, given me the opportunity of repeating to
him what you had already expressed for me, and of finding
that for the present, with respect to any internal arrange-
ments, matters remain I think, much as your conversa-
tion with him at the end of the last Session left them, that
is to say, still open but not ripe for any decisive Step. He
began by saying that he was desirous of having this
conversation with me in order to explain any thing
relating to the events of the last Summer that might have
left a wish for explanation on my Mind, and to give me
any confidential information I might desire to have,
and he might be able to give me, respecting any such
events and the general state of affairs. He then seemed to
expect me to point out the particular objects on which
I wished the conversation to turn. I own I felt very
awkwardly at the moment, owing rather to the finding
myself all at once in so very new a situation to me, and I
believe in consequence of this I did not explain myself at
first so clearly and intelligibly as I could have wished.
From this circumstance also it probably arises that I am
not able to give a very exact detail of what passed be-
tween us on this branch of the subject, the general sub-
stance, however, I think was, that the idea of taking
Dunkirk formed originally a part of the general Plan of
the Campaign, in which, it was hoped we might have
got into possession of that Port (stated by him to be
a considerable object as being a Port, and from the
nearness of its situation to us being more likely to give
a favourable impression of the war in their Country) of a
strong line of Frontier from thence all the way to Mau-
beuge inclusively, and even of having formed something
like a winter investment of Lille ; I collect from what
he said that it had been agreed that the Austrian Artillery
1 M
i;8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
should have cooperated in the siege of Dunkirk, but as
they insisted on conducting that of Quesnoy J at the same
time, it become necessary for our Army there to be
supplied from home, and a Requisition was accordingly
sent, and answered in such a manner that he speaks with
great confidence of being able by a new statement of dates
to satisfy us that every exertion that could be made was
made. As to the want of Gun-boats, the fact is that they
had no idea that they would be wanted till a requisition
was sent for them from the Army actually before Dunkirk,
and then, of course, they could not come in time. All this,
you see, in reality amounts to little more than saying that
Dunkirk was attacked with an inadequate force, and, of
course, that all that we lost both in time, in stores, in ex-
pences, in men, and in reputation by it was absolutely
en pure perte. I dwelt a good deal (after I had recovered
my nerves a little) and repeatedly in the course of our
conversation on the expediency if it could possibly be done
of making some satisfactory explanation at the opening of
the Session upon these points, as they are likely to have
taken some hold of the publick mind, and to have given
strength to opposition in general. He did not say anything
directly to this, but I think it did not pass without excit-
ing his attention. He seems in general to look on the
French as being at present in a Situation less likely to
dispose them to yield than they were some months ago,
owing partly to the Surrender of Lyons and partly to their
successes in La Vendee, which he apprehends to be
more decisive than they have ever been yet ; though he did
not seem to state any very clear Intelligence having been
received about them. The Ships that were sent away
from Toulon to the other Sea Ports, which was a measure
that has excited some Curiosity and no inconsiderable
Surprize in many people, were sent by Lord Hood on his
own Authority in order to remove about 5000 Seamen
1 Quesnoy was taken by the Austrians, September n, 1793. It was
recovered by the French, August 16, 1794.
1793] PITT DETERMINED ON WAR 179
from the Place who were very ill affected and who might
have been capable of doing much Mischief, more particularly
before they were so much reinforced there, as they have
since been. I think this is nearly the substance of what
passed with respect to past transactions. With respect to
the future, I found him fully determined on the most
vigorous exertions in the Prosecution of the War, in
which he seems to expect a very cordial cooperation on
the part of the Austrians ; on that of the Prussians he is
not so sanguine, and even went so far as to say he should
not be much surprized if they were to withdraw altogether
from the Confederacy. The other Powers will act as they are
paid (the Dutch I think we omitted to speak of). He
seems much inclined to the Opinion that there will be little
hope of putting an End to the War without penetrating
pretty far into the interior of France, and in order to [do]
that, it would seem that we must possess ourselves of all
the frontier strong Places (even including Lille) before
we can advance with any Security, the ostensible Object
of the War is, I suppose, to be consonant to the Language
of the Declaration, namely, such a Government in France
as the rest of Europe may reasonably depend upon for its
future Peace and Security, hinting then at the same time
that a Monarchy of some kind or other at least is the
most likely to attain those Ends. On the Article of
Expence he talked very openly, and said that he should
want at least 12 millions for the Supply of the Year (I
suppose of course the extra supply for the War), but
from the situation of the Finances he hoped to be only
obliged to lay absolutely new Taxes to the amount of from
three to 400,000, and he hopes to lay them in a manner that
shall not be much felt. He asked me whether I happened
to know anything of the Duke of Portland's present
Sentiments, I said I had heard that he was still disposed
to support the War. In the course of this part of the
Conversation, as he happened to mention your Name, I
thought it not a bad opportunity to find out whether he
i8o THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
had still any views similar to what he talked of with
you last Summer on the subject of political arrange-
ments, so I said that you had according to his desire as
I believed, communicated to me at that time the Sub-
stance of what had passed between you, and that I also
believed you had expressed to him our joint Opinion that
we thought upon the whole that an unconnected sup-
port of Government would then have more weight and
efficacy than if we were to take a share in any part of the
administration. I added that my opinion still continued on
that subject pretty much the same, and that, instead of
having seen anything to alter it since, I found it rather
confirmed by circumstances that had happened. He
answered that he was very glad I had mentioned the
subject as it would give him an opportunity of saying a
word or two upon it, though he should not have men-
tioned it first himself, because at the present moment there
was no opening that would enable him to make any
proposal of the kind ; he, however, hoped that I should
still allow the matter to remain open, and in case any
occasion offered such as to put it in his power to make
any such proposal, that he might have my leave to com-
municate again with me upon the Subject. This is as
near as I can recollect the substance of what passed
between us in private ; or this latter part of our con-
versation.
I particularly noticed that he treated the Idea of
a possibility of our coming into office only on the Sup-
position of our doing it jointly, and I took the more
particular Notice of this, because in the conversation I
had at Lord Lucan's with Lord Bayham, which gave rise
to this meeting, he had thrown out something like a hint,
which at the same time he assured me he was not com-
missioned to do, but which I think he never could have
mentioned if it had not been concerted, that his Father,
Lord Camden x now found it impossible for him to con-
1 Sir Charles Pratt, first Earl Camden (1714-1794) ; Lord Chancellor,
1793] LORD SPENCER AND THE CABINET 181
tinue in Office, and that he had no doubt but that if
that Situation would be agreable to me, the members of
the Administration would be very glad it should be filled
by me, but that at the same time there was not at present
an opening for any other Cabinet Office. My immediate
Answer to this was, first generally, the same sort of
answer which I afterwards gave to Pitt, but besides that
even if I did think the occasion called for my coming into
Office, I could not for a moment entertain an Idea of doing
so unaccompanied by you. He again repeated that he
had no Commission to mention the matter to me, and
that he did not know whether Pitt would mention it in
the Interview we were to have ; but I have myself very
little doubt but that he was employed to feel the ground
a little before that Interview, and that, finding me so
clearly determined on the subject, Pitt took the Line
I have already described to you, in our conversation. I
took occasion to express in the course of what I said
my decided purpose of supporting government in a
vigorous prosecution of the War ; and, indeed, I do not
now see what other possible track we can pursue in order to
arrive at a desirable termination of it, for any appearance
of relaxation in our efforts now must unquestionably not
only encourage the Enemy, but tend to discourage and
disunite all our Allies, whom, it certainly is of essential
consequence, if possible, to keep together. I understand
from Pitt that the last private accounts they have from
the Prince of Coburg mention his having received positive
Orders from Vienna to do everything in his Power to force
the Enemy to a general Action, It is, therefore, a most
anxious moment for he had begun to take measures
accordingly, and the very next accounts may very
possibly contain something of infinite importance. The
Accounts in yesterday's Extra-ordinary Gazette from
Toulon are, I think, very satisfactory, as they seem to
1766-1770 ; President of the Council, 1782-1783, and again from 1784
until shortly before his death.
182 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
indicate a great deal of Spirit; and a very cordial union
among the different troops of the Garrison, which, from
all the reinforcements they have lately received, appears
to be very equal to the defence of the Place ; there have
also been some very great dissensions between the French
and Americans, which may very probably turn to good
account. Upon the whole, notwithstanding the unfavour-
able circumstances which in the course of this very long
letter I have alluded to, I feel inclined to be in pretty good
spirits and if we should happen to gain anything like a
brilliant advantage to close the Campaign in Flanders
it may have a surprising effect in making people forget the
former miscarriages, and join heartily in the maintenance
of what every day becomes more and more the general
cause of all that is good or estimable under the Law. Pitt
has promised to send me word if any important Event
should take place, and, of course, you shall certainly
hear from me again, if I should have anything worth
communicating.
I am quite ashamed of having been so long winded, but I
did not well know how to abridge what I had to tell you,
though after all I believe you will not think there is much
in it. I go down to Althorp to-morrow and shall stay
there till the beginning of January. Parliament, I under-
stand, is to meet a few days before the Birthday. 1
William Windham to James Wyatt 2
Felbrigg : November 23, 1793
I shall no longer insist upon a right which I have no
means of enforcing, nor complain of injuries, which it
is not in my power to redress. It is near two years since
you undertook a business for me neither requiring, nor
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 119.
2 James Wyatt ( 1 746-1 8 1 3 ), architect, adapted the Pantheon in Oxford
Street for dramatic performances ; restored Salisbury, Lincoln, Hereford
and Lichfield Cathedrals; from Graeco-Italian style he developed into
Gothic.
1793] A SEVERE REBUKE 183
admitting of, delay ; and which you have not done yet.
I have written to you no less than five letters desiring to
know, whether you meant to do this, or not : and you
have returned no answer.
You may think perhaps that this is a mark of genius,
and the privelege of a man eminent in his profession :
But you must give me leave to say, that it must be a
profession higher than that of an Architect, and eminence
greater than that of Mr. Wyatt, that can make one see
in this proceeding anything but great impertinence, and
a degree of neglect, that may well be called dishonest.
It is dishonest to make engagements, which you are
either not able or not willing to fullnl : It is in the
highest degree uncivil to receive letter after letter, con-
taining a question which the writer is entitled to ask : and
to send no answer.
Pray, Sir, who are you, upon whom engagements are
to be of no force ; and who are to set aside all the forms
of civility established between man and man ? Had the
most private Gentleman of the country written to the
first minister of the country, he would have received an
answer in a quarter of the time. And what is this privelege
denied to persons in that station, which you suppose to
be possessed by you ? A privelege not allowed to a
man's betters may be expected to be one of which he
has no great reason to boast. But of this I leave you to
judge. There is one privelege which you shall not possess,
that of acting with rudeness and contumely without being
told of your conduct. If you are fond of placing yourself
in a situation, in which you must hear these charges with-
out the power of refuting them, I wish you joy of your
choice, and with that reflexion shall take my leave of you.
P.S. Am I to expect, that the metal frames, which
you ordered at Sheffield, will come at last, when they are
no longer wanted : or am I to understand only, that what
you told me, is not true, and that no such order was given ? J
1 Add. MSS. 37914 f. 67
i84 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
Edmund Burke to William Windham
November 25, 1793
Since I wrote last, the outside of affairs is a good deal
mended, but they will not bear inspection. Our politics
want directness and simplicity. A spirit of chicane, or
something very like it, predominates in all that is done,
either by our allies or by ourselves . Westminster-H all has
ruined Whitehall ; and there are many things in which
we proceed more like lawyers than statesmen. If this
distemper is not cured, I undertake to say, with the
more positive assurance, that nothing but shame and
destruction can be the result of all our operations in the
field and in the cabinet. All the misfortunes of the
war have arisen from this very intricacy and ambiguity
in our politics ; and yet, though this is as visible as I think
it is real, I do not find the smallest disposition to make
any alteration in the system. I have the greatest possible
desire of talking with you on this subject. I think some-
thing ought to be done, and I know that I cannot act
alone. If I had not always felt this, all that has happened
within these three months would have convinced me of it.
The very existence of human affairs, in their ancient and
happy order, depends upon the existence of this ministry ;
but it does not depend upon their existence only in their
ministerial situation and capacity, but on their doing
their duty in it. They are certainly bewildered in the
labyrinth of their own politics. What you observe is
most true ; they think they can defend themselves the
better by taking part of the ground of their adversary.
But that is a woful mistake. He is consistent and they
are not. He is strengthened by their concessions. He
avails himself of what they yield, and contends with
advantage for the rest. As to the affairs of France, into
which they have entered at last, it is plain to me that
they are wholly confounded by their magnitude. The
crimes that accumulated on each other astonish them.
1793] THE STATE OF FRANCE 185
These crimes produce the effects which their authors
propose by them. They fill our ministers, and I believe
the ministers of other courts, not with indignation and
manly resentment, but with an abject terror. They are
oppressed by these crimes — they cry quarter — and then
they talk a feeling language of mercy ; but it is not mercy
to the innocent and virtuous sufferers, but to base,
cruel and relentless tyrants. I shall explain myself
more fully when we meet. People talk of the cruelty of
punishing a revolutionary tribunal, and the authors of
the denunciation of an infant king, concerning offences
that the voice of humanity cannot utter, in order to
criminate his own mother, at the very moment, (this very
moment) when they turn out of the house, which they
have given them in the king's name and taken credit
for it, six hundred and eighty virtuous and religious
men, in the beginning of a winter, which threatens no
small rigour, without a place to hide their heads in.
I am mortified at all this, and I believe I express myself
with some confusion about it. But we must endeavour
to make our complaints rather effectual than loud. The
other faction is dreadful indeed. It consists of two
parts ; one of which is feebly and unsystematically
right, the other regularly, uniformly, and actively wrong ;
and, what is natural, that which is the most steady and
energetic, gives the law to that which is lax and wavering.
The entire unfolding of the Jacobin system has made
no change in them whatsoever. Not one of them has
been converted ; no, nor even shaken ; and those who
coincide with us in the absolute necessity of this war
(to which, however, they give but a very trimming and
ambiguous support), are become far more attached than
ever to their Jacobin friends, are animated with much
greater rage than ever against the ministers, and are
become not much less irritated against those of their old
friends who act decidedly and honestly in favour of their
principles. This state of things requires to be handled
186 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
according to its true nature. If you and I take the
steps we ought to take, there is yet a chance that all may
be right. For God's sake come, and come speedily, for
no time is to be lost. 1
Earl Spencer to William Windham
Althorp : December 8, 1793
Lord Lucan tells us that you and Burke will be in
Town. If I thought that my presence there at this moment
could be of any possible good Effect, your Wish should
not long remain unaccomplished, but as I do not foresee
that any useful Purpose can be answered by my being there
at present, I shall, I believe, prefer staying here till the
beginning of next Month, when I shall certainly come to
Town, as I think it will be very desirable that those who
think alike on the present State of Politicks should have
some Communication, and Concert at least for a few
days previous to the meeting of Parliament. I have of late
much wished for you here, more especially when Tom
Grenville 2 was with me, as we had at that time a great
deal of conversation on these matters, the purport and
tendency of which, though it is much too extensive for
the compass of a Letter I am extremely desirous for you
to be acquainted with. I wish I could prevail upon you
to come down here in the course of this Month, but if
that is impossible, I hope I may depend on finding you in
London in the first week in January. The Period which
is to produce something of rather a more decisive Nature
in our Conduct is now fast approaching, and not to have
well weighed and naturally considered all its bearings
before we are to act, will be of very bad consequence.
I, in my own Mind, not only remain of the same Opinion
on the general Nature of what that Line of Conduct ought
1 Burke, "Correspondence," iv. 201.
2 Thomas Grenville (1755-1846), younger brother of Lord Grenville,
diplomatist and statesman. He bequeathed his books to the British
Museum, where his collection is known as The Grenville Library.
1793] PURSUIT OF THE WAR 187
to be, but are much confirmed in it, by several Circum-
stances, which may best be explained when we meet. In
general terms, the Line of Conduct which the present
Situation of the Country loudly calls upon us to pursue
appears to me to be, the most vigorous, determined, and
declared Support of the War (and, of course, of Govern-
ment), unconnected, however, by Office with Administra-
tion, and not only unconnected, but avowedly hostile to
the views and Measures of the Party who call themselves
the Friends of the People ; unconnected with Administra-
tion, because we shall by that means establish our Claim to
the Confidence of every independent Man in the Country;
and convince the People if they are open to Conviction;
that there are Men who can adopt a Line of publick
Conduct solely because they think it right, and not as
being the old hackneyed Road to high Situations or great
Emoluments; and openly hostile to the views of the violent
Party, because we shall thereby cut off all Idea of any
lingering after the old Opposition as it used to be formed;
which in truth consisted of such a Medley of discordant
and absolutely contradictory Principles, as could not but
extinguish all hopes of its being either useful to the
Publick, or creditable to those who composed it. On
Principles like these I am inclined now to be more san-
guine than I was when we last talked on these Subjects,
as to the Chance of our being able to collect a body
sufficiently respectable both as to number and character
to make a considerable and that a very desirable impres-
sion on the Publick, and to have a really efficient Weight
with Ministry and Parliament ; and if I am not too
sanguine in this Hope, I think you will agree with me
that the chance of doing it is worth the tryal ; the more
particular details of this Idea, which I allow is not yet
sufficiently matured for me to state them fully, will be
the subject of the Conversations which we must have
before the 21 st of next Month, and my principal Reason
for troubling you with this Letter now, was to endeavour,
188 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
if possible, to have as early an opportunity of entering
with you into these Details, as the nature of your other
Engagements will allow.
I am much afraid, from the present Complexion of
our military Operations both by Sea and Land, that
to all our other difficulties, we shall have an addition
of a great deal of ill humour to struggle with on the subject
of the Conduct of the War, but the Objects that we have
to contend for, are much too important for us to hesitate
in taking our Share of that difficulty.
Pray let me have a Line at least to tell me, when I
am likely to see you and whether here or in Town. 1
Lord Malmesbury 2 to William Windham
Frankfort : December 13, 1793
Altho' I have been in the way of armies I have had no
military event come in my way, which you have not
heard and seen from the newspapers — you should other-
wise have received a letter from me and been thanked
for the very kind one you wrote me just as I was leaving
England. I have, indeed, no inducement of news, to write
to you now, but one which I flatter myself you will not
think either an uninteresting or useless one.
The Duke of York was so good as to meet me at Alost
about a week ago and to talk to me in a very confidential
manner. I cannot trust the particulars of his conversa-
tion to the post. The result, as far as it related to himself,
went to confirm me in the good opinion I was always dis-
posed to have of him, and in general not to alter that I
had, that many mistakes and missions had in the course
of the summer defeated the effect of his exertions and
rendered the end of the campaign less brilliant than
the beginning. He was not insensible to those neglects,
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 124.
2 Lord Malmesbury had been sent by Pitt to Berlin to give a neces-
sary reminder to King Frederick William of his treaty obligations to
support England in the war with France.
1793] THE DUKE OF YORK'S WISHES 189
but he expressed a very anxious and earnest desire that if
any of the more violent members of opposition should, in
their wishes to harass and criminate Government, affect
a sollicitude about him and a compassion for his situation,
or even if they should join him in the common censure
about Dunkirk or any other military operation, I say, that
in either of these cases, the Duke expressed his anxious
and earnest desire, that, none of his friends out of zeal
or regard for him should say anything which might
raise a clamour against administration or weaken their
measures by defending him at their expense : that such
a defence, however grateful he should feel for it, would
necessarily go to diminish the strength of Government
and in its effect militate directly against a cause the sup-
port of which he felt as a duty before which any personal
consideration ought to give way. That it would be im-
possible to separate in the minds of the many the partial
blame of any one specifick measure in the course of the war
from a general disapprobation of the principle on which
it was begun and going on, and that the very worst of
consequences would attend such an idea being attributed
to those he was happy to call his friends. He named you
and Pelham and expressly directed me to write to you
both, which I do, I am sure without altering his sense, if
I have altered his words.
The only case in which he hoped to be supported
and defended was if any gross and notoriously abusive
attack should be made upon him, and even then he only
wished (as it would be evidently made with a view to
provoke) that the defence should rest on general grounds,
and all particular details and personalities be avoided.
I am the more anxious to write to you on this subject,
as I am sure you will feel the Duke to be as right and
judicious in his advice as he is temperate and forbearing
in his character, and admit the extreme importance that
Parliament should open with the greatest appearance of
concord and unanimity, and that England should give an
igo THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
impression to Europe, which may perhaps as much con-
tribute to the success of the great cause in which we are
struggling as victories or successful negotiations.
I have written to the same effect, nearly in the same
words to Pelham. I shall be happy to hear from you at
your leisure and promise you that my next letter shall be
more entertaining.
I leave this place for Berlin to morrow. I see nothing but
insurmountable difficultys there ; and if I am absurd for
undertaking them I trust my friends will at least vouch for
my not having accepted a sinecure office. 1
William Windham to William Pitt
December 16, 1793
The only point in which it is material that I should
trouble you is that which relates to the communication
with the Princes. On this I would wish to state such
portions as I have happened to hear, without repeating
opinions with which you are already acquainted.
The Princes, I understand, are full of jealousy of this
conference which they understand is to precede any
recognition of their title. Their jealousy turns principally
upon these points :
A fear lest the purpose of this country should be to
limit their authority in order to keep France henceafter
in a feeble and depressed state.
A fear lest the ideas of the Constitutionalists should
be suffered to prevail too much, in which apprehension
they are confirmed by the terms of the agreement at
Toulon.
A fear lest views of indemnification should operate
too far, and sacrifices be required of them, inconsistent
with their duty and character.
A general apprehension growing out of all the former,
that the Cabinet here is not in earnest in wishing to see
1 Add. MSS. 37873 f. 243.
i 7 93] THE COMTE D'ARTOIS 191
them for the present at the head of the Royalist party ;
but would rather that the cause should, to a certain
length, be carried on without them.
These seem to be the principal heads of uneasiness
which, whether reasonable or not, must be considered as
very excuseable in their situation.
The danger is that in the state of ferment in which their
minds must be, and stimulated in particular as the
Comte D'Artois x is by every feeling of duty and honour,
he should take some rash step, and without consulting
anything but his sentiments and feelings, should throw
himself upon the Coast of Brittany, in the first vessel
that he can procure.
The person from whom I hear this principally, and
who, though standing in an inferior station to the Due
D'Harcourt, 2 is still secretly much in their secrets, is
persuaded nevertheless that they are much disposed to
be tractable, and would be quieted by any general assur-
ance relative to the above points, conveyed to them by a
person in whose sincerity he could confide.
I know not that I can add anything to the simple
exposition of the fact, coupled with those opinions which
I took the liberty of stating to you the other day. I am
obliged at present to write rather in a hurry, as I wish
to leave Town to-day. I regret now rather that I missed
the occasion of discoursing on any such points more at
leisure which you and Mr. Dundas were so obliging as to
offer. 3
William Windham to Mrs. Crewe
Felbrigg : December 26, 1793
I have just got a letter from you, which might serve
to whet my purpose had it been before almost blunted,
1 Charles Philippe de France, Comte d'Artois (1757-1836), succeeded
his brother to the throne in 1824 as Charles X. ; abdicated, 1830.
2 Due D'Harcourt, son of Marshal D'Harcourt, sometime Governor
of Normandv.
3 Add. MSS. 37844 f. 15.
192 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
which it was not, of writing to you by this post. Don't
feel any immediate fear of the machinations of the
Jacobins, notwithstanding the bad news which this
Gazette has brought from Toulon ; x and still less suffer
yourself to be perplext or shaken by their reasoning.
Those who can stand all these effects of their blessed
system must have good stomachs indeed. It is in vain
for them to try to lead off the attention to other objects,
or to seek for evasions or subterfuges. The experiment
is full and flat in their faces. There is a full exemplification
of the state to which they wished, and endeavoured, and
are endeavouring, to bring the world-robbery, murder,
atheism, universal profligacy of manners, contempt of
every law divine and human. Much of this is what
many of the leaders of this sect have no objection to. It
is, indeed, to them its recommendation. It serves to cover
what good-nature and softness may otherwise make them
shrink from. What others' intentions may be I know
not ; but my determination is open, steady war against
the whole Jacobin faction ; and junction for that purpose
with whomever it may be necessary to join. That it will
be necessary to join anybody in office I do not mean to
say. You need not fear my doing it alone ; first, because
I do not think it will be advantageous to the general
cause to do it in that way ; and next, because whenever
the time comes that that question shall arise, there will be
others, I hope, disposed to do it with me. These are my
ideas upon the subject, and which there is no necessity
to make any secret of. The sum of the opinion is, that I
am a determined foe to the new system, and that I shall
oppose that, either in or out of office, according as
circumstances shall show that one or other mode is most
effectual.
Your correspondent from Buxton, as well as the other
who talks about Lord Howe, both provoke me ; but I
think the last the most ; as he is perfectly foolish, while
1 Toulon was regained by the French on December 20.
1793] THE DUKE OF YORK DEFENDED 193
the other may only be wicked : and folly, though less
odious, is more provoking than wickedness. These
clamours against the Duke of York are for the most part
utterly without foundation ; and in all very nearly so.
They originate in the mere licentiousness of the office part
of the army. The Duke of York is, I believe, a most
respectable character ; his conduct is, I am sure, in many
respects perfectly exemplary. Nothing material in the
campaign has suffered from him, if anything at all has ;
and all the latter part has been of a sort to do him the
highest honour. Both the court of Vienna and the
Austrian army are full of his praises. The charges
against Lord Howe are so perfectly senseless, that one
wonders how rational creatures can be found to utter them.
I wish your correspondent, who thinks that Lord Howe is
so careful of himself, was bound to stand by Lord Howe
in all the danger to which he would be willing to expose
himself. If I were to guess at your correspondent from
his language on this occasion, I should set him down as
some Tory clergyman, who had learnt to abuse the
Howes because they did not conquer America. Pray
let me know if I am right.
I was going to say that I had nothing more to say,
but I have upon recollection what I should be sorry to
omit. It is to recommend a book, which, for soundness
of thinking as well as eloquence of stile, has had no
fellows since the commencement of the controversy
about the French Revolution. It is of great bulk, and
has a great deal of foppery in it, enough to destroy a work
of less powerful merits. But it is full of proofs of the
most uncommon genius, and has a charm and grace in the
midst of its fopperies that has led me on like a novel, and
puts me in mind, in some respects, of the attraction which
every one finds in Montaigne. It is written by a Mr.
Wylde, an advocate of Edinburgh, and a friend of
Mackintosh ; but a man of more genius and of not less
acuteness ; there is no doubt of his being a better man,
i 9 4 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1793
and that conviction of the author's character is one of the
graces of his book. The Jacobins, who may laugh at it,
can neither answer it nor equal it.
Farewell ! till we meet. The hour of attack approaches,
and I am beginning to throw off my weeds of peace, and
furbish up my armour. I am luckily, too, at present in
much better health than I have been through the greatest
part of the summer. 1
1 The Crewe Papers : Windham Section, p. 23 (" Miscellanies" of the
Philobiblon Society, vol. ix.).
SECTION IV
SECRETARY-AT-WAR IN THE
PITT ADMINISTRATION,
1794-1801
SECTION IV
SECRETARY- AT-WAR IN THE PITT
ADMINISTRATION, 1 794-1801
CHAPTER I
1794
The state of parties : Windham's position among the leaders
of the Opposition : His personal charm : His merits and
defects as a speaker : The Duke of Portland clearly defines his
position at the beginning of the year : His reluctance to accept
office under Pitt : The Norfolk Militia : The Emigrant Bill:
Martinico : The acquittal of Warren Hastings : The managers
of the trial thanked by the House of Commons : The retire-
ment of Burke from the Parliament : He is granted a pension :
His wish for a peerage : The coalition of the Portland party
with the Government : The Duke, Lord Spencer, and Lord
Fitzwilliam accept office : Windham becomes Secretary-at-War
with a seat in the Cabinet : Irish affairs : Lord Spencer's
mission to Vienna : Sir Sidney Smith's plan of attack on the
French fleet : His dissatisfaction with the treatment he has
received at the hand of his country : The Prince of Coburg
resigns the command of the Austrian army : He is succeeded
by General Clerfayt : The loss of Valenciennes and Conde :
Windham goes abroad, and stays at the head -quarters of the
English army : The operations on the Scheldt : Windham, in
a private letter to Pitt, recommends the removal of the Duke
of York from the command of the British army abroad : The
delicacy of the position : Pitt's embarrassment : The contro-
versy concerning the appointment of Lord Fitzwilliam to the
viceroyalty of Ireland : The Duke of Portland and his friends
threaten to resign : Pitt at last consents to make the appoint-
ment.
THE political situation has already been defined
in the foregoing letters. The breach between
the followers of Fox and those of the Duke of
Portland had, naturally, weakened the Opposi-
tion. On the other hand, the Government was far from
197
/
198 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
strong, and Pitt was desirous to strengthen it by a coalition
with the Portland party ; but the Duke of Portland, while
well aware of the gravity of the situation, and considering
it his duty to support the measures introduced to allay
the unrest produced in this country by the spirit of the
French Revolution, was unwilling to take office under
Pitt.
Windham now occupied a position of no little import-
ance among the leaders of his party. It is a little difficult
to understand how, within eight years of his taking his
seat in Parliament, he was within an ace of becoming the
head of the Opposition (as he confessed he might have
1 done, had he been ambitious) when the dissension between
i Fox and Portland was in danger of destroying it altogether
' as a striking force.
The position he thus early secured was, apparently,
less the result of great parliamentary talents than of
personal popularity and the respect in which he was held .
As a friend of Fox and Burke, he had, of course, been
a marked man from the time he took his seat as member
for Norwich, and these men had naturally put him in the
way of making himself a power in the House. With this
excellent start, he had done the rest himself, and without
apparent effort. He was not a great orator, and he had
the defect of a somewhat shrill voice that did not carry
far ; but on all the subjects that he took for his own he
' spoke well. " In his parliamentary speeches his principal
I object always was to convince the understanding by
irrefragable argument, which he at the same time en-
livened with a profusion of imagery, drawn sometimes
from the most abstruse parts of science, but oftener from
the most familiar objects of common life. ... His
language, both in writing and speaking, was always
1794] NOT " A THOROUGH PARTY-MAN " 199
simple, and he was always fond of idiomatic phrases,
which he thought contributed greatly to preserve the
purity of our language." x Thus wrote Malone, who,
is, however, careful to add that Windham was never
" what is called a thorough party-man." This last;
regarded from the point of view of parliamentary leaders,
was a sad defect ; but Windham was never disloyal to his
political associates, though at times rather a dangerous
as well as a candid friend. To all affairs, whether of public
or private life, he brought a chivalrous sense of honour,
and when he changed his views, as change them he did on
more than one occasion, no one ever doubted his sincerity.
The Duke of Portland to William Windham
Bulstrode : January n, 1794
When I look at the date of your Letter and recollect
the sort of engagement I entered into at the time I re-
turned you my thanks for it, I feel it quite impossible to
attempt to justify my silence. It is very certain that the
subject, on which I undertook to give you my sentiments
more at length, abounds with so many unpleasant vexa-
tions and distressing considerations that I can not but say I
was always ready to avail n^self of a pretext to lay it
aside ; and I will say with no less truth, that although the
temper and habit of your mind appeared to me necessarily
to suggest to you many questions and many uses of con-
science respecting our publick conduct, the line which
it became and behoved us to follow in the present crisis
seemed to me so plain and distinct, that even the jealousy
of my friendship for you did not give me a minute's appre-
hension of any difference in our ultimate decision.
After all that has been said and written upon the
subject, the question for our present determination
reduces itself to the consideration of what our Duty to
1 Gentleman's Magazine, June 1810, xxx, 590.
200 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
the Publick requires us to do as Whigs, that is; as
members of a Party, or, as unconnected Individuals —
or, in other words, what are the most effectual means
that can be taken by US for the support of the Govern-
ment and Constitution of our Country, and the general
preservation and maintenance of Religion, Law, Good
Order, in short, of the principles and purposes of Civil
Society.
I know Fit has been very strongly urged, and by some
for whose judgement and disinterestedness I have the
highest respect, that our Duty calls upon us at this
moment not only to cooperate or act in conjunction with
ministers, but to make so perfectly a common cause with
them as to become members of their Administration by
accepting certain offices which there is very good reason
to believe are ready to be offered to us. That every
mode of support other than this demonstrates a distrust
and diffidence on the part of the Giver, which cannot but
be injurious to the existing Government, be the hands
what they may, by which it is administered : that support
to be effectual must be given completely and indiscrimi-
nately, and cannot be dealt out by apportionment or
measure ; that if given partially, it betrays an undecision
and unsteadiness of character in the Givers, which in as
much as it is prejudicial to them, equally diminishes and
weakens the effect, even of that portion of assistance
which it is intended to be Given, so as to render it doubt-
ful whether it is not rather of disservice than of any
ability or benefit to the Publick. This subject has also been
treated with ridicule as well as with good and powerful
arguments, but it is an abuse of your time to take more
notice of them, knowing as I do that there is not a medium
through which this subject would be seen in which it has
not been prescribed to your view, that friendship, affec-
tion, partiality, admiration for you, Integrity and
artifice have all been exerted to the utmost to induce you
to adopt this opinion ; and I only state them to show
1794] THE WHIG PARTY 201
you, that I am not unmindful of the arguments which
have been used on this side of the question.
As I have long been in the habit of believing that
certain obligations or conditions or Duties are respectively
attached to every station or rank of life, I have no difficulty
in admitting that the acceptance of office under certain
conditions is one of those to which persons of our de-
scription are liable ; but then I contend that the judge-
ment of those conditions, under, what I shall call, his
innate responsibility rests with every individual. I am
also decidedly of opinion that the existence of a Whig
Party is essential to the well being of this Country, as
well as to the preservation of its Constitution, and allow
me, my dear Windham, when the name of Whig has been
so prostituted and counterfeited, as we have seen it, to
deposit with you in a very few words my definition of
the Whig Party, which I have always understood to be :
an Union of any number of persons of independent minds
and fortunes formed and connected together by their
belief in the principles upon which the Revolution of 1688
was founded and perfected ; and by the attachment to
the present form of our Government to all its Establish-
ments and Orders Religious and Civil ; and the test of
whose conduct as a Party, must consist in their never
supporting, proposing or resisting, any measure, in or out
of Parliament, to which, if they were possessed of power,
if they were the Ministers of the Country, they would
not give equally the same treatment.
Considering these positions as the standard or scale by
which I am to try the propriety of the Conduct I am to
hold upon all publick occasions, it is certainly not from
envy and I hope as little from resentment that I feel
myself under the' necessity of adverting to the present
Administration. Whenever I have thought their measures
right I have supported them, and as often as I think so
I will support them, in the Conduct of the present War.
Though there are years in which I may have thought them
202 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
injudicious, and some which have been unfortunate, they
will not, in the present moment, be arraigned or blamed
by me ; nor shall any encouragement be wanting on
my part to bring the War to a successful, a safe and
honorable termination. I shall advert to the conduct of
the present Administration no further, nor desire the
principles of their formation or conduct to be remembered,
no otherwise, than as they may be necessary to justify
the opinion I mean to submit to you. It will not be
denied to me that the characteristick feature of the
present Reign has been its uniform and almost un-
remitting attention and study to debase and vilify the
natural aristocracy of the Country, and, under the proper
pretence of abolishing all party distinctions, to annihilate,
if possible, The Whig Party. For these express purposes
the present Ministry was formed ; and that they have most
religiously adhered to and most exemplarily fulfilled the
purposes of their creation every year of their existence
would furnish us with abundant instances ; but this
conduct at the time of the Regency would of itself be
sufficient and I would be satisfied to confine myself to
that measure only, could I forget what passed no longer
ago than the latter end of the last Session with regard to
the Election of the 16 Peers of Scotland. But to com-
press what occurs to me upon this subject into the smallest
possible compass, I will not insist at all upon the objec-
tions which arise out of the circumstances I have just
alluded to, and I will endeavour in the further considera-
tion of this question to make the interest of the publick
the main and sole ground upon which my opinion shall be
formed.
If the case could permit of any exception, I should
insist that there never was a crisis, in which it was of so
much importance, as the present, that the Character of
those, who are admitted to responsible situations in
Government should be exempt from all suspicion of being
influenced by motives of interest, that, considering the
1794] LORD THURLOW RESIGNS 203
predicament in which we have so long stood in opposition
or contradistinction to the present Ministers, it would be
almost impossible, for any of us, under any circumstances
which have as yet come to my knowledge to accede to,
and suffer ourselves to, be incorporated into the present
Administration without making ourselves obnoxious to
such suspicions ; from whence I conclude, that it is
inconsistent with the uniform tenor of our Conduct and
incompatible with our duty to the Publick to accept any
offer which there is any reason to imagine will be made to
us. The conversations which passed about the time of
the late Chancellor's x removal from His Office, the Glass
which Lord Loughborough was desired by Dundas and
authorised by Pitt, to hold up to us, the overtures which
have been since made to you, and the intimation of such
a weight, of so many seats, in Cabinet as might be suffi-
cient to ensure an honourable support to Lord S[pencer]
if he could be prevailed upon to undertake the Lieu-
tenancy of Ireland are proofs to demonstration to me,
that no intention has ever been entertained or perhaps
conceived of forming an Administration upon such a
Basis as would comprehend the collective strength of the
Country ; that the ideas of strengthening Government
have not originated out of a wish or hope of Union, but;
as I fear, out of a desire to take advantage of the differences
which have unhappily arisen among us, and with a view
to make those divisions, which have been the consequence
of them, irreconcilable and irreparable. This at least has
been evidently the object of all the new Proselytes.
When a conduct has been pursued so very reverse from
that which I should have thought the peculiarity and
magnitude of the present Crisis required, and which the
Duty of Persons in Ministerial situations imposed upon
them, I own myself at a loss to give them credit for that
sincerity or for any one of those motives which will
1 Lord Thurlow was succeeded as Lord Chancellor by Lord Lough-
borough, January 1793.
204 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
warrant me to suppose that any such inclination has
ever been felt by Pitt as can secure Us, were We to con-
sent to listen to his overtures, from the reproach of having
made a sacrifice of our principles, or can give us ad-
mission to the publick service in such a way as to ensure
to Government the full benefit of the Influence We derive
from our characters. If it was worth while to advert to the
circumstances of the offer of the Marquisate of Rocking-
ham to Lord Fitzwilliam and of the Garter to myself,
there would appear in these trifles a want of sincerity, so
perfectly unnecessary that one cannot help wondering
at — but which it can not help discovering itself on such
very trivial occasions. You will allow that it must create
an impression not very favorable to the idea of trusting
what ought to be most dear to one, to the keeping of so
inattentive and careless a Manager. So much then
for the sincerity which We are to look for in these offers,
one word now for the Candor, and to you and me, who
each of us know a little of Ireland, it requires a measure
of Zeal for the publick service which I confess I am not
possessed of, to admit the state of that country to be
brought forward, to be set in the front of all their argu-
ments by the present Ministers as the inducement, the
justification, the unanswerable reason for our inlisting into
their Corps, for our not hesitating to accede to their
administration : and is it impossible to refuse one's hand
to Sylvester Douglas x and declare the honor of being
led by him through ranks of Renunciation, Commercial
Propositions, Regency Measures, encouragements and
discouragements to Catholics, and Reformers, alternate
submissions and resistances, new Jobs, new Boards, and
the whole Battle array of temporary expedients to the
Head of the Council Table in Ireland ? But here I will
leave this part of the subject, a very serious and impor-
tant one most assuredly, and one, which in my more
1 Sylvester Douglas (1743- 182 3), Member of the Irish Parliament,
afterwards created Baron Glenbervie.
1794] A TRIBUTE TO THE WHIGS 205
enthusiastic moments, I have looked to as one of the
earliest and most certain instruments by which, it might
be hoped, that, the salvation of this Country as well as
that, might be permanently effected. But in considering
the question of our acceding to the present administration,
it is not the expediency or prosperity of the measure as it
concerns any of us personally that I trouble my head
about : it is solely the effect which it would have upon the
publick mind, and its tendency through that Organ to
render Government more or less respectable, concerning
which I feel any way interested. It must be allowed that
there are several persons known by the name of the
Opposition or Whig Party who, from the responsibility
of their characters, possess a considerable share of the
good opinion and esteem of the Publick. Some of them
certainly owe this to their Talents and Abilities, but all of
them are at least as much indebted for it to the ingenuous-
ness, the integrity, and disinterestedness of their Conduct.
As long as they preserve this title to the publick esteem, so
long will they have it in their power either as Individuals
or as Party men to give very great assistance and strength
to Government by their avowed sanction and support
of the measures which Ministers may have formed in
their private Situations ; they can give energy to measures
which want force ; they can Control and suppress others
before they can have risen to a state to be obnoxious,
they can in many cases counteract popular prejudices,
and engage and insure popular favor, from the confidence
they possess from the supposition of any jealousy or
suspicion attaching to them, they can give the tone to the
publick mind, and very nearly be able to place every
measure of administration in the light in which they wish
to be seen. But let them accede to the present
administration, let them take offices under Mr. Pitt, and
from that moment their weight, their consideration, their
very names are lost. Will it ever from that moment be
a question what may be the opinion of Mr. Windham, Lord
206 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
Spencer, Lord Fitzwilliam, or any other person of that
description ? Whether suspicion or distrust shall follow
that step, I don't here inquire — I will even suppose that
the publick will do you all perfect justice — But You
become involved in the mass of administration, you
become the adherents and followers of Pitt. You may be
of some use in Council, but your Station in publick opinion
is gone, it is lost, and, as far as I am able to judge, can
not in the present moment be compensated by any good
which may be done by your obtaining Seats in the Cabinet.
As upon the Party, the effects of this conduct can not but
be productive of very material injury ; and to one, devoted
to Party as I was, for the reasons which I have stated in
the former part of this Letter, it can not but appear
certain to produce the most serious injuries to the interests
of the Publick. It has of late been specially convenient
to some persons, to whom it has at other times been as
convenient to be thought to be attached to the Whig
Party, to suppose, and to endeavour to make it generally
believed, that the Party was broken to pieces, that it
was dissolved, that it had not any longer even the means
of existence ; and I am sorry to say, but with too much
success. But according to my ideas of several of those
who have professed themselves members of it according
to my idea of its vital Principle, I shall deny the possi-
bility of its dissolution. It must be consistent with the
principles of Right and Wrong. That it has suffered, that
some of its most precious and most lovely Ornaments have
been torn from it, I admit and lament — the wound it re-
ceived last year in one of its most capital Branches, is an
event which affects me with the deepest concern and
affliction ; that no support can be now, at this moment,
expected from that Branch I can not deny ; but let us
hope, that time may restore it to its Parent Trunk, and
that it may again strengthen and invigorate its native
Stock. If the existence of a Whig Party is as essential, as
I contend it to be, to the well being and prosperity of the
1794] DISSENSIONS IN THE PARTY 207
State and that the inlisting with the present Ministers
is productive of discredit and weakness to that Party, I
conceive that it can not well be denied, under the actual
circumstances of this Country, that a greater injury could
befall the Cause of Government, than would ensue by the
principal members of that Party being induced to accept
any offers which can be held out to them by the present
Ministry. I have already said enough, and perhaps more
than enough, upon this subject; and yet I can not pass over
an argument arising, as I understand, out of the plans of
the present opposition and the irreconcileable difference
which is likely to continue for a very long period of time
between us and that description of persons. Because a
certain number of Gentlemen, who have been in the
habit of acting with us for several years, happen now
to differ from us so essentially upon points of very great
and high moment and importance, so as to have occasioned
a complete separation or breach between us ; and Be-
cause upon these points a perfect uniformity of sentiment
and Conduct has prevailed between the Whigs and the
present Ministers, it is urged that the Whigs ought to
accept offices (seats in the Cabinet, I understand) if such
should be offered them by the present Ministers. For
my own part, I must say that no such obligation can be
admitted by me, any more than that a conclusion is
warranted by the promises I have stated. I should easily
conceive a proposal on the part of administration to that
effect to be particularly ill timed and in all respects very
injudicious and ill imagined. It would seem on this part
an admission of weakness which our Conduct is intended
to render unnecessary and would be a disregard or aban-
donment of an advantage which the liberality of that
conduct would alone hold out to them. In another
light it can not be considered but as liable to particular
objection in the present moment, in as much as it would
subject them to the imputation with which they have
been so often charged, of availing themselves with eager-
2 o8 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
ness of these unhappy differences to prejudice the cha-
racters of that Party and of those very persons whom
it is their interest to hold out to the publick view as
disposed to give them a disinterested and consequently
the most effectual support. So far with respect to the
offer, now as to the acceptance of it ; I can not discover,
with all the attention I am master of, any one induce-
ment or justification which this unhappy schism affords
for it : in my view of it (the schism) it operates the direct
contrary way. I should infer that it rendered it necessary
for us to be more reserved and guarded in our conduct
towards administration, and to be more than ordinarily
cautious in not giving ground for suspicious jealousies of
an interested nature. That it being but too probable that
opposition, even to this War, would not be an unpopular
conduct, and considering of whom that Opposition would
be principally composed, comparisons would naturally
be made of their conduct with that of the Friends they
had guided ; and that this consideration ought to be an
additional argument against our listening to any offer
that could give colour to suspicions which I am very sure
the factious spirit which animates and actuates some
of those who compose that opposition will not let them
be backward in raising and propagating. I therefore
must be allowed to say that to the best of my poor judge-
ment I can not but rank this argument on the side of
those which I should urge for depreciating any such
offer in the present circumstances. There now remains,
as I believe, and as you must hope, only one more subject
for consideration, and on that I mean to say but a very
few words, as I conceive I have already in a great measure,
anticipated what would be applicable to it. But it having
been asked, if a sincere disposition to form an administra-
tion upon what we consider its true bottom should
really exist, whether it should be frustrated ? I will
acknowledge to you, to whom I wish to speak without
any reserve, that it is a question which under the present
1794] A RALLY TO GOVERNMENT 209
circumstances would require the most cool and serious
consideration, and to which I am certainly not prepared
to give an answer. It does not however seem to me to be
an embarrassment of which we are immediately likely to
feel the weight, and in the meantime I have not the least
hesitation in declaring, that considering the proofs I have
had of the sincerity and candour of the present Ministers,
and the judgement I have been able to form of the habits
of their minds and their general track of sentiments, it is
my clear and decided opinion that the disposition, such
as it appears to me, ought most certainly to be frustrated,
and if possible the idea of it not suffered to exist, because
it seems to me incapable of producing any other effects,
than the ruin of those who suffer themselves to be
deluded by it, the inflicting a deeper wound on the cause
of Whiggism than it has ever yet suffered, and pre-
paring a severer blow for the cause of Government than
it has yet been exposed to.
You are now possessed of my sentiments respecting the
conduct which it appears to me it would become us to
hold in the present crisis. I have laid them very fully before
you, and without any reserve. Should they be fortunate
enough to meet your concurrence, and that of any other
person (I mean Lord Spencer in particular) or persons to
whom you may think proper to communicate them, I
shall be extremely happy, and very ready to concert with
you the best means of giving them effect. You cannot
be more anxious than I am to give the most effectual
support to the War, to reestablish the Reign of Order,
and to vindicate the cause of Whiggism. I shall be in
town on Tuesday, and hope to find you there. 1
Frederick North 2 to William Windham
January 28, 1794
I am truly sensible of your kindness in communicating
to me the Step you have taken in Regard to that of
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 17.
2 Frederick North (1766-1827), afterwards fifth Earl of Guilford.
I O
210 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
Portland and rejoice most sincerely in its Success.
Though I have no personal Connection in that Quarter;
the being able to form an independent Party under so
very respectable a Head, in this Critical Moment, is what
has long appeared to me the most desireable political
Event that could take Place ; and I hope that Lord
Spencer, Charles Townshend and Cholmondely have
already told you how much I wished it, though I doubted
of its taking Place. At present I wish you Joy of it most
sincerely, and request you to believe that no one coin-
cides with you more sincerely in that and every other
Opinion, than,
My dear William,
Your most affectionate and faithful Servant,
Frederick North 1
William Windham to Captain Lukin
Hill Street, March 22, 1794
The papers of yesterday announced your return to
the Downs with some Danish vessels, arrested in con-
sequence of the late orders. I hope it may turn out that
they will be made prizes. The conduct of these Swedes
and Danes is so perfectly rascally, that I have no sort of
compassion for them, and none, I dare say, will be felt
by those who will find such good account in this kind of
neutral war. The only danger is, that they may be driven
at last to join themselves openly to those to whom they
are now giving every kind of clandestine assistance.
Though they will find their own destruction in this, they
may, in the main, considerably embarrass our operations.
No great stroke has yet been struck by any of the
armies on the continent. Our campaign here too, in the
Houses of Parliament, is pretty quiet. If it was not for
the trial of Mr. Hastings, and the delay which his friends
create, by insisting on the presence of the judges, and
1 Add. MSS. 37874 f. 6.
1794] THE DEFENCE OF ENGLAND 211
adjourning the proceedings in consequence, till after the
circuit, he might be set at liberty in a few weeks ; and I
should then be tempted to make an excursion towards the
coast, and to meet you probably either at the Downs or
at Portsmouth.
There is another business indeed that may call me
towards Norfolk. With a view to the possibility of a
descent, troops of different sorts are proposed to be
raised in aid of the Militia ; one class of which will be
volunteer cavalry, composed of persons who are in a
state to furnish their own horses, and till they are called
out of their own county (which is to be only in the case of
actual invasion) are to receive no pay, nor any thing from
government, but their saddles and arms. What think
you of the possibility of my raising a troop of fifty such
persons, including such as part of those concerned may be
willing to hire or bring with them, in addition to them-
selves ? Should the occasion not arise in which their
services will be really wanted, the trouble will be very
little, as I should not propose their meeting more than
once a week ; and the expence would be no more nor so
much as attends their weekly meetings at market. For
a uniform, I would have nothing but a plain coat, such as
they might wear at other times, or no more ornamented
than might make them a little proud of it. I believe
something of this sort I must attempt, and if it could be
settled without the necessity of more attention on my
part than I ought to allow myself to spare from other
objects, I should not dislike to have such a troop estab-
lished under my direction.
Mr. Courtenay (the member) who dined with me
yesterday, shewed me a letter which he had received
from a Mr. Hayes, one of the Lieutenants, I conceive,
on board the Boston, in which an interesting account
is given of some of the principal circumstances of
the action. It appears; by his account, that the
Boston had only 200 hands, not above 30 of whom had
212 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
ever before been on board, while the Ambuscade had
450. This difference I suppose must have told con-
siderably : much more than the difference of four guns
which the French frigate had beyond ours. The conduct
of one of the Lieutenants, Mr. Kerr, seems to have been
singularly gallant. He staid on deck, after he had
received a cannister shot through his shoulder, and till
a splinter striking him on the face altogether blinded him.
The first Lieutenant too, a Mr. Edwards, though wounded
badly in the hand; came up again after the Captain's
death; to take command of the ship. In a former account,
it was said, I think, that he had fainted from loss of blood.
It is said in this letter, that there was a French fleet in
sight at the time when the Boston bore up. 1
The Duke of Portland to William Windham
London : April 16, 1794
By wishing to do too much I have the mortification of
having done nothing — to own the Truth. I had a great
desire to be authorized to say that your presence would
be necessary in the course of the Emigrant Bill, and for
that reason postponed my thanks and congratulations
which I have the most satisfactory assurances are both
equally and most amply due to you for the event of
Saturday at Norwich, — and in the mean time the Bill has
escaped, notwithstanding all the obstructions with which
it was threatened, and will get into our House to-day.
From what I hear of it, you have had a very great loss
indeed, in missing Burke's speech upon it on last Friday.
There is not a Jacobine who pretends to taste who dares
for his own sake to withhold from it his full tribute of
applause, and I understand it was given in Burke's best
manner. You had also another loss of a similar kind in
not hearing Lord Mansfield in answer to Lord Lauderdale's
motion for overhauling the sentence against Muir and
1 Amyot, " Memoir of Windham," p. 32
1794] SIR CHARLES GREY'S SUCCESS 213
Palmer. 1 He completely overset all Lauderdale's facts,
his Law, his arguments and his Inferences, and the
best proof I can give you of its effect is that it appeared
to be spoken asfast as any one could wish and that he was,
after the first 5 minutes, as completely in possession of
the attention of his audience as any Speaker ever was upon
any occasion.
Accounts have been received to-day from Sir Charles
Grey, dated the 15th March, from the Camp before
Cape Bourbon, in which he says that the whole Island
of Martinico is in his possession, excepting the Forts
Bourbon and Royal, the latter it was in his power
to take whenever he judged it necessary, but wishing to
preserve the former he should be sorry to be obliged to
proceed to that extremity — since his landing he has lost
in killed 71 and in wounded 193 — and 3 missing. I
suppose long before this the English flag flies every where
in that Island. Would to God I could see the true French
Colours hoisted in Nantes, St. Malo's, or in any town in old
France. This wish leads me naturally to represent to
you that during your absence from hence the poor
Royalists will not have a friend, at least not one that can
say a word for them to Ministers, or who can support the
only cause that can be successfull, for sure I am that
neither the capture of Martinico nor of all the French
Possessions in the W. Indies will have any effect here, or
do one hundredth part of the service which the Common
Cause would derive from the real French Army in the
Vendee. Pray hold yourself engaged to dine with me the
first Trial Day [of Warren Hastings] after the Holidays
and I will ask some true Royalists to meet you. The
Clock strikes six. 2
1 Muirand Palmer sentenced for sedition. See Howell's State Trials,
xxiii, 1 17, 237.
2 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 39.
214 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
Richard Burke to William Windham
June 19, 1794
I am much obliged to you for your communication of
the intentions of Government with regard to my father;
which, as far as the pecuniary consideration goes, are fully
adequate to my wishes. 1 But I cannot help expressing
my surprise, that there should be anything like a demur
with regard to the peerage. It is not that I lay much
stress on what Sir G. Elliot conveyed to him from the
Ministers on that subject. I think his pretensions stand
upon grounds much stronger than any promises actual
or implied. The terms used to Sir G. Elliot might have
been general, tho' he seem'd to attach a particular sense
to them. They were certainly, however, not such as to
imply that the Ministers had very mean ideas with
regard to my father, and I did not conceive that what was
considered as a debt due from the country, due to the
opinion of Europe at large, could be less than the peerage.
However, it is for the Ministers to judge what they will
do or not do. It is a matter absolutely in their own
breasts. It would be as ridiculous for my father at this
time of day to haggle about the recompence for his services,
as it would have been absurd in the Ministers to chaffer
with him about the price before those services were
rendered ; services which if the effects of them could
have been foreseen or could have been bargained for
(if he was a man capable of bargaining) I do not believe
any rewards the country has to bestow would have been
thought too much. But in the retrospect, things have
1 Burke on June 16 concluded his famous nine days' speech, wherein
he sought to justify the impeachment of Hastings. Four days later he
and the other managers of the trial received the thanks of the House
of Commons. At the prorogation in July he retired from Parliament.
He was granted a Civil List pension of ^1200 on the lives of himself and
his wife, and a few months later Pitt secured him a further annuity
of £2500. Lord Fitzwilliam returned his old friend's son, Richard, the
writer of the above letter, for the borough of Malton.
1794] BURKE DESIRES A PEERAGE 215
a different appearance, especially when impressions are
no longer fresh and when the man is going off the stage
and can be of use no farther. It is, therefore, not un-
natural that difficulties should be made. I confess that
if the thing was to be judged of in the abstract, if my
mother was not concerned, and if the arrangement of his
affairs did not imply the sale of his place in the country
(in which so much of his as well as my mother's satis-
factions are involved), I should certainly agree with you,
that it would be more becoming the place and character
my father sustains in the world — foregoing all expecta-
tions from the public to cut himself down to the measure
of his means (which, however moderate, are more than
human necessities require) than to consent to have his
services, which now stand in the first order, set down by
a secondary reward, at a secondary standard. As matters
stand however, some sacrifice of dignity must be made
to ease. And tho' I think he might expect an otium
cum dignitate and that the peerage is not more than his
due and, if I may say, the specific reward appropriate to
his peculiar services, Yet if the Ministers think other-
wise and think that services like his can be paid in money
— as far as my vote goes, I shall advise him to submit;
and I see nothing else for him to do, but to take what is
given him with thankfulness, and with as good a grace as
he can.
I cannot think that the Ministers have sufficiently con-
sidered or that it can be their intention that what they
do should lose so much of its grace and effect with regard
to the public, by what they withhold ; or that they have
reflected what will be thought when it comes to be known
that this was an object to my father and that it was
refused on any grounds whatever. If they do not give
it to him, for God's sake for what kind of services is it
reserved, unless it is determined that it should never be
given to civil service, or only follow in the common line of
official promotion ? Who do they mean to make peers
216 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
in future ? I say nothing with regard to the past, tho' I
believe some might be found on the list whose services
are not more brilliant or their fortune more ample than
his. Indeed; if it was a subject fit for me to discuss, I
might compare his services for effect and public benefit,
with those of any single man, since the Restoration. How-
ever this may end, I shall never forget your active friend-
ship on the occasion. And depend upon it that he is
sufficiently a philosopher not only to bear the want of
any reward at all, but perhaps what is more difficult
cheerfully to acquiesce in that which does not come to
his ideas. 1
The Duke of Portland to William Windham
July 3, 1794
My company had separated just before your letter
arrived, as you may probably know already, by having
seen Lord Spencer and Grenville who intended to call
upon you in their way home. I now regret your absence
much more than I could have imagined I could have had
any reason to do, because, from what I learn'd from Gren-
ville, I concluded that your mind was made up to become
a member of Cabinet and that the mode was become to you
a very secondary consideration. I can not but wish
you to reconsider this question and to recollect that I
may be under the necessity of bringing your doubts
forward to-morrow in a place where I should be very
sorry that any ground could be given for suspicion or
apprehension of backwardness in any, and more particu-
larly in so conspicuous a Leader on our side as you
certainly are. It would be idle to attempt to refute
arguments of which I am ignorant. But I can not help
1 Add. MSS. 37843 f. 41. It was decided to make Burke a peer.
The title was to be Lord Beaconsfield, and an income for three lives
was to be attached to it. The patent was being prepared, when the
death of Richard Burke on August 2, 1794, made his father no longer
desirous of the dignity
1794] WINDHAM ACCEPTS OFFICE 217
asking whether the Opponent to your coming into
administration considered that measure in its bearings
upon the general credit and character and Interests of
the Cause, and did give and was capable of giving its due
weight and appretiating the difference of the Office of
Secretary of War as merely ministerial, or being a real
efficient Cabinet employment, upon which my opinion of
the propriety of your acceptance of it, principally, if not
wholly, rests and depends. There are persons very wise,
and virtuous friends of ours, and most active and zealous
supporters of the Cause of Government, who endeavoured
to make Lord Fitzwilliam refuse to take an active part in
administration. But they could not succeed — and I
devoutly pray that further reflection will make them
equally unsuccessful in your case. 1
At last the question of joining the Pitt Administration
was settled, to the great relief of all concerned. "The
continuance of the negotiation occupied a good deal of
my time and thoughts, and prevented my engaging in
any regular employment," Windham wrote on July 2,
in his Diary. Neither the Duke of Portland nor Windham
was anxious to take office, and, when pressed to do so,
urged that they could give greater support to the Govern-
ment by remaining independent members. Burke, how-
ever, convinced Windham that this point of view was
erroneous, and that it was useless to have the best inten-
tions in the world without the power to give them effect.
To accommodate the members of the Portland party
various changes had to be made in the Ministry. The
Duke became Secretary of State for the Home Department
in place of Dundas, who went to the War Office ; Lord
Spencer accepted, for the time being, the position of Lord
1 Add. MSS. 37845 f. 41.
218 THE WINDHAM PAPERS 1794]
Privy Seal ; and, Lord Camden retiring, Lord Fitz-
william became Lord President,- on the understand-
ing that he was presently to be appointed Lord-
Lieutenant of Ireland. A Secretaryship of State was
at first proposed for Windham, but, to facilitate the
Ministerial arrangements, he took the place of Sir George
Yonge (who became Master of the Mint), as Secretary -
at-War, with a seat in the Cabinet. His patent as
Secretary-at-War, countersigned by Dundas, bears the
date July 11, 1794. 1 Five days later he was sworn in
as Privy Councillor.
It may here be mentioned that one of the conditions
imposed upon Pitt by the Duke of Portland was an
alteration in the government of Ireland at the time of the
juncture of the two parties. Lord Westmorland 2 was
Lord-Lieutenant. The Duke of Portland wished to go
there himself, and was only dissuaded, with great diffi-
culty, by Lord Mansfield and others, 3 who pointed out that
it was his duty to take responsible office in the Cabinet.
The Duke then decided that Lord Fitzwilliam must go to
Ireland. Though Pitt did not approve this choice, he did
not refuse his assent, but contented himself with saying
that Fitzwilliam could not be appointed until a suitable
office at home was found for Westmorland. Fitzwilliam
at once began his preparations for his new position. He
communicated with Grattan and Ponsonby, which
indicated that under his administration many changes
■
1 Having accepted office, Windham had to offer himself for re-
election at Norwich. His constituents were not well pleased with the
change in his political views, and Mingay, a lawyer, who offered him-
self as a candidate, received some support. Windham, however, was
returned to Parliament.
2 John Fane, tenth Earl of Westmorland (1759-1841).
3 See Lord Mansfield's letter, October 12, 1794 (vol. i. p. 259 of
this work).
1794] THE FITZWILLIAM CONTROVERSY 219
desired by the Irish would be made. Fitzwilliam did not
observe or enjoin secrecy, so it is not surprising that it
was generally reported in the summer that he had
already been appointed Lord-Lieutenant. The state-
ment was accepted as authentic, and travelled far,
reaching the Duke of York in Flanders at the end of
August. 1 Pitt, however, was in no hurry to remove
Westmorland ; and only in October, when the Portland
party gave him the choice between sending Fitzwilliam
to Ireland, and their resignation, did he appoint West-
morland Master of the Horse. Fitzwilliam then became
Lord-Lieutenant, and was succeeded as Lord President
by the Earl of Mansfield.
Dr. Charles Burney to William Windham
Churchfield, Margate : July 14, 1794
The Gazette, which announces your having honoured
Administration by joining them, has just reached me at
Margate. Amidst the congratulations, with which you
must be surrounded, on this occasion, permit me to
venture offering mine : not, however, so much to you,
as to the Country !
You have accepted a Post : — the honours of it can-
not greatly have influenced you : — the emoluments of it
cannot, in the slightest degree, have biassed you. — Even
those justly merited honours will not escape the breath
of slander ; and those emoluments will be dearly earned
by the labours, which must be necessary to give them
security. That Amor Patrice, however, which has in-
spirited your decision, fails not in conferring a due
reward. A reward, which Treachery cannot violate,
and Wealth cannot purchase !
Our Country has insured your services ; — Attacked by
an infuriate Enemy abroad ; endangered by an insidious
1 See the Duke of York's letter to Windham, August 31, 1794.
220 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
foe at home ; the very vitals of her Constitution under-
mined, avowedly by one Party, and secretly by another ;
united with allies, lukewarm, I fear, if not inclined to
treachery : — to our Country then permit me to offer my
congratulations ! — To our Country, which can still
boast herself supported by the l 0i koXoi kcu ayaOoi, and
may still hope to be preserved by the exertions of talents
scarcely rivalled, aided by virtues undaunted, and integrity
unimpeachable !
Pardon the intrusion ! — Your engagements must be too
numerous and too constant, well to allow it ; — but as
my distance from town prevents my wishing you joy in
person, I really feel too strongly, on the present occasion,
not to venture taking the liberty of doing it, by letter. 1
H.R.H. The Duke of York to William Windham
Head Quarters at Rosendael
August 1, 1794
I have many thanks to return you for your most
obliging letter which was delivered to me by Lord Spencer,
and am not half expressing to you how sincerely happy
I am at you and your friends having stood forward in
so Handsome a Manner, and accepted office and
responsibility at a moment when it is so peculiarly
necessary to strengthen the Hands of Governments.
I am likewise exceedingly glad that everything went off
so well at Norwich. 2
I am exceedingly impatient to hear the result of Lord
Spencer's negotiation. 3 I am sure it can not be in better
Hands, and I never saw people so eager so anxious
to succeed as both His Lordship and Mr. Grenville. I
confess I am exceedingly sanguine in my expectations
particularly since I saw the day before yesterday Letters
1 Add. MSS. 37914 f. 105.
2 Windham had secured re-election as member for Norwich.
3 Lord Spencer had gone in June to Vienna as Ambassador Extra-
ordinary. He returned to England in December.
DR. BURNEY
1794] LORD SPENCER'S MISSION 221
from the Prince of Coburg to the Hereditary Prince of
Orange written quite in a different stile from one which
he had received from Him only two days before, and
holding out a probability of His moving forwards again
soon with His Army. 1
Earl Spencer to William Windham
Vienna : August 12, 1794
I ought to have written to you a long while ago, but
my journey so entirely turned my head, and the occu-
pation I have had since I have been here has filled up
so much of my time that I have not been able till this
moment ; and in choosing this moment for the purpose,
I do not treat you very well, for I am more than half
asleep, having been the whole evening plodding over
the long letter 2 which you will have the reading of from
us in the Cabinet, which will very probably produce
something of the like effect on the Readers as it has on
the writers of it at least I am sure if you read it as we
wrote it at one o'clock in the morning, it cannot fail
to do so.
You will see by the contents of it what a long way we
are come, to do, as far as it seems, very little, and you will
not fail, I dare say, to observe that, as we have been
driving for nothing, we are determined you shall have
at least a long reading for nothing. However, as I am
sure you will have had enough of our dispatch already,
I will not give you a bad hash of it in my letter.
I promised Sir Sidney Smith, 3 to write to you something
about what he calls his Ideas, but my own Ideas have
1 Add. MSS. 37842 f. 67.
2 Regarding a project for an English descent upon the French coast
to aid the Royalists against the Revolutionists, which was to end in the
disastrous Quiberon Bay expedition.
3 William Sidney Smith, generally known as Sidney Smith (1764-
1840), entered the navy 1777, and fought at the battle of St. Vincent
and in other actions. He was sent home with despatches after the
evacuation of Toulon in 1793.
222 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
really been so turned and twisted and jumbled about
ever since, that I protest his have been pretty nearly
shaken out of my head ; in general, however, I re-
member he said a good deal about the French coasting
ships which, by their being very flat bottomed, can
run into shoal water where none of our Ships-of-War
can follow them, and of course he is very desirous of
having a fleet of flat-bottomed Vessels at his Command
to go and break them all to pieces. He does not seem to
think much of the Scheme about Calais, but he has an
Idea that something might be done at Havre ; he is
certainly an odd excentrick man, but he is very clever,
and has a great deal of contrivance about him, and if he
could any how be put into activity without giving offence
to more regular and orderly sort of Geniuses, who I believe
all look upon him as a Fellow of the College of Physicians
does upon a Quack Doctor, he might be of great service.
I cannot write this without telling how very much
both Lady Spencer and myself are obliged to you for
your very kind and friendly offer which she tells me you
made her the other day of an Ensigncy in the Guards ;
we are both as much obliged to you as if we had been in the
way of availing ourselves of it, and I am very glad it
happened so, as it gave you an opportunity of multiplying
your satisfaction, by obliging some body else besides us, on
the occasion.
Adieu, dear Windham, I wish much to be at home
again and among you all : I feel quite out of my Element
here, and though I don't know how much I might be in
my Element if I were at home in my new situation there;
yet I cannot help thinking I should be rather less of a
Bear in a Boat than I feel myself in this still newer
Character of a Negotiator. 1
1 Add. MSS 37845 f. 127.
1794] SIR SIDNEY SMITH'S ADVICE 223
Captain Sir W. Sidney Smith to William Windham
Private Diamond, at Plymouth
August 13, 1794
Your letter of the 3rd inst.; Franked the 7th, and sent
to Deal, has followed me here. Lord Spencer and I had
some conversation on the subject in question during the
passage to Holland and it was settled that I should com-
municate the purport of it, direct to you, on my return
to England. The Labour of beating to the westward
against strong contrary winds from Flushing to Plymouth,
and the necessary repairs of the Ship since my arrival,
have so taken up my time as scarcely to allow me any
for rest or refreshment, much less to set down quietly
and give you a digested and detailed opinion of the
Due de Le vis's 1 "crude" proposition. I am sorry my
distance from town and the orders I am under to go to sea
immediately will prevent my having an opportunity of
making the communication verbally.
The Due de Levis called on me (by introduction from
Lord Warwick), I believe previous to his waiting on you.
I gave him a patient hearing and think with you that
the Idea should not be wholly abandon'd, though it may
not be immediately practicable to carry it into effect in
the mode he suggests.
I agree with him entirely that the best way of acting
against France, either in order to make a diversion to
save Holland, to ward off a threaten 'd attack on this
countty, or to make an impression on the centre of the
enemy's country so as to effectuate the great object of
the war, is by a descent on their coasts. The point of
attack must depend on intelligence to be obtained, and
the extent of the force that may be destined to carry the
1 Pierre Marc Garton, Due de Levis (died 1830), left Paris in 1792
and joined the army of the Princes, in which he served as a private
soldier. He was wounded in the Quiberon expedition, and came to
England.
224 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
plan into effect. I am of opinion that the coast must be
destitute of sufficient strength to defend it by the con-
centration of their forces in the formation of their great
armies, but I am by no means of opinion that they are
so liable to be surprised as the Due de Levis seems to
apprehend, for their intelligence is so good and their
establishment of coast signals is so perfectly well
arranged and so well attended to that that intelligence is
quickly conveyed from one point to another. The attempt
might be made to surprise, but it should be with such a
force as would be equal to proceeding by open assault
when discovered, which is not impracticable on the very
gates of a place inadequately garrisoned and irregularly
fortified on some one side.
A Ruler laid on the map, from London to Paris shews
the strait line of shortest distance to be by way of Dieppe
or Havre de Grace and Rouen, and it is to be remember'd
that there is no chain of fortified places requiring regular
sieges by that route.
Having received the latter part of my education at
Caen in Normandy, I have had opportunity of being
acquainted with the Normans, and I am inclined to give
credit to the Due de Levis 's assertion that Normandy and
the Southern part of Picardy are disaffected to the
convention, or at least to the Jacobin System ; and conse-
quently that they might be induced to shew themselves
if a sufficient force was at hand, as a central point round
which to rally ; but my experience at Toulon has proved
to me that this never can be expected if the white flag x
is shewn to them as an earnest of the return of the antient
System in its full extent. A Constitution is the desire
of every thinking man in France, I am persuaded ; they
have seen the bad effects of unlimited power in the two
extremes of absolute and popular government too often
and too recently not to be averse to placing it anywhere;
and cannot (I think) be inclined to place it in the same
1 The flag of the deposed French monarchy.
1794] A PLAN OF CAMPAIGN 225
hands who misused it before; and who would be likely to
govern with a heavy hand in revenge for the persecution
they have endured. There can be little doubt that there
exists a party in France, and even in Paris itself, of the
moderate kind, impatient under the present Tyranny
which puts their persons and property in such an irksome
state of insecurity. This party might be induced to shew
itself if support were near, and such support cannot be so
quickly convey'd as by the shortest route and that on which
there are the fewest barriers, viz. that above named.
Calais from its position does not seem to come into
this line, or to be of any use as an insulated possession
now that the Netherlands are evacuated. Dieppe and
Havre I think would be valuable acquisitions. An
Army on the two Banks of the River Seine, using that
river as its line of communication, having its baggage;
battering train and magazines afloat under the protection
of Gunboats and consequently being unencumbered but
with horses and forage might move with facility and be
less liable to total discomfiture in case of failure, having
a floating fortress to rally to.
I am persuaded that an expedition of this kind, if it did
not succeed to the full extent of the object, might still
do essential service ; it would cut off one channel by
which Paris is supplied with provisions ; it would enable
government to form a positive judgment of the real
disposition of the people and finally in case of being
obliged to fall back by the arrival of the Northern army
on the East bank of the Seine, the {illegible'] would afford
our army a secure position with its flanks towards the
sea communicating on each side with its floating Magazines
by Carentan and La Hogue on the East, and the little
ports opposite Jersey on the west. Cherbourg would
by this position be cut off from the possibility of receiving
succour and as the high land behind the town overlooks
it, as Faron does Toulon, it must fall in the same way ;
and thus, in case of ultimate relinquishment of the enter-
I P
226 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
prise, we should have destroy 'd the two ports of Havre
and Cherbourg, from whence we have otherwise everything
to apprehend if the enemy are left quietly at liberty to
realise their project of invading and " revolutionising "
this country. I speak from local knowledge of the coasts
and ports in question, having examined the ground at
leisure during the peace when on a visit to the Due
D'Harcourt, then Governor of Normandy, and I recom-
mend his being consulted on the enterprise, his local know-
ledge and military experience, together with his name and
influence in the country, would go a great way towards
ensuring the success of it. I beg to be understood to be
very far from volunteering it myself. I see my way
clearly but I do not see my means. Long legged frigates
cannot approach the shore to cooperate with or cover an
army. Gun boats alone can do it, but it is not a boat
with a Gun that answers to my Idea of a Gun boat. I
have acquitted my conscience towards my country by
having given my Ideas distinctly to Lord St. Helens on
the form of vessel I consider as adapted to this service as
well at home as in Holland, where the species actually
exists and requires only to be fitted. I have thus enabled
whoever may be destined for that service to act as my
peculiar experience would enable me, but I hope I may
stand excused from stepping forward myself, which I
am disinclined to do considering the little encouragement
I meet with for such voluntary exertions. Besides, no
man can serve in a situation of any degree of eminence
without hurting his private fortune, and I have unfortu-
nately none to supply the demands incident to such a
situation. If I had I would most willingly sacrifice that
as I do my time and my health ; these with a daring
spirit and as much military experience as I could acquire
by going wherever it was to the obtained, being all I
can call my own, I devote them to my country's service,
though I confess to you not so cheerfully as I have done
hitherto. I have suffered such pecuniary embarrassment
1794] THE NATION'S GRATITUDE 227
and distress since my return from Toulon as makes me,
though reluctantly, impeach my country's Justice ; an
Englishman never works the free horse to the utmost
of his powers without seeing that he is well fed when he
comes home, and yet collectively they can suffer an
officer who has served them to the best of his ability to
starve in their streets. I do not say this in any ill
temper. I am ready to do what I am ordered as a military
man ought to be, but when a man has suffered much
and worked hard without having in the least mended his
situation or even his prospects in life, his feelings must
be wounded at seeing that he is working to little purpose.
If a service which is denominated from the Throne and
acknowledged by Parliament of great national importance
be left unrequited, what hope is there that any future
service will be more consider'd ? I content myself at
present with a cruise in a frigate; the object of which;
as it cannot affect the success of the war, does not afford
even the prospect of that satisfaction which is the only
repayment I can look to under the certainty of a lodging
in the King's Bench prison as my ultimate retreat when
the service is ended. I hope, my dear Sir, you will
excuse the freedom with which I speak, but an honest
man may, nay ought to, speak out to another. 1
Edmund Burke to William Windham
Beacons field: August 17; 1794
I always knew you to have a mind formed for generosity
and friendship— and I now experience it in the way of
all others most acceptable to me, that is in your protection
of Woodford. 2 My Richard was very sollicitous for his
establishment ; and the employment which you have so
very kindly bestowed upon him entitling him to half-pay
1 Add. MSS. 37852 f. 32.
2 Colonel E. J. A. Woodford, appointed by Windham Inspector-
General of Foreign Corps in the pay of Great Britain.
228 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
puts him out of anxiety for the future. It will be a satis-
faction for you to know, that besides giving to my Mind;
and poor Mrs. Burke's, a solid comfort, you serve a young
man of very great honour, and great good-nature, as
well as of excellent Talents and much activity. There
will appear in nothing you have done, any the least trace
of blind partiality. It is, too, the Son of an excellent
father (of whom, however, I have not much personal
knowledge), who is, I believe, of remarkable ability in his
profession, I mean Col. Woodford. If he is what I
hear of him he is a sort of man to be looked to ; for I fear
we are not overrich in soldiership. Again a thousand
thanks for what you have done for his son.
I have been talking with our excellent Dr. Walker
King, (who, having been several times in Ireland with his
father, the Dean of Raphoe, has very just notions
concerning that country), about the University. He
tells me, indeed concurrently with the universal opinion,
that Dr. Murray has, for several years, governed the
College as Vice-Provost, with the greatest credit, and
indeed saved it from utter Ruin ; and that he is in the
highest Esteem with the whole body. Now, he is in the
order of Gradation, and would possess no power, but
what in effect, he has long exercised. This would cut
off all Cabal, all bickering, and be a plain and simple
answer to every kind of unstatutable applications from
without and to all intrigues from within ; not but that
I believe, if the place were elective, they would choose
of themselves this respectable Divine. Be sure, my
dear friend, that I do not meddle in this affair from any
predilection to persons : I do not know Dr. Murray
personally. If I have anything personal in it, it is my
earnest desire that everything done in the Duke of
Portland's department should be done to his honour. 1
1 Add. MSS. 37843 i> 43-
1794] GENERAL CLERFAYT 229
H.R.H. The Duke of York to William Windham
Head Quarters
August 31, 1794
I have many thanks to return you for your very obliging
letter which was delivered to me the day before yesterday
by Mr. Gunning, the Surgeon-General. I am exceedingly
sensible of your attention to my representation in having
sent Him, and have no doubt of his being able after a
thorough examination to put the Hospitals here in a
good train, which I am sorry to say they want very
much. I will take care that he shall receive every infor-
mation, which can be given Him, and he must afterwards
visit the different Hospitals and examine Himself into
the different disputes which subsist between the Gentle-
men of the Medical Departments and which I am afraid
have been very detrimental to His Majesty's service, as
well as to the Health of many of His brave Soldiers.
I am sincerely rejoiced at Lord Fitzwilliam's having
accepted of the Lord Lieutenancy of Ireland. His ap-
pointment can not but give the greatest satisfaction to
both countries. 1
The Death of Count [illegible] is certainly very unfor-
tunate at this moment. I trust, however, that it will not
cause any essential delay in the negotiations. Lord
Spencer and Mr. Grenville appear to me to have suc-
ceeded thus far perfectly well in theirs, as I have already
received a letter from the Prince of Cobourg notifying
to me his having resigned the Command of the Austrian
Army to General Clerfayt, and this morning I have
received a letter from General Beaulieu acquainting me
of his being arrived at Grave, and being charged with
a commission for me. I shall do every thing in my
power to persuade him to press General Clerfayt to
move forwards as soon as possible as particularly at this
time of the year every moment is pretious.
1 See ante, p. 219.
230 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
I have at last taken up yesterday the position which
I had determined upon ever since our retreats with the
Prince of Orange, but which he has under different
protests delayed me for these last four weeks from
occupying. My right is covered by the Inundations of
the river Aa; my front by the Fortress of Bois-le-duc,
and my left is at present secured by its connection with
the Austrian Post at Vechel. Should the Austrians
however not be able to keep that Post, which I trust
now will not be the case, by throwing it back a little it
will be compleatly covered by a Great Morass called
the Peel.
From this position I can move forwards to the Assist-
ance of any of the Dutch Forteresses which may be
attacked, I effectually cover the only passage into Holland
which is not defended with Forteresses, and I keep up my
communication with the Austrian Army.
Before I finish my letter I can not help troubling
you, in your official capacity concerning the Bat and
Forage Money for the officers of Cavalry. While I was
in England last winter I made an application for leave
to give it to them, to which I did not get an answer for
some time, when Lord Amherst informed me that it was
settled, and that I should receive the official instructions
to issue it by the next mail, which good piece of intelligence
I lost no time in communicating to the officers. Since that
time I have never received the orders which I was led
to expect and naturally have not issued it. The Cavalry
officers now complain bitterly, and certainly, if I may be
allowed to give my opinion, with some reason. I should
therefore be infinitely obliged to you if you would enquire
into this Business, and if possible attain it for them as
really their courage and good conduct is very exemplary
and their necessary expenses are very great. 1
1 Add. MSS. 37842 f. 71.
1794] THE LOSS OF VALENCIENNES 231
William Pitt to William Windham 1
Wimbledon : September 10, 1794
The unfortunate Loss of Valenciennes and Conde, 2 and
the opinion you appear to have of the little Dependence
to be placed on the Exertions of Austria (in which our
Letters from Vienna concur) change much the Situation
of Affairs since We parted. The Suggestions which you
state relative to the Command, are such as to shake in
some degree (coupled with the other Circumstances)
my Opinion of the Advantage of sending Lord Cornwallis ; 3
but how this may finally be arranged for next Campaign,
cannot now be determined. It must depend partly on
what has passed at Vienna and on many other Con-
siderations. In the mean Time there is no doubt that the
Duke of York's Command must continue while the opera-
tions now in Contemplation last. It is equally clear that
the Force destined to serve under Lord Moira can neither
be withdrawn nor exchanged during the Course of those
Operations. If the operations should be soon concluded,
the Exchange might still take place ; but I incline to think
it would be too late for any Attempt on the Coast, and
on the whole I am more and more inclined to the Opinion
that any Attempt in that Quarter (except sending in
Supplies) ought to be deferred till next Spring, when it
may be attempted with a very formidable Force.
The Projected Attack upon Antwerp, and the forward
movement is, I think, clearly right, if Clerfayt will enter
into it heartily. From what is understood here of his
Instructions, compared with his Letter to the Duke of
York, I cannot help having some doubt whether he will
1 Windham had left England at the end of August and was at this
time at Berlikom, where the Duke of York had quartered his army.
2 Valenciennes, which had surrendered to the Allies under the
Duke of York on July 28, 1793, was retaken with Conde by the French
on August 30, 1794.
3 Charles Cornwallis, first Marquis and second Earl Cornwallis (1738-
1805), General, Commander-in chief in India, 1786-1793.
232 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
not find reasons for declining the Attempt. Supposing
Him not to do so, My chief Reason for thinking the
Measure useful is that a Victory on our part will at least
check the Operations of the Enemy, damp their spirits
and raise those of our Army. I am not competent to judge
how far it can enable our Armies to take a Position which
they can improve or which they can maintain for the
Winter. The Beating the Enemy (if there is a fair Chance
of it) is itself a great object (independent of Consequences)
in the present Circumstances. If the Consequence should
be to dislodge them from Flanders, or to drive them
beyond the Scheld, it would be infinitely better. But I
cannot help fearing that it will be very doubtful whether
We can take secure Winter Quarters in Flanders. Our
Situation was not thought good last Year, even when
We had Valenciens and Conde. I do not mention this
as a reason against the attempt, which it certainly is not,
provided there is a good chance of immediate Success ;
But I wish it to be considered beforehand, whether in
case of Success, a Safe Position for Winter Quarters
can be established, except under Cover of the Dutch
Fortresses.
The Manner in which the Duke of York has treated
these discussions certainly does him infinite Credit. The
King has sent me a Letter from H.R.H., which has struck
me very much, both from its Manliness and Liberality.
In my own Mind I consider the Expedition to the Coast
as over for this Year, except for the Purpose of Supplies.
We have sent to our Friend Tinteniac and shall probably
send him over immediately to explain why nothing can
be done now and to say that much will be done hereafter.
If Lord Spencer has not closed already on the Terms we
proposed, I think our Plan will now be, to give no Subsidy
either to Austria or Prussia, but to employ 2,000,000/. in
getting Troops where We can. Poland is so distant, that
even if Measures are taken immediately and quickly, I
doubt whether We can have the Use of them early next
1794] WINDHAM IN CAMP 233
Campaign. But you will have the Means of collecting
much useful Information on these Points, and it will
be very material to ascertain, as far as possible, what
subsidised Force can be obtained exclusive of Austria and
Prussia.
I hope you will be enabled to send us an Account
particularly of what is the Plan for Winter Quarters in
Flanders. Till the attack on Antwerp is over, I reckon
We have no Chance of seeing you, and I am sure you will
be of infinite Use while you remain where You are. 1
William Windham to Mrs. Lukin
Berlikom, near Bois le Due
September 12, 1794
The ways of a camp life are so idle, that all the habits
of business which I may be supposed to have acquired in
the last two months, seem to give way before them ;
And I am in danger of finding myself a worse corre-
spondent here, when I have so much to tell, and so much
more time for telling it, than I was in London, when
occupied from morning till night ; and when my occu-
pations would leave me but little else to talk of. In fact,
the pleasures of moving about in a scene so full of interest,
the fatigue that is apt to follow, and the want of a com-
fortable room to retire to, are the causes that prove so
fatal to my correspondence, and the reasons why, for
want of a little occasional respite, my pleasure in this
situation is less than it shouldbe.
We are, as you will have learned from one of my
former letters, near Bois le Due, which is rather a large
town, and a strong fortress belonging to the Dutch.
About three miles from this place are the Duke's head-
quarters, and at four or five miles further is the camp.
The immediate place of my residence is the village where
headquarters are, and I am lodged in the house of a
1 Add. MSS. 37844 f. 34.
234 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
Dutch attorney. The country about is light and sandy,
affording very pleasant rides, which are not the less so
from your occasionally meeting bodies of troops, of
different dresses, establishments, and countries. The
variety in this respect is not so great as it was last year,
nor, from a number of circumstances, is the scene so
interesting, after allowing even for the difference of its
not being seen, as that was, for the first time. The relief
which all this gives, after confinement during the summer
to London, and to such business as that of the war-office,
is more than you can conceive. It has given me a new
stock of health ; and the beauty of the autumn morn-
ings, joined to the general idleness in which one lives by
necessity, and therefore without self-reproach, has given
me a feeling of youthful enjoyment, such as I now but
rarely know. You cannot conceive how you would like
a ride here, with the idea that if you wandered too far,
and went beyond the out-posts, you might be carried off
by a French patrole. It is the enjoyment that George
Faulknor was supposed to describe, of a scene near
Dublin, where " the delighted spectator expects every
moment to be crushed by the impending rocks." Were
public business out of the question, I should stay here
probably for a week or two longer ; but, as it is, my stay
must be regulated by other considerations, and it is
probable that the messenger whom we are waiting for
impatiently may occasion my departure immediately.
The general state of things is as bad as need be. The
shooters in your part of the world must not suppose that
they have all the sport themselves. So strong is the love
of mischief among men, that all the shooting of one
another that is going on here, does not prevent their
filling up their intervals by a little murder of partridges. 1
1 Amyot, If Memoir of Windham," p. 36.
1794] THE CAMPAIGN OF 1794 235
William Windham to William Pitt
Grave : September 16, 1794
I will not trouble you with a detail of events, which,
however important, you will learn so much more satis-
factorily from the dispatch of his Royal Highness the
Duke of York ; but only say, that however unpleasant
another retrograde movement may be, and whatever
opinion may be entertained of our present position, with
the objections to which no one is so much impressed as his
R.H. himself ; the measure was wholly unavoidable ; and
if his R.H. wanted in any instance the concurrence of
every officer of consideration in the Army, it was in
endeavouring to maintain his position so long, as He
did. The evils, however, that might have been appre-
hended from such an endeavour have not been felt.
The retreat was effected in the most perfect order, and
without even being molested ; and the previous loss,
except in a part of the foreign troops, and where it
seems too to have proceeded from causes which no skill
or prudence of the Commander could prevent, has been
altogether inconsiderable. It was plainly desirable to
continue to maintain the position, till it should be known
whether the movements of the Enemy, were merely
intended to alarm, or were likely to be followed with his
whole force.
On the subject of the past, therefore, no more need
be said. Enough will remain in the consideration of
what should be done in future, with a view to which the
Duke will send off this day an aide-de-camp, to General
Clerfayt, and who will be accompanied, I believe, by
Mr. Pelham. The principal points to be considered will,
no doubt, long since have engaged your attention : and
will be stated probably more particularly in the Duke's
letter. The Question, I presume, is pretty much of
establishing the Austrians in the Country, where they
are, including in that idea the recovery of Treves : — of
236 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
preserving the frontier of Holland, and recovering, if
possible, in whole or in part, the possession of the Scheldt.
The Duke of York seems to be of opinion, that from
the direction of the River in this part, His movements
must become so circuitous, as to require a greater force
to render them effectual, than if He had not the benefit
of the protection of the River : But I should hope, that
He rather overrated the disadvantages of his situation
in that respect ; and that a corps less considerable even
than that which He has, might by being kept in a move-
able state, and applied with address to the movements of
the Enemy, make it impossible for them to pass the River ;
and might afford to his R.H. means far from being in-
effectual both for a co-operation with Gen. Clerfayt and
for all the other objects of the Campaign. These objects
for some time past have been confined very much, in
my apprehension, to the assistance of the Austrians in
maintaining their present position, and in the protection
of the Dutch Frontier.
The recovery of the Scheldt, though in the highest degree
desirable, has been for a great while very much out of
my hopes ; and it was very much from that consideration,
that I shared less, than I should otherwise have done, in
the desire of the Duke to maintain his late position, and
to take the chance of an action. It seemed to me, that
even a complete victory, attended with as great slaughter
and as great dispersion of the Enemy, as could possibly
be looked to, would have given us after all no very confi-
dent hope of being able to effect a great deal in that quarter.
At present with the Enemy not beat, and with this Army
at a greater distance, this prospect must of course become
very faint indeed. — I shall be very well satisfied, there-
fore, dating from my last hopes, if we secure the other
two points, namely, the establishing completely the
Austrians, and the preserving entire the frontier of
Holland. This, I should think, may very well be done;
with the chance too of something better, if every power
1794] THE APATHY OF THE DUTCH 237
concerned, will fairly play their part : But this will as
certainly not be done, (at least great doubt may be
entertained of it) if the Dutch are to go on, as they do,
throwing the whole business of their defence upon us, and
never seeming to entertain an idea, that they arc to
contribute anything to the support of their own cause,
or not to cheat and obstruct us, who have been willing
to undertake it, by every means in their power. There
is really such a brutish insensibility, a base selfishness in
the conduct of this people, so far as I have had an oppor-
tunity of knowing it, that I cannot but think, that nothing
will have any effect, but a direct menace to abandon
them to their fate ; and to make them sensible, that when
the means of safety are in their own hands, if they will not
make use of them, they will be left to perish. Whatever
they can hope to get done by another, they are perfectly
certain not to do themselves. The Duke of York is of
opinion that the loss of the Lys is to be ascribed wholly
to the measures which we took to assist them in its relief.
Finding that we were willing to do what we could, they
hoped that we should do everything ; and of consequence
abandoned immediately the measures, which they had
before intended, and which were then practicable, for
the relief of the place. As a Specimen of their exertions,
the Garrison of this place consists of a few companies of
very ordinary troops, with a General of 80 years of age;
so helpless and infirm, that the Bailiff of the Town, begged;
that whatever was necessary to be done for the mere
military police of the Town, might be done by our troops,
and under the direction of our officers.
The first thing, therefore, I should think, which
Government will be desirous of attending to, will be the
impressing the States with the absolute necessity of
coming forward fairly in their own defence. Representa-
tions of a Similar sort will probably not be thought
superfluous with respect to Austria ; and with respect
to objects not capable of waiting for the effect of such
238 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
communications, provision will be made; as far as
circumstances admit, by the Communication; which as I
mentioned above, the Duke is about to have with Gen.
Clerfayt. Till the result of this is known, it does not
occur that I have anything more to state or to suggest.
It does not appear, either, that after that time my presence
here can be of any particular use : I shall therefore, if
nothing new presents itself, continue in the intention;
which I wrote word of sometime since to Chatham; and
repeat the request, which I then made, of having a frigate;
if he can spare one, to meet me at Helvoetsluys about
the 20th. Should it appear to you; however, that my
presence here can be useful in any respect, I shall be at
your service, for a longer period.
[P.S.] Though the Duke of York's opinion seems at
present to be, that his situation at present may require
even a larger force than was necessary in that which he
quitted, yet it is possible, that further inquiry and
information may alter his opinion in that respect, and
that the Course of events may enable him to spare, as His
own inclination will prompt him to do, whenever He can;
a sufficient change to enable you to set up again; the
expedition to the Coast of France. You will forgive,
therefore, my urging to your consideration the importance
of keeping everything in readiness for such an event, that
no chance may be lost of what is so infinitely to be wished
as a successful attempt in that quarter. 1
The affairs in Flanders had been growing steadily
worse. After the defeat by Pichegru at Tournay (May 18),
when the ability of Generals Abercromby and Fox alone
saved the English army from disaster, the outlook became
more gloomy each week. Even the reinforcement of
7000 men, sent out in June under the Earl of Moira, had
failed to stem the tide of retreat. The suspicion in men's
1 Add. MSS. 37844 f. 40.
THK ni'KB OF YORK
//. Dawe, sculpt.
1794] THE DUKE OF YORK'S INCAPACITY 239
minds that the Duke of York was not a leader likely to
achieve success had slowly been crystallised into a con-
viction. The situation, however, was one full of diffi-
culty, and it was left to Windham to make that courageous
move, which resulted in the Duke's recall.
William Windham to William Pitt
Most private Grave : September 16, 1794
I am now to write to you upon a subject, which I feel
to be at once so delicate and important, that nothing but
a sense of that extreme importance, would induce me
to speak upon it, even under that seal of secrecy and
confidence, under which I wish you to consider it as being
delivered. My last letter to Mr. Dundas betrayed;
probably, an opinion, which, if the distinction might be
admitted, I should be better satisfied to have betrayed,
than declared ; but which, if it does exist, must be made
known in some way or another, however it may go to my
heart to do anything unfavourable to the hopes and
wishes of a person, for whom I feel the most genuine
respect and attachment. There is something too, that
has an appearance of treachery, — though certainly in this
instance an appearance only — in secretly frustrating
the views of any one, from whom one is receiving daily
marks of confidence and kindness, and whom one is anxious
to impress with an opinion of ones being warmly
attached to them. Such undoubtedly is my situation
with respect to the Duke of York. I really respect and
love him more and more, the more I see of him : I am
glad that He should be persuaded that I do so ; But
certainly no attachment that I have ever expressed or
meant to convey, can be supposed to be carried to that
length as that I should prefer his personal wishes or
interests to what may be capable of affecting the fate
of the country and of the world in a crisis like the present.
My opinion, therefore, on any point of this sort, where its
240 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
being known may be useful, must be declared, whatever
effect it may have, on those, whose wishes I should be
happy to promote, or whatever painful consequences it
may in the end draw upon myself. To avoid those
consequences I would take all legitimate means ; one of
which is to communicate my opinions in all possible
confidence. My motives are such (and can be no other)
as I should be ready to have manifested to all the world,
but it may be naturally wished not to have the fact known,
where the motive and the reason do not appear at the
same time.
Let me give you; therefore, freely but confidentially
my opinion, that the operations of this Army will, I fear,
never go on well, while the present Commander remains
at the head of it. This is my present opinion, nor do I
foresee any probability of change. It is, I am sure, so
true at present as to make me bless myself at our escape
from our late difficulties, and to alter my whole views of
what it may be proper to do, in the remaining part of the
campaign. It is from this latter consideration, that I
think it right, not only that you should know my opinion,
but that you should know it immediately. The reasons
of it may come afterwards : — the first of them is, that
the Army certainly has not that opinion of the Duke of
York as to act under him with confidence. Though the
licentiousness of one class of Officers is kept within some-
what better bounds : though the unpopularity of the
Duke is abated ; though his virtues, and his other amiable
qualities, are gradually making their way, yet a confidence
is not felt in his capacity to conduct an Army ; nor can I
fairly say, that, judging less from the merits of the case
than from collateral circumstances, I think it likely, that it
should be so. The consequences are, in the mean time, most
pernicious, and show themselves in ways not immediately
obvious. But the great consequence is the effect which
this feeling in the Army may have in circumstances such
as those which we have lately been in : and the force of
1794] THE DUKE'S ACQUITTAL 241
this is so great, joined to a chance always that the feeling
may be well founded, and to more than a chance
that it is well founded to a certain degree, that I must
confess I shall tremble for every step which they will
have to make when left to their own direction.
What remedy is to be applied in this state of things I
cannot undertake to point out. I show you the difficulty,
but can say but little as to the way out of it. To remove
the Duke at this instant, would certainly be cruel ; for it
would appear to be the consequence of a step, right in itself,
and in which He yielded more to the opinions of others,
than followed his own. The King, too, is delighted with
his Decision, respecting the question of Lord Cornwallis ;
and will consider the whole as a manoeuvre to get rid
of the Duke, which not having succeeded by stratagem,
must now be effected by force. I stick, however, to my
opinion, that some great change must be made, or the
Army will be undone, and our affairs in this quarter never
succeed, but by what may be considered as chance. A
thoroughly able man, like such as the Austrians chose
for their Quarter-Master General, might set all right :
but where is such a one in our service to be found ? I
do not now think, that even the plan, which I caught at
so eagerly, of the Archduke x commanding the whole,
would by any means answer all the purpose. The evil
lyes, as much as in anything, in the domestick Economy,
and discipline of this particular Army. What, therefore,
is to be done, I do not know. As a preliminary step,
having in the first place the recommendation of justice,
and being calculated afterwards to reconcile to the Duke's
mind and to the King's, whatever measure of change may,
now or hereafter, be adopted, no symptom of disappro-
bation should appear or be suspected of the last move-
ment ; but on the contrary the clearest approbation be
expressed of it ; at least, (which is all that I am intent
upon) the clearest acquittal of the Duke. I am doubly
1 Archduke Charles of Austria (1771-1847).
242 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
bound to say this, as I certainly took all pains to make
him adopt that resolution ; nor could such censure
upon him be countenanced by any of those persons about
him, whom I had the opportunity of consulting. Perhaps
when every idea of censure or dissatisfaction was removed,
the offer of some principal situation at home, connected
with Military service, and including great Patronage,
which no one would discharge more uprightly, and ably
(I mean, distinctly, Commander-in-Chief, or Master-
General of the Ordnance, or both together) might serve to
reconcile the loss of the command of the Army here ; and
would be an arrangement good in my opinion, both in
the Offices, which it gave, as it will in those, which it
took away. If by adding the Ordnance to the situation
of Commander-in-Chief, under some general denomination,
or half a dozen Offices besides, the removal might be
affected for this Campaign, supposing that much is to be
done in it, I should think the advantage of the change;
cheaply purchased. If from the answer of Clerfayt,
or your decisions at home, the Campaign is likely soon
to end, or not to be very critical, it may be better to let it
run out, as it is.
With respect to what I said at the beginning, of the
confidence, in which this is written, I shall leave it to
your discretion to whom you may wish to communicate
the contents, observing only as I have already done, that
I should be sorry to be known, as the author of the advice,
though I shall certainly never dissemble the opinion.
Should the measure be taken, I shall not fail to have my
full share in the resentment, which it may possibly excite
in one quarter, and what I shall feel more sensibly, in the
emotions of wounded kindness, which it may produce in
another. All, however, must give way before the con-
siderations, which ought to govern on such an occasion.
Should Mr. Dundas be among the persons to whom you
may communicate what I have mentioned, He will
not take it ill, if I suggest the expediency of a little more
1794] LORD CORNWALLIS SUGGESTED 243
guard than his general frankness sometimes suffers him
to observe. 1
William Windham to William Pitt
Most private Head Quarters, near Grave
September 19, 1794
I pursue shortly the same topick, that made the subject
of my private letter to you the day before yesterday. — I
now know for certain, what I before only conjectured,
that one of the situations, which I mentioned, that namely
of Commander-in-Chief, is one so perfectly consonant
to the wishes of the party in question, that it would go a
great way towards curing any mortification, that would
be felt, at losing the present command. I have little
doubt, therefore, that by the aid of this compensation;
the affair might easily be arranged for another year : and
it is certainly much better, that it should, if possible, be
deferred till then ; not only as such delay will render
it more easy, but as it may give time for the consideration
of such further changes in the distribution of offices, as I
hinted at in my last letter, and as I am persuaded, would
be of infinite advantage to the publick service. It is a
question, however, how far the Army can be trusted in its
present state for the execution of the short, but critical
service with which it is at present charged. Nothing can
be conceived more important, nor at the same time more
delicate, than the services, which it has at this time to
perform. It is one of the nicest operations of war, I
conceive, either to pass an army over a river in the face
of an enemy, or to prevent an enemy from passing.
It is a game of great skill on either side. If I could by
wishing set down the general of my choice, I should
certainly choose, as the player of that game, my Lord
Cornwallis. His authority would do more to correct the
abuses of the Army ; his Experience would conduct it
1 Add. MSS. 37844 f. 44.
244 THE WINDHAM PAPERS [1794
better : should an action be brought on, the army under
him would infallibly act with a degree of confidence more,
I am sorry to say, than it does under the Duke of York.
The hope is, that the Enemy may not attempt to pass the
River, or that if they do, the action may not be of a sort,
to require any very nice and regular movement, or any-
thing more, than that which the mere valour of the troops
will perform, whether they feel confidence in the skill of
their commander, or not.
One step to make the hazard less of leaving it as it is
till the end of the campaign, will be to furnish it with
those aids, which it ought to have had long since, and the
want of which is really a subject of very serious complaint.
When the line was drawn out the other day, in circum-
stances as critical as an arm 
