Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 59.djvu/187

 upon them offices shall not depart from the communion of the church of England’ (Commons' Journals, xiii. 750). He is said by Coxe to have frequently practised himself in speaking during this session. On 23 Dec. 1702, by way of retaliation upon Sir Edward Seymour's motions for the resumption of King William's grants, Walpole moved a resolution for a resumption of those of James II. His motion was negatived. On 25 Jan. 1704 he moved an amendment to the resolution of Sir Simon Harcourt [q. v.] that the House of Commons was the sole judge both as to elections and as to the qualifications of electors, a question raised by the leading case of Ashby v. White. Walpole's amendment to omit the words ‘as to the qualifications of electors’ was seconded by his staunch supporter the Marquis of Hartington, but rejected (Parl. Hist. vi. 298–300). This debate was of the first importance (, Constitutional History, iii. 365, &c.). It involved a constitutional issue in which the law courts and the two houses of parliament were concerned. Walpole's amendment was dexterously contrived to assert the privileges of the House of Commons as against the lords, but to vindicate at the same time the rights of electors to seek redress in the courts of law against arbitrary interference by the returning officers. According to Coxe it was defeated by only eighteen votes, but the ‘Parliamentary History’ gives the numbers at 215 against and 97 for the amendment (vi. 300). In this controversy public opinion was with the whigs. From this debate may be dated Walpole's reputation outside the House of Commons. The whig leaders in the lords, especially Halifax and Sunderland, began to admit him into their counsels (James Stanhope to Robert Walpole, 28 Oct. 1703). In the autumn of 1703 and 1704 he appears to have been disposed to linger at Houghton. On 28 Oct. 1703 the leaders of the opposition sent him a pressing message to attend, the intermemediary being James Stanhope (afterwards first Earl Stanhope) [q. v.] On 12 Oct. 1704 the language of a letter to the same effect, penned by Spencer Compton [q. v.], shows the advance Walpole had made in the estimation of the party. ‘If Mr. Walpole should be absent, the poor whigs must lose any advantage that may offer itself for want of a leader’ (, ii. 5). On 14 Nov. Walpole was back in his place, and for a second time gave proof of his spirit of religious toleration by opposing leave to bring in a bill for preventing occasional conformity. The bill was, however, pushed by the high-church tories, and in order to prevent its rejection by the House of Lords, where the whigs were in the ascendant, a proposal was made to tack it to a money bill. Against this Walpole voted with the majority (28 Nov.), and the bill, as had been foreseen, was lost in the upper house.

The foundation of the first government of Anne was the Churchill interest, represented by Marlborough and his duchess and Godolphin, whose son Francis had married their daughter. When they had alienated the tories, it became necessary to reinforce the composite administration from the whig party. Walpole had three recommendations: his intimacy with the family group, his industry and talent, and the disposal of three pocket-borough seats—two at Castle Rising and one for King's Lynn. In 1705 the administration was re-formed, and on 28 June Walpole was appointed one of the council to Prince George of Denmark, lord high admiral of England. His position was a difficult one. Godolphin, the head of the government, was distrustful of the whigs, and the whigs of Godolphin. An attack was made upon the admiralty, and Walpole was put up to extenuate its shortcomings. On being reproached for speaking against his party, he rejoined, ‘I never can be so mean to sit at a board when I cannot utter a word in its defence.’ It was probably his experience of the difficulties attendant upon a government which was nothing but a formal association of antagonistic personalities that led him in after life to insist upon political homogeneousness in his administrations. So far as this was feasible he made efforts to secure it forthwith. He became the intermediary for reconciling Godolphin to the whig leaders. With Devonshire and Townshend Walpole was already intimate. His friend Lord Sunderland [see, third ], another of the Churchill group, was appointed a secretary of state on 3 Dec. 1706, through the influence of Godolphin and the Duchess of Marlborough. Sunderland, like Walpole, was for a policy of thorough. After a year of bickering and distrust, Harley was forced from office by the threatened resignation of Marlborough and Godolphin (11 Feb. 1708).

In this struggle Walpole inspired the cautious mind of Godolphin with the resolution to extrude the tory element. His services were recognised by his promotion. On 25 Feb. 1708 Marlborough appointed him secretary at war, in place of his rival, St. John. His brother Horatio was made private secretary to Harley's successor, Henry Boyle.

The arts of management, which were Walpole's peculiar gift, were now put to