Page:History of the Radical Party in Parliament.djvu/75

Rh different tones, although its meaning was the same; it had become less personal in its forms, and less distinct in its claims; but this did not decrease the difficulty of its opponents. Instead of the acknowledged supremacy of the royal prerogative, there was the subtle and pervading influence of the court and courtiers; instead of the infallible authority of the Church, there was the interest of churchmen always ready to do battle for their own order and its friends; instead of the proud authority of the old aristocracy, there was the interest of the landowning class and the monied men who purchased rank by using their wealth for political purposes.

It is not to be assumed that the direct influence of king, noble, or priest was abolished; only that it was modified. Whoever has read the "Life of the Prince Consort," written for and approved by the Queen, will know what authority the Crown still exercises over even the most powerful of responsible ministers. And in the time of George III. this authority was more direct. We have seen that his power was checked by the union of the Whig aristocracy with the popular leaders, but this opposition was in its turn undermined by the method adopted by George and his minister of filling the benches of the upper House with new men devoted to Church and King. This is described by Wingrove Cooke, who says "George III. had early set his heart upon changing the character of the upper House. If we scrutinize the votes of the Peers from the period of the revolution to the death of George II., we shall find a very great majority of the old English nobility to have been the advocates of Whig principles. The splendour of their name enabled them to espouse popular doctrines without fear of being herded with the ignorant demagogues of the day. The party creed was generally as hereditary as the family estates, and as these ancient titles were commonly created by writ, and consequently descended to heirs general, there appeared but little chance of the Whigs being extinguished in that House. As the tide of the royal favour gradually drifted away from Whiggism, he also saw the advantage of having a stable and indissoluble majority of his own party in the House