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 706 GEORGE II. GEORGE III. Lord Wilmington led to Henry Pelham's eleva- tion to the premiership, the king acting under the advice of Walpole. Oarteret continued to manage foreign affairs, and was mucli liked by the king. The Hanoverian policy was still vigorously opposed, but the resolute conduct of France, the fear of invasion, and the revival of the Jacobite party, caused some remission of party feeling, and the adoption of strong measures by government, the whigs of all views uniting in their support. The French govern- ment called Charles Edward Stuart to France, and extensive preparations were made to in- vade England, which failed through the occur- rence of a storm, the fleet being destroyed or dispersed, February, 1744. War was declared against France a few weeks later, but little suc- cess attended it, and Carteret, now Earl Gran- ville, was compelled to leave the ministry. Pel- ham forced the king to admit Chesterfield and some others of the old opposition to office, and Pitt gave his support to the government. The Hanoverian policy was kept up despite these changes, and England entered on an extensive system of German subsidies. Great prepara- tions for the campaign of 1745 were made, but with no gain to England. The allies, command- ed by the earl of Cumberland, were beaten by the French at Fontenoy. Charles Edward landed in Scotland, was joined by many high- landers and others, and, after occupying much of the ancient kingdom of his race, marched into England as far as Derby, when his lead- ing supporters compelled him to retrace his steps. He was proclaimed at Perth and at Edinburgh. He won the battle of Gladsmuir or Preston Pans, and if he had pressed for- ward to London the capital would probably have fallen into his hands. George II., though very brave, and prepared to place himself at the head of his guards for a last fight, made preparations to fly. The rebels defeated the royal troops at Falkirk, but three months later their army was annihilated at Culloden (April 16, 1746). From that time dates the extinction of the Stuart party. The rest of the war was inglorious, and it was terminated by the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748. For some years there was but little political discus- sion, and the opposition dwindled into a small faction, headed by the prince of Wales, which became extinct soon after his death in 1751. Private bills excited more interest in parlia- ment than public ones. An increase in the stringency of the mutiny bill, and the passage of a regency bill, caused some discussion. The reformation of the calendar was effected by statute in 1751, providing that the year should commence on January 1 instead of March 25, and 11 days be dropped out of the month of September, 1752, thus bringing the year in ac- cordance with the Gregorian calendar. The bill for the naturalization of the Jews, passed in 1753, though one of the most creditable acts of English legislation, caused so much popular excitement that it was immediately repealed. In the same year was passed the marriage act, requiring the publication of the banns and a proper license, which was exceed- ingly unpopular, but is thought to have been a great blessing to the nation. The premier died March 6, 1754, and was succeeded by his brother, the duke of Newcastle, who found himself compelled to share power with others. His first ally was Henry Fox, afterward Lord Holland, and at a later day William Pitt. In 1754 the French aggressions in America be- came troublesome, and in July, 1755, occurred Braddock's defeat at Fort Duquesne. The seven years' war began in 1756, and England was involved in a contest of the severest char- acter with France, while at the same time she was the ally of Prussia, which was at war with the empire, France, Russia, and lesser powers. The contest extended over the world, and was marked by great actions in Europe, in North America, and in the East Indies. The early part of the war was inglorious to Eng- land. In June Calcutta was taken by Sura- jah Dowlah, and his prisoners were confined in the Black Hole. But shortly after the for- mation of the Pitt and Newcastle ministry in 1757, the genius -of Pitt changed the fortune of the contest, and the English were triumph- ant in every quarter. Ample subsidies were furnished to Frederick of Prussia, so that he was enabled to make head against the coali- tion formed for his overthrow. An army of English and Germans defeated the French in Germany, at Crefeld, Minden, and elsewhere. North America was the scene of great opera- tions, which ended in the expulsion of the French. An expedition to France, twice re- newed, inflicted considerable damage on that country, destroying, among other things, the works at Cherbourg. The success of Clive laid the foundation of the British Indian empire; Senegal and Goree were conquered ; and the victory of Admiral Hawke over Conflans, in the naval battle of Quiberon, established Eng- lish supremacy on the ocean. Never had England stood so high as she stood in 1760. In the midst of these successes, forming so striking a contrast to most of his reign, George II. suddenly died at the age of 77. He was a man of ordinary character, and never had been popular with his English subjects; but he had governed constitutionally, and in his reign the liberal polity was established, and the indus- trial system of England began to display itself. GEORGE (William Frederick) III., grandson of the preceding, and son of Frederick, prince of Wales, and of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, born June 4, 1738, died in Windsor castle, Jan. 29, 1820. He was not likely to be well educated in the court of his father, nor did the death of that parent improve his prospects in that way. His mother confined his early associations to a small circle, wishing to preserve him from the profligacy of the day, in which she was suc- cessful ; but he was brought up more as a Stu- art prince might have been than as the heir