Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 20.djvu/607

WILKES. WILKES, John (1727-97). An English politici:iii, born in London, of well-to-do parent.'!. He received an e.cellent education, spending lour years at the University of Lej'den, where he was entered when but si.teen years of aye. Keturning to England, he became a boon companion of the fastest J^onilun set, the notorious Lord Sanduieli being among their number, and in a short time Iiad run the gamut of all the vices of the <lay. In 1754 he entered national politics by standing for Berwick-upon-Tweed, but he was not suc- cessful. Three years later, however, lie became member for Aj'lesbury. In 17U1 lie was again returned for the same seat. When Lord lUite forced Pitt out of olliee in 1762, Wilkes began a bitter fight against the new Government. To assist him in this attack he established a paper called the orth liriluii. Number 4.5 of this paper, which was issued after the ajjpearance of the King's message on the Peace of llubertsburg (176.3), contained an article that maligned the Government for its desertion of Frederick the Great and its peace policy in general. Then followed what was popularly known as the Seven Years' War against Wilkes. A general warrant was issued for the apprehension of the author of the article, and Wilkes was among the number of those arrested, but he was soon released on the ground of his privilege as a member of Parliament. With this incident the practice of issuing general warrants came to an end. for Wilkes and others brought suit against Lord Halifax and other officials of the Government who were concerned in the matter, with the result that the court declared general warrants illegal, and granted heavy damages, W'ilkes re- ceiving £4000. When Wilkes, however, reprinted the obnoxious issue, his enemies renewed their attack upon him and succeeded in getting the House of Commons to declare the article "a false, scandalous, and seditious libel." In .Tanu- ary, 17(i4, two months later, he was expelled from Parliament on this ground, and in February the Court of King's Bench found him guilty of republishing the article and also of printing an Essay on Woman, an obscene parody on Pope's Essay on Man. In the meantime Wilkes, w-ho had been wounded in a duel, had repaired to Paris to recuperate, and, as he did not appear to receive his sentence, the court declared him an outlaw. Wilkes remained abroad until, in 1768, his penurious condition forced him to face mat- ters in England. He first sued for pardon from the King, but in so undiplomatic a way that it ■was denied him. He then stood for Parliament from London, but was defeated. A second contest, this time for Middlesex, brought him victory. Wilkes then surrendered himself to the Court of King's Bench to answer to the charge of out- lawry. A technical point brought about the reversal of this sentence, but the original con- demnation for reprinting Number 45 of the North Briton and the Essay ok Woman still stood, and for these he was sentenced to twenty- two months in prison and a heavy fine. Had the Government now left Wilkes alone he would prob- ably have sunk into obscurity, but they insisted on expelling him from the House. Though still in prison. Wilkes was again returned for the dis- trict, only to be expelVed a second time. Again the same process was repeated, and when the district returned him a fourth time by a vote of 1143 to 296 for his opponent. Colonel Luttrell, the House seated the latter, declaring that as Wilkes was an outlaw all votes for him were void. This persecution gained for Wilkes what he probably would not have been able to accjuire otherwise, great personal popularity and money. He was the hero of the hour, and contributions poured in from all si<les. Before he left prison he was elected alderman of London. In 1771 he served also as sherilT for Middle- sex and London and in the same year played a prominent part in the contest between the House of Commons and the printers, by which the latter gained the freedom to publish Parliamentary debates. In 1774, after a ])revi- ous unsuccessful contest, he became Lord Mayor of London. In the same .year he was returned to Parliament from his old Jliddlesex <listrict, which he now represented continuously until 1790. This time the House permitted him to sit, on the ground that the disability resilting from outlawry did not last over the Parliament in which it occurred. In 1779 Wilkes was elected to the position of Chamberlain of the City of London, from which sinecure he gained his liveli- hood for the remainder of his days. He soon became reconciled with the King; in fact, the two became firm friends. He spent the last years of his life in his Parliamentary work and in various literary undertakings, but none of the latter are of especial merit. Wilkes's contest with the Ministry is of primary importance in English hijstory as vindicating the absolute rights of the Parliamentary constituencies. Con- sult Fitzgerald, The Life and Times of John Wilkes, M. P. (London, 1888) ; also the Letters of Junius.

WILKES-BARRE, wilks'bar-re. The county seat of Luzerne County, Pa., 144 miles north by west of Philadelphia, on the Susquehanna River, here spanned by four iron bridges, and on the Pennsylvania, the Lehigh Valley, the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western, the Delaware and Hudson, and other railroads (Map: Pennsyl- vania. F 2). It is attractively situated in a region abounding in beautiful scenery, and is rich in reminiscences of the Colonial and Revo- lutionary periods. In the vicinity there are of historic interest the Wyoming Jlonument, mark- ing the site of the conflict of July 3, 1778, be- tween the Americans and the Loyalists and In- diana (see W'yomino Valley) : the old Forty Fort Church, erected in 1808: and Queen Esther's Rock. Among the prominent institutions of Wilkes-Barre are the Harry Hillman Academy, the Malinckrodt Convent, Saint Mary's Convent, Home for Friendless Children, Home for Home- less Women, and the City and!Mercy hospitals. The Osterhout Free Library has 35.000 volumes. Other collections include those of the Law and Library Association (7500 volumes), the Wyo- ming Historical and Geological Society, and the Young Men's Christian Association. The Wyo- ming Historical Museum has 20.000 volumes, and a collection of 30.000 relics of the early wars. Of the buildings the most notable are the post- oflice. county court-house, city hall, jail, armory, and coal exchance. Wilkes-Barre is known as a centre of one of the most productive anthracite coal regions in the United States, the total output in incio amounting to about 19,000.000 tons. The manufacturing interests also arc extensive.