Being brought to his trial at the King's Bench, he was convicted of having enlisted men for the Pretender's service, and of having endeavoured to stir up a rebellion; and he received sentence of death. The circumstances of this conspiracy are not clearly known. It is said that the intention of the conspirators was, by introducing a number of foreign officers and soldiers into England unobserved, to prepare a junction with the duke of Ormond, who was to have landed in the river with a great quantity of arms provided for that purpose. However this be, Mr. Layer was reprieved from time to time, and many methods tried to make him discover his accomplices; but he continued steadfast in his trust, so that he suffered death at Tyburn, and his head was fixed on Temple-bar.

This trial was followed by another of a different nature, in which the interests and security of the nation were more deeply concerned. It had been usual for the chancellors, upon being appointed to their high office, to nominate the masters in chancery—a place of some value, and consequently then purchased as commissions in the army. Some men of improper characters having been appointed to this office, and having embezzled the money of orphans and suitors lodged in their hands, a complaint was made to the government, and this drew down the resentment of the ministry on the lord-chancellor himself. He found it necessary to resign the seals in the beginning; but soon after, A. D. the king ordered the whole affair to be laid be- 1725. fore the house of commons.

The commons taking the affair into consideration, and finding that many abuses had crept into that court which either impeded justice or rendered it venal, resolved to impeach Thomas earl of Macclesfield, at the bar of the house of lords, for high crimes and misdemeanors. This was one of the most laborious and the best contested trials in the annals of England. A bill was previously brought in to indemnify the masters in chancery from the penalties of the law, upon discovering what considerations they had paid for their admission to their respective offices. The trial lasted twenty days. The earl proved that such sums had been usually received by former lord-chancellors; and reason told that such receipts were contrary to strict justice. Equity, therefore, prevailed above precedent; the earl was convicted of fraudulent practices, and condemned in a fine of thirty thousand pounds, with imprisonment until that sum should be paid, which was accordingly discharged in about six weeks after.

In this manner the corruption, venality, and avarice of the times had increased with the riches and luxury of the nation. Commerce introduced fraud, and wealth introduced prodigality. Religion, which might in some measure put a stop to these evils, was rather discouraged than promoted by the legislature. The houses of convocation, which had hitherto met purposely to inspect the morals of the people, and to maintain decency and dignity in the church, were now discontinued. Their disputes among each other were assigned as the cause; but a ministry studious of the morals of the people would have permitted them to dispute, and kept up their zeal by their activity. But internal regulations were not what the ministry at that time attended to; the chief object of their attention was, to gratify the sovereign with a continued round of foreign treaties and alliances. It was natural for a king born and bred in Germany, where all sovereignty is possessed upon such precarious tenures, to introduce the same spirit into the British constitution, however independent it might be as to the rest of Europe. This reign, therefore, was begun

by treaties, and the latter part of it was burthened with them. The chief object of all was, to secure to the king his dominions in Germany, and exclude the Pretender from those of Britain. To effect both purposes, England paid considerable subsidies to many different states of Europe for the promise of their protection and assistance; but it most commonly happened that the connexion was changed, or a variance ensued, before the stipulations on either side were capable of being executed. In this reign there were concluded no less than nine treaties; the barrier convention treaty, a defensive alliance with the emperor, the triple alliance, the convention treaty, the quadruple alliance, the congress at Cambray, the treaty of Hanover, the treaty of Vienna, and the convention with Sweden and Hesse Cassel. All these various and expensive negotiations were mere political play-things; they amused for a while, and are since neglected.

It must be owned that the parliament made some new efforts to check the progress of vice and immorality, which now began to be diffused through every rank of life; but they were supported neither by the co-operation of the ministry nor by the voice of the people. The treaties just concluded with Spain were already broken; but the spirit of commerce was so eager that no A. D. restrictions could bind it. Admiral Hosier was 1726. sent to South America, to intercept the Spanish galleons; but the Spaniards, being apprised of his design, re-landed their treasure. The greatest part of the English fleet sent on that expedition was rendered entirely unfit for service : the seamen were cut off in great numbers by the malignity of the climate and the length of the voyage; while the admiral himself is said to have died of a broken heart. In order to retaliate these hostilities, the Spaniards undertook the siege of Gibral.

a

tar, but with as little success on their side. In this dispute, France offered her mediation, and such a reconciliation as treaties could procure was the consequence; a temporary reconciliation ensued, both sides only watching the occasion to renew hostilities with advantage. It was now two years since the king had visited his electoral dominions of Hanover; he therefore, soon after the breaking up of the parliament, prepared for a journey thither. Having appointed a regency in his absence, he embarked for Holland, and lay, upon his landing, at a little town called Voet. Next day he proceeded on his journey; and in two days more, between ten and eleven at night, arrived at Delden, to all appearance in perfect health. He supped there very heartily, and continued his progress early the next morning; but, between eight and nine, ordered his coach to stop. It being perceived that one of his hands lay motionless, Monsieur Fabrice, who had formerly been servant to the king of Sweden, and who now attended king George, attempted to quicken the circulation by chafing it between his own. As this had no effect, the surgeon who followed on horseback, was: called, and he rubbed it with spirits. Soon after, the

, king's tongue began to swell, and he had just strength enough to bid them hasten to Osnaburg. Then falling insensible into Fabrice's arms, he never recovered, but June 11, expired about eleven o'clock the next morning,

1727. in the sixty-eighth year of his age, and the thirteenth of his reign.

Whatever was good or great in the reign of this monarch, ought to be ascribed chiefly to himself: whenever he deviated, he might have been misled by a ministry always partial, sometimes corrupt. He was in every instance attended with good fortune, which was partly owing to accident, and more to prudent assiduity. His successes in life are the strongest instance how much may be achieved by moderate abilities, exerted with application and uniformity.

He was married to the princess Sophia, daughter and heiress of the duke of Zell, by whom he had the prince who succeeded him, and the queen of Prussia, mother to the celebrated Frederic. The king's body was conveyed to Hanover, and interred among his ancestors.

CHAPTER III.

GEORGE II.

A.D. 1727-1739.

UPON the death of George the First, his son, George the Second came to the crown; a man of inferior abilities to the late king, and strongly biassed with a partiality to his dominions on the continent. At his accession, the business of government was chiefly carried on by lord Townshend, a man of extensive knowledge and great skill in the interests of the different states of Europe; by the duke of Newcastle, a nobleman of large connexions among the great, but of inferior abilities; and the earl of Chesterfield, a man of wit, insinuation, and address, though rather averse to the drudgery of business. But the chief person, and he who shortly after obtained the greatest share of power, was sir Robert Walpole, whom we have already seen so actively employed in supporting the house of Hanover.

This gentleman had risen from low beginnings, through two successive reigns, into great consideration. He was considered as a martyr to his cause in the reign of

queen Anne; and when the Tory party could no longer oppress him, he still preserved that hatred against