The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction. Volume 17, No. 496, June 27, 1831

Various

The Mirror Of Literature, Amusement, And Instruction / Volume 17, No. 496, June 27, 1831

PREFACE

Each of our semi-anniversaries calls for a variation in our thankful expressions to the public for their continued patronage. Yet we are prone to confess ourselves puzzled to ring the changes even on so pleasurable a theme as gratitude—although it is equally delightful to the donor and receiver. We will, however, persevere, to keep our friendship with the public in constant repair, and to gain new friends; for it is in the course of a periodical work as elsewhere in the world: "if a man does not make new acquaintance as he advances through life, he will soon find himself left alone." There is, moreover, something agreeable in writing a preface: it yields a second crop of pleasurable associations: and the brief retrospect of six months breaks up the tedium which may at some time or other be attached to literary pursuits. We collect the six-and-twenty sheets into a volume, and turn over their leaves until they almost become new acquaintance: some of their columns point to current events, and thus by a little aid of memory, make an outline chronology of the half-year; and, above all, if we have pleased the reader, we, at the same time, enjoy the self-satisfaction of having been employed to so gratifying an end. We like too the spirit of acquaintanceship which these prefacings, meetings, and greetings tend to keep up, although there may be persons who impatiently turn over a preface as the majority of an audience at the theatre rise to leave as soon as the last scene of a pantomime is shown.

The contributions of Correspondents abound in this volume. Their subjects belong to that class of inquiry which is useful and entertaining, and their research is amusing without dry-as-dust antiquarianism: this is a serviceable feature, inasmuch as it is conversational; and we know "what is said upon a subject is to be gathered from a hundred people." So it is with not a few of these communications: separately, their value may be small; but, collectively, they remind us of Dr. Johnson's quaint illustration of the many ingredients of human felicity: "Pound St. Paul's Church, into atoms, and consider any single atom; it is, to be sure, good for nothing: but put all these together, and you have St. Paul's Church." A single article may occasionally appear trifling; but, take the sheet, and its bearing is obvious; and in the volume still more so. Our Correspondents only enjoy the reward of seeing their papers in print: esto perpetua is the only charm we use; and our poetical friends would gladly accept the perpetua for the

Nods, and becks, and wreathed smiles

of the heroines of their verse.

SEVENTEEN is a promising time in life: it is redolent of youth, and hope, and joy; may not the context hold good in art and literature. Strictly speaking, we are but in our ninth year, although our volumes number seventeen. If we continue to partake as largely of the gale of public favour as hitherto, we shall not despair of an evergreen old age. We know the value of this favour, and shall strive to maintain it accordingly. It is to us like the Queen of Chess:

Lose not the Queen, for ten to one,If she be lost, the game is gone.

Sterne, who delighted in large type and blanks, would probably call this, as he did all life, "a mingled yarn;" and so we have done.

143, Strand, June 27, 1831.

MEMOIR OF BARON BROUGHAM AND VAUX, LORD HIGH CHANCELLOR OF GREAT BRITAIN, &C

His purpose chose, he forward pressed outright,Nor turned aside for danger or delight.—COWLEY.

The illustrious subject of this Memoir is the eldest son of a gentleman of small fortune, but ancient family, in Cumberland,1 His mother was the daughter of a Scotch clergyman; in the mansion of whose widow, on the Castle Hill of Edinburgh, the father of Lord Brougham lodged when prosecuting his studies at the University there. Chambers, the laborious topographical historian of the Modern Athens, says that Lord Brougham was born in St. Andrew's Square, in that city, though this has been disputed. The family of the late Mr. Brougham consisted of four sons:—Henry John, an extensive wine-merchant in Edinburgh, who died at Boulogne, about two years since; James, the Chancery Barrister, who formerly sat with Baron Abercromby in parliament, for Tregony, and sits at present for Downton, Wilts; and William, who has recently been appointed a Master in Chancery, and elected Member for the Borough of Southwark.

In early life Mr. Brougham was called to the bar of the Supreme Court of Edinburgh, where he practised for some time, and with considerable success, if we may judge from his frequent employment in Scotch appeals. His selection, too, on the part of persons charged with political offences to conduct their defence, would imply him to be well read in the institutions of his country. It was while at the Scotch Bar that, in conjunction with the late Mr. Francis Homer and Mr. Jeffrey, he planned and established the Edinburgh Review, of which he was for many years a most able and constant supporter. About this time also he became a member of the celebrated Debating Society at Edinburgh.

Although professionally a lawyer, Mr. Brougham's ambition soon became directed to the senate; and, observes a clever contemporary, "it is an instructive example of the working of our admirable system of representation, that, up to the 16th of October last, Henry Brougham, the greatest orator and statesman that perhaps ever enlightened Parliament, was indebted for his seat to the patronage of a borough-holding Peer." He first took his seat for Camelford, a borough in the interest of the Duke of Bedford. In 1812, he contested Liverpool with Mr. Canning, and failed; and, in the same year, he was nominated for the Inverkeithing district of Boroughs, and failed there also. He was, however, subsequently returned for Winchelsea, in Sussex. During the discussions in parliament respecting the Princess of Wales, Mr. Brougham, we believe, was honoured with the confidence of her Royal Highness, and espoused her cause with much effect. His earliest efforts as a British senator were likewise distinguished by the same regard to the rights of individuals, and the liberties of the country, which he has uniformly manifested to the present time. Nor was he then less firm in opposition to what he deemed the encroachments of the crown, and the extravagances and abuses of the government, than he has since proved. His bold denial of the sovereign's right to the droits of the Admiralty, in 1812, will not soon be forgotten.

In the early part of 1816, Mr. Brougham brought forward a motion for preserving and extending the liberty of the press, for which the ministers, particularly Lord Castlereagh (who knew well how to use "the delicious essence,") passed on him the highest encomiums; and miscalculating the firmness of the bepraised, some persons thought the minister's eulogy a lure for the member's vote; but the result proved that Mr. Brougham was above all temptation. In the same year he made a tour on the continent: in France he was the object of much attention; and he afterwards visited the residence of the Princess of Wales, in Italy, as was supposed, on a mission of some importance.

In this year also, Mr. Brougham delivered two speeches in parliament, which are memorable for the truth of their prospective results. In one of them, on the treaty of the Holy Alliance, occurs the following almost prophetic passage: "I always think there is something suspicious in what a French writer calls, 'les abouchemens des rois.' When crowned heads meet, the result of their united councils is not always favourable to the interest of humanity. It is not the first time that Austria, Russia, and Prussia have laid their heads together. On a former occasion, after professing a vast regard for truth, religion and justice, they adopted a course which brought such misery on their own subjects, as well as those of a neighbouring state—they made war against that unoffending country, which found little reason to felicitate itself on its conquerors being distinguished by Christian feelings. The war against Poland, and the subsequent partition of that devoted country, were prefaced by language very similar to that which this treaty contains; and the proclamation of the Empress Catherine, which wound up that fatal tragedy, had almost the very same words."—The second speech to which we allude was on the abuses of ancient charitable institutions. Speaking of schools, the funds of which were landed and freehold property, Mr. Brougham remarked, "In one instance, where the funds of the charity are £450, one boy only is boarded and educated. In another case, where the revenue of the establishment is £1,500. a year, the appointment of a master lying in the lord of the manor, that gentleman gave it to a clergyman, who out of this sum paid a carpenter in the village £40. for attending the school. The funds in the country, applicable to the education of the poor, cannot," he added, "be less than one hundred and fifty thousand pounds." The result of these and similar representations was the appointment of a committee to investigate the state of the various charities of the kingdom, and inquire into the application of their funds; from which measure great public good has already resulted.

In 1818, Mr. Brougham was invited to become a candidate for the county of Westmoreland, where his family have been settled for the last sixty or seventy years: he could not, however, withstand the powerful influence of the Lowther family, and thus lost his election. He made another effort, at the dissolution of parliament, consequent upon the death of George III., but was again unsuccessful; and a third time in 1826.

We are now approaching one of the most eventful eras of Mr. Brougham's parliamentary life: we mean his intrepid defence of the late Queen. Mr. Brougham was the first to dispatch M. Sicard, the old and faithful servant of the Queen, with the intelligence of the death of George III. The Queen immediately replied to Mr. Brougham, that she was determined to return to England; and on February 22, 1820, Mr. Brougham received from Lord Castlereagh an assurance that no indignity should be offered to her Majesty while abroad. Mr. Brougham was now appointed her Majesty's Attorney-General, on which occasion he was admitted within the bar, and assumed the silk gown, which was subsequently taken from him, but restored.

The Queen having arrived at St. Omer, on her way to England, Lord Hutchinson, on the part of the King, was despatched to prevent, by a liberal offer, her leaving the continent. Mr. Brougham consented to accompany his lordship, willing to co-operate in the purpose yet bound by office and by friendship to secure for the queen the best possible terms. The Queen, however, was resolved, and while the deputies were exchanging notes, her Majesty sailed for England, and proceeded to London amidst all the demonstrations of popular triumph. Mr. Brougham, with Mr. Denman, on behalf of the Queen, next met the Duke of Wellington and Lord Castlereagh, on behalf of the King, to propose measures for an amicable arrangement, but the insertion of her Majesty's name in the Liturgy being refused, the negotiation failed. The struggle was now fast approaching. The notable green bag was laid on the table of the House of Commons, and Mr. Brougham commenced by deprecating a hasty discussion. The next day the minister developed the projected prosecutions of the government; Mr. Brougham replied, and concluded by demanding for the Queen a speedy and open trial. We need only advert to his subsequent reply to the note of Lord Liverpool, to the speech of Mr. Canning, and to the conciliatory proposition of Mr. Wilberforce. Then followed his speech at the bar of the House of Lords against the intended mode of investigation—his speech against the bill of Pains and Penalties—his reply to the crown counsel, and afterwards to the Lord Chancellor—and finally his defence of the Queen against the several charges. His defence, it will be remembered, lasted nearly two days, and Mr. Brougham, amidst profound silence, concluded one of the most eloquent speeches ever heard within the walls of parliament—with this pathetic appeal:—

"My lords, I call upon you to pause. You stand on the brink of a precipice. You may go on in your precipitate career—you may pronounce against your Queen, but it will be the last judgment you ever will pronounce. Her persecutors will fail in their objects, and the ruin with which they seek to cover the Queen, will return to overwhelm themselves. Rescue the country; save the people, of whom you are the ornaments; but severed from whom, you can no more live than the blossom that is severed from the root and tree on which it grows. Save the country, that you may continue to adorn it—save the crown, which is threatened with irreparable injury—save the aristocracy, which is surrounded with danger—save the altar, which is no longer safe when its kindred throne is shaken. You see that when the church and the throne would allow of no church solemnity in behalf of the Queen, the heartfelt prayers of the people rose to heaven for her protection. I pray heaven for her; and I here pour forth my fervent supplications at the throne of mercy, that mercies may descend on the people of this country richer than their rulers have deserved; and that your hearts may be turned to justice."

The result need scarcely be alluded to. Men of all parties, however discordant might be their opinions upon the point at issue, acknowledged and admired the intrepidity and splendid talents of Mr. Brougham on this memorable occasion.

Brilliant as has been the parliamentary career of Mr. Brougham from this period, our limits will allow us only to advert to a few of its brightest epochs. Whether advocating the rights and liberties, and a spirit of social improvement, at home, or aiding the progress of liberal opinion abroad, we find Mr. Brougham exercising the same uncompromising integrity and patriotic zeal. Spain, in 1823, became a fitting subject for his masterly eloquence. His remarks on the French government, on April 14, in the House of Commons, on the consideration of the policy observed by Great Britain in the affairs of France and Spain, will not soon be forgotten: "I do not," said Mr. Brougham, "identify the people of France with their government; for I believe that every wish of the French nation is in unison with those sentiments which animate the Spaniards. Neither does the army concur in this aggression; for the army alike detests the work of tyranny, plunder, cant, and hypocrisy. The war is not commenced because the people or the army require it, but because three or four French emigrants have obtained possession of power. It is for such miserable objects as these that the Spaniards are to be punished, because they have dared to vindicate their rights as a free and independent people. I hope to God that the Spaniards may succeed in the noble and righteous cause in which they are engaged."

In 1824, (June 1), we find Mr. Brougham in the House of Commons, moving an address to the King, relative to the proceedings at Demerara against Smith, the missionary; but, after a debate of two days, the motion was negatived.2

During the period of Mr. Canning's ministry, his liberality gained Mr. Brougham's support: this is the only instance of Mr. Brougham's not being opposed to the minister of the day; and, observes a political writer, "he has been as much above the task of drudging for a party as drudging for a ministry."

The year 1828 is a memorable one in Mr. Brougham's parliamentary life. Early in the session, upon the debate of the battle of Navarino, we find him expressing his readiness to support the ministry as long as the members who composed it showed a determination to retrench the expenditure of the country, to improve its domestic arrangements, and to adopt a truly British system of foreign policy. It was on this occasion that Mr. Brougham used the expression which has since become so familiar—"The schoolmaster is abroad." On Feb. 7, Mr. Brougham brought forward a motion on the State of the Law, in an elaborate speech of six hours delivery. The debate was adjourned to February 29, when Mr. Brougham's motion, in an amended shape, was put and agreed to, requesting the King to cause "due inquiry to be made into the origin, progress, and termination of actions in the superior courts of common law in this country;" and "into the state of the law regarding the transfer of real property." Even the heads of this speech would occupy one of our pages. A passage much quoted at the time of its publication is a good specimen of Mr. Brougham's forcible style of illustration: "He was guilty of no error—he was chargeable with no exaggeration—he was betrayed by his fancy into no metaphor, who once said, that all we can see about us, King, Lords, and Commons, the whole machinery of the State, all the apparatus of the system and its varied workings, end simply in bringing twelve good men into a box." In the same month, Mr. Brougham spoke at great length in support of Lord John Russell's motion for the repeal of the Test and Corporation Acts. On March 6, Mr. Brougham spoke in support of Mr. Peel's motion for Catholic Emancipation, which he described as going "the full length that any reasonable man ever did or ever can demand; it does equal justice to his Majesty's Roman Catholic subjects; it puts an end to all religious distinctions; it exterminates all civil disqualifications on account of religious belief. It is simple and efficacious; clogged with no exceptions, unless such as even the most zealous of the Catholics themselves must admit to be of necessity parcel of the measure."

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1

We are aware of having already quoted these particulars, from the Spectator newspaper, at page 412 of the Mirror, vol. xvi. but their repetition here is essential to the completeness of the present Memoir. Of Lord Brougham's family, in connexion with Brougham Castle, in Westmoreland, there were many conflicting statements at the period of his lordship's elevation to the peerage towards the close of last year. The Chancellor is said to have had a latent claim as heir-general to the Barony of Vaux, (whose arms are to be seen on the tower of Brougham Castle,) and hence his creation by that title. Some exclusive information, obligingly furnished, (at the Chancellor's request, in reply to our application) by a relative of his lordship, will also be found at length in the Mirror, vol. xvi. but for the reader's convenience we quote its substance: "Before the time of the Norman Conquest, the manor and lordship of Brougham (then called Burgham) were held by the Saxon family of de Burgham, from whom the Lord Chancellor is lineally descended. After the Conquest, William the Norman granted to Robert de Veteripont, or Vipont, extensive rights and territories in Westmoreland; and among others, some oppressive rights of seigniory over the manor of Brougham, then held by Walter de Burgham. To relieve the estate of such services, Gilbert de Burgham, in the reign of King John, agreed to give up absolutely one-third part of his estate to Robert de Veteripont, and also the advowson of the rectory of Brougham. This third comprises the land upon which the castle is built, and the estate afterwards given by Anne Countess of Pembroke, (heiress of Veteripont,) to the Hospital of Poor Widows at Appleby. Brougham Castle, if not built, was much extended by Veteripont; and afterwards still more enlarged by Roger Clifford, who succeeded, by marriage, to the Veteripont possessions. The manor house, about three quarters of a mile from the castle, continued in the Brougham family; and part of it, especially the gateway, is supposed to be of Saxon architecture: at all events, it is the earliest Norman. The chapel is also old, except the roof, which was renewed in the year 1659. In the year 1607, Thomas Brougham, then Lord of the Manor of Brougham, died without issue male, and the estate was sold to one Bird, who was steward of the Clifford family; the heir male of the Brougham family then residing at Scales Hall, in Cumberland. About 1680, John Brougham of Scales, re-purchased the estate and manor of Brougham from Bird's grandson and entailed it on his nephew, from whom it passed by succession to the Lord Chancellor."

2

The reader will find a concise narrative of the case of Mr. Smith, at page 408, vol. iii. of the Mirror.