We come now to consider the most eventful administration, in many important respects, in British annals. The greatness of military operations, the magnitude of reforms, and the great number of illustrious statesmen and men of genius, make the period, when William Pitt. Pitt managed the helm of state, full of interest and grandeur1.
William Pitt, Early Life of Pitt. second son of the first Earl of Chatham, entered public life at a very early age, and was prime minister of George III. at a period of life when most men are just completing a professional education. He was a person of extraordinary precocity2. He entered Cambridge University at the age of fourteen, and at that period was a finished Greek and Latin scholar. He spent no idle hours, and evinced but little pleasure in the sports common to boys of his age. He was as successful in mastering mathematics as the languages, and was an admirer of the profoundest treatises3 of intellectual philosophy. He excelled in every branch of knowledge to which he directed his attention. In 1780, at the age of twenty-one, he became a resident in Lincoln's Inn, entered parliament the succeeding spring, and immediately assumed an active part. His first speech astonished all who heard him, notwithstanding that great expectations were formed concerning his power. He was made chancellor5 of the exchequer6 at the age of twenty-three, and at a time when it required a finance minister of the greatest experience. Nor would the Commons have acquiesced7 in his appointment to so important a post, in so critical a state of the nation, had not great confidence existed as to his abilities. From his first appearance, Pitt took a commanding position as a parliamentary orator8; nor, as such, has he ever, on the whole, been surpassed. His peculiar9 talents fitted him for the highest post in the gift of his sovereign, and the circumstances of the times, in addition, were such as were calculated to develop all the energies and talents he possessed11. He was not the most commanding intellect of his age, but he was, unquestionably, the greatest orator that England has produced, and exercised, to the close of his career, in spite of the opposition12 of such men as Burke, Fox, and Sheridan, an overwhelming parliamentary influence. He was a prodigy13; as great in debate, and in executive power, as Napoleon was in the field, Bacon in philosophy, or Shakspeare in poetry. It is difficult for us to conceive how a young man, just emerging from college halls, should be able to answer the difficult questions of veteran statesmen who had been all their lives opposing the principles he advanced, and to assume at once the powers with which his father was intrusted only at a mature period of life. Pitt was almost beyond envy, and the proud nobles and princely capitalists of the richest, proudest, and most conservative country in the world, surrendered to him the guardianship14 of their liberties with no more fear or distrust than the hereditary15 bondmen of Turkey or Russia would have shown in hailing the accession of a new emperor. He was born to command, one of nature's despots, and he assumed the reins16 of government with a perfect consciousness of his abilities to rule.
He was only twenty-four years of age when he began to reign10; for, as prime minister of George III., he was, during his continuance in office, the absolute ruler of the British empire. He had, virtually, the nomination17 of his colleagues, and, through them, the direction of all executive affairs. He was controlled by the legislature only, and parliament was subservient18 to his will. What a proud position for a young man to occupy! A commoner, with a limited fortune, to give laws to a vast empire, and to have a proud nobility obedient to his will; and all this by the force of talents alone—talents which extorted19 admiration20 and respect. He selected Lord Thurlow as chancellor, Lord Gower as president of the council, the Duke of Richmond as lord privy21 seal, Lords Carmarthen and Sydney as secretaries of state, and Lord Howe as first lord of the admiralty. These were his chief associates in resisting a powerful opposition, and in regulating the affairs of a vast empire—the concerns of India, the national debt, the necessary taxation22, domestic tranquillity23, and intercourse24 with foreign powers. But he deserved the confidence of his sovereign and of the nation, and they sustained him in his extraordinary embarrassments25 and difficulties.
The Policy of Pitt. policy of the administration is not here to be discussed; but it was the one pursued, in the main, by his father, and one which gratified the national pride. The time has not yet come for us to decide, with certainty, on the wisdom of his course. He was the advocate of measures which had for their object national aggrandizement26. He was the strenuous27 defender28 of war, and he would oppose Napoleon and all the world to secure pre?minence to Great Britain. He believed that glory was better than money; he thought that an overwhelming debt was a less evil than national disgrace; he exaggerated the resources and strength of his country, and believed that it was destined29 to give laws to the world; he underrated the abilities of other nations to make great advances in mechanical skill and manufacturing enterprise; he supposed that English manufactures would be purchased forever by the rest of the world, and therefore that England, in spite of the debt, would make all nations contribute to her glory and wealth. It was to him a matter of indifference30 how heavily the people were taxed to pay the interest on a fictitious31 debt, provided that, by their commerce and manufactures, they could find abundant means to pay this interest. And so long as England could find a market for her wares32, the nation would not suffer from taxation. His error was in supposing that England, forever, would manufacture for the world; that English skill was superior to the skill of all other nations; that there was a superiority in the very nature of an Englishman which would enable him, in any country, or under any circumstances, to overcome all competitors and rivals. Such views were grateful to his nation; and he, by continually flattering the national vanity, and ringing the changes on glory and patriotism33, induced it to follow courses which may one day result in overwhelming calamities34. Self-exaggeration is as fatal to a nation as it is to an individual, and constitutes that pride which precedes destruction. But the mere35 debt of England, being owed to herself, and not to another nation, is not so alarming as it is sometimes supposed. The worst consequence, in a commercial point of view, is national bankruptcy36; but if England becomes bankrupt, her factories, her palaces, her warehouses37, and her ships remain. These are not destroyed. Substantial wealth does not fly from the island, but merely passes from the hands of capitalists to the people. The policy of Pitt has merely enriched the few at the expense of the many—has confirmed the power of the aristocracy. When manufacturers can no longer compete with those of other countries, upon such unequal terms as are rendered necessary in consequence of unparalleled taxation to support the public creditors38, then the public creditors must suffer rather than the manufacturer himself. The manufacturer must live. This class composes a great part of the nation. The people must be fed, and they will be fed; and they can be fed as cheaply as in any country, were it not for taxes. The policy of Pitt, during the period of commercial prosperity, tended, indeed, to strengthen the power of the aristocracy—that class to which he belonged, and to which the House of Commons, who sustained him, belonged. But it was suicidal, as is the policy of all selfish men; and ultimately must tend to revolutionary measures, even though those measures may not be carried by massacres39 and blazing thrones.
But we must hasten to consider the leading events which characterized the administration of William Pitt. These were the troubles in Ireland, parliamentary reforms, the aggrandizement of the East India Company, the trial of Hastings, debates on the slave trade, and the war with France in consequence of the French Revolution.
The Difficulties with Ireland. difficulties with Ireland did not become alarming until the French Revolution had created a spirit of discontent and agitation40 in all parts of Great Britain. Soon after his accession to power, Mr. Flood, a distinguished41 member of the Irish House of Commons, brought in a bill of parliamentary reform, which, after a long debate, was negatived. Though his measure was defeated in the House, its advocates out of doors were not cast down, but took measures to form a national congress, for the amelioration of the evils which existed. A large delegation42 of the people actually met at Dublin, and petitioned parliament for the redress43 of grievances44. Mr. Pitt considered the matter with proper attention, and labored45 to free the commerce of Ireland from the restraints under which it labored. But, in so doing, he excited the jealousy46 of British merchants and manufacturers, and they induced him to remodel47 his propositions for the relief of Ireland, which were then adopted. Tranquillity was restored until the year 1791, when there appeared at Belfast the plan of an association, under the name of the The United Irishmen. United Irishmen, whose object was a radical48 reform of all the evils which had existed in Ireland since its connection with England. This association soon extended throughout the island, and numbered an immense body of both Protestants and Catholics who were disaffected49 with the government. In consequence of the disaffections, especially among the Catholics, the English ministry51 made many concessions52, and the legislature allowed Catholics to practice law, to intermarry with Protestants, and to obtain an unrestrained education. But parliament also took measures to prevent the assembling of any convention of the people, and augmented54 the militia55 in case of disturbance56. But disturbances57 took place, and the United Irishmen began to contemplate58 an entire separation from England, and other treasonable designs. In consequence of these commotions59, the Habeas Corpus Act was suspended, and a military government was enforced with all its rigor60. The United Irish pretended to submit, but laid still deeper schemes, and extended their affiliations61. In May, 1797, the number of men enrolled62 by the union in Ulster alone was one hundred thousand, and their organization was perfect. The French government was aware of the union, which gradually numbered five hundred thousand men, and promised it assistance. The Irish, however, relied chiefly upon themselves, and prepared to resist the English government, which was resolved on pursuing the most vigorous measures. A large military force was sent to Ireland, and several ringleaders of the contemplated63 insurrection were arrested.
But the timely discovery of the conspiracy64 prevented one of the most bloody65 contests which ever happened in Ireland. Nevertheless, the insurrection broke out in some places, and in the county of Wexford was really formidable. The rebels numbered twenty thousand men. They got possession of Wexford, and committed great barbarities; but they were finally subdued66 by Lord Cornwallis. Had the French co?perated, as they had promised, with a force of fifteen thousand, it is not improbable that Ireland would have been wrested67 from England. But the French had as much as they could do, at this time, to take care of themselves; and Ireland was again subjected to greater oppressions than before.
The Irish parliament had hitherto been a mere body of perpetual dictators. By the Octennial Bill, this oligarchy68 was disbanded, and the House of Commons wore something of the appearance of a constitutional assembly, and there were found in it some men of integrity and sagacity. Ireland also had her advocates in the British senate; but whenever the people or the parliament gained a victory over the viceroy, some accident or blunder deprived the nation of reaping the fruits. The Commons became again corrupted70, and the independence which Ireland obtained ceased to have a value. The corrupted Commons basely surrendered all that had been obtained. In vain the eloquence71 of Curran and Grattan. The Irish nation, without public virtue72, a prey73 to faction74, and a scene of corruption75, became at last powerless and politically helpless. The rebellion of 1798 was a mere peasants' war, without intelligence to guide, or experience to counsel. It therefore miserably76 failed, but did not fail until fifty thousand rebels and twenty thousand royalists had perished.
In June, 1800, the union of England and Ireland. union of Ireland and England was effected, on the same basis as that between England and Scotland in the time of Anne. It was warmly opposed by some of the more patriotic77 of the Irish statesmen, and only carried by corruption and bribery78. By this union, foreign legislation took the place of the guidance of those best qualified79 to know the national grievances; the Irish members became, in the British senate, merely the tools of the administration. Absenteeism was nearly doubled, and the national importance nearly annihilated80 in a political point of view. But, on the other hand, an oligarchal tyranny was broken, and the bond of union which bound the countries was strengthened, and the nation subsided81 into a greater state of tranquillity. Twenty-eight peers and one hundred commoners were admitted into the English parliament.
Notwithstanding the suppression of the rebellion of 1798, only five years elapsed before another one was contemplated—the result of republican principles, and of national grievances. The leaders were Robert Emmet and Thomas Russell. But their treasonable designs were miserably supported by their countrymen, and they were able to make but a feeble effort, which immediately failed. These men were arrested, tried, and executed. The speech of Emmet, before his execution, has been much admired for its spirit of patriotism and pensive83 eloquence. His grand mistake consisted in overrating the strength of democratic influences, and in supposing that, by violent measures, he could overturn a strong military government. The Irish were not prepared for freedom, still less republican freedom. There was not sufficient concert, or patriotism, or intelligence, to secure popular liberty, and the antipathy84 between the Catholic and Protestant population was too deeply seated and too malignant85 to hope, reasonably, for a lasting86 union.
All the measures which have been adopted for the independence and elevation87 of Ireland have failed, and the country is still in as Condition of Ireland. lamentable88 a state as ever. It presents a grand enigma89 and mystery to the politician. All the skill of statesmen is baffled in devising means for the tranquillity and improvement of that unhappy and unfortunate country. The more privileges the people gain, and the greater assistance they receive, the more unreasonable90 appear to be their demands, and the more extravagant91 their expectations. Still, there are great and shameful92 evils, which ought to be remedied. There are nearly five millions of acres of waste land in the country, capable of the highest cultivation93. The soil is inexhaustibly rich, the climate is most delightful94, and the natural advantages for agriculture and commerce unprecedented95. Still the Irish remain oppressed and poor; enslaved by their priests, and ground down to the earth by exacting96 landlords and a hostile government. There is no real union between England and Ireland, no sympathy between the different classes, and an implacable animosity between the Protestant and Catholic population. The northern and Protestant part of the island is the most flourishing; but Ireland, in any light it may be viewed, is the most miserable97 country, with all the gifts of nature, the worst governed, and the most afflicted98, in Christendom; and no human sagacity or wisdom has yet been able to devise a remedy for the innumerable evils which prevail. The permanent causes of the degradation100 of the Irish peasantry, in their own country, have been variously attributed to the Roman Catholic priesthood, to the tyranny of the government, to the system by which the lands are leased and cultivated, and to the natural elements of the Irish character. These, united, may have produced the effects which all philanthropists deplore101; but no one cause, in particular, can account for so fine a nation sinking into such poverty and wretchedness, especially when it is considered that the same idle and miserable peasantry, when transplanted to America, exhibit very different dispositions102 and tastes, and develop traits of character which command respect and secure prosperity.
The first plan for Parliamentary Reform. parliamentary reform was brought forward by Pitt in 1782, before he was prime minister, in consequence of a large number of the House representing no important interests, and dependent on the minister. But his motion was successfully opposed. In May, 1783, he brought in another bill to add one hundred members to the House of Commons, and to abolish a proportionate number of the small and obnoxious104 boroughs105. This plan, though supported by Fox, was negatived by a great majority. In 1785, he made a third attempt to secure a reform of parliament, and again failed; and with this last attempt ended all his efforts for this object. So persuaded was he of the impracticability of the measure, that he even uniformly opposed the object when attempted by others. Moreover, he changed his opinions when he perceived the full connection and bearing of the subject with other agitating106 questions. He was desirous of a reform, if it could be obtained without mischief107; but when it became a democratic measure, he opposed it with all his might. Indeed, he avowed108 that he preferred to have parliament remain as it was, forever, rather than risk any prospects109 of reform when the country was so deeply agitated111 by revolutionary discussions. Mr. Pitt perfectly112 understood that those persons who were most eager for parliamentary reform, desired the overthrow113 of the existing institutions of the land, or, at least, such as were inconsistent with the hereditary succession to the throne, hereditary titles, and the whole system of entailed114 estates. Mr. Pitt, as he grew older, more powerful, and more experienced, became more aristocratic and conservative; feared to touch any of the old supports of the constitution for fear of producing a revolution—an evil which, of all evils, he most abhorred115. Mr. Burke, though opposed to the minister, here defended him, and made an eloquent116 speech against revolutionary measures. Nor can we wonder at the change of opinion, which Mr. Pitt and others admitted, when it is considered that the advocates of parliamentary reform also were associated with men of infidel and dangerous principles. Thomas Paine was one of the apostles of liberty in that age, and his writings had a very great and very pernicious influence on the people at large. It is very singular, but nevertheless true, that some of the most useful reforms have been projected by men of infidel principles, and infidelity and revolutionary excess have generally been closely connected.
But the reform question did not deeply agitate110 the people of England until a much later period. One of the most exciting events, in the domestic history of England during the administration of Pitt, was the trial of Hastings and the difficulties which grew out of the aggrandizement of the East India Company.
In the chapter on colonization117, allusion118 was made to Indian affairs until the close of the administration of Lord Clive. Warren Hastings. Warren Hastings continued the encroachments and conquests which Clive had so successfully begun. He went to India in 1750, at the age of seventeen, as a clerk in the service of the company. It was then merely a commercial corporation. His talents and sagacity insured his prosperity. He gradually was promoted, and, in 1772, was appointed head of the government in Bengal. But the governor was not then, as he now is, nearly absolute, and he had only one vote in the council which represented the company at Calcutta. He was therefore frequently overruled, and his power was crippled. But he contrived119 to make important changes, and abolished the office of the minister to whom was delegated the collection of the revenue and the general regulation of internal affairs—an office which had been always held by a native. Hastings transferred the internal administration to the servants of the company, and in various other ways improved the finances of the company, the members of which were indifferent, comparatively, to the condition of the people of India, provided that they themselves were enriched. To enrich the company and extend its possessions, even at the expense of justice and humanity, became the object of the governor-general. He succeeded; but success brought upon him the imprecations of the natives and the indignant rebukes120 of his own countrymen. In less than two years after he had assumed the government, he added four hundred thousand pounds to the annual income of the company, besides nearly a million in ready money. But the administration of Hastings cannot be detailed121. We can only notice that part of it which led to his trial in England.
The great event which marked his government was the War with Hyder Ali. war with Hyder Ali, the Mohammedan sovereign of Mysore. The province of Bengal and the Carnatic had been, for some time, under the protection of the English. Adjoining the Carnatic, in the centre of the peninsula, were the dominions122 of Hyder Ali. Had Hastings been governor of Madras, he would have conciliated him, or vigorously encountered him as an enemy. But the authorities at Madras had done neither. They provoked him to hostilities123, and, with an army of ninety thousand men, he invaded the Carnatic. British India was on the verge124 of ruin. Hyder Ali was every where triumphant125, and only a few fortified126 places remained to the English.
Hastings, when he heard of the calamity127, instantly adopted the most vigorous measures. He settled his difficulties with the Mahrattas; he suspended the incapable128 governor of Fort George, and sent Sir Eyre Coote to oppose the great Mohammedan prince who threatened to subvert129 the English power in India.
But Hastings had not the money which was necessary to carry on an expensive war with the most formidable enemy the English ever encountered in the East. He therefore resolved to plunder130 the richest and most sacred city of India—Benares. It was the seat of Indian learning and devotion, and contained five hundred thousand people. Its temple, as seen from the Ganges, was the most imposing131 in the Eastern world, while its bazaars132 were filled with the most valuable and rare of Indian commodities; with the muslins of Bengal, the shawls of Cashmere, the sabres of Oude, and the silks of its own looms133.
This rich capital was governed by a prince nominally134 subject to the Great Mogul, but who was dependent on the Nabob of Oude, a large province north of the Ganges, near the Himmaleh Mountains. Benares and its territories, being oppressed by the Nabob of Oude, sought the protection of the British. Their protection was, of course, readily extended; but it was fatal to the independence of Benares. The alliance with the English was like the protection Rome extended to Greece when threatened by Asia, and which ended in the subjection of both Greece and Asia. The Rajah of Benares became the vassal135 of the company, and therefore was obliged to furnish money for the protection he enjoyed.
But the tribute which the Rajah of Benares paid did not satisfy Hastings. He exacted still greater sums, which led to an insurrection and ultimate conquest. The fair domains136 of Cheyte Sing, the lord of Benares, were added to the dominions of the company together with an increased revenue of two hundred thousand pounds a year. The treasure of the rajah amounted to two hundred and fifty thousand pounds, and this was divided as prize money among the English.
The rapacious137 governor-general did not obtain the treasure which he expected to find at Benares, and then resolved to Robbery of the Princesses of Oude. rob the Princesses of Oude, who had been left with immense treasures on the death of Suraj-w Dowlah, the nabob vizier of the Grand Mogul. The only pretext138 which Hastings could find was, that the insurrection at Benares had produced disturbances at Oude, and which disturbances were imputed139 to the princesses. Great barbarities were inflicted140 in order to secure these treasures; but the robbers were successful, and immense sums flowed into the treasury141 of the company. By these iniquities142, the governor found means to conduct the war in the Carnatic successfully, and a treaty was concluded with Tippoo, the son of Hyder Ali, by which the company reigned143 without a rival on the great Indian peninsula.
When peace was restored to India, and the company's servants had accumulated immense fortunes, Hastings returned to England. But the iniquities he had practised excited great indignation among those statesmen who regarded justice and humanity as better supports to a government than violence and rapine.
Foremost among these patriots144 was Edmund Burke. He had long been a member of the select committee to investigate Indian affairs, and he had bestowed145 great attention to them, and fully103 understood the course which Hastings had pursued.
Through his influence, an inquiry146 into the conduct of the late governor-general was instituted, and he was accordingly impeached147 at the bar of the House of Lords. Mr. Pitt permitted matters to take their natural course; but the king, the Lord Chancellor Thurlow, the ministers generally, and the directors of the East India Company espoused148 his cause. They regarded him as a very great man, whose rule had been glorious to the nation, in spite of the mistakes and cruelties which marked his government. He had added an empire to the British crown, educed149 order out of anarchy150, and organized a system of administration which, in its essential features, has remained to this time. He enriched the company, while he did not enrich himself; for he easily might have accumulated a fortune of three millions of pounds. And he moreover contrived, in spite of his extortions and conquests, to secure the respect of the native population, whose national and religious prejudices he endeavored not to shock. "These things inspired good will. At the same time, his constant success, and the manner in which he extricated151 himself from every difficulty, made him an object of superstitious152 admiration; and the more than regal splendor153 which he sometimes displayed, dazzled a people who have much in common with children. Even now, after the lapse82 of more than fifty years, the natives of India still talk of him as the greatest of the English, and nurses sing children to sleep with a gingling ballad154 about the fleet horses and richly-caparisoned elephants of Sahib Warren Hostein."
But neither the admiration of the people of the East for the splendid abilities of Hastings, nor the gratitude155 of a company of merchants, nor the powerful friends he had in the English parliament, could screen him from the malignant hatred156 of Francis, or the purer indignation of Burke. The zeal157 which the latter evinced in his Prosecution158 of Hastings. prosecution has never been equalled, and all his energies, for years, were devoted159 to the exposure of a person whom he regarded as "a delinquent160 of the first magnitude." "He had just as lively an idea of the insurrection at Benares as of Lord George Gordon's riots, and of the execution of Nuncomar as of the execution of Dr. Dodd." Burke was assisted in his vehement161 prosecution by Charles James Fox, the greatest debater ever known in the House of Commons, but a man vastly inferior to himself in moral elevation, in general knowledge, in power of fancy, and in profound wisdom.
The trial was at Westminster Hall, the hall which had witnessed the inauguration162 of thirty kings, and the trials of accused nobles since the time of William Rufus. And he was a culprit not unworthy of that great tribunal before which he was summoned—"a tribunal which had pronounced sentence on Strafford, and pardon on Somers"—the tribunal before which royalty163 itself had been called to account. Hastings had ruled, with absolute sway, a country which was more populous164 and more extensive than any of the kingdoms of Europe, and had gained a fame which was bounded only by the unknown countries of the globe. He was defended by three men who subsequently became the three highest judges of the land, and he was encouraged by the appearance and sympathetic smiles of the highest nobles of the realm.
But greater than all were the mighty165 statesmen who conducted the prosecution. First among them in character and genius was Edmund Burke. Edmund Burke, who, from the time that he first spoke166 in the House of Commons, in 1766, had been a prominent member, and had, at length, secured greater fame than any of his contemporaries, Pitt alone excepted, not merely as an orator, but as an enlightened statesman, a philosopher, and a philanthropist. He excelled all the great men with whom he was associated, in the variety of his powers; he was a poet even while a boy; a penetrating167 philosopher, critic, and historian before the age of thirty; a statesman of unrivalled moral wisdom; an orator whose speeches have been read with increasing admiration in every succeeding age; a judge of the fine arts to whose opinions Reynolds submitted; and a writer on various subjects, in which he displayed not only vast knowledge, but which he treated in a style of matchless beauty and force. All the great men of his age—Johnson, Reynolds, Goldsmith, Garrick, Pitt, Fox, Sheridan, Windham, North, Thurlow, Parr—scholars, critics, divines, and statesmen—bore testimony168 to his commanding genius and his singular moral worth, to his hatred of vice69, and his passionate169 love of virtue. But these great and varied170 excellences171, which secured him the veneration172 of the finest minds in Europe, were not fully appreciated by his own nation, which was astonished rather than governed by his prophetic wisdom. But Burke was remarkable173, not merely for his knowledge, eloquence, and genius but also for an unblemished private life, for the habitual174 exercise of all those virtues175, and the free expression of all those noble sentiments which only have marked exalted176 Christian177 characters. In his political principles, he was a conservative, and preferred to base his views on history and experience, rather than to try experiments, especially when these were advocated by men whose moral character or infidel sentiments excited his distrust or aversion. He did not shut his eyes to abuse, but aimed to mend deliberately178 and cautiously. His admonition to his country respecting America corresponded with his general sentiments. "Talk not of your abstract rights of government; I hate the very sound of them; follow experience and common sense." He believed that love was better than force, and that the strength of any government consisted in the affections of the people. And these he ever strove to retain, and for these he was willing to relinquish179 momentary180 gain and selfish aggrandizement. He advocated concession53 to the Irish legislature; justice and security to the people of India; liberty of conscience to Dissenters181; relief to small debtors182; the suppression of general warrants; the extension of the power of juries; freedom of the press; retrenchment183 in the public expenditures184; the removal of commercial restrictions185; and the abolition186 of the slave trade. He had a great contempt for "mechanical politicians," and "pedler principles." And he lived long enough to see the fulfilment of his political prophecies, and the horrors of that dreadful revolution which he had predicted and disliked, not because the principles which the French apostles of liberty advocated, were not abstractedly true, but because they were connected with excesses, and an infidel recklessness in the violation187 of established social rights, which alarmed and disgusted him. He died in 1797, in the sixty-eighth year of his age, beloved and honored by the good and great in all Christian countries.
Next to Burke, among the prosecutors188 of Hastings, for greatness and popularity, was Charles James Fox. Charles James Fox; inferior to Burke in knowledge, imagination, and moral power, but superior in all the arts of debate, the most logical and accomplished189 forensic190 orator which that age of orators191 produced. His father, Lord Holland, had been the rival of the great Chatham, and he himself was opposed, nearly the whole of his public life, to the younger Pitt. His political principles were like those of Burke until the French Revolution, whose principles he at first admired. He was emphatically the man of the people, easy of access, social in his habits, free in his intercourse, without reserve or haughtiness192, generous, magnanimous, and conciliatory. He was unsurpassed for logical acuteness, and for bursts of overpowering passion. He reached high political station, although his habits were such as destroyed, in many respects, the respect of those great men with whom he was associated.
Richard Richard Brinsley Sheridan. Brinsley Sheridan, another of the public accusers of Hastings, was a different man from either Burke or Fox. He was born in Ireland, but was educated at Harrow, and first distinguished himself by writing plays. In 1776, on the retirement193 of Garrick, he became manager of Drury Lane Theatre; and shortly after appeared the School for Scandal, which placed him on the summit of dramatic fame. In 1780, he entered parliament, and, when Hastings was impeached, was in the height of his reputation, both as a writer and orator. His power consisted in brilliant declamation194 and sparkling wit, and his speech in relation to the Princesses of Oude produced an impression almost without a parallel in ancient or modern times. Mr. Burke's admiration was sincere and unbounded, but Fox thought it too florid and rhetorical. His fame now rests on his dramas. But his life was the shipwreck195 of genius, in consequence of his extravagance, his recklessness in incurring196 debts, and his dissipated habits, which disorganized his moral character and undermined the friendships which his brilliant talents at first secured to him.
But in spite of the indignation which these illustrious orators excited against Hastings, he was nevertheless acquitted197, after a trial which lasted eight years, in consequence of the change of public opinion; and, above all, in view of the great services which he had really rendered to his country. The expenses of the trial nearly ruined him; but the East India Company granted him an annual income of four thousand pounds, which he spent in ornamenting198 and enriching Daylesford, the seat which had once belonged to his family, and which he purchased after his return from India.
Although Warren Hastings was eventually acquitted by the House of Lords, still his long and protracted199 trial brought to light many evils connected with the government of India; and, in 1784, acts were passed which gave the nation a more direct control over the East India Company—the most gigantic monopoly the world has ever seen. That a company of merchants in Leadenhall Street should exercise an unlimited200 power over an empire larger than the whole of Europe with the exception of Russia, and sacrifice the interests of humanity to base pecuniary201 considerations, at length aroused the English nation. Accordingly, Mr. Pitt brought in a Bill for the Regulation of India. bill, which passed both Houses, which provided that the affairs of the company should be partly managed by a Board of Control, partly by the Court of Directors, and partly by a general meeting of the stockholders of the company. The Board of Control was intrusted to five privy counsellors, one of whom was secretary of state. It was afterwards composed of a president, such members of the privy council as the king should select, and a secretary. This board superintends and regulates all civil, military, and revenue officers, and political negotiations202, and all general despatches. The Board of Directors, composed of twenty-four men, six of whom are annually203 elected, has the nomination of the governor-general, and the appointment of all civil and military officers. These two boards operate as a check against each other.
The first governor-general, by the new constitution, was Lord Cornwallis, a nobleman of great military experience and elevated moral worth; a man who was intrusted with great power, even after his misfortunes in America, and a man who richly deserved the confidence reposed204 in him. Still, he was seldom fortunate. He made blunders in India as well as in America. He did not fully understand the institutions of India, or the genius of the people. He was soon called to embark205 in the contests which divided the different native princes, and with the usual result. The simple principle of English territorial206 acquisition is, in defending the cause of the feebler party. The stronger party was then conquered, and became a province of the East India Company, while the weaker remained under English protection, until, by oppression, injustice207, and rapacity208 on the part of the protectors, it was driven to rebellion, and then subdued.
When Lord Cornwallis was sent to India, in 1786, the East India Company had obtained possession of Bengal, a part of Bahar, the Benares district of Allahabad, part of Orissa, the Circars, Bombay, and the Jaghire of the Carnatic—a district of one hundred miles along the coast. The other great Indian powers, unconquered by the English, were the Mahrattas, who occupied the centre of India, from Delhi to the Krishna, and from the Bay of Bengal to the Arabian Sea; also, Golconda, the western parts of the Carnatic, Mysore, Oude, and the country of the Sikhs. Of the potentates209 who ruled over these extensive provinces, the Sultan of Mysore, Tippoo Saib, was the most powerful, although the Mahrattas country was the largest.
The hostility210 of War with Tippoo Saib. Tippoo, who inherited his father's prejudices against the English, excited the suspicions of Lord Cornwallis, and a desperate war was the result, in which the sultan showed the most daring courage. In 1792, the English general invested the formidable fortress211 of Seringapatam, with sixteen thousand Europeans and thirty thousand sepoys, and with the usual success. Tippoo, after the loss of this strong fort, and of twenty-three thousand of his troops, made peace with Lord Cornwallis, by the payment of four millions of pounds, and the surrender of half his dominions. Lord Cornwallis, after the close of this war, returned home, and was succeeded by Sir John Shore; and he by Marquis Wellesley, (1798,) under whose administration the war with Tippoo was renewed, in consequence of the intrigues212 of the sultan with the French at Pondicherry, to regain213 his dominions. The Sultan of Mysore, was again defeated, and slain214; the dynasty of Hyder Ali ceased to reign, and the East India Company took possession of the whole southern peninsula. A subsequent war with the Mahratta powers completely established the British supremacy215 in India. Delhi, the capital of the Great Mogul, fell into the hands of the English, and the emperor himself became a stipendiary of a company of merchants. The conquest of the country of the Mahrattas was indeed successful, but was attended by vast expenses, which entailed a debt on the company of about nineteen millions of pounds. The brilliant successes of Wellesley, however, were not appreciated by the Board of Directors, who wanted dividends216 rather than glory, and he was recalled.
There were no Conquest of India. new conquests until 1817, under the government of the Earl of Moira, afterwards Marquis of Hastings. He made war on the Pindarries, who were bands of freebooters in Central India. They were assisted by several native powers, which induced the governor-general to demand considerable cessions of territory. In 1819, the British effected a settlement at Singapore by which a lucrative217 commerce was secured to Great Britain.
Lord Hastings was succeeded by the Earl of Amherst, under whose administration the Burmese war commenced, and by which large territories, between Bengal and China, were added to the British empire, (1826.)
On the overthrow of the Mogul empire, the kingdom of the Sikhs, in the northern part of India, and that of the Affghans, lying west of the Indus, arose in importance—kingdoms formerly218 subject to Persia. The former, with all its dependent provinces, has recently been conquered, and annexed219 to the overgrown dominions of the Company.
In 1833, the charter of the East India Company expired, and a total change of system was the result. The company was deprived of its exclusive right of trade, the commerce with India and China was freely opened to all the world, and the possessions and rights of the company were ceded220 to the nation for an annual annuity221 of six hundred and thirty thousand pounds. The political government of India, however, was continued to the company until 1853.
Thus has England come in possession of one of the oldest and most powerful of the Oriental empires, containing a population of one hundred and thirty millions of people, speaking various languages, and wedded222 irrecoverably to different social and religious institutions. Consequences of the Conquest. The conquest of India is complete, and there is not a valuable office in the whole country which is not held by an Englishman. The native and hereditary princes of provinces, separately larger and more populous than Great Britain itself, are divested223 of all but the shadow of power, and receive stipends224 from the East India Company. The Emperor of Delhi, the Nabobs of Bengal and the Carnatic, the Rajahs of Tanjore and Benares, and the Princes of the house of Tippoo, and other princes, receive, indeed, an annual support of over a million sterling225; but their power has passed away. An empire two thousand miles from east to west, and eighteen hundred from north to south, and containing more square miles than a territory larger than all the States between the Mississippi and the Atlantic Ocean, has fallen into the hands of the Anglo-Saxon race. It is true that a considerable part of Hindostan is nominally held by subsidiary allies, under the protection of the British government; but the moment that these dependent princes cease to be useful, this protection will be withdrawn226. There can be no reasonable doubt that the English rule is beneficent in many important respects. Order and law are better observed than formerly under the Mohammedan dynasty; but no compensation is sufficient, in the eyes of the venerable Brahmin, for interference in the laws and religion of the country. India has been robbed by the armies of European merchants, and is only held in bondage227 by an overwhelming military force, which must be felt as burdensome and expensive when the plundered228 country shall no longer satisfy the avarice229 of commercial corporations. But that day may be remote. Calcutta now rivals in splendor and importance the old capital of the Great Mogul. The palace of the governor-general is larger than Windsor Castle or Buckingham Palace; the stupendous fortifications of Fort William rival the fortress of Gibraltar; the Anglo-Indian army amounts to two hundred thousand men; while the provinces of India are taxed, directly or indirectly230, to an amount exceeding eighteen millions of pounds per annum. It is idle to speculate on the destinies of India, or the duration of the English power. The future is ever full of gloom, when scarcely any thing is noticeable but injustice and oppression on the part of rulers, and poverty and degradation among the governed. It is too much to suppose that one hundred and eighty millions of the human race can be permanently231 governed by a power on the opposite side of the globe, and where there never can exist any union or sympathy between the nation that rules and the nations that are ruled, in any religious, social, or political institution; and when all that is dear to the heart of man, and all that is consecrated232 by the traditions of ages, are made to subserve the interests of a mercantile state.
But it is time to hasten to the consideration of the remaining subjects connected with the administration of William Pitt.
The agitations233 of moral reformers are among the most prominent and interesting. The efforts of benevolent234 statesmen and philanthropists to abolish the slave trade produced a great excitement throughout Christendom, and were followed by great results.
In 1787, William Wilberforce, who represented the great county of York, brought forward, in the House of Commons, a motion for the abolition of the slave trade. The first public movements to put a stop to this infamous235 traffic were made by the Quakers in the Southern States of America, who presented petitions for that purpose to their respective legislatures. Their brethren in England followed their example, and presented similar petitions to the House of Commons. A society was formed, and a considerable sum was raised to collect information relative to the traffic, and to support the expense of application to parliament. A great resistance was expected and made, chiefly by merchants and planters. Mr. Wilberforce interested himself greatly in this investigation236, and in May brought the matter before parliament, and supported his motion with overwhelming arguments and eloquence. Mr. Fox, Mr. Burke, Mr. William Smith, and Mr. Whitbread supported Mr. Wilberforce. Mr. Pitt defended the cause of abolition with great eloquence and power; but the House was not then in favor of immediate4 abolition, nor was it carried until Mr. Fox and his friends came into power.
The War with France. war with France, in consequence of the progress of the revolution, is too great a subject to be treated except in a chapter by itself. Mr. Pitt abstained237 from all warlike demonstrations238 until the internal tranquillity of England itself was affected50 by the propagation of revolutionary principles. But when, added to these, it was feared that the French were resolved to extend their empire, and overturn the balance of power, and encroach on the liberties of England, then Pitt, sustained by an overwhelming majority in parliament, declared war upon France, (1793.) The advocates of the French Revolution, however, take different views, and attribute the rise and career of Napoleon to the jealousy and encroachments of England herself, as well as of Austria and Prussia. Whether the general European war might not have been averted239, is a point which merits inquiry, and on which British statesmen are not yet agreed. But the connection of England with this great war will be presented in the following chapter.
Mr. Pitt continued to manage the helm of state until 1806; but all his energies were directed to the prosecution of the war, and no other events of importance took place during his administration.
His genius most signally was displayed in his Policy of Pitt. financial skill in extricating240 his nation from the great embarrassments which resulted from the American war, and in providing the means to prosecute241 still more expensive campaigns against Napoleon and his generals. He also had unrivalled talent in managing the House of Commons against one of the most powerful oppositions242 ever known, and in a period of great public excitements. He was always ready in debate, and always retained the confidence of the nation. He is probably the greatest of the English statesmen, so far as talents are concerned, and so far as he represented the ideas and sentiments of his age. But it is a question which will long perplex philosophers whether he was the wisest of that great constellation243 of geniuses who enlightened his brilliant age. To him may be ascribed the great increase of the national debt. If taxes are the greatest calamity which can afflict99 a nation, then Pitt has entailed a burden of misery244 which will call forth245 eternal curses on his name, in spite of all the brilliancy of his splendid administration. But if the glory and welfare of nations consist in other things—in independence, patriotism, and rational liberty; if it was desirable, above all material considerations, to check the current of revolutionary excess, and oppose the career of a man who aimed to bring all the kings and nations of Europe under the yoke246 of an absolute military despotism, and rear a universal empire on the ruins of ancient monarchies247 and states,—then Pitt and his government should be contemplated in a different light.
That mighty contest which developed the energies of this great statesman, as well as the genius of a still more remarkable man, therefore claims our attention.
References.—Tomline's Life of Pitt. Belsham's History of George III. Prior's and Bissett's Lives of Burke. Moore's Life of Sheridan. Walpole's Life of Fox. Life of Wilberforce, by his sons. Annual Register, from 1783 to 1806. Macaulay's Essay on Warren Hastings. Elphinstone's and Martin's Histories of India. Mill's British India. Russell's Modern Europe. Correspondence of Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke. Campbell's Lives of the Lord Chancellors248. Boswell's Life of Johnson. Burke's Works. Schlosser's Modern History.
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1
grandeur
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| n.伟大，崇高，宏伟，庄严，豪华 | |
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precocity
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| n.早熟，早成 | |
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treatises
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| n.专题著作，专题论文，专著( treatise的名词复数 ) | |
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immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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chancellor
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| n.(英)大臣；法官；(德、奥)总理；大学校长 | |
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exchequer
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| n.财政部；国库 | |
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acquiesced
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| v.默认，默许( acquiesce的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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orator
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| n.演说者，演讲者，雄辩家 | |
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peculiar
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| adj.古怪的，异常的；特殊的，特有的 | |
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reign
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| n.统治时期，统治，支配，盛行；v.占优势 | |
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possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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opposition
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| n.反对，敌对 | |
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prodigy
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| n.惊人的事物，奇迹，神童，天才，预兆 | |
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guardianship
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| n. 监护, 保护, 守护 | |
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hereditary
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| adj.遗传的，遗传性的，可继承的，世袭的 | |
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reins
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| 感情，激情； 缰( rein的名词复数 )； 控制手段； 掌管； （成人带着幼儿走路以防其走失时用的）保护带 | |
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nomination
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| n.提名，任命，提名权 | |
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subservient
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| adj.卑屈的，阿谀的 | |
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extorted
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| v.敲诈( extort的过去式和过去分词 )；曲解 | |
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admiration
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| n.钦佩，赞美，羡慕 | |
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privy
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| adj.私用的；隐密的 | |
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taxation
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| n.征税，税收，税金 | |
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tranquillity
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| n. 平静, 安静 | |
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intercourse
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| n.性交；交流，交往，交际 | |
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embarrassments
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| n.尴尬( embarrassment的名词复数 )；难堪；局促不安；令人难堪或耻辱的事 | |
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aggrandizement
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| n.增大，强化，扩大 | |
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strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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defender
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| n.保卫者，拥护者，辩护人 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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indifference
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| n.不感兴趣，不关心，冷淡，不在乎 | |
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fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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wares
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| n. 货物, 商品 | |
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patriotism
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| n.爱国精神，爱国心，爱国主义 | |
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calamities
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| n.灾祸，灾难( calamity的名词复数 )；不幸之事 | |
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mere
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| adj.纯粹的；仅仅，只不过 | |
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bankruptcy
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| n.破产；无偿付能力 | |
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warehouses
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| 仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 ) | |
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creditors
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| n.债权人，债主( creditor的名词复数 ) | |
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massacres
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| 大屠杀( massacre的名词复数 )； 惨败 | |
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agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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distinguished
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| adj.卓越的，杰出的，著名的 | |
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delegation
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| n.代表团；派遣 | |
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redress
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| n.赔偿，救济，矫正；v.纠正，匡正，革除 | |
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grievances
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| n.委屈( grievance的名词复数 )；苦衷；不满；牢骚 | |
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labored
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| adj.吃力的，谨慎的v.努力争取(for)( labor的过去式和过去分词 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转 | |
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jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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remodel
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| v.改造，改型，改变 | |
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radical
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| n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的 | |
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disaffected
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| adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的 | |
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affected
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| adj.不自然的，假装的 | |
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ministry
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| n.(政府的)部；牧师 | |
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concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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concession
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| n.让步，妥协；特许(权) | |
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Augmented
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| adj.增音的 动词augment的过去式和过去分词形式 | |
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militia
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| n.民兵，民兵组织 | |
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disturbance
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| n.动乱，骚动；打扰，干扰；(身心)失调 | |
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disturbances
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| n.骚乱( disturbance的名词复数 )；打扰；困扰；障碍 | |
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contemplate
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| vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视 | |
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commotions
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| n.混乱，喧闹，骚动( commotion的名词复数 ) | |
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rigor
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| n.严酷，严格，严厉 | |
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affiliations
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| n.联系( affiliation的名词复数 )；附属机构；亲和性；接纳 | |
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enrolled
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| adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起 | |
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contemplated
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| adj. 预期的 动词contemplate的过去分词形式 | |
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conspiracy
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| n.阴谋，密谋，共谋 | |
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bloody
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| adj.非常的的；流血的；残忍的；adv.很；vt.血染 | |
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subdued
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| adj. 屈服的，柔和的，减弱的 动词subdue的过去式和过去分词 | |
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wrested
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| （用力）拧( wrest的过去式和过去分词 )； 费力取得； （从…）攫取； （ 从… ） 强行取去… | |
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oligarchy
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| n.寡头政治 | |
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vice
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| n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的 | |
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corrupted
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| （使）败坏( corrupt的过去式和过去分词 )； （使）腐化； 引起（计算机文件等的）错误； 破坏 | |
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eloquence
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| n.雄辩；口才，修辞 | |
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virtue
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| n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力 | |
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prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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faction
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| n.宗派，小集团；派别；派系斗争 | |
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corruption
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| n.腐败，堕落，贪污 | |
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miserably
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| adv.痛苦地；悲惨地；糟糕地；极度地 | |
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patriotic
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| adj.爱国的，有爱国心的 | |
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bribery
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| n.贿络行为，行贿，受贿 | |
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qualified
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| adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的 | |
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annihilated
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| v.（彻底）消灭( annihilate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；废止；彻底击溃 | |
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subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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lapse
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| n.过失，流逝，失效，抛弃信仰，间隔；vi.堕落，停止，失效，流逝；vt.使失效 | |
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83
pensive
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| a.沉思的,哀思的,忧沉的 | |
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84
antipathy
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| n.憎恶；反感，引起反感的人或事物 | |
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85
malignant
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| adj.恶性的，致命的；恶意的，恶毒的 | |
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86
lasting
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| adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持 | |
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87
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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88
lamentable
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| adj.令人惋惜的，悔恨的 | |
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89
enigma
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| n.谜，谜一样的人或事 | |
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90
unreasonable
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| adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的 | |
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91
extravagant
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| adj.奢侈的；过分的；(言行等)放肆的 | |
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92
shameful
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| adj.可耻的，不道德的 | |
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93
cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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94
delightful
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| adj.令人高兴的，使人快乐的 | |
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95
unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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96
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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97
miserable
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| adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的 | |
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98
afflicted
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| 使受痛苦，折磨( afflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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99
afflict
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| vt.使身体或精神受痛苦，折磨 | |
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100
degradation
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| n.降级；低落；退化；陵削；降解；衰变 | |
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101
deplore
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| vt.哀叹，对...深感遗憾 | |
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102
dispositions
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| 安排( disposition的名词复数 )； 倾向； （财产、金钱的）处置； 气质 | |
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103
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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104
obnoxious
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| adj.极恼人的，讨人厌的，可憎的 | |
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105
boroughs
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| （尤指大伦敦的）行政区( borough的名词复数 )； 议会中有代表的市镇 | |
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106
agitating
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| 搅动( agitate的现在分词 )； 激怒； 使焦虑不安； （尤指为法律、社会状况的改变而）激烈争论 | |
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107
mischief
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| n.损害，伤害，危害；恶作剧，捣蛋，胡闹 | |
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108
avowed
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| adj.公开声明的，承认的v.公开声明，承认( avow的过去式和过去分词) | |
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109
prospects
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| n.希望，前途(恒为复数) | |
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110
agitate
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| vi.(for,against)煽动，鼓动；vt.搅动 | |
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111
agitated
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| adj.被鼓动的，不安的 | |
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112
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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113
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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114
entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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115
abhorred
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| v.憎恶( abhor的过去式和过去分词 )；（厌恶地）回避；拒绝；淘汰 | |
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116
eloquent
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| adj.雄辩的，口才流利的；明白显示出的 | |
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117
colonization
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| 殖民地的开拓，殖民，殖民地化； 移殖 | |
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118
allusion
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| n.暗示，间接提示 | |
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119
contrived
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| adj.不自然的，做作的；虚构的 | |
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120
rebukes
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| 责难或指责( rebuke的第三人称单数 ) | |
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121
detailed
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| adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的 | |
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122
dominions
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| 统治权( dominion的名词复数 )； 领土； 疆土； 版图 | |
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123
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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124
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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125
triumphant
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| adj.胜利的，成功的；狂欢的，喜悦的 | |
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126
fortified
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| adj. 加强的 | |
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127
calamity
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| n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件 | |
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128
incapable
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| adj.无能力的，不能做某事的 | |
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129
subvert
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| v.推翻；暗中破坏；搅乱 | |
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130
plunder
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| vt.劫掠财物，掠夺；n.劫掠物，赃物；劫掠 | |
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131
imposing
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| adj.使人难忘的，壮丽的，堂皇的，雄伟的 | |
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132
bazaars
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| （东方国家的）市场( bazaar的名词复数 )； 义卖； 义卖市场； （出售花哨商品等的）小商品市场 | |
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133
looms
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| n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近 | |
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134
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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135
vassal
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| n.附庸的；属下；adj.奴仆的 | |
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136
domains
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| n.范围( domain的名词复数 )；领域；版图；地产 | |
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137
rapacious
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| adj.贪婪的，强夺的 | |
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138
pretext
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| n.借口，托词 | |
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139
imputed
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| v.把（错误等）归咎于( impute的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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140
inflicted
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| 把…强加给，使承受，遭受( inflict的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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141
treasury
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| n.宝库；国库，金库；文库 | |
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142
iniquities
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| n.邪恶( iniquity的名词复数 )；极不公正 | |
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143
reigned
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| vi.当政，统治（reign的过去式形式） | |
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144
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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145
bestowed
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| 赠给，授予( bestow的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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146
inquiry
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| n.打听，询问，调查，查问 | |
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147
impeached
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| v.控告（某人）犯罪( impeach的过去式和过去分词 )；弹劾；对（某事物）怀疑；提出异议 | |
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148
espoused
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| v.（决定）支持，拥护（目标、主张等）( espouse的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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149
educed
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| v.引出( educe的过去式和过去分词 )；唤起或开发出（潜能）；推断（出）；从数据中演绎（出） | |
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150
anarchy
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| n.无政府状态；社会秩序混乱，无秩序 | |
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151
extricated
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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152
superstitious
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| adj.迷信的 | |
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153
splendor
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| n.光彩；壮丽，华丽；显赫，辉煌 | |
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154
ballad
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| n.歌谣，民谣，流行爱情歌曲 | |
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155
gratitude
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| adj.感激，感谢 | |
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156
hatred
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| n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨 | |
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157
zeal
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| n.热心，热情，热忱 | |
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158
prosecution
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| n.起诉，告发，检举，执行，经营 | |
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159
devoted
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| adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的 | |
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160
delinquent
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| adj.犯法的，有过失的；n.违法者 | |
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161
vehement
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| adj.感情强烈的；热烈的；(人)有强烈感情的 | |
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162
inauguration
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| n.开幕、就职典礼 | |
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163
royalty
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| n.皇家，皇族 | |
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164
populous
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| adj.人口稠密的，人口众多的 | |
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165
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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166
spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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167
penetrating
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|
| adj.（声音）响亮的，尖锐的adj.（气味）刺激的adj.（思想）敏锐的，有洞察力的 | |
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168
testimony
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| n.证词；见证，证明 | |
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169
passionate
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，激昂的，易动情的，易怒的，性情暴躁的 | |
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170
varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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171
excellences
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| n.卓越( excellence的名词复数 )；（只用于所修饰的名词后）杰出的；卓越的；出类拔萃的 | |
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172
veneration
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| n.尊敬，崇拜 | |
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173
remarkable
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| adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的 | |
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174
habitual
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| adj.习惯性的；通常的，惯常的 | |
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175
virtues
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| 美德( virtue的名词复数 )； 德行； 优点； 长处 | |
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176
exalted
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| adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的 | |
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177
Christian
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| adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒 | |
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178
deliberately
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| adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地 | |
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179
relinquish
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| v.放弃，撤回，让与，放手 | |
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180
momentary
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| adj.片刻的，瞬息的；短暂的 | |
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181
dissenters
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| n.持异议者，持不同意见者( dissenter的名词复数 ) | |
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182
debtors
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| n.债务人，借方( debtor的名词复数 ) | |
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183
retrenchment
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| n.节省，删除 | |
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184
expenditures
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| n.花费( expenditure的名词复数 )；使用；（尤指金钱的）支出额；（精力、时间、材料等的）耗费 | |
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185
restrictions
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| 约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则） | |
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186
abolition
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| n.废除，取消 | |
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187
violation
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| n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯 | |
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188
prosecutors
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| 检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人 | |
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189
accomplished
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| adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的 | |
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190
forensic
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| adj.法庭的，雄辩的 | |
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191
orators
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| n.演说者，演讲家( orator的名词复数 ) | |
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192
haughtiness
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| n.傲慢；傲气 | |
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193
retirement
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| n.退休，退职 | |
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194
declamation
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| n. 雄辩，高调 | |
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195
shipwreck
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| n.船舶失事，海难 | |
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196
incurring
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| 遭受，招致，引起( incur的现在分词 ) | |
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197
acquitted
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| 宣判…无罪( acquit的过去式和过去分词 )； 使（自己）作出某种表现 | |
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198
ornamenting
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| v.装饰，点缀，美化( ornament的现在分词 ) | |
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199
protracted
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| adj.拖延的；延长的v.拖延“protract”的过去式和过去分词 | |
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200
unlimited
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| adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的 | |
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201
pecuniary
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| adj.金钱的；金钱上的 | |
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202
negotiations
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| 协商( negotiation的名词复数 )； 谈判； 完成（难事）； 通过 | |
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203
annually
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| adv.一年一次，每年 | |
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204
reposed
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| v.将（手臂等）靠在某人（某物）上( repose的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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205
embark
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| vi.乘船，着手，从事，上飞机 | |
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206
territorial
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| adj.领土的，领地的 | |
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207
injustice
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| n.非正义，不公正，不公平，侵犯（别人的）权利 | |
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208
rapacity
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| n.贪婪，贪心，劫掠的欲望 | |
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209
potentates
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| n.君主，统治者( potentate的名词复数 )；有权势的人 | |
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210
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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211
fortress
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| n.堡垒，防御工事 | |
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212
intrigues
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| n.密谋策划( intrigue的名词复数 )；神秘气氛；引人入胜的复杂情节v.搞阴谋诡计( intrigue的第三人称单数 )；激起…的好奇心 | |
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213
regain
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| vt.重新获得，收复，恢复 | |
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214
slain
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| 杀死，宰杀，杀戮( slay的过去分词 )； (slay的过去分词) | |
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215
supremacy
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| n.至上；至高权力 | |
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216
dividends
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| 红利( dividend的名词复数 )； 股息； 被除数； （足球彩票的）彩金 | |
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217
lucrative
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| adj.赚钱的，可获利的 | |
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218
formerly
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| adv.从前，以前 | |
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219
annexed
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| [法] 附加的，附属的 | |
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220
ceded
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| v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的过去式 ) | |
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221
annuity
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| n.年金；养老金 | |
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222
wedded
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| adj.正式结婚的；渴望…的，执著于…的v.嫁，娶，（与…）结婚( wed的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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223
divested
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| v.剥夺( divest的过去式和过去分词 )；脱去（衣服）；2。从…取去…；1。（给某人）脱衣服 | |
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224
stipends
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| n.（尤指牧师的）薪俸( stipend的名词复数 ) | |
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225
sterling
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| adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑) | |
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226
withdrawn
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| vt.收回；使退出；vi.撤退，退出 | |
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227
bondage
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| n.奴役，束缚 | |
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228
plundered
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| 掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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229
avarice
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| n.贪婪；贪心 | |
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230
indirectly
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| adv.间接地，不直接了当地 | |
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231
permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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232
consecrated
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| adj.神圣的，被视为神圣的v.把…奉为神圣，给…祝圣( consecrate的过去式和过去分词 )；奉献 | |
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233
agitations
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| （液体等的）摇动( agitation的名词复数 )； 鼓动； 激烈争论； （情绪等的）纷乱 | |
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234
benevolent
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| adj.仁慈的，乐善好施的 | |
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235
infamous
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| adj.声名狼藉的，臭名昭著的，邪恶的 | |
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236
investigation
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| n.调查，调查研究 | |
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237
abstained
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| v.戒（尤指酒），戒除( abstain的过去式和过去分词 )；弃权（不投票） | |
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238
demonstrations
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| 证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威 | |
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239
averted
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| 防止，避免( avert的过去式和过去分词 )； 转移 | |
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240
extricating
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| v.使摆脱困难，脱身( extricate的现在分词 ) | |
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241
prosecute
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| vt.告发；进行；vi.告发，起诉，作检察官 | |
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242
oppositions
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| （强烈的）反对( opposition的名词复数 )； 反对党； （事业、竞赛、游戏等的）对手； 对比 | |
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243
constellation
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| n.星座n.灿烂的一群 | |
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244
misery
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| n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦 | |
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245
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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246
yoke
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| n.轭；支配；v.给...上轭，连接，使成配偶 | |
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247
monarchies
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| n. 君主政体, 君主国, 君主政治 | |
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248
chancellors
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| 大臣( chancellor的名词复数 )； （某些美国大学的）校长； （德国或奥地利的）总理； （英国大学的）名誉校长 | |
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