but was unable to overthrow the Grosvenor interest. Sir Thomas Grosvenor, who succeeded to the title on the death of his brother Richard, died at Naples February 4, 1733, he being succeeded in the title by his next and only surviving brother Robert, who was also his colleague in the representation of the city. On the death of Sir Thomas the vacancy in the representation was filled by the return of― CHESTER - Sir Charles Bunburg, bart. In this Parliament Sir Robert Walpole introduced his great Excise Scheme, by which he proposed to remedy the frauds and evasions of duties, which in some instances amounted to two-thirds of the customs chargeable, especially upon tobacco and wines. But political economy was as yet not sufficiently advanced to render his views intelligible to the many, and the opposition outside the House was so violent that Walpole was obliged to abandon the measure, although it had met with the approbation of the majority of the House. Encouraged by this victory, the Opposition, in the next session, endeavoured to obtain the repeal of the Septennial Act, urging as one reason that under that Act, which was itself a violation of the rights of the people, the Riot Act had been introduced, by which any ignorant justice of the peace could, by simply reading a proclamation, order any number of honest and innocent men to be shot; that under it the South Sea Act had been passed, and the proposed reforms in the excise nearly so. Walpole, in his reply, used all the stock arguments in advocacy of septennial in preference to triennial Parliaments, which, stripped of their sophistry, amounted to the fact that in triennial Parliaments the people had too much power and the ministers too little over the members of Parliament, the very reasons which are unanswerable ones for that term of Parliament, and on the division the majority stood by him, and the continuance of the Septennial Act was determined by 247 against 184. This Parliament was dissolved April 18, 1734, and the elections which followed were conducted with immense party heat. Each side did all in its power, by fair means and foul, to increase its adherents. Sir Robert Walpole used all the persuaves for which he became so famous, and, if we are to believe the journals of the day, the Opposition were not at all behind him. They made ample use of the Septennial Act, the Riot Act, the excise scheme, etc.; but when Parliament met in January the following year, it was soon discovered that, though less, the Whig majority was as steady as ever. Towards this Cheshire lent all its aid, and returned 8 GEORGE II. Met Jannary 14, 1735. Dissolved April 28, 1741. CHESHIRE Charles Cholmondeley, of Vale Royal, esq. John Crewe, of Crewe, junior, esq. CHESTER - Sir Robert Grosvenor, bart. Sir Charles Bunbury, bart. The other two candidates for the city of Chester were Richard Manley and Hugh Williams, the result of the poll being: Sir R. Grosvenor '(W) 521 | Richard Manley (C)... 480 Sir C. Bunbury (W).. 516 | Hugh Williams (C)... 463 Early in the following year the Prince of Wales married Princess Augusta of Saxe Gotha, and it was an ominous circumstance that the address of congratulation on this occasion was moved, not by the king's own Ministers, but by the king's own Opposition. Pulteney was the mover, and it was supported by two young men returned to Parliament for the first time, and who that evening made their maiden speeches in the House, and in them burst suddenly forth with that splendour which was destined to grow transcendent through many years. They were William Pitt, afterwards Lord Chatham, and Lord Lyttleton. Nothing of special moment occurred in this Parlia ment until soon after the opening of its last session, November 18, 1740, when a motion was made having for its object the impeachment of Walpole for having led the country into a war with Spain and other continental powers, when in truth he was most strenuous in his opposition to such war, but to which he finally consented rather than resign. The fate which ordinarily awaits an English minister who may be so unfortunate as to be in power at the time of a foreign disaster now overtook Walpole, and on the motion of condemnation there commenced a series of speeches from Pitt, Lyttleton, and others, in which the whole life and policy of Walpole were analysed with all the keenuess, completeness, and ability which party feeling and such men furnished for this great occasion; but the want of unanimity in the Opposition on this question soon became apparent. Edward Harley, the brother of the late Earl of Oxford, who was impeached and imprisoned at the instance of Walpole, and in whom that minister for that reason had no bitterer opponent, said that although he opposed the measures of the administration because he thought them wrong, and considered that the state of the nation was deplorable from misgovernment, he was not prepared to lay the whole blame of those measures on one man; that the man under censure had no claims on his forbearance, but he desired to be guided by facts and evidence, and not by private opinions and feelings, and was therefore glad of that opportunity of returning good for evil, and do that honourable gentleman and his family the justice they had denied to the Earl of Oxford. With that he left the House, followed by his relative, Robert Harley. This took the Opposition by surprise, but that surprise was greatly heightened when Shippen-"the thorough Shippen," as he was called-also declared that he would not join in the ruin of the assailed minister, and with that he withdrew with thirty-four of his party. This was a terrible blow to the designs of the Oppo sition, and it has been attempted to account for it by the statement that shortly before this time Walpole had discovered the correspondence of a friend of Shippen's with the young Pretender, thereby placing his life in danger as a traitor; that Shippen had waited on Walpole and solicited his clemency in the matter, which Walpole had readily granted, with the remark: "Mr Shippen, I cannot hope that you will vote with my administration, for with your principles I have no right to expect it; but I only require that, whenever any question is brought forward in the House affecting me personally, you will recollect the favour I have now granted you." But the conduct of Shippen is sufficiently clear without this explanation. He was an honest and determined Tory and Jacobite. Money was the last thing which would influence him. Walpole himself declared that he was about the only man he could not purchase. "I will not say," he often observed, "who may be corrupted, but I will say who is incorruptible, and that is Will Shippen." He refused a bribe of £1000 from the Prince of Wales. It was a matter, therefore, of the simplest political common sense which guided him and his fol'owing. He was bent on restoring the Pretender; but he ard his fellow Jacobites knew that this was only an attempt of the discontented Whigs to turn out Walpole, and to preserve much the same measures that led to no result desired by them, and therefore they would have no concern in it. Walpole's speech in reply to this charge has justly been deemed his masterpiece, and on its conclusion the motion was rejected by 290 votes against 106. Parliament was prorogued on the 25th of April following, and as its term of seven years had nearly expired, it was soon after dissolved (April 28), and writs were issued for a new election, returnable June 25, 1741. The Cheshire elections resulted as follows: 15 GEORGE II. Met December 4, 1741. Dissolved June 18, 1747. CHESHIRE-Charles Cholmondeley, of Vale Royal, esq. John Crewe, jun., of Crewe, esq. CHESTER - Sir Robert Grosvenor, bart. Sir Charles Bunbury, bart. The long period of peace which had marked the administration of Walpole was at length terminated by the breaking out of war with Spain in 1739, already referred to. The cause for this war was to question the right of search which the Spanish Government had instituted with regard to English vessels visiting the Spanish Indies. The first event of the war was the capture of Portobello by Admiral Vernon, which was followed in 1740 by an expedition to the South Seas under Commodore Anson, which at first proved disastrous owing to the storms encountered off Cape Horn, but finally triumphed through the happy combination of skill, intrepidity, and prudence of its com mander, who returned in June, 1744, with a rich booty valued at half a million sterling, having circumnavi. gated the globe. Another expedition under Vernon Sailed in 1741 to the West Indies, consisting of 115 ships manned by 15,000 sailors, and carrying a land force of 12,000 men. Its object was the surprise of Carthagena, then the strongest fortified fort in South America; but owing, it is said, to a want of unanimity in the councils of the officers in command, the attempt entirely failed with the loss of many thousands of English soldiers, who perished bravely in an attempt to storm the fortifications. The conduct of Vernon, though he had been the idol of the Opposition and not of the Ministry, enor. mously increased the unpopularity of Walpole, and the general election which soon after followed was seized upon to load that minister with all the weight of the unsuccessful war. The result of the Cheshire elections to this Parliament (1741) are given above. On December 4 the King opened the new Parliament, and conscious of his own contemptible figure after the submission to French dictation in Hanover, he took care to remind it that he had commenced the war only at the urgent desire and advice of both Houses, and that he had been particularly counselled to direct our naval efforts towards America. On the motion for an address to the throne another determined attack was made, Lord Noel Somerset moving that His Majesty should be desired not to engage this kingdom in a war for the defence of his Hanoverian domains. This was seconded by the redoubtable Shippen, who declared that he had grown old in the House of Commons only to see all the predictions of his life realised in the management of the nation. asserted that Hanoverian maxims were inconsistent with the welfare and happiness of this kingdom, and at war with the spirit of caution which inspired those patriots who framed the Act of Settlement, which conferred the throne on the present royal family. He pointed out the instances in which the ministry had violated these cautionary securities, and insisted on steps being taken to prevent the nation being sacrified to the preservation of foreign dominions. Pulteney, who followed, reviewed Walpole's whole administration, and accused him, not merely of indi. vidual acts of erroneous policy, but of deliberate treachery. This called Walpole to his feet, and he defended himself with all his accustomed self-command and ability, and finally offered to meet the Op, osition on the question of the state of the nation, if they would name a day. This challenge was accepted, and January 21 was fixed upon. He re Under these circumstances opened the year 1742. Every day showed that the fall of Walpole was now certain, and he would have consulted both his dignity and comfort in resigning at once, but he had too long been accustomed to power to yield. On the day appointed the Opposition entered upon the grand attack. There was nothing new to bring forward, but the old charges were dressed up with new force, and finally resolved itself into a motion for a committee of accusation. Walpole defended himself with an ability worthy of his best days, and boldly reminded the Opposition of the long twenty years of defeats in their endeavours to turn him out. On the division 503 members voted-253 for the minister and 250 for the Opposition. The result of this division shook the last resistance of Walpole, and he intimated his intention of retiring from public life. On February 9 Sir Robert was created Earl of Oxford, and two days later he made a formal resignation of all his places. He died in 1745, aged 71 years. So passed from a long possession of power a minister who inaugurated a system of corruption, which was not so much abused by himself, as made a ready instrument of unmeasureable mischiefs in the hands of his successors, growing still more terrible and oppressive till it reached its acme in our own time, and compelled the necessity of political reform. In April, 1742, occurred the death of Sir Charles Bunbury, Bart., one of the representatives for the city of Chester. He was succeeded by CHESTER Philip Henry Warburton, esq. On June 27, 1743, was fought the battle of Dettingen, undertaken by England against the allied powers of Spain, France, Prussia, and Bavaria, who were unfavourable to the succession of Maria Theresa to the throne of Austria. This battle is noteworthy as being the last battle led in person by an English King, and the conduct of King George in this engagement has been universally lauded by historians; it was undoubtedly through his personal courage and that of his son, far more than through the skill of any of his generals, that the day was won, which saved the English army from an ignominious surrender. In order to divert the English from continental affairs, France in 1743 prepared a formidable army of 15,000 men, under Marshal Saxe, for the support of Prince Charles, otherwise known as the Young Pretender, who was expected to land in Kent. At this time the Pretender was in Rome, but escaped thence on January 9, 1744, and arrived in Paris ten days later. The expedition against England was at this moment already in motion, and actually sailed right up to the Isle of Wight. Thinking the coast clear, the French admiral, Roquefeuille, immediately sent orders to Dunkirk for the transports to embark and follow with all speed. Roquefeuille meantime, proceeding on his voyage, came to anchor off Dungeness, which he had no sooner done than he beheld the British fleet bearing down upon him in much greater force than his own, for he had only fifteen ships of the line, whilst the English, under Sir John Norris, consisted of twentyone. The French, not waiting to be attacked, at once slipped their cables and made the best of their way homewards. The next day that Providence which has on so many occasions defeated the attempts to invade "the inviolate island of the brave and the free," sent out His tempests and scattered the approaching transports, sinking some of the largest of them with all their men, wrecking others upon the coast, and making the rest glad to recover their port. A modern historian asserts that the fate of England at this junc ture "hung suspended on the wind and the waves." Fortunately, it depended upon a higher Power, whom the wind and the waves obey. And as it was said of the Spanish Armada, so of these dangers-" Afflavit Deus, et dissiparitur." Although not directly connected with the parlia mentary history of Cheshire, we have been induced briefly to outline the commencement of what is now known as the Rebellion of 1745, on account of the pro. minent part played in it by Cheshire and Cheshire men, and in furtherance of which the Jacobite faction in Parliament, headed by Shippen and others, had long struggled. It would also be out of place here to do more than present a summary of the events that led to a termination of that brief but exciting period. The time for the last great conflict for the recovery of their forfeited throne of Great Britain by the Stuarts was now come. The Old Pretender, as he was called, had grown old and cautious, but the young prince, Charles Edward, had not at all abated his enthusiasm for it. Accordingly, on July 2, 1745 (N. S ), he set sail for Scotland, having secretly engaged a French man-of-war, carrying sixty-seven guns, and a brig of eighteen guns. With these he landed in the Western Islands, and, crossing over to the mainland, set up his standard at Glenfinnan, August 19, 1745. Here he was joined by a number of the Highland clans, to the number of about 2000. Three days before a party of English soldiers sent to reinforce the garrison of Fort William were assailed by a number of Highlanders and compelled to lay down their arms, and taken prisoners. Captain Swettenham-an honoured Cheshire name-who was to have taken command of the fort, was thus a spectator of the scene at Glenfinnan. He was liberated by Charles, who told him he might "go and tell his general what he had seen, and add that he was coming to make war on him.” Meanwhile, Prince Charles was anything but idle. Clan after clan joined his standard as he continued to march southwards, the time being taken up by drilling and marching with an energy and spirit that would have done credit to a Marlborough, until September 17, when he first set foot in the streets of Edinburgh at the head of about 16,000. The state of the fortifications of this northern capital and of the soldiers showed the gross neglect of the Government. Never was a place or an army of defence in so disgraceful a condition. Whilst we had been spending millions of money and tens of thousands of lives on the continent for the protection of Hanover, not a thought appears to have existed for the defence of Scotland or its capital. What few soldiers there were to defend the city had been sent to the north for the suppression of the rising, leaving the city wholly unprotected; and while they had been toiling through pass and over mountain by one route, Charles and his army by another had descended like a torrent upon the city, taking possession without even a show of resistance. In Edinburgh Charles was received with the greatest enthusiasm, crowds pressing round him eager to kiss his hand, or even to touch his clothes. This 17th of September was a day of wonder to the Jacobites, who seemed to see all their hopes realised. They declared that Charles resembled Robert Bruce in person as well as in fortune, and they could discover other likenesses to the portraits of his ancestors at Holyrood, who lived long before anyone was capable of painting their real features. It may not be out of place here to give the reader a general idea of the person and character of this young man, who was destined to bring the long remembered claims of the Stuarts to an eternal close. Charles Edward Lewis Casimir, the eldest son of Charles, Duke of Cambridge, and grandson of James II., was born at Rome, December 31, 1720, so that at the time of his landing in Scotland in July, 1745, he was in his 25th year. In person he was tall and well formed, having acquired in the active pursuits of the chase in the woods of France and Italy the athletic vigour and elastic endurance necessary for the fatigues of war. He was in countenance handsome, and in manners graceful, open, and attractive. The Polish blood of the Sobieskis inherited from his mother had softened the hardness of the Stuart feature. Those who saw him in the brief court of Holyrood describe his handsome person, his elegant yet dignified manners, with enthusiasm. In the campaign which he conducted he certainly displayed all the enthusiasm, the courage, and the perseverance which became the leader of such an enterprise. Spite of some charges of cowardice against him, had he been able to carry out all that he dared and all that he planned, the invasion of England might have had a different termination. He was overruled by the Highlanders, on whom his whole chance depended. Nor was the interior at that date unworthy of the pleasing exterior. He was generous, daring, and affectionate in his domestic relations, showing a zealous sympathy for his followers both in their trials and sufferings. But these fine qualities had never been cultivated to the splendour which they might have acquired. His qualities were native and unimproved, and his education had been grossly neglected. He had all the elements of a fine prince, but education, or rather the want of it, and failure ruined him. He was accused of being penurious; but when it is considered with what mean resources he undertook this most stupendous enterprise, it is seen that there was cause enough for care and economy; whilst, on the other hand, he suffered the sharpest evils by refusing to get into debt, to the probable ruin of his friends. Such were the qualities of the young prince, which enabled him to land in the most powerful kingdom in Europe with only two small vessels and seven followers, raise the Highlanders, pour down like an avalanche upon the whole country, defeat the arms of the English at Falkirk and Preston Pans, advance like a rushing torrent into the very heart of England, affrighting the capital and paralysing the court, and only being turned back again by the less enduring spirit of his followers. Failure, disappointment, and despair of ever reaching the goal of his highest ambition converted him in after years into a drivelling sot, querulous and ill-tempered, tyrannical to his dependents, and acrimonious to his wife, gradually sinking into imbecility and a premature old age. So striking in contrast were the beginning and the end of the young Pretender. The next papor will trace the vicissitudes of the Prince on his journey southwards, during which he passed through Stockport, Macclesfield, and several other towns and villages in this portion of the county on his way. EDITOR. Replies. A STOCKPORT POEM OF THE LAST CENTURY. "An Ode on the Neglect of Humble Merit" was written by Robert Farren Cheetham, a Stockport youth of very considerable ability. He was a pupil first of the Stockport Grammar School, and afterwards of that at Manchester. Having gained a school exhibition, he graduated at Brazenose College, Oxford, and obtained the title of B.A. in the year 1800. He wrote a number of odes and miscellanies, some very pathetic and touching, others highly classical, which were published by subscription, and printed in most excellent style, with beautiful little cuts, by J. Dawson, of Stockport, in the year 1796. The ode in your last number is included therein. He had very delicate health, which somewhat tinged some of his writings with deep sadness. He died on January 13th, 1801, at the early age of 23, and was buried at the south-east corner of the chancel in the Parish Churchyard, and upon his gravestone will be found a few elegiac verses. I purpose giving a longer sketch of the writer in the final part of my History of Stockport, some instalments of which are in the printer's hands. HENRY HEGINBOTHAM, A CURIOUS WELSH CUSTOM. I read with considerable interest the remarks of a correspondent in a recent number of Notes and Queries, and would ask you to insert the following facts communicated to me by a relative, whose memory carries her back to the early part of the present century, and whose remarks go to prove that the custom was an old institution on the other side of the Pennine Range as well as in Wales. At this time (circa 1820) my informant tells me that the custom of Bidding at funerals existed at Holmfirth, a quiet little town in the Holme Valley on the other side of Stanedge. The town was divided into what were termed burying rows, that is, all the residents within a certain area, irrespective of religion, were expected to contribute to the funeral expenses of any person who died within that area. These donations were paid on the day of the funeral to a relative of the deceased appointed to the office, who sat at the head of the coffin and received sums large and small from sympathising friends and from those who lived in the "row." On entering the house these donors were offered cake and wine, and on taking their leave, if not one of the funeral party, they were offered a large currant cake to take home, a sufficient number always being prepared on these occasions to present one each to the relatives and friends attending the funeral, as well as to each con tributor to the funeral fund. In fact, as my informant states, up to within thirty or forty years ago it was a common spectacle to see a funeral come from Holmea village some miles up the valley-to Holmfirth, there being at that time no church or burying ground at the former place, when in all cases some, and in others many of those attending the funeral, might have been seen solemnly walking in procession singing the deceased to his grave, and each carrying his or her cake carefully wrapped up in a white handkerchief, which, as a rule, they took care to display to the full. Seing that the editor is going through the Stockport Parish Registers, it is quite possible that he may come across entries there that will throw a gleam of light across this and many other curious customs that obtained with our forefathers in this neighbour. hood. Meantime, I should be pleased if any other reader or correspondent could bring forward any further evidence on the subject. Stockport. F. JOHNSON. SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1886. Notes. STOCKPORT PARISH REGISTERS. The Parish Registers in Stockport contain much quaint and curious information well worthy of being transcribed. By way of preface the following particu. lars relating to the church and its rectors may be of interest. THE CHURCH. The Parish Church of Stockport, dedicated to St. Mary the Virgin, must have had a very ancient foundation, for Stockport having been an important stronghold in the Roman and Saxon periods, it is only reasonable to infer that there was a church and consecrated burying-ground in connection with the Castle. There is no mention of it in the Domesday Book, but the devastation of the district by the Normans soon after the Conquest is sufficient to account for the omission. Upon this subject we learn from Ormerod's History of Cheshire that there can be little doubt that a church had existed here which was the head of a most extensive parish before the Conquest. Of the earlier churches, says Dr Heginbotham, in his Stockport: Ancient and Modern, there are no records or remains but the structure which preceded the present, and of which the existing chancel formed a part, was erected early in the fourteenth century. The church, consisting of tower, nave, and chancel, was built of red sandstone, the prevailing geological formation of the district, and was a very venerable structure, standing upon the site occupied by the present church. In 1810, the insecure state of the tower of the old church and the fall of part of the embattlements on the south side of the nave led to an application to Parliament for "An Act for Repairing or Rebuilding the Parish Church of Stockport, in the County Palatine of Chester, and for Rebuilding the Tower thereof; and for making a Cemetery or Churchyard for the use of the Parish." This Act was passed in 1810, and steps were soon after taken for carrying the Act into effect. When the tower and nave had been demolished and removed, arrangements were made for laying the foundation stone of the new structure, and July 5, 1813, was selected for that purpose. The stone was laid at the south-east corner of the town by Wilbraham Egerton, Esq., M.P., grandfather of the present Lord Egerton of Tatton. The rebuilding of the church occupied nearly four years, and the first sermon was preached therein April 6, 1817, by the Rev. Edward Hawell, the curate. The church, however, was not consecrated until Juiy 4, 1817, on which occasion the sermon was preached by the Rev. Charles Prescot, B.D., . |