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Somers was too well fortified in his integrity to fear the impotence of an attempt upon his reputation; and though his accusers would gladly have dropped their impeachment, he was instant with them for the prosecution of it, and would not let that matter rest until it was brought to an issue. For the same virtue and greatness of mind which made him disregard fame, made him impatient of an undeserved reproach."

Towards the end of the session, Sunderland entered into a correspondence with Lord Somers for the purpose of effecting a reconciliation between King William and the Whig leaders. Somers prepared the noble speech with which William opened his last Parliament (31st December), and arrangements were in progress for the formation of a Whig Ministry when the aspect of affairs was completely changed by the king's death, 8th March, 1702. To Queen Anne, Somers was for various reasons obnoxious; and he abandoned, if he had ever entertained, his hopes of being recalled to office. In the House of Lords his influence was exerted in support of the foreign policy, which was based upon Whig principles, of Godolphin and Marlborough; and he strongly advocated every measure for the development or confirmation of the rights of the subject-civil and religious. His leisure was gracefully occupied in literary and philosophical pursuits. For five years he acted as President of the Royal Society, regularly attending its meetings, and taking part in its discussions. He greatly coveted the society of learned men, who were warmly welcomed to his house in town and his country residence, Brookmans, in Hertfordshire. I shall not here enumerate his legislative reforms, with the exception of his Act, passed in 1706, for the amendment of the law and the better advancement of justice. But special reference must be made to his labours in accom

plishing the union of England and Scotland, which, in truth, it was his sagacity, firmness, and authority that crowned with success; and to his wisdom in afterwards insisting upon the abolition of the Scottish Privy Council, which otherwise would have effectually kept apart the sympathies and interests of the two nations. He was also actively concerned in that settlement of the succession which, on the death of Anne, called the House of Brunswick to the throne.

In Queen Anne's second Parliament, the Whigs secured a large majority; and thereupon Somers was induced to strengthen the administration by becoming Lord President of the Council.

"The great capacity and inflexible integrity of this lord," says Burnet,* "would have made his promotion to this post very acceptable to the Whigs at any juncture, but it was more particularly so at this time; for it was expected that the pro positions for a general peace would be quickly made; and so they reckoned that the management of that upon which not only the safety of the nation, but of all Europe depended, was in sure hands when he was set at the head of the councils, upon whom neither ill practices nor false colours were like to make any impression. Thus the minds of all those who were truly zealous for the present Constitution were much quieted by this promotion; though their jealousies had a deep root, and were not easily removed."

In 1710, the Tories again came into power; and from that date Lord Somers ceased, through his severe physical infirmities, to take any active part in public life. On the accession of George I. he was made one of the Privy Council, and a seat in the Cabinet was assigned to him;† but

"History of Our Own Times,” iv. 247-8.

+ He also received an additional pension of £2000 a-year.

these were nominal honours. A paralytic affection had enfeebled his faculties, and incapacitated him for public affairs. Only at intervals a spark of his former fire flashed forth; as when he expressed to Lord Townshend his warm approval of the Septennial Bill. His decline was very rapid; and a fit of apoplexy striking him in his shattered condition, he passed away on the 26th of April, 1716, aged 66 years.

William, Earl of Mansfield.

HE most cursory examination of the biography of our great lawyers discloses an interesting fact,

that nearly all have "risen from the ranks," and have attained to fortune and fame in spite of the obstacles thrown in their way by low birth and poverty. In the law, more than in any other profession in England, is "the career open to talent" (la carrière ouverte aux talens)—is it possible for the son of the peasant or the artisan to rise to an equality of rank with the son of the peer of bluest blood and most ancient descent. The reason is not far to seek; it is a profession in which eminence cannot be obtained, except by indomitable energy, perseverance and patience, and intellectual power. It is a profession, therefore, seldom chosen by young men who are fain to trust for their advancement in life to exterior influences. Again, though its prizes are numerous and splendid, they cannot be won until after an arduous and generally a prolonged competition; hence it possesses small attraction for quick and impetuous temperaments, which weary of a pursuit that offers no immediate result to their labours. And thus it comes to pass that, to men who can work and wait, it presents a fair field and an ample scope in which "patronage” and

"interest" avail but little, if at all-in which the course is well defined, and, as a rule, the competition honestly undertaken; in which whosoever will may reasonably hope to come to the front in virtue of his personal qualifications, and without being heavily handicapped by adventitious circumstances. It was this which led an eminent judge, when asked to explain the secret of success in the legal profession, to reply: "Some succeed by great talent, some by high connections, some by miracle, but the majority by beginning without a shilling."

There is no rule, however, without an exception. Among the illustrious names which adorn the annals of English jurisprudence, none are more illustrious than that of William Murray, Earl of Mansfield; and Murray was a man of high birth, a scion of one of the oldest of Scotch families. The fourth son of Andrew, Viscount Stormont, he was born at Perth, on the 2nd of March, 1705. According to one authority, he was removed to London at the early age of three; but Lord Campbell, on the authority of family papers, asserts that he was educated at the Grammar School at Perth, where he was taught the practice of English composition very thoroughly, and obtained a good knowledge of Horace and Sallust, until his fourteenth year. * He was then sent to Westminster, with the view of being educated for the bar. As the son of a Jacobite peer, he would have had little chance of promotion in the army, and in the Scotch Church the livings were too poor to offer any attraction to ambitious

* Among the Stormont accounts are entries of: "1715, May 27,— Sent to Scone per Lady's letter for Mr. William, Cæsaris Commentarius, £1, 4s." (Scotch money, equal to 2s. English); and, “1717, August 8,--At order, bought of Mr. Freebairn for Mr. William, my Lord's son Titus Livius, in a great folio and large print, for 20s. sterling."

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