1 Grand-daughter of James the First.-Daughter of Elizabeth (daughter of James the First), and wife of the Elector Palatine. 3 Sheriffmuir.-In the south of Perthshire; 8 miles north-east of Stirling. 4 Preston.-In Lancashire; 28 miles 2 Jac'obites. From Jacobus, the north-east of Liverpool. The name Latin for James. means "Priest's town. 31. THE SOUTH SEA BUBBLE. 1. When the reign of George the First was nearly over, a memorable debate took place one February day in the House of Commons. The principal speaker was the Chancellor of the Exchequer,' who made a proposal that certain trading 'privileges should be given to the South Sea Company, on condition of their undertaking to pay off the National Debt in twenty-six years. The members of the House were so 'surprised at the proposal, A. D. that there was no reply for about a quarter 1720 of an hour. 2. At last a cautious man suggested that there should be an open competition among such companies as were willing to attempt the reduction of the debt, so that the best possible bargain might be made for the nation. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, who had already in secret closed the bargain with the South Sea Company, said scornfully that this would be like setting the nation up to auction. But Walpole, a man of great sagacity and talent, spoke in favour of receiving proposals from other companies, and in the end it was agreed to submit the scheme to public competition. 3. The Bank of England and the South Sea Company then began to bid against each other for the preference; but the latter triumphed by offering more than seven million as a present to the public. The Bill passed; and at once the shares began to rise in price. 4. Robert Walpole went to spend the summer months at his country seat of Houghton in Norfolk; and there he heard strange news of the madness which had come to the people in London. The directors of the South Sea Company, in order to increase the value of their shares and excite the public to buy them, 'circulated wonderful stories about the riches of the various places to which they alone were now allowed to trade. It was hinted and believed that mines of gold and silver had been discovered which would bring great wealth to the Company. 5. The public ran so eagerly to buy shares that the price went up, until a piece of paper, which at one time had 'represented £100, came to sell for more than £1000! When this huge bubble began to expand, a great number of smaller companies, formed with the most foolish objects, also grew up and shone for a while. There was a company to make salt water fresh; another to make oil out of sunflower seeds; a third for trading in human hair to make those huge bushy wigs which were fashionable at the time; and a number of others, for many purposes, sensible or ridiculous. 6. The place in which the shares were bought and sold was called 'Change Alley. It was crowded from morning till night with people of every kind. A tall fashionable man, in a blue coat with silver 3 edging, might be seen eagerly reading the 'prospectus of a new company to a stout rosy-faced squire fresh from the country, with a whip under his arm and thick-soled boots all covered with the mud of the cattle-market. Sedan chairs and hackney coaches were arriving and departing every moment. Ladies with patched faces and fans struggled through the crowd. Even chimney-sweeps and errand boys might be seen in the alley, from which arose all day long a confused noise of voices, calling out the advantages of investing money in new schemes. 7. We may form an idea of the madness which had seized on the minds of the people by the following instance. One morning a clever knave issued an advertisement, saying that he would unfold in the afternoon a new scheme, which would surpass all others in the certain and quick return of its profits. He would tell no one what it was; but those who paid so many guineas would receive a ticket permitting them to take shares in the 'mysterious company. 8. That morning he received many thousand pounds for his pieces of pasteboard; and, when the ticket-holders went to his office in the afternoon, they found the door shut, and the gentleman off to the Continent! He had no scheme at all to propose; the whole thing was a piece of clever fraud. 9. The highest persons in the land took part in this traffic. The Prince of Wales made a large sum as governor of a copper company; and all the leading statesmen, but one or two, bought and sold shares. It was even said that King George traded in stock and made a handsome profit. 10. This went on through the heat of summer ; but at last the South Sea Company 'unintentionally killed itself. It happened thus. Seeing other companies springing up all around, and drawing a great deal of money from the public, the directors of the big bubble got power from the courts of law to put down the smaller schemes, and so crushed a good many of them out of existence. This destroyed the confidence of the public in shares of every kind; and the price of South Sea stock began to sink at once. What had been sold in August for £1000, could find no buyer at £300 in September. In fact the bubble had 'collapsed, and was found to be empty. 11. Then men of every rank began to run away from the bankruptcy into which their folly had led them. There was so great ruin among the shareholders, that some angry people proposed that the directors should be sewed up alive in sacks and thrown into the Thames! In this crisis Robert Walpole came forward, and proposed a plan by which after a time the mischief was to some extent remedied; but the statesmen who were involved in the frauds practised by the company were disgraced; and some of them died of the shame. 1 Chancellor of the Exchequer. | in 1742, he became Earl of Orford. He -The chief finance minister in the Eng- died in 1745. lish Government. The office was then held by Mr. Aislabie. 2 Walpole, Robert, was leader of the Whigs in the House of Commons. He was Prime Minister from 1721 till 1742, and he kept office so long chiefly by skilful bribery. On his retirement 3 Sedan' chairs.-Covered chairs, carried by two men on poles; so called from Sedan, in France, where the chairs were invented.-See Lesson 53, § 2. 4 Patched faces.-Faces with little black patches stuck on them.- See Lesson 53, § 6. 32.-GEORGE II. (PART I) 1727 to 1760 A.D.-33 years. 1. George the Second was the only son of the late King. He had married Caroline of Anspach, a good and learned princess. His eldest son, Frederick, who was now twenty years of age, was called over from Hanover to be made Prince of Wales. During the first twelve years of the reign the country enjoyed peace; and the King's chief minister was Sir Robert Walpole, who, chiefly by means of bribery, continued to hold the office of Premier for twenty-one years 2. A war broke out with Spain, caused by the Spaniards searching British vessels on the coast of Spanish America. In the course of it, Anson1 captured a Spanish 'treasure ship, with gold to the value of £300,000! 1741 A. D. 1743 A. D. 3. George tried to replace Maria-Theresa on the throne of Hungary, from which she had been driven by the King of Prussia and the King of France. The English army at the Battle of Dettingen2 was led by the King in person. King George, who behaved with great bravery, put the French army to flight, and Maria-Theresa regained her crown. |