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Home Domestic Politics and the First Two Georges, 1714-1760 The British Constitution, 1714-1832; Part 2 |
The British Constitution, 1714-1832; Part 2We must beware, however, of two mistakes in tracing the history of cabinet government. In the first place, we must not antedate its full development. In the eighteenth century, for instance, the leader of the ministry would have repudiated the title of prime minister owing to its unpopularity. Members of a cabinet not infrequently gave individual and contradictory advice to the king and seldom retired from office at the same time. Moreover, the Crown was still a great force; indeed, it might be said that the ministers of the eighteenth century had to serve two masters-the Crown and a majority of the House of Commons; and the hostility of either might cause their fall. And, as we shall see, in the latter part of the century, George III was successful in recovering, for a time, much of the power which George I and George II had lost.In the second place, it must not be imagined that the power which the Crown lost was gained by the people, that monarchy gave way to democracy. Britain in the eighteenth century, it has been said, was ruled by a " Venetian oligarchy". It was an oligarchy as exclusive, and almost as omnipotent, as in that famous republic, although its power was based, not, as in Venice, on the wealth derived from commerce, but on the power derived from the possession of large landed estates. Educated at one of the large public schools, intermarrying with one another, meeting each other constantly in the small and exclusive society of the London of that day, a few family clans composed the governing classes of the period. The leaders of such families as the Pelhams, the Russells, and the Cavendishes were found constantly in the higher, and their relatives in the lower posts of each Government. In one cabinet half the members were dukes, and in another there was only one commoner. This landowning oligarchy "encircled and enchained the throne", dominated the House of Lords, and possessed enormous influence in the House of Commons. |
Chronology |
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