Swift and the prosecuted Nottingham speech The Harvard community has made this article openly available. Please share how this access benefits you. Your story matters Citation Quinlan, Maurice J. 1957. Swift and the prosecuted Nottingham speech. Harvard Library Bulletin XI (3), Spring 1957: 296-302. Citable link https://nrs.harvard.edu/URN-3:HUL.INSTREPOS:37363777 Terms of Use This article was downloaded from Harvard University’s DASH repository, and is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http:// nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of- use#LAA Swift and the Prosecuted Nottingham Speech URING the period I 710-14 Jonathan S,vift occupied an un- usual position as chief spokcsn1an for the Tory party·. I--Ic had been urged by· llobcrt 1-Iarley, Queen Anne's Lord_ Treasurer, to publicize the party's point of vic\v and to en1p]oy·his satiric pen to attack the aggressive ,~1hig opposition. S,vjfr., though q11ite,villing to act in this capacit)7 ., refused to accept a.ny financia] con1pcnsation for hjs services. Undoubtedly he hoped to receive an cvcnn1al rc,vard in the forn1 of church prefern1ent. But 111can,vhilchis unofficial status in the govcrnme-nt nllo\vcd hin1 a degree of independence far greater than that of a political hack like Daniel Defoe. Consequently, although he regularly conferred \Vith I-Iaricy and the other T Of)T 1c adcrs, he exercis cd con sid era ble freed 01n in dctcrtnining ,vhich of the ,,rhigs to single out for attack and still greater independence .of judgrnent in deciding ,vhat forn1 his satiric thrusts should take. As tin1e ,vent ont his increasing partisanship and his ca ustic ,vi t 1cd hin1 to p nrsnc a son1C\ v hat rcckl css co11rse. Th is b o Id policy reached a cli1nax in 17 I 4 ,vhcn 1 f ollo\vjng the appearance of l1is Public Spirit of the T-T7higs,,the I1ousc of Lords declared this ,vork to be (a false, 1nalicious,,and factious libel' and offered a rc,vard of three . hundre<lpound~ for the discover57 of the ,vriter.1 A fevl }rears earlier he had been threatened ,vith reprisals follo,ving the publication of a sham speech of Lord Nottinghan1. The circun1- stances surrounding this event have heretofore been obscure~ Akhough it js clear that S,v1ft ,vas the author of An Excellent New Song, Being tbe lnteuded Speech of a Fn1uousOrator against z:1eace1 subsequent developn1ent5,nan1ely the prosecution of the alleged printer of a Nottinghan1 speech, have proved baffiing.2 One difficulty arises from the fact that there is no con1plete list of S,vift"s ,vorks. J...,ikemost political propagandists of the dme.,he published anonymously·, and it 1 Ricardo B. Quintana,. Tbe 1lfind and Art of ]cn1athttu 8'l.vift,. 2nd ed. (J..ondoni [953 )! p. 194+ . :ic Tbe 'Po~1J1sof Jonathan Swiftt ed. I-Iarold Wjllfarns (Oxford,. 1937)1 I! 141-[42. 296 Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XI, Number 3 (Autumn 1957) Swift aud the ProsecutedNottingbant Speecb 297 is not al ,va ys easy to deter1ni ne , v hi ch of nlunerous ,v ri ti ng.s on the Tor} 7 side arc his. Anotl1er con1plication ICsultsfron1 the n1ultiplicity of ,vorks on the same jssue, 1nany ,vith similar if not identical titles. As a result it is son1ctin1 es p uzzIi n g to kno,v ,v hich of several simi I ar 1 y titled ,vorks js the specific one being alluded to in con temp or~ry accounts. Such is the problem ,vith respect to S,vifes Excellent New Song. In the past it has beenthought that this balla.d1 containing a mock speech of Lord Nottingham, ,vas the ,vork that led to the prosecution of the printer Andrc,v Hind~ The purpose of this paper is to point out that there ,vere at least three sham Nottingham speeches and to indicate ,vhich of these became the subject of prosecution by the House of Lords. The events that Jed S,vift to con1pose his ballad on Nottinghan1 are outlined in the Journalto Stella. In Dccc1nber, 17 11, ,vhile the Tories \Vere attempting to bring the Jong-protracted ,var ,vith France to an end, thC) 7 ,vcre bitterly annoyed by the desertion of Lord N ottinghant, This pro1nincnt statesman, ,vith a record for heing nn ardent Tory, suddenly decided to join the \Vhigs in opposing any peace that made no provision for ren1oving Spain f ram the dominion of France .. The peace treaty ,vas scheduled for discussionin the House of Lords on Decen1ber 7,. and the Tories ,vere disconcerted by the prospect that Nottingha1n, ,vho hnd a reputation for eloqucncet ,vould speak in oppositionto their tcrn1s. Under the date of December 5 S,viftt ,vho had been dining ,-vith I1arlcy, ,vrites~ 'Lord treasnrer ,vas hinting as if he ,vished a ballad ,vas n1adc on him~and I ,vill get up one against to-n1orro,v.' The next da.y· he reports~ 'I ,vas this morning making the ballad, t\VO degrees above Grubstreer.' Upon finishing itt he sent the manuscript to the printer, ,vho brought hjm copies that evcn.ing48 S,ltifes ballad,. consisting of .fifty-four lines, is introduced by a disparaging description of Notting ha.n1as a person al\vays ruled by personal cxpedienC)7 • rhc remaining forty-four Jines are de\~otedto the n1ock 5peech jn ,vhich J~ord Nottinghatn confessesthat he has been bribed by the Duke and Duchess of ~1arlborough to oppose ending the ,var ,vith France4 The introductory lines run as follo,vs~ An Orator dis;nal of Nottiughmus!,ire., vVho has forty Years let out his Conscience to hire, Out of 7~al for his Counrryt and want of a Place, Is co111eup 1 w & a111Iis,to break the Q - )s Peace. ."l Journal to Stella,:ed. Harold '"-riJtbms (Oxford) 1948), TI, 430-43 L Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XI, Number 3 (Autumn 1957) Harvard Library Bulletin He has vamptt an old Speech~ and the Court to their sorro\v, Shall hear Him harangue against PRIOR to !v1orro\tl'. \~'hen once he begins, he never ,vill flinch, llut repeats the san1c Note a ,vhole Day·,like n Fh1ch. I have hc;-ird all the Speech repegted by Hoj)py .. And, 1nistnkesto prcventJ I have obtain'd a Copy.-1 On Dcce1nber 151 nine days after S,vjfes ballad had appeared, a co1nplaint ,vas registered in the House of Lords against the printing and publishing of '1,be Earl of Nottjnghan1,s Speecb to tbe Ho11011rable House of l.. ords; L.ondontprinted bJ1 j. To1nsont near Covent-Garden, 171 r ..' A con1mittcc designated to investigate the publication reported on Decc1nber 22 that the ,vork had been printed under 'a sham Na.me/ and that, on evidence provided by Sarah Vickers, the real printer \Vas 'Andrew I-Ii11d,living jn Peterborough-Court,near Fleet-Street.' Hind, having been taken into custody·, ,vas cvcntuall) 7 released ,vith re primnnd.u In the Jour1urlto Stella S,vift strongly denied that he \Vas the author of the prosecuted speech. He ,vrites: 'There ,,ras printed a Grub-street speech of lord Nottingham; a.nd he ,vas such an o,vl to co1nplainof jt in the house of loTds, ,vho ha'vc taken up the printer for it. I heard at Courtl that \~'alpole (a great \\ 7hig mc1nbcr) .said, th8t I and n1y ,vhimsical cluh "'rit it at one of our 1neetings, and that I should pay for it. He ,vill find he lies; and I .shalllet him kno,v by a third hand my 6 thoughts of hi111.t If S,vifes statc1nent js to be trusted 1 it 1nust be assun1edthat another speech ,vas really the subject of the prosecution .. Evidence that at least t,vo shan1 specchcs·,vcre circulated appears in the correspondence of Lord Raby.,,vho, in a letter of 18 Decernber x7 1 1, ,vTitcs: 'l\1y Lord N-- made a complaint of a grub street speech they had cry·,d about, as spoke by hin1in the house, of ,vhich he said he had not spoke one ,vord, and no,v they cry up and do,vn a sham speech of his vindication from the f orn1er.' 7 Furthermore there is in the I-Iarvard CollegeLibrary a rare copy of a Poe1nr, ed. ''-'i1liam£, I, 141-143. Nottinghan1j ,;,d1osefan1ily na1ne ,vas Finch9 ,va~ nickna1ncd .iDisnrnl' because of his s,varthy comp]c-xionTlvh.tthc,v Prior had rccentl y en gaged in ~ccrct ncgocia tions ,vith F.rance lo to,va rd a peace~ 'H oppy 1 ma.y be the Rt. Hon. Ed ,vard I-Iop kins. ri Journals of t/Jc flo1ue of Lordr, XIX ( 1709---14),. 343, 349, 361, 36:2. 13Jou nw I tG St ell a, ed. ,,l'jjJ iams! 11, 44 L-44 2.. '1 Tbe TFentwortb Papen 1705-l7 39, c:d. J~mcs J. C.-uhvrlght (Londonj 1883 )! p. 225. Harvard University - Houghton Library / Harvard University. Harvard Library bulletin. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Library. Volume XI, Number 3 (Autumn 1957) Swift and the ProsecutedN ottinghanr Speecb 2 9 9 Nottingham ballad that bears a title similar to S\vift's.a This second ballad runs to forty-eight lines. Although it borro,vs some of S,vifes phraseology, it consists of an enti reI y di ff c rent set of verscs.. It appears on a half-sheet,.subscribed "Printed jn the Year 1711' but bearing no printer's name.
Details
-
File Typepdf
-
Upload Time-
-
Content LanguagesEnglish
-
Upload UserAnonymous/Not logged-in
-
File Pages9 Page
-
File Size-