George, Earl Macartney.

BORN A. D. 1737-DIED A. D. 1806.

THIS excellent nobleman was born the 14th of May, 1737, at the family mansion of Lissanoure. At the age of thirteen he was admitted a fellow-commoner of Trinity college, Dublin, where he proceeded M. A. 1759. From Dublin he came to London, and was entered of the Middle Temple, where he formed an intimacy with several characters who were rising into eminence: but not intending to study the law with a view to practice in that profession, he only remained there till he had completed his arrangements for making the tour of Europe.

On his return to England he became a representative in parliament for the borough of Midhurst. About this time the affairs of Russia having assumed an interesting aspect for Europe, an alliance with that power seemed desirable to England on many considerations, and particularly in a commercial point of view. A treaty of commerce had for some years before engaged the attention of the British government; but none of its diplomatic agents had either skill or weight enough to make any progress with the Russian cabinet. Under these circumstances Mr Macartney's abilities were employed by Lord Sandwich, and on August 22d, 1764, he was appointed envoy-extraordinary to the empress. On this occasion he received from his majesty the honour of knighthood. Having laid the solid foundation of a good understanding with Count Panin, who was then at the head of the Russian affairs, he ventured to open the grand object of his mission, and after a close negotiation of four months, the treaty of commerce was brought to a conclusion. Owing to an ambiguity in one of its clauses, however, it was not ratified by the English court. But a second treaty being signed, the great object of his mission was obtained; and Sir George Macartney returned to England.

On February 1st, 1768, he married Lady Jane Stuart, second daughter of John, Earl of Bute, and in the following year was appointed chief-secretary of Ireland, under the administration of Lord Townshend. In 1772 he relinquished this situation; being nominated about the same time a knight companion of the order of the Bath; and received in 1774, as a further reward for his services, the appointment of governor and constable of the castle and fortress of Toome. In December 1775, we find him appointed captain-general and governor of the southern Caribbee Islands of Grenada, the Grenadines, and Tobago; and on June 10th, 1776, advanced to the peerage of Ireland, by the title of Lord Macartney, Baron of Lissanoure, in the county of An

trim.

His administration at the Caribbees gave general satisfaction; and it contributed in no small degree to that gallant resolution with which the island of Grenada was afterwards defended, when attacked and subdued by a superior force under Count d'Estaing in 1779. Lord Macartney was now sent a close prisoner to France; his private fortune was materially injured by the capture; and he had the still further misfortune to lose not only his papers and accounts, but also the mass

of observations and materials which he had gathered while travelling through the different states of Europe; and by the accidental firing of a vessel in which Lady Macartney had embarked for Europe, even the duplicates of such as he had thought most worthy of preservation. His lordship remained but a short time as a prisoner of war at Limoges, before he was permitted to return to England; and was almost immediately after sent upon a confidential mission to Ireland.

Toward the close of 1780, the distracted state of the presidency of Madras led the court of the directors of the East India company to name him as the person most proper in their opinion for promoting the tranquillity of the settlement, and the prosperity of their affairs on the coast of Coromandel. On the 21st of June, 1781, he arrived before Pondicherry, and the following day landed at Madras, opened his commission, and took possession of his government. He found the situation of affairs on the coast in a more deplorable condition than he could well have imagined. Hyder Ali was in the midst of a victorious career. His successes had enabled him to spread his numerous horse over all the Carnatic. Parties approached daily to the very gates of Madras: and the nabob of Arcot and his family were obliged to take refuge in the town. Under Lord Macartney's direction, confidence in the government was not only revived to individuals, but the troops both in camp and garrison acquired fresh spirit from the marks of attention which were shown to their demands; and they soon after gave the strongest proofs of their bravery, discipline, and attachment, in the defeat of Hyder, under Sir Eyre Coote, at Porto Novo. The critical state, however, of the affairs of India, fully justified Lord Macartney's efforts to bring about a general reconciliation with the native powers. The peace with the Mahrattas was followed by a second, and even a third defeat of Hyder's army; the capture of the Dutch settlements of Sadras, Pullicat, Madepollam, Jaggernautporam, Bimlipatam, and Negapatam, dissolved the connection which had been formed between that power and Hyder; and the assignment of the revenues of the Carnatic from the nabob of Arcot, to Lord Macartney, for the use of the company, rendered the termination of 1781 auspicious to the company's affairs. The next year, however, was calamitous. Toward its close Hyder Ali was succeeded in his government by Tippoo Saib; with whom it was more than probable an early peace might have been concluded, could Lord Macartney have acted as he wished. A peace was now concluded with Tippoo. The undue interference of the supreme council at Bengal with the presidency of Madras, however, became a source of great mortification to Lord Macartney; which only ended with the removal of Mr Hastings from his government; almost immediately after which, in consequence of the premature restitution which was ordered from England, of the assignment of the Carnatic revenues, Lord Macartney himself retired from Madras. Previous to his departure he entered an affidavit and a declaration on the records of the council; the first declaring that from the day of his arrival he had never by himself, or by any other person for him, directly or indirectly accepted or received for his own benefit, from any person or persons whomsoever, a present or presents of any kind, except two pipes of wine from two particular friends, a few bottles of Champagne and Burgundy, and some fruits and provisions of very trifling value. Further,

that he had confined himself solely to the company's allowances, which were 40,000 pagodas per annum, and the commission and consulage on coral, which during his government had produced on an average 1000 pagodas per annum. That he had never embezzled or misappropriated any of the company's effects, but had observed his covenants, and acted in all things for their honour and interest. The declaration stated the exact increase of his property, amounting to 81,796 pagodas. Soon after his return to Europe, Lord Macartney was offered the government of Bengal; but making a British peerage the sine qua non of his accepting it, and this not being consonant to the principles in regard to Indian appointments which Mr Pitt and Mr Dundas had laid down, the appointment was bestowed on Lord Cornwallis. After this he retired for six years to Ireland, where he engaged himself principally in the improvement of his paternal estate.

In 1792 a more equal, and at the same time a more creditable intercourse than had been hitherto kept up, was determined on with China. On this occasion the court of directors of the East India company entered with becoming spirit into the views of Mr Dundas; and Lord Macartney was looked upon as the only person capable of undertaking the mission with any probability of success. On the 3d of May, 1792, he received his appointment as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary from the king of Great Britain to the emperor of China, and in the month of September set out upon a voyage, the details of which may be found in Sir George Staunton's 'Authentic Account' of the embassy. He reached the Yellow sea in safety, passed up the White river to Tong-choo-foo, and thence proceeded by land to the metropolis of China. Tchien-Lung, the aged emperor, who had reigned with uninterrupted success and reputation more than half a century, was then at the palace of Zhe-hol, beyond the celebrated wall which had been erected as a barrier against the Tartars. There the ambassador delivered a letter from the British sovereign, in a box of gold, adorned with jewels, which was graciously received; but a spirit of jealousy disinclined the emperor to any treaty; and after the exchange of mutual presents, it was hinted that the departure of the strangers would be agreeable. On the 9th of October, 1793, his excellency and suite left Pekin, and proceeded to Tong-tcheu, whence they were conveyed by a variety of rivers and canals from the northern to the southern extremity of China, and reached Canton in safety, after a variety of amusing adventures, on the 18th of December. In January following they embarked at Macao for England. On the 5th of September, 1794, Lord Macartney landed at Portsmouth, where he had the gratification to find that he had not been forgotten by his sovereign, who by patent at Dublin, dated 1st of March, 1794, had been pleased to advance him to the title of Earl Macartney, in the county of Antrim. The winter which immediately followed his return from China, he was permitted to pass at his ease with his friends; but in June, 1795, he was again called upon to undertake an important mission to Italy of a delicate and confidential nature. From Italy he returned through Germany, and reached England in May, 1796: soon after which his majesty was further pleased to create him a British peer, under the title of Baron Macartney, of Parkhurst in Surrey.

In 1797 he sailed from Portsmouth to take upon him the govern

ment of the Cape of Good Hope, which had been conferred entirely on the ground of fitness. But his health being materially affected, he only stopped there till the 20th of November, 1798; leaving behind him a declaration on record, similar to that which had been left in India. He arrived in England in the month of January, 1799, with a determination to retire wholly from public life. The returns of the gout, to which he had been accustomed for some years, were now quicker and severer than ever; and he felt himself unequal to continual hurry and bustle. He now passed a few years entirely in the society of his friends. During the greater part of the year 1805, the gout continued to hang about him, without advancing to a decided fit; and he continued in a languishing reduced state, till the evening of the 31st of March, 1806, when, while reclining his head on his hand, as if dropping into a slumber, he sunk into the arms of death without a sigh or a struggle.

Eerrard, Viscount Lake.

BORN A. D. 1744.-DIED A. D. 1808.

GERRARD, LORD VISCOUNT LAKE, was born on the 27th of July, 1744, he showed an early predilection for the military profession, and when scarcely fourteen years old entered the army, and was appointed an ensign in the 1st regiment of foot-guards. With the 2d battalion of that corps he proceeded to Germany, in 1760, where he served during the remainder of the seven years' war. The allied army, under the hereditary prince of Brunswick, after having defeated the enemy near Williamstadt, and driven him from all his positions, on the unexpected appearance of a body of the French forces on the right, were seized with a panic, and were abandoning the field in confusion; but Ensign Lake, who, on that day, carried the colours of the 2d battalion, 1st regiment of foot-guards, undismayed by the retreat of his companions, remained at his post with a few men; and perhaps this rare example of courage and determination greatly contributed to recover the soldiers from the consternation into which they had been thrown, and to bring them back to duty. He was soon after this appointed aid-de-camp to General Pearson, in which situation he remained until his return to England in 1763.

In 1781 he proceeded to America, and joined the brigade of guards serving under Lord Cornwallis. During the siege of York town, he particularly distinguished himself by storming one of the enemy's batteries, in so gallant a manner, as to obtain the warmest thanks of the commander-in-chief.

When war with France broke out in 1793, he went to Holland, in command of the 1st brigade of guards, disembarked at Helvoetsluys, and immediately afterwards proceeded to Williamstadt, which was at this time besieged by the French, and saved by the opportune arrival of the British troops. He was present at the siege of Valenciennes, and in most of the considerable actions fought in 1793-4. Perhaps the most brilliant exploit which happened in the course of the campaign was the assault of Lincelles by the brigade-guards under Lord Lake,

On the breaking out of the rebellion in Ireland, in 1798, Lord Lake was appointed to the staff in that kingdom. In this arduous and trying situation he conducted himself in a manner equally honourable to his own character, and beneficial to his country. The unhappy state of Ireland at that period called for measures of uncommon vigour, and too often for the exercise of a severity which necessity alone could justify. By tempering justice with mercy, rather than by the use of force or coercive measures, he succeeded in restoring tranquillity to the south of Ireland. At Vinegar-hill he attacked with great judgment and spirit the collected force of the rebels, which he completely defeated; and followed up this success so rapidly, as to prevent their ever again assembling in any considerable number. Upon this occasion, as on all others in which he was engaged, he led on the troops in person, and he had a horse killed under him. The speedy return of peace, and total suppression of the rebellion, which the decisive action at Vinegar-hill gave reason to expect, were endangered by the arrival of a French force under General Huinbert. At Castlebar this officer obtained an advantage over the troops commanded by Lord Lake, and in the expectation of being joined by the disaffected in his progress, moved rapidly towards the capital. Reinforced by some fresh troops, Lord Lake, after a most severe and fatiguing pursuit, came up with the enemy at Ballinamuck, and compelled the whole to surrender. During the remainder of his stay in Ireland, he was of essential use in carrying into effect the measures of the government; and the promptitude and vigour with which he executed the orders of the lord-lieutenant, contributed in a great degree to recall the misguided inhabitants to a sense of duty and obedience.

In 1800 he was nominated to the important stations of commanderin-chief of the King's and Company's forces in India, and second member of the supreme council at Bengal. About the middle of March, 1801, he reached Calcutta, and the following July proceeded to Cawnpore, the principal military station on the frontiers. In this situation his whole attention was devoted to the improvement of the Bengal army, and especially of the native cavalry, which, by his professional skill, and indefatigable exertions, was brought to the highest pitch of excellence. For some time a negotiation had been carrying on with the Nabob Vizier, the object of which was to obtain a cession of territory, in lieu of the subsidy which his excellency paid for the troops employed in defence of his dominions. This negotiation was brought to a successful termination in the month of November, 1801, and owing to the judicious disposition which Lord Lake had made of the troops under his command, the civil authorities were established without difficulty over these extensive and valuable provinces, with the exception of Sasuy and Cutchoura, the Zemindars of which refused to submit to those municipal regulations of the Company which had produced such benefits to the inhabitants of Bengal. Every conciliatory endeavour was unsuccessfully used to bring back the rajahs of those places to a sense of duty, but as they continued to resist the orders of government, Lord Lake was compelled, in the spring of 1802, to attack them with a military force in the course of two months he reduced the strong fortresses of Sasuy, and Cutchoura, with no very considerable loss on our side, and by this means secured the tranquillity of the country.