vering his own opinions, which was fure to entertain even those he did not convince. But though thefe were very great, yet they were not his only talents; he was bleffed with parts, and with parts of different kinds, even fuch as the generality are apt to confider as incompatible. His quickness, penetration, and vivacity, were accompanied with a great folidity of judgement, and even with a fubtilty of thinking and reasoning; qualities which seem to be peculiar to another caft of mind, yet they were joined in him. In his youth perhaps he was not much given to reflection; yet even then, when he applied himself to it, there was nothing would efcape him. He faw the frength and weakness of whatever he was to maintain, or refute; and he had an inconceivable dexterity in difplaying or concealing, whatevever he was inclined to make apparent, or to hide. His peculiarity of thinking did not at all affect his manner of fpeaking, which was easy, natural, and flowing. He had indeed paufes of reflection; but when his thoughts came to be clothed in words, his difcourfe rolled on like a stream from a perennial spring, strong, full, clear, and filling equally the ear and mind.

But as

Notwithstanding these qualifications, he was in this early period of his life much addicted to women, and was apt to indulge himself in late hours, with all thofe exceffes that attend them. foon as these gusts feemed to be blown over, his parents procured him a fettlement, in all refpects fuitable to his birth and expectations, and married: him to the daughter and co-heirefs of Sir Henry Winchef

Winchefcomb, of Bucklefbury in the county of Bucks, baronet..

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The fame year he was elected, with Henry Pen nel, Efq;. for the borough of: Wotton Baffet, and fat in the fifth parliament of King William III. which met on the 1 ath of February 1700, being then about 2.6 years. of age. The king being dif fatisfied with the proceedings of this parliament, diffolved it, and called a new parliament to meet on the 30th of December following. In this, which was the laft parliament in the reign of King William, and the firft in that of Queen Anne, Henry St. John, Efq; and Thomas Jacob, Efq; were members for Wotton Baffet. As Mr. St. John went with the majority, who in thofe days were confidered as Tories, he muft undoubtedly be looked upon as coming into the world under that denomination; and therefore thofe are clearly in the wrong who charge him with changing fides in the earliest part of his life.

It was put into the number of charges against him, fò early as the year 1710, that he voted this year against the fucceffion in the houfe of Hanover; which in a little piece of his, published in 1731, he calls a falfe and impudent affertion; and adds, that in 1701 a bill was brought into parliament-by Sir Charles Hedges and himself, entitled, "A bill: "for the further fecurity of his majesty's perfon, " and the fucceffion of the crown in the Proteftant line, and extinguishing the hopes of the pretended Prince of Wales, and all other pretenders, " and their open and fecret abettors," which paffed without any divifion. What gave occafion to this impeach

impeachment was his oppofing fome claufes made by the Lords, about the method of fecuring the fucceffion, whilft yet he concurred in the bill that fixed it.

The queen thought proper to diffolve this parliament, and to appoint a new one to meet on the 20th of August 1702, when Henry St. John and Henry Pennel were again burgeffes for Wotton Baffet. Towards the end of the month the queen made a journey from Windfor to Bath, and taking Oxford in her way, was received with all imaginable marks of zeal and affection by the univerfity, who, on the 27th of Auguft, conferred the degree of Dr. of Laws upon Henry St. John, and feveral other persons of distinction, in which high birth or perfonal merit feem only to have been confi. dered.

The parliament met again on the 20th of October, and the bill for preventing occafional conformity, occafioned one of the warmeft difputes that, during this reign, happened between the two houses. At the conferences held on this occafion, Mr. St. John was one of the managers for the house of commons; and, in the next feffion, when the bill was carried a fecond time, and a motion made to tack it to a money bill, he oppofed and voted against it. This fhews, he did not go the utmoft lengths of his party, who took occafion from hence to rabufe him; which however did them little honour, and him little hurt.

On the 20th of April 1704, he was made fecretary at war and of the marines, in the room of William Blathwayt, Efq. In the courfe of the next

feffion

feffion of parliament he had a great share of the management of public business in the house of commons, and discharged his duty fo well, that a certain prelate, who would not have lavished his com pliments to a statesman of his independent spirit, is however fo impartial as to own, that he was a perfon of much activity.

The queen in the beginning of her reign having given too much countenance to the Tories, they from thence framed projects for preferving themfelves entirely, and, if poffible, continually in pow. er. Her majesty prevented this, and fecured herself. This exafperated the Tories to a very high degree: They looked upon it as a very aggravating circumcumftance, to be fhut out of power by a princess and by minifters whom they had always confidered as of their own principles, and could not forbear behaving with infolence to the queen. They became very zealous for the Hanoverian fucceffion, and made their court to the princefs Sophia. A bill for a regency was propofed by the junto Lords, the only fecurity the Proteftant fucceffion wanted, and of which, though they made the Tories their inftruments, they took all the merit to themselves: But Mr. St. John, in conjunction with Mr. Secretary Harley, by a dexterous management defeated this motion without a divifion or debate, and applied their parts and diligence in preventing things from running into heats and diforder.

In August 1710, Mr. St. John was made fecretary of state: He was likewife chofen knight of the thire for the county of Berks, and burgefs for Wotton Baffet. And now the war was carried on

with vigour under his adminiftration; fo that his vigilance and vivacity were univerfally confeffed, though not univerfally applauded, by men of both parties.

in the parliament which met December 7, 1711, the great truft of managing the affairs of the adminiftration was committed to Mr. Secretary St. John; who, to influence the nation in the fentiments of the long continuance of the war, and to excite the most earnest defire of peace, employed himself with indefatigable diligence in drawing up the most accurate computations of the number of our troops, the number of foreigners, and the fums paid by way of fubfidies during the courfe of the war.

It was

shown, that the expence of England, in the beginning of the war, amounted to about 3,700,000 1. but had now increased to 6,000,000l. and upwards, chiefly by being obliged to fupply the deficiencies of her allies; and that England had expended in the war beyond her quota 19,000,000 l. This scheme coming to the queen and her subjects, backed with fo high an authority as the reprefentation of the house of commons, gave great credit and countenance to their proceedings. A reprefentation was made to the states of Holland, to which they framed an answer, which was replied to by Mr. Secretary St. John, by which he entirely enervated its force; and concluded by telling their Mightineffes, that as they had acted with prudence and frugality during the courfe of the war, it was high time for Britain to imitate their conduct at the close of it.

At this juncture he had prodigious difficulties to Atruggle with: Most of the foreign courts we had VOL. I.

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