The Impeachment of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford was a legal process in the

Kingdom of Great Britain The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, w ...

in 1715 when the former First Minister

Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, KG PC FRS (5 December 1661 – 21 May 1724) was an English statesman and peer of the late Stuart and early Georgian periods. He began his career as a Whig, before defecting to a new Tor ...

was impeached and sent to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sepa ...

. Harley was accused of a number of crimes including

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

during his time in office, with charges particularly focusing on his role in the 1713

Peace of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vacant throne of ...

which ended the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phili ...

. His arrest coincided with the Jacobite rebellion of 1715, which was led in Scotland and directed from France by former members of Harley's administration John Erskine, Earl of Mar and

Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Henry St John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke (; 16 September 1678 – 12 December 1751) was an English politician, government official and political philosopher. He was a leader of the Tories, and supported the Church of England politically des ...

. After two years of imprisonment, in 1717 a motion was brought by the Opposition that the government should either bring Harley to trial or release him. Harley, benefiting from the Whig Split that had divided his enemies into factions, was acquitted and released. This remains the last time a head of government was impeached in Britain.

Background

A former Whig, Harley had come to power in 1710, leading a Tory government which was increasingly aware of the anti-war mood of the country in contrast to the pro-war Whigs. The Tories won a decisive victory at the

1710 general election Year 171 ( CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 ''Ab urbe con ...

. Harley and the Secretary of State Lord Bolingbroke opened covert peace negotiations with France. The

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

, the Duke of Marlborough, was dismissed in late 1711 and replaced by the Tory Duke of Ormonde. Ormonde was given a secret, later controversial, "restraining order" not to fight against the French while talks were approaching their conclusion. Mid-campaign Ormonde pulled his troops out from the coalition army and withdrew to

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label= French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Eugene of Savoy then suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Denain in the absence of the British. Despite a concerted opposition campaign, Harley was able to pass the

through Parliament. This involved the creation of twelve peers, known as

Harley's Dozen {{short description, Event in British politics Harley's Dozen were twelve new peerages created in December 1711 by the British Tory government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated House of Lords. This cam ...

, in a single day to tilt the balance of the Whig-dominated

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

. Another major issue that divided the country was the coming succession dispute that would follow the anticipated death of the childless Queen Anne. While some Hanoverian Tories were committed to the German succession, others favoured the

Jacobite Jacobite means follower of Jacob or James. Jacobite may refer to: Religion * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Churches in the Jacobite tradition and sometimes called Jacobite include: ** Syriac Orthodox Church, sometimes ...

claimant, Anne's half-brother James. Harley remained in contact with the exiled court at Saint-Germain and might have favoured James had he been prepared to convert from

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

, but Harley's general position was to sit on the fence. On Anne's death in August 1714, partisans of the

Hanoverian Succession The Act of Settlement is an Act of the Parliament of England that settled the succession to the English and Irish crowns to only Protestants, which passed in 1701. More specifically, anyone who became a Roman Catholic, or who married one, b ...

were able to secure the throne for George I. As Elector of Hanover, George had been one of Britain's allies who felt betrayed by the secret peace deal and publicly snubbed Harley on his arrival.

Impeachment

In early 1715 fresh elections gave the Whigs a majority, and they set about pursuing those regarded responsible for the peace as well as conspiring to place James on the throne. Facing imminent arrest, Ormonde and Bolingbroke both fled to the

Continent A continent is any of several large landmasses. Generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, up to seven geographical regions are commonly regarded as continents. Ordered from largest in area to smallest, these seven ...

. Harley was the most prominent figure left to target, along with lesser figures in the peace talks such as

Matthew Prior Matthew Prior (21 July 1664 – 18 September 1721) was an English poet and diplomat. He is also known as a contributor to '' The Examiner''. Early life Prior was probably born in Middlesex. He was the son of a Nonconformist joiner at Wimbor ...

and Lord Strafford. On 13 April the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

appointed a committee of twenty one members to conduct the investigation including prominent Whigs Robert Walpole, James Stanhope, Nicholas Lechmere and Edward Wortley Montagu. In Parliament the motion to impeach Harley was brought by

Thomas Coningsby Sir Thomas Coningsby (9 October 1550-30 May 1625) was an English soldier and Member of Parliament, notable for his diary of military action in France in 1591. Birth Thomas Coningsby was the son and heir of Humphrey Coningsby, of Hampton Court, ...

, a figure described as the "Whig Hangman". As two of the major landowning families in

Herefordshire Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...

, the Coningsbys and Harleys had a long-standing rivalry stretching back generations. Coningsby had already wrongly suggested in the Commons to claim that Harley had already fled the country, something that was denied by Edward Harley, Robert's brother, who was also an MP. On 10 June Walpole moved that the absent Bolingbroke be charged with

, while Coningsby did the same against Harley. The House agreed to send the matter back to the committee so that the impeachment could be drawn up. This was done on 7 July with sixteen articles against Harley, and the impeachment now passed over to the House of Lords. Coningsby was selected to carry the terms of the impeachment to the Lords and advocated for their conviction. Most of the articles related to Harley's role in the Utrecht peace but one article focused on his "unprecedented" creation of twelve peers in 1711– 12. He was also criticised for receiving the exiled Jacobite Irishman

Patrick Lawless Patrick Colin Lawless is an Australian diplomat and senior career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Lawless served as the Australian Ambassador to Brazil, from 12 February 2014 until February 2016. Lawless previo ...

as the ambassador of Spain. In his defence Harley observed that some of the things he was charged with were not his responsibility, and that if he were held accountable so potentially would all future first ministers. On 16 July 1715, the Lords voted 82 to 50 to imprison him awaiting his trial. For two days he was under house arrest before being moved to the

. Two weeks later Coningsby advanced six further articles, alleging that Harley had given the Queen "evil advice" and been secretly working for James.

Imprisonment

Despite the seriousness of the charge, Harley's lodgings in the Tower were fairly comfortable, as was common for noblemen. Despite his bad health he was prepared for any outcome. As treason was a capital crime, Harley was potentially facing the death penalty. A "paper war" raged outside Parliament as writers and journalist portrayed the trial from different perspectives. While John Dunton wrote an attack on the former First Minister, both Daniel Defoe and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, ...

published accounts of the events designed to vindicate Harley's conduct. While in the Tower, Harley's already poor health grew worse. He suffered from

rheumatism Rheumatism or rheumatic disorders are conditions causing chronic, often intermittent pain affecting the joints or connective tissue. Rheumatism does not designate any specific disorder, but covers at least 200 different conditions, including ar ...

and likely also

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

. His wife was permitted to stay and nurse him, until she also fell ill. A month after Harley was imprisoned, his former

Scottish Secretary The secretary of state for Scotland ( gd, Rùnaire Stàite na h-Alba; sco, Secretar o State fir Scotland), also referred to as the Scottish secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for ...

raised the banner of the exiled James at

Braemar Braemar is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen in the Highlands. It is the closest significantly-sized settlement to the upper course of the River Dee sitting at an elevation of . The Gaelic ''Bràigh Mhàrr'' pr ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland ...

. The ensuing

Jacobite rebellion , war = , image = Prince James Francis Edward Stuart by Louis Gabriel Blanchet.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = James Francis Edward Stuart, Jacobite claimant between 1701 and 1766 , active ...

broke out in Scotland and spread to Northern England. Planned risings in southern England and

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

were stalled by arrests. Two battles at Sheriffmuir in Scotland and

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

in England halted the early momentum of the Jacobites. The ensuing panic led to further accusations against Harley that he was complicit in the current rebellion. However, this may have saved his life as it led to a long delay in the prosecution of his case, as it was overtaken by the need to deal with the fallout of the rising. By early 1716 the rebellion was defeated. Several of its leaders were lodged in the Tower at the same time as Harley, and some, including the Earl of Derwentwater, were executed there. However, the very fact that Harley was imprisoned at the time spared him from accusations of actively taking part of the rebellion, although Jacobite prisoners were quizzed on his connections to the movement. Harley remained stoic and philosophical about his fate. Around this time he wrote to his wife, now living outside the Tower, that he was resolved to be "easy under any confinement, and as I look for no favour, so I shall do nothing towards my freedom, that may not become the character of an English gentleman". He pledged, "I will go out of this place with the same honour and innocence as I came into it".

Release

Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford by Arthur Pond

In April 1717 the Whig leadership, now completely dominant in British politics, suffered a major falling out when Lord Townshend was dismissed from the government after a power struggle with James Stanhope. His ally and brother-in-law Robert Walpole resigned along with his supporters, triggering the Whig Split. Walpole now sought to cultivate Tory support in his bid to build a strong opposition to the government. To try and head this off, the government Whigs sought to try and secure from Harley a statement of his future good conduct in exchange for his release. As he felt this implied he was not innocent, he refused this offer. In May 1717, Harley's supporters brought forward a motion that his either a trial should be held or he should be released. Walpole was still a member of the committee delegated to investigate Harley's case. He now assured Harley's ally William Bromley that he would work to halt the impeachment. Another Harley backer, Lord Harcourt, moved that the House should first consider the more serious charge of High Treason, rather than the lesser

high crimes and misdemeanors The charge of high crimes and misdemeanors covers allegations of misconduct by officials. Offenses by officials also include ordinary crimes, but perhaps with different standards of proof and punishment than for non-officials, on the grounds th ...

. This wrongfooted the government, who had not prepared any evidence on this issue. By the set trial date of 24 June the government was not ready to present its case. Harcourt then moved that the Harley should be discharged. This led to lengthy debates in both the Lords and the Commons, where Whig Thomas Miller demanded that Harley should be punished for abandoning the

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citiz ...

, who without British help had been defeated at Barcelona. In his final intervention in Parliament, the Duke of Marlborough, who had suffered a stroke the previous year, voted against Harley. However the Lords chose to acquit Harley on 1 July, and he was released.

Aftermath

King George showed his own feelings, by immediately banishing Harley from attending him at court. Harley largely retired from political life, dedicating himself to his artistic and literary interests. Although Walpole himself later faced the threat of impeachment, this was not carried through. Harley was the last British chief minister to be impeached.Hill p.228

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early 18th century. An exponent of Augustan literature, ...

, a supporter of Harley, later wrote his ''Epistle to Bathurst'' that recalled the case. It dwells on the fall of a fictional politician and contains the line "The House impeach him, Coningsby harangues".

References

{{Reflist, 30em

Bibliography

* Bullard, Rebecca. ''The Politics of Disclosure, 1674-1725: Secret History Narratives''. Routledge, 2015. * Hamilton, Elizabeth. ''The Backstairs Dragon: A Life of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford''. Hamish Hamilton, 1969. * Hill, Brian W. ''Robert Harley. Speaker, Secretary of State and Premier Minister''. Yale University Press, 1998. * Pearce, Edward. ''The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole: Scoundrel, Genius and Britain's First Prime Minister''. Random House, 2011. * Rogers, Pat. ''The Life and Times of Thomas, Lord Coningsby: The Whig Hangman and his Victims''. A&C Black, 2011. Impeachment Harley, Robert Impeachment Harley, Robert Impeachment Harley, Robert Harley, Robert Impeachment Harley, Robert Impeachment Harley, Robert Harley, Robert