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{{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by
James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope (c. 16735 February 1721) was a British soldier, diplomat and statesman who effectively served as Chief Minister between 1717 and 1721. He is also the last Chancellor of the Exchequer to sit in the House of L ...
and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland which would have largely halted the creation of new
peerages A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Bel ...
, limiting membership of the
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 Westminst ...
. It was inspired by a desire to prevent a repeat of the 1711 creation of twelve Tory peers, known widely as " Harley's Dozen", in order to secure the passage of the peace treaty with France through the Whig-dominated Lords. Following the Whig Split of 1717 there was also a wish to stop Prince George, once King, from packing the house with his own supporters. The proposal had an attraction to existing aristocrats both Tory and Whig. However,
Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Lea ...
rallied opposition to it and successfully appealed to MPs by arguing the bill would deny them and their families the opportunity of ever being allowed to join the aristocracy. He also mocked Stanhope, who had recently been made a Lord, for being "desirous to shut the door after him". Tories also strongly opposed the measure, including Robert Harley who criticised the proposal as potentially undermining Britain's constitution. The Bill led to a public dispute between
Joseph Addison Joseph Addison (1 May 1672 – 17 June 1719) was an English essayist, poet, playwright and politician. He was the eldest son of The Reverend Lancelot Addison. His name is usually remembered alongside that of his long-standing friend Richar ...
and
Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in D ...
, former friends and collaborators and both Whig members of the
Kit-Kat Club The Kit-Cat Club (sometimes Kit Kat Club) was an early 18th-century English club in London with strong political and literary associations. Members of the club were committed Whigs. They met at the Trumpet tavern in London and at Water Oakley ...
. Addison supported the Bill while Steele opposed it. The proposal was finally defeated in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
on 8 December 1719.Black p.16 The following year Walpole and his opposition Whig allies rejoined the government, ending the party's split.


References


Bibliography

* Black, Jermey. ''Walpole in Power''. Sutton Publishing, 2001. * Field, Ophelia. ''The Kit-Cat Club: Friends who Imagined a Nation''. Harper Collins, 2008. * Hamilton, Elizabeth. ''The Backstairs Dragon: A Life of Robert Harley, Earl of Oxford''. Hamilton, 1969. * Hill, Brian W. ''The Early Parties and Politics in Britain, 1688-1832''. Macmillan, 1996. * Pearce, Edward. ''The Great Man: Sir Robert Walpole: Scoundrel, Genius and Britain's First Prime Minister''. Random House, 2011. 1719 in Great Britain Proposed laws of the United Kingdom House of Lords