George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax

George Savile, 1st Marquess of Halifax (November 11, 1633 - April 5, 1695) was an English statesman, writer, and politician.

Legacy

"Trimmer"

Halifax's influence, both as orator and as writer, on the public opinion of his day was probably unrivalled. His intellectual powers, his high character, his urbanity, vivacity and satirical humour made a great impression on his contemporaries, and many of his witty sayings have been recorded. Maintaining throughout his career a detachment from party, he never acted permanently or continuously with either of the two great factions, and exasperated both in turn by deserting their cause at the moment when their hopes seemed on the point of realization. To them he appeared weak, inconstant, untrustworthy. But the principle which chiefly influenced his political action, that of compromise, differed essentially from those of both parties, and his attitude with regard to the Whigs or Tories was thus by necessity continually changing. Thus the regency scheme, which Halifax had supported while Charles still reigned, was opposed by him with perfect consistency at the revolution. He readily accepted for himself the character of a "trimmer," desiring, he said, to keep the boat steady, while others attempted to weigh it down perilously on one side or the other; and he concluded his tract with these assertions: that our climate is a Trimmer between that part of the world where men are roasted and the other where they are frozen; that our Church is a Trimmer between the frenzy of fanatic visions and the lethargic ignorance of Popish dreams; that our laws are Trimmers between the excesses of unbounded power and the extravagance of liberty not enough restrained; that true virtue hath ever been thought a Trimmer, and to have its dwelling in the middle between two extremes; that even God Almighty Himself is divided between His two great attributes, His Mercy and His Justice. In such company, our Trimmer is not ashamed of his name. . . .

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Intellectual

Halifax believed that reading, writing and arithmetic should be taught to all and at the expense of the state. His opinions again on the constitutional relations of the colonies to the mother country, already cited, were completely opposed to those of his own period. For that view of his character which while allowing him the merit of a brilliant political theorist denies him the qualities of a man of action and of a practical politician, there is no solid basis. The truth is that while his political ideas are founded upon great moral or philosophical generalizations, often vividly recalling and sometimes anticipating the broad conceptions of Edmund Burke, they are at the same time imbued with precisely those practical qualities which have ever been characteristic of English statesmenship, and were always capable of application to actual conditions. He had no taste for abstract political dogma, but seemed to venture no further than to think that "men should live in some competent state of freedom," and that the limited monarchical and aristocratic government was the best adapted for his country.

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"Circumstances," he wrote in the Rough Draft of a New Model at Sea, "must come in and are to be made a part of the matter of which we are to judge; positive decisions are always dangerous, more especially in politics." Nor was he the mere literary student buried in books and in contemplative ease. He had none of the "indecisiveness which commonly renders literary men of no use in the world." The constant tendency of his mind towards antithesis and the balancing of opinions did not lead to paralysis in time of action —- he did not shrink from responsibility, nor show on any occasion lack of courage. At various times of crisis he proved himself a great leader. He returned to public life to defeat the Exclusion Bill. At the Glorious Revolution Halifax seized the reins of government and maintained public security. His subsequent failure in collaborating with William is disappointing, but the cause has not received sufficient attention. Party government had come to the birth during the struggles over the Exclusion Bill, and there had been unconsciously introduced into politics a novel element of which the nature and importance were not understood or suspected. Halifax had consistently ignored and neglected party; and it now had its revenge. Detested by the Whigs and by the Tories alike, and defended by neither, the favor alone of the king and his own transcendent abilities proved insufficient to withstand the constant and violent attacks made upon him in parliament, and he yielded to the superior force. He seems indeed himself to have been at last convinced of the necessity in English political life of party government, for though in his cautions to electors he warns them against men "tied to a party," yet in his last words he declares: If there are two parties a man ought to adhere to that which he disliked least though in the whole he doth not approve it; for whilst he doth not list himself in one or the other party, he is looked upon as such a straggler that he is fallen upon by both. . . . Happy those that are convinced so as to be of the general opinions.

Related Topics:
Exclusion Bill - Glorious Revolution

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Character

The private character of Lord Halifax was in harmony with his public career. He was by no means the "voluptuary" described by Macaulay. He was on the contrary free from self-indulgence; his manner of life was decent and frugal, and his dress proverbially simple. He was an affectionate father and husband. "His heart," says Burnet, "was much set on raising his family" ? his last concern even while on his deathbed was the remarriage of his son Lord Eland to perpetuate his name; and this is probably the cause of his acceptance of so many titles for which he himself affected a philosophical indifference. He showed throughout his career an honourable independence. In a period when even great men stooped to accept bribes, Halifax was known to be incorruptible; at a time when animosities were especially bitter, he was too great a man to harbour resentments. "Not only from policy," says Reresby, "but from his disposition I never saw any man more ready to forgive than himself."

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Few were insensible to his personal charm and gaiety. He excelled especially in quick repartée, in "exquisite nonsense," and in spontaneous humor. When quite a young man, just entering upon political life he is described by Evelyn as "a witty gentleman, if not a little too prompt and daring." The latter characteristic was not moderated by time but remained through life. He was incapable of controlling his spirit of raillery, from jests on Siamese missionaries to sarcasms at the expense of the heir to the throne and ridicule of hereditary monarchy, and his brilliant paradoxes, his pungent and often profane epigrams were received by graver persons as his real opinions and as evidences of atheism. This latter charge he repudiated, assuring Burnet that he was "a Christian in submission," but that he could not digest iron like an ostrich nor swallow all that the divines sought to impose upon the world.

Related Topics:
Evelyn - Siam - Sarcasm

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