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.

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At the opening of the new reign Halifax had considerable influence, was made Lord Privy Seal, while Danby his rival was obliged to content himself with the presidency of the council, and controlled the appointments to the new cabinet which were made on a ?trimming? or comprehensive basis. His views on religious toleration were as wide as those of the new king. He championed the claims of the Nonconformists as against the High Church party, and he was bitterly disappointed at the miscarriage of the Comprehension Bill. He thoroughly approved also at first of William?s foreign policy; but, having excited the hostility of both the Whig and Tory parties, he now became exposed to a series of attacks in parliament which finally drove him from power. He was severely censured, for the disorder in Ireland, and an attempt was made to impeach him for his conduct with regard to the sentences on the Whig leaders. The inquiry resulted in his favor; but notwithstanding, and in spite of the king?s continued support, he determined to retire. He had already resigned the speakership of the House of Lords, and he now (February 8, 1690) quit his place in the cabinet. He still nominally retained his seat in the privy council, but in parliament he became a bitter critic of the administration; and the rivalry of Halifax (the Black Marquess) with Danby, now Marquess of Carmarthen (the White Marquess) threw the former at this time into determined opposition. He disapproved of William?s total absorption in European politics, and his open partiality for his countrymen. In January 1691, Halifax had an interview with Henry Bulkeley, the Jacobite agent, and is said to have promised "to do everything that lay in his power to serve the icing." This was probably merely a measure of precaution, for he had no serious Jacobite leanings. He entered bail for Lord Marlborough, accused of complicity in a Jacobite plot in May 1692, and in June, during the absence of the king from England, his name was struck off the privy council.

Related Topics:
Lord Privy Seal - Nonconformists - Comprehension Bill - Ireland - February 8 - 1690 - January - 1691 - Jacobite - Lord Marlborough - May - 1692 - June - England

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Halifax spoke in favor of the Triennial Bill (January 12, 1693) which passed the legislature but was vetoed by William, suggested a proviso in the Licensing Act of 1692, which restricted its operation to anonymous works, and approved the Place Bill (1694). He opposed, probably on account of the large sums he had engaged in the traffic of annuities, the establishment of the Bank of England in 1694. Early in 1695 he delivered a strong attack on the administration in the House of Lords, and, after a short illness arising from a neglected complaint, he died on 5 April at the age of sixty-one. He was buried in Henry VII?s chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Related Topics:
Triennial Bill - January 12 - 1693 - Licensing Act of 1692 - Place Bill - 1694 - Bank of England - 1695 - 5 April - Henry VII?s - Westminster Abbey

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