Hitherto the literary fame of Dr. Parr had been comparatively limited; but, in 1787, the public attention was greatly excited and drawn towards its author, by the appearance of the celebrated Latin preface to “The Three Treatises of Bellendenus.” The work was without a name, and curiosity busily turned in every direction to ascertain the writer; who was not discovered till after some time had elapsed, and much conjecture had been fruitlessly employed.
As a composition, this preface has been generally regarded as one of the
finest specimens of modern Latinity extant; though some persons call in question its claims
to the high praise, which others have conferred upon it. It has, however, been almost
universally admired, as an able and animated exposition of the author’s opinions on
the great events and actors in the political scenes of those times; comprehending many just
and sagacious remarks on the principal measures of the two contending
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The first strong sensation created in the literary and political world by the Preface to Bellendenus had scarcely subsided, when public attention was again awakened, in an equal or greater degree, by another singular publication, entitled “Tracts of Warburton, and a Warburtonian, not admitted into their Works; to which are prefixed a Preface and a Dedication by the Editor;” who was soon discovered to be Dr. Parr. Of this, as well as the former publication, some account will be given in a subsequent page. Here, it will be sufficient to say, that the principal object was, to chastise the intolerance and the insolence by which the Warburtonian School was distinguished and disgraced; and particularly to throw a shield of protection over the fair fame of two eminent scholars and excellent men, who had been unjustly and rudely assailed, perhaps under the orders of the great master himself, by one of the most devoted of his disciples. This was a good service to the literary and the Christian community; and, in performing it, the writer has exhibited, in brilliant display, the great powers and endowments of his mind, and the extraordinary force and splendour of his composition.
If, in the latter of these publications, Dr.
Parr
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Thus openly assuming his station among the leading Whigs of his time, Dr. Parr was fully aware that he had shut the door against all hope of preferment from a court, which had ever regarded political subserviency as a recommendation, at least, equally powerful with literary excellence or moral worth. It was not long, however, before a prospect was unexpectedly disclosed to his view of obtaining the great object of his ambition, by means of the party, to which, from honest conviction, and by public profession, he was now united.
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The autumn of 1788 was remarkable in the annals of England for the distressing malady of the king, and for the long and vehement debates in both houses of parliament, which followed in consequence: and which ended in the passing of a bill, vesting the powers of government with the name of regent, in the Prince of Wales. As the royal incapacity, according to the report of the physicians, was likely to be of long duration, there was every probability that Mr. Fox would be placed at the head of public affairs, by the decided choice of the prince; who had always acknowledged him as a personal friend, and who had uniformly professed to adopt his principles of legislation and government. In that case, it was natural to expect that Dr. Parr would be speedily advanced to some high station in the church, by those, with whom his merits as a divine and a scholar would be powerfully strengthened, by the claims of a political adherent.
It so happened that there was, at this time, a vacant seat on the episcopal
bench; and it is well known to Dr. Parr’s
friends that, early in 1789, he left Hatton for London, in consequence of a summons
received, with the full expectation of being raised to that dignity, to which honourable
ambition and conscious desert had long directed his wishes, if not his hopes. Had his
political associates assumed the reins of government, and held them only for a fortnight,
as he often used to relate, arrangements, already proposed and in part approved, would have
been carried into effect: Dr. Huntingford would have
been advanced to the
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But by the unexpected recovery of the king, announced to the two houses, March 2, 1789, the aspect of public affairs was suddenly changed; the existing administration retained its power; and thus was lost to Dr. Parr his first and almost his only chance of attaining the high honours to which, with so much just pretension, he aspired. Yet he has been often heard to declare that never, till then, did he fully understand the firmness of his own mind; nor could he have previously supposed that a disappointment, so apparently great, would have excited a pang so slight and so transient. He soon afterwards dined in company with the Right Reverend Prelate, who gained the preferment which he had missed; feeling nearly as much satisfaction, he said, as if he had himself obtained it. Within a short time, turning, without much regret, from the view of a court, to which he had been so closely brought, he left London, and hastened back to resume contentedly the calm pursuits of literature, and the active duties of the tutor and the pastor, in his beloved retirement at Hatton.
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1 Gent. Mag. April, 1825, p. 370. |
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But even if his late disappointment had been more severely felt, not trivial would have been the consolation, which he soon received from a generous proposition brought forward about this time, and well supported by some of the leading and opulent Whigs. This was a subscription for his benefit, of which the amount was afterwards paid into the hands of the Dukes of Norfolk and Bedford; who agreed, in consideration of it, to grant him an annuity of 300l. for his life. It was a seasonable supply, which, from the scantiness of his pecuniary resources, had become, indeed, almost necessary; and, as a public mark of their respect and gratitude, it was deservedly due from the party, in whose defence he had stood forward, armed with the united powers of learning, argument and eloquence, at a period, when that party was at once furiously assailed by the government, and distrusted and nearly deserted by the people.
Among the occurrences, which, about this time, deeply interested the public
mind, was the important plan of parliamentary reform, brought forward under the auspices of
the minister himself; of which the principal object was, to transfer the right of
representation from the decayed boroughs to the shires; and to extend the elective
franchise from free-holders to copy-holders, in the case of counties, and, in that of
populous towns, from the privileged few to the inhabitants at large. This was a most wise
and well digested plan; and it received the fair and the liberal praise of Mr. Fox; yet it did not obtain the approbation of Dr. Parr, who thus unreasonably and unjustly decried
it—“In
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But in the subsequent conduct of Mr. Pitt, who, though solemnly pledged to this great object, never exerted one effort more to accomplish it, but ever after strenuously opposed it, there was certainly reason enough for language of even more bitter reproach than the following: “From the moment when his plan was rejected, all his ardour cooled, all his diligence relaxed. The very hope of healing what seemed to be corrupt in the state, was not only checked in his mind, but discarded from it. In this instance, some whom the name and the form of liberty transport almost beyond the bounds of reason, complain of his insincerity; and assert, that he who professed himself the great patron and support of their cause, uses a language foreign to his real sentiments.”1
But if Mr. Pitt has exposed himself to the reproach of having basely abjured the cause in which he had once so zealously embarked, he is entitled, however, for the next great measure proposed by him to high and unqualified praise. This was the commercial treaty with France; a measure founded on the wisest principles of sound and liberal policy.
1 Præf. ad Bellen. p. 20. Trans. p. 44. |
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Little disposed, however, as he was to approve of his measures in general, Dr. Parr awarded to the minister his due share of praise for the part taken by him in the great affair, which, in 1787 began, and for so many years afterwards continued to engage, though with decreasing interest, the attention both of Europe and of Asia. This was the trial of Mr. Hastings, who was impeached by the commons, it is well known, for high crimes and misdemeanours, committed during his administration as Governor
1 Præf. ad Bellen. p. 21. Trans, p. 46. |
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But though conducted with all the zeal and the talents of the opposition, and sanctioned by the authority of the minister, this celebrated trial, after being shamefully protracted to the end of its seventh year, terminated in the acquittal of the accused, by the votes of twenty-one against eight peers; being all who thought themselves qualified to deliver an opinion, on so complex and so long depending a cause. “It was, indeed, a most lame and impotent conclusion,” as was well observed at the time, to which so much display of talent and so much parade of justice were thus brought at last!
Of those, who appeared as actors in this imposing scene of a mighty state-delinquent, summoned before the grand inquest of the nation, none was more distinguished than Mr. Sheridan; to whom, as his tutor, and the tutor of his son, Dr. Parr was united by the ties of friendship, as well as those of political party. It may easily be supposed, therefore, that he would participate largely in the universal admiration, excited on that occasion by the wonderful efforts of genius and eloquence, which have immortalised the name of that great and almost unrivalled orator. The following
1 Præf. ad Bellen. p. 62. Trans, p. 134. |
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“In a late public cause, instituted against a certain governor,
how extensive were his claims to favour and to fame! In how wonderful a manner did he
communicate delight, and incline the most reluctant to his purpose!”
“To the discussion of this cause, he came admirably prepared. All was anxious
expectation. From the very beginning, he appeared to justify impatience. That subject,
so various, complicated, and abstruse, he comprehended with precision, and explained
with acuteness. He placed every argument in that particular point, in which it had the
greatest energy and effect. Throughout a very long speech, he was careful to use no
imprudent expression, but was uniformly consistent with himself. His style was
dexterously adapted to the occasion. In one part, he was copious and splendid; in
another part, he was more concise and pointed, and gave additional polish to truth. As
he found it necessary, he instructed, delighted, or agitated his hearers. He appeared
to have no other object in view, than to give the fairest termination to the business;
to prove the guilt of the accused, by the most indisputable evidence, and to confirm
the object of the investigation, by strong and decisive reasoning.”
“With how much applause he was heard by an attentive senate, is universally
known. His most determined adversaries were compelled to render tribute to his
excellence. A large portion was added, not merely to his fair and honourable
popularity, but to his solid and un-
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Another question of deep interest, to all the friends of religious liberty, agitated during this period, was the question of the “Test Laws;” by which dissidents from the national church are excluded from all offices of trust and honour, whether civil or military. A first time, in 1787, and a second time, in 1789, the repeal of these laws was moved in the House of Commons, by Mr. Beaufoy, a senator of considerable talents, information and influence, in a speech at once temperate, judicious and impressive. He was powerfully supported by Mr. Fox and others; but opposed, with much vehement declamation, by Lord North, and, with much show of candour and speciousness of reasoning, by Mr. Pitt. The question was, upon the whole, favourably received by the House; and, on the latter occasion, it was lost by a majority, in a full assembly, of no more than twenty.
The defeat, which they had thus sustained, was, in fact, considered by the friends of the repeal, as equivalent to a victory; and most unhappily, their triumph in the present, and their confident anticipation of final and complete success, betrayed them into some gross errors and indiscretions, which proved fatal to their cause. Zeal excited opposing zeal: the old and appalling cry of “the church is
1 Praef. ad Bellen. p. 31. Trans, p. 65. |
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On these important occasions, the writer feels much regret in recording, that Dr. Parr was found, not among the friends, as, from his attachment to the cause of religious freedom, might have been expected, but among the opposers of the repeal. It ought, however, to be remembered, that the true principles of toleration were not then so well understood as at present; nor were they carried to the same wide and just extent. It was, therefore, we may fairly presume, from some honest doubts, that Dr. Parr declared against the wise and equitable policy of Mr. Fox, devoted as he was to him; and adopted, in preference, the less enlarged and less generous views of Mr. Pitt, though to his general measures so decidedly opposed. Thus he sounds the praises of the great statesman, whom he so severely censures in the same volume: “The minister, with a manly spirit, defended the rights of the church, and made his eloquence a kind of sedulous hand-maid to the political sagacity of Lord North; and he claims, therefore, and deserves our highest commendation.”1
It will hardly be disputed, by any reasonable and well-informed politician of the present day,
1 Præf. ad Bellen. p. 62. Trans. p. 134. |
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“In the earlier part of my life, I thought the Test Act
oppressive; but in the year 1782, I very carefully and very seriously re-examined the
subject, and changed my opinion. In 1790, I strenuously opposed the attempt to procure
a repeal; and yet
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One would, indeed, hope that the day cannot be very far distant when, even in the opinion of the great authorities here appealed to, the public safety will not require the exclusion of loyal subjects from their civil rights, merely on account of their religious opinions. It is pleasing, however, to state, that, from this time, Dr. Parr began to open his mind to the conviction, that all such rules of exclusion are equally repugnant to the strictest justice, and to the soundest policy; and that during all the later years of his life, he was the firm and zealous opposer of all religious tests whatever. The uninterrupted exercise of their religion, granted to all non-conformists, whether Protestant or Catholic, secured by law, with an exclusion from all offices of trust and emolument, he considered, according to the just distinction of Dr. Paley,2 as partial toleration; and their full admission to all civil privileges and capacities, as complete toleration. The latter, and not the former, appeared to him, at once, the most just and generous, and the wisest and safest system, which a nation can adopt.
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1 Sequel, p. 52. 2 Paley’s Moral Philos. vol. ii. p. 334. |
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Attached to a volume in Dr. Parr’s library, entitled “The Right of Protestant Dissenters to a complete Toleration, 1789,” is the following note: “This very able book was published on the application of the dissenters for the repeal of the Test Act. It has been ascribed to Sergeant Heywood, who, probably, was assisted by lawyers and dissenting clergymen. It is the only powerful book produced by the application; and it wrought a total change in Dr. Parr’s mind, on the general principle of tests. He always disapproved of the sacramental test; and he now sees the injustice and inefficacy of all religious tests whatever.”1
It was, probably, during the earlier periods of Mr. Pitt’s public life, that Dr. Parr sought and obtained an interview with the prime-minister, of which he often spoke to his friends, with mingled pride and pleasure. Opposed to the general course of his administration, and severely as he reprobated many of its most distinguished acts; yet it was impossible that he should not think highly of Mr. Pitt’s talents, both as a statesman and as an orator; and he always rendered full justice to the enlightened views which dictated some of his measures, and the upright intentions which guided all. “If a friend of Mr. Pitt,” said he in one of his publications, “were to ask me for a dedication, I should disdain, from political motives, to refuse compliance. Without offering the smallest violence to my own settled principles, I should endeavour to gratify the warm, and, it may be, honourable prejudices of Mr. Pitt’s adherent. In
1 Bibl. Parr. p. 615. |
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Thus capable of fairly estimating the merits, as well as demerits, of a great political adversary, it need surprise no one that Dr. Parr should conceive a wish for the honour of being admitted to a conference with a minister, who was for so many years the favourite of the king and the people, and who so long held in his hands the destinies of England, and, in some degree, of Europe. Accordingly, by means of a common friend, Dr. Parr caused a message to be communicated, importing, that as he supposed an interview would not be disagreeable to Mr. Pitt, and as he was sure it would be highly gratifying to himself, if Mr. Pitt should be disposed to grant him that favour, Dr. Parr requested that he would appoint a time and a place, such as might best suit his own convenience. The communication was favourably received; a time and a place were fixed; and the great statesman and the great scholar met. Their conversation was long and animated; embracing a variety of topics, chiefly, it may be supposed,
1 Reply to Combe, p. 9. |
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