the mere instruments of his will. In spite of his many faults as a ruler the people respected him for his pure domestic life, and for his frugal and simple habits. Old ‘‘Farmer George” was always, even in the days when his stubbornness and ignorant self-will were injuring the nation, a king that many people loved and revered.
2. Growth of Industry.—The latter part of the 18th century was a time when Great Britain made great strides in wealth and population. This was due, mainly, to the invention of many labor-saving machines, such as the ‘‘spinning-jenny” and ‘‘mule,” for spinning yarn, by Hargreaves and Crompton, and the steam-engine by Watt. During this time it became known that pit-coal could be used to smelt iron ore, and this, taken with the discovery of the steam-engine, soon led to large iron-works being founded in the north of England. Goods could now be manufactured in great quantities; and the difficulty of taking them to market was overcome by improving the roads, and especially by building numerous canals. The first canal, from Worsley to Manchester, was proposed in 1758 by the Duke of Bridgewater, and was successfully completed by the great engineer Brindley, The population of the towns and cities now increased very rapidly, so that with more. people to feed, and heavy duties on wheat and other articles of food, bread became much dearer. This led to more land being tilled, and much that had hitherto been considered waste and worthless was now enclosed and made to give good crops. Between 1760 and 1774 numerous Enclosure Bills were passed by the British Parliament in favour of the large landowners, who had a great deal of power in Parliament. The fencing in of so much waste land was very hard on poor people, many of whom had been wont to use these commons for pasturing a horse or cow. Pauperism was fast becoming a great evil, and a burden on the working portion of the community.
3. Wilkes.—George III., as has been stated, was anxious to rule himself, through his ministers, and that was why he got rid of Pitt and Newcastle at the beginning of his reign, and made Lord Bute Prime Minister. It was the king’s policy to break down the power of the Whig nobles, for he knew that he could not have his own way so long as the great Whig families were kept in office. His plan was to form a party of his own, the ‘‘King’s friends,” neither
