k

OF THE

REGENCY AND REIGN

OF

King George the Fourth.

BY WILLIAM COBBETT.

LONDON:

PRINTED BY MILLS, JOWETT, AND MILLS,

BOLT-COURT;

PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM COBBETT, 183, FLEET-STREET.

1830.

PREFACE.

1. THE proper business of a Preface is twofold; first, to tell the reader why the work is written and published; and, second, to describe to him the manner in which it is done, and to apprize him of other circumstances the want of a previous knowledge of which might produce inconvenience to him

2. With regard to the first, the why is, that we may have, at once, a record of the acts and character of the king in question, while these are all fresh in our minds, while a great part of the actors are still alive, while official and other documents are within our reach, while the field is fairly open for controversy on the matters stated, and, above all, that the History may

be of use; that it may afford us an example
of what we ought to follow, or warn us against
what we ought to shun. Of what use to us of
this day is the history of the tyrant, Henry VIII.,
or that of his racking and ripping-up daughter,
Elizabeth, compared to what it would have been
to our fathers, if written at the close of their
And, of what use would the
savage reigns?
history of the transactions of the late regency
and reign be to our great grandchildren, com-
pared to the use that it must naturally be to
In short, history, like all other writing,
is valuable in the proportion in which it is cal-
culated to produce good effects; in proportion
as it is calculated to stimulate men to useful
exertion, or to make them shun that which is
mischievous; in proportion as it is calculated to
have a practical effect in the affairs and on the
condition of men. To have these effects it
must come, not only before the nation have
forgotten the transactions and characters to

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which it relates, but before it has ceased to feel the effects of those transactions. Ancient history may, with a few learned and deepthinking persons, be of real use; but, to the mass of mankind, it can be but little other than romance.

3. It may be said, that the writer, having lived during the period, or part of it, of which he is the historian, may possibly have been engaged in the transactions of it himself, and cannot, therefore, be expected to be so impartial as he ought to be. But, what is the great business of history? It is to record facts; and, if the facts be true, of what consequence are the feelings of the historian? He may, indeed, when delineating motives and consequences and characters, give way to his bias; but, then, as in the case of the facts, he exposes himself to contradiction, and the matter is set right; dis

cussion takes place; and out of discussion comes the establishment of truth.