Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington Quotes (1674-1743)

“[L]et me humbly and earnestly, for God's sake, for the sake of your own glory, for the love of your king and your country, which I know is sincere and ardent in you; let me entreat your lordship to go to the king without loss of time, and say to him what your own honour and excellent understanding shall suggest to you upon the present occasion. You are unsuspected by him on all sides: he cannot in thought object any thing to you with relation to his son; you, and you only, have all the talents and all the requisites that this critical time demands to effectuate this great event, and save your country, if it be to be saved.”

“My Lord Wilmington is about 65 years old, strong made, but of late much troubled with the stone. His stature is something more than of the middle sort and he is not corpulent though full fleshed. He is proud, though affable to those who visit him, and is rare of his speech, but then positive. He maintains no debates in the House of Peers, but never swerved from voting as the Ministry would have him, being very servile to his Majesty's inclinations. He has no great genius, but cannot want experience, having formerly been Speaker of the House of Commons, and for many years President of the Council, which post he executes notably well. He is extremely covetous, and formal in business, was never married, but has children unlawfully begotten, which he stifles the knowledge of as much as in him lies. He has no ambition, and has told me the true interest of England was to have no chief minister, but that every great office should be immediately dependent on the King and answer for itself. He also is for making the basis of the Government so broad, that many interests may be taken into it, but I believe he will be for leaving the King's power as great as he can contribute to make it.”

“It is reported of Sir Spencer Compton, that when he was Speaker, he used to answer to a Member, who called upon him to make the House quiet, for that he had a right to be heard; "No, Sir, you have a right to speak, but the House have a right to judge whether they will hear you." In this he was certainly mistaken; the Member has a right to speak, and the House ought to attend to him, and it is the Speaker's duty to endeavour, for that that purpose, to keep them silent; but where the love of talking gets the better of modesty and good-sense, which sometimes happens, it is a duty very difficult to execute in a large and popular assembly.”

“Sir Spencer Compton was at this time Speaker of the House of Commons, Treasurer to the Prince, and Paymaster to the army, he was a plodding, heavy fellow, with great application, but no talents, and vast complaisance for a Court without any address; he was always more concerned for the manner and form in which a thing was to be done than about the propriety or expediency of the thing itself; and as he was calculated to execute rather than to project, for a subaltern rather than a commander, so he was much fitter for a clerk to a minister than for a minister to a Prince; whatever was resolved upon, he would often know how properly to perform, but seldom how to advise what was proper to be resolved upon. His only pleasures were money and eating; his only knowledge forms and precedents; and his only insinuation bows and smiles.”