William IV by Roger Knight

Author:Roger Knight
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780141977218
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2015-07-23T16:00:00+00:00

5

Lord High Admiral

In 1815 a vigorous conversation had taken place at Brighton between Clarence and John Wilson Croker, the sharp-witted young Irishman who was Secretary to the Board of Admiralty. The two men did not like each other. Clarence told Croker that when he became king, he would ensure that Croker would not be secretary. Croker related the story some years later: ‘He had just before told me that he would in that event declare himself Lord High Admiral, and asked me, “what objection I could start to that”. I replied with a low bow, “none; that there was a case in point – James II had done the same”. This was a little bold, to say no worse, on my part, but he had been, for half an hour before, giving me provocation beyond all endurance, such as abusing Lord Melville, Sir George Hope, and the rest of the board, and though I begged to recollect my situation with them and spare me the mortification of hearing such attacks made on my friends and colleagues, he went on with still more violence.’1

Lord High Admirals had been appointed from the mid fifteenth century, but from 1628 this powerful position had been held ‘in commission’ or by several commissioners rather than a single person. In 1661 James, Duke of York had been appointed as Lord High Admiral, a post which he held until 1673, and it was filled variously by the Earl of Pembroke and George, Prince of Denmark between 1702 and 1708. Thereafter naval business was overseen by the First Lord of the Admiralty, who was a member of the Cabinet, and was advised by five commissioners. By the late 1820s there was considerable tension between the Admiralty Board and the Navy Board. The latter was not at all popular with naval officers. In 1831 an anonymous author, signing himself ‘Commander’, published a diatribe: ‘I know not why or wherefore, but certain it is, that the Navy Board is the most unpopular department of our whole naval establishment, and, in their professional views, are completely at variance with all practical seamen. They have the character of invariably opposing every kind of plan or improvement suggested to them, unless emanating from one of their own body.’2

These tensions within the naval establishment came to a head as a result of a series of bizarre political circumstances. Firstly, in January 1827 the Duke of York died and Clarence became heir to the throne. The following month Lord Liverpool, who had been prime minister for fifteen years, suffered a stroke. After some political manoeuvring, George IV asked George Canning to form a government. Although Canning had been a brilliant foreign secretary in 1807 to 1809, and again from 1822 to 1827, he was highly distrusted by the right wing of the Tory Party, which was anyway split on the issue of Catholic emancipation. The First Lord of the Admiralty, Lord Melville, declined to serve under Canning, in spite of the fact that he, like Canning, was pro Catholic emancipation.

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