on to present to his Royal Highness the Duke of
Gloucester (the Patron and President of the Insti-
tution) an account of his exertions in favour of
African and American freedom. He accordingly
presented a copious MS. (from which many parts
of the foregoing narrative have been selected), and
received the following answer :— -
Colonel Daiton io Mr. OranvUk Sharp.
** Sir— '' Feftrawy STr ISIS.
'' I beg to inform you, that I have had the honom t6
lay your MS* before his Royal Highness the Dnke of
Gloucester, as I was instructed to do by your accom*
panying letter. I am honoured with his Royal Highnesses
commands, to convey to you his high approbation of the
* Secood Report of the Africaa loslitation.
t2
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276 MEMOIRS OF ORANVILLE SHARP. [IV*
seal with whiob you have so invariably and efieetaaUy for-
warded this good caiise,-^a cause so near the hearts of all
humane persons. I am also directed to assure yon of the
pleasure it is to his Royal Highness, to be put in posses-
sion of the MS. you have presented him with.
*^ I must not close my letter without obeying strictly the
further instructions I have been honoured with from his
Royal Highness, to express how sensible he is of the real
benefit such valuable and strenuous exertions have pro-
cured to this interesting cause, in which we continue to be
engaged.
*' I have the honour to be^ Sir," &c. &c.
PROTESTANT UNION.
The year 1813, the last year of Mr. Sharp's life,
was distinguished by au association denominated
the Protestant Union, formed for the purpose of
defending, by the sole weapons of argument and
reason, a cause which the members held most sacred,
—the cause of religious freedom.
The admission of Papists into offices of political
trust and power was at that time openly demanded
by men of a leading character in Ireland ; and a
Bill was brought into Parliament, by, which their
political freedom, or emancipation (as it was termed)
from all the restraints imposed by various Acts of
our Legislature, since the time of James II., was
solicited from the Government of Great Britian as
a right.
The following account is from a member of the
association: —
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7J PEOTE8TAKT UKIOW. 277
' *' Mr. Granritte Sharp had uniformly opposed ihe
system of Popery, most coBscientiduftly believing
that it was utterly subTersiTe- of the principles of
genuine liberty, as well as of our Protestant Esta-
blishment.
'' When, therefore, the Roman Catholic question
was agitated, frdm the lively interest which he took
in it, and from his frequent conversations with
several friends on its great importance to the United
Kingdom, it was at length agreed to convene a
meeting of respectable persons firmly attached to the
principles of the Constitution, as established at the
Revdotion, (but unconnected with party, and having
no political purposes whatever to serve); and calmly
and dispatoionately to consider the subject.
' *^ A meeting was accordingly held, at the Crown
and Anchor Tavern in the Strand, on the 88d
January 1813, when Mr. Sharp was called to the
chair. After some discussion, the 'Address and
Resolutions, published by the Protestant Union in
their first paper, were unanimously adopted.
^' These Resolutions were reprinted and circu*
lated in Ireland, and had a great effect in rousing the
dormant spirit of Protestantism in that country. The
Protestant Union was encouraged by the warni
approbation of many eminent characters throughout
Uie United Kingdom, and Mr. Sharp received many
high eulogiums on the principles developed in their
papers."
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276 MEM0.IA9 OF. GBAIf VILLE JSHARP. [tV:*
The princitml aim of the wrgometifei u»f(),||g^ this
Society, wa« to. sepajrate 4i«tincUy tke tm (^fefst^
Religious Freedom and P^kal Freedom. They
sBserted that tbe/orm&r. was already fully {xw^fisM
by the whole body of Roman Catholics ; and tihaC t}M
iaUeTf of course, was the true object of tbe»fiW pre^
stented by tibem to. the P4rliamebt» and ^aa eoveMid»
not for the sake of the whi9le hdyi of Fapisti (tb»
lower claasesi necessarily^ mt heidg withiaiih^imieb
of its oooeequedG^X but by that cIms 9him^;tf\M\^
from, its rank in lifei would be enaUed to pdasesa i what
would accjfue fmm Us arttbinmenl. To this rtia^oii^
log they added^ as an inteoni^c^ei^tible af gvuneai; thtt
the leligious freedom, enjoyed by the Romah Ca*
tholics in the Uoitad Kingdom^ wbuld not in iretumi
be allowed to the Prot6itaots (and cither religious
descriptions of menX if thei Pafost^ sbodld regsm
political power, beeau^ thQpo^itmeijBui unaiierahk
tenets of the. Papal religion were, intolerant of reli^
gious establishments of all other ddscf iplions ;. aod^
therefore, that the establiahmwl; of a P^oteaiadt
Church was the only real source of universal religious
freedom.
'^ In their second paper/' continues the same
account, '^ they issued a series of Questions re-
specting the demands of the Roman Catholics^ which
have never been answered to this day.
'^ The Protestant Union also published some
extracts of their correspondence witti Ireland,
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7.} 9Ror£firANT uNioK. 279.
uempliQriDg by &ct8 the pxiadpleB held . by the
Roman GathoUcs*.
^' The pilUicatioDS of the society were sent to aU
die Members of Parliament in: both Houses. But
as The Thmn had no desire to r^ose . ai[)y popul^ir
clamour against the Boman Catholics, bat $}iAply to
bring the subject before the public upon principk^
th^ did not call piiblifc meetings; or use any methods
to create prejudice*
^* The hst meeting of the Protestant Union) during
the life-tinle of Mr. Sharp, was held on the , Ist of
March ; on which day the question, having unda^ne
a previous debate of four days intiie House, of dome
mons, was carried in favour of the Boomn CalhDlica
by a majority of forty. The UnUm^ therefore, finding
its efibrts ine&ctual as to this great. point/ ceased
finom it& exertion^; the cause appearing to all the
members to be lost, and it being deemed the re^
maining Mjf ofaUto submit peaceably to the deterr
mination of the Government. But their hopes were
net destined so soon to perish. On the fi4th of
May, in one of the largest assemblies of the House
of Commons ever known^ when the last stage of
the Bill in favour of the Boman Catholics was in a
Committee of the whole House, the Speaker (Mr.
Abbott), after a most powerful and impressive speech,
proposed, as an amendment to the Bill, * that the
* Ao ** Appeal to the Proteftanto of Great Britain and Ire-
iand" was publitfaed in the snbteqnent papera of the Protieataiit
Union, in reply to an '* Address" by Charles Birtkr, Eaq^
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280 MEMOIRS OF GRANVILLE SHARP. [IV.
first clause, which was, to admit Roman CathoUes
into Parliament^ be struck out; ' which motion, aliter
a long and warm debate, being carried by a ma«
jority of S51 votes to S47, the other clauses of the
Bill were given up, and the power of the Protestant
Establishment remained unshaken*."
In all the meetings of The Union, Mr. Sharp ex*
erted himself with unabated vigour of mind, and gave
the noost useful support to the cause. He spoke
frequently, and with great firmness ; and he corre-
sponded with several eminent persons on the subject
of the Bill. Notwithstanding his great age, his
faculties were still strong and clear ; and his thorough
acquaintance with the distinctions of religious tenets
enabled him to enforce his feelings by the most ani^
mated and convincing arguments f. Never, in the
long course of his public efforts, had he shown more
conspicuously the superior treasures of his powerful
* On the reoewal of the Roman Catholic Petition, the meet-
tiogt of the Protestant Union were resumed, Stephen Cattley,
Esq. being called to the chair ; and, at the last meeting, April
17th, 1810, previous to ihe intended debate in the House of
Commons (which took place on the 3d of May), a series of
Resolutions was drawn up, and sent to every Member of both
Houses of Parliament.
i " His knowledge,*' adds the writer of the account before
given, *' of what Popery was and ever will be, and his sense of the
fatal indifference of good-natured Protestants, which will sooner
or later be their destruction, rendered his services of great use.
In this society he spoke more, and attended more frequently, 1
believe, than in any other.**
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70 CHARITABLE SOCIETIES, 281
mind, or excited in bis associates sensations of higher
respect. The Reports, and other numerous papers
of the society, were submitted to his inspection,
and sanctioned by him, previous to their publica*
tion,'. and several of them received his corrections*.
The .flame of life played actively withm him, and
darted peculiar lustre, at the moment when it was
about to quit its mortal tenement for ever. The
strenuous exertions of his faculties, indeed, on this
important occasion, probably accelerated the final
period of his labours ; and if he expressed no con-
scious triumph at closing them in a cause which he
deemed transcendently meritorious, it was because he
regarded the dispensations of his Creator with equal
awe, and with equal submission, at all moments of
his worldly course.
The MS. Notes contain the mention of Mr.
Sharp's attendance on several other charitable and
religious societies, but afford no particular notice of
their concerns. At the Hospitals of Bridewell and
Bethlehem the remembrance of his name is accom*
panied, as usual, by that of his benevolence. In the
early part of the time in which he was a Governor,
* The TtDaUy ReiokUiens, in particular, which were passed
in the first meeting, and the Seriei of Qi$eiium$ proposed to
the Roman Catholics, in the second meeting, received his
hearty approbation and concurrence. They are drawn up with
singular ability and force. In revising the papers of the Union
he frequently passed the greater part of the night
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982 MEMOIRS OF GRANVItL£ SHARP. [IV.
t)e p^id great, ^tentioq to the condition of the prisw
i|ttd the prisoners^ ^axd particularly to tb? intrqduc*
^ipn oi vfprk fioipng tbein. The Minutes of the^
C(Q!«M»itte^ \>(fLV, aiEiplft testimonies of tlH>,,solici^ude.
Iti,tb0 y^fMT 1800, a year.i^ r^ma^kable scapcity, bp
%^efw^ a If^ter to.the Of^rkof Bnidewpll Hospjti^
piapQ$ing tbat^ ipst^fid of the usqal annual dinner^
this, Steivar4s^ who wer^ to h9.ve. fuin^isbed the ex-
pietisea of ati; should apply n aivn of equal amount
tovK^rds the nepeashies of the. patients in Bethlehem
Hospitfilj and, in copsequencpof hialetteri amotio^
to that effect was made and xarriedi at a special
Court held op the 15,th of May^
: He w^ also a Goyeifnor of St Luke's J^p^tal
to^ many yettrs, and one of the Apditors pf the
Treasurer's accounts, but took no othe^r active part
in its management, not being on the Committees.
. The other Societies mentioned in his Not^s, at
which he appears to h^ve attended more rarely,
are the African Association, Palestine Association,
Refuge for the Destitute, Hibernian Society, Society
for the Protection of Young Women, Female Peni*
tentiaJry. — Di, Bray's Society occurs frequently.
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MEMOIRS
OF
GRANVILLE SHARP.
PART V.
DOMBSTIC CHARACTER OF MR. SHARP. — HIS DBCBASB.
PVBUC RESPBCT SHO^N TO HIS MBMORT.
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PART V.
CHAP. L
i^HILE contemplatiDg the public uaefuloess of
Mr. Sharp's actions, let us not forget to accompany
him also in the progress of bis domestic life, in the
bosom of his family, in the retirement of his private
hours, and in the social intercourse of friendly relar
tions.
A long course of years had necessarily brought
with it a numerous train of those affectionate interests,
which often delightful, sometimes painful, but always
valuable, form the richest treasures of the heart. It
is not difficult to conceive, after what has been re*
latedy'thathe was as attentive, as constant, as active,
in all concerns of a domestic nature, as if those alone
bad constituted the whole employment of his time.
But we may yet be surprised to learn, that he even
allotted to them a preference above all other occu-
pations and engagements ; and that, averse from that
obdurate system of morals which once reduced the
world to servitude, he believed, that in the public
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288 1I£M0IRS OF GEANVJLLE SHARP. [V.
be brought his task to its completion. In the sommer
of 1783, James being dangerously ill, he had accom-
panied him to Weymouth, with delusive hopes of his
recovery. la the autumn of the same year he re-
turned thither, accompanied by his brother William,
to bring back the dying invalid. ^' We arrived in
town," says Granville, '^ in the evening, my poor
brother being in extremis. I lifted him out of the
chariot, and carried him myself into his own house."
Two days afterwards be expired, and Granville at*
tended his funeral as chief mourner.
With the same affectionate solicitude he hastened
to his elder brother John, Archdeacon of Northum-
berland, at Durham, to attend him in bis last hours,
in 1793*
Besides the above deprivations, he had lost another
brother, and two of his sisters, in the course of the
events that have been related.
But the heaviest of bis afflictions was yet await*
ing him. He had one only brother and sister re-
maining : the latter, Mrs. Prowse, of Wicken Park,
in Buckinghaimshire, was at Fulham in the spring of
1810, where his brother William and Mrs. Sharp
were anxiously watching over the declining health of
their daughter. These now formed the whole of the
family circle resident at that place. William was
sinking under the gradual decay of age, and deep
parental concern. Mrs. Prowse, apparently healthy,
was seized with illness, and at the end of five days
expired — a pure Christian, benevolent in life, and
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1.] DOMESTIC CHAkACTER. . 289
full of hope in death. Granville was, as usual, on
the spot, comforting and assisting *. His behaviour
was composed, but grave. After her decease his
whole attention was occupied by his brotheri whose
infirmities were rapidly increased by this new afflic-
tion. But, being named his sister's executor, it was
necessary for him to repair to her late family resi-
dence at Wicken Park, in order to dismiss the esta-
blishment and vacate the place for her successor.
He went, accompanied by the daughter of his late
brother James, to a scene which brought back the
varied recollections of family endearments. The
business, which it was necessary to transact on the
occasion, agitated him so greatly as to render him
sometimes, for the space of an hour or two, inca-
pable of making the requisite exertions.
During this painful occupation, accounts arrived
of the alarming increase of his brother's illness. To
the surprise of all around him, he was reluctant to
leave Wicken, and was with difficulty prevailed, on
to assent to an immediate return to Fulham. He
questioned the messenger : he strove to discredit his
report It seemed as if he could not bear to be
convinced that his beloved brother's life, was in
imminent danger. He, however, set forward. —
While on the road, a second dispatch brought the
* He received (and wrote) his sister^s will from her own lips^
on the day before her death ; and attended her while she re-
ceived the sacramenty.in the midst of her family, including, at
her particular request, two little girls, her grand-nieces.
VOL. n. u
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290 MEMOIRS OF GRANVILLE SHARP. [V.
melancholy tidings that his brother was no more.
When fully assured of the reality of his loss, " God's
vnll^'' he exclaimed, *^ be done ! " and shed tears co-
piously. A long silence ensued, till, turning to his
companion, he opened a Bible, which he had broagbt
in the carriage, and raad aloud several detached sen-
tences from the Psalms ; selecting such as were most
applicable to their present distress, and translating
them (for his Bible was a Hebrew one) ia language
to which the solemnity of the moment gave the most
impressive and affecting expression.
Throughout the whole of these severe trials his
sorrow was deep and silent, tempered with resigna-
tion, and with a perfect composure which solaced
amd strengthened those who wept around him; his
conversation dwelling more on the blessings which
were still accorded to them, than on those which
were withdrawn.
Two years afta: the loss of his brother William,
bis afBiction was renewed by the death of one of his
nieces*, — an event which sensibly affected the short
remaining portion of his lifef •
* Mary, the first wife of T. J. Lloyd Baker, Esq.^ ofHardwick
Court, Gloucestershire.
t He has left the foUowiDg memoanda of the death of his
sbter and his niece. —
'' 23d February, 1810. My dear sister Prowse yielded up
her calm and truly Christian spirit to her Heavenly Father
this »ight, seemingly without the least sensibility of pain or
suffering."
<< 28th December, 1812. Yesterday I received 8 moat afflict-
ing letter from my sister Sharp^ at Dawlisb, Devon, giving me
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As OranviUe had continued utimarried, the booses
of bis brothers James and William were for many
years his general residence ; and it was not till the
beginning of the year 1792| that he took chambers
in the Temple for the purposes of various business
that pressed upon him. In his brothers' families, he
was an example of the most kind and considerate
behaviour towards the domestics of every class, who
were as assiduous and as anxious to serve him, as
he was careful to avoid giving them unnecessary
trouble. For himself, he never at any time of his
life retained a male servant : a feeble old woman was
his only attendant at his chambers.
His benevolence, so universal to mankind, could
not foil to be extended in just proportion to inferior
animals, of whose nature he had ever been a close
and studious observer. While a boy, be had been
fond of taming them, and had always a favourite dog
or cat, jackdaw, bat, or lizard. His occupation at
the Ordnance gave him frequent opportunities of
visiting the menagerie in the Tower, and he studied,
with much observation, the peculiar disposition of
each animal. When in the country, he delighted no
less in the various characters of the more friendty
tribes of inferior creatures. In fact, nothing in
the meltncholy account of her daughter, my dear niece, Mrs.
Baker. She received the holy Sacrament on her death-bed ;
and, being most sincerely prepared for the awful change, she
resigned her meek spirit to God, witliont a sigh or groan, as if
her departure was only in sleep.'*
U J2
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292 UEMOIRS OF GRANVILLE SHARP. [V.
creation, whether animate or inanimate, escaped his
notice, bis admiration, or his benevolence. But be
more particularly applied the lesson, which was the
result of his observations on other animals, to a
scrutiny of the human bosom. He perceived, in the
conduct of men toward the creatures destined to their
use, an unsuspected test of moral character ^ by which
he might safely ascertain the worth of every man^s
heart, and the grounds of his action toward his own
species *•
In the exercise of his religion, he was careful to
preserve a behaviour free from ostentation; but- it
was at the same time firm, and profoundly reverential.
As he rose early, his first employment was either
reading the holy Scriptures, or chanting a portion of
the Hebrew Psalms to his harp. His evenings were
closed in the same manner. When in London, he
regularly attended the service of St. Paul's, and
joined in the choral partf. In the respective families
of his relations he regularly attended, and generally
readf the Morning and Evening Prayers from the
* The last cntr^ in bis common- place book being on this
subject, will be found in the Appendix. The following passage
occurs in his tract " On the Injustice of Slavery : " — " At pre-
sent, the inhumanity of constrained labour in- excess extends
no farther in England than to our beasts, as post and hackney
horses, sand-asses, &c. &c. But thanks to our laws, and not
to the general good disposition of roasters, that it is so ; for
the wretch who is bad enough to maltreat a helpless beast, would
not spare his folUm-man, if he had him as much in his power"
t See Letter from Wilham Shield, Esq., in the Appendix,
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1.] DOilESTIC CHARACTER. 293
Liturgy. He was constant in his attendance on
Divine worship twice, if possible, every Sunday, and
never omitted any opportunity of receiving the sacra-
ment. But his devotion, like every other part of his
action, was simple. He disliked long sermons, par-
ticularly if preached extempore^ and would often tell
his friend , " Thou shalt not be heard for
thy much speaking." He objected to extempore
preachers, because he thought it presumptuous in
any man to venture to deliver his sentiments and
opinions on subjects so momentous, without notes
at least, when they might be so much better arranged
in the closet.
He, in general, observed all the Fasts and Festivals.
He was, indeed, in the habit of fasting frequently ;
but it was performed in a way so unobtrusive, that
few persons were aware of the strictness with which
he practised this religious duty. In his MS. Notes,
in the year 1800, he mentions that he dined at his
chambers every day in Passion week, with the excep-
tion that no notice whatever is taken of Good Friday,
whence it is probable, that that day was observed
with more than common abstinence. He avoided
travelling, or entering on any secular business, on
Sundays ; sacred music being his chief recreation on
those days.
At all other times he was a frequent traveller,
chiefly in public stage-coaches, where he greatly
enjoyed the mixture of characters which he met with,
and where he not unfrequently found the means of
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294 MEMQiRS OF GRANVILLE SHARP. [V,.
exercising his benevolence. One day, going to his
brother's house at Fulham in the 8tage*coach^ n
feUow-pasaeng^r, impatient at the ordinary delays
attendant on ccpveyances of that kind, burst fprtb
iato expressions of immoderate rage, mixed with fre-
quent oaths. Granville sat silent, taking no noti^e^
in any manner, of his companion's fury; but th^
next moming k^ called on the angry traveller, and
gently, but e^ectually, reproved him for his intern-
pei:ate and unchristian behaviour.
His ever-9ctive humanity was as unostentatious as
his religion. Sufficient examples of it are at large
before the world. But it had not been more con-
i^ntly exercised in public concerns, than in the
private incidents of every day. He appears never
ito have refused, or neglected, any application made
to him of a charitable nature. —
From a poor imprUoned Author, well known to
maoy by his annual request of subscription to' a
pamphlet '' On the Improvement of the Law of
England with Regard to Imprisonment for Debt^"'
fae orders three copies to be left for himself.
When the celebrated singer, Signora Frazi, was
returning to Italy, some pecuniary embarrassments,
though of a* trivial amount, detaining her on her road
in France, it appears, by her letter of thanks, that
he sent her a small sum, sufficient to relieve her
difficulties.
At another time, an anonymous writer requested
of him a loan c^ thirty guineas : his plea was
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1.] DOH£STIC CHARACTER. 295
distre^y and the desire of cauceaUng it ; and the
excuse for bis application, his confidence in Gran-
ville's benevdence. Mr. Sharp's answer does not
appear c-^it was not of letters of this kind that he
{deserved copies. But a second letter from the un-
known petitioner expresses his acknowledgments to
him, for explaining his circumstances so openly to a
stranger, and for ten gtdneas which had been sent
with the explanation. What more ensued is not
now to be traced *•
The following sentence, in a letter to Mr. Sharp
from the late Governor Thicknesse, is similarly
characteristic : " I asked my relation, the
of ^ for his subscription,. irhich he readily
consented to ; but he did not say, like the generous
Sharps, * Put down my wi/ey my brother,^ &c. &c."
This tenderness of sensibility toward the woes of
a fellow-creature, increased with his age ; and even
the decay of life, while it gradually impaired the