bands of volunteers not under the control of
the government had been formed. Nevertheless, the two years of
Carlisle's rule passed in quietness and prosperity, and the institution
of a national bank and other measures which he effected left permanently
beneficial results upon the commerce of the island. In 1789, in the
discussions as to the regency, Carlisle took a prominent part on the
side of the prince of Wales. In 1791 he opposed Pitt's policy of
resistance to the dismemberment of Turkey by Russia; but on the outbreak
of the French Revolution he left the opposition and vigorously
maintained the cause of war. In 1815 he opposed the enactment of the
Corn Laws; but from this time till his death, in 1825, he took no
important part in public life. Carlisle was the author of some political
tracts, a number of poems, and two tragedies, _The Father's Revenge_ and
_The Stepmother_, which received high praise from his contemporaries.
His mother was a daughter of the 4th Lord Byron, and in 1798 he was
appointed guardian to Lord Byron, the poet, who lampooned him in
_English Bards and Scotch Reviewers_.

GEORGE HOWARD, 6th earl (1773-1848), eldest son of the 5th earl, entered
parliament as Lord Morpeth in 1795 as a Whig. He was appointed to the
Indian board in 1806, when the "Ministry of all the Talents" took
office, but resigned in 1807, though he remained prominent in the House
of Commons. After his elevation to the House of Lords (1825), he held
various cabinet offices under Canning and Grey. He made some minor
contributions to literature and left the reputation of an amiable
scholar.

GEORGE WILLIAM FREDERICK HOWARD, 7th earl (1802-1864), was born in
London on the 18th of April 1802. He was the eldest son of the 6th earl
by his wife Lady Georgiana Cavendish, eldest daughter of the duke of
Devonshire. He was educated at Eton and Christ Church, Oxford, where (as
Lord Morpeth) he earned a reputation as a scholar and writer of graceful
verse, obtaining in 1821 both the chancellor's and the Newdigate prizes
for a Latin and an English poem. In 1826 he accompanied his uncle, the
duke of Devonshire, to Russia, to attend the coronation of the tsar
Nicholas, and became a great favourite in society at St Petersburg. At
the general election of the same year he was returned to parliament as
member for the family borough of Morpeth. In one of his earliest
speeches he undertook, at the risk of forfeiting the good opinion of
the Liberal