George Savile, Lord Halifax: biography

This biography was written in 2006 for the Dictionary of Liberal Thought.

George Savile, Lord Halifax (11 November 1633 – 5 April 1695), was a politician and writer who started out as a respected supporter of the English monarchy but became one of the architects of the 1688 “Glorious Revolution” which replaced the Catholic James II with the Protestant William and Mary.

Key ideas

His main work, The Character of a Trimmer, was published in 1688 (four years after being written and not initially published under his name) and is an argument for moderation and seeking the middle course in politics.

Biography

He was born into the political establishment, though there are significant gaps in our knowledge of his early years. He certainly spent considerable time being educated abroad, and was married in 1656 to Dorothy, sister of 2nd Earl of Sunderland.

He was initially a political protégé of the 2nd Duke of Buckingham and sat in the Privy Council for several years from 1672. He left office after opposing the government, but regained office in 1679 when the King was seeking to broaden his support.

In 1680 there was an epic debating duel in the House of Lords between him and his uncle, Lord Shaftesbury, over a bill to exclude the monarch’s Catholic brother, James, from the throne. Halifax spoke sixteen times in a seven-hour debate, and was credited with the bill’s defeat – though it is questionable whether the bill would have failed anyway.

Having alienated many Whigs with these speeches, he then alienated many Tories by insisting that any future Catholic monarch should have strict limitations placed on their power and by asking for leniency for Whigs caught plotting against the monarchy. When James did ascend to the throne (as James II) in 1685 Halifax was only briefly in power before he ousted for opposing James’s pro-Catholic policies.

A cynical and caustic wit, he bequeathed a range of biting quotations, some of which display what would become a typically liberal approach, such as “Men are not hanged for stealing horses, but that horses may not be stolen” and “They who are of the opinion that Money will do everything, may very well be suspected to do everything for Money.” A more general cynicism ran through many of his other comments however, as with “Laws are generally not understood by three sorts of persons, viz, by those who make them, by those who execute them, and by those who suffer if they break them” and “Malice is of a low stature, but it hath very long arms.”

During the early stages of the Glorious Revolution he did not support the overthrow of James II. Indeed, when William of Orange landed with his army in 1688 in order to achieve just this, Halifax tried to negotiate a compromise. But in the flux caused by James’s attempt to flee Halifax rapidly assumed a position of importance and it was he who both told James that he had to go and also issued the formal invitation to William to take the throne.

Despite this key role in James’s ousting, his subsequent political career was brief: he became chief minister in 1689 but had little support in Parliament and quit in 1690.

Ideas

Though he frequently found politics distasteful, his active participation in it differentiates him from other political thinkers of the time such as Locke and Hobbes. By contrast with their abstract arguments, his views were closely related to his practical experience of politics.

He saw political disagreement as inevitable, and stressed the importance of taking a middle course rather than succumbing to extremes. He believed in a balance between liberty and power, seeing dangers in either extreme. For him, there had to be a supreme power, but it should not be lodged in the potentially despotic hands of one person. He both frequently opposed the line taken by his friends, and surprised opponents by agreeing with them. Many contemporaries saw his moderation as meaning constant untrustworthiness, no firm beliefs and unscrupulous jettisoning of principles.

His book, The Trimmer, became a work of political thought of some note. He also wrote a series of other pieces but, as these were very deeply rooted in the disputes of the time, they did not have a lasting impact.

The book was triggered by Tory attacks on the idea of moderation. It defends having a shifting set of allies and opposes the rigidities of party politics, which he saw as being inimical to debate and discussion. It argues for restrictions on the power of the monarch, toleration of non-conformists – though not of Catholics – and having a foreign policy of ensuring no one power dominates Europe.

During his career he often feared war with France believing that the needs of war would allow the King to amass political and financial power. This opposition to foreign adventures for their impact on domestic liberty was one that recurs through subsequent liberal thought.

His political legacy was limited for a number of reasons: he ended his career unpopular; his family line died out after his son; his speeches were not published and his other works were only briefly in print after 1700; and some of the most influential eighteenth century pundits had little kind to say about his views, even whilst admiring his intelligence and oratory. David Hume, for example, said, “He was always, with reason, regarded as an intriguer rather than a patriot.” Only with Thomas Macaulay in the nineteenth century did his reputation markedly improve as someone who played a key part in the Glorious Revolution, an event that had become a key component of the Whig tradition and mythology.

Main political works

He wrote only one major work: The Character of a Trimmer, published 1688.

Further reading

Hilda Foxcroft, A Character of the Trimmer, 1946
JP Kenyon, Halifax: Complete Works, 1969