Godolphin, SIDNEY GODOLPHIN, EARL OF

Godolphin, SIDNEY GODOLPHIN, EARL OF, who under four sovereigns occupied a seat at the Treasury Board, and under Anne filled the office of Lord High Treasurer solus, was descended of good English family, and was born at Godolphin Hall, near Helston, in the extreme south of Cornwall, in the summer of 1645—he was baptised on 15th July. Introduced at court as a royal page in 1664, he four years later accompanied his kinsman Sir W. Godolphin on a mission to Spain. But his first important public work was performed as envoy-extraordinary to the Netherlands in 1678, where he became acquainted with the Prince of Orange and with Sir William Temple. After his return to England he secured a seat in the House of Commons, and in 1679, on the recommendation of Temple, was appointed a commissioner of the Treasury. Although he voted for the Exclusion Bill, he was nevertheless in 1684 made First Commissioner of the Treasury, and also elevated to the peerage. On the accession of James II. Godolphin was indeed removed from the Treasury, but received compensation therefor in the appointment of chamberlain to the queen. His services as an administrator of the finances of the kingdom were, however, valued so highly that in 1686 he was recalled to the Treasury. On William of Orange's landing in 1688 Godolphin stood firmly by James, and was left, along with four others, in charge of the government when the king fled from London. He was also chosen, along with Halifax and Nottingham, to treat with William; and, when James's flight from the country was known, Godolphin was one of those who voted for a regency. Yet no sooner was William proclaimed king than, on 14th February 1689, he reinstated Godolphin in his old quarters as First Commissioner of the Treasury. Godolphin was a Tory; and, when William began to replace his Tory ministers by Whigs, the turn came to Godolphin—but came last, in 1696—to go likewise. In 1700, however, he once more returned to his old place; yet he only held office on this occasion for about six months. When Anne succeeded to the throne she made Godolphin (on 6th May 1702) her sole Lord High Treasurer. This position he filled down to 1710. The personal friend of Marlborough, he steadily supported the great general all through the war, enabling him by his thrifty and able management of the finances to conduct one brilliant campaign after another without suffering embarrassment from lack of supplies. And this feat Godolphin was able to achieve without increasing the public debt by more than about one million sterling annually—a most eloquent witness to his ability, sagacity, and sound administrative talents. He warmly advocated the union between England and Scotland, which was indeed effected before he laid down the staff of office. As Harley's friend and relative, Mrs Masham, crept further and further into the good graces of Anne, Harley himself began to prove more and more a thorn in the flesh to Godolphin. At length the latter, to prevent his own overthrow, constrained Anne to dismiss Harley. Godolphin's behaviour at this juncture, and his attitude towards the sovereign, mark the transition from the old order of things, when the king (or queen) appointed his own ministers, and dismissed them, according as he thought fit, and the new order of things, under which the ministers are appointed by the chief adviser of the crown. And they likewise foreshadow the methods of party government which took firmer shape later on in the century. But the dismissal of Harley was the prelude to his own; for, the influence of Mrs Masham continuing to increase, and the power of Harley to grow in a corresponding degree, Godolphin's necessarily diminished, and on 8th November 1710 he was curtly dismissed by Anne. He only survived about two years, dying on 15th September 1712 at Holywell House, Marlborough's seat, near St Albans. He was married for three years (1675-78) to Margaret Blague, the excellent lady whom Evelyn knew, and whose life he wrote. Godolphin was neither a brilliant man, nor an eloquent speaker, nor a great statesman; but rather a sagacious, cautious, very able administrator. He was not a man of strong political bias, and in his day it must be remembered political parties were not what they are at the present time. As an excellent official of the Treasury he doubtless saw no reason why he could not serve equally well whoever happened to be master of the land for the time being. At all events, he was an incorruptible official, though some have doubted whether he was not a double-dealing politician, and some have indeed accused him of being such. In private life, at least in his later years, he was fond of horse-racing and gay life. See the Hon. Hugh Elliot, Life of Sidney, Earl Godolphin (1888).