John Campbell’s “Short Papers” for Lord Bute in the London Evening Post

Abstract

John Campbell’s (1708-1775) biographer, Guido Abbattista, has argued that Campbell sought to publish a pamphlet, Thoughts on Public Affairs, in 1761.  However, a review of Campbell’s private correspondence in 1761 with the future prime minister, John Stuart, 3rd earl of Lord Bute (1713-1792), indicates that the historian sought not to publish a pamphlet, but newspaper articles that promote the king’s new reign and his administration.  Six of these articles have been found in the London Evening Post, and they use ideas and language from Henry St. John, 1st viscount Bolingbroke to represent George III as a Patriot King, to advance the Tory policies of Bute’s future administration, and to encourage a prospective peace to the Seven Years’ War (1756-1763).  These six, new attributions to Campbell not only expand his extensive canon, but also portray his significant role in offering the rhetoric and depicting the ideas of George III’s early reign and Bute’s ascendency to premiership.