WITH PITT. As government as a matter of small importance; and, Ch. 6. 1765 223 cation to Pitt. Albemarle's mission having, after a second visit Second applito Hayes, terminated unsatisfactorily, the Duke himself, by the King's express command, waited on the great statesman; and, in a conversation which lasted five hours, the whole matter was fully discussed. The terms upon which Pitt insisted were principally three:-First, that a counter alliance should be formed to balance that of the House of Bourbon: Secondly, that military, as well as other officers, who had been dismissed for their votes or political connections should be re-instated: Thirdly, that the illegality of general warrants should be formally declared. Both the brothers required that Bute should be excluded from power and influence. But it is remarkable, that no stipulation was made as to the removal from Court of those persons generally designated as 'King's Friends,' whose machinations are described as counteracting the policy and destroying the credit of the responsible government. Pitt could not have been ignorant of the rumours which attributed to these people an unconstitutional interference with the executive government. He 224 Ch. 6. 1765 The negotiation broken off. THE NEGOTIATION WITH PITT FAILS. certainly, of all ministers, would have been the last to tolerate such interference. But it is equally certain that as long as the courtiers did not meddle with affairs of state, it would be a matter of indifference to him who filled the minor offices in the household. The loftiness of his character, indeed, might have left considerable latitude to low intrigue; but had the 'King's Friends,' as they were called, really possessed the influence which has been attributed to them, certainly by great authorities, it is difficult to believe that Pitt would have been content with the removal of Bute, while the agents of his system were left as before in the full exercise of power. The narrative of this transaction, drawn up by the Duke of Cumberland himself, and lately published in the Memoirs of the Marquis of Rockingham,' is somewhat obscure as to the particular ground upon which the negotiation with Pitt and Temple was finally broken off. The Duke had full authority, and seems to have offered no serious opposition to any of the terms proposed. The only article which seemed to present difficulty was the formation of new foreign alliances; but all that could be required or conceded on this head was that it should be open to the new administration to pursue such a policy. Pitt, in fact, was willing to take office; but Temple had evidently, from the first, determined that the proposed arrangement 8 See Addenda N, p. 242. GOVERNMENT OFFERED TO LORD LYTTELTON. should not take place; and his influence prevailed with his illustrious kinsman. The explanation of Temple's apparent perverseness is to be found in the significant fact that, two days after the Duke of Cumberland announced to the King the unsuccessful result of his commission, a reconciliation took place between Grenville and his elder brother. They both, indeed, took the pains to inform their respective friends that this was a family matter, having no connection with politics. But the event had for some time been in contemplation on either side; and it had long been the object of Temple to concentrate political power in the family of Grenville. Ch. 6. 1765 sent for. 225 The Duke of Cumberland made one more at- Lord Lyttelton tempt to rescue the King from political duress by offering the government to Lord Lyttelton, a nobleman known as the early friend and contemporary of Pitt, and with some pretensions to oratory and literature. But Lyttelton prudently shrunk from an eminence to which he was unequal; excusing himself on the ground of his connection with the Grenvilles. Thus was the King made to feel the vanity of of his resistance to party, or rather to the great families to whom political power at this time almost exclusively belonged. In announcing to Grenville his desire that the ministers should esume their duties, His Majesty said that he had not intended to dispense with his services, an assertion which probably obtained as much credit as it deserved. 226 Ch. 6. 1765 New arrangements of the ministry. CONDITIONS PROPOSED BY MINISTERS. But though Grenville's grumbling, jealous, and quarrelsome temper must have been to the last degree tiresome and provoking, George the Third respected his character, and entertained a high opinion of his talents for administration. Had it not been for his insufferable temper, the King would have preferred the comparative mediocrity of Grenville to the domineering genius of Pitt; and his arrogance, perhaps, was of a less offensive quality than that of the Temples and the Bedfords. On the same day that the reconciliation took place between Temple and his brother, the ministers assembled to consider the terms upon which they should consent to remain in His Majesty's service. The conditions were soon agreed upon, and are in remarkable contrast with those which had been named by Pitt, as having, none of them any relation to questions of public policy, but bearing in each a personal and vindictive character. The exclusion of Bute from all employment or concern in public affairs was, as usual, the first article of the new treaty. And here, again, it is remarkable that no mention was made of those mysterious men in office, by whose agency at court, in Parliament, and in society, the Bute system is supposed to have been carried into effect, and the credit of the responsible government undermined. But it was demanded that Mr. Stuart Mackenzie, a gentleman whose only demerit was his relationship to Lord Bute, should be dismissed from his office of Privy Seal of Scotland. Lord THE KING'S PROMISE TO MACKENZIE. Holland, also, apparently to gratify the old enmity of Grenville, was at length to be removed from his post of Paymaster. The Marquis of Granby was named for the command of the army, an appointment intended at once to reward a new adherent, and to retaliate upon the Duke of Cumberland for the part he had lately taken in negotiating the change of ministry. The last condition was the only one which did not contain a proper name; it required that the government of Ireland should be placed at the disposal of the ministry, the object being, for obvious reasons, to deprive the Earl of Northumberland of the Lord-Lieutenancy of that kingdom. The King, after consideration, assented to three of the stipulations, but objected strongly to the dismissal of Mackenzie, on the ground that he had accepted office on His Majesty's promise that he should not be removed. The answer of course was, that His Majesty had no right to make such an engagement. But, considering that it was the case of a young sovereign having bestowed a piece of preferment on the brother of his early friend and preceptor, no statesman of any candour or liberality would have required His Majesty to cancel such a promise. But Grenville was inflexible, and when the King refused to yield, immediately tendered his resignation. His Majesty's reply was full of spirit and good sense. He said that, having recalled the ministry, he felt bound to comply with their terms. But he desired Grenville distinctly to understand that his royal word had been pledged Ch. 6. 1765 227 |